Peach Chutney with Pork Chops

Sorry, gentle readers, for leaving you in the lurch. I had every intention of sharing a recipe I concocted last week involving orzo, piel de sapo melon, prosciutto, basil, feta, and shallots. Sadly, it was just not good enough to blog about. The flavors were good, it was just the texture that was off. So it's back to the test kitchen with that one.

Autumn approaches fast. The squirrels are already burying their acorns in our garden and the colder nights have put me in a similar state of preparation. Happy Boy (thanks Aneesa!) and I spent much of our free time last weekend prepping for winter: peeling tomatoes to freeze and making stock. And on Monday guess who stopped by with two boxes of meat--Happy Boy's dad! He brought us copius amounts of the following: pork chops, pancetta, bacon, salami, coppa, Italian sausage, skirt steak, flat iron steak, a tri-tip, pork tenderloin, Korean style short ribs, duck breast, and two whole chickens. Thank god C. lives downstairs so that he can keep some of the meat in his freezer because ours is full.

Watch out for the meat slides!

All this with flats of peaches and tomatoes still laying around. (It always seems to come back to the peaches doesn't it?) So I made a peach chutney to serve with barbequed pork chops. Making chutney isn't difficult and is actually a pretty quick process.



Fresh Peach Chutney

1/2 C cider vinegar
1/3 C white sugar
1 T molasses
1/2 C diced sweet red pepper
1 large shallot, diced, about 1/2 C
1 small jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/3 C white raisins
1 T chopped garlic
1 T grated ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 lbs peaches, skinned and sliced into wedges

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat bring vinegar, sugar, and molasses to a boil.

2. Add the diced pepper, shallot, jalapeno, raisins, garlic, ginger, and salt and simmer to reduce by half. Stir frequently. This takes about 10-20 minutes.


3. Add the peach slices and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes till tender and reduced.

N.B. The peaches will create a lot of juice as they cook down. You will need to be very gentle when stirring to reduce this added liquid. The peaches are fragile and you are at risk of making more of a jam than a chutney if you're too vigorous with your stirring.



4. Cool for 15 minutes.

Yield is 2 1/2 Cups. Enough to can or share with friends. This will keep in a sterilized jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Angel Food Cake

What's under there?

I don't know why, but I've always wanted a cake carrier. I've seen many different kinds. Some peppered with be-ribboned bouquets, some with flowers growing round the base, some with funfetti thrown across a garish background, some with stripes, some with plaid. Yes, plaid. And while the last two came the closest to being purchased, they just weren't good enough. I think I recognized that if I was actually going to plunk down the cash for such a frivolous purchase it had to be the one. And then a few months ago at The Whistle Stop Antique Shoppe in Sunol, I saw the beauty above. Cut glass bottom with a clean, white enamel lid, chrome handle and sturdy sliding locks on the sides. It was love at first sight, but still I hemmed and hawed about whether or not to buy it. I tested its locks, turned it over and around, put it back in its place, and circled the shop trying to forget about it. After the third pass, I was still in love. We both knew what was happening here, so I brought it up to "Bob", the grizzled old lady who ran the shop and never looked back.

Yet it has listed in the cabinet with nary a cake to carry, until now. Thank you C. for turning 34 and giving me an excuse to bake you a cake and carry it to your house! Turns out the cake carrier has more than just quality and good looks going for it--it also hides what's within heightening the suspense.

So, what was within? YOU already know...

Angel Food Cake!

Thank you again, C., for sharing my love of Angel Food Cake. I love eating it. I love making it. I love how much others love it. To me Angel Food Cake is a perfect dessert. It's sweet, airy, and amazing on its own or paired with fruit, custard, lemon curd, whipped cream, or sour cream. I don't know if this an appropriate adjective to describe a cake, but it strikes me as very clean. I guess because of its lack of fat.

The recipe below is uber basic, but I have a few tips.

• Room temperature eggs will give the best volume, which helps keep the cake light and airy even while you gently incorporate the dry ingredients
• Make sure your pan and bowl are clean and dry. Any trace of oil or fat will cause your cake to deflate.
• You're going to need a big mixing bowl, because those egg whites will triple in size. I promise you! Compare below:
  12 egg whites

12 egg whites beaten into submission

• Gently fold in the dry ingredients. A little deflation when you fold in the dry ingredients is normal, but take care you don't overmix or you will end up with a tough cake. And no one wants that.
  
  
  
• Clean any batter off the sides of the pan before baking or else your house will smell like burnt sugar.
  
• It is important that the cake is allowed to cool upside down so that it doesn't decompress. If you don't have a fancy, cool pan like this (I didn't know what those annoying legs were for for the longest time), then balance it on the neck of a wine bottle.
  

I served C.'s cake with lemon curd folded into whipped cream and topped it with mascerated strawberries. YUM!

Classic Angel Food Cake Recipe

1 C cake flour
1 1/2 C white sugar
12 egg whites
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsps cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Be sure that your 10 inch tube pan is clean and dry. Sift together flour and 3/4 C sugar, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whip egg whites with vanilla, cream of tartar, and salt to medium stiff peaks. Gradually add the remaining sugar while continuing to whip to stiff peaks. When at maximum volume, fold in the sifted ingredients, one third at a time. Do not overmix. Put the batter into the tube pan.
3. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cake springs bake when touched. Check on it frequently as it can burn quickly. Balance the pan upside down on top of a bottle to prevent decompression while cooling. When cool, run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto a plate.

Rustic Peach and Mozzarella Galette

This weekend I made this deliciousness:

I was very pleased with how flaky and buttery the pastry turned out and felt like my old employer, Grand Central Bakery in Portland, Oregon (the King of Rustic Pastry) would have approved. Maybe I actually could have been a pastry chef rather than the retail/sandwichland maven/barista that I once was. I used David Lebovitz's dough recipe from his amazing French Tomato Tart and, as long as all my future pastry comes out so nicely, I think I'm sold. The main difference is that he scrambles an egg with the cold water. I even made it in the cuisinart and it turned out well.



The filling was inspired by a salad that James once threw together. I layered nutty parmesan with savory-sweet caramelized shallots, fresh peaches and fresh mozzarella, drizzled it with olive oil and some of E.'s honey, and sprinkled it with fresh thyme and basil.

Since E.'s honey was crystallized I had to melt it. I don't use microwaves and was so happy to use the adorable syrup warmer we recently bought. I just put it right on a low gas burner and in minutes it was ready to pour.

We shared this galette with friends at brunch and happily, it was a hit.

Rustic Peach and Mozzarella Galette

Pastry:

David Lebovitz's tomato tart dough recipe

Filling:

3 T grated parmesan
1 large shallot, sliced thin
3 T olive oil
4-5 peaches, peeled and sliced
1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced

2 heaping T of fresh herbs, such as basil, thyme, chives, or rosemary
2 T honey
Salt and Pepper

1. Roll out dough and put on parchment paper-covered baking sheet.
2. Sprinkle with parmesan, reserving a generous 2 inches around the edge to allow for crust to be folded over.
3. Caramelize shallots in 1 T of olive oil and then sprinkle over cheese.
4. Starting in the middle, arrange peach slices in a single layer.
5. Top with slices of mozzarella.
6. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and salt and pepper.
7. Drizzle with remaining 2 T olive oil and 2 T honey.
8. Pick a point of the dough and fold it in. Continue folding every few inches, until you have worked your way back to the beginning.

Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, checking half way to rotate.