Intercontinental Peanut Butter Bread

This quick-bread has its beginnings in Japan (bear with me -this is a long roundabout story).

Way back in 1991, before the internet, before easy access to things no matter where you are in the world, a couple of crazy American gals found themselves in Japan - and craving peanut butter.

Not the "peanut spread" that was available in Japan at the time (think very sweet peanut butter flavored cream donut filling) but real, honest to goodness, American peanut butter.

We found it - but only by ordering it by the case. 36 LARGE jars per case - and no mixing of crunchy or creamy. Even dividing it up between friends, we each ended up with a LOT of peanut butter.

Somehow in looking for other creative ways to use it, Erleen found a recipe for peanut butter bread in one of her cookbooks. I recall making this frequently, and that my Japanese co-workers and host family were very fond of it -as it was not so sweet.

Fast forward 19 years, and I am hankering peanut-butter bread. Not quite sure where I put my hand written copy of the recipe - I contacted Erleen through Facebook... doubtful that through her move back to the US and then to the UK - not to mention 19 years elapsed time - that she even had this cookbook anymore, much less remembered which book or which recipe.

Thirty minutes later - I had it in my hands again! Ah the wonders of the internet!!!

I baked up two loaves today -one regular and one with chocolate chips added. I did not take step by step photos - I think you can figure that out on your own.

Peanut Butter Bread

2 c. white flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 c. peanut butter
1 c. milk
1 egg, well beaten

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease a loaf pan.
Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix together.
Add the peanut butter, milk and egg.
Mix until well blended.
Spoon into the pan (mix will be very stiff and thick) and bake for about 50-55 minutes.
Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

Options:
Use 'chunky' peanut butter for bits of nut in your loaf.
Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Notes:
Freezes well.
Tends to be a bit moister in the center - verging on undercooked. If anyone knows how to remedy that, please let me know...

rustic rhubarb tart

This recipe first appeared in an earlier post, It's a Memorial Day Cook-Out, but since I just harvested and prepped about 16 cups of rhubarb from our garden, I thought I'd break it out into it's own post.

Rustic Rhubarb Tart

3 c. fresh rhubarb, peeled, and cut into 1/2” pieces and blanched**
1 refrigerated pie crust, at room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. tapioca
Fresh nutmeg
Cinnamon
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
Whipped cream and honey, for garnish

** Due to the short baking time of a tart over a pie, I was concerned with how well the rhubarb would soften in the oven, so I decided to blanche the rhubarb for a few seconds in a pot of boiling water, and then quickly into an ice bath to cool. Peeling the rhubarb also helps. Oh, and did I mention the rhubarb is from our garden?

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Place rhubarb in a small bowl and sprinkle with the half of the sugar and the tapioca. If the rhubarb is particularly tart, go ahead and add the rest of the sugar. Let rest while the oven warms and the pie crust is prepped. This will draw some water out of the rhubarb.

3. Cover a baking sheet with parchment. (Tip: a few shots of cooking spray will help hold the parchment in place on the baking sheet.)

4. Carefully roll out the pie crust onto the parchment, and repair any tears or holes.

5. Spoon the half the rhubarb onto the center of the pie crust, leaving about a two inch border from the edge. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar, cinnamon, and a few grates of fresh nutmeg. Repeat with the rest of the rhubarb, and a bit more sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.6. Carefully start forming the pie crust into a tart around the rhubarb by folding and overlapping the edge. Brush the folded crust with the melted butter, and lightly sprinkle on a bit of sugar and cinnamon.
7. Place on the center rack of your 400 degree oven, and bake for 35-40 minutes, but start watching it after 25 minutes, until it is golden brown and delicious.
8. Remove from oven and cool before serving. Garnish with local honey and whipped cream (please, make your own if you have the time… from local heavy cream, or course!)
Enjoy!

Matt

pork n' pork n' grits

Quick post/recipe here. Played around with a new dish tonight that I think will need to be revisited and tweaked -- definitely a good start.

Start with a pork tenderloin -- should be about 2-3 inches in diameter. Sprinkle with ginger, a bit of cinnamon and cumin, some sugar and kosher salt, then the zest of one orange.
Because the tenderloin is relatively lean, and because bacon is delicious, wrap the tenderloin in bacon. Sprinkle on a bit more kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, then pop in a 400F oven until cooked to your liking.

