Happy Blog-iversary!

3 years of LadyConcierge! I have to give mad props to everyone at http://www.portlandfood.org/ for their support and Michelle at Je Mange la Ville for being my inspiration.

And now, strawberry shortcake! Seems like it's a popular topic right now. We're right in the middle of California strawberry season and waiting eagerly for the Oregon berries to arrive. Our strawberry plants are taking over the side yard, and boy are we glad!

This recipe comes from the guys at The Bitten Word, who try out the best recipes from the food magazines each month. This one comes from Everyday Food, May 2009 issue. The original recipe was for rhubarb instead of strawberries.

What I like about this recipe is the shortcake is the biscuit-scone type and not the foamy cake type. Brian disagrees, but will suffer through it somehow. He tried to get me to buy some angel food cake at the grocery store yesterday, but I would have none of it. I love the flaky texture of these shortcakes. I halved the recipe since it was just us two, and I sprinkled turbinado sugar over the tops.

Macerating strawberries in balsamic is one of my favorite preparations for the sweet little gems. Alas, our balsamic was gone! So I used a splash of cherry brandy instead. Not the same flavor, but a nummy one just the same. Next time I will make sure to have balsamic on hand.

Balsamic Brown Sugar Strawberries
The Bitten Word

1 pint strawberries
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dark or light brown sugar, depending on your preference

Cap and quarter strawberries and place in a large bowl. Mix with balsamic and sugar. Cover and refrigerate, two hours to overnight. If the strawberries are not sweet enough for your tastes, add more brown sugar.


Shortcakes
Everyday Food (May 2009)

Prep: 25 minutes
Total: 55 minutes, plus cooling
Ingredients

Serves 8

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for work surface
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
* 1 cup whole milk
* 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a food processor, combine flour, butter, baking powder, salt, and 1/3 cup sugar and process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk and pulse just until moistened, 4 to 5 times.

2. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. With floured hands, gently pat into a 4-by-8-inch rectangle. Cut dough into 8 squares and transfer to a baking sheet; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Let biscuits cool on baking sheet.

3. In a large bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until soft peaks return. To serve, split biscuits with a serrated knife; sandwich with rhubarb compote (or strawberries!) and whipped cream.

Whole Lemon Tart and Pâte Sablée

aka Tarte au Citron for you francophiles. I got this idea from the fabulous Deb at Smitten Kitchen. If you haven't met Deb yet and have no idea what Smitten Kitchen is, go there now and visit. I think I have bookmarked more recipes from Deb than from any other site.

I first made this tart last year. At the time, I was using a tart crust recipe from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It worked ok but was kind of blah. Then I tried the pâte sucrée (from Martha, of course), which is a richer dough made with egg yolks and a little sugar. This was better, but still not quite what I wanted.

I was interested in trying a pâte sablée (a sweet shortbread-like crust) with this lemon tart to counter the bitterness from the lemon peel. Most of the recipes call for ground almonds, which gives the crust that delicate, sandy texture. I don't like purchasing ingredients for one dish (or rather, a piece of one dish) so I put off trying it until last weekend. Mother's Day was coming up, and I was bringing dessert over to my Dad's for our family celebration. I was once again checking out recipes for pâte sablée online when I came upon Martha's recipe, which doesn't use any ground almonds! Why I hadn't seen this before is a mystery to me. Her recipe uses butter, confectioner's sugar, flour and salt. Perfect.

The best part about the pâte sablée recipe is that it comes together in the mixer. No cutting the cold butter into the flour necessary. That's always the hardest part for me. Instead, you use softened butter (2 sticks!) and cream it with the sugar, then add the flour and salt. Easy!

After chilling, the dough is still very soft, so I patted the dough into the tart pan instead of trying to roll it out. The recipe says it makes a 9-inch tart shell, but I had more dough than I needed. Of course if you like an extra thick crust, go for it! **On second thought, I think my tart pan is only 8 inches, so that may have been the issue.

