My amazing, 89 year-old father has endured this past week, a successful 9-hour surgery for pancreatic cancer.  He is exceeding everyone's expectations.  His extremely gifted surgeon Neal Wilkinson at the University of Iowa Hospital, said my father is doing as well or better than his youngest patients have done during recovery after this surgery, and we are all expecting him to continue to improve as each day goes by.
    My hope is that my father is able to play golf every day next summer!  He deserves it after the year he's had.
    And if you're wondering, he was also an amazing baseball player in his younger days. "Buckshot" pitched to Babe Ruth - how cool is that?  

 I thought it strange that I had a craving for iceberg lettuce.  I rarely purchase it.  It may have been because I had all the makings for Roquefort Buttermilk Dressing in my refrigerator -- and once I get a vision inside my little head, there's no getting rid of it (just ask my family about that).  The only thing I did not have was a grilled steak.  That would have been a great follow-up to the chilled wedge of iceberg lettuce drizzled with creamy blue cheese and buttermilk dressing, and sprinkled with pieces of hot, smokey bacon. 


                 ROQUEFORT and BUTTERMILK DRESSING
                                            Gourmet | May 1996

• 1/3 cup well-shaken low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 ounce (about 2 tablespoons) crumbled Roquefort or other blue cheese
• additional blue cheese for sprinkling

   In a blender, blend dressing ingredients until smooth and season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle over wedges of iceberg lettuce and sprinkle with additional blue cheese and pieces of hot bacon.  This recipe makes enough dressing for 4 servings. 
                                    Oh... grill a steak, too.

    I was prepared to make a plum tart I had made many times before.  The recipe calls for almond paste which I had purchased and was ready to chop into small pieces. It would cover the crust and be the base for the plums.  But, at the last minute, I decided to return the almond paste to my pantry and instead grind sliced almonds that I store in my freezer.  Why I did that, I don't know; but I was perfectly happy with the end result. 
    I can't say that this plum tart is the most beautiful fruit tart I have ever made.  It's very basic and rather plain looking.  But the taste was just what I was after; topped with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, you've got one delicious dessert (or, how I finished off the remaining slice -- one delicious breakfast the next morning).

                          
                                        PLUM TART


Preheat Oven to 425˚F

• 1  9-inch round or rectangular tart pan with removable bottom, lined with almond tart pastry and kept chilled until ready to fill
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 3 to 4 plums, sliced
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 cup currant jelly
• splash of brandy, if desired
• vanilla bean ice cream, or sweetened whipped cream for serving

1.  In the bowl of a food processor, finely grind the almonds along with 2 tablespoons of the sugar.  Evenly distribute the almond mixture over the top of the tart pastry.
2.  Place the sliced plums in an overlapping pattern on top of the almond mixture.  Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the plums.
3.  Bake on the middle rack of the oven at 425˚F for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375˚.  Bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crust is a deep golden color.
4.  Meanwhile, heat the currant jelly in a small pan over a low flame.  Add a splash of brandy to the jelly if desired.  When melted and smooth brush the jelly mixture over the hot plum tart.  Cool slightly and serve with vanilla bean ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

   I'm going to go out on a limb here and say... I think this is the best soup I have ever made.  Wow... I know, I can't believe I said that.  How can this soup, and the recipe that I just down-loaded from Cooking.com replace all of my tried and true favorites?  Well, I'll tell you... First of all, it's so easy.

   The pears, squash, tomatoes and leek are chopped into big chunks and roasted with a little olive oil until tender when pierced.  Cooled slightly, the fruits and vegetables are puréed with chicken broth, transferred to a saucepan and heated.  In addition, it's an extremely healthy soup.  I'm sure there are those of you who would opt to delete the blue cheese, but don't do it.  The sweet creaminess of the soup and the salty, richness of the blue cheese are a perfect combination... and that's the best part.  This soup is perfect with a salad and some really good bread on a chilly fall night.

