We’re so enjoying the springtime bounty from our favorite farmers market—from first-of-the-season asparagus to sublimely sweet strawberries, it’s a great time to buy local. I’ve created some super salads completely from Peachtree Road Farmers Market ingredients, including a pretty little spinach, goat cheese, strawberry, and pecan plateful. And John’s been thrilled (insert sarcasm here, followed by acquiescence) to try new veggies like Swiss chard, which is just beautiful right now. This NYTimes.com recipe was the perfect way to introduce him to the leafy green, as pasta provided a tasty vehicle for the chard, red peppers, and goat cheese. Another flavorful, easy springtime recipe we’ve recently enjoyed with market veggies is Barefoot Contessa’s basic Oven-roasted Vegetables; the fennel, potatoes, beans, and asparagus are all in season—and good parmesan is a perennial around our house. If you’re not itching to get in the kitchen, don’t let that keep you from stopping by your local farmers market; fresh produce is as easy as snap peas and carrots—just bite, chew, and repeat. Oh, and don’t forget the strawberries (oh, the strawberries…yum!).

Available at Peachtree Road Farmers Market NOW:
Arugula, Asparagus, Beets, Carrots, Eggs, Fennel, Green Beans, Herbs, Kale, Lettuces, Onions, Peas & Pea Shoots, Snow Peas, Spring Garlic, Strawberries, Swiss Chard, plus fresh yogurts, cheeses and local meats.  

It’s a funny thing, how our food tastes evolve. When I was little, I developed a love for toast and jam. My mom has a knack for placing the triangles of butter just so, in the corners and a dot in the middle, where the result is pillowy pockets of butter hugged by golden brown crunch. Topped with sweet jam of almost any variety (strawberry, apple and raspberry top the list), it’s a love I haven’t outgrown. During my teenage years, it took form as that ready-to-go breakfast sensation, the Pop-Tart. Not nearly as delicious to me as fresh toast, Pop-Tarts were appealing mainly as a go-to vessel for something sweet, be it jam or chocolate. The fact that they’re glazed didn’t hurt, either. In college, I even savored cold Pop-Tarts after long camping trip hikes. So when I recently saw Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery on The Today Show making home-made Pop-Tarts, maybe I didn’t think of it as my carbohydrate + sweet quick-treat maturing into adulthood. That might be a stretch. But I did think that making my own breakfast pastries sounded pretty darn good. Check out the recipe for yourself. A few disclaimers based on my experience: making the dough a day ahead is awesome; rolling it out can be tricky—I found that my Silpat worked best as a surface; DON”T OVER-FILL—I think 2 tablespoons was a bit much for each tart and I will definitely cut back the next time I make these, maybe to 1 tablespoon; if you do over-fill and don’t seal the dough together enough, like me, prepare to mop up jam from your sheet at 5 minute intervals during baking; don’t worry, you’ll get through it, and the leaking jam doesn’t cause the Pop-Tarts to taste any less delicious; USE SPRINKLES, for crying out loud, they’re pretty and yummy. Despite my minor pop-tastrophe with over-filling, I’m totally going to make these again. The pastry is buttery and flaky. There are endless possibilities to fillings. And sprinkles rock. 

John likes sprinkles, too. Well, he likes salt sprinkles better than any rainbow variety. He loved butter from a young age, also. As in, he ate sticks of butter. Luckily, like kids who ate Crayolas and Play-Doh, he grew out of it. But what this habit grew into, I’m convinced, is his love of caramels. Those sticky sweets’ main ingredients are cream and butter. And he must’ve eaten salted butter because salted caramels are John’s favorite. It’s pretty easy and quick to make this treat yourself, as long as you pay careful attention and have a candy thermometer. Try Ina Garten’s Fleur De Sel Caramels. I made a few adjustments: I used a 9 x 9 pan and chose not to roll the caramels. I cut them directly into squares instead—by turning the 9 x 9 pan out onto a cutting board, cutting the square in half and then into smaller squares. I also chose not to individually wrap the caramels, but to store them in a single layer in an air tight container in the fridge. Last, I didn’t have any fleur de sel on hand, so I ground up kosher salt in my mortar and pestle for a finer texture and that worked just fine. It’s really up to your tastes, so you can get creative with the salts. I tried Bella Cucina’s Tuscan Rose & Pink Peppercorn salt to tasty effect as well. I’ll never outgrow a good sprinkle.

