Written by GabrielMKey on 14 September 2009
Although the summer has been gloriously free of hot and humid days here in Washington, DC, the recent days have left both Wife and I craving childhood favorites such as cobbler pie. Well, actually, I think it is more honest to say that my near constant droning of day dream memories of summer cobblers and fresh ice cream (as in “your arm nearly falls off from cranking the ice cream maker and that is how your parent’s kept you from pestering them all evening” ice cream) were either highly persuasive or in enough quantity to convince Wife of the critical necessity of a summer peach cobbler.
Peach and Blueberry Gluten Free Cobbler
Thanks to a visit by some well loved in-laws, I decided it was time to take the risk of trying to live up to those day-dream quality cobblers and attempt one myself.
Cobblers are supposed to be a simple-enough affair. As the name “Cobbler” implies, this traditional American dessert is made from bringing different fruits or berries together and combining them to make an entire dish. Personally, I think the name comes from two sources. First, much like a cobble stone street, these pie – like desserts are usually filled with large, nearly mismatched, pieces of fruit or berries and nearly always it is a combination of two or more fruits or berries. Second, a review of multiple recipes as well as assorted conversations with others, indicates these desserts probably evolved from a need to use up all the assorted bits and pieces left over from assembling more traditional pies, other desserts, or even the preparation of preserves.
At any rate, the point is cobblers are supposed to be rather unstructured or even informal in their preparation, final product and even how they are served, simply put: they should be like a summer evening – fun, for family, and filling.
For the cobbler in the picture above, I followed the Peach Raspberry Cobbler recipe listed in the Joy of Cooking but substituted Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free All-Purpose flower for the required all purpose flower. In order to offset any potential “bean” flavor from the GF AP flour, I added a pinch or two of extra sugar when covering the cut fruit as well as in the batter mix.
For a first attempt, it turned out very well and proved to be a very tasty and relatively easy gluten free dessert to make.
But, after some review, I would like to investigate a different style of GF topping or even using an entirely different GF flour. As it turned out, the flour does have a slightly strong but not un-pleasant chick pea taste. Alternatively, including cinnamon, allspice or even a touch of nutmeg – when appropriate – or even a splash of brandy, cognac, Cointreau or something similar would introduce some great flavors and help offset any potential flavors resulting from the GF flour.
Tags: cobbler, dessert, fruit, peach
Posted in homemade, Recipes, Food, Recipes, cooking, Eating, photos, Fruit & Veg, Fruit, Dessert | 19 Comments »
Written by GabrielMKey on 17 January 2009
Pan Roasted Venison, Roasted Finglering Potatoes with Green Sauce of Cilantro, Galic, Lime juice, and seasoning
Growing up in Oregon, I knew people – friends in school or friends of friends – who hunted deer each fall. I knew they also ate the deer successfully hunted but called it venison. Although I was never really one to associate Bambi with a food item, the concept of eating venison was foreign to me and foreign enough to many more that it was not exactly something seen on every menu.
Fortunately, times and tastes have changed.
It seems the unique flavoring and the healthier-than-beef-if-not-raised-like-beef traits of venison have helped bring it to many menus. At the same time, since moving to the East from the West I have had the pleasure of cooking and eating amazing venison many times with each better than the last.
Last Monday, January 12, 2009, I threw together the venison dish pictured and described on the right. Normally I try to complete most, if not all, of the main preparations or cooking for the week by Sunday or, if time allows, Monday afternoon or evening. On this particular Monday I had cooked the meals for the week and so was faced with trying to cook food for the week and dinner, at the same time and to be completed with the cooking before 10:00 p.m.
So, once I put a chicken in the oven to roast (more on this particular chicken in another blog entry), I focused on the venison.
Broken down, the venison dish has three components: venison, roasted potatoes, and sauce.
Here are the guidelines I followed for each:
Venison- although last to be put on the stove or to put into an oven, the seasoning and cooking of this meat was probably the most important part of the dish. I seared each side in a cast-ion saute pan and then placed it in an approximately 400 degree oven to finish (about 12 – 14 min total. The venison steaks were seasoned with salt, pepper, just enough to coat olive oil, and freshly grated or cut lime zest. The lime zest was a great addition and really added a lot to the flavor of the meet.
Roasted Fingerlings-a variation on my standby – olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper: instead of putting them to roast in the oven after either starting on the stove or at least warming (or more accurately heating) the pan in a 450 – 500 degree oven, the potatoes were put into a pan with some grape seed oil and the heat at high. Once they started to brown, the heat was dropped and freshly chopped garlic was added. Keeping the pan on the stove top instead of the oven was a challenge because I had to stir the potatoes and garlic to prevent everything from burning.
