LIVINGI’m On Board!
I’m super excited to be heading to Wanderlust!!! If you happen to be going, let me know as I’d love to meet with you to chat about all things gluten free, so ping me! I’ll be there armed with plenty of gluten free treats, so if you want to dish a little, invert a little, or just enjoy the view, I’m your gal. July 27th, 2010 — 8:55 pm LIVINGThe Blackbird Recipe Contest
For the remainder of July, I will be conducting a recipe contest!!! There will be one winner a week and each Friday, I will post the winner’s recipe, fully photographed and presented in the trademark Blackbird style for everyone to see! The first week’s winner is JAYNE ASTON. Congrats, Jayne, and thank you again for your wonderful contribution. As a part of the Jason Middlebrook initiative, each submission made to Blackbird Bakery will also be forwarded to Arthouse where each recipe simultaneously has the chance to be a featured item on the menu at the communal potluck dinner to be held on November 20, 2010. The deadline for submissions is JULY 31, 2010. Please submit your recipes directly to me at fly@blackbird-bakery.com with the following information: Your name, the source of your recipe (inspiration, family member, etc.), email address, your hometown, and phone number. Rules: Each recipe must have a gluten free component in order to qualify. Each winner will receive full accreditation from Blackbird Bakery for their achievement and will have their recipe photographed and published on the Blackbird Bakery site. For week two, each winner will also receive a special box of Blackbird Bakery treats. Most importantly, each entrant is also in the running to have their recipes in the Arthouse recipe contest, where the winners will have their recipes prepared for the Arthouse communal dinner on November 20th! This is a very exciting event for all of us to be a part of and I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!
IMAGINE YOUR WORK HERE!!!!! July 20th, 2010 — 2:59 pm |
LOVINGGorillaz
I pretty much love the new album from Gorillaz not only because it has killer tracks, but because the whole theme of the album is to help raise awareness about how plastics are destroying our oceans. With the wonderful news on NPR that the Plastiki completed their epic journey across the Pacific to do the same, I figured it was more than fitting that I bring the album to your attention. So while you are jamming to Gorillaz as you whip up your Stacked Vegetable Torte, shake it a little harder for the crew of the Plastiki and their totally bad ass effort to help make a change. And don’t forget to bring your bag to the store!
July 27th, 2010 — 8:41 pm LOVINGArtist Jason Middlebrook
On behalf of the Jones Center for Contemporary Arts, I would like to introduce you to the artist, Jason Middlebrook. Mr. Middlebrook has been hand picked by Arthouse to be the featured artist for their inaugural exhibit, More Art About Buildings and Food as they unveil their newly remodeled space in downtown Austin.
Jason Middlebrook, b. 1966 Based in Hudson, New York, Middlebrook’s work has been striking major chords throughout the US and Europe for very good reason. His large scale installations boast compositions assembled entirely from found and recycled objects to thematically explore over consumption and the points at which nature and culture collide. For the November 20th event, Mr. Middlebrook will be taking the patrons and art lovers back to their bedrock, both philosophically and literally, by hosting a communal potluck dinner where the table and chairs will be fabricated from the detritus of the demolition from the former museum and the menu will be comprised of recipes provided by YOU! Since the link has just been made that the by products of plastic are one of the leading causes of auto-immune disorders including ADD, ADHD, autism and celiac disease, when I was asked to help support Mr. Middlebrook by asking my readers to submit their favorite gluten free recipes, how could I possibly say no? How can any of us?
For submission details, please see my “Living” section. July 12th, 2010 — 12:11 am |
BAKINGStacked Vegetable Torte
STACKED VEGETABLE TORTE This Torte is ideal for high summer, because I was able to utilize everything I have been seeing at the Farmer’s Market. It’s a bit labor intensive, but well worth every second. When you break the goat butter crust with the tines of your fork and slice through all those gorgeous vegetables, you will literally be in heaven. Since I’m gearing up for my trip to Squaw Valleyon Thursday, I found it more than fitting to post a recipe with a little bit of elevation. So take a deep breath, roll up your sleeves, and as you exhale, just imagine all the joy you will bring to your friends and family when you place this work of art in front of them.
