Cocktails in the Catskills

Our neighbors, M & M, just added a new stone patio to their home.  They live atop a 33 acre plot of land with amazing views of the hills and valley on our road.  We were thrilled to help indoctrinate the new patio.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  Cocktails, dinner, great company, a fire pit and evening sky views to die for - it was a great evening. Our hosts created an incredible meal - Tandoori chicken, shrimp and ribs with Raita and brown rice.  Dessert was an assortment of poppy seed cake, fresh fruit from their garden and blueberry/raspberry pie.   Tim brought his IPAD with his Star Walk app and we explored the constellations and had such an amazing night.  We love our friends and this amazing place that we have chosen as our home.

Tims a Peach! Peach Slab Pie

Saturday was a quiet day, we had lots of yard work but we weren't cooking because we were invited to M&M's for dinner.  Tim wanted to bring a simple dessert to dinner and he made this great baking sheet peach pie.

Peach Slab Pie

5 cups all purpose flour( spooned and leveled)

1 teaspoon fine salt

3/4 cups sugar plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups (4 sticks) cold unsalted butter

2/3 cup ice water

3 3/4 pounds peaches, thinly sliced (12 cups)

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. In a food processor, pulse the all purpose flour, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar until combined. Add cold butter cut into small pieces.

2. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea size pieces of butter remaining. Then, with machine running, add ice water.

3. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed ( if necessary add up to 1/2 cup ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time).  Do not over-mix.

4. Divide dough into 2 disks and wrap each tightly in plastic.  Refrigerate until firm, at lease 1 hour (or up to overnight).

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, toss together peaches thinly sliced, cornstarch, 3/4 cup sugar, lemon zest plus lemon juice.

6. Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin.  Roll out 1 disk dough to a 12 x 16 inch rectangle.  Roll dough over rolling pin; carefully into a 10 x 14 x 1 inch rimmed jelly-roll pan.  Press gently to fit into pan.

7. Pour in peach filling, then lightly brush edges of dough with water. On floured surface, roll out remaining disk to an 11 x 15 inch rectangle.  Roll dough over rolling pin and carefully unroll over filling.

8. Press along moistened edges to seal.  Fold under and overhang, tucking it into the pan.  With your fingers, crimp edges.

9. With a paring knife, cut slits on top to vent.  Place pie in oven then reduce heat to 375 degrees.  Bake until crust is golden and juices are bubbling.  45 to 50 minutes.  Let cool on a wire rack 1 hour.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  

Please Sir Can I Have Some More....Pyrex!

It is an acquired taste, however, nothing makes me happier then when I buy another piece of Pyrex. It reminds me of my childhood. My role in my family was food taster. It would lead to a lifetime of food addiction. My mother made the best potato salad and I had to determine whether it needed more mustard, mayonnaise, salt or pepper. She always made it in her yellow solid Pyrex bowl. Everything was prepared in either her multi-colored stackable solid Pyrex bowls or her blue and white Amish patterned casserole dishes. I have amassed quite an assortment since then and these are some pics of our stacked sets. My mother gave me her original solid set when I left home years ago and I think of her every time I use those bowls.

BIBLIOBARN in Margaretville - Things To Do

Last stop on Saturday before we head back to the farm and the heatwave was Bibliobarn. Right next door to Home Goods in Margaretville, this is a great rare and used book store. Owned by Linda and H.L. Wilson, it is a finely edited collection of books. Tim and I gravitate to the cookbook, arts and biography sections of the store but there is something there for everyone. Linda was managing when we got there and we chatted with her about everything from historical churches in the area to book binding. She is incredibly sweet and well-connected. We buy history books on the Catskills, good summer fiction, and art magazines. There is method to our madness because we plan to spend the rest of the day in our bedroom with a pile of new books, alcohol and our window air conditioner going full blast. We aren't going to venture out until we have to cook dinner.

Almost Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

With the heat, it was a perfect weekend for this dessert. I can't believe Tim wanted to use the oven but he baked the cake and we spread Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia and Super Fudge Chunk on the cake dough. OMG, they were so good! I have never been a fan of cherry ice cream but with the chocolate cake - it was an amazing combo.

Classic Ice Cream Sandwiches

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 pints ice cream ( any flavor), softened slightly

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10" x 15" inch rimmed baking

sheet; line with parchment paper, leaving a 2 " overhang on the two shorter sides.

2. Whisk together butter and sugar; whisk in egg, vanilla, and salt until combined.

Add flour and cocoa, and mix just until smooth.

Spread in prepared pan, smoothing top.

Bake until cake is dry to the touch and edges begin to pull away from the sides, 10 to 12 minutes.

Cool completely in pan.

3. Using paper overhang, lift cake onto a work surface. With a serrated knife, halve crosswise.

Place one half of cake, flat side down, on a large piece of plastic wrap.

Spread with ice cream, smoothing with an offset spatula, then top with remaining half of cake, cut side down.

Return assembled dessert to baking pan and wrap tightly in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

4. Unwrap; using a serrated knife, cut into 8 rectangles, wiping blade with a damp kitchen towel between each slice.

Serve immediately ( or freeze, wrapped individually in plastic, up to 1 week).

