Almost like stone soup

In the fairy tale Stone Soup, a stranger (or maybe it was a group of strangers?) visits a village and tricks the residents into providing the ingredients for a soup. I guess there are some morals that one should take from this story, such as the values and merits of sharing, generosity, and cooperation, but what always fascinated me in this story was the idea that they had created a luscious soup out of the most simple of ingredients.



Recently I saw a recipe for saffron tomato soup on the food blog, Confessions of a Tart . The recipe immediately caught my eye because it seemed pretty simple in terms of implementation, plus I didn't have to leave my house to buy ingredients because I had everything that I needed on hand.


In my opinion, the product of this recipe is a stone soup. I say this not because I tricked anyone into donating ingredients to my dinner cause, but rather because the recipe is so simple, requires minimal ingredients and time, and yet the soup comes out tasting so damn good.

The recipe calls for chicken broth and drumsticks. I didn't use drumsticks and used vegetable instead of chicken broth, and the soup came out nicely. Whatever you do, though, don't skimp on the saffron. That's the special ingredient that makes this soup special and not your run of the mill tomato soup.




Tomato Saffron soup, available at Confessions of a Tart

The Dripolator - Asheville's finest

So, being a coffee connoisseur (snob?) can be a burden more than a blessing. I can no longer handle the inadequacy of a 'quick' cup of coffee from some lesser company/roastery/coffee shop. No, it has to be Counter Culture, Stumptown, Gimme!, and it has to be done right (though it's pretty hard to mess up good beans, unless you just make really weak coffee). For that reason, I was very excited to discover the Dripolator.

When you walk into a good coffee shop, you can judge the quality of the place almost immediately. The smell of a fresh pot brewing, the striped down, no frills coffee menu (if you see 'frappucino' you're in the wrong place), and the respect the establishment shows to the company who provides their beans. In this case, the Dripolator serves Counter Culture coffee (no surprise, given the existence of a training center in downtown Asheville), and their appreciation for their beans is pretty obvious throughout the storefront.

Being an appreciator of good coffee means you probably have a thing for well made espresso drinks. I like to judge the quality of a place by their Cappuccino (double, of course. I ain't no light weight). Unfortunately, I failed to capture an image of their cappuccino, but suffice to say it was smooth, rich, and did justice to the company from whom they depend on their beans. And, being a good coffee shop, the barista art was definitely present in the milky-foam that topped my cappuccino.

Now, since we were in Asheville for more than one day, we just had to go back for another round. But this time, I decided to try something different: a Chai (pictured above, set to a background of a soon-to-be completely massacred slice of pie). I asked the waitress if it was house made. Check. I asked her opinion of it. She said, without hesitation, "We are pretty damn proud of our Chai." Well, hell, what choice did I have?

Of course, being a coffee fiend, i had to get The Dirty Chai, which includes two shots of espresso. Note: there was no article in front of the name on the menu, but I feel that its inclusion here emphasizes the singularity of this particular Chai. I can easily say that this is the best enhanced/dirty/red-eye/'whatever you want to call it' Chai I have had the pleasure of consuming. A nice hint of spice and a strong hit of espresso, neither of which was overpowering.

I suggest you try it, or just about anything else they have to offer.

Challah french toast

There's no better Sunday morning than one on which you sleep late, stumble out of bed, make yourself some good strong coffee, and then follow those first sips of coffee by cooking brunch in the kitchen. That's precisely what we did this morning, and it was fantastic.





One of our favorite things to make for brunch--now-- is french toast. I must say "now" because, growing up, I wasn't a french toast fan.


But I think that I know what the problem was: the bread. The trick to making really good french toast is to find yourself some really good, fresh bread.



We've experimented with many types: multi-grain, sourdough loaf, plain ol' white bread...and today we used a nice loaf of challah. I think that this was my favorite, or at least it makes it to the top of my list. It's not so much the flavor of the bread as it is the texture.


You see, many loaf breads are just too wimpy. You dip them in that nice eggy mixture and they just dissolve. Challah on the other hand, well, there's a bread that is up to the challenge.



