Watermelon Rosemary Lemonade

Watermelon is my favorite fruit to make agua fresca - I usually just blend it up, maybe strain it and add lime juice. It's very refreshing and a pretty pink. This recipe was originally a boozy one with gin, but I've been drinking it booze-less for now. The boozy version adds 8 oz of gin.

Watermelon Rosemary Lemonade
Adapted from a recipe on Food 52

1/2 of a medium-sized watermelon, cut into big cubes
5-6 lemons, juiced
2 sprigs rosemary
1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup water

Blend the watermelon in a blender, juicer or food processor until completely blended. You don't have to strain watermelon juice, but I normally do - sometimes I leave in a little pulp but not all of it. I got about 4 cups of strained juice from half a medium watermelon.

In a small saucepan over medium low heat, melt the sugar in the water, with the rosemary sprigs. Once the sugar is melted, put the lid on the saucepan and let the rosemary infuse the simple syrup for at least 15 minutes, an hour or more if possible.

In a pitcher, mix the watermelon juice with the lemon juice and rosemary syrup. Either chill it in the fridge until cold or serve it immediately with ice. If you want, throw in rosemary and lemon slices.

Artichoke Polenta Tart

I came across this recipe from Ann Mah's blog. She lives in Paris (living the dream!) and she wrote a book about her life there. Her blog features all things Paris, recipes, and even more travel. This recipe is originally from a cookbook, Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck. I liked it since the polenta crust is so original and I love polenta. The recipe is perfect for me since it has much less dairy than traditional quiche recipes. 

I actually had all the ingredients except for the artichoke hearts. Nick came back from the store with fresh artichokes, so on the plus side I learned how to prepare them.

For the polenta crust:

2 3/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1  1/4 cups medium grind polenta 
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the filling:
1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions (about 3)
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (14-ounce) jar of artichoke hearts (8 oz drained) drained and chopped

1 roasted red pepper, chopped 

1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

To make the crust, bring water, salt, and cornmeal to a boil whisking occasionally in a large, heavy pot. Decrease heat to medium low and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the polenta from sticking to the bottom. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring a few times. The polenta will be fairly stiff. Stir in the cheese, egg, and pepper. 

Grease a 10 inch tart pan (mine is pretty shallow so I added another smaller pan). Using a spatula or your fingers, press the polenta into the bottom and sides of the dish. Let sit for 15 minutes. Form a nicer crust if desired.

Meanwhile make the filling. Mix together the yogurt, eggs, and salt. Fold in the rest of the ingredients and pour into crust.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes until filling is golden brown in spots. Let cool for 20 minutes or so before cutting. Warm up in oven before serving if you make this in advance.

Make-Ahead Sweet Potato & Sausage Hash

I'm all about the breakfast foods, just usually not for breakfast. Later in the day pancakes, omelets, french toast and co. are awesome, and I make them occasionally for a weekend lunch or anytime dinner. However, I'm not a morning person, and I normally wake up with just enough time to get to work looking like a somewhat normal person - that doesn't leave enough time to make food.

I also don't want to spend time cooking on Christmas morning (and I don't want my mom to have to spend time cooking either). Especially since we started hosting Christmas dinner at my mom's house a couple years ago, Christmas morning is for presents and relaxing before all of the early dinner and holiday hosting crazy prep time.

Today I made sweet potato hash, inspired by a Kitchn post to make it ahead and reheat on Christmas morning in a cast iron skillet with some fried eggs for an easy brunch/breakfast. Hash is my go-to with eggs, like eggs florentine, quiche or scrambled eggs, but I never thought about making it in advance.

Sweet Potato Hash

Adapted from the Kitchn

2 tbsp butter

2 medium onions, sliced

1/2 lb Italian sausage

2 large sweet potatoes

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup rosemary leaves, chopped (about 4 stalks)

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp salt, plus more to taste if necessary

Black pepper

Manhattan Clam Chowder

It seems like ages ago that we were at the beach, and now I'm finally posting this recipe. The recipe is loosely based on some others that I found online but it really was formed from the vegetables that we had available. The picture is of my sister Tiffany on the dock by the bay eating some soup.

