It's Tomato Pie Time.

Rosie's had a busy day in the kitchen today, which is really no different from any other day.  But today, somehow, something was different.  Can't put my finger on it exactly except to say that everything flowed. Flowage usually doesn't happen and there can be stress (YES! STRESS!!) in Rosie's little space.  I've been in the kitchen since 8:00 this morning and I just sat down to write it all down at 4:00.  In case you don't do the math, that's eight hours, in addition to everything else I got going on that I have to deal with.  I even pruned roses this morning, but couldn't finish since it was too hot for me and I just ain't dealing with the heat.

Today, however, worked.  From breakfast for three - Plugra buttered toast, cinnamon toast, stone ground yellow grits, homemade applesauce, 3 eggs doused with cream, dashed with kosher salt and Lawry's pepper and my red cayennes, and studded with cheddar cheese slices, and tiny diced hash browns - to a Sweet Tomato Pie designed with Mr. Hawthorne in mind, to a taco bowl for Boy, filled with red beans and rice and caramelized corn off the corn and topped with shredded iceberg lettuce, homemade salsa, and sour cream.

Well, let's make a sweet tomato pie.

Rosie's Sweet Tomato Pie
1 pie crust, either your own homemade dough or the refrigerated, rolled-up ones, never the frozen in the tin pans
5-6 tomatoes
1 medium Vidalia onion
about 1/2 chopped herbs  I used basil, parsley, chives, and thyme.
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper for each layer
1/2 tsp sugar for each layer
pats of unsalted butter
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 TG buttermilk
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella
2 oz chèvre cheese
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
12 Ritz crackers, crumbled
more pats of butter

Heat oven to 425°.  Press dough in a 9-inch pie pan.  Chill 30 minutes.  Line pie crust with foil and fill with dried beans to keep the crust from bubbling up as it cooks.  Bake at 425° for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool.  Reduce oven temperature to 350°.

Peel tomatoes, cut in half and squeeze with your fingers in the pockets to juice and seed.  Slice thinly.  Place slices in a single layer on paper towels and evenly sprinkle with a teaspoon of kosher salt.  Let sit 10 minutes, then pat dry with paper towel.

Layer tomatoes, chopped onion, and herbs in prepared crust, seasoning each layer with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, and 1/2 tsp sugar.

Top with a few thin pats of butter.  Sprinkle cheeses over top.  Stir buttermilk into mayonnaise and spread onto top of tomato pie.  Sprinkle Panko and Ritz over top and dot with additional pats of butter.  Put a foil protector around edges of crust and bake about 35 minutes, until lightly browned.

Here are my Amelia tomatoes.

Heavy producers, firm, perfect for our coastal climate.

I have a Zyliss tomato peeler which I highly recommend.

Here it is:

However, if you don't have a tomato peeler,

here's how to easily peel your 'maters.

Bring a pot of water to a boil

and drop your tomatoes in.

Mr. Hawthorne recommends cutting a small slice

down the tomato skin first,

before dropping in the boiling water.

Boil a minute or two or until you see the skin start to peel off.

Transfer to a bowl a let cool a bit,

unless you have asbestos fingers, as I do.

And simply peel the skin off.

Core.

Pie crust ready for oven.

Be sure edges are covered.

Slice the tomatoes in half, seed, and juice,

then slice and salt on paper towels.

Slice up some Vidalia onion.

Give it some basil, parsley, chive, and thyme lovin'.

I believe I'm ready to make a pie.

I have my tomatoes.

My onions.

My salt, pepper, and sugar.

My buttermilk/mayonnaise mixture.

My herbs.

My cheeses.

My Plugra unsalted buttah.

My Ritz.

My Panko.

Start layering.

Tomatoes, onions, herbs, salt, pepper, sugar on each layer.

The Boy wanted chopped onions, not sliced.

I had enough for 3 layers.

Just put on the pats of butter.

Chèvre going on.

Rest of the grated cheeses.

Evenly spread the mayo/buttermilk mixture over top.

Top with crumbled Ritz and Panko.

Dot with unsalted butter.

Protect edges!

About 35 minutes in a 350° oven.

Until nicely browned.

You might want to rotate it halfway through.

Here's my sparingly sweet, herbal, and cheesal tomato pie.

I'm looking forward to this for breakfast tomorrow.

These things only get better.

Rosie Makes A Soufflé.

 I'm feeling special today.

I will celebrate with soufflé.

 Rosie's Soufflé

5 egg whites, room temperature

4 egg yolks, room temperature

3 TB unsalted butter

3 TB flour

1/2 cup skim milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp kosher salt

fresh grating of nutmeg

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/2 cup Swiss cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

pinch kosher salt

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

butter for buttering the soufflé dish

Pecorino/Romano cheese, grated,

enough to cover the sides and bottom of soufflé dish

Butter a 6-cup soufflé dish,

then sprinkle grated Pecorino/Romano cheese over bottom and sides.

This gives something for the eggs to cling to as they rise.

Combine skim and cream in small pan and scald.

Bring it just to the boil, then remove from heat.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat melt the butter.