Home Goods in Margaretville - Things To Do

First stop after Round Barn is Home Goods. This shop in Margaretville looks small but it is packed with every possible kitchen item you would ever need for an accomplished chef on any given weekend. Tim and I love to shop this store because it has everything from Le Creuset to a great selection of vintage pyrex that we can't pass up. I bought two more pieces for our collection. Tim laughs at my Pyrex addiction but he uses every single bowl and storage container I buy. Located at 785 Main St. for more info - www.homegoodsofmargaretville.com

Asparagus and Gruyere Tart

Tim made this amazing side dish for dinner Saturday night.

Asparagus Gruyere Tart

Serves 4

Flour, for work surface

1 sheet frozen puff pastry( from a 17.3- ounce package). thawed according to package instructions

51/2 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (2 cups)

11/2 pounds medium or thick asparagus

1 tablespoon olive oil

Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry in to a 16" x 10" inch rectangle.

Trim uneven edges. Place the pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score the dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle.

Using a fork, pierce the dough in side the markings at half -inch intervals. Bake until golden about 15 minutes.

2. Remove the pastry shell from the oven and sprinkle with the cheese.

Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell; arrange in a single layer over the cheese, alternating ends and tips.

Brush with the oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until the spears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Scoring the Dough

Use a sharp knife to ensure that the edges rise evenly; pricking the center of the pastry with a fork keeps it from puffing up too high as it bakes.

We Heart Our Water Storage Barrels

Before we built the house, we had gardens. Sans plumbing, we needed to water the garden and store water. We had two garden sheds on the property which served as our campground. We put gutters on the sheds which fed four separate 50 gallon water storage barrels. At any point, we would have 200 gallons of water to water the garden. Thank God for these barrels because this is how we water most of our garden on days like this - we still managed to harvest cucumbers, green beans, snap peas, tomatoes, zucchini and assorted herbs despite how dry it has been all week. We had to wait till end of day to start watering with the heat but there was plenty of water without tapping our well water. Love that.

Round Barn Farmers Market in Margaretville - Things To Do

Tim and I decided that the best way to beat the heat this weekend was SHOPPING! No yard work for us in this weather - we can go from air conditioned house to air conditioned car and venture out briefly to spend money. Our first stop was Round Barn aka Pakatakan Farmers Market whichever is easier to pronounce - east of Margaretville halfway to Roxbury. Really interesting architectural Barn with lots of great local farms represented - cheese, maple products, bread, vegetables, baked goods, plants, pottery, yarn, and great waffles! THE place to go on the weekends - open Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day. For more information: www.pfmarket.org

Bovina Days

Bovina Days Weekend. One of our favorite weekends of the year. The entire town turns out with yard sales and donations for good causes. Our first stop - the Bovina Public Library. Our favorite librarian and great prices on used books, dvd's, and donated items. We pick up several cook books, armloads of paperbacks, a worktable for the basement and herb pots. Walking through the town - we picked up an oil painting , beach chairs and got time to chat with our neighbors. It was fun. We head off to St. James Episcopal Church - the church has an antique sale the same weekend with our favorite Medieval Jousting Act. On the way to Delhi, we stop by a large barn sale. It was a spending weekend despite the heat - it was fun just enjoying shopping for a change. We got home and hosted a dinner party Saturday night for our neighbors which was a success and spent some time in the garden. Despite the lack of rain this week, the garden looks so lush and overgrown. It is gorgeous.

Great Fourth!

A week in Puerto Rico, Fourth of July weekend upstate and Fireworks on the Hudson - what a great week! We flew down to San Juan with Tim's family to celebrate his parent's 50th wedding anniversary. We had a great week. Lots of beach time, sightseeing and great family quality time. We flew back Friday, drove upstate Saturday to have a great 4th weekend - grilling, hiking, star-watching, bonfires and amazing fireworks on Sunday upstate despite the rain. We got back late on Monday night but just in time to see the Fireworks on the Hudson. We could see everything from our hallway window and it was beautiful. It has been an amazing summer so far!

The IPod Saved My Life Tonight

I am a late adopter. I realize that. I think I waited almost a decade before I bought my first cd player. I am not an ear-thingy person. I have really small ears and it really hurts to put ear buds in my ear. I never had a Walkman, and I have never had a long commute so there was never a need to be plugged in to anything to get to work. However, I am a terrible sleeper. I used to take my laptop to bed to watch Netflix movies because I would wake up in the middle of the night and the only thing that put me to sleep was watching a movie. Tim was ready to kill me because of the blinding light from my laptop which would wake him up. So, what has saved our relationship is that I finally bought an Ipod and discovered podcasts and use the Ipod to listen to podcasts at night to put me back to sleep. The only issue now is that I never get to finish the podcasts. I listen to NPR "This American Life", "Splendid Table", "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me", Dan Savage, Moth Podcast, Selected Shorts, etc...But I never get to finish them because they do the job and put me back to sleep almost immediately. Now, I have to find the time to re-listen to the podcasts before I re-sync my Ipod. It is so time consuming, between emails, Facebook, Blogging, Podcasts... how does anyone find time to read or have a normal life? Awww.... technology.