Summer Fruit Clafouti in an Iron Skillet

This recipe for clafouti, a classic French dessert, is a potluck staple of mine and one that gets recipe requests everytime. The peaches which are ripe this time of year make this recipe delicious. I made a cherry clafouti that was a special request recently.

I love the name and it’s a custard type dessert but the wine makes it oh la la!

4-5 ripe peaches

(or the equivalent in weight of plums, pears, apples, strawberries, blackberries, cherries, cranberries, or any combination thereof)

1 cup Riesling, Moscato or other sweet, fruity wine

5 tablespoons butter

4 large eggs

1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar (depending on fruit)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup flour

1 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.

Cut fruit into 1/4-inch wedges (or pit and halve cherries) and macerate in a bowl with the wine for 20 minutes. Leave peels on fruit - they add to a colorful presentation. Melt butter in a medium-sized pot over low heat. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Whisk in eggs, sugar, salt. Whisk in flour until combined well. Whisk in, until smooth, milk butter, vanilla, and 1/4 cup wine from the fruit mix. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fruit to bottom of baking dish or iron skillet (which have been sprayed with cooking spray.) Pour batter over fruit (fruit will float to top). You can even sprinkle on a few sliced almonds if you like. (The rest of the wine the fruit soaked in can now be used for sangria or just sipped straightaway!) Bake in upper third of the oven until puffed and set in the center, 55-60 minutes.

Carrot Cake Muffins with a melting pool of Cream Cheese Filling

Carrot make for a moist muffin and surprise - a melting pool of sweetened cream cheese filling.

FILLING

one 8-ounce package cream cheese

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

MUFFINS

2-1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup grated carrots, lightly packed

1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a standard 12-well muffin pan. Or line the pan with paper muffin cups, and grease the cups.

2) To make the filling: Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat on low power for 40 seconds. Stir in the sugar and flavor. Set aside.

3) To make the muffin batter: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

4) In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, and oil.

5) Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

6) Fold in the grated carrots, stirring to combine.

7) Drop about 2 tablespoons of the batter (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here) into each muffin cup, spreading it to cover the bottom.

8) Dollop on a heaping tablespoon of filling; a level tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.

9) Cover with enough batter to fill the muffin cups quite full. The batter will come to within about 1/4" to 3/8" of the top of each muffin cup. Top with a sprinkling of sugar if you like. But don't try to use all the batter; unless you have particularly deep cups, you'll have abut 1/3 cup batter left over. Bake it in a separate custard cup, if desired.

10) Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the cake part of one (not into the cream cheese filling) comes out clean, about 20 minutes. The tops of the muffins will feel firm to the touch.

11) Remove the muffins from the oven, and as soon as you're able to handle them, transfer them to a rack. If you serve the muffins warm, the filling will be molten. If you wait for them to cool, it'll firm up.

Yield: 12 filled muffins plus 1 unfilled muffin.

Fried Green Tomatoes with Southern Pimento Cheese Appetizers - now that's a mouthful of yum!

Want to taste a bite of Southern cooking at its best? Serve up an appetizer of Fried Green Tomatoes with Pimento Cheese and Bacon Crumbles . . . good with wine, beer, martinis, Jack Daniels, or simply sweet tea! There are many recipes for fried green tomatoes, but I always sprinkle a pinch of sugar on them before dipping them in the batter and it neutralizes the acidity and I think really improves their taste.

 

The simple blend known as pimento cheese is the epitome of comfort food. It is so ingrained in the lives of most Tennesseans that it’s hard to imagine that it exist only in the South. A pimento cheese sandwich on white bread (usually with the crust cut off) has long been a staple of any table south of the Mason Dixon line, at picnics, church pot luck suppers, or as funeral food. This authentic Southern delicacy has been around since the beginning of the 20th century and every good cook has their own recipe.

Southern Pimento Cheese

8 ounces extra sharp Cheddar

8 ounces American or White Cheddar

1/2 cup mayonnaise (Duke’s or homemade)

1 2-ounce jar of pimentos,

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Dash of onion powder

Dash red pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Blend pimentos and cheese in food processor until well blended. Add dry ingredients and mayonnaise and blend. Last add Worcestershire sauce. Add more mayonnaise as needed for preferred consistency. Scrape sides of bowl to ensure well-blended texture.

 

Cooked Pimento Cheese

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 small jar pimentos, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon sweet pickle juice

1/4 cup milk

1 pound Velveeta cheese

Combine in medium saucepan, all ingredients except pimentos. Cut cheese into small blocks and let melt over medium heat with other ingredients in saucepan. When cheese is melted combine pimentos with mixture. Stir and store in the refrigerator.

Welcome to my Queendom - Adorable Whimsical Art

Oh well I wish I could flip this priceless design but I'm computer challenged. I adore these whimsical reflections of life created by Mary Beth Hyman of Bolivar Tennessee. Mary Beth is known affectionately my many as the Queen Bee and this is one of her many handpainted plaques. Who doesn't love a tiara . . . and that just makes us the queen of our own worlds - n'est pa?

mbqueenbee@hotmail.com You can contact her as she ships around the world and can personalize your design if you like. . . they are so whimsical and just make you smile! happy times in your queendom!

Oven Roasted Green Beans with Sliced Garlic

This is a great accompaniment to any dinner. I often serve with grilled herb chicken breast and Parmesan corn pudding. You can adapt this recipe to your taste - chopped taragon instead of parsley; add crumbled bacon; use sesame oil and toss with water chestnuts for Asian flavors; substitute pine nuts for almonds and basil for parsley for an Italian side dish;  etc. Enjoy!

1 pound fresh green beans

6 shallots, peeled, and cut into thin slices

5 large cloves garlic, peeled and cut into thin slices

3 tablespoons light olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup almonds, sliced and toasted

1 teaspoon lemon zestPreheat oven to 450 degrees. Snip ends from green beans. Peel and slice shallots and garlic, then place with beans in bowl. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper; toss well.

Spray sheet pan with nonstick spray, then arrange the vegetables in a single layer. (Cover the pan with foil, then spray the foil for even easier clean-up.) Roast 12-15 minutes for thin beans; slightly longer for regular beans - until beans are slightly shriveled, and shallots and garlic are lightly browned.

While beans cook, toss together chopped parsley, toasted almonds and lemon zest. When beans are done, toss hot beans with parsley/lemon/almond mixture and serve immediately.