End of Summer Tomato Pie

 Gosh, I love September.

Wanna know why?
Because my garden is literally bursting with produce, and whatever I don't have already at home, I can easily procure from the farmer's market.  It's a cook's dream!

Of course, if you know me, you'll also know that I'm a big fan of the cooler weather that comes in September and October. So, that's just an added bonus.

The fact is, when the dog days of summer give way to a bountiful harvest that includes succulent, garden-fresh tomatoes, it’s time for BLT’s, caprese salads and panzanella. And we've eaten our fill of all of those things this year.

But, it’s also the perfect time to make delicious savory pie!

This delicious summer pie contains layers of colorful tomatoes along with flavorful herbs, smoky bacon and plenty of cheese.

While you can make this pie with any type of tomato, using a variety (from cherry tomatoes, to yellow, orange and green) increases the complexity of the flavor in the dish.  It also makes the pie even more beautiful to behold.

Just check out all those awesome colors in this pie, which we made with a combination of heirloom tomatoes including Black Krim, Brandywine and German Stripes.

But, that's not the only thing that sets this pie apart.  Another thing is the crust.

Rather than using regular old pie crust, we use a buttery cornmeal biscuit crust that gives the dish an almost deep-dish pizza-like quality.

This pie is delicious for dinner, but it almost makes a perfect light summer lunch or brunch.

Get the recipe: Savory Summer Pie

©BURP!

Labor Day Weekend: Preserving the Harvest

  

It's been quite the weekend. We've spent the past three days working on cooking projects. Smoking corn on the cob. Roasting red peppers. And canning everything in our wake.

1950's corn relish
Fire-roasted pepper-tomato sauce
Roasted red pepper spread
Harissa
Lemon pickles
Chipotle salsa
Tomato juice
Tomatillo salsa

We're utterly exhausted. And yet the work was entirely worth it.  We have a pantry filled with gorgeous canned goods that will last us well into the spring.

Best of all, we did it on a relative shoe-string. $22 for 25 lbs of tomatoes at the market. Just $20 for 5 dozen ears of corn. Merely $25.00 for a year's worth of tomatillos. A straight-up $15 for a few pounds of dried chiles at the local ethnic market. And $60 for 30# of organic red peppers.  Every bit of it local. Every dollar of it well spent.

Canning is tiring work. The kitchen is hot. Our feet are sore.  But, somehow, it's worth all the effort.

After all, we've spent mere hours storing up foodstuffs that will feed us for days and weeks.  It's nourishing food that will sustain us through the autumn, winter, and most of the spring.  And best of all, we know exactly where it came from and what's in it.

We're genuinely looking forward to the night when we can enhance that otherwise straight-forward chicken panini with roasted red pepper spread.  We can't wait to create a quick weeknight pasta with fire-roasted pasta sauce.  And we can't even begin to explain how the priceless it is to have access to fresh-frozen sweet corn that tastes like it came right off the grill in the middle of February.

And don't even talk to me about the amazing bloody marys we'll be making with that tomato juice. Best. Ever. No lies.

Happy end-of-summer everyone!
Happy Eat Local Challenge Milwaukee!
Hope your weekend was lovely and your harvest season is bountiful!

©BURP! Where Food Happens

Summer Tomato Sauce: Canning Made Easier

What do you do with 45 lbs of locally grown organic San Marzano tomatoes??  Or maybe the question is better asked, what CAN'T you do?

I've been shying away from canning tomatoes for a very long time.  Most years, when the tomato harvest hits, I spend my time roasting up batches of delicious plum tomatoes and packing them into the freezer. You'll also find me busily dehydrating all of the Principe Borghese tomatoes we've harvested from our garden.  But, canning?

Not sure what it was, but for years I avoided canning.  This year, I took it up out of necessity.

Our chest freezer has been a savior for us when it comes to our ability to eat more locally all winter long.  We pack it full of frozen fruit, vegetables, locally raised meat, soup, and homemade sauces.  And we relish the days when we can pop it open in the middle of February to produce a container of fresh Wisconsin peaches, Door County Cherries, or spicy chili made with garden vegetables.  Unfortunately, we've done a really good job of stowing things away in the freezer.  And our freezer is getting full.  The realization hit me a few weeks ago after clearing away just enough space for a new batch of late summer Amish chickens.