In making tarts, I find it best to pre-bake the crust almost all the way before adding the filling. That way the crust is nice and brown and not gummy on the bottom. This is called blind baking. I learned a little trick from Deb: freeze the crust before baking it. That way the crust doesn't shrink down the sides of your tart pan. You can also line it with parchment and fill with dried beans or rice or pie weights, but I've found freezing works just as well, if not better. Then pop it into a 400° oven for 15-20 minutes. When it is a light golden brown, remove from oven and let cool all the way before adding the filling.

This tart recipe uses a whole lemon, as you may have guessed from the title. Except for any pesky seeds that might be hanging out. Just cut the lemon into small pieces and add it to the blender with the sugar and blend until smooth. Whisk in a whole egg, an egg yolk, corn starch and melted butter. This time I just blended everything in the blender and it worked fine. The color was a little cloudier but it still tasted great. The filling is intensly lemon with a good mix of tart, bitter and sweet. I've called it the grown-ups' lemon tart. With a pretty dusting of powdered sugar on top, it is a sure winner for brunch, picnic or family dinner.

Pâte Sablée from Martha Stewart

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

With a standing mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low. Add flour and salt, and beat until just combined and crumbly (do not overmix). Shape dough into a 9-inch round disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days), or freeze for up to 1 month.


Whole Lemon Tart from Smitten Kitchen

1 partially baked 9-inch (24-cm) sweet tart shell
1 average-sized lemon (about 4 1/2 ounces; 130 grams), rinsed and dried
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tablespoons (12 grams) cornstarch
1 stick (4 ounces; 115 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven 325°F (165°C). Line a trimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and put the tart shell on the sheet.

Slice the lemon into thin wedges, remove the seeds, and toss the lemon and sugar into the container of a blender or food processor. Blend or process, scraping down the sides of the container as needed, until the lemon is thoroughly pureed and blended with the sugar, 1 to 2 minutes.

Turn the mixture into a bowl and, using a whisk, gently stir in the whole egg and the yolk, followed by the cornstarch and melted butter.

Pour the filling into the crust but be sure to leave 1/4 inch between the top of your filling and the top edge of your crust.

Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the tart for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling, lightly browned and set.  Don't overbake - tart will continue to set as it cools.

Transfer the tart, still on the baking sheet, to a cooling rack and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. The tart is ready to be served when it reaches room temperature.

*this photo and the top one feature a tart made with pâte sucrée

Valentine's Day Cheesecake

My man loves cheesecake, while I don't care for it. So it really is an unselfish gift that I made him one for Valentine's Day.

I used a recipe from a blog called What We're Eating. It's a recipe I've used before with the luscious caramel spilled all over the top, but this time I opted for a melted berry sauce. Berries obviously aren't in season, so I used frozen ones.

I also added the juice of one lemon plus the zest to the cheesecake batter, as per Brian's request for lemony goodness.

This cheesecake is dreamy, just like the title suggests. It is smooth and rich with a delicate tang that offsets the nutty crunch of the Nilla wafer crust. The crust was a little tough to break through with a fork, so maybe I wouldn't press it so tightly into the pan next time. Being Valentine's Day, I decorated it with a red-food-coloring-heart that I fingerpainted in the middle. Brian was mine with this valentine.

Classic Dreamy Cheesecake based on a recipe by What We're Eating

3 (8oz) packages of Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbsp good vanilla extract
3 eggs
juice of one lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
zest of one lemon
1/2 tsp salt

For the crust:
about 1/2 a box of Nilla wafers
1 stick (1/2 cup)unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, place Nilla wafer cookies in a large (gallon-sized)freezer bag. Smash and roll them with a rolling pin until they are finely ground. Place the cookie crumbs in a small bowl. Add sugar and flour and stir to combine. Add in the softened butter and stir until the butter has coated all of the cookie/sugar/flour mixture and there are no dry bits in the bottom of the bowl. Alternatively, you can do this in a food processor.

Pour the crust mixture into a 9-inch springform pan. Using a flat-bottomed measuring cup or a glass, press the cookie crust firmly in the pan, creating an even layer. Some folks work it up the sides, too, but I think this is frustrating and also unnecessary.

Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes or until crust begins to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for half an hour before adding filling to the crust. It will smell heavenly.


Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Position the oven rack in the center of the oven.