Yield: 2- 5 inch individual springform pans or 1- 8” springform pan THE DOUGH: Goat Butter Pate Brissee (Short Crust) 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons glutinous white rice flour In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients with the cultured butter and mix until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the eggs and mix just until the dough folds in on itself. Using a plastic pastry scrapper, turn the dough out onto a clean counter that has been dusted with glutinous rice flour. Knead with the palm of your hand several times until you have a leather smooth ball. Add the chopped thyme and knead until smooth. Divide the dough into two sections, quickly shape each section into a semi-flat disk, and wrap tightly with cellophane. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before rolling out the dough and up to three days or freeze for three weeks. For this recipe, you will only need one disk of the dough, so store the second disk for another purpose. If you don’t have a stand mixer, make the dough thusly: Mix all the dry ingredients in a spacious bowl with a few turns of a whisk. Add the diced cultured butter and begin to cut it in with a pastry cutter, using a butter-knife to clean out the spokes when necessary. Repeat until the mix resembles a heap of damp, engorged seeds. Whisk the eggs and fold them in using two plastic pastry scrappers. Keep folding until you have a firm, somewhat sticky ball of dough. Turn the dough onto a very clean surface that has been lightly dusted with glutinous rice flour and follow the above instructions. Preheat oven to 400°F. Next, we began assembling the torte. I prepared the vegetables for the torte before David and Amanda arrived to help conserve time, but I did show Amanda how to salt the vegetables and roast them. For this recipe, you will need: THE VEGETABLES 2 large organic zucchinis, cut in half and then sliced lengthwise into thin strips. Preheat oven to 375°F. First wash and slice the zucchini and the eggplant as indicated above. Next you are going to slightly dehydrate the vegetables so the excess water will not come out during the baking process, causing the layers to separate and the custard to break down.
To do this, set the sliced zucchini and sliced eggplant on a cookie sheet or cutting board and lightly sprinkle with the kosher salt. You do not want to use all the salt, but the size of your vegetables will determine how much salt you end up using. If you coat the vegetables with too much of the salt, it will make the torte extremely salty, so keep this in mind as you work. Allow the vegetables to sit for about 20 minutes or until they are perspiring rather profusely. Place the zucchini and eggplant between two layers of thick paper towels, like Viva, and gently press down with the palm of your hands to remove the excess liquid. Repeat until all of the slices have been dried.
Now lightly spray a wire drying rack with non-stick spray and then line with the sliced eggplant and zucchini. Take your elephant garlic and slice off all the tips of all the cloves in one clean cut. Place the garlic in a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, and then sprinkle with a pinch of the kosher salt. Pinch the aluminum foil over the top of the garlic so it looks like a little balloon. Set on a separate wire rack. Cut the red bell pepper in half and remove the seed and any of the white interior flesh. Drizzle the pepper with olive oil and set the wire rack next to the elephant garlic.
Roast the zucchini and the eggplant on the middle rack and the red bell pepper and the elephant garlic on the lower rack, in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. The zucchini and eggplant are done when they look slightly shriveled. The red bell pepper and garlic are done when the skin of the bell pepper has blackened around the edges. While these vegetables are roasting, strain your tomatoes by pressing on them with a wooden spoon through a fine sieve. Reserve the tomato juices for another purpose as it is delicious. Spread the tomatoes on a jellyroll pan lines with aluminum foil. When the eggplant and zucchini are done roasting, remove from the oven. Check the red bell pepper and the garlic as they do take a bit longer than the more delicate zucchini and eggplant. If the red pepper is not blackened, continue to roast for about 5-10 minutes more. The garlic is done when the cloves are a dark yellow and their aroma has filled your kitchen. Add the tray of tomatoes and roast for 15-20 minutes. Remove one of your disks of dough from the fridge and allow to sit on the counter to soften for 15 minutes. Remove the red bell pepper and roasted garlic from the oven. Immediately place the bell peppers into a plastic bag. Set aside. Remove the garlic from the foil. When it is cool enough to touch, expel the cloves from the garlic pods and transfer to a clean bowl. Mash the garlic with a fork until smooth. Remove the tomatoes from the oven. Set aside. THE CUSTARD: 3 large eggs 2 cups Asiago cheese In the meantime, grate your Asiago cheese into a clean bowl and set aside. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together the eggs until smooth. In a steady stream, whisk in the heavy cream followed by the salt and pepper. Set aside. TO ASEMBLE THE TORTE: Lightly dust your counter with glutinous rice flour. Cut your disk of dough in half if using the individual sized springform pans. Leave the disk whole if using the 8”. Knead the dough several times until very smooth. Roll out the dough until about 1/8” thick. Nestle the dough into the pan. Gently press the dough into the bottom edge until smooth. Roll a rolling pin over the top of the pan to trim any excess dough. If you divided your dough, repeat to fill the second pan.
