Single Subject Studies

It's been over a month, but I'm back. So, so happy to be back and brimming with new inspiration! For the last month, posting has been scarce here because I've been hard at work doing the photography for my forthcoming book Flavored Butters. Yes, it's for real, I got the job! And even before the papers were all signed, I dedicated every waking moment to photos of butter and more butter. Four weeks of blending, shaping, styling, and photographing butter. To the point where I even dreamed butter. It's amazing how a study of a single subject can get your creative juices flowing and get you all fired up to work with other ingredients.

And how lucky is this? The day I was finally ready to take a break from all the butter just happened to be the opening of cherry season. Hubby and I hightailed it out to cherry country for some u-picking.

Did you know that you have to risk life and limb for the best cherries?

The sweetest ones are always on the highest branches!

What a luxury—an abundance of cherries and some time to be able to cook and bake just for the pleasure of it. Needless to say, I have embarked upon another single subject study…

Stay tuned—there are more cherry recipes to come!

Cherry-Custard Tart
Printable Recipe

1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound cherries, pitted
1 partially baked 9-inch Pâte Sucrée Tart Crust

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Blend together the egg and yolk in a small bowl. Stir in the cream, sugar, and vanilla. Spread the cherries in the bottom of the tart crust. Slowly pour in the egg mixture. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set. Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or until firm. Cut the tart into portions and serve immediately.

Makes 1 9-inch tart, serving 8. This tart is perfect in the summer, when cherries are in season.

Working on Cookbooks Two and Now Three

It's official, I have a signed contract in my hand. Which means I can finally tell you the big news—I've got a THIRD cookbook in the works! It'll be all about marinades, and it's slated for publication in the spring of 2014. I've already begun recipe development and testing—15 down out of 200. At the same time, I'm still in the midst of working on Flavored Butters. Every meal at my house involves something that's soaked in a marinade and then topped with a compound butter, and I can tell you things have been very tasty lately. This is such an exciting time. I've never been so inspired as I am at this very moment!

So here's a recipe for a side that I served with one of my many marinated, butter-topped creations. Of course, it was inspired by the goodness at the farmers market. Substituting chard for the traditional spinach yields a dish with more flavor and texture.

Creamed Chard
Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ yellow onion, diced
1 1-pound bunch Swiss chard, preferably rainbow chard, stems and ribs diced and leaves cut into 1-inch strips, blanched, and squeezed dry
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup heavy cream
Generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Generously butter 4 individual baking dishes. Heat a medium, heavy sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the remaining butter and the onion and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, or until soft. Add the chard stems and ribs and sauté another 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 1 to 2 minutes more, or until fragrant. Remove from the heat, stir in the chard leaves, cream, and nutmeg, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide among the baking dishes and sprinkle evenly with the Parmegiano. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling around the edges. Serve immediately.

Serves 4. It’s important to squeeze all of the liquid from the blanched chard leaves or the dish will be soupy. The recipe can be prepared up to a day in advance, covered, and refrigerated and baked right before serving.

Colorful Carrots and Other Exciting Things

Exciting things are happening around here. Exciting things like…

The summer issue of Cooking Club magazine just arrived! I'm super excited to see it because it contains four recipes by yours truly. If Asian Pork Tenderloin with Sriracha Dipping Sauce, Chicken Salad with Pine Nuts and Feta, Ratatouille Pasta, and Chipotle Macaroni Salad with Chicken and Corn sound good to you, then you've got to check out the "Weeknight Cook" column (on page 44). All of the recipes can be prepared in under half an hour, and they're absolutely delicious, even if I do say so myself.

Also, the summer Clark College class schedule just came out. I'll be teaching Fabulous Frozen Desserts and Seafood Primer. Please join me in the kitchen! Current class listings can always be found in the Cooking Classes, Book Signings & Appearances sidebar on the right.

Then there's the farmers market. After endless months of Pacific Northwest rain and gloom, the early season farmers market is as exciting as anything can be around here. Just have a look at what I discovered on a recent trip.

The most stunning carrots. Purple Haze, White Satin, Jet Black, and Creme de Lite carrots.

Every year, I look forward to this season and the abundance of local produce it brings with the greatest anticipation, and now it's finally here. Exciting and inspiring!

And there's even more exciting news coming. BIG news. News I hope to share very soon, so stay tuned!

Spicy Carrot Salad
Printable Recipe

1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
Generous pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt
4 large carrots, julienned

Whisk together the rice vinegar, garlic, sugar, cayenne, and oil in a small bowl. Toss together the carrots and dressing in a large bowl and season to taste with salt. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish.

Passion Fruit Cake for My Fourth Blogiversary

This month marks the fourth blogiversary of Hungry Cravings. It blows my mind that the little blog I started way back in 2008 is still going strong and now has almost 250 recipes to its name. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you, dear reader, for inspiring me and supporting me. Thank you for sharing my passion for food and cooking. I love this virtual space of mine, and I always look forward to when you visit me here. I think Hungry Cravings turning four calls for a celebration. And you know what any good celebration needs? Cake!

Passion Fruit Cake
Printable Recipe

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
9 ½ ounces all-purpose flour
4 ounces cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
13 ounces sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 ounces milk, at room temperature
1 recipe Swiss Buttercream
4 ounces passion fruit puree
1 recipe Passion Fruit Curd

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter 2 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Sift together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on high for 3 to 4 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly combined and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then ½ of the milk, then 1/3 of the flour mixture, then the remaining ½ of the milk, and then the remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture, mixing on low for only a few seconds after each addition until just combined, and stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Do not overmix. Divide the batter among the cake pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the edges of the cakes start to shrink away from the pans and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Invert onto cooling racks and finish cooling completely.

In a mixer fitted with a whip attachment, whip the buttercream and passion fruit puree until smooth, stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Using a long serrated knife, level the tops of the cake layers. Place a dollop of the buttercream onto a 9-inch cake circle and top with one cake layer cut side down. Transfer about a quarter of the buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe a circle around the top edge of the cake layer. Spread the curd evenly on top of the cake layer inside of the circle of buttercream. The circle of buttercream will act as a dam to keep the curd from oozing out. Top with the remaining cake layer cut side down. Spread and pipe the remaining buttercream evenly over the top and sides of the cake in a decorative manner. Cut into portions and serve.

Makes 1 9-inch cake, serving 8. In addition to the passion fruits for the curd recipe, you will need 6 to 7 passion fruits to make the buttercream in this recipe. When buying passion fruits, look for fruit that's shrinkled—that's my word for shrunken and wrinkled—and trust me when I say there's no better way to describe a ripe passion fruit. To make passion fruit puree, halve the passion fruits, scoop out the flesh using a spoon, and strain it through a fine mesh sieve. Cake keeps for 2 to 3 days tightly sealed in the refrigerator.