When our fruit trees needed trimming, I knew who to call: my
brother-in-law, Daren. He comes from a large farming family which,
to me, means he’s practical, skilled and probably can bluff himself
out of any situation.
When our fruit trees needed trimming, I knew who to call: my brother-in-law, Daren. He comes from a large farming family which, to me, means he’s practical, skilled and probably can bluff himself out of any situation.
In his family, every member had to specialize in some area of knowledge: one brother was the electrician, another was called any time a plumbing problem arose. And Daren – he was the tree pruner. This was no easy trade to learn – you can’t just chop and go if you really want to reap fruit the next season – so he was apprenticed to an old, crotchety fruit grower who lived next door in Dixon.
Though Daren hated his mandatory afternoon trainings, during which he helped to prune the whole orchard, he did learn to be a specialist in an area his family needed.
I’ll bet you have specialists in your family, too. I, for instance, am the medical advice nurse and laundry queen. Though I have taught the girls to do their own laundry, and they do it often, I have the ultimate responsibility for making sure the laundry room isn’t up to the rafters in dirty clothes.
Ditto for Mark and the yard. He watches out for it, makes sure everything gets watered just the right amount, prunes my overgrown herb garden and tends his beautiful roses. I’m sure other members of our family could do these jobs, but we don’t. We just help out when needed under his guidance.
It’s good to specialize. It’s good to be seen as an expert (though “laundry queen” is a dubious honor). It’s even better to know who in your family can give truly informed advice when you need it. After all, we can’t possibly know something about everything.
As for Daren and his purported fruit tree expertise, I didn’t cut him any slack. Less than a month after he married into our family, he was out there on a rainy morning, pruning our apples, plums and apricots with a Sawsall.
And now that it’s spring, the trees look great. We’re going to have plenty of fruit. I guess he wasn’t bluffing, after all.
• Home chef shares recipe: Sharyn Harmon, a local traveling chef, sent in this recipe to share. After working at the House of Bagels in Morgan Hill for quite a while, Sharyn recently decided to be a traveling chef full-time, preparing meals for clients who can’t or don’t have time to cook.
This vegetarian dish can be served as a hearty side dish or a light main course.
It serves 6. To reach Sharyn about her business, e-mail: sh*************@***oo.com.
Tomato, Zucchini and Mushroom Gratin
1 1/2 slices rye bread
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons butter, divided, plus extra for pan
3 cups sliced button mushrooms
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 medium zucchini, sliced
3 tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Pulse bread in a food processor to form coarse crumbs. Mix with parsley in a small bowl. Set aside.
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat, add mushrooms and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove mushrooms to a bowl.
Add remaining butter to skillet and cook garlic until just aromatic, pour in cream, cook until cream is reduced to about 1/2 cup.
Use Pam butter-flavored cooking spray on 13×9-inch glass baking dish. Arrange zucchini in three overlapping rows lengthwise. Arrange tomato slices evenly over zucchini and cover with mushrooms.
Sprinkle grated cheese over vegetables. Drizzle with cream sauce and sprinkle bread crumbs over surface in an even layer. Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes until cream around veggies is bubbly, zucchini is tender and crumbs are golden.
• The best of both: I love lemon pies and I love crème brulee, so this recipe from Bon Appétit sounded wonderful to me. Try it as a not-too-sweet dessert – but I’d top it with a dollop of whipped cream.
Lemon Creme Brulee Tart
Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 teaspoons (or more) chilled whipping cream
1 egg white, beaten to blend
Filling
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup whipping cream
4 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon (packed) finely grated lemon peel
Lemon slices (optional)
For crust:
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in processor; blend 5 seconds. Using on/off turns, blend in butter until coarse meal forms. Add 4 teaspoons cream.
Using on/off turns, blend until moist clumps form, adding more cream by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk.
Wrap and chill at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom.
Fold overhang in, pressing to form double-thick sides. Bake crust until golden, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 18 minutes (small cracks may appear). Brush inside of hot crust twice with egg white. Maintain oven temperature.
For filling:
Whisk 3/4 cup sugar, cream, yolks, and eggs in bowl to blend well. Mix in lemon juice and lemon peel. Pour filling into warm crust. Bake until filling is slightly puffed at edges and set in center, about 30 minutes. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
Preheat broiler. Place tart on baking sheet. Cover edge of crust with foil to prevent burning. Sprinkle tart with 2 tablespoons sugar.
Broil tart until sugar melts and caramelizes, turning sheet for even browning, about 2 minutes. Transfer tart to rack. Cool until topping is crisp, about 1 hour.
Push tart pan bottom up, releasing tart. Place on platter, garnish with lemon slices, if desired, and serve. Makes 8 servings.
• Another version: After reading Ann Landers’ meat loaf recipe in last week’s column, reader Jack Robison wanted to share his favorite recipe.
Jack says he’s made this recipe for a couple of years, even for company. It always gets rave reviews. If you can’t find applewood-smoked bacon, regular bacon will be just fine. Adjust the jalapeños to your taste.
Smoked Cheddar-Jalapeño Ranch Meat Loaf
1/4 cup applewood-smoked bacon
1 3/4 pounds ground beef
3/4 pound ground pork
4 large eggs
1/4 cup minced jalapeños
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon oregano
3/4 cup cubed smoked cheddar cheese
1 cup diced white onion
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Partially cook the bacon in an ovenproof skillet over low heat for 5 minutes.
Do not let the bacon get hard.
Transfer to a large bowl, add all the other ingredients, and mix very well. Put the mixture back into the skillet or into a standard loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour. Serves 4.
This week’s tip
Etiquette advice on fruit served after dinner: “At a dinner, an apple or pear is picked up with your hand and placed on your plate. If you can acquire the knack – it’s a special talent – by all means peel in a spiral fashion. If this proves too difficult, place the fruit on a dessert plate, halve it, core and cut it into smaller pieces, then eat it with a fork and a fruit knife. You can pick up the smaller pieces with your fingers if the meal situation is more informal.” ~ Rochelle Udell
Notes
• Sober up and enjoy: Chef and caterer Liz Scott has just authored a book called, “The Sober Kitchen,” designed to help people who are recovering from alcohol or drug addiction. A recovering alcoholic herself, Scott believes successful recovery includes an optimistic lifestyle filled with everyday pleasures derived from good friends, family and nourishing food. The cookbook is divided into three phases that focus on getting and staying sober; developing healthy eating habits; and maintaining and celebrating sobriety. “The Sober Kitchen” is published by The Harvard Common Press; available from bookstores and online booksellers for $19.95
• Interchangeable oats: Old-fashioned oats and quick-cooking oats can usually be interchanged in recipes.
• Breakfast change: How about making corn bread for breakfast some morning? It’s a nice change from pancakes but still goes beautifully with butter and syrup. I made some recently using the recipe on the box of corn meal and my girls loved it.
• End notes: “All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.”
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Happy cooking!
