Fine Cooking

www.adamdaley.com

The summer isn’t summer unless I go to the beach at least twice a week, ogle lifeguards there, lounge outside nightly with a beer or cocktail, shop for veggies and fruit at a farmer’s market, and whip up alfresco meals with the produce I bring home. This all sounds like fun and games––and it is! ––but it does require some planning.

Weeks before lifeguards grace the beach, I map out my schedule to make sure these seasonal activities happen. First, I make a commitment to hitting the beach on my free days from work, even if for an hour or two. Next, preferably on a rainy day in early June, I pull every summer issue of Fine Cooking from my bookshelf and leaf through them, jotting down the issue and page numbers of all the dishes that I want to prepare in the next three months. If I don’t prepare each and every one of those recipes, I’ll feel as though I’ve deprived myself of summer.

www.finecooking.com

With all the cooking magazines available on the market, why do I turn to Fine Cooking for inspiration every summer? A good friend from college introduced me to it in the mid-1990s when she became an editor there, and I have been faithful ever since. Fine Cooking’s a truly special magazine. First and foremost, it’s totally devoted to cooking, striving to “bring out the cook in you.” Even all the advertisements are endemic, meaning that they pertain to culinary items only, not to watches, automobiles, or cruises. Also distinctive about Fine Cooking is that every single recipe is tested multiple times to ensure that its method is foolproof and the resulting dish is yummy. Very few publications go to this effort. Furthermore, Fine Cooking believes that there is more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak. While some magazines (well, one in particular), publish the one, true way to roast a chicken, for example, Fine Cooking accepts that culinary experts will have different, but equally successful methods to execute the same dish. This attitude underscores the creative aspects of cooking and encourages flexibility instead of rigidity.

While most cooking magazines tend to focus on trends, Fine Cooking concentrates on what works and tastes good. This means that summer after summer I can revisit recipes, even ones over ten years old, and never sense that they feel dated. They just taste exceptional. With just two or three weeks of summer left, I had better be quick about finishing my list of recipes from Fine Cooking!

www.finecooking.com

Next up is a lunch of Ditalini with Tomatoes, Capers & Lemon Oil, followed by a tart grown-up popsicle with vodka. When my stepfather, who doesn’t like cold soups, is away, I’ll make my mom zippy Andalusian gazpacho, and when he returns, I’ll offer a warm summer corn soup with marjoram . With the grill fired up, a cocktail of limencello, gin, and grilled thyme will introduce the main attraction of grilled cherry tomato pasta with crisp breadcrumbs and basil. 

Suitable to consult any time during the summer is Fine Cooking’s ingenious “Create Your Own” feature. By following a general cooking method instead of a fixed recipe, you can prepare a meal with whatever seasonal goodies you have on hand. For a side dish, create a novel potato salad, and for dessert, a soulful fruit crisp.

There are too many delicious recipes to list here. Instead I encourage you to check out the recent issue of Fine Cooking at Sickles’ check-out line and visit its inspiring Web site. If, however, cooking isn’t your thing, but gardening, sewing, woodworking, or homebuilding is, then visit the Web site of the Tauton Press, the publisher, to learn about their other exceptional magazines, Fine Gardening, Threads, Fine Woodworking, and Fine Homebuilding.

I also urge you at the beginning of each season to write your own list of new and old recipes that will help you celebrate the time of year.  Just be sure to make time to cook them. (And feel free to ogle a lifeguard or two!)

Diana the Cheesemonger

Labor-Free Entertaining

Labor Day looms like the first day of work after a long weekend. As usual the summer has raced by, and now, no doubt, you’re regretting not having fully embraced its carefree joyousness. Springtime visions of throwing festive parties al fresco are waning like a harvest moon, especially in the face of demanding errands that need to be completed before the start of autumn. On top of that, the cost of hosting a gathering seems prohibitive in these tough economic times.

