Scenes from a Weekend with Scallops and Lady Apples

The cold weather finally arrived this weekend. Everyone was talking about it on the street, at school, at the market... All waiting anxiously for Saturday morning when temperatures were supposed to drop into the 50's.

We woke up earlier than usual that morning and ran downstairs to open all the windows. J's face spoke a thousand words. "Does this mean it is going to snow?".



It was a beautiful weekend indeed. Some of my favorite kinds of days. Sunshine, bright blue skies with a chilly breeze. Jacket required. We spent the weekend thinking of ways to be outside. The park, the beach, walks around the neighborhood... and ways to cook comfort food.

I phoned my mom to ask her what she had made for lunch that day. "Sardines", she said. "They looked beautiful at the market". I suddenly wanted to run to the fishmonger and grab my hands on handful of glittering, fresh sardines. The smell of grilled sardines is just engraved in my brain.



Unfortunately, fresh sardines are a rare commodity around here. The few times I have seen them, they have looked rather sad and have traveled just too far to be any good. But I did spot some good looking scallops and thought they would be perfect simply prepared with a crust of breadcrumbs, herbs and bacon.



I found the first lady apples of the season, which reminded me how time flies. It seems like it was yesterday when my mom was holding a bowl of lady apples for me to photograph. It was right after M. was born. Our little M... she will turn a year in a few days. Hard to believe.

Lady apples are so delicious as they are. Crunchy when raw. The perfect compliment for the creamy coconut rice pudding I made. You know how much I love arroz con leche in all its variations, like this and this. This time however, I went for a quick and easy version that didn't require standing next to the pot for over an hour. Quickly cooked the rice and mixed it with coconut milk, whole milk, vanilla bean and lemon zest. Warm and fresh.



I'm off to New York City tomorrow where more cold weather awaits me. I love the city. I will be hard at work, but will definitely make time to eat and some play. Yes, please.

Roasted Scallops with Breadcrumbs and Bacon

makes 4 servings

12 scallops
1/4 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs
2 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
2 garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
3 Tbs olive oil
4 slices of bacon, finely chopped
pinch salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
2 Tbs white wine

In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic, bacon and olive oil. Salt and pepper the scallops. Drizzle some olive oil on a baking dish and place the scallops on it. Top with the breadcrumbs mixture and drizzle some more olive oil on top. Pour the white wine in the baking dish.

Bake at 425F. Time will vary depending on the size.


Coconut Rice Pudding with Lady Apples

makes 4 servings

1/2 cup (100 grams) arborio rice
1 cup (225 ml) water
1 cup (225 ml) coconut milk
1 cup (225 ml) whole milk
1/4 cup (50 grams) natural cane sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
Zest of half a lemon
pinch of salt
lady apples, thinly sliced
pistachios, chopped
brown sugar for topping

In a small saucepan, combine the rice and water and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes until water is absorbed by the rice. Add the coconut milk, whole milk, sugar, vanilla bean, lemon zest and salt. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes until it thickens.

Serve the rice pudding lukewarm with the apples, pistachios and brown sugar.

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Scenes from a Weekend with Scallops and Lady Apples

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Red Currant and Poppy Seed Cakes, Arroz con Leche Cupcakes, Summer Galettes and a Week with the Chickenpox

Believe me, I am not exaggerating a bit when I tell you that last week was one of the longest weeks of my life. We were in the middle of some renovations at home and all the anxiety that brings, when my little boy came down with a pretty bad case of chickenpox. The poor thing was covered from head to toe with blisters and red spots and I have never seen him that uncomfortable in my life.

The fever and severe itching only lasted about three days, but we were confined at home for a whole week until all spots were covered with scabs and he was no longer contagious. We did not leave the house for a whole week. Yes, an entire week.



Although I know this is a fairly common childhood illness and there was no need to be alarmed, to see my little one suffer so much and be so sleep deprived from constant itching breaks my heart. The first few days, I just kept giving him oatmeal baths and tried to keep him cool and comfortable. However, that soon passed and then came boredom.

He wanted to go outside and play with friends and didn't understand why he couldn't. He became fascinated with the idea that he had the chickenpox. "The chickenpox? I have the chickenpox?", he would say. So what do we do in our family when we run out of puzzles, books, games and movies (and we watched a lot of them!)? We bake.



The first day, he helped me make arroz con leche, which is our go to comfort dessert. We make it when we are happy, when we just want to watch a movie and snuggle or when we are sick. From that came the idea of reserving some of the milk and using that to make cupcakes, which everyone loved.

We used the arroz con leche cooking milk to flavor the cupcakes and the custard we used as a filling. We even soaked the cupcakes with some of the milk while they were still hot. Very, very moist. And we topped them with a meringue icing.

The following day we made galettes with nectarines, red currant and gooseberries and some leftover sugar dough I had in the freezer. We also made buttermilk, poppy seed and red currant mini pound cakes and even baked some of the batter in individual glass jars for something fun and different.



I have to say that the uncomfortable and painful stage of the chickenpox is gone, but the poor thing is still covered in spots and scabs. We did leave the house this past weekend for the first time and I have to admit, grocery shopping has never been so exciting in my life.