Start on the filling while the crust is cooling. Beat the cream cheese with an electric beater or stand mixer at medium speed until softly smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and then add the sugar and continue to beat at medium until fully creamed together, another 1-2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until thoroughly combined and smooth, making sure to scrape down the sides frequently.


Once the crust has completely cooled, wrap tightly with 2 layers of foil. This is very important or else water will seep into your cheesecake while it is baking. When wrapped, pour the filling into the crust. It should be liquid enough to spread out on its own, but if not, give it a nudge with a rubber spat.

Place the cheesecake into a large roasting pan. Add enough water to the roasting pan to go halfway up the side of the spring form pan to create a water bath. (I don't have a large roasting pan, so I use my broiler pan with the top part removed. The water does not come up more than 1/4 of the way up the sides of my springform, but it works!) Bake the cheesecake at 325 degrees for about 1 1/4 hours. At this point, turn the oven off and leave the oven door open to let the cheesecake cool slowly.

After 20-30 minutes, carefully remove the pan from the oven and the springform pan from the roasting pan. Allow the cheesecake to cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour. Transfer the cheesecake to the refrigerate and chill for at least 12 hours before serving.

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This month's theme for Weekend Cookbook Challenge is love. I think my cheesecake qualifies. The challenge runs through February 28, so get your posts ready and send them to iliketocook AT shaw DOT ca.

And the dark horse takes it.

Sitting at the kitchen counter at the beach house with Brian on Thursday, we started talking about Ciao Vito. He has never been there, although I have two times. He has heard me rave about the sugo of pork over crispy polenta ever since. And lo! We have a Valentine's Day destination. I think a small neighborhood restaurant is just what we want this year.

And maybe we'll just stay in and cook...

So how do you like the new template? I like it cause it's wider. And I like blue.

Carafe called back today in response to my Valentine's Day reservation message. They are full already, except for the outside part. Which, they assure me, is enclosed and nice. Brian is having none of it - we must eat inside in February.

So, looking down at my list of restaurants, what about Simpatica? I checked Ben's latest newsletter, which mentions that they will release the V-Day menu next week (which is this week). I attempted to fill out the reservation form, but apparantly one cannot make a reservation so far in advance. I guess when they release the menu it will be ok to make a reservation. If that doesn't work, I give up and we will cook at home like we did last year, only this year I will actually clean off the dining room table so we can use it.

It's good to have a goal.

Valentine's Day Again..

I checked out the menus to both Lincoln and Lovely Hula Hands and while both looked good, neither jumped out at me. Going back to my 10 Restaurants-I-haven't-eaten-at-but-want-to list, I checked out Fenouil and Carafe. Whoo boy, that is more my style. Fenouil shot to the top of my list with the Coquilles à la Poitrine Fumée (seared sea scallops. smoked bacon. leek fondue. verjus butter), Magret de Canard Rôti et son Oeuf (roasted duck breast. poached duck egg. toasted brioche. clementine hollandaise. escarole) and Foie Gras au Torchon (foie gras mousse. toasted brioche. fleur de sel). No word yet on a special Valentine's Day menu. Carafe looks pretty good too, with Steak Tartare (Raw Oregon Country Beef seasoned with capers, Dijon, onions and parsley), Crispy Pork Belly (Patatas Bravas, onion-garlic puree), and Braised Short Ribs Bordelaise (red wine sauce, roasted marrow, potato parsley puree & carrots). Carafe may win this contest purely on price, however. Entrees are priced about half of those at Fenouil.

Valentine's Day

is on a Saturday this year. Which means Brian and I will probably actually go out on that night. So far we have bandied about a few ideas: Caffe Mingo (because Brian has never been), Ten 01 (because Chef Jack Yoss is leaving), Nostrana (because Brian has never been). I know we definitely will get to Ten 01 before Jack leaves in March, but I don't want it to be Valentine's Day. We spent our last anniversary there and I want to try something new this holiday. I'm thinking I want to cross one of those restaurants off my list in the sidebar. The two that jump out at me are Lincoln and Lovely Hula Hands. Of course, we have been talking about going back to Toro Bravo soon - and we can walk there! What do you think? Where should we go for the big V-day?