If you don’t feel like getting in the kitchen yourself…
Find locally homemade Pop-Tarts by Atlanta’s Red Queen Tarts
Find locally handmade caramels (salted or chocolatey) by Atlanta’s Cacao

Whether you’re planning to watch “The Big Game” this Sunday or planning to do anything but, you might want a snack. Meet Virginia Willis’ Coca-Cola Glazed Chicken Wings (yes, you may remember the similarly spiced Coca-Cola Glazed Ribs we tried this summer). My Mema used to say that Coca-Cola was a cure-all and, well, I’ve yet to prove her wrong (not that I’m inclined to try). These wings are sticky sweet heat. They’re not too spicy and they give you a nice broiler-kissed chew of a bite. Few ingredients + little fuss = perfect snack. Give them a try this weekend and you won’t be sorry. Or you could always try freezer food roulette…Warning, friends, that’s a slippery slope.  

A couple of weeks ago, when I read “Last call for actual Georgia peaches” on Atlanta Magazine’s blog, I hurried over to Sweet Auburn Curb Market to pick up a bag full of the sweet fuzzies from Pearson Farm. That same week, I read a lovely peach cobbler recipe on Ruth Reichl’s blog (which is full of the same gorgeous writing we came to expect from Gourmet and that changed my life when I read one of her many books, Garlic and Sapphires). I also follow Reichl’s tweets, which are like little foodie love haikus each day. If you aren’t already a fan of her work, you will be after reading just one line.
 
But I digress—her recipes are as tried and true as her writing about them and, when I saw this cobbler, I knew it would be a hit. I also happened to have every single ingredient on hand already. The aforementioned peaches, of course, plus pantry staples like sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, butter and salt. We had cornstarch from a previous okra frying experiment and the remaining ingredients were kind of serendipitous—I had exactly a half lemon leftover from making hummus and some buttermilk remaining from a birthday cake I’d made earlier in the week. It was baked fruit destiny!
 
As I peeled and sliced the rosy gold peaches into the pie plate, juice trickling down my wrists, I felt late summer slipping through my fingers. I’m a firm believer in taking a moment while cooking to give thanks for good, honest ingredients and I was so thankful that day for Pearson Farm peaches. It was a wonderful thing to breathe in the smells of sweet peach nectar and lemony citrus. It was even better that the smell lingered on my fingertips and in the kitchen, appeasing my senses while the cobbler was bubbling away in the oven. The recipe is simple and the results are delicious and comforting. I recommend having a few friends around when the cobbler comes out of the oven. Either that or having an iron will, because I was alone when this beauty came out and it took a heck of a lot of will power not to devour the whole pie plate. But maybe you just need an iron stomach instead…and a spoon. 

We’ve been busy, y’all. In this post:

• Ice Cream Sandwiches at Miller Union
• Brownies Thanks to my HomeGirl
• Attack of the Killer Tomato Fest

You Had Me at Ice Cream: Only at lunchtime does Miller Union offer up ice cream sandwiches. And, while I give due respect to savory sandwiches and quite enjoyed my creamy farm egg salad & watercress between soft white bread, there is a special place in my heart and stomach for a good ice cream sandwich. I mean, seriously, cookies and ice cream in one portable package? I love you, inventor of the ice cream sandwich (one small step for street food, one giant leap for deliciousness). Miller Union takes the humble frozen treat to another level, with flavors like Earl Grey Tea and Mexican Chocolate. My Mom and I shared a classic Cherry sandwich – you’ll see in the photo that they’ll cut it in half for you. I probably could have eaten a plateful of these if not for following my Mom’s example of moderation (it didn’t hurt that half-size was pretty cute). Thin, chocolate-y cookie with a thick slab of cherry ice cream between, like a frozen chocolate covered cherry. Yum. 

