Freestyle on the road- Lentil soup, Greek style

I ordered lentil soup from Clark's a couple of weeks ago, and my dining companion implausibly ordered a gyro platter even though he doesnt like feta or tzatziki sauce. Bonus for me-I am always on the lookout for ways to add more fat to any dish- turns out that a dollop of that sauce and a sprinkling of feta into the soup made an already wonderful soup truly amazing.

Making it at home later, I added chopped scallions, a little fresh dill, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Never looking back!

Test of the mobile blogging station

Despite a great two weeks in Maine, with quite q few freestyle gourmet meals, (and a new contributor, welcome aicha) I did not take any photos of the experiments or the creations. Ok, I have to admit spending hours lovingly thumbing thru a 1942 joy of cooking book that remains in the cabin. It is the one place where I can actually follow a recipe...especially if the book has wartime chapters in 'clever substitutions and meal stretchers'

We'll see u next week!
To perfect the blog

Dont ask me how I managed to upload a photo upside down.....

freedom for lobsters! and then....lobster gold!

Elizabeth: I love to have little containers of great stuff in the freezer for improvisational cooking. I discovered lobster butter in Maine, where a chef I know used it to saute garlic and shrimp, adding a little white wine for the most amazing sauce. I have also used it in place of regular butter as a base for clam chowder and scallops au gratin

Anne:

a lobster feast is the best thing for a holiday weekend!

but then what to do with those pesky shells.....

doesn't anyone want just a fridge/freezer full of extravagant butters for those unexpected activities? lets make LOBSTER BUTTER!!!

First, dry out the shells in the oven....

then break up shells, and stir in with melted butter. Mash up the shells as you can, but we recommend that you do this prior to putting into melted butter. however, it looks prettier this way, and we've left it more whole!

how hard can it be, right? let the broken up shells cook in the butter for a bit, then strain, and cool before putting into fridge or freezer. Then you can pull out lobster butter at a moments notice to slather onto bruschetta, slather onto spaghetti, or just about anything else you use butter for, really.....

ginn fizz

for a weekend holiday event, with leftover egg whites, key lime juice and a need for a cocktail--we created the perfect summer gin fizz! frothy goodness!

watermelon salad--reconsidered

can you handle two posts in one weekend?!

i was inspired by this recipe after returning from the market, and thank goodness i had at least one ingredient on hand! the watermelon....!

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/24/dining/the-minimalist-grounds-for-marriage.html

ok, so i had scallions and grape tomatoes (not cherry!), and cilantro too. so i'll try this out, but including feta in place of blue cheese, balsamic vinegar in place of sherry, and i'm not super convinced by the cayenne....yet.

recipe independence movement has begun! key lime reconsidered!

inspired by key limes in the store, during a fourth of july weekend with ample time to cook, i embarked on a simple exercise in making a key lime pie.

I actually remembered to search the recipe in the grocery store, so that i didn't walk out without any necessary ingredients. Quick save, sweetened condensed milk! However, the same search made it seem like you could not make this without a graham cracker crust....this must be incorrect,there must be riffs out there that will work. Also, with fresh basil wafting thru the air, could i infuse the lime with some fragrance? Hmmm....remember i am not a professional.

further recipe research at home dug up very little in the way of alternative to the traditional....

it is the beginning of 'independence day,' and i will now create my own version!

First, i refuse the graham cracker crust, but would like to use something with a texture. I'll start with an almond-based pastry shell (similar in texture/process per MORO cookbook pastry tart, but with ground almonds). this is a double recipe simply because i can't tell with the 'g' how much this actually makes...and it seems miserly as written.

ultimately it's ground almonds, flour and powdered sugar (240g) with butter (150g) and egg yolks (2)--you will know when it seems like pastry dough. but it will probably work out anyways...they usually do.

(do you know the MORO cookbook? from the Moro Restaurant in London--my favorite restaurant i've never been to!)

http://www.moro.co.uk/moro/foodwine/cookbook.asp

grate chilled dough into pieplate (fill more than this, but you get the effect with this photo):

i pre bake basket weave crust in a hot oven for about 10 mins, prebake till just turning golden, then cool.

Full disclosure: i make the pastry dough by hand with a fork because i'm too lazy to get the cuisinart dirty (sorry jenni!), i am not afraid to put the fridge up higher to make the dough chill faster, and i only have a electric beater with one beaty-thing creating a bit of angst going into the next phase.

filling: (proportions gleaned from recipe surfing) : egg yolks (6), 1.5 cans sweetened condensed milk & key lime juice (6 oz liquid, approx a bag plus a few of little limes squeezed). beat it frothy starting with the eggs!

here's a fun discovery with the mono-beater--hold still and let the bowl spin!!!!

Am I bold enough to add basil to the filling??? sort of a Thai inspired idea...SURE, what harm can it do?

now to bake....15 mins (plus a bit on 350....)

and now...while it's cooling....

what to do with those egg whites...hmmmm. gin fizz anyone?