In the meantime, cook up some grits. I usually figure on about half a cup of grits per person, which is a generous portion. First off, don't use instant grits! Instant grits taste like, well, nothing. Find yourself some good, quality grits. Cook them in milk, and be sure to add some butter -- not Paula Dean quantities of butter, but a generous amount. I like using unsalted butter so that I can adjust the salt levels separately. Keep adding milk as they cook to keep the consistency creamy.
Once the pork is done, be sure to let it rest for a while before slicing it.

Pile of grits on the plate... a couple of slice of the pork on top... a dusting of parsley and paprika to finish it. Quite tasty!
I'm open to some suggestions for vegetables to add to this dish. Any ideas? Anyone?

epic cooking: beef bourguignon

Finally, back to food blogging. It's been far too long, so I thought I'd start back with something special -- Beef Bourguignon. Here's the recipe from Fine Cooking, which contains a daunting list of ingredients and a lengthy list of instructions for assembly. (Can I call it epic?)

The cooking took place on top of a mountain in Saluda, NC, with Jeff and I taking care of the work for our ladies. Cooking began the evening of January 1st, reducing 2 bottles of red wine for marinating 6 lbs of gloriously marbled beef. After about 90 minutes, the beef was soaking happily amongst reduced wine and the aromatics.
Cooking resumed the next morning at around 10 in the morning: searing the beef, sauteing the vegetables and further reducing the marinade. Everything went back into my new cast iron dutch oven (thanks mother-in-law!) for a long cook at 325F.

Meanwhile, the 'garnishes' were prepared: pearl onions, bacon and mushrooms, all sauteed in butter to absolute deliciousness.A few more steps later and the garnishes joined the beef and thickened sauce for a final simmer on the stovetop. Bread was fried in olive oil (wow!) and it was all served up family style in a great ceramic platter available to us in the cabin. A tasty salad, a bottle of red wine and a bottle of Westmalle Trippel completed the meal.
Extremely tender beef. A rich and complex sauce. This recipe certainly is a lot of work, but if you have the time and motivation, it is absolutely worth it. Hours of cooking over two days, eaten with the best of friends, and overlooking an incredible mountain view -- a memorable meal, indeed.

Sorry, we've been a bit busy lately...

Hey, we've been on a bit of a "blog-cation" while taking care of dayjobs, housework, and other Summer stuff. But have no fear, we'll be starting back up VERY soon, with plenty of new recipes, tips, tricks (sorry, none of us REALLY juggle chainsaws), hints and more!

Thanks for stopping by!

The 50 Mile Circle Results

Our latest challenge on Any Ideas for Dinner was The 50 Mile Circle. Competitors were asked to create a meal using primarily ingredients from within 50 miles of their homes.

This was a hard-fought match between our two contenders: Matt's Upstate New York Memorial Day Cook-Out and Bill's Locavoracious Bostonian Cuisine. Unlike Round 2 (where I was soundly defeated), there was no clear winner, so I decided to break it down into highly scientific and quantifiable categories*

Category	Matt	Bill
Usage of Personal Garden	1	1
Locally Fermented Beverage	1	1
Holiday-Themed Bonus	1	--
Homemade Cooking Contraption	--	1
Meal Completeness	1	--
Quality Prose	--	1
Photography	1	--
Plating & Presentation	--	1
Total	5	5

*Not at all scientific.

So, this leaves us with a tie on the super-scientific scorecard. Way to go, science. Pah! I guess this comes down to my own judgment, then!

The lobster-stuffed uber-ravioli with handmade herb-pasta were certainly impressive and mouth-watering. Matt's Memorial Day cookout complete with grilled sausage, potato AND pasta salad, and finished with that rhubarb tart made me wish I had been eating that on my own back deck. Those who know me well enough would think the use of mushrooms in both of Bill's dishes would dock him some points -- well, I've grown to like mushrooms a bit now!

In the end, by the very narrowest of margins, I hereby declare Matt the winner of Challenge 3. (Give your rhubarb tart a thank-you...)

(This was some seriously tough competition. The bar keeps getting raised)

It's a Memorial Day Cook-out!

Now THAT’s my kind of challenge! We have trying to eat as local as possible, and given the weekend of this challenge, there was only one way to go:

COOK-OUT!

Heck, the great American cook-out originated in Western NY. From "real" hot dogs and classic mustards, to fresh salads and canned beer, nothing says "Honey! Hold onto the tater salad, I'm firin' up the grill!" like a traditional cook-out.

