tips, tricks & techniques

Buttermilk Substitute
Add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to a measuring cup, and fill to the 1-cup line with whole milk; let set about 5 minutes.

Peach cobbler

Filling
Peaches, halved, pitted, cut into wedges	4 pounds
Sugar	¾ cup + 2 tablespoons
Flour, all-purpose	¼ cup
Lemon juice, fresh	2 tablespoons
Vanilla extract	¼ teaspoon
Cinnamon, ground	¼ teaspoon
Topping
Flour, all-purpose	2 ¼ cups
Sugar	6 tablespoons
Baking powder	1 tablespoon
Salt	¾ teaspoon
Butter, unsalted, chilled, cut into ½-inch cubes	¼ cup
Vegetable shortening, nonhydrogenated solid, chilled, cut into ½-inch cubes	¼ cup
Buttermilk	¾ cup + 2 tablespoons
Egg, lightly beaten	1
Vanilla extract	1 teaspoon

1. Preheat oven to 400°F, and position a rack in the center.
2. Mix all filling ingredients in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
3. Bake 15 minutes; mixture will be hot but not bubbling.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt.
5. Using fingertips, rub in butter and shortening until mixture resembles a coarse meal.
6. In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg, and vanilla to blend.
7. Add to flour mixture, and stir until soft dough forms.
8. Remove fruit mixture from oven.
9. Spoon dough over hot filling in 12 mounds, spacing evenly.
10. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
11. Bake until juices thicken and topping is golden, about 40 minutes.
12. Cool on rack at least 15 minutes before serving.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe from bon appétit Desserts by Barbara Fairchild.

Great-grandma’s popcorn balls

Popcorn, popped	3 quarts
Molasses	2/3 cups
Sugar	1 ½ cups
Vinegar	½ teaspoon
Salt	½ teaspoon
Water	½ cup
Vanilla extract	3 tablespoons
Butter	2 tablespoons

1. After popping the popcorn, keep it warm in a large metal bowl in the oven at 300°F, until needed.
2. In a large saucepan over low heat, combine molasses, sugar, vinegar, salt, and water.
3. Stir constantly until the mixture boils, and reaches the hard boil stage (250°F).
4. Remove from heat, and thoroughly mix in butter and vanilla.
5. Slowly pour mixture over the bowl of popcorn, and gently mix so as not to break up the popcorn kernels.
6. Butter your hands, and form baseball-sized balls by pressing the mixture together gently but firmly.
7. Place popcorn balls on a lightly buttered cookie sheet or wax paper.
8. Cool completely before wrapping.

Great grandma Patterson would wrap her popcorn balls with a large sheet of brown butcher’s paper, and hand them out to Halloween trick-or-treaters in the tiny town of Ripley, Oklahoma. Hopefully such comfort food isn’t the last remains of our simpler, more trusting times in small communities.

Recipe courtesy of my Mom, who helped grandma prepare the popcorn balls for the masses. As I'm told, about 30 children knocked on great grandma's door and chanted 'trick or treat?' to earn their prize. I was one of them for 6 years before she ended the tradition.

Strawberry soufflé

Strawberries, hulled	3 cups
Sugar	3 tablespoons + 1 tablespoon + 3 tablespoons
Cornstarch	1 tablespoon
Orange zest	¾ teaspoon
Egg whites	4

1. Preheat oven to 400°F; spray 6-cup soufflé dish with cooking oil spray.
2. Coarsely purée half of the strawberries with the cornstarch and 3 tablespoons sugar in a processor.
3. Transfer to a saucepan, and stir over medium heat until the mixture boils and thickens, about 3 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, and whisk in orange zest; cool completely.
5. Slice remaining berries, and add 1 tablespoon sugar; toss to blend, and set aside.
6. Beat egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form.
7. Gradually add 3 tablespoons sugar; beat until stiff but not dry.
8. Fold purée into whites in three additions; transfer to soufflé dish.
9. Bake until soufflé is puffed and golden, about 18 minutes.
10. Serve immediately with sliced strawberries.

Time: 30 minutes plus cooling (12 minutes active; 18 minutes baking) • 4 to 6 servings

Greek caponata

Tomatoes, canned diced with juices	14.5 ounces
Zucchini, cut into 1-inch rounds	2
Squash, cut into 1-inch rounds	2
Tomatoes, cut into wedges	2
Japanese eggplant, cut into 1-inch rounds	1
Red onion, peeled, cut into 1-inch wedges	1
Potato, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes	1
Garlic, minced	3
Olive oil, extra virgin	¼ cup
Salt	1 ½ teaspoons
Pepper, freshly ground	1 teaspoon
Oregano, dried	1 teaspoon

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a 3 ½-quart baking dish, pour and spread tomatoes to cover the bottom.
3. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients; toss to coat.
4. Pour vegetables over the tomatoes in an even layer.
5. Cover the dish with foil, and bake for 20 minutes.
6. Remove the foil, and bake until the edges of the vegetables are golden, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve as side, or over sourdough bread as the main course.

Variation: Double the amount of garlic, and substitute oregano with freshly chopped thyme.

Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis, posted on FoodNetwork.com.