Square Goods: Sometimes I forget about brownies. When I’m called to make a dessert for a dinner party or potluck, I generally pick a recipe that I haven’t made before, something exotic and challenging (exactly what one shouldn’t do, by the way – if you want a recipe for anxiety, follow this rule). I think that I do this because, if I’m going to invest time and energy into something, I like using that time to try something new. All that’s to say, this summer has kicked my butt and I’m super busy. So, when it came time to bake something for a potluck, I remembered the crowd-pleasing, multiple-serving dessert, brownies. No cookie scooping or cake icing, just simple, glorious squares of goodness. Next time I forget about brownies, I’ll try to remember just how tasty that batter is, too…But I still couldn’t resist trying a new recipe, so I looked to Virginia Willis for inspiration. The resulting Georgia Pecan Brownies were out of this world. Fair warning, 12 ounces of chocolate takes a minute or two to finely chop, but the tired arm is totally worth it when you take a bite into these dense chocolate pecan squares. We love the added depth that sea salt brings to chocolate and will definitely be making these again. It’s hard to make a brownie that’s both chewy and moist, but also has that nice cakey top. This one’s a keeper.  

When Tomatoes Attack: This weekend, we were very excited to attend the Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival, benefiting Georgia Organics. We even hydrated for the occasion. There’s nothing else to prepare you for an afternoon of tomatoes and booze, after all. Angie Mosier was MC for the festivities and The Spazmatics rocked out with their socks out. The stage was set to celebrate summer’s most beguiling fruit.

Our favorites from the region’s top chefs and mixologists included: The Golden Ticket cocktail from Miles Macquerrie (Leon’s Full Service) – Oronoco Rum, Sungold Tomato Jam, Pineapple, Lime, Cynar, Black Pepper Syrup, and one big ol’ ice cube – a sweet but spicy drink perfect for GA hotness; the Electric Boogaloo from Cara Ludino (Miller Union) – daiquiri-like with fresh ground pepper; Hugh Acheson’s (Athens’ Five & Ten and soon-to-be-Atlanta’s Empire State South) Tomatoes with Pickled Shrimp, Field Peas and Boiled Dressing; Carvel Grant Gould’s (Canoe) Warm Goat Cheese Cheesecake with Bacon Crust and Tomato Fig Jam; Chris Hastings’ (Birmingham’s Hot and Hot Fish Club) Tomato Salad with Fresh Corn, Field Peas, Fried Okra, Bacon & Chive Aioli; Linton Hopkins’ (Restaurant Eugene, Holeman & Finch Public House) Heirloom Tomato Corn Dogs with Brandywine Ketchup; Gerry Klaskala’s (Aria) Grilled Cheese Keaster with Roof Top Dried Tomatoes, Bacon & Chipotle Dipping Sauce; Eddie Hernandez’s (Taqueria del Sol) Tomato Cruda in Habanero Vinaigarette on a Tostada topped with Southwestern Crema and Caviar; Joe Truex’s (Watershed) Tomato Pie – cheddar tart with cherry tomato center; and Mike Lata’s (Charleston’s FIG) Heirloom Tomato Tarte Tatin (warm tomato compote over thin, delicate pastry) with Fromage Blanc. For sweet somethings, we appreciated the creativity of Ford Fry’s (JCT. Kitchen & Bar) Killer Tomato Jelly Donuts and Kevin Gillespie’s (Woodfire Grill) Tomato Ice Cream Sandwiches. But our favorite tomato dessert was definitely Keira Moritz’s (Pacci) mini ice cream cones – flavors changed on the half hour and we liked them so much that we made it over to sample three – basil with a hint of tomato, peach tomato with a yummy candied heirloom on top, and strawberry tomato. It was pretty serendipitous when The Spazmatics started playing “Just Can’t Get Enough…”

Judges Andrew Knowlton (Bon Appetit magazine), Kate Krader (Food & Wine magazine) and Carolyn O’Neil (local dietician and author) had their work cut out for them…for a summary of the cocktail winners, check out this nice post at Food & Wine; and for food winners, check out their other post! I knew I waited a day to write about this thing because of more than just fullness…I had a plan, see…

If there’s a hole in your corn, there’s probably a worm in there, too. And that’s okay. I overheard a woman at the farmers’ market last week gasp at a little green worm that greeted her upon corn inspection. She plopped the produce down and walked away. Here’s the thing…if you like organic (good) things and you dislike pesticide (nasty) things, you’re going to come upon a few worms in your corn from time to time. The food chain is equal opportunity, y’all. 