So go set up the sprinkler on the lawn, dust off the lawn chairs, put on your plaid shorts, and enjoy the "unofficial" start of Summer!

Cook-out Menu

• Grilled Zweigle’s White Hots with DiPaolo Rolls, served with Elba red onions, French’s mustard and Heluva Good! Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• Barilla Pasta Salad with local veggies & herbs*
• Marion (NY) Potato Salad with local veggies & herbs*
• "Really Local" Rhubarb Tart
• High Falls Brewing Company's Genny Light

*While we were able to get some local veggies and herbs, we're just a bit out of season for all of them. Our local farmer markets and grocery stores are great for local fruits and vegetables... when in season.

Here we go...
Barilla (Avon, NY Plant) Pasta Salad
1/2 lb. Barilla Plus Multigrain Rotini, cook as per package directions, drained and cooled.
1/2 c. orange, red or yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 c. red onion, diced
1 c. grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 c. celery, diced
1/2 c. seedless cucumber, diced
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 c. flat leaf parsley, freshly chopped
1” of pepperoni, diced
3-4 Tbsp Italian-style oil dressing

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine everything, except the dressing.
2. Mix in 2 Tbsp. of dressing and check coverage. You’ll want to just coat everything, but not drown it. Add additional dressing, if needed.
3. Move to a suitable bowl, cover and refrigerate. This is best when allowed to mellow in the fridge for a few hours prior to serving.


Marion (NY) Potato Salad

2-1/2 lbs. white potatoes, washed but not peeled, 1/2-3/4” dice
1/2 c. orange, red or yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 c. red onion, diced
1/2 c. celery, diced
1/4 c. flat leaf parsley, freshly chopped
2 large eggs, hard-cooked and chopped

dressing:
2 Tbsp. spicy or Dijon mustard
4 Tbsp. light mayonnaise
1-1/2 tsp. dried dillweed
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1. Place the diced potatoes in a large pot, and cover with cold water. Add about 1 Tbsp. of kosher salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the water boils, let the potatoes cook for about 15 minutes, checking for doneness after 10 minutes. Potatoes should keep the shape, and not be mushy. When done, drain and let the potatoes cool in a large mixing bowl.
2. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Combine the remaining ingredients in the large mixing bowl, and stir in the dressing

4. Move to a suitable bowl, cover and refrigerate to allow the flavors to mellow for a few hours prior to serving.

"Really Local" Rhubarb Tart
3 c. fresh rhubarb, peeled, and cut into 1/2” pieces and blanched**
1 refrigerated pie crust, at room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. tapioca
Fresh nutmeg
Cinnamon
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
Whipped cream and honey, for garnish

** Due to the short baking time of a tart over a pie, I was concerned with how well the rhubarb would soften in the oven, so I decided to blanche the rhubarb for a few seconds in a pot of boiling water, and then quickly into an ice bath to cool. Peeling the rhubarb also helps. Oh, and did I mention the rhubarb is from our garden?

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Place rhubarb in a small bowl and sprinkle with the half of the sugar and the tapioca. If the rhubarb is particularly tart, go ahead and add the rest of the sugar. Let rest while the oven warms and the pie crust is prepped. This will draw some water out of the rhubarb.
3. Cover a baking sheet with parchment. (Tip: a few shots of cooking spray will help hold the parchment in place on the baking sheet.)

4. Carefully roll out the pie crust onto the parchment, and repair any tears or holes.

5. Spoon the half the rhubarb onto the center of the pie crust, leaving about a two inch border from the edge. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar, cinnamon, and a few grates of fresh nutmeg. Repeat with the rest of the rhubarb, and a bit more sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
6. Carefully start forming the pie crust into a tart around the rhubarb by folding and overlapping the edge. Brush the folded crust with the melted butter, and lightly sprinkle on a bit of sugar and cinnamon.
7. Place on the center rack of your 400 degree oven, and bake for 35-40 minutes, but start watching it after 25 minutes, until it is golden brown and delicious.
8. Remove from oven and cool before serving. Garnish with local honey and whipped cream (please, make your own if you have the time… from local heavy cream, or course!)
All that's left to do is grill up the white hots (you DO have enough propane, right? Go here and check.), serve up the salads, crack open a beer, and enjoy.... Ahhhh..... That's the taste of Summer...

Enjoy!

Matt