Fallen Souffle

I volunteered to help Ruth with recipe testing for her cookbook. (I am so jealous! I want to write a cookbook!) Well I somehow forgot that I was leaving for a week long trip to London! Duh! So I had to get on the ball because Ruth is a very busy woman and has many recipes to get through. So Sunday was “testing” day. I had breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack with her recipes. What a day! Needless to say I was pooped but the fruits of my labor were well worth it. All of her recipes were super simple and so yummy!

By now I know you are jealous and you want to help Ruth test some recipes, so here is the info and trust me…you won’t be sorry!

On another note…I have hit my 100th post! Wow! Who knew I could talk so much!

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I discovered this bread while shopping at my favorite grocery store of all time. My Mom convinced me to try them because she fell in love with them at a local sandwich shop. Not that it takes much to convince me to try anything in this store because I will chuck into the basket anything that will survive the three hour drive home. I have been known to stand there in the checkout line and throw in in large chunks of semi sweet chocolate and Toblerone bars. It’s really bad.

Anyways, back to the bread! Lavash is a Turkish flatbread that is fat free. Mine came in a square shape- though I don’t know if they all do- but I think it adds to their appeal. They are soft and yummy…much better than tortillas. I added chopped turkey and celery, dried cherries and some sliced brie. Delish! The only tip would be to fold your wrap before you heat it or you will end up with something like you see to the right. Evan, Mr. Smarty-Pants, wrapped his then toasted it and it was perfect. But they are awesome not heated as well. So pick some up next time you see them and you will have one heck of a lunch!

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This month’s Weekend Cookbook Challenge (hosted by Alicat and Sara) asked us to utilize foods in the shade of orange. Hmm. This leaves one with limited options as there are few orange foods on God’s green earth. So instead of searching for some creative food and recipe I thought I would spotlight something simple and sweet..and something very Ina.

I have honestly only made a few dishes from my Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks because good ole Ina, like many of my favorite chefs, loves to use lots of butter and oil and all things not so good for your figure. So I have been known to make some recipes with a few minor changes though I am pleased to say this one needed none!

Though the beets are the main ingredient in this dish, the oranges are the real stars. They add the perfect sweetness and really brighten the flavor of the beets. I have never had a beet until I opened a can of them for this recipe, but I was pleasantly surprised. If anything, they are a beautiful color! Ina says this recipe’s flavors develops over a few days, it tasted great today but I can’t wait to taste it tomorrow! The only change I made was to add only 2 cans of beets instead of her recommended 3 and I threw in some clementine segments because I needed to use them up before they went bad!

Jen’s version of Orange and Beet Salad
adapted from the Barefoot Contessa Bookbook

2 15oz cans of cut beets (not sliced, you want chunks)
2 navel oranges, zested, segmented then juiced
1 small red onion diced (I omitted this because I don’t care for raw onions)
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar (Ina used raspberry vinegar but I didn’t have any)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1. Combine beets, orange segments, and onion in a medium sized bowl and toss. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients to make a dressing and pour over beets. Allow to chill overnight to allow the flavors to marry.

2. Serve cold or at room temperature.

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Don’t even try a new faux finish paint technique on your living room walls when you are pissed off. It will never look the way you want it and you will just waste an entire weekend afternoon and lots of paint.

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It’s 9am. A blurry eyed man wakes from his long slumber. Shuffling his feet and attempting to not trip over 2 anxious dogs, he makes his way to the kitchen to let them out. While looking around he spots what looks to be a mirage. Could it be! Did my loving wife leave me the largest grilled cheese ever!? She is such a dear, she took one small square and left the rest for me to enjoy. What a wonderful way to start my day!

As he cuts himself a slice and opens wide in anticipation of this cheesy goodness he is somewhat surprised at what he has just put in his mouth. It’s quite tangy…a bit tart…this is not cheese! As he puckers his lips he realizes he has not just tastes a delectable cheese sandwich but in fact a citrus bar…lemon to be exact.

This is a reenactment of what Evan told me he encountered this morning. I had a craving for lemon bars last night and whipped up a batch but I had to chill them before cutting into them. Unfortunately I fell asleep too early to enjoy them so I tried one for breakfast and left the rest on the counter until I got home. Somehow the remaining uncut bars resembled a grilled cheese sandwich, in Evan’s head atleast. I can only imagine his face when he bit into them. I think they are quite nice but I think he was too shocked to appreciate them.

I revamped a recipe for lemon bars which made a whole 9×13 pan. Since my cravings are often short lived I wanted to make a smaller batch, and I was told by some of my fellow bakery workers that an addition of orange helps to balance the flavors. They were right, just a nice bit of zing! I made these in an 8×8 pan but I think the crust was a bit thick so I think a 9×9 pan would work better, plus you get bigger bars!

Try this out on a nice summer day (as it felt like in NC with 80 degree weather!) or when you are craving something a little tart.

Citrus Bars
Crust:
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:
2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup lemon juice (or do a combination of lemon and fresh orange juice)
pinch of salt
zest from one lemon or orange

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×9 inch pan (not as necessary as the crust has a ton of butter in it. Mine just popped out without greasing)

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup flour and confectioners’ sugar. Blend in the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Combine the sugar, baking powder, salt and 1/4 cup of flour so there will be no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs. Finally, stir in the lemon juice and zest. Pour over the prepared crust and return to the oven.

4. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until bars are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars. Top with more confectioners sugar if desired.

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