cooking.with.gas

Cherry cake.

"I loved baking -- pitting cherries in the sunlight against the log wall of the house where Mam had planted rhubarb and morning glories, then rolling out the dough and laying it on the brim of the stone oven to rise, and still later rushing back from the hoeing to roll out the dough again, inhaling the baking odors as I pressed in the cherries. When the cake was done, I had something to show. I would carry it from the oven to the table high up so everyone could see and admire. Though mostly Mam and Aunt Annie admired; Pap and Abiel would just tuck in, which, Mam said, was thanks enough."

from The Life and Times of Captain N., by Douglas Glover.
(page 38)

Well. So *they* say...

You know which wines go best with which foods, and
you can make New York City's finest sommalier
feel like a kid at a keg party. You wanna take
that Emeril guy and beat him with a stick, but
really - you've got more class than that.
What people love: You know the best restaurants and
what their specialties are.
What people hate: Every waiter in town wants to
mangle your pretentious ass.


What Kind of Elitist Are You?
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I don't *think* I'm pretentious...

And (whispers) it's sommelier, not sommalier.

Hmm. Maybe I am pretentious after all.

Did I mention that Emeril drives me nuts? Oh, yeah, baby.

Recipe: Apricot Crisp

Apricot Crisp

Serves four.

Ingredients:

Fruit Layer:

3 cups apricots
1/4 cup dried cherries
1 tbsp kirsch (optional)
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsps corn starch

Crumble Layer:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 cup granulated sugar
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes and softened
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tbsp chopped pistachios

To prepare the fruit layer:

Add the kirsch (if using) to the dried cherries and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes.

Cut apricots into slices and place in a bowl; add the 1/4 cup sugar.

In a small bowl, dissolve the corn starch in the lemon juice. Pour over the apricot mixture.

Add the cherries.

Pour the mixture into the baking dish (I use a glass casserole dish)

To prepare the crumble layer:

Mix together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, oatmeal, cinnamon, salt and chopped pistachios. Add the butter, rubbing the mixture between your fingers until it crumbles coarsely.

Sprinkle half the topping over the fruit layer and bake for 15 minutes in a 375 F oven. Sprinkle on the rest of the topping and bake a further 15 minutes.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream -- note, if you are not serving with ice cream, you might wish to increase the amount of sugar in the fruit layer, as the apricot mixture is quite tart.