If I write a post but do not have a link to it in my gchat status (because I’m no longer on gchat during the day), will anybody read this blog? Please tell me.

Love,

m

P.S. Of course, this poll is inherently flawed because the people who only see new posts from my gchat status will never know that there’s a poll at all. I’ll survive, somehow.

Indian summer, anyone?

I hope you’re not mad at me for my seasonal impropriety. Can I make it up to you with a cute kitten?

Delicious.

Icebox lemon pie
From Salon.com

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs (pulse in the food processor to make crumbs)
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, or more to taste
½ cup fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
2 cups heavy cream [I found this was easily twice what I wanted---1 cup should be plenty]
6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

In a medium bowl, combine the crumbs, granulated sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Pat into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until slightly browned. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the milk, yolks, lemon zest and lemon juice. Pour the lemon filling into the cooled crust. Bake for 10 minutes, or until set. Cool on a rack. Chill the pie for 30 minutes.

When the pie is completely cooled, whip the cream with the confectioners’ sugar until stiff peaks form. Mound the whipped cream on top of the pie and chill for 1 hour.

Fast forward two years. A “Quinoa and Kale Crustless Quiche” comes across my radar. “Crustless quiche?” I mused. “What could that possibly mean? It sounds delicious!”

Crustless Quiche Bake Casserole Pie Thingy

It is, as it turns out, pretty much the same thing as my beloved-but-never-beblogged quinoa-spinach bake—with more cheese, more eggs, and even more deliciousness than the its sibling. I’m glad now, for your sake, that I never blogged about the earlier dish. Stick with this one.

Quinoa and kale crustless quiche
Very slightly adapted from Food52

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch kale, stems removed and cut into ribbons [I used two bunches, because I am a kale fanatic]
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
3 ounces cream cheese, cubed [I'd recommend trying goat cheese for more flavor]
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch pie or cake dish.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan on medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions. Slowly cook until the onions are soft and browned, at least 20 minutes. Let the onions cook, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Rinse the quinoa. Combine quinoa and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook, covered, for about twenty minutes, until water has been absorbed and quinoa is cooked.

Once the onions are browning, add kale to the pan. Cook  until kale is wilted and bright green, about two minutes. Once cake is cooked, make a well in the middle of the pan. Add a small amount of olive oil, then cook garlic for about 30 seconds.

Combine kale-onion-garlic mixture, quinoa, cream cheese [or goat cheese] and cheddar in a large mixing bowl. In small bowl, whisk eggs well. Pour over quinoa-kale bowl and stir until eggs cling to the greens. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour into prepared dish.  Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden and the pie has started to pull away from the edge of the baking dish. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 4 as a main course.

But probably my favorite rice trick these days is this baked “Mexican” seasoned brown rice. It’s only a hair more involved than the Cook’s Illustrated brown rice, but you end up with something worlds away from plain old brown rice.

Nice spiced rice.

Toss in some beans and veggies, maybe with cilantro and cotija cheese on top, and it’s a fabulous meal.

Nice spiced rice, you more than suffice!

Baked Mexican brown rice
From Whole Foods

Is it custard? Butterscotch pudding? Salad dressing? Aioli? From the photo, heaven knows. Conveniently, though, this post has a title, so you can probably guess what it is.

It’s one of my very favorite soups, an odd concoction that supposedly hearkens back to the days when “gazpacho” was basically nothing but stale bread and olive oil rather than tomato-based liquidy salsa. This version, which I first fell in love with at Jaleo, is essentially just pulverized and strained almonds, bread, garlic, olive oil, sherry vinegar, grapes, and cucumber. It turns into a lovely, delicate, and refreshing soup—just right for the tail end of summer.

Unfortunately, this recipe makes quite a small quantity—it was barely enough fill three ramekins. So if you want to feed more people more substantially, I’d recommend doubling the recipe.

White gazpacho
From Jaleo and Food Musings

3 cups mineral or filtered water
7 ounces blanched almonds
1 clove garlic
3 ounces white bread, torn into small pieces
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
16 seedless grapes
1/2 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped

Combine 1 cup of water, the almonds, and the garlic in a medium pot and bring to a boil. When the water reaches a boil, drain. Pour a fresh cup of water into the pot with the drained almonds and garlic; bring to a boil. Drain again. By now the garlic will have lost much of its pungency, and the almonds will be softened.

Place the garlic and almonds in a blender. Add the remaining 1 cup of water, plus the bread, ½ cup olive oil, sherry vinegar, grapes, cucumber, and salt. Blend the mixture until smooth.

Place a colander lined with a cheesecloth over a large bowl. Pour the soup into the colander. Once most of the liquid has passed through the colander, press the mixture gently with a large spoon to release as much liquid as possible [This always takes much longer than I think it will, and often involves some fairly involved manhandling with a ladle.] Discard any unstrained solids, and pour the soup into a pitcher. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Choc.O.Late.

Even more impressive is the fact that Molly of Orangette baked a bajillion of these—which a friend of hers dubbed cakes to win hearts and minds—to be her own wedding cakes. That speaks volumes about (a) how delicious this cake is, (b) how easy it is to make, and (c) how bonkers it is to bake your own wedding cakes. I had the good fortune to only be baking one—although it was for a bachelorette party, because rumor had it the bride was a fan of chocolate.