Red Currant and Poppy Seed Cakes

Makes 3 small loaves or 1 large one

170 grams butter, room temperature
250 grams sugar
1 tsp vanila extract
Zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
180 grams buttermilk
180 grams flour
4 grams baking powder
3 grams salt
7 grams poppy seeds
100 grams fresh red currants

Cream the butter and sugar together until light. Add the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

Add the eggs one at a time and scrape to incorporate well.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix. Add the buttermilk and mix. Add the poppy seeds and fold in the red currants.

Pour the batter into pans and bake at 350F for about 25-30 minutes.

Nectarine, Red Currant and Gooseberry Galettes

Makes about 3 galettes

2 nectarines, peeled and sliced
25 grams red currants
25 grams gooseberries
15 grams flour
10 grams vanilla sugar
pinch salt

Toss the filling ingredients together.

Roll sugar dough to about 1/8" thickness. Cut circles that are about 10" in diameter. Place the filling in the middle and fold edges over. Brush edges with egg wash and sprinkle some sugar.

Bake at 400F for about 20-25 minutes until bottom golden brown.

Arroz con Leche Cupcakes

Makes a dozen cupcakes

110 grams butter, room temperature
200 grams sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
125 grams arroz con leche cooking milk
175 grams flour
7 grams baking powder

Cream together the butter and sugar until light. Add lemon zest. Add eggs one at a time and scrape the bowl well.

Add the flour and baking powder and mix. Add the arroz con leche cooking milk and mix until combined.

Divide the cupcake batter into the cupcake papers and bake at 350F for about 25 minutes.

Arroz con Leche Custard

250 grams arroz con leche cooking milk
1 cinnamon stick
Zest of a lemon
3 egg yolks
40 grams sugar
25 grams cornstarch
75 grams butter, cold and cut into small pieces

We are going to make a pastry cream with all the ingredients. Place the arroz con leche cooking milk, cinnamon, lemon zest and half of the sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a light boil.

Whisk together the egg yolks, half of the sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. When the milk mixture comes to a light boil, temper it into the egg yolk mixture. Whisk to incorporate and then return this to the saucepan. Cook while constantly whisking until the custard thickens.

Remove the cinnamon stick and transfer the custard to a clean bowl. Whisk to slightly cool the custard down and start adding the cold butter while whisking. This will cool it down and make it shiny and creamier.

Place plastic wrap directly on top of the custard to prevent a skin from forming and chill.

Swiss Meringue

200 grams egg whites
400 grams sugar

Mix the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Place the bowl over a water bath and whisk until sugar starts to dissolve, the mixture turns very white and fluffy and feels very hot to the touch.

Place the bowl in the mixer and whip the meringue until thick and the bowl feels cool.

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Red Currant and Poppy Seed Cakes, Arroz con Leche Cupcakes, Summer Galettes and a Week with the Chickenpox

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https://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2009/08/red-currant-and-poppy-seed-cakes-arroz.html

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Arroz con Leche Creme Brulee and a Cause Close to my Heart

Everything about this post is very dear to my heart, starting with the arroz con leche and followed by the cause at hand. A few days ago, I visited one of my favorite blogs Make Life Sweeter. When I saw that Linda announced "Got Milk?", a blogging event in support of World Breastfeeding Week, I knew I had to participate. I have been a bit absent from blogging events lately, but I really wanted to bake for this one.

I try to not to be too militant in my life. I want to keep my eyes and mind open to opinions and points of view, but breastfeeding and the lack of it in many countries (including my own) is an important subject to me. I believe in the bond that breastfeeding creates, in its health benefits and the de-sexualization of breastfeeding. This is not about confrontation or about criticizing those who do not breastfeed, but about raising awareness in our community of the important benefits of breastfeeding. I have found that here in the United States, many more mothers than I expected breastfeed, however, breastfeeding in public is not always accepted. I think it's important to teach our communities how isolating it can be when a mother cannot breastfeed in public and it makes her feel like she is doing something wrong.



The premise of this event is to cook something with milk as the main ingredient. Of course, I immediately thought about arroz con leche and giving it a new twist by turning it into a creme brulee. I absolutely love the slightly caramelized milk when it's reduced with the cinnamon and vanilla bean and then finished with crispy burnt sugar.

Arroz con Leche Milk Base

2 liters organic whole milk
100 grams sugar
100 grams Valencia rice or arborio rice
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean, split
pinch of salt

In a large saucepan, heat the whole milk, the salt, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Heat the milk over medium heat stirring occasionally until it comes to a light boil. Add the sugar and the rice and reduce heat to medium low.

Cook stirring often for about an hour until the milk has reduced by almost half. We don't want the milk to boil, just lightly simmer (some small bubbles are ok).

Strain the milk through a fine sieve reserving the milk and discarding the rice, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Save for another use, if desired.

Arroz con Leche Creme Brulee

1 liter of the rice cooking milk
10 organic egg yolks
50 grams sugar

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar. Temper in the hot milk and whick until combined. Strain this custard through a fine sieve. Pour into ramekins. Place the ramekins on a sheetpan and bring it to the oven. Once it is in the oven, pour some boiling water in the sheetpan to create a water bath. Bake the custard in a 300F oven until the center sets. The time will depend on the size of your ramekins but for a 4 oz ramekin, it will take approximately 30 minutes.

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Arroz con Leche Creme Brulee and a Cause Close to my Heart

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