   
                 

      ROASTED PEAR and BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
                    adapted from a recipe in EatingWell magazine
                                    found on Cooking.com

• 2 large, or 3 small pears, peeled, cored and quartered
• 2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 2-inch cubes
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
• 1 large leek, pale green and white parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced and washed thoroughly
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 4 cups organic chicken broth
• Approximately 2/3 cup of any blue-veined cheese (I use Maytag Blue), crumbled
• Thinly-sliced fresh chives

1.  Preheat oven to 400˚F.
2.  Combine pears, squash, tomatoes, leek, garlic, olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in a large bowl; toss to coat.  Spread evenly on a large rimmed baking sheet.  Roast, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 40 to 55 minutes.  Let cool slightly.
3.  Place half of the roasted vegetables into a blender containe, add enough of the chicken broth to make a thick purée and process until smooth.  Transfer to a large saucepan.  Repeat with the remaining vegetables.  Stir any remaining chicken broth into the the vegetable purée in the saucepan.  Season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.
4.  Cook the soup over medium-low heat, stirring until heated through, about 10 minutes.  Divide soup among bowls and garnish with the blue cheese and chives.

   In my mind, nothing comes close to the beauty of a pear.  A plate of pears rivals any floral bouquet, as far as I'm concerned.  And this time of year, there are always pears in my house.  I chose to go sweet in the kitchen with this pear tart.  Pears and almonds are a match made in heaven.  The chocolate is an added bonus.  And, when I'm not baking with pears, they go into salads for our evening meals.

             PEAR TART with CHOCOLATE and ALMONDS

• 1 partially baked 9-inch almond tart shell, cooled (recipe follows)
• 2 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 cup half & half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons blanched almonds
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, grated
• 3 organic Bartlet pears, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise and cored with a melon-baller or small spoon
• Toasted, sliced almonds for sprinkling, if desired

Preheat oven to 325˚F.
1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, 4 tablespoons of the sugar, the half & half and the vanilla.  Set aside.
2.  In the bowl of a food processor, finely grind the almonds with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.  Spoon the ground almond mixture evenly over the top of the partially baked tart shell; sprinkle the grated bittersweet chocolate over the almonds.
3.  Take a pear half and using a sharp knife, make thin slices across the width of the pear, keeping the shape of the pear intact. (See photo above).  Once the pear is entirely sliced, gently press on the pear to slightly spread the slices apart.  Using a metal spatula, carefully transfer the pear half to the tart shell and lay atop the almond and chocolate mixture with the stem end of the pear pointing to the center of the tart.  Repeat with the other pear halves, placing the sliced pears to create a spoke pattern.
4.  Place the tart pan onto a baking sheet and then, very slowly, begin pouring the reserved egg mixture onto the pears.  Pour in just enough so it is easily transported to the middle rack of the oven.  Once inside the oven you can add a little more of the egg custard.  After about 5 minutes of baking, I will very carefully add as much of the remaining custard as I can to the tart shell.
5.  Bake the tart for approximately 45-50 minutes.  If, within the last 5 minutes of baking, the custard still has no color to it, increase the oven temperature to 350˚ and watch closely at this point.  Remove to a cooling rack when custard just begins to turn golden.
6.  Sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds if desired.
  
   
                            ALMOND TART PASTRY

• 2 tablespoons blanched or sliced almonds
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 5 1/3 tablespoons COLD unsalted butter, cubed
• 3 tablespoons ice water

1.  Place the almonds in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground.  Add the flour and salt and pulse to combine.
2.  Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture and pulse briefly, just until small pieces of the butter remain.
3.  Slowly add the ice water while pulsing, until the dough just begins to come together.  Do not over process.
4.  Empty the tart dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, flatten and wrap.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
5.  Remove from refrigerator and roll dough to fit a 9-inch tart pan; trim edge.  Place lined tart pan in freezer while preheating oven.
6.  Preheat oven to 400˚F.  Line the tart shell with foil and beans or rice.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and beans and continue to bake until pastry just begins to turn golden.  Remove and let cool.

   I was hungry, but wanted something simple; something that didn't take a lot of time but left me feeling satisfied.  This is my go-to recipe when I don't feel like melting butter or whipping egg whites to fold into a batter, like so many waffle recipes require.  This recipe for cornmeal waffles couldn't be easier -- the ingredients are thrown into a blender, whipped and poured onto a hot waffle iron. As you can see, we ate our waffles sprinkled with fresh raspberries, but this savory cornmeal waffle would also be great topped with creamed chicken for lunch.  (I have a great recipe for that which I will share with you some time.)  