For our recipe, we generally adapt the Joy of Cooking recipe for french toast:

Whisk together in a shallow bowl:
-2/3 cup milk or half and half (Note: I actually like to use butter milk)
-4 eggs
-2 tablespoons sugar or maple syrup (go for the maple syrup if you can!)
-1 teaspoon vanilla or 1 tablespoon of rum
-1/4 teaspoon salt

One at a time, soak both sides in the egg mixture:

-8 slices white sandwich bread (um...try challah instead!)
-Butter as needed

Brown the bread on each side in a hot well buttered skillet. Serve hot sprinkled with confectioners sugar (or affectionately smothered in maple syrup and topped with a dollop og whipped cream)

Asheville's best kept secret? Sunny Point Cafe

If you have been searching for comfort food that is made with a nearly perfect blend of creativity, fun, and quality, then we may have found the source. Fair warning though; what I'm about to reveal might inspire you to pretend that you are sick, play hooky from work, get in your car, and drive a few (or more) hours. But the drive just might be worth it.

Sunny Point Cafe is a diner-esque restaurant located in West Asheville that features breakfast items that you can order all day long, as well as lunch, dinner, and dessert menus. The food that they serve might be described as southern inspired mexican mixed with diner comfort and just a sprinkling of granola, organic hippy style, and all of this with a twist (they leave off the patchuli extract thank goodness). Looking at the menu and then eating the food, you truly get the sense that the cooks had fun dreaming up and then preparing the dishes. And this feeling transforms itself into an exciting and tasty food experience that comes packaged in a casual and affordable atmosphere.


Take, for example, the juevos rancheros from the breakfast menu: House prepared black bean cakes, plus chorizo, sprinkled with feta cheese and cilantro, topped with a light sour cream, and not smothered by mounds of cheddar cheese, as this dish can so often be.



Or the dish that I ordered, called the Ol' fashioned. Lightly simmered pinto beans and mixed vegetables atop rice, flavored by a nice citrus ginger dressing that comes on the side. All of this served with what might be the best cornbread I've ever eaten, with maple butter.




And finally, our personal favorite of the evening: A savory dish off of the dinner menu that consisted of a waffle (they describe it as yeast risen) and fried chicken; all of this topped with vegetable gravy. I don't even need to describe the dish any further. Don't you just want to try it for yourself?

Unfortunately we were too full to sample dessert but I have definite plans to return to Sunny Point. And you? Why are you still in front of your computer? Okay you might as well fill up your gas tank.

Mississippi 'Meh' Pie

After our recent, and positive, trip to Elmo's diner for peanut butter pie, a friend suggested we give their Mud Pie a shot. Now, judging by the title of this post, you probably have a fairly good idea about where I'm going with this... simply put, it was mediocre.

There really isn't much to a MMP. Chocolate + ice cream (or whip cream, depending on your fancy) + chocolate*more chocolate (this is a synergistic term that indicates our belief that the whole can and should be greater than the sum of its parts); and were success simply left to the first two components of this equation, this pie would have been top notch. However, the synergy hoped for in the last term of our model for successful pie just wasn't there, and the pie was lacking a... how you say... "je ne sais quoi." I think the word I'm looking for is 'flavour'

Of course, this isn't to say it wasn't good. Chocolate is rarely bad, and for going out for a quick sweet tooth fix, I suppose it did the trick. Nonetheless, I doubt ording the MMP will be a repeat event.

Move over Elmo's: My Peanut Butter Pie

This is an all time favorite and one of the first pies that I tried baking. My first attempt was inspired by a request from a picky eater who said that, of the few desserts that he liked, the Elmo's peanut butter pie was at the top of his list. I love a challenge, and so I made it my personal goal to appeal to said picky-eater's sweet tooth, and to make him rave about my peanut butter pie with even greater enthusiasm than that with which he spoke about Elmo's.

At the time, I had not tried Elmo's peanut butter pie. However, I'd eaten on many occasions the peanut butter pie at our local food coop, Weaver Street Market. The creamy chocolatey goodness of their pie appealed to my chocolate sweet tooth. This was the period in my life when I was still sadly and utterly ignorant of the wonders of heavy cream and butter. Therefore, I had no idea how I might bake the pie myself. So one day I worked up the nerve to ask the woman who was working behind the Weaver Street pastry counter if they might give me their recipe. I was expecting her to respond with a scornful nod, "sorry dear, but no..." I was wrong though; the kind woman immediately walked to the back of the kitchen and retrieved the recipe for me! The black box of the chocolate peanut butter pie had been opened, and oh what a revelation this was.