Now, begin assembling the torte. First line the bottom of the torte with a layer of eggplant slices in a concentric pattern, completely covering the bottom. Follow with a layer of the Asiago cheese. Next lay down a layer of the zucchini. Using a fork, spread the mashed garlic over the zucchini. Add another layer of cheese. Now, slowly pour the custard mixture over the layers, slowly tilting the pan to evenly coat the pan and to make sure the custard has reached the bottom layer.
Remove the bell pepper from the plastic bag and remove the skins. Now place the roasted peppers over the cheese. Your individual cases should be nearly full. If not, add another layer of eggplant followed by a layer of cheese. If using the larger pan, you will definitely need to repeat layers, but should have plenty of eggplant and zucchini to do so. Cover the bell peppers with another layer of cheese and then divide the remaining custard between the two tortes. Cover the top of the tortes with a layer of the roasted tomatoes. They should be flush with the top of the pan. Bake the torte(s) at 375°F for 1 hour. The large torte will need to bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes and the internal temperature is 175°F. The tortes will puff up to a considerable dome which a great sign that it is done. Photography by Knoxy of Knox Photographics July 27th, 2010 — 8:08 pm BAKINGThis Week’s Winner IS:
As summer temperatures in Texas continue to rise, it seems only natural to gravitate towards dishes that are as bright, cool, and refreshing as possible to balance the humid heat that hangs in the air like a listing balloon, and that is what won me over with Dimitra’s recipe. This colorful summer salad is a lovely expression of balance with the Texas grapefruit, the Boggy Creek sweet onions and the subtlety of the papaya that explode in your mouth much like the way an overly ripe peach or plum releases their juices when you take that first bite. The creaminess of the avocado brings your taste buds back down to earth, rounding out the zing of the lemon-lime dressing. Plus, I have a major soft spot for salads (I have at least one a day), so I was a bit biased when I made my decision for the winner this week, but I’m pretty sure you’ll agree with me the moment you take your first bite. Thank you, Dimitra, for taking the time to participate and for sharing your perfect expression of summer! I actually made this salad twice: first to try the recipe and the second time to photograph the winner. The first time I was able to get my hands on a papaya but the second time, I was forced to improvise because when I went to the store they were out, so I grabbed a mango instead. Each version is equally delicious.
Texas Grapefruit and Avocado Salad Salad 2 Texas grapefuits, peeled, seeded, and segmented Dressing 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil Directions Combine all ingredients, except avocados, in a large bowl. Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Place salad on a plate and garnish with avocado slices. Drizzle with dressing and garnish with lime slices. Tip Squeeze lime juice over avocados to keep them from oxidizing. Substitute Fredericksburg peaches of your favorite summer fruit for papaya. Red grapes are also a wonderful addition to this salad.
Thanks again to all the participants and keep the recipes coming! There is only one week left and remember, when you submit with Blackbird, you also have the chance to win with Arthouse, where your recipe will be served at their communal dinner on November 20th! July 23rd, 2010 — 7:06 am |
PHONE 512.236.0707 | KAREN@BLACKBIRD-BAKERY.COM
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