Snow What?

You might have noticed a build up of this white, bulky winter precipitation that you have to shovel. Snow, I think it's called? (See photo above. Poor bastards. Good thing it rained yesterday.) Some of us got more than others (am I right, Boston and much of CT??) and boredom can start to set in when schools, activities and roads (even the L.I.E.??) are closed down. What to do...

I trekked 40 blocks to a friend's apartment to do a little baking and cooking (and by "trekked" I mean "took the subway" and by "cooking" I mean "drank wine") and ended up making two vastly different desserts as the tween trio on site could not decide on only one. "I want chocolate! I want raspberry!" I tried a compromise but it was met with a resounding, "I hate that. Gross." Whatevs. Hand me a cocktail and I can get three kids to make 2 desserts at the same time.

Somehow we decided on molten chocolate cakes circa 1987 and berry cobbler. Did I neglect to mention that "cookies are boring" and that we had to work from existing ingredients in the kitchen? Totally. (Take that Iron Chef!) In the end it all worked out. I even caught the berry tween eating the molten chocolate cake even though she "hates chocolate cake." And of course it wouldn't be 2013 if we didn't Instagram (@tinanders - holla!) the whole damn thing. (By the way, I made another version of the chocolate cakes here but this is the original recipe.) A real camera is just so 2011.

Molten Chocolate Cakes
Adapted from Food & Wine/Jean-Georges Vongerichten

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.

2. In a double boiler over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until thickened and pale.

3. Whisk the chocolate until smooth. Quickly fold it into the egg mixture along with the flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are soft. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately.

Make Ahead: The batter can be refrigerated for several hours; bring to room temperature before baking.

Mixed Berry Cobbler
Adapted from the Joy of Cooking and Martha Stewart

For the Filling:
2 pints raspberries and/or blackberries (red, black, or a combination of the two)
1/2 cup granulated sugar

For the Biscuit Topping:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
3/4 heavy cream, plus more for brushing
Sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

1. Make the filling: Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Mix together the berries and sugar. Pour into a 2-quart baking dish.

2. Make the biscuit topping: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter until the largest pieces are the size of small peas. Add the cream, and use a fork to incorporate, stirring just until cream is absorbed (there should be lots of loose pieces).

3. Turn out the dough onto a clean surface, and knead once or twice, gathering loose bits into ball. Pat dough to a 1 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into rounds or squares, or leave whole, and place on top of the filling. Brush with cream, and sprinkle with sugar.

4. Bake the cobbler until bubbling in center and biscuit topping is golden brown and cooked through, about 50 minutes (loosely tent with foil if biscuit topping gets too dark). Let stand at least 30 minutes before serving.

Feeling Blue

The end of summer can never come soon enough as far as I'm concerned. Hot, steamy subway platforms and the odiferous people that you encounter there will never convince me of the supposed pleasures of summer. I guess it's fine if you have a pool or a shore house near Karma, but otherwise it sucks. Although tasty summer treats like fresh corn, ice cream, and fruit pies sort-of, kind-of remind me of why it could be nice, it's usually September before I realize that I haven't had a single ear of corn or slice of peach pie. But hey, it's only August and I've made a pie!!



How good does that look? Making a crumble topping saves you from rolling out a second disk of pie dough and...it's crumble topping! Hello! If you're afraid of rolling out even one disk of dough, just buy it premade. Your pie will still taste better than if you bought it. Trust. (Make sure to taste the blueberries first and adjust the sugar that you add to the filling according to their ripeness. If they are a little tart, add 1/2 cup sugar. If they're really ripe, add only a 1/4 cup.) Serve it while it is still warm from the oven with a side of vanilla ice cream and even if you're in your crappy walk-up apartment on a 90+ degree day, you can pretend that you're...not.



Blueberry Crumb Pie

All-purpose flour, for dusting
Basic Pie Dough, store bought or homemade
Crumble Topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
Filling:
2 pints (about 6 cups) blueberries, picked over
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a disk of dough to a 12-inch round. With a dry pastry brush, dust off any excess flour. Fit the dough into a 9-inch glass pie plate, pressing it lightly into the edges. Trim the dough to a 1/2-inch overhang all around. Fold the edge of dough over or under, and crimp as desired. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

2. Make the crumble topping: In a medium bowl, mix the flour, light-brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt. With a pastry cutter, fork, or your hands, work in the butter until large, moist clumps form. Chill, covered, until ready to use.

3. Make the filling: Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Place the blueberries in a large bowl. Add the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the chilled pie shell, mounding the berries slightly in the center. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the blueberry mixture.

4. Place the pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the crust edges begin to turn golden, about 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350˚F. Continue baking, rotating the sheet halfway through, until the juices are bubbling and have thickened, 40 to 50 minutes more. Transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool completely.

The Big Reveal

I've been meaning to reveal my mystery beverage all summer (well, since I posted about it a month ago), but I couldn't come up with anything clever to call it. And now that summer is almost (un)officially over, the time is now (with or without a witty name)!

I thought at first that I should name it after the fabulous blogger who first introduced me to the inspirational beverage at Emporio. (You can read about it here.) I considered The QueenB, as WendyB, amazing jewelry designer and blogger extraordinaire, often designs with historical queens in mind (here's one of my favorite WendyB pieces), but she actually thought I should name it after myself...along the lines of The Tinagria. Wait. Did I just give it away? Yes...drumroll please...it's sangria! A white version with peaches and nectarines!



Ooooo...Ahhhhh...Was that thud someone fainting with shock and surprise? Oh, nevermind. It's just my annoying upstairs neighbor.



Below is my interpretation of the white sangria at Emporio. I actually have no idea what they put in their sangria, but this is a pretty good version if I do say so myself. I definitely recommend making it the day before you plan to drink it. The flavor is much more pronounced the longer you can allow the fruit to macerate in the wine. However, if you can't wait, or if your fruit is just shy of ripe and not particularly juicy, just add a touch more peach nectar to the mixture. There are only a few more days (weeks?) of fresh peaches, so get cracking! And if you have any clever suggestions for the official drink name, please don't hesitate to let me know!



The QueenB Peachy Picnic Punch Tinagria

1 (750-ml) bottle dry white wine (something that you are happy to drink without added fruit)
1/3 cup Triple Sec (or Cointreau)
1/4 - 1/2 cup Peach nectar
2 fresh ripe peaches, pitted and chopped
2 fresh rip nectarines, pitted and chopped

1. Add the wine, Triple Sec, 1/4 cup peach nectar, and the chopped fruit to a large pitcher and stir. Chill, covered, for up to 24 hours. Taste and add more peach nectar if desired. Serve over ice.

*Note: For a lighter, spritzier sangria, top with club soda and stir.