Southwestern Salad

As I was waiting for the two baking projects to cool, I whipped up a salad I've made a few times that was inspired by another E.B. At my request, Stephen took photos of my dinner. As a tip, I often use kitchen shears for chopping herbs to save time, especially in a salad which, by its casual nature, can handle a few extra stems.

Serves 8

1 head of Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 pint (2 cups) grape or cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup frozen or drained canned corn (thawed if frozen)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack or Cheddar cheese
Jalapeno Ranch Dressing, which can be blended with classic ranch if you find it too spicy (my usual brand is Litehouse)

Additional options: salsa, guacamole, sour cream, tortilla chips, grilled chicken breast, shrimp, steak

Peach Brown Betty

This was the second dish I prepared for Stephen to photograph. It was taken from the Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers cookbook. I found it the best Betty recipe I've made yet, with a lovely balance of flavors and saucier than my previous Betty recipe post. My only modification was to add one cup of blueberries. A grateful group of friends helped me eat it with vanilla bean ice cream and whipped cream.

Serves 6-8

4 cups sliced peaches
4 tbsp butter
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk or cream
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 loaf, or about 8 ounces, crusty bread, cut in 1/2-inch cubes (slightly stale Italian, French, cinnamon or challah are good choices)
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a two-quart baking dish (e.g. 11x7 pan). In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add peaches and cook, stirring, until peaches are hot and beginning to give off juice. Remove from heat.

Beat egg in a large bowl, and then mix in milk, vanilla, cinnamon and half of the brown sugar. Add the bread cubes and mix well. Stir in peaches with their juice and melted butter. Gently fold in blueberries. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining sugar.

Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown.

Orange Raisin Scones

This recipe is not my own, but taken from the soon-to-be published Gourmet Today, edited by Ruth Reichl. I only tasted a morsel of the finished product, but they baked up beautifully despite my rushing about like a crazy woman. My friend, avid photographer and rocket scientist, Stephen wanted to take pictures of food for an online photo contest. I'm more than delighted with his work. Gorgeous!

Makes 8 scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and chilled
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg, separated
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.

Pulse together flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor.* Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-sized) lumps. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in raisins.

Stir together milk, yolk, zest, and vanilla in a small bowl. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring with a fork just until a dough starts to form.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until it just comes together. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet and pat into a 7 1/2-inch round. Brush top of dough with egg white and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut round into 8 wedges (do not separate scones).

Bake scones until undersides are browned, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool for 15 minutes, then pull wedges apart.

*I do not own a food processor but find the classic method of mixing dry ingredients, then cutting in the butter with a pastry blender (or two knives) works like a charm.

Golden Bread Pudding

Ingredients
4 beaten eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 cups dry French bread cubes*
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup toasted walnuts*
1 recipe Caramel Sauce or Bourbon Sauce (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl beat together eggs, milk, half-and-half, brown sugar, vanilla, lemon peel and cardamom. In an ungreased 2-quart square baking dish toss together bread cubes, walnuts and dried fruit; pour egg mixture evenly over bread mixture. Press lightly with back of large spoon to moisten all bread.

Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes or until puffed and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool slightly. If desired, serve warm with Caramel Sauce or Bourbon Sauce. Makes 8 servings

*To dry bread, start with fresh bread cubes; place in a large shallow baking pan and bake in a 350°F oven about 10 minutes, stirring twice. Walnuts may be toasted at the same temperature for 8-10 minutes.

Book Club Menu*

Entree: Grilled soy shark skewers with mango salsa and jasmine rice. Spinach, strawberry and blue cheese salad.
Dessert: Maple walnut sundaes with vanilla bean ice cream and shortbread cookies.
Drinks: White wine sangria, mint iced tea, cranberry-lime seltzer.

Book read/movie watched: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

*Ask me for recipes if desired.

Fire Ants on a Log

1 stalk celery, cut into 3-4" sections
3 tbsp peanut butter or Nutella
15 dried cranberries

You know what to do.

Apple-Blackberry Brown Betty

1 baking apple, peeled, cored and sliced
1 pint (2 cups) blackberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp cardamom
2 tbsp butter
3 cups stale French, Italian, what-have-you bread, cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 375°. Stir sugar, flour, cardamom and then add apple slices and 1 cup of bread cubes. Gently fold in blackberries till all are coated. Pour filling into 1.5 quart baking dish. Melt butter and pour over remaining two cups of bread cubes, tossing to coat. Bake for 30 minutes until fruit is soft. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream. Serves four.