We were out of space.

Fortunately, I had cut my canning teeth on a few easy items last summer.  Pickled & candied jalapenos, a few jars of tomatillo salsa, and a small stash of citrus marmalade gave me some confidence in my ability to create shelf-stable foods that wouldn't inflict us with botulism. So, this year, I decided to tackle tomatoes.  More specifically, pasta sauce.


I love a good homemade pasta sauce as much as anyone.  But, I also have learned to enjoy the convenience of an occasional jar of store-bought pasta sauce for quick weeknight dinners.  So, pasta sauce seemed like a pretty logical investment of our time and tomato money.

Now, washing and coring 45 pounds of fresh tomatoes isn't a big deal once you put your mind to it.  But, peeling and seeding them? Ugh. Not my idea of fun. And that's where a new favorite gadget of mine comes into play -- the West Bend Food Strainer & Sauce Maker.

I should probably clarify that I'm not much of a gadget girl.  I love the feeling of being creative and finding multiple uses for common kitchen tools.  And my kitchen is pretty small -- so I don't have a whole lot of space for single-use tools. But, I'm pretty in love with this tool. This multi-use strainer forces food through a stainless steel screen automatically separating the juice and pulp from the seeds skins and stem.  Best of all, it does it quickly and efficiently.  And I mean quickly.  And efficiently.  

To quote Peef, "I love it when I can seed and peel tomatoes with one hand while drinking a beer with the other."

Once we got all that raw tomato pulp and juice extracted from the tomatoes, it was just a matter of cooking the sauce with a few herbs and spices (namely basil, oregano, thyme, cracked anise seeds, and garlic) and reducing it to the perfect pasta sauce consistency.   Once that was completed, we moved along to the canning and processing phase of things -- which is pretty methodical.  

Canned Pizza or Pasta Sauce ala Burp!

And now for the fun part!  We get to give one of our lucky readers the chance to win a West Bend Food Strainer & Sauce Maker of his or her very own!!  

For your chance to win, just leave us a comment sharing one of your favorite time-saving canning tips.  Or, if you're not a canner, let us know how you'd use your food strainer to make one of your kitchen tasks easier.

Rules:  All comments must be received by Monday evening, September 12th, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. CST  Winners will be announced on Facebook before the end of the day on Tuesday, September 13th.  Entrants must provide a working email address in their comment or blogger profile to win.  Limited to citizens of the U.S. and Canada.

Alright, ready...set... go!

Full Disclosure:  Although we were given West Bend Company products free of charge for the purpose of this review and giveaway, all opinions expressed in this review are our own.  
 

©BURP! Where Food Happens

Soup. And more Soup: February Soup Night Highlights

It's that time again... time for us to tell you about our monthly soup night & all the joy it brings to a Sunday evening in the middle of winter.

February Soup Night turned out to attract a fantastic mix of both new faces & good old stand-bys.  Everyone brought great dishes to pass, and I'd venture a guess that a pretty great time was had by all.

New faces included Rachel from Cream City Green. You may recall a little fund raiser we did last fall called the Gumbo Git Down -- well, Rachel was the other mastermind behind that event.  We've been trying to keep in touch ever since, so it was great that she and her hubby, Greg, were able to join us this month.

Other welcome new guests included Joe from Eating Milwaukee and Nicole (from On My Table), with husband Nate (of NathanAle's Brewery), who happens to be brewing up some pretty amazing beer. Nate was kind enough to bring a variety pack of his craft brews for us to sample!  And both Joe & Nicole supplied our table with some pretty amazing bread, including this Soda Bread, which was served with beer butter!

We were also pleased to see our good friend Rebecca from CakeWalk, whose return to Soup Night was a particular delight.  After all, she brought samples of a truly amazing cinnamon plum Panna Cotta that you should read about. A.Maze.Ing.