But that this is a cake fit for either weddings or wedding-related shenanigans does not mean that it should not be made all the darn time. Because it most certainly should.

Winning-hearts-and-minds chocolate cake
From Orangette

7 ounces best-quality dark chocolate
7 ounces unsalted European-style butter (the high-butterfat kind, such as Lurpak or Beurre d’Isigny), cut into ½-inch cubes
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
5 large eggs
1 Tbs unbleached all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit, and butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Line the base of the pan with parchment, and butter the parchment too.

Finely chop the chocolate (a serrated bread knife does an outstanding job of this [as does a food processor]) and melt it gently with the butter in a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring regularly to combine. Add the sugar to the chocolate-butter mixture, stirring well, and set aside to cool for a few moments. Then add the eggs one by one, stirring well after each addition, and then add the flour. The batter should be smooth, dark, and utterly gorgeous.

Pour batter into the buttered cake pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until the center of the cake looks set and the top is shiny and a bit crackly-looking. (I usually set the timer for 20 minutes initially, and then I check the cake every two minutes thereafter until it’s done. At 20 minutes, it’s usually quite jiggly in the center. You’ll know it’s done when it jiggles only slightly, if at all.) Let the cake cool in its pan on a rack for 10 minutes; then carefully turn the cake out of the pan and revert it, so that the crackly side is facing upward. Allow to cool completely. The cake will deflate slightly as it cools.

Serve in wedges at room temperature with a loose dollop of ever-so-slightly sweetened whipped cream.

Note: This cake is even better on the second day, so consider making it the day before serving.

Still, disheartened by my first attempt. it took me nearly two years to try again. I’m deeply sorry that I waited so long.

It was difficult to stop eating long enough to take this photo.

Armed with Cook’s Illustrated’s science—and the suggestion of using butter—I finally found the nerve to give it another shot. Way to go, science! And butter! Sea scallops are still frustratingly expensive, but with this technique they make for an insanely quick and fabulous weeknight supper.

Seared scallops
From Cook’s Illustrated 

1 1/2 pounds dry sea scallops, 10-20 per pound, small side muscles removed
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Place scallops on rimmed baking sheet lined with clean kitchen towel. Place second clean kitchen towel and top of scallops and press gently on towel to blot liquid. Let scallops sit at room temperature for 10 minutes while towels absorb moisture.

Sprinkle scallops on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon  oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of scallops in single layer, flat side down, and cook, without moving, until well-browned, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to skillet. Using tongs, flip scallops; continue to cook, using large spoon to baste scallops with melted butter (tilt skillet so butter runs to one side) until sides of scallops are firm and centers are opaque, 30 to 90 seconds (remove smaller scallops as they finish cooking). Transfer scallops to large plate and tent loosely with foil. Wipe out skillet with wad of paper towels and repeat cooking with remaining scallops, oil, and butter. Serve immediately.

Orange soup!

For a long time, I thought gazpacho was really just watery salsa, and it never much appealed to me. But every now and then, I’d see someone order gazpacho and get a bowl of something altogether different—smooth, velvety, and bright orange, not a chunk of tomato in sight. Eventually, I learned that this is proper Andalusian gazpacho, made with bread and olive oil and then carefully strained. It’s a somewhat finicky process, but absolutely worth the effort.

Unrelated: Apparently there is a hot-dog stand in Chicago called Felony Franks (“home of the misdemeanor weiner [sic]“). I think I have no choice but to go there.

Andalusian gazpacho
From Serious Eats

Note: I’m reporting this recipe in full as I made it, but I think you can probably skip the freezing-and-thawing steps—unless you are, indeed, a very serious eater, as well as much more patient than I am.

3 pounds (about 4 large) very ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into rough 1-inch chunks
1/2 pound (about 1 small) cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into rough 1-inch chunks
1/3 pound (about 1 small) small red onion, peeled and cut into rough 1-inch chunks
1/3 pound (about 1 medium) green or red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into rough 1-inch chunks
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
4 ounces (about 2 slices) white sandwich, French, or Italian bread, crusts removed, torn into rough 1-inch pieces (see note)
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons finely minced chives
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine tomatoes, cucumber, onion, pepper, garlic, and salt in a large bowl and toss to coat thoroughly. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Drain juices into a large bowl and add the bread. Transfer the drained vegetables to a rimmed baking sheet and place in freezer until vegetables are frozen, about 30 minutes.

Remove vegetables from freezer and allow to sit at room temperature until mostly thawed, about 30 minutes. Transfer vegetables and all their juices from the pan to bowl with soaked bread.

Working in two batches as necessary, blend vegetables, juice, and bread at high speed, slowly drizzling olive oil and sherry vinegar into blender as it blends. Strain soup through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl [note: the straining process took much longer than I expected]. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve, drizzling each bowl with olive oil, a few spirnkles of sherry vinegar, extra cracked black pepper, and chives. Gazpacho can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.