4-5 strips thickly cut bacon, sliced
1 large white onion
2 shallots
3 stalks celery
1 small bunch or 3 large carrots
3 green peppers, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic
3 large potatoes, cubed
5 large tomatoes, chopped roughly
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp old bay seasoning
3 cups chopped clams
5 cups clam juice

Crisp the bacon in a heavy soup pot over high heat. Remove the meat and set aside. Chop the onion, shallots, celery, and carrots into small pieces. Saute in the bacon drippings over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes until softened and fragrant. Add the hot and sweet peppers and saute for another 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add the old bay and herbs and black pepper. Season to your liking. Turn off the heat and add the chopped clams. Serve with some crusty bread.

Rosemary "Punishments" (Butter Cookies)

There's butter and rosemary in these cookies!

Punitions 

Adapted from Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan

1 1/4 stick butter (5 oz)

heaping 1/2 cup sugar

1 egg, room temp

2 cups flour

1/3 cup rosemary, chopped

Grapefruit-Rosemary Bread

I saw this recipe last night and wanted to make it ASAP. So here it is! This bread was great as is for breakfast this morning, but it would also be a fun recipe to experiment with, subbing in other types of citrus and herbs (but I love rosemary!!), maybe trying to strengthen the rosemary flavor with a simple syrup poured on before or instead of the glaze. It would also be fine without the rosemary if you don't have any - it's a pretty subtle flavor anyway. I, however, will use a lot more next time! My rosemary plant is getting a bit skimpy though.

This time I just added some lemon zest in the glaze since the grapefruit I used wasn't very strong. Next time I would add some lemon zest in the batter instead of the glaze - which is how I have it the recipe below.

I got this recipe from Garden Betty, which looks like a cute blog with nice gardening things, too. She also has a grapefruit-rosemary jelly.

GRAPEFRUIT-ROSEMARY BREAD

Slightly adapted from The Garden Betty

1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey

zest from 1 large grapefruit

(if you want stronger citrusy flavor) 1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1/8 to 1/4 cup grapefruit juice 

* use the rest to make fresh juice with the juice of an orange!

** strain the grapefruit juice if you don't want the pulp in your glaze
a lot of powdered sugar

Rosemary-Lemon Oven Fried Chicken

I made this for the first time a couple weeks ago but forgot to take pictures for the blog. I made it again yesterday and have decided it is the perfect chicken recipe. 

All my favorite flavors on some nice crispy chicken: rosemary, lemon, garlic, cayenne pepper. The flavors are good and strong, too, since I marinated it for several hours.

I served it with brussel sprouts and the white beans that I already posted about. Last time I made this recipe we had it with peas and mashed potatoes, which was also wonderful.

Crock Pot Rosemary White Beans

These white beans are great - creamy and flavorful. We had them with Rosemary Lemon Chicken and roasted brussel sprouts.

"WHITE BEANS WITH ROSEMARY"
Exactly the recipe on Our Best Bites

1 lb. Great Northern Beans, rinsed and picked through (for stones and yucky stuff)
6 ounces bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Potato Rosemary Rolls

For the past couple years we've been going to dinner at my mom's best friend's house on the day before Thanksgiving. They do a fancy roast and everything, and I thought these rolls would go well with big slaps of red meat. And they do.

Also, rosemary is my favorite herb. And I have some in my bedroom for the winter, so it's convenient. 

Now these Potato Rosemary rolls are in my top three favorite rolls list, which also includes bubble-top brioche rolls from a Dorie Greenspan recipe and honey buttermilk rolls, I think from a Good Housekeeping recipe. In my opinion, homemade rolls are always a pretty impressive thing to put on the table.

Just so you know, I separated the steps into more parts than the original recipe to make it easier to follow - the original has only four steps. So it takes a while because of the dough rising but there's not really that much to do.

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"POTATO ROSEMARY ROLLS"

Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod (good food blog)

2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup shortening
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup scalded milk
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped 

Chicken & Apple Pot Pie

Suddenly it's all nasty and cold again, so it's pot pie time! Specifically chicken and apple pot pie. One of the nice things about just working part-time in the afternoon is that it leaves all morning for productive things like watching long PBS documentaries about Frank Lloyd Wright and pot pie making, but this recipe isn't actually very time-consuming, even if you make the crust. Or you could use puff pastry and make it even faster. 

It's shortening!

Everything boiling up and reducing

Pie crust after being chilled in fridge

Pie crust laid out on top of everything with slits cut 

I wasn't sure where the baby dog was hiding, and so I went to go find him as the pot pie baked. He had snuck into my bed.

And it's ready.

