Red, White & Blue Clafoutis

I am aware that the holiday has passed…but let’s be honest…I’m always a little late to the party in this respect.  I’d like to think it is because I am too busy enjoying the moment to post recipes prior to an actual holiday or event.  Come to think of it…I would be awful working at a monthly magazine or for a fashion designer…having to always think a couple of months ahead.  I digress.

Here’s hoping you all had a wonderful 4th of July celebration.  I did not spot a single fireworks display…most of the west is currently on fire so many cities were erring on the conservative side.  However, I did spend the evening at the Oakley Rodeo!

What follows is one of my favorite desserts to make…it’s light, delicious, totally adaptable to whatever fruit may be in season and therefore appropriate for all times of year and it is quick to make.  I first learned to make this here and it is traditionally made with cherries with their pits still in them.  I also weigh the dry ingredients and use the metric measurements as it just seems to come out better.

Red, White & Blue Clafoutis

100 grams sugar (2/3 cup±)
120 grams flour (1 cup±)
3 eggs
200 ml milk, lukewarm (1 cup±)
50 ml cream (¼ cup±)
5 grams baking powder (1 tsp.)
1-2 handfuls of blueberries and raspberries (or your choice of fruit – pears, plums, peaches, cherries, etc.)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (160ºC).

Butter and lightly sugar a heavy tart pan or dish and then chill.

Place fruit in a single layer  in the chilled and sugared dish.  The exact quantity of fruit is up to you, but pieces of fruit should not touch.

Weigh the dry ingredients (I made extra batter (1 and 1/3 recipes worth) for an additional individual clafoutis that never made the photographic cut) and mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Pour the batter into the dish very slowly and gently, taking care not to displace or move the berries too much.

Bake for 40 minutes until just barely beginning to brown.

Serve warm or at room temperature, plain or garnished with powdered sugar, fruit coulis, or whipped cream with a sprig of fresh mint.

I could seriously eat the entire thing all by myself!

What are your favorite summer desserts?

Pear Clafoutis

Perfectly ripe pears are like gold…(think Harry and David fruit packed in foam delivered to wintry doorsteps).  Pears rarely need much to improve them…and this dish is simply a different vessel to deliver pear goodness!

This recipe is originally from my training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris (hence the metric measurements).  A traditional clafoutis is made only with cherries, using any other fruit (including pears or berries) the dish is called a flaugnarde.  I still call it a clafoutis…as it has been a family favorite for 10 years now.

Pear (Flaugnarde) Clafoutis

• 100 grams (2/3 cup ±) Sugar
• 120 grams (1/2 cup ±) Flour
• 3 eggs
• 200 ml (1 cup ±) milk, lukewarm
• 50 ml (1/4 cup ±) cream
• 5 grams (1 tsp.) baking powder

Butter and lightly sugar a heavy tart pan, or similar shallow baking dish.  Chill.

Place fruit in a single layer in the chilled dish.  Quantity is up to you, but pieces of fruit should not touch.

Mix all other ingredients for batter.  Pour into dish without displacing fruit.  Bake at 160°C (350°F) for 40 minutes until just beginning to brown.

Serve warm or at room temperature, plain or garnished with powdered sugar, cream or a fruit coulis.

 

 

Playing Catch Up…

(a.k.a. – here’s a lot of what I’ve been making, eating, and enjoying…)

I think, perennially, I fall behind.  As the beginning of school arrives, I am reminded of all of those ‘first days’ of school I had long ago.  I also work at a school…so it is hard to not have a little empathy for those awkward middle-schoolers, some excitement for the brand new kindergarteners, and a touch of dread for those freshman.  I also hate picture day.  The day I thought I had finally outgrown…and now it has come back to haunt me.  It’s still just as bad…even as an adult.  Back to the falling behind thing – each ‘first day’ began fresh…new classroom, new supplies, new books, new locker, new teachers, maybe new friends…and then it ended…with homework.  Usually lots of homework…which meant feeling as though I would never finish it all.

If I’m being honest, I think I operate fairly well in procrastination mode.  In fact, I’m not sure I would know what to do with myself if I completed things before they were due, proactively managed my life, and generally acted as if I were an overachiever.  Not that I’m proud of my lean towards the procrastination end of the spectrum.  Indeed, I believe my life could take on a whole new vibrancy if I were to jump the gun and be able to get things done.  I’d probably reduce my stress levels, gain an increased sense of accomplishment, feel superior to others…and generally be more like Martha Stewart and belong in the pages of Real Simple magazine. Tangent.  Okay, back to procrastinating…I should have posted more regularly…somehow…it just didn’t happen.  Onward!

So…this summer has not been devoid of cooking, eating, imbibing and entertaining…just void of posting about such things.  Here is a brief run through of a few of the dishes I managed to get a photo or two of before they went down the hatch.

Summer rolls with shrimp, cilantro, fresh veggies and rice vermicelli.  Served with peanut dipping sauce.

Carne Asada Tacos!  *Delicious*

Roasted Poblano & Pasilla Peppers Stuffed with Rice and Queso Fresco!

Flank steak over greens with potato cakes and heirloom tomatoes

Raspberry & Blackberry Clafoutis

Cheddar & Chive Biscuits

So tasty…and there is more to come!  Everything was delicious and I’m *hoping* to still get posts up for many of the recipes above.  Hope your summer was just as delicious as mine.