It's Still Summertime, but........ Transitions at Home and in the Kitchen

Wow, today is the 27th of August! This is usually a mixed blessing for me. I am usually sad to see the Summer coming to an end and the amount of daylight dwindling. But this year, I am definitely happy to have the hot weeks over with, hopefully windows open and no more air conditioning, and turning to a more cozy and cooler feeling. It is a nostalgic time for me at home – I feel like Christin belongs at Field Hockey practice and the kids should be getting ready to return to school. We did take Ryan back to Washington on Saturday, but sadly, the “school days thing” is really over for us. While it is great to see my kids growing up and doing well, it is profoundly sad to think that the years of home-based school-time are over! How did that happen???? I actually found myself reminiscing yesterday about my Mom taking me to Epsteins every August to get new school shoes…..wow, that’s an oldie! I don’t know, late August brings so much nostalgia into focus, for me, anyway.

Today, I am alone in the house and it is quiet and peaceful. I hope I can return to some clear thinking and creative thoughts about food after being too busy and worrying about Kit for weeks. Ryan is back at college and Christin is back in Baltimore.

In the kitchen, it is clearly a conflicting time – still lots of Summertime produce around, yet something starts to tell me to transition, just a little bit and think about the bountiful, and cozy foods of Fall. I was so tempted to make an apple pie yesterday, even though I had a whole collection of peaches left. Instead, I made yet another great batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies. Christin took them back to Baltimore with her, but not before George sneaked a sampling and said they were great! (I will never understand the sans nuts people – seriously, aren’t toasted pecans just mandatory in a recipe such as this?) I used the Saveur Perfect Chocolate Chip cookies recipe as a jumping off point, and did a few adjustments. This is a recipe from David Leite – I did not have any bread flour in the house, did not refrigerate the dough and tossed in all the chocolate chips I had in the house and then chopped up two 4 oz bars of semi-sweet chocolate. The reviews were – thumbs up!

Friday was my husband and my friend Maria’s birthday. We had a little dinner here for 7 which consisted of a menu chosen mostly by George – Marinated Butterflied Leg of Lamb, Heirloom Caprese Salad, Fresh Corn, Roasted Rosemary Potatoes and the Smitten Kitchen birthday cake with Grand Marnier Italian Buttercream and a Peach, Plum and Blueberry Tart. I was basically happy with the dinner with the exception of the cake. I don’t know, I didn’t care for the texture and flavor of the cake – I thought it was way too dense and had an off flavor which I can’t put a finger on. The cake is basically a vanilla cake, with buttermilk and 4 eggs. I don’t know, I didn’t get it. I will have to work on this. Following Florence Fabricant’s recipe for a simple fruit tart in last Wednesday’s NYT Dining Section, I made the tart using a selection of peaches, plums and blueberries I had on hand. This was met with protests of “where’s the custard, Mom” to which I replied, this tart calls for a scoop of ice cream – Alden’s is my new favorite vanilla bean – yum! They did not agree – so I doubt I will be making a custard-less tart again anytime soon!

I see that everyone is into making plum tarts right now, Dorie Greenspan included, so I plan to experiment with plums this week.

For the Butterflied Leg of Lamb – (we got a great one from Barth’s market in New Providence), I always begin with Ina Garten’s Rack of Lamb Recipe and adjust a few ingredients:

1 butterflied leg of lamb – 3-4 lbs.

3/4 cup Grey Poupon coarse grain mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tblsp. fresh rosemary, minced

1 tblsp good quality balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Brush marinade over lamb and let sit, 3o minutes. Grill about 7 minutes per side or until medium rare. Remove from grill and let rest 5-10 minutes. Slice on the diagonal and serve.

I am still enjoying lots of Summertime feel in my NJ garden:

Great Phlox this year!