Don’t fret! There’s still plenty of time to throw a party and to do it with minimal stress and expense. The secret is to recast your vision of the perfect summer party into something more realistically manageable. Here are three ways to do so: 

1). Collaborative Effort: Why stress out yourself—and your wallet––by going at it solo? Have your guests contribute food and drink. This is definitely a winning tactic. In mid-August I attended an absolutely delightful party to which I was asked to bring something to eat or drink. The hostess was a bit apologetic about her request, explaining that in the past, before the economic downturn, she would have provided everything. We guests didn’t mind at all. We were thrilled that she was opening her beautiful home to us for a party (after all, every party needs a place to happen). On top of that, we learned about one other from our respective offerings. An added benefit of a collaborative effort is that the host doesn’t have to run around during the party; he/she can relax and socialize with guests. Isn’t this the way your party should be?

2). Casual Picnic: Bring the party outside, away from ornate chairs with cushions and tables with flower arrangements, to keep things easy and fun. The highlight of my summer was the numerous picnics I enjoyed on Sandy Hook with friends. On Sundays we would meet at 5 p.m., after I got out of work, and on Wednesdays around the same time for the free concert series. We would bring whatever munchies we had on hand, which were usually nothing special—crackers, chips, hummus (homemade or store bought), cheese (of course!), olives, etc––and beer and cocktails transported in clean deli containers. With drinks and nibbles in hand, we would chat on the sand until after the sun went down. If that’s not taking advantage of the long, warm days of summer, I don’t know what is!

3). Cupboard Cuisine: How many times have you shopped at Sickles and run into a friend and said, “We should definitely get together this summer,” but for whatever reason, time rushes by and this get-together never happens? Well, invite your friend over now! But don’t feel as though you need to spend hours studying cooking magazines to whip up a gourmet meal. Just offer a meal or hors d’oeuvres prepared with whatever’s in your cupboard. Be assured that your guest will be delighted, even if dinner is a 1970s-inspired vegetarian dish like the ones my roommate in New York City used to serve friends. Entertaining doesn’t have to mean shopping and cooking all day, but it does mean that it’s a good idea to have some staples in your cupboard and fridge, such as pasta, olives, crackers, cheese, hummus, and cocktail nuts. Take something out of the cupboard and share it with your friend. This modest but generous act can create a party.

Just do it––reach out to your friends and gather them for an impromptu gathering before summer slips by. And by all means enjoy yourself! By the way, if you have other ideas for easy entertaining, please share them in the comment space.

Diana the Cheesemonger

A Midsummer Night’s Salad

“Lettuce is like conversation, it must be fresh and crisp, so sparkling that you scarcely notice the bitter in it.” 

Charles Dudley Warner

When I was young, the task of preparing the salad for the family meal often fell to me, and I would spend an inordinate amount of time decoratively arranging and rearranging the cucumbers, mushrooms and tomatoes atop the bowlful of greens.  Back then, the lettuce of choice was iceberg or romaine, with a rare appearance from red leaf on special occasions.  Thousand Island dressing was my absolute favorite of favorites, and the more croutons the better!

http://www.piazzaduomoalba.it

Fast forward a few decades and one can see that salad, along with music, sideburns and skirt lengths, has changed dramatically.  Salad has taken center stage in the food world, offering endless variety and creative options.  At the Michelin-starred Piazza Duomo restaurant in Alba, Italy, you can even find a salad with twenty one different greens, herbs and edible flowers.  A far cry indeed from salad’s early iceberg beginnings.

www.epicurious.com

My love affair with salad and all things lettuce has continued through the years.  My husband and I gather informally a few times a year with a group of friends to try out new recipes, enjoy good company, delicious food and wine.  Each one of us seems to have an affinity for a particular food group.  Ilene is truly gifted in the soup department, Pola has perfected the art of bread making, and Pat’s desserts would rival any restaurant in New York City. I usually end up with the salad course, which is fine by me.  The biggest challenge is trying to come up with an exceptional salad for this tough foodie crowd.  At our last gathering, I turned to my trusted companion, The Complete Book of Dressings by Paulette Mitchell.  I usually find inspiration in this little book, packed with one hundred dressings as well as tips and suggestions for dressing uses.  I eventually settled on the Pineapple-Sesame Vinaigrette over Boston Bibb lettuce, garnished with fresh papaya, avocado slices and toasted almonds.  The salad was a huge success and it is very low in fat calories besides.  The perfect summer salad!

http://www.dartagnan.com

Salad also makes a refreshing entrée during these hot, muggy days of summer.  I like to crisp up D’Artagnan Duck Confit legs on the grill and then serve them over mixed greens with sliced mission figs and crumbled goat cheese.  Drizzle a little fig balsamic and walnut oil and you have a very easy and elegant supper.  Instead of the duck, you can substitute chicken breast or thinly sliced filet of beef or pork tenderloin.  For a refreshing entrée when you don’t feel like turning on the oven, try some Summer Lettuce Wraps, the creation of Chef Anthony Eugenio of the Ocean Beach Club in Elberon. This spicy wrap is chock full of vegetables, including my favorite, jicama, a sweet and crunchy root vegetable, high in Vitamin C.