It was a great night of food and conversations, and again we both feel so blessed to have so many great people in our lives. So what did we have??

Here goes...

Roasted Red Pepper and Fennel Soup
This soup is a great remake of a favorite served at one of our favorite local restaurants, Kil@wat.  It brings together the lovely, sweet flavor of roasted red sweet peppers, the pleasantly licoriced aroma of roasted fennel, and a hint of kick from jalapeno peppers.  Whirred together into a soup with leeks, celery, and cream, this soup is one of our favorites.

Creamy Smoked Turkey and Apple Soup
This soup is a brand new addition to our repertoire.  The creamy broth consists of pureed apples and onions, a pinch of thyme and just a hint of cream. But, the soup is made hearty with the addition of carrots, smoked turkey (we used leftover maple brined turkey that we smoked with a bit of applewood), and applewood smoked corn leftover from our summer harvest.

Lasagne Soup
This soup is our variation on the many great Italian inspired soups out there on the Internet.  Chock-full of Sweet Sicilian sausage, basil, oregano, and garlic, this soup is embellished with fire-roasted tomatoes and plenty of fresh spinach. YUM.

The Turkey and Apple soup was the clear favorite since the crock pot containing it was emptied well before 6:00pm. That might be a new record. But since we don't really keep track of that stuff, it's kinda hard to say.

Regardless, all of the soup was devoured and before I knew it, the house was emptied, the dishwasher was humming, and Lo and I were sitting and sipping on a glass of wine in front of the fireplace.

*Phew*
Soup. It's such rewarding work.



©BURP! Where Food Happens
Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at FOODCrush, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.

Semi-Homemade Wisconsin Beer Ketchup

We're not normally Sandra Lee sort of people. In fact, most days we're pretty eager to embrace the challenge of a new dish -- even if it means delaying the dinner hour to 9pm or later. But, when you've got brats thawing in the fridge, the promise of dinner in less than an hour, and no ketchup in sight, it's time for some creative thinking.

And that, my friends, is how beer ketchup was born.

Ketchup is one of those things that I've entertained making in the past. You know -- on those hot summer days when there are scads of fresh-from-the garden tomatoes just lying there on the counter. I'm hot. And sweaty. And I can dream of nothing more sexy than sitting over a hot stove for three hours while my homemade ketchup reduces into a delicious red paste.

Yeah, it's true. Somehow, I never seemed to get around to starting the process.

The truth is, I tend to think of ketchup just before dinner when I notice that our condiment stash is running low. Not really optimum timing for starting any sort of tomato reduction project. However, on this particular occasion, I was having an unusual moment of clarity. And I happened to remember that I tend to keep a stash of "pre-reduced" tomato product sitting right inside my kitchen cupboard. And I had a sneaking suspicion that it would suffice if I wanted to throw together a quick ketchup.

And, why not throw some beer into the mix while I was at it? After all, we were having some classic Wisconsin bratwurst for dinner. So, I gathered up my supplies. A bit of vinegar, some agave nectar, tomato paste, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, cayenne, garlic, and salt.
And I began to whisk them together in a medium bowl... Not every part of the process really screamed "photo op"... but I thought I'd share with you anyhow.
... because the final product was really quite attractive.
This ketchup was "ripe" with tomato flavor. Just enough of a vinegar tang to keep things interesting. And all the right background flavors. Of course the subtle notes imparted by the beer wasn't bad either. It was GREAT with the bratwurst we ate for dinner -- and was also fantastic in the pot of "baked" beans I threw in the crockpot the next night. I might be tempted to try this with a darker brew next time... or maybe I'll just shake things up completely and use a bit of bourbon. Who knows??

Semi-Homemade Wisconsin Beer Ketchup



©BURP! Where Food Happens

Chicken Cacciatore

When I was a girl, birthday dinners were a huge deal. Each year, my mother would ask me what I wanted for MY birthday dinner. And each year, the answer was the same -- chicken cacciatore and cherry pie. To this day, the smell of chicken and peppers simmering away on the stove takes me back. Way back. Back to the days when a bowl of chicken cacciatore could rectify any wrongs. And cherry pie healed all wounds.

