Happy (belated) Fourth of July, dear readers! Among the many American traditions that go along with Independence Day, one of the greatest is EATING! This dish is based on a recipe from one of my favorite old fashioned American cooks: Nathalie Dupree. She calls this deliciously fresh dessert “Liberty Cobbler” for its red, white, and blue hues. It is essentially a strawberry cobbler with a blueberry sauce. The flavors are every bit as colorful as these pictures portray: a terrific combination of crispy cobbler, sweet-tart berries, and cool and creamy topping.

My dad even said that this was the best cobbler he had ever eaten. It’s definitely a winner!

PS: I need to add a special thank you to my father-in-law for picking the blueberries I used in this recipe from his blueberry patch!

Liberty Cobbler
Adapted from Natalie Dupree’s recipe in New Southern Cooking (1986)

Cobbler:
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 cups strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 scant cup milk

Blueberry Sauce:
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping:
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix 1/4 cup of the sugar with the sliced strawberries. Toss gently and set aside.

Put the butter in a 9×13 inch baking dish and place in oven to melt. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a whisk, stir in the milk and the remaining cup of sugar to make a smooth batter.

When the butter has melted, remove the dish from the oven. Pour the batter into the melted butter. Spoon the strawberries and any juice evenly over the batter.

Return to the oven and bake about 30 minutes. You will know the cobbler is done when the batter has risen up around the berries and turned golden brown.

To make the sauce, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat so that the mixture boils. Meanwhile, coarsely puree 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries in a food processor. Add the puree to the sugar syrup along with the lemon juice. Bring the mixture back to a boil, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add all but a few of the remaining whole blueberries to the mixture. (The rest will be for garnish.) Cook for about 1 more minute, until the whole berries begin to soften.

Serve the sauce warm over the cobbler topped with either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

So when I went out in search of the perfect recipe for boeuf bourguignon, I knew right where I would start:  Julia Child.  After perusing her flawless recipe, I knew I’d found The One.  I made very few changes to the original recipe, mainly altering a few ingredients for the sake of convenience.

The result?  Boeuf Bliss!!!  Even the husband remarked that it was one of the best dishes I have ever made for him.  The sauce is so rich, each layer of flavor reveals itself to you in turn as you make your way through the dish.  This is no ordinary beef stew.

Boeuf Bourguignon
adapted from Julia Child’s amazing recipe

6 ounces of bacon, cut into 1″ pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 lbs. stew beef cut into 2-inch cubes
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups of full-bodied red wine (I used a nice Chianti)
2-3 cups of beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf, crumbled

18-24 pearl onions, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup beef stock
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in an oven-proof, stove-proof casserole (I used a small dutch oven) over medium heat on the stove. Brown the bacon pieces in the oil for 2-3 minutes. Remove them to a large plate using a slotted spoon.

Next, pat dry your beef and sautee the pieces, a few at a time, until well browned on all sides. Remove the meat to the plate with the bacon.

Finally, sautee the carrot and onion in the same pan, cooking them until slightly soft. Remove these to the same plate as the meat.

Pour off any fat remaining in the bottom of the casserole. Return the bacon, meat, and veggies to the casserole, tossing them together with the salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour over the top of the mixture, and place the casserole, uncovered, in the oven for 4 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss the mixture again, and return to the oven for another 4 minutes. This step is important because the cooked flour will help to thicken your sauce – yum!

Add the wine to the casserole. Then add enough of the broth to barely cover the top of the meat mixture. Stir in the tomato paste, the garlic, the thyme, and the parsley. Bring the entire mixture to a boil on the stovetop.

Lower the oven temperature to 325. Cover the casserole and bake so that the mixture slowly simmers – you can adjust the oven temperature if necessary. Allow to cook for 3-4 hours, or until the meat is easily pierced with a fork.

When the meat is almost finished cooking, you can prepare the onions and the mushrooms.