                           Blender Cornmeal Waffles

• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

   Preheat the waffle iron.  Put all of the ingredients into the blender container; cover and process until dry ingredients are moistened.  You may need to clean down the sides of the container with a rubber spatula.  Do not over-process.  Pour batter onto waffle iron grid and bake until golden, about 3 minutes.

   We were given news this past week -- the kind of news you never want to hear.  My father is very sick.  I have contemplated taking a break from Living Tastefully, but on my return home I realized that not only do I love cooking, baking and photography, it gives me a focus that I need right now.  My posts may not be as frequent over the upcoming weeks.  I will be spending as much time as I can in Iowa with my father.  But please, continue to check back often.  Your visits to my website have meant so much to me.

   I've been loading up on apples. I spent a very rainy day going through recipes -- recipe books, recipe files, stacks of recipes torn from magazines and newspapers, and recipes on the back of store receipts when that was all I had available and needed paper to jot down a sudden inspiration.  The majority of the recipes I set aside were for apples.  I made one, desperate attempt last week to buy peaches.  They smelled so good and I just wasn't ready to move on to "fall" fruits.  But they were horrible - mealy and tasteless.  It was then I knew I had to look seriously at apples. 

   Right now I've been buying McIntosh apples.  They are what I used to make the Apple Cookies with Dried Cranberries and Walnuts -- another recipe that has been languishing in my files for many, many years.

     •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  • 

                   Apple, Dried Cranberry and Walnut Cookies

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 1/2 cup unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup finely chopped apples
• 1 1/2 cup regular oats, uncooked
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1.  Cream butter; gradually add brown sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg and water.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, beating until well-combined.  Gently stir in apples, oats, cranberries and walnuts.
2.  Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 375˚F for 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove to a rack to cool. 

 

    Miss Pips  and I are packed, have said our good-byes, and are headin' down the road.  Who knows where this adventure will lead us?  And, since Pipi insists on driving the first leg, I'm going to get a little shut-eye (Gee, I hope she remembered to bring a map!).  Here's a tasty recipe to tide you over while we're gone.........

    I used Acini di Pepe, a very small tubular pasta, to make this delicious side dish.  If you are unable to find it in your grocery, substitute orzo.

                          • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

                      Ancini di Pepe with Tomatoes and Corn
            loosely adapted from a recipe in Food & Wine | June 2001

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup Acini di Pepe or Orzo
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/4 cup organic chicken broth
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
• 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped basil leaves
• Salt and freshly grated pepper to taste

1.  Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan.  Add the small pasta and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until lightly browned.  Add the onion and cook, stirring for about 1 minute.  Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring for half a minute.  Add the chicken broth, cover pan, and reduce heat to low.  Cook for 12 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.
2.  Stir the tomatoes and corn into the pasta mixture and season with salt and pepper; cook over low heat momentarily to warm the just-added ingredients.  Gently stir the chopped basil and parmesan cheese into the pasta. Serve immediately. 

   I can't tell you enough how much I  loved  this flank steak!  I've had this recipe on file for a couple of years and finally got around to making it.  I was still able to use cherry tomatoes from my garden and it was fantastic!  As far as I'm concerned, if there's Sherry Wine Vinegar in a recipe, it will be a winner.  Sadly, my cherry tomatoes are now finished for this growing season.  If I make this herb-crusted flank steak again, it will have to be with purchased grocery store tomatoes.
   
                      

         Herb-Crusted Flank Steak with Cherry Tomatoes and Olives
                                       Bon Appétit | June 2002

YIELD:  Makes 6 servings

STEAK
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme (I used 1/3 of that amount dried)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2  1 1/2-pound flank steaks
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
TOMATOES
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted brine-cured black olives
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted brine-cured green olives
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar (a must- don't substitute anything else)
FOR STEAK:
1.  Mix first 6 ingredients in small bowl.  Place steaks in large glass baking dish.  Brush steaks with olive oil.  Rub with herb mixture.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.
FOR TOMATOES:
1.  Mix all ingredients in large bowl.  Season tomatoes to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead.  Let stand at room temperature.)
2.  Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat).  Grill steaks until cooked to desired doneness.  Transfer steaks to cutting board.  Cover with foil.  Let stand 5 minutes.
3.  Cut steaks across grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices.  Arrange steak slices on large platter.  Spoon tomatoes with juices over steaks and serve.