Hopefully, these salad ideas will inspire you to experiment with the amazing bounty of greens available this time of year.  May the rest of your summer be fresh and crisp, like your lettuce!

Enjoy!

Cheri the Cheesemonger

P.S.  For those of you who read my last blog, My Favorite Italians, we now have Nicasio Square cheese from Marin County, CA.  We are one of the only cheese shops on the East Coast to have this organic, artisanal, tallegio style cheese.  You will not want to miss the experience so come by Sickles and try some!

My Favorite Italians

While I was watching television the other night, I started thinking about the old Family Feud game show and that an excellent question for the program would be: “Name the top five favorite Italian Cheeses” (Sadly, this is how a cheesemonger’s mind works.) After quizzing the studio audience, I am certain that mozzarella and parmesan would be at the top of the popularity list. They are perennial favorites at Sickles Market, even more so during these summer months. Now, the next three cheeses are a little more challenging. Which ones to choose? Provolone or pecorino romano? Fresh ricotta perhaps or a nutty fontina? Gorgonzola is a huge favorite, both the creamy dolce and the more crumbly mountain versions. I’m not sure I would win the final round of Family Feud, but I do know that there are two cheeses that deserve to be on the most popular Italian list: robiolas and taleggios.

Piedmont, Italy, a veritable food lover’s mecca, where fertile valleys meander through alpine foothills, is the home of the robiola. This romantic cheese has been described by Anthony Capella, author of The Food of Love, as “a soft, creamy pillow of a cheese that tastes lushly of the herb-filled meadows on which the livestock graze…” The soft ripened, aromatic robiola has an ancient history, having been traced as far back as the first century to the farmers of the Alta-Langa region. The variations on robiolas are as numerous as the cheesemakers and the villages they hail from. Some cheeses are aged for months in caves, others for weeks. Some robiolas are wrapped in fig leaves or, in the case of the Robiola de Capra Incavolata, swaddled in cabbage leaves. One rare robiola even contains grappa, chili and black pepper. You’ll find square robiolas as well as round ones, single milk cheeses and tre latte – cheeses made with a mixture of cow’s, goat’s and sheep’s milk. La Tur and Rocchetta are two such examples. I especially love the Rocchetta with its appealing earthy overtones, silky smooth mouthfeel and lingering finish. Both of these cheeses pair beautifully with the wines of the region, including Piedmont’s own sparkling Asti Spumonti. Robiola Bosina is a sweeter, milder, milky white due latte made of cow’s and sheep’s milks. I love to eat this oozy square-shaped robiola with summer fruits like fresh figs and champagne grapes for a refreshing dessert.

I was thrilled to have an opportunity to attend the Fancy Food Show in New York City this summer, and was even more excited that the event was laden with cheese vendors. Everywhere I turned there was a new cheese to try (even I eventually reached my cheese limit!!) Out of all the phenomenal selections from around the globe, I was most smitten by the Italian taleggio. This semi-soft square cheese has a rosy orange brine-washed rind that is fairly pungent. The paste however imparts a surprising sweetness. There is also a buffalo milk cousin to taleggio worth trying, called Quadrello di Bufala. It is also aged in caves on straw mats and washed in brine, but the milk of the water buffalo is richer than the cow’s milk. Taleggio and Quadrello di Bufala are both excellent melting cheeses and make delicious toppings for a pizza. Try this easy pizza suggestion from Epicurious. Giada has a creative Panini recipe that also works well with summer peaches.