Growing up south of Atlanta, in Henry County, my friend Jessica and I would pick corn in her dad’s field and sell it on the roadside. It was hot, sticky work. And the bugs waiting for us in between those rows of corn were a lot meaner than the ones just trying to get by inside the husks. I picked corn there because I had fun laughing with Jessica and because, at the end of the day, I got sent home with as much sweet cobs as my family could stand. We’d boil it, butter it, salt it, enjoy it, and repeat.

A few corn tips that I’ve learned along the way: Pick up corn with bright green husks and silky dark brown tops. You can sometimes tell if a worm’s in there because you’ll see a little hole in the husk. If it’s near the top, you’re ok. If it’s towards the middle or you notice brownish stains on the husks, the worm has won that battle and you can move on. Refrigerate the corn immediately when you get home. When it’s time to shuck, I pull back the husk gently and, if a worm’s been snacking up top, I just use the husk to break off that bit. A final tip, if you’re looking to remove the kernels for a recipe, cut the cob in half first. This gives you a shorter distance for the kernels to fall (all over the place) and a more even surface to balance on your cutting board.

Last week, we made a delicious corn side dish for our neighborhood diners group. The Barefoot Contessa’s Confetti Corn was quick, easy, and as pretty to look at as it was to eat. We picked up the corn, orange bell pepper, and herbs at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market. I omitted onions since someone in our group is allergic and I couldn’t find any chives, so just went with parsley and basil. It was a sweet taste of summer and John even ate the peppers! For those of you that don’t like peppers, check out the orange ones. They’re sweeter and not as aggressive on the palate as green can be. 

Sure, we’ve never met, Virginia Willis and I. But if you’re the type to count cookbook authors in your list of friends, then we are as thick as thieves. Bon Appétit, Y'all has never let me down because Virginia Willis keeps it real. Heirloom recipes, beautifully written anecdotes, and dishes grounded in solid technique and quality ingredients. Each page is organized with care and so many useful tips are peppered throughout. You know you’ve become friends with your cookbook when the pages are stuck together by saucy love notes from recipes past…butter…olive oil…syrup…rib glaze…

Virginia’s recipe for Coca-Cola-Glazed Baby Back Ribs will make you look and feel like a certified pitmaster, with only a little heavy lifting (the most delicious 3 pounds I’ve ever wrangled in the oven). It’s fizzy lifting drink meets South of the Border equals spicy rib candy. The Coke and brown sugar balance out the heat of the peppers (full disclosure, we went pepper-light, subbing jalapeños for scotch bonnets), resulting in a sticky sweet hot mess of goodness. These ribs require little else than whipping up the glaze and giving some TLC to the ribs in the oven. Thanks, Virginia Willis, for helping my friends crown me the queen of BBQ, if for one hot summer night. 

I’ve never broken anything’s neck before. That was the thought that crossed my mind last night, as I cradled a cell phone between my ear and shoulder; my sister-in-law on the other end, talking me through the preparation of my first whole chicken roast:

She asked, “Is the neck still attached?”
I replied, “I think so. It’s the length of my middle finger.”
“That’s the whole thing. You have to break it.”
“What? With what?”
“Do you have a cleaver?”
“No. I’ve got big sharp knives, though.”
“That won’t cut the bone, you’ll have to break it by hand first.”
“Does it have to come off?”
“You should be able to stick your hand clear through the chicken, so yes.”
(I stare into the cavity, definitely can’t see clear through it. Oh, dear)

She told me to get in between the vertebrae with my fingers, bend it against the natural curve of the neck, and just snap it. I felt very primal and, when it snapped, I honestly couldn’t believe that I’d done it. I mean, I’m not naïve; I know this is a mundane task that folks have been doing for eons, not to mention the tasks that came well before this one. We’ve got to eat, and if we like to eat animals, we’ve got to do things to them that just aren’t…polite. So I held its little limp neck in my hands and said, “Now what?”

