We had my dad over for a father’s day meal on, well, father’s day. Yes, yes I know that was a while ago, but I was just drooling over the photos I’m uploading right now and thought you should know about the food we had.

 

Are you loving our outdoor table? A pallet we found. Aren’t we soooo resourceful?

Whoever said beets are for old people are so very wrong. If you’ve never had beets, TRY THEM ASAP. You can get them from pretty much any stand at the farmer’s market. I prefer to get bigger ones; they’re much less of a hassle to peel.

 

 MORE BEETS PLEASE! Sautéed beets, beet greens and yukon gold potatoes.

 

Caramelized onions are very very close to my favorite food ever. My family is kind of sick of hearing about it. I had been wanting to make french onion soup for like, a really long time, so when I was trying to think of something to grill, I thought french onion soup burgers.

Don’t think for a second that I forgot dessert. This was around strawberry season, so I made a strawberry mascarpone tart. I never had mascarpone before this, and I can tell you it will be very useful in summer desserts. It pairs perfectly with fresh fruit.

The four of us ate about 3/4 of this tart. My dad proceeded to fall asleep in all his fullness on the couch. You know it was good food when someone falls asleep. Holiday naps are always appropriate.

Penny was so very sad because she gets the same meal day after day, no beets included.

 

Sautéed beets, beet greens and yukon gold potatoes

 

2 lbs beets, peeled and cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes

2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes

Greens from beets, rinsed thoroughly and roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbs + 1/2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs + 1/2 tbs butter

a few sprigs of fresh thyme (optional)

salt and pepper

 

Heat 1 tbs oil and 1 tbs butter in a cast iron skillet or frying pan. Add beets, potatoes, garlic and thyme, stir to coat with butter. Cook until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Removed from pan and set aside.

Add remaining butter and oil to the pan and toss in the beet greens. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until soft. You can serve these separate or toss them together. Add salt and pepper as desired.

 

 

French Onion Soup Burgers

 

For caramelized onions:

Two onions, sliced into 1/4 inch rings

2 tbs butter

2 tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt

For burgers:

2 lbs 80% lean ground beef

1 packet of onion soup mix (I used Lipton’s)

1 cup grated gruyere cheese (fontina would would great too, and if you don’t feel like spending half your savings for cheese I think provolone would be fine!)

6 hamburger buns or hard rolls

 

To make the onions:

Heat butter and oil in a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot with a lid over medium heat. When you hear a popping noise, add onions. Stir occasionally, uncovered, for ten minutes.

Turn the heat down to low, add salt, and cover. Stir occasionally for at least a 40 minutes, until onions are brown, slimy, translucent, and taste like candy.

To make the burgers:

Add soup mix to the ground beef. Mix well. Divide into six pieces and make patties.

A minute or so before the burgers are done, top with a mountain of caramalized onions and cheese and cover the grill. When the cheese is melted, place the burgers on grilled buns. Serve immediately.

 

 

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

thanks to epicurious 

For tart shell:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 large egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons cold water

For filling:

1 1/2 pounds strawberries (about 1 1/2 quarts), trimmed and halved lengthwise

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup ruby Port (I use a sweet red wine since I couldn’t find a Port wine ANYWHERE)

1 pound mascarpone (about 2 cups)

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

you’ll also need a 10-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom; pie weights or dried beans

 

Make tart shell:
Blend together flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Beat together yolk, vanilla, lemon juice, and water with a fork, then drizzle over flour mixture and stir with fork (or pulse) until mixture comes together.

Gently knead with floured hands on a lightly floured surface until a dough forms, then gently knead 4 or 5 times. Press into a 5-inch disk. Place in center of tart pan and cover with plastic wrap. Using your fingers and bottom of a flat-bottomed measuring cup, spread and push dough to evenly cover bottom and side of pan. Prick bottom of tart shell all over with a fork and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.

Line tart shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until side is set and edge is pale golden, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and continue to bake until shell is deep golden all over, about 20 minutes more. Cool in pan, about 45 minutes.

Make filling while tart shell cools: 
Stir together strawberries and granulated sugar in a bowl and let stand, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Strain in a sieve set over a small saucepan, reserving berries. Add Port to liquid in saucepan and boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk together mascarpone, confectioners sugar, lemon juice, zest, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until stiff.

Assemble tart: 
Spread mascarpone mixture evenly in cooled tart shell, then top with strawberries. Drizzle Port glaze all over tart.

 

*the tart shell can be made one day ahead and kept a room temperature

My mom has berries ripening all over her yard as we speak. Anyone else jealous? Right now she has cups and cups of black raspberries, and she’s at that point where she no longer wants them. So they end up at my house.

 

 

When you buy a house, plant berries. That’s an order. If you don’t like them, you may deliver them to me pronto. Year after year you’ll be rewarded with the BEST berries you’ve ever had. Just make sure you apply a gallon of bug spray before you go picking.

 

 I must know. What’s your favorite summer produce? What’s your favorite way to eat it?

 

 

This black raspberry lemon upside down cake came with me to my in-laws this evening. I must say it was pretty darn good with a huge scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt. I’m attempting to be more experimentational with recipes, so my version of this cake uses honey. Did you know that eating local honey helps with seasonal allergies? That’s right, bees are the answer to your sneeze. Feed it to me by the truckload please. Anyone else?

This would work great as breakfast too. Likely without the ice cream, but I’m not one to judge if you choose to go that route. My mom puts frosting on her english muffins. I’ve seen it all.

 

Of course I had to test a little before I left…

 

 

Black Raspberry Upside Down Cake

 many thanks to serious eats for the original recipe.

3 cups black raspberries (or any other fruit for that matter)

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey (or additional sugar)

1 cupe all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg, as close as room temperature as you have time for

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 drops lemon oil OR 1/2 tsp lemon extract OR enough lemon zest to make it lemony

1/2 cup buttermilk

vanilla ice cream, for sure

Put a rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper, then butter the top piece of parchment.

Put black raspberries into the pan, add a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of honey and mix. Cover the bottom of the pan as best as you can.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together the butter and remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup honey in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon and mix at low speed until just incorporated. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in 3 batches, scraping down sides of the bowl between batches, until just incorporated.

Spoon the batter evenly over the berries, smoothing top. Bake until top is golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cake in pan for 5 minutes.

Run a knife around sides of pan; invert a large plate over the pan, and, using pot holders to hold plate and pan tightly together, flip cake onto plate. Peel off parchment and serve cake with ice cream.