Ratatouille

Recreational Ratatouille
The recent warm weather has me thinking about summer. This has me thinking about my garden—the garden that I am not planting this year. I am not planting a garden this year because, for the first time in I don’t know how long, there will be no tournaments. This summer will be youth-sports-free which is both fantastic and kinda sad, but mostly fantastic. It also means we are able to do what we want on the weekends.

Our summer will be filled with camping trips and college campus tours as well as family junkets to new and amazing cities. There will be baseball games (played by professionals) and beach days and music concerts. I can’t wait. But, because life can be awesome this way, there will still be fresh home-grown vegetables.

How is this possible without planting a garden you may ask? Because my mother-in-law, who swore she would not be planting a garden this year either, caved and planted everything under the sun. Therefore, I know without question that I will be reaping the benefits of her summer bounty when her produce cup runneth over and she has had it up to here with zucchini.

It’s the best of both worlds. Livin’ my best life while enjoying good food and helping to relieve the burden of overabundance. What can I say? I’m a giver…

Ratatouille
Adapted from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food and Food 52
Yields 6 to 8 servings

This classic recipe is surprisingly easy to prepare and results in a delicious showcase of summer vegetables and flavors. Read more…

Tarte Tatin

Upside Down You’re Turning Me
Let’s be real, France has created and produced some of the best sweet stuff on this earth. From flakey pastries to smooth chocolate, you can find something crazy-delicious to soothe your current craving. If I had to choose one dessert that screams France though, it would be the Tarte Tatin.

Tarte Tatin is the O.G. of upside-down desserts. Apples and caramel are combined with puff pastry in a trifecta of perfectly matched classic flavors. Flip it over onto a platter, add a little vanilla ice cream on top and it becomes mind-blowing. Mastering the caramel can be tricky but once you have it down the results are the greatest reward for your hard work. Of course, even the “bad batches” are pretty good too…

Tarte Tatin Recipe
Yields 5 servings Read more…

Amy’s Buttercream

It’s Like Buttah
It is not uncommon for me to come home from a day of work to find my daughter in the kitchen whipping something up to take to school for a friend who is having a birthday the next day. Or, sometimes it’s because there was a conversation in class about baked goods and she has a bit of a reputation as a baker. Either way, more often than not I am out of the ingredients I thought I had.

Cupcakes are her go-to for occasions like these Though, it depends on who she is baking for. (One of her good friends is addicted to her macarons and lemon bars). Cupcakes are relatively easy to make. And, if you prefer to use cake mix from a box, there are ways to make it better. The one place you absolutely must not cheat is the buttercream frosting.

To me, cupcakes are basically just a vessel to deliver good frosting into my mouth. Would I prefer a very tasty devil’s food or Red Velvet? Sure. But frosting is key. I want it full-fat and full-flavor. And, for me that means good old-fashioned butter cream.

Full disclosure, I like more salt than most in my frosting because I like that rich butter flavor that salt can bring to the table. Therefore, I use salted butter in my frosting. And I am not afraid to add a pinch or two more if needed. You just need to taste it along the way to get it how you like it.

This is not the frosting to use if you are bringing cupcakes to a picnic. There is a lot of butter. Butter will melt. If you need something to hold up to decoration and weather, try one of these options. But, if you need a quick hit of cake and frosting, try my Amy’s Buttercream recipe below. It’s perfect for a late afternoon or evening craving…assuming someone didn’t use up all of your ingredients.

Amy’s Buttercream Recipe
Yields about 2-1/2 cups Read more…

Amy’s Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Hot Competition
For a lot of people, the start of College Football is a non-event. For others, like the majority of my family, it’s kind of a big deal. This year is especially wacky because, with my kids and my nephew off to college, we now have three more teams to cheer for.

If there was one silver lining for the heat we’ve had over the pasts few days it is this, there was a perfectly reasonable justification for camping out on the couch all Saturday to watch the full lineup of games. True, it wasn’t 155 degrees on Saturday but it was still hot. Hot enough that the chicken wings I had planned to make (because what else do you eat while watching football?) didn’t happen. I couldn’t bring myself to turn on the oven. I did, however, fire up the grill.

In lieu of wings, I made my recipe for Amy’s Teriyaki Chicken Thighs using boneless skinless thighs—which are the workhorse of my food repertoire. I always have chicken thighs in the fridge or freezer. I also always have teriyaki on hand because no matter what’s going on during the day you can get dinner on the table quick with a 30-minute dunk in teriyaki before throwing it on the grill.

Add some steamed rice and some broccoli and BOOM. Dinner is served. I also always make more than I need—so I can throw some on a salad for lunch or even make a sandwich.

There are plenty of good teriyaki marinades out there. But, lately, I have turned away from the super sweet ones for two reasons. First, the older I get the less sweet I want my food to be. Second, sugar in the marinade will burn on the grill if you’re not careful. That caramelized flavor has its time and place but I would rather taste the other flavors.

This is the teriyaki I have been using lately—though it does take a little bit more time to marinade than the open-and-pour options. To me, it tastes more like the grilled chicken you get in Hawaii. It’s sweet but not corn syrup sweet. Feel free to add a little chili garlic paste if you want some heat.

Amy’s Teriyaki Chicken Thighs Recipe
Adapted from Favorite Family Recipes
Yields 6 servings Read more…