Lastly, I’m hunting down a new cheese that my daughter’s boyfriend’s family is now producing in Northern California, called Nicasio Square, by Nicasio Valley Cheese Company. It too is a taleggio -style washed rind cow’s milk cheese, named and shaped after the Marin County town square by the same name. Cowgirl Creamery has a nice write up on this cheese and its interesting history in their Library of Cheese website. I don’t believe it is available on the East Coast yet, so I’ll let you know when I taste some!

So, I have four of my five answers ready for Family Feud: robiola, taleggio, mozzarella and parmesan. Still working on my last favorite Italian…
Enjoy!

Cheri The Cheesemonger

Don’t Throw in the Trowel!

Garden Center Newsletter

August 3,  2010

Pat Dumas

After the heat and humidity of the hottest summer ever, we are all beat. The garden is too. If you’re like many of us, the heat has taken a huge toll on your plants. Dry, lackluster, and begging for moisture, there are probably a few spaces that need to be filled in, cleaned up and weeded out.

Your garden isn’t dead; it’s just recouping. It’s all part of the cycle-- you plant, they grow, and then they take a beating in the blistering heat of summer. There’s a whole lot yet to be accomplished, and it won’t be a big hassle when you do it. In fact, with the approach of cool weather, it’s one of the best times to plant.

Flowers, trees and shrubs can be planted anytime you can get that shovel in the ground. Where there’s water from your hose, will in your heart, and Sickles around the corner, there’s hope. A few mature fresh plants from our annual, perennial, and tree and shrub yards are willing and able to oblige. With better weather coming in, the newly planted beauties of late summer will thrive until frost. Grit your teeth, pull up the dead, and cut back the scraggly. Top it off by giving a fertilizer cocktail to your garden bed and it will be as good as new. A topping off of mulch does wonders as well-- Right Dress and Bumper Crop adds vigor to stressed-out soil, and protect from the drying effects of the summer heat. There’s life left in the old landscape yet, and you don’t have to break a big sweat to see it bloom beautifully again.

I love to fill in with annuals when the perennial garden fades a bit. Many annuals reseed for next year, and bloom until the frost hits. They add a fast-growing structure where they are needed. Flowers like the beautiful and bushy Pentas make a quick- growing mini-bush in garden beds. They attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and will flower until frost with ease. Lantanas go on and on forever with their multi-colored, neat blooms, and when planted right in your garden, will grow fast and furiously, attracting the birds and the butterflies as well. Rudbeckias blast their yellow and orange colors all over the place, and frequently come back the following year. Delicate looking, but as strong and hardy as a weed, Angelonias rarely need deadheading, and have purple, pink, and white flower spikes that never look shaggy and are always in bloom.

There are many perennials yet to be planted. The late-blooming (September and October) Montauk Daisy creates a gorgeous explosion of white blooms when you need bloom in the garden. Growing like wildfire, Montauks spread out like a big white cushion and create drama anywhere they are planted. The huge saucer-like flowers of the Hardy Hibiscus come into our lives in July and last a good 4 weeks. They lend a “big bang” appearance to the back of garden bed. The plants in the aster family like The New York Aster are just coming into their own in August, and along with the annual mums, create a whole new season in the fall.

Blooming shrubs are not just for spring. The flowers of the Buddleia (Butterfly Bush) bloom all season long and their blossoms are here when the butterflies need them the most in August and September. If you want to see dozens of butterflies and flitting hummingbirds, there is nothing better. It’s a must have. The flowers of the fall blooming Camellia Sasanqua will be with us as soon as the weather cools. Their shiny leaves and blooms of pink, red, and lavender create a nice, upright mounding shrub when planted in a protected southern or eastern exposure. These hardy plants take the cold winter heartily, and tend to have more blooms than their spring blooming Camellia cousins.

Knock Out shrub roses are still with us and will be until the frost comes in. The o' so Easy rambling ground cover rose “Paprika” winds and twines its way along the ground through autumn and repeats prolifically. There is nothing like the sweet fading colors of the last rose of summer to lure us back into the garden as the kids set off for the first days of school.

You’ll find many surprises in your late summer garden. Critters and birds feast on popping seeds and the last drops of nectar, while crickets herald a new season to come. All is not lost, and after July, there’s a whole new blooming world that awaits. Don’t throw in that shovel yet. -- brisker temperatures and soft breezes draw us back into the garden once again.