TBL Panzanella

I know, I know, I've been a bad blogger lately.  Good Eats: The Early Years was my cookbook of the month for June, and I only ever got one recipe posted in it,w ell, technically two, since the macerated strawberries and the shortcakes were from two different episodes.  But, in my defense, school ended in June and things were crazy then I took off to the lake for two weeks in the end of June and July.  I didn't bring the cookbook with me and the lake has no internet access, so no new recipes for me to blog.  Anyway, this cookbook will travel on into July as the cookbook of the month and I hope to get at least one more recipe out of it before we leave for a week in Chicago.  

We made this as part of our anniversary meal.  Our "real" anniversary meal will be in August, when we have reservations at Table 21 at VOLT.  We called back in October and mid-August was the earliest we could get.  So that will be our anniversary treat, but on the date of our actual second anniversary we decided to open a nice bottle of wine (Fabbioli Cabernet Franc Reserve -- local people should check them out, they are great!), cook up some steaks and spend a nice night at home.  This was the salad we made, and it was delicious.  The bread cubes with bacon drippings - mmmmmm.  We had some great grape tomatoes from our CSA and we picked up a great yellow heirloom tomato at a nearby farm stand.  If you are a bacon lover (as I am) definitely try this salad!

TBL Panzanella

Good Eats: The Early Years, and available on FoodNetwork.com

4-6 servings

Ingredients
4 cups French bread cut into 1-inch cubes
6 slices bacon, chopped
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
2 cups chopped heirloom tomatoes
2 cups chopped lettuce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chiffonade basil

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread bread cubes on a sheet pan.  Toast in oven until dry, but not browned, around 10 minutes.  
• Cook bacon in skillet over medium heat until crispy.  Drain on paper towels and reserve drippings.  
• In large bowl, toss bread cubes in half of the bacon drippings.  Set aside.
• Sear the halved grape tomatoes in other half of bacon drippings, cut side down, until caramelized, about 5 minutes.
• Combine red wine vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl, slowly whisk in olive oil in a thin stream until emulsified.
• Combine all tomatoes, bread, bacon, and lettuce and dress with vinaigrette, toss well, garnish with basil and serve.

Strawberry Shortcake

This is our first selection from the cookbook of the month for June -- Good Eats: The Early Years.  We decided to make strawberry shortcake after getting 4 pints of strawberries in our CSA box one week.  I've never been disappointed in any recipe I've made of Alton Brown's, so I figured this would be a winner.  It was.  The shortcakes were tender and delicious.  The strawberries were great as well.  The hint of spiciness from the pepper was a nice compliment to the very sweet, perhaps a tad overripe berries.  The pictures aren't the greatest, so I apologize for that, but Zach was on camera duty. 

 

Shortcakes with Macerated Strawberries

From Good Eats: The Early Years, and can also found on FoodNetwork.com (Shortcakes and Strawberries)

Macerated Strawberries

Ingredients:
2 pints medium size strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 (750 milliliter) bottle red wine
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup sugar
 

Directions

• In a bowl combine all ingredients. Let stand in refrigerator for 2 hours. 

Shortcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
3/4 cup half and half
Melted butter to brush shortcakes 
Macerated Strawberries (see above)
Whipped cream
 
Directions  

• Heat oven 450 degrees. 
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in butter and shortening. Mix in half-and-half. 
• Drop by large spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. 
• Bake for 15 minutes or until brown. Cool and eat with berries and/or whipped cream.

Cookbook of the Month: June 2010

For June I've chosen one of our newer cookbooks as the Cookbook of the Month -- Alton Brown's Good Eats: The Early Years.  Zach and I both have always loved watching Good Eats on the Food Network.  We enjoy Alton's crazy blend of science, humor, and of course, good eats.  We got the cookbook pretty much as soon as it came out.  It's not a typical cookbook though, organized into 'Meats', 'Side Dishes', 'Bread', 'Desserts", etc.  It's organized by episodes of the show, in chronological order.  It gives lots of background info about the episode and a lot of the science behind the ingredient/recipe.  This makes it a cookbook you really want to sit down and read.  

We are in the process of choosing our recipes for this month, but here are some recipes I've previously made, using FoodNetwork.com as a resource, that are also in this book:

Southern Biscuits and Sawmill Gravy  This makes a great breakfast!

Good Eats Meatloaf  This is still our favorite meatloaf recipe, mostly for the tasty sandwiches it makes afterwards!