Green Sauce: Basically – a cilantro version of a more traditional parsley green sauce. I loosely or hash chopped the cilantro and garlic, added them to a blender with a touch of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Blend just enough to mix all the flavors with the oil. As you can see in the picture, this is a rough or “country style” sauce, it should be bold and not look like it was just pureed.
Wrapping up as I fall asleep, the sauce a normally good meal and elevated it to excellent, we even used it for salad dressing the next night.
Tags: Cilantro, Dinner, gluten free, Potatoes, Roast, Venison
Posted in Dinner, food, gluten free, homemade, Recipes, Food, Recipes, cooking, Eating, photos, Fruit & Veg, Fruit, Dessert, Roast, Venison | 3 Comments »
Written by GabrielMKey on 21 October 2008
Hello there,
Don’t you agree it is a wonderful day in the neighborhood? Well at least it was a wonderful day in the neighborhood. With fall finally showing some gusto over the last few days, Wife, Dog, and I took a trip out to the Northern Neck area of Virginia.
We ended up camping at the Westmoreland Virginia State Park campsite. It is very beautiful there and definitely worth checking out, especially now while the days still offer some warmth and the crowds are not around. If you have time, make sure to hunt for fossils on Fossil Beach, look for Osprey and Eagles from the cliffs near the visitor center, and then remark on the ironic fact that George Washington and Robert E. Lee were born and raised approximately 10 miles from each other.
More to the point of this blog, we toured around the area on Sunday and ended up stopping at the Ingleside Winery as well as the Westmoreland Berry Farm. Two very special but very different places.
Pulling into the Ingleside winery was a very pleasant surprise. After a very short but picturesque cruz down the gravel driveway along vines flirting with fall colors on the leaves, a turn into the parking area reveals a happy but simple entrance marked by old oak foudres and an ivy covered silo.
Deciding to leave Dog in the car, we parked in the shade with the windows rolled down and water in his dish. Walking through the entrance revealed a pleasant outdoor seating area with a bubbly fountain in the middle and tables with umbrellas and fall leaf garland wrapped around each post.
After a quick sugar snack of delicious shortbread cookie and coffee cake, the pre-wine tasting snack of champions, we stepped back into the winery tasting room and shop, after all we were there for the wine as well as the atmosphere.
Wife choose the regular tasting for $3 and I chose the full, $10. Both tastings came with a complementary glass form the winery. The full allowed me to taste the regular, and the reserve wines while Wife was limited to regular wines only.
As it turned out, Wife didn’t seem to enjoy the few sips of reserve wines she mooched from me. Although I thought the reserve reds were good and very food friendly, she wasn’t all that impressed. We both agreed the merlot was a little of a let down compared to Merlots from Western Virginia we sampled recently and the Syrah seemed to be a mutual favorite. I also thought the Petit Verdot was another good food wine, seeing how I could easily pour it with smoked ham or turkey, roast pork or beef, and winter vegetables roasted and served with a sweet and tangy mustard.
With our mutual dislike for heavily oaked Chardonnay, we both were surprised and happy with their Chesapeake Chardonnay. It was light with acids, having just enough to not be too sweat, and just enough mineral to go with and not against oysters, heavy cream or blue cheese, tangy asian chicken, summer melon wrapped in prosciutto, or even roasted figs with pancetta. At the same time, by avoiding the curse of oak barrel aging, oak is good for some wines but not and especially Chardonnays, the Chesapeake Chardonnay doesn’t offer the same woody and thick taste as many of its counterparts, including Ingleside’s Reserve Chardonnay.
All in all I had a great time and was pleasantly pleased with the wines. I greatly look forward to going back and trying their wines as well as the many wines offered by the wineries of the Northern Neck sometime very soon.
As a kid, my friends and our parents would head out to Sauvie’s Island to pick berries in the summer, pumpkins in the fall, pet goats and hold freshly hatched chicks in the spring. Watching kids climb aboard a hay ride, bounce and bumble down the lane past the plank climbing goats, and descend upon the pumpkin patch as if searching for a leprechaun’s pot of gold brought back many of those gilded memories. Feasting upon a very good pulled pork barbeque sandwich, baked beans, coleslaw, and a truly glutinous and yet gleefully great strawberry combo (strawberry shortcake with ice cream and whipped cream) created new gilded memories and very full tummies. Originally I would have said one combo was enough to last a long while. But, after using some of their blackberry preserves on freshly baked cornbread at breakfast this morning, I am now wondering if they serve a blackberry combo and if it would taste better with the air just a little cooler.
All in all, I have to say that I am grateful to have ventured out to the Northern Neck area of Virginia and look forward to venturing out there again soon.
Tags: Adventures, food, local, Northern Neck, virginia, westmoreland, wine
Posted in food, Food Adventure, gluten free, Local Food and Producers, sustainable,agriculture,local,produce,vegitables, virginia, wine | 5 Comments »