For the onions, combine the butter and the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, and sautee for about 10 minutes, so that they brown evenly without the layers coming apart. Pour in the stock, add the pepper and herbs, and cover the skillet. Simmer the onions over low heat for 40-50 minutes. The onions will be very tender, and almost all of the liquid will be gone. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside.

For the mushrooms, heat the butter and oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. As soon as the foamy part of the butter begins to disappear, add the mushrooms. Stir the pan frequently as the mushrooms brown lightly – this should take about 5 minutes. Then remove them from the heat.

To finish off the stew, remove the casserole from the oven. Place a sieve over a saucepan on the stove, and pour the contents of the casserole through the sieve. Wash out the casserole so that you can start with a clean slate. Remove the beef and the bacon from the sieve into the clean casserole. Set the onion and carrot aside (Julia says to throw this part away, but it makes a nice snack for later!!!). Place the mushrooms and the onions on top of the meat in the casserole.

Simmer the sauce for 2-3 minutes, skimming the fat off the top as necessary. The sauce should lightly coat the back of a spoon. If the sauce is thin, then simmer it until it boils down and thickens. If it is too thick, then add some extra beef stock. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt and pepper to your taste.

Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Simmer the mixture for about 2-3 minutes before serving. Serve in the casserole or on a warm platter surrounded by noodles, potatoes or rice and garnished with fresh parsley. We had ours with buttered egg noodles, and it was divine. Enjoy!

I ended up with a large amount of arugula after I bought a big batch for a recipe I made recently.  Well, I’m not one to let perfectly good greens go to waste, so I decided to put my leftover arugula to good use.  I have seen so many different green used in various forms of pesto, that I decided to try substituting arugula in my regular basil pesto recipe.  It turned out to be delicious! I tossed it with pasta and parmesan cheese – such a zesty and brightly flavored dish!  Arugula has a bit of bite to it, so it really shined in this pesto.

Arugula Pesto

3 teaspoons salt
3.5 ounces arugula leaves, stems removed
3 large garlic cloves
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

First, fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.

Next, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and add the salt. Add the arugula, stirring to submerge. As soon as the water returns to a boil, remove the pot from the heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the arugula to the ice bath so that the cooking process stops. Once it has cooled, remove the arugula to paper towels to dry. Squeeze any excess water from the leaves.

Add the arugula and the garlic cloves to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process until the texture is fine. Then gradually stream in the olive oil and process until the mixture is smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Yield about 1/2 cup.

Toss with pasta or drizzle over boiled potatoes, just like basil pesto!

Then, I decided to use some of my leftover arugula pesto to make a beautiful green appetizer.  I had read online that some arugula pesto recipes use chick peas to make the pesto thick, and a bit less pungent.  Well, instead of using the chick peas in my pesto, I decided to turn my pesto into a beautifully green and vibrantly spicy hummus! This is a perfect appetizer for Halloween – glorious green goop!

Arugula Hummus

1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (aka chick peas)
1/2 cup arugula pesto
1 tablespoon tahini
Salt and pepper to taste

First, drain the garbanzo beans, reserving the liquid in a bowl.

In the bowl of the food processor, measure the arugula pesto, the tahini, and the chick peas. Process until smooth. Adjust the thickness/thinnest of the texture to your liking using the reserved bean liquid. Blend to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving, so that the flavors can meld. Serve with pita or chips.

I find that the pita chips that you can buy at the grocery store tend to be wayyyyyyyy to salty.  I much prefer to make my own pita toasties to serve with hummus and other dips.  Here is my favorite way to make them!!

Pita Toasties

4-6 pitas
1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Cut each pita into 6 wedges.  Spread evenly on a baking sheet.  Brush or spray the pita wedges with the olive oil.  Then sprinkle with garlic salt.  Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until toasty and lightly golden brown.  Serve with hummus, roasted red pepper hummus, or arugula hummus.  Enjoy!