Tomatoes & Blueberries

I made this beautiful Tomato Marmalade from Food & Wine magazine a couple of weeks ago. They don't have it on their website yet, so I'll share the recipe that turned into my own after making a few changes to theirs. When I made this the first time, I only did half the recipe because it sounded like a lot of tomatoes to concassé (can anyone say culinary school flashback?!). After getting a mere 2 jars out of it and then tasting it, I realized that I wanted...no needed to make more. Spread this on crostini with a thin tickle of mascarpone, goat, or any cheese with a crisped-up piece of country ham, prosciutto, spicy cured sausage/ham, or bacon. I'm thinking that I might try it on a sharp cheddar grilled cheese.



The Blueberry Syrup is also from the latest issue of Food & Wine. For some reason they have this recipe on their website but not the Tomato Marmalade, even though they came from the same issue. I followed this recipe to a T, but it was too thin. I ended up simmering it for about 30 minutes, which was 10 minutes too long. It went from a thin, watery, flavorless syrup to....jelly. This, I assure you, is not a bad thing. Spread on pumpernickel toast with a schmear of cream cheese is a really, really, nice thing. As one can tell from the pic, it hasn't been hard eating half the jar. We did, even in its jellied state, stir it in to lemonade with some sparkling water and a sprig of mint for a tasty afternoon drink by the pool. I also plunged a couple tablespoons into my cottage cheese. A blueberry vodka cocktail of some kind is on the horizon.

Tomato Marmalade
Yield: 10 cups

6 pounds tomatoes
3 cups sugar
1 tsp. crystallized/candied ginger, minced
1/2 tsp. Saigon cinnamon
2 lemons, halved & juiced

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Make a criss-cross mark on the bottoms of the tomatoes. Drop into the boiling water for about 10-30 seconds, depending on how big or small your tomatoes are. Remove with a slotted spoon, cool slightly, and remove the peel. Cut the tomatoes in half at the equator and squeeze out the seeds. Cut out the hard, stem round. Finely chop the tomatoes. Discard the seeds. In a heavy bottom pot, stir together all the ingredients, including the lemon juice and halves. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat for about 1 hour. Discard the lemons and bring to a boil until reduced by 1/8-1/4, stirring gently. Ladle into prepared jars, lid, and cool.

Blueberry Syrup Recipe

Upside-Down Goodness

You'd think, being a Southerner and having gone to culinary school, I would have made a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake before.....never! This cooking adventure started while taking our 8-year old out for a special dinner a few days ago. We went to Central BBQ for ribs (I've now switched from Corky's to Central as my fave). We went to a place called Sweet for a dessert treat. What does that name say to you? Bakery, desserts, cookies, pastries, maybe confections? Oh, they had desserts...in a case...about 8...and a decent dessert & food menu. But the restaurant was dark with flittering candles, looking a bit too melodramatic for our impetuous sugar fix. That's when I saw the full name of Sweet Bistro. That's also when my daughter saw a mini pineapple upside-down cake and wanted it as her treat. We decided not to stay and pay $10 for the cake, plus tip, plus tax, plus all that ambiance lost on kids, plus getting home waaaayyyy after bed-time. We opted, instead, for cookies, M & M's, and egg-shaped chocolate candy-coated malt balls at Mamaws house down the street and with a pinkie-promise we would make a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake together on the weekend. Well, it's Saturday and I did promise....

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Yield: One 10-inch cake

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
One 14-oz. can crushed, sliced, or chunk pineapple, drained but not dry (juice reserved)
2/3 cup sugar
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup cake flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup reserved pineapple juice
Whipped cream, toasted pecans, and maraschino cherries (optional garnish)

Preheat the oven to 350. In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, melt the 6 Tbsp. of butter. When melted, add the brown sugar and let come to a low boil (medium heat) for 1 minute. Spread or lay the pineapple in the brown sugar to cover the entire bottom of the pan. In a large bowl, beat the 8 Tbsp. of butter with the 2/3 cup sugar until light in color, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. Add both the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pineapple juice, and buttermilk. Mix to combine. Pour the batter into the skillet on top of the pineapple. Bake for 35 minutes or until the center comes out clean when a toothpick is inserted. Cool for 5 minutes and invert onto a cake plate. Serve with toasted and chopped pecans, whipped cream, and a maraschino cherry.