Mixed Berry Cobbler

Updating finally. Thanks for the reminder Steffani. I’ve had this ready to go for a bit now and just forgot to do it. Oh well.

It’s finally feeling like summer in Portland. The sun is out, everyone’s smiling, and the farmer’s market is filled with delicious, delicious berries (I told you I’d be coming back to this!). My beautiful, fantastic friend Renai came to visit two weekends ago and we decided to do a cross-blog extravaganza and focus around the farmer’s market. Renai’s blog involves a ton of cool, look what I’m cooking now recipes, especially some very neat vegan stuff I wouldn’t have ever thought of. It’s because she’s a fantastic lady.



So with berries in mind, we went down to the big Saturday farmer’s market at PSU and eventually picked up a flat of mixed berries, which included blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. We ate a good chunk of this before we even made it back to the house. Sitting in my dining room, looking over some of my fave cookbooks and the internet, we debated ideas back and forth. After rejecting pie for the time factor (sorry pie! We had dinner to make too!), we settled on a cobbler recipe from the Alice Bay Cookbook, which was featured last fall here. Going with the whole local berries, Pacific Northwest thing, we went for it.

And it was so worth it. I love cooking with Renai. She’s a great partner in the kitchen.

Mixed Berry Cobbler modified from Blackberry Cobbler from the Alice Bay Cookbook:

About 8-12 portions, depending on how berry crazy everyone is.

1½ c. sugar
½ c. unbleached white flour
1 tsp. salt
8 c. mixed berries (I’d go for a good mix of sweet and tart. Our blackberries were almost like jam, but the raspberries had a good bit of bite to them. Experiment and see what works for you).
3 Tb. lemon juice (fresh, if you’ve got it)
3 Tb. butter
Biscuit Topping-
2 c. sifted unbleached flour
4 tsp. baking powder
3 Tb. sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ c. butter
2/3 c. milk
1 egg, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.



Mix together sugar, flour, salt, berries, and lemon juice. Pour into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish, and dot with butter. Bake for 15 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Meanwhile, make biscuit topping. Mix together sifted flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add milk and beaten egg that your friend has kindly already mixed together for you, and stir with a fork until just blended.







While berry mixture is hot and bubbly, spoon biscuit mixture on top in 10 or 12 dollops (or be less specific, like Renai, and just glop it all over the place). Return to oven for 20 minutes, until biscuits are browned. My oven decided this would be about 24 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Top with ice cream or whipped cream. Or just eat it and enjoy.



This was a pretty fantastic dessert. The only thing I’d change is making the glops of biscuit mixture a little more spread out. But for a first time team-up, I’d say we did a great job. Everyone seemed to enjoy it quite a bit and it was a fantastic way to use a ton of berries.

We also made dinner, but there are no pictures of that. That’s okay because I mostly just chopped veggies for salad and opened up and emptied a can of Coors Light to poach salmon that was taking too long to cook. It was tasty and was perfectly finished off with the cobbler. I can’t wait to collaborate with Renai again.

Soft Pretzels

This one gets an Aaron made tag because it was his idea and he did about half the work. The normal Aaron made tag is when he does everything, but he definitely deserves some credit here.

When we came back from Germany, pretzels were on the mind. They are everywhere in Munich: with butter, with cheese, plain, the size of your head, whatever. Aaron had the idea of making our own and he searched out a recipe. This one comes from my FN buddy, Alton Brown. Who loves a food nerd? I do.

I loved this recipe. The dough came together so easily and only one step of it is harder than really easy. Plus, we got to use my beautiful new cutting board my folks got me for my birthday.

Soft Pretzels from Good Eats:

Makes 8 pretzels

1 ½ c. warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 Tb. sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast (or 1 Tb. active dry yeast if you don’t buy packets…which I don’t)
22 oz. all-purpose flour, approximately 4 ½ c.
2 oz. unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 c. water
2/3 c. baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 Tb. water
Pretzel salt (I’m not sure what this is exactly, so we used coarse sea salt and it was delicious)

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. I pulled it sooner because I love to finish dough off by hand. Feel free to not do this. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap (or a towel) and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.





Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside. I accidentally skipped the brushing with oil part. Do not forget this part. Or, do like we did on the other pan because we ran out of parchment paper: just oil the sheet. I think it works out better.
Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan. I ended up making mine a little shorter and really wrapping the ends around to make them stick. The first couple came undone in the boiling water.



Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. (This is the slightly difficult part. Props to Aaron for doing it). Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.



These are so, so, so delicious. We ate half of them before the day was out. See how happy Aaron is? It’s because he just finished a bite before I took the picture. I cannot wait to do this again.

To Market, To Market

This is an I love you to Portland. I love the farmer's markets here. They are so full of amazing produce and weird things you wouldn't have thought of ahead of time. I really enjoy looking at all the colors and shapes and think about how much hard work, time, and effort went into such tasty, tasty food. I think having parents who farm probably helps me in this regard.





Anyway, I went with Aaron last week (and I went again yesterday, but I'll be getting to that in a different post) and even though it was a bit cloudy and slightly cold, the place was packed and people were smiling. We sampled quite a bit (ILY Rogue Creamery) and picked up some produce. Something that is very important to me is not only supporting naturally grown/organic food, but also local farmers. I like that my food doesn't need to travel a zillion miles to get to me. It tastes better, fresher, and it's just good times.



I also picked up some starts from a farm in Forest Grove. They are currently living on my back porch area and (mostly) seem to be having a good time. We shall see.

Anyway, I love your farmer's market and I love you Portland.

Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I have mentioned before how much I like it when Aaron cooks. I recently started a new job and Aaron’s been getting creative in the kitchen (not that he wasn’t before). We had this dish the other night and it was fantastic. I love coming home to a husband cooking up a hot meal!

Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breasts:

Serves 2

2 chicken breasts, flattened
6-ish garlic cloves, minced
A few slices fresh mozzarella cheese
Olive oil
Cooked ziti
Pasta sauce (TJ’s marinara is awesome and such a good deal. Add some crushed/minced garlic. Or use your own sauce.)



Flatten your chicken breasts until they are really thin. Wrap the chicken in plastic wrap and using a rolling pin. Cover one half of the chicken breasts with the minced garlic and mozzarella sliced. Fold the other half over.



Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Place the chicken breasts in the pan, wait until the cheese has melted and flip over. Cook through. This took about 10 minutes, on the high side. Place over cooked ziti and cover the whole thing with pasta sauce. Serve with your favorite mixed greens.

Aaron said the only thing he would change here would be to season the chicken more before cooking it. This is simple, tasty, and perfect for the weeknight, although I think it is nice enough for company, but the company I like to have over will eat anything. Well almost anything. They’re not that picky about fancy.

Roasted Carrots with Balsamic

I need to remember to write things down. Right now I’m looking at the pictures and I am struggling to remember what I actually did. It was tasty though. Clearly I like roasting things, as evidenced here, here, here, and here. And in some other, not roasted named files I’m sure.

Anyway, I was trying to get myself back into the cooking groove and wanted to do something quickly. I love roasted veggies and at the time carrots were the only really roast ready veggie I had in the house and they were baby carrots at that. I love baby carrots. I will tear through half a bag without even realizing it. So good. I also love balsamic vinegar. So that’s how we get this:

Roasted Carrots with Balsamic:

2 big handfuls of baby carrots or a few regular carrots
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar





Cut the baby carrots in half or peel the regular carrots and cut them into about that size. Toss with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper until all of the carrots are coated in oil. Place in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Add some generous lashings of balsamic and bake for another 3-5 minutes, until most of the extra vinegar has evaporated. Let cool slightly and go at it.

I loved this. It makes for a great side or snack. I’d go a little easier on the balsamic next time, but it was still quite delicious. Just eyeball the ingredients to your preferences and you’ll be golden!

Baking Powder Biscuits

This is something else I did shortly before I left, but this is also ones of those things I make all the time. Baking powder biscuits are one of the easiest, and best tasting, things in the world. I remember helping my mom make them before Thanksgiving dinner as a kid. Although my last batch was slightly over baked, this is quite the solid recipe and the whole process takes about 30 minutes. It’s an easy thing to do in the morning and who doesn’t like warm biscuits for breakfast?

Baking Powder Biscuits from Beard on Bread:

Makes 6-12, depending on how thick you want them

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tb. double-acting baking powder
½ tsp. salt (kosher)
½ stick (¼ c.) butter or other shortening (I always use butter and I always cut it up into little bits beforehand)
¾ c. milk

Mix the flour in a mixing bowl with the baking powder and salt. Then, using your fingers or two knives (Mr. Beard used a heavy fork. I use my fingers) blend the butter and the flour into very fine particles. Add the milk and stir into the dough just enough to make the particles cling together. It should be a very, very soft dough.

Turn out on a floured surface and knead for about 1 minute, then either pat or roll out. If you want very high, fluffy biscuits, the dough should be ½” to 3/4” thick, and if you want thin, crusty biscuits, make it about ¼” thick. Cut into rounds or in squares. This is always my favorite part. Take a small drinking glass, dip the top into flour, and use that to cut out your rounds. They are always the perfect size. I, and my mom, usually get about 6 biscuits out of this dough.



For crisp biscuits, place far apart on an ungreased cookie sheet; for fluffier biscuits, place close together on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheat 450 degree oven for about 12 to 15 minutes, and serve piping hot.

These are fantastic. Go make them now.

Chicken with Lemon Vinaigrette

Just before I left on my trip, I made dinner for my friend David. I felt bad that I was going to miss his birthday, so I thought I’d do something nice. So I cooked. This recipe isn’t an old stand-by, yet. This is, however, what I made the first time Aaron and I had Carrina and Mike over for dinner. It’s pretty good.

The original recipe, here, is for whitefish and involves a bunch of stuff I don’t use here. Basically, it’s the technique, transferred to chicken, and the vinaigrette, which is fantastic. I may bash the Food Network, which they often deserve, but this recipe is solid. I’ve mentioned Giada’s recipes before and other then the minor show-based complaints I mention there, I have none. She makes good stuff.

Chicken with Lemon Vinaigrette modified from Whitefish with Lemon Vinaigrette from Everyday Italian:

Serves 3

3 chicken breasts (make these fairly thin, they cook better)
Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
All-purpose flour for dredging
¼ c. fresh lemon juice
¼ c. lightly packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil



Prep the vinaigrette first. Blend the lemon juice, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper. Set aside.



Flatten chicken breasts if necessary. Heat a bit of olive oil in a medium size saucepan over medium high heat. Sprinkle both sides of the breasts with kosher salt and pepper. Dredge the breasts in flour to coat completely. Shake of the excess flour and fry in the pan until they are golden brown and just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side, possibly more, depending on how thick your breasts are. Ours were a little too thick, so I cut them into smaller pieces to cook faster.

Spoon vinaigrette over chicken and serve with your favorite sides and beer. We had steamed broccoli, mashed potatoes, and Portland microbrews, as usual.I was too hungry to take pictures of the final product combined. Sorry folks! All in all, a pretty decent birthday dinner that translates to a fairly easy midweek dinner as well.