Thursday, June 30, 2016

Rosie Bakes Again. Crab Meat Boules.

Rosie loves baking.

She's baking boules today for an appetizer dish I'm planning.  The Hawthornes have friends visiting tomorrow afternoon and I wanted a special appetizer. And this crab meat boule is perfect.

Rosie's Cuisinart Recipe For Boules 
2 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups King Arthur bread flour
1 TB sugar
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 packet yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flours, 1 TB sugar, and 1 1/2 tsp salt.

Pour 1/2 cup warm water in a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over top, then the teaspoon of sugar.  Stir to dissolve and wait for the yeast to proof.

When yeast mixture is bubbly, pour it into flour mixture with another cup warm water to wash out yeast bowl.


Pulse until you have a cohesive ball.

Let rest and rise in the processor until double.

Pulse again into a ball.

Let rest and rise until double.

One more time with the pulse into a ball and rest and rise, then turn out onto floured surface to knead. Divide into 4 pieces.  Knead and form into balls.  Let rest.

Next I sprinkled cornmeal on my pizza paddle and set the four balls on top of the cornmeal.  The cornmeal acts as little ball-bearings so you can easily slide the doughs off the paddle.
Let the balls rise until doubled.

Slide the balls onto a pizza stone in a 400° oven.  Whenever I heat up my oven for bread, I let it come to temperature then leave it for 30 minutes so the pizza stone gets hot enough.  Spray the loaves with water first then set in the oven.  Spray again after 3 minutes and again after another 3 minutes.  Bake for 20 minutes.


My baked boules.
Let cool.

Slice off the tops of the boules and scoop out bread pieces, being careful not to tear the walls or bottoms.  Place boules and scooped out bread on a baking sheet.

Crab Meat Stuffing
1 pound crab meat, picked through for shells
1 stick unsalted butter
6 ounces Brie
3 ounces cream cheese
juice of 1 lemon
2 TB sherry
In a small sauce pan, melt butter with Brie and cream cheese over low heat.  Add in crab meat and heat through.  Stir in lemon juice and sherry.
Spoon crab meat mixture into the boules and bake at 325° for about 20 minutes or until bread pieces are toasted.

Sprinkle cayenne over top.

Use the toasts to scoop out the crab mixture.
Enjoy!

And enjoy the sunsets.
Another beautiful sunset.


Monday, June 27, 2016

Cheesecake!



Sometimes, you just can't beat a cheesecake.


This lovely dessert is being brought to you
because I happened to have 8 ounces of coconut cream leftover.
"Leftover from what," you ask?
The coconut cream was left over
from a cocktail I made for a publication I write for.
Hahahahaha!
They asked me to do cocktails.
I don't drink cocktails.
Except for the occasional margarita on Cinco de Mayo,
or if I'm in Cody, Wyoming,
and have a hankerin' for the tequila.
Been there.  Done that.
 The cocktail with the coconut cream 
was a Corolla Colada I made up.

Oh...  Where was I?
Again, I digest.
Oh, yes.
Let's take leftover coconut cream
and make moreover cheese cake!

Here's my explanation of "Moreovers:"
Nothing goes to waste in the Hawthorne Household.
And I don't refer to the remnants as leftovers.
Immediately after writing the word "leftovers,"
I knew I needed another word
that was more real, more definitive, and positive.
First I thought of the word re-do's.
But that implies it wasn't done right
the first time around
when it certainly was.
Then I considered do-overs.
But, of course,
that, too, has a negative connotation.
I've put a lot of thought into this
trying to come up with just the right word which describes
the process of what I do
in the life chain of the produce and viande
I prepare and serve and consume.

And my word is moreovers.

Think about it:
You've already produced and served
a wonderful, satisfying, convivial repast.
So, what's next?
MORE is next.
When you say "Moreover,"
you're likely going to top what you previously said,
put an exclamation point there,
and/or put it in bold or italics.
So, I have no leftovers.
I have MOREOVERS!

Rosie's Coconut Cream Moreover Cheesecake

Crust:
1 pkg. graham cracker
12 ginger snaps
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

Process all until well-combined.
Press into bottom and up sides of
 buttered 9-inch spring form pan.

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. plain yogurt
8 oz. coconut cream
6 eggs
zest and juice of 2 limes
 1 TB vanilla

Process cream cheese and sugar until well combined.
Mix in sour cream, yogurt, and coconut cream.
Add eggs, one at a time.
Mix well. Stir in zest, lime juice, and vanilla.
Pour into prepared pan.
Cover bottom and sides of spring form pan with foil,
place in larger pan, and pour water 1/3 way up.
Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
Reduce heat to 325° and cook 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Check throughout baking and tent with foil if needed.
Let cool completely, then refrigerate.

I had some lovely strawberries
which I sliced and put on top,
then I made a chocolate sauce and drizzled over.