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Chicken & Apple Pot Pie

Crust from Simply Recipes' Chicken Pot Pie

Pot Pie Crust (make first & chill)

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled, unsalted butter, diced into 1/2" cubes)

1/4 cup vegetable shortening, chilled

3 to 4 Tbsp ice water

Straight from Simply Recipes: "Combine the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the chilled butter cubes and pulse 5 times to combine. And the shortening and pulse a few more times, until the dough resembles a coarse cornmeal, with some pea-sized pieces of butter. Slowly stream in ice water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough sticks together when you press some between your fingers. Empty the food processor, placing the dough on a clean surface. Use your hands to mold into a ball, then flatten the ball into a disk. Sprinkle with a little flour, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days, before rolling."

 

Pot Pie Filling

1 small onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1-2 apples, chopped (not too small)

1 tbsp butter

1 sprig rosemary, just leaves & chopped
1 sprig thyme
1 tbsp curry (or more)
1 tbsp paprika (or more)
2 tbsp flour
water/broth/wine to cover
1/4 cup milk
2 cups pre-cooked chicken (I was using leftover rotisserie chicken, but you could boil some up and use the broth)
1 package frozen peas

1. Saute onion, celery, carrots, zucchini, apples, rosemary, thyme, curry and paprika in butter for about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook another couple minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Pour in water/broth/wine and milk. Bring to bubbles and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Add chicken and peas and let simmer another 5 minutes or until it's a bit thicker.

3. Pour mixture into pie pan. Cover with rolled-out dough. Make at least a couple slits for venting.

4. Bake at 400 for about a 1/2 hour or until golden. You might want to put a baking sheet underneath in case of overflow.

Rosemary Orange Scones

When my family goes to the Strip on Saturdays our first stop is usually Cafe Raymond, a little place between the chocolate store and I think a floral shop. Their breakfast has gradually managed to replace Pamela's on our regular Saturday morning at the Strip schedule - while they are both wonderful, I can't go to Pamela's without getting banana chocolate chip hotcakes. At Cafe Raymond I want to try everything on the menu (which is on a cute chalkboard above the counter, more points in its favor). Also, there is hardly ever much of a line, even on a Saturday - I think people stick to the next few blocks of Penn Ave (Penn Mac, Reyna's, Wholey's, Lotus, etc.) and don't realize the cafe is over there just a few steps away from the main drag.

My mom's go-to pastry at Cafe Raymond's is the rosemary walnut scone, which is nothing like the scones I made this morning except they both have rosemary in the ingredient list. I'd recommend going to the cafe to see what I mean. These scones, made from a recipe in Emeril Lagasse's Farm to Fork cookbook, are very light and flaky and flavorful.

Scones before going in the oven

"Stop it and take me to the dog park."

Out of the oven

This one split in half perfectly. I ate it out on the deck with butter and honey. VERY tasty... and not the only one I ate this morning.

Usually I change a recipe a lot when I use cookbooks, but I stuck pretty close to this one. My only changes were using powdered buttermilk because that's what was in the fridge and adding about a tablespoon more orange zest. And I didn't bother with a rolling pin; I just pressed the dough into a larger rectangle with my own floured fingers. Next time I think I would add a little more pepper. My sense of smell is kind of weak so normally I don't notice these things, but baking these scones made the kitchen smell amazing. 

"ROSEMARY BUTTERMILK SCONES" 

from Farm to Fork: Cooking Local, Cooking Fresh by Emeril Lagasse (2010)

Yields 12 scones

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 425o F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set it aside.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and black pepper. Add the orange zest and rosemary, and combine with a fork. Add the butter and work it into the the flour with your fingers, a pastry blender, or a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (A few large flat pieces of flour-coated butter in the mixture are okay - they'll contribute to the flakiness.)

3. Add the 1 cup buttermilk and stir with a fork until the ingredients are just moistened. Gather the dough together and press it gently into a rough ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat together (with floured hands, if necessary). The dough may still be a crumbly mass. Knead the dough gently six to seven times; then use your hands to shape it into a rectangle measuring about 7 by 4 inches. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into 10 1/2 x 7-inch rectangle, 3/4 inch this. Use a knife to divide the dough into three sections by cutting it at roughly 3 1/4-inch intervals along the length. Cut each rectangle in half. You will have 6 squares. Cut each square into 2 triangles. 

4. Set the triangles on the prepared baking sheet, and brush them with the remaining 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown and puffed. Serve warm.

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Post-script:

The verdict from my mom is not enough rosemary and therefore cannot compare to Cafe Raymond's rosemary walnut scones! I still really like them and plan to serve them at the bed and breakfast I will open in Newfoundland when I turn 60.