Add in flour, whisking for about 2-3 minutes

to cook the flour.

This is officially a "roux."

Slowly whisk in scalded milk and cream.

Cook, whisking, until mixture thickens.

Add salt, nutmeg, and pepper flakes.

Taste test and adjust seasonings if you want. 

Remove from heat and let cool a bit.

Whisk eggs one at a time, into roux mixture.

Beat whites with a pinch of kosher salt and cream of tartar 

until stiff peaks form,

Stir about a third of the whites into the soufflé mixture

to lighten it a bit.

Fold in cheeses and

then lightly fold in the rest of the whites.

Pour into prepared soufflé dish.

I like to run my finger around the top

and make a little circle.

Gives the soufflé a little top hat.

Bake in a 350° oven for about 45 - 50 minutes. 

Serve immediately.

 Here's my roux.

Bubbly butter with flour.

 Whisk away until it thickens,

cooking until you get the raw taste out of the flour.

 Slowly whisk in the scalded skim/cream mixture.

Cook until thickened.

 Whisk in eggs, one at a time.

 Here's my prepared soufflé dish -

buttered with finely grated Pecorino/Romano cheese.

Gives something for the soufflé to pull up on.

 Preferably in a copper bowl,

for extra volume,

whup them whites until you have stiff peaks.

 Add about 1/3 of the whites to the roux.

 Stir in to lighten the mix.

 Fold in the cheese.

 Add the rest of the whites and lightly fold them in.

 Ta da!!!!

 Ethereal.

 The soufflé waits for no one.

Rosie Makes Caramel Flan With Spun Sugar

 Rosie has a friend who recently had a birthday.  Now whenever I make something for somebody's birthday, I've always got myself in mind.  Forget about getting a whole cake.  You're getting cupcakes or some form of deliciousness that lends itself to numerous forms.  In other words,  I'll be having whatever you're having.  So I decided on caramel flans.

Caramel Flan With Spun Sugar

6 1-cup ramekins

9 TB sugar

6 TB water

1 cup sugar

1 pint heavy cream

1/2 cup skim milk

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 whole eggs

6 egg yolks

For the caramel:

In a small sauce pan, combine 9 TB sugar and 6 TB water. Bring to a boil over medium low heat, without stirring, until the mixture turns a golden brown syrup.

Divide equal amounts of caramel syrup into each of the ramekins, rotating the ramekins until the sides are coated halfway up.

I let the ramekins sit in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish filled with hot water, to make it easier to swirl the caramel in.  If the ramekins are cold, you'll have a hard time, since the caramel hardens quickly upon hitting the cold ramekins and you will need extra hands and you must work faster.

For the flan:

Pour milk and cream into a saucepan.  Scrape the vanilla bean and add both seeds and beans to the mixture.  Place over low heat until small bubbles appear along the edges of the pan.  Do not boil  Remove bean.

Heat oven to 300°.

Beat together eggs, yolks, and 1 cup sugar until pale and foamy.  Add the hot cream mixture slowly and gradually, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling.  Set ramekins into 9 x 13-inch baking dish and fill.  

Add boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.  And it's always easier to do this AFTER you've put the baking dish in the oven.

Bake custards until set, about 55 minutes.  Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until well chilled.

Run a sharp, thin knife inside each ramekin and invert onto plates.

For the Spun Sugar:

9 TB sugar

6 TB water

Make the same caramel you did before, but when you take it off the heat, it needs to cool a tad.  Dip a fork in it and swirl the tines over the flans.  You can use your fingers to pull the caramel and drape decoratively over the flans.  This is the fun part!

 Let's start on the caramel first.

 That's the color you want.

 Like I said, you have to work quickly, even when the ramekins are already warmed.  On the last ramekin I did, top far right, the caramel had already cooled too much so it didn't pour well.  Not to worry, when you cook it, it will spread out.

 Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla beans.

 Add to the cream and milk mixture and heat until just bubbling on the edges.

 Whip eggs and sugar until light and foamy.

 Strain milk and cream mixture into eggs.

 Ladle into ramekins and bake.  Turn halfway through and tent with foil if necessary.

 

 

 Add the spun sugar.

 Enjoy!

It's quite musical, is it not?

Charter Sucks.

Yes.  I expected outages during this storm.

But when the cable came back on I only get a few channels, none of them anything I ever watch.  Every channel I want to watch has a box with this:

ONE MOMENT PLEASE
This channel should be available shortly.

Mr. Hawthorne called Charter last night.  Had to get a flashlight and magnifying glass to find the serial number.  Everything was reset.  Nada.
Today, it's the same.  Mr. H. called back and had to find the damn serial number again and go through the entire spiel.  Don't they keep records?

Oh...  And the service call is scheduled for SEPTEMBER 11.

CHARTER, THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!

Oh... Charter.  When "Charter Sucks" comes up again in your Google alerts, please shoot me an e-mail at rosiehawthorne@gmail.com.  We'll talk.

Edited to add:  The next day at approximately 1:30, I lost the entire internet, phone, and cable.
Approximately 5 hours.  And it still ain't right.  Waiting on that September 11 tech call.