But what, you ask, ever happened to the picky eater? Ah, yes, I must conclude my story of the picky eater and his peanut butter pie. The story has a bit of a sad ending, because it turns out, we lost touch, the picky eater and I. Consequently, he never tried my version of chocolate peanut butter pie, although in my heart I believe that he would have preferred mine to Elmo's. The happy part of this story's end is that his request caused me to discover this recipe, which I now get to share with you.



Finally, I should say that the Weaver Street Market recipe that the woman gave me was written for bulk pie preparation (with ingredient measurements for either 2, 4, or 6 pies). It was also rather cryptic (For example, for 2 pies the recipe calls for 1 unit of cream cheese at room temperature. What does that mean?? 1 cup? 1 tablespoon?). As a result, I had to finagle the ingredient measurements but I finally have a recipe that I feel comfortable sharing.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, or Peanut Butter Silk Pie,

adapted from the Weaver Street Market recipe (which, I've noticed, might be adapted from the Joy of Cooking recipe )

Ingredients:

1 single pie crust, pre-baked

For the ganache:
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream

For the filling:
1/2 cup cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (use creamy for a smooth consistency, chunky for more texture)
1 tablespoon vanilla or almond extract
1 cup heavy cream

To prepare:

1.) Allow the prebaked pie crust to cool to room temperature.

2.) Now, prepare the ganache. Place your chocolate in a sauce pan on medium-low temperature. Stir the chocolate with a wooden spoon, and slowly add the 1/2 cup of heavy cream. The mixture will become smooth and thick.

3.) Once your ganache has become a nice, thick consistency, pour it into the bottom of your pie shell and place in the fridge until it is solid.


4.) While your ganache is chillin' in the fridge (haha) prepare your filling. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, peanut butter, and extract until it is well combined and creamy.


Place that mixture in a bowl and set aside for later.

5.) Now whip the 3/4 cup heavy cream until stiff peaks are formed. Then, gently fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter/cream cheese mixture.


6.) Place your peanut butter/whipped cream mixture in your pie dish on top of the chilled chocolate ganache. Top with chocolate shavings if you wish, and then chill in the fridge.

Enjoy and share with friends. This is a rich and filling pie but so good that people still come back for seconds!

Big Apple "Pancake" for brunch with the sisters

My sister who now lives in Asheville, NC was in town for a brief visit, but she had time for only one meal--brunch. She and my other sister contemplated eating out but I insisted that we stay in. This way, I could try out a new recipe on them!

I had recently been perusing old archived Gourmet Magazine recipes, as a tribute to the canceled magazine. One that immediately caught my eye was their Big Apple Pancake recipe, especially since apple season is now in full swing. It sounded (and looked) delicious and my sisters are generally exceedingly patient when it comes to my trying out new recipes on them.

Well this recipe did not disappoint. It was relatively simple to execute, tasty, and a little bit different from your standard brunch fare. The one comment that my sisters had was that the product does not really taste like a pancake; it's more of a cross between a sponge cake, frittata, french toast, and a pancake. Regardless, this apple whatever-you-call-it is worth making. I highly recommend it, and I'm definitely going to keep this recipe on file for future brunches.



Below is the recipe. I skimped on the butter a bit and used 2% instead of whole milk, and the pancake still turned out splendidly. I'd like to try using buttermilk instead of regular milk next time.

Big Apple Pancake, recipe from Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 large sweet apple such as Gala or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-wide wedges
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Confectioners sugar for dusting

Special equipment:

• a well-seasoned 10- to 11-inch heavy cast-iron skillet or other ovenproof skillet

To prepare:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Melt butter in skillet over moderate heat, then transfer 2 tablespoons to a blender. Add apple wedges to skillet and cook, turning over once, until beginning to soften, 3 to 5 minutes.

• While apple is cooking, add milk, flour, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt to butter in blender and blend until smooth.
• Pour batter over apple and transfer skillet to oven.
  

• Bake until pancake is puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve immediately.