Serve on a blue plate.

Enjoy!

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Youngest Hawthorne Provides Lunch Again.

Next catch was a 15-inch + speckled trout.
Does anyone else hear the music
from the Lion King playing here?
Ok...  Just me?



We like to ice our fish,
then soak in buttermilk.
Batter was flour, cornstarch, Old Bay, pinch kosher salt,
and a few grinds of pepper.
Lightly fry - 350° until perfect.


Served with black rice
and blanched green beans with toasted walnuts.
And I think I threw in some feta and dill.

Cilantro with raw coriander seeds gives 
this fish the perfect pop of citrusy and cilantro flavors.

Thank you, Youngest Hawthorne,
for providing yet another meal for us.



Friday, June 17, 2016

Youngest Hawthorne Provides Our Lunch.

Youngest Hawthorne came home with a nice flounder the other morning.

About 19 inches.

He left them on ice for about 24 hours.


A little buttermilk soak.

The batter is equal parts flour, cornstarch, and panko.


Peanut oil.  350°.
Beautiful golden brown.

Drain on a rack.


I served this with red cabbage slaw
that I picked from the garden, the cabbage that is, not the slaw,
(The slaw patch won't be in until the pesto patch is ready.)
along with one of my favorite presentations of
and one of my favorite side salads -


Perfectly flaky.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Welcome To Rosie's June Garden.

I'm sorry I haven't been able to post lately.
Not to worry.  I have been cooking.

But the yard has been taking up all my time.
After Junior and I went for our daily stroll yesterday morning 
around 8:00, temperatures already in 90s,
I worked over 3 hours pulling,
dumping, stashing.
I've already filled up 9 garbage cans to overfilling
 and I've filled one large trailer 
with spent larkspur, bachelor buttons, and cilantro.
And I'm not even close to getting done.
Waiting on garbage man now to come empty
those last three cans in the cul-de-sac.
Usually on Mondays he's here by 7:00.

Gotta rake up the beds with all the holes
from where I pulled up the roots,
clean up the debris,
re-prune the roses and fertilize
and then in 4 weeks it will be beautiful again.

I'm taking a break today,
staying in, and catching up on columns
for the publications I write for,
and just trying to chill.
I deserve it.

And I'm on my third cup o' Joe.
I'm good to go.

Welcome to Rosie's Garden.
This is one of my favorite rose.  
The bush is huge and produces these lovely large clusters.

Too bad I don't have Smellavision.

This little pretty is surrounded by blooming cilantro.

Perfection.

Columbine.



How perfect is this?


Just to let you know,
I have MANHANDS!











Pretty red poppy with larkspur.
Note to self:  Self, go collect the poppy seed pods
for your Red, White, and Blue Garden.

 Larkspur.

 Pitiful.
This is the absolute latest I've ever planted.
'maters and peppers, basil.
The other day during a lovely drizzle,
I went out and stuck moonflower seeds
all over the right-hand side.
They germinated within days and I will transplant them
to my trellises and where ever they can climb up.


Need to clean up this area next.

 My nursery on the deck.

 Youngest Hawthorne has gotten serious about his watermelon patch.
This is just the beginning.

My herbs need to be cut back and dried out.


And then there's always the beautiful sunset.







 Lace cap hydrangea.




Love my hydrangeas.

Lace cap.





 Some kinds of sedums blooming.

 Campanula.

 Ajuga.



 Waste not.  Want not.
I use the water from the AC.



Pretty Tiffany rose with Tropicana in background.

From top to bottom:
Tropicanna lily.
Creeping Jenny.
Jewels of Opar (Talinum paniculatum.)




 Lilies.




 Got to bring the pretty inside.











Black and blue salvia.
Spreads and transplants very well.








A BIG SHOUT OUT to whomever tried to back a trailer
in a huge cul-de-sac
and ran over my ice plant backing in and going out,
broke the ADT sign,
knocked over and bent the reflector,
and broke frigging rocks.
Thanks a lot.
And learn how to back up a damn trailer!


Scratch that itch!
Junior has a monkey face!

It is important that the tongue is held in the correct position.


Hawthorne Watering Hole.
Once again, if a fire breaks out, I'm totally effed.
My succulent group.

Volunteer foxgloves.
Now if "other" people could actually use the pavers,
we might have something real pretty here.

Yay!  After that wonderful rain the other night,
my moon flowers have germinated.


A mess o' colors!


Don't know what the flying sauce thingie is in the bottom.



Black and blue salvia.

Rose o' Sharon blooming.

Loving my lilies.

Passion flower.


Zinnias.
All volunteers.

Amaryllis.

Amaryllis.





 Little hydrangea Dau Haw gave me for Mother's Day
last year.

Hope you enjoyed the visit through my garden.

Now stay tuned for FOOD!