Sunday, August 12, 2007

Peach Melba


The luscious combination of poached peaches with raspberry coulis and vanilla ice cream was conceived by Auguste Escoffier, the French chef most noted for updating and popularizing traditional French cooking methods - as well as serving techniques - in the 1920's and 30's. He named the dessert after opera singer Nellie Melba, an Australian born soprano.

The story goes that Mr. Escoffier heard her perform in London and was inspired to create a desert in her honor. Rumor had it that Ms. Melba loved ice cream but didn't eat it very often for fear of damaging her vocal chords. The warmed sauce and peaches were combined to take the cold edge off the ice cream and present a special treat for the opera singer.

While descriptions indicated that the original Peach Melba sauce was made with raspberries, currant jelly, sugar and cornstarch, I found a recipe from Nigella Lawson and followed it to the letter.

Peach Melba

For the Peaches
3 cups water
3 1/2 c. superfine sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
8 peaches

For the raspberry sauce

3 cups raspberries
1/4 c. confectioners' sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon

to serve
1 large container of vanilla ice cream


Put the water, sugar lemon juice and vanilla bean into a wide saucepan and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Bring the pan to a boil and let it bubble away for about 5 minutes, then turn the pan down to a fast simmer.


Cut the peaches in half, and, if the pits come out easily remove them, if not, then you can get them out later. Poach the peach halves in the sugar syrup for about 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on the ripeness of the fruit. Test the cut side with the sharp point of a knife to see if they are soft, and then remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.

When all the peaches are poached, peel off their skins and let them cool (and remove any remaining pits). If you are making them a day in advance, let the poaching syrup cool and then pour into a dish with the peaches. Otherwise, just bag up the syrup and freeze it for the next time you are poaching peaches.

To make the raspberry sauce, puree the raspberries, confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a blender or else a food processor. Sieve to remove the seeds and pour this fantastically hued puree into a jug.

To assemble Peach Melba, allow two peach halves per person and sit them on each plate alongside a scoop or two of ice cream. Spoon the raspberry sauce over each one, and put the remaining puce-tinted sauce in a pitcher for people to add themselves at the table.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

Lamb is Love

Maybe I'm getting so attached to food that I'm substituting romantic feelings for a Pavlovian response to rare meat? Or, maybe there's nothing tastier or sexier than a perfectly grilled lamb chop. Either way, I had a half a dozen small lamb chops waiting in the fridge and had no intention of freezing them.

Bone Sucking Worthy, Grilled Lamb Chops with Fresh Herbs

1/4 c. olive oil
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 c. red wine
1 bunch fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
6 baby lamb chops, 1 inch thick (I prefer the French cut)
salt and freshly ground pepper

In a glass dish, mix all of the ingredients. Add the lamb chops and marinate at least 4 hours, turning after 2 hours to marinate both sides.

Prepare the grill. Season the chops with salt and pepper to taste. Grill over high heat until medium rare, 2-3 minutes per side.

Eat immediately. Put down your knife and fork and use your hands while you gnaw the meat off those bones like a robust man playing Henry VIII in a B movie!

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

NY Times #93


If you caught the "Dining In" section of The New York Times, on Wednesday, July 18th you saw Mark Bittman's article,
"Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less".

It's a real winner! It was first forwarded to me as an email from the Calphalon g-ddess, and then the newspaper section was passed to me by my grandmother. The email noted #93 as a recipe of interest and my grandmother pointed out her favorite ideas, so I skimmed the list and decided to try some of these recipes during the next few weeks to see what I like best.

Honestly, they are all healthy and hearty meals made from summer produce and basic food staples.

Recognizing that my friend had probably forwarded the article to others with the mention of #93, I thought it would be a nice gesture to start there first.
93: Cut up Italian sausage into chunks and brown in a little olive oil until just about done. Dump in a lot of seedless grapes and, if you like, a little slivered garlic and chopped rosemary. Cook, stirring, until the grapes are hot. Serve with bread.

This is it. Easy and it literally took 10 minutes to finish the whole project. It smelled absolutely divine. I used spicy turkey sausages, seedless red grapes, chopped garlic and fresh rosemary from my patio herb garden.

Stay tuned for more adventures from the Summer Express 101 list.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".