These days it take a bit more than cherry pie to heal what ails me (especially if you're referring to the nasty viral infection that hit me this past week). But, a good pot of cacciatore still goes a long way in turning around a bad day.

This cacciatore is a recipe we've made over and over, tweaking it to the extent that we can make it pretty much with our eyes closed. Since cacciatore recipes vary greatly, this one is probably just as authentic (or inauthentic) as any. The possible twist is that it contains artichoke hearts in addition to the (prerequisite) peppers.

Start off with a few staples from your spice cupboard -- a bay leaf, some basil, some oregano, red pepper flakes, and a bit of thyme. Take a photo, if you like... herbs tend to be serious attention hogs at our house, so we like to patronize them a bit.
For me, the mainstay of any cacciatore is sweet peppers. This is the perfect recipe to use up some of those beautiful peppers you've frozen from the previous summer's bounty. But, if you're out of those (as we are by now), you can feel free to substitute fresh peppers from the market.
You'll also want a few nice fresh chicken thighs -- which you'll coat with a bit of seasoned flour and brown up nicely in your Dutch oven.
Then, saute your peppers with some onions and garlic. Add a bit of tomato paste and those delectable seasonings...
And then throw in a bit of red wine. Once the wine reduces, you'll want to add more canned tomatoes to the mix.
And then nestle those chicken thighs back into the pot.
Put a cover on your pot and slip it into a moderate oven for about 40 minutes or so...
And wait patiently. When the pot comes out, and you remove the cover, it's going to smell positively divine. You'll want to remove the chicken thighs for a bit, stir in some artichoke hearts (yes, see, this is where things start getting really good), and allow them to heat through. Then, add the chicken back in and get ready to serve.
This cacciatore is nice on a bed of mashed potatoes... or rice. You also can't beat serving this with some nice crusty (garlic) bread to mop up all that delicious sauce.

I really like to pull the leftover chicken off the bone and serve it for dinner the next night with pasta. In fact, leftover chicken cacciatore makes some of the best baked ziti you've ever had in your life when tossed with pasta and a bit of mozzarella cheese and then baked for 30-40 minutes. Gosh, just the thought of it gets my saliva glands working over time.

Make it quick, before the spring breezes carry you away!

Chicken Cacciatore



©BURP! Where Food Happens

Tomato Love: The Great Burp! Tomato Giveaway

Mmm. Tomatoes.
Nothing beats a fresh, local, vine-ripened tomato. Unfortunately, we're still about 7-8 months away from such a thing here in Wisconsin. So, right now, canned tomatoes are the next best thing.

With a nice 28-oz can of tomatoes and a few basic herbs & spices, I can make a fabulous (and quick) pasta dish. I can puree a can of whole tomatoes with some broth and create a delicious impromptu soup. Or, with a bit more effort, I could make one of my favorite chili recipes!

Buffalo Chicken Chili

Veg-head Chili
Or how about some Barack Obama Chili using a can of diced tomatoes, instead of fresh? (Thanks to Cathy over at Noble Pig for pulling this recipe out just in time for the Inauguration!)

That's why I was excited when Red Gold Tomatoes contacted us and asked if we'd like some products to host a giveaway. Hailing from the Midwest, where hot summers make for sweet tomatoes, Red Gold makes a pretty incredible product. Since we're chile-heads, one of our favorite varieties is the Petite Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles, which make a great pot of chili.

Plus, I figured if we're this excited about tomatoes, we're pretty sure that you are too!

Three lucky readers will receive a prize pack that contains a variety of Red Gold Tomato products.

How to enter the giveaway:
What is YOUR favorite recipe using canned tomatoes?

Leave a comment with your recipe idea and/or a link to the recipe.

Three lucky winners will be chosen at random (one entry per person please). Be sure to leave an email address if we don't already know you or you don't have a blog. We'll need a way to contact you if you win.

Contest ends on Monday, January 26th.

©BURP! Where Food Happens