“Cut it off.”
“Oh.”

I proceeded to gently cut the neck off with my very sharp knife. Thunder was rumbling outside and it felt quite dramatic, in a Little House on the Prairie kind of way. I could never be a doctor or anything like it; it took me a minute to get over what I’d done to this chicken – and it was already dead! What I can say is that the closer I get to the beginning of steps in the food chain, the more I appreciate how precious food and its production really is. I couldn’t help but buy this chicken from Riverview Farms at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market because it’s not often I see fresh, local, humanely raised poultry for sale in town. I had never roasted a chicken before, but this seemed like as good a time as any to start.

It wasn’t until about 2 hours after I’d put that beautiful bird in the oven that my husband realized I had put it in upside down. That’s right, sitting squarely breast side down. I was so wrapped up in my first butchering exploit that I overlooked that one tiny detail. I felt crushed for letting myself and that chicken down. My husband calmly turned it over and roasted it for another half hour, resulting in some lovely meat. Not seasoned, but lovely. Tonight we’ll put some T. Bill Lee’s BBQ Sauce on it and it will be one delicious bird.

And next time, I’ll do right by you, chicken. I’ll do right.

Since spring has sprung, we've been enjoying weekly trips to Atlanta's local farmer's markets. Our favorites are the Peachtree Road Farmer's Market (a large selection of veggies, meats, cheeses, and breakfast/lunch goodies), Morningside (a little more low-key, smaller, but across from Alon's!), and the Piedmont Park Green Market (closest to home). All three offer pretty sweet chef demos and great dog-watching to boot (the latter, I'm convinced, is my husband's favorite part of market-ing). I always loved visiting the markets for sensory delights and chef/people watching, but it was Food Inc. that convinced me to rely heavily on local farmers for our main source of groceries. I had always known local/organic was best for many reasons (health, environment, supporting local farmers and artisans), but seeing what waste and corruption truly exists in corporate food culture really put me over the edge. SO here we are, trying to do our small part by buying as much local/organic/humanely raised products as we can. Since we both work for non-profits, we're having to get creative with stretching the greens, as it were...

This is where the basil comes in! Basil is just awesome right now - you can't help but smell it if you walk into any of the vendor tents at the markets. It's bright, beautiful, and brings back memories of incredible caprese salads in Italy (and a few at home in the States, too). It doesn't hurt that it's also pretty inexpensive - the going rate seems to be $2, but you need to walk around the market before buying. I got a significantly bigger bunch at one farmer's stand than the other's, for the same price. And with a few key ingredients, basil will provide you with at least 8 meals, no joke!

Enter pesto. It's super-simple to make; you can make a ton of it out of few raw materials; and it freezes well. I am in love with the Barefoot Contessa (and her kitchen...and her garden...), so my favorite recipe is hers (below). I mixed about 3/4 cup pesto with a pound of pasta for a quick supper this weekend (if we weren't pinching pennies, it would have been grand with shrimp involved...) Pesto is also great as a pizza sauce, over chicken with a nice piece of provolone on top, caprese style with a thick slice of buffalo mozzarella and juicy tomato, over an omelet, in any number of Asian dishes, and you could even use it in a cold noodle salad with sun-dried tomatoes and your other favorite veggies - it's a great go-to!

I truly can't wait to go back to the market next time and see what we come up with. I like the spontaneity of trying a new recipe based on what's good at the market, but I also advise taking a list (for a cheat sheet of what's in season when, the Peachtree Road FM has a great pdf online). Having a list helps with the pennies! And the more pennies you have, the more lobster rolls you can buy from Souper Jenny or pizza from Moto Bene or bread/pastry from H&F or cookies from The Cookie Studio...Ok, maybe my husband's favorite part is the puppy-watching, but his real goal at the market is to keep me from spending all our pennies...

Here are a few shots of our pesto pasta - note that if you use the pesto as a pasta sauce, you'll probably want to add a bit of salt to taste to your finished dish.

My pesto pasta

John's pesto pasta (he adds red pepper flakes for an extra kick)