Peach and blueberry crostata

What ever happened to the lazy days of summer? This summer feels like it is flying. Fourth of July weekend has come and gone, and it was a good one. On Friday, we surprised our girls with a trip to Sesame Place. My 3-year old's reaction to the news was thanks enough. Saturday found us in NYC, strolling across the Brooklyn Bridge (if one can actually stroll with a 3- and 5-year old in tow...). Sunday, we hung out at home and had friends over for lobsters. Perhaps the most memorable part was two of my mommy friends racing each other through the grass behind my house - their speed was pretty impressive I must say. As the race ended, one tackled the other. I simply love when adults act like kids...

...And so the summer continues.

This rustic peach and blueberry crostata is easy enough to make and uses some of summer's best fruit. There's lemon zest in the dough which makes the flavor even brighter. We actually ate it for breakfast a few days with a dollop of Greek yogurt. It's also amazing with vanilla ice cream. (Blueberries courtesy of my Dreyer Farms CSA share of course...)

Peach and blueberry crostata
Adapted from Eat This Book by Tyler Florence

Make sure to use enough flour so this slides onto the pizza stone or opt for the other method to save the trouble...

Yield: 1 10-inch crostata, 8 servings

Ingredients

Pastry

• 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Zest of one lemon, grated with a microplane
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks and cold
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 Tbsp. ice water, plus more if needed

Filling

• 5 medium ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• Juice of half a lemon
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. flour

Glaze

• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. of water
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• Vanilla ice cream, to serve (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. To make the pastry: combine the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk and pour in the ice water; work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time. Form the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. To make the filling: combine the peaches, blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Toss the mixture gently to coat the fruit.
3. Place a pizza stone in a conventional oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the shelf under the pizza stone to catch any drips. If you don't have a pizza stone, simply assemble the crostata on a rimmed baking sheet and bake it on that.
4. Sprinkle the counter and a rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll the dough out into a 14-inch circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a well-floured pizza paddle. (Or your baking sheet.) Spoon the fruit mixture into the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border all around; brush the border with the egg wash. Lift the edge of crust over the filling, leaving the fruit exposed in center. Gently fold and pinch the dough to seal any cracks. Brush the crust with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the crostata on the preheated pizza stone for 30 to 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and fruit is bubbly and tender. You can use a pizza paddle to remove it or just leave it on the stone as I did. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream. Also amazing for breakfast with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Baklava

Broccoli. It's one of my New Year's resolutions. Not for me. For my kids. Have I said enough? My goal is to get them to eat it. Willingly. Without tears. Or screaming.

Two months in and how am I doing? 50-50. The 3-year old Bubbalicious will eat it. But she will try anything. And then there's the 5-year old. Who needs the Boogeyman? Put a piece of broccoli in front of her and (cue scary music) fear and dread appear on her otherwise sweet face. But 10 months left to go.

It's not so much about the broccoli as it is about my goal of putting one meal on the table and having everyone eat it.(Did I mention without tears???) We're getting there. The girls like Indian, Moroccan, and so on - things many kids their age wouldn't touch.

But last night was one for the record books. I made kielbasa and pierogies (like any good Polish girl should). We've had it about a zillion times since the 5-year old began eating solid foods. But last night she didn't like it. Apparently her taste buds have changed, or so she says.

Only a delicious dessert could save the day. And let's be clear. That dessert was for me. Baklava. Sweet, nutty, yum. It made everything better.

Hopefully tonight goes better... If not, there's more baklava.

Baklava
Adapted from Vefa's Kitchen by Vefa Alexiadou

Looks hard, right? It's actually really easy if you have the patience for all the layers. Great dessert for a crowd and fun to make with the kids who like to paint the butter on the sheets of phyllo. Here's my cheat - the recipe calls for clarified butter. Rather than going thru the process of clarifying it, use Ghee which can be found in Indian markets or the Indian section of many grocery stores.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups clarified butter, melted (or use Ghee)
• 1/2 lb. ready-made phyllo dough
• 2 cups walnuts, chopped
• 2 cups almonds, chopped
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. ground cloves

For the syrup

• 3 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Cooking Directions

1. Brush a baking pan the same size as the sheets of phyllo with melted butter (I used a 9x12). Alternatively, cut the sheets of phyllo to fit your baking pan and brush it with melted butter.
2. Combine the nuts, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
4. Lay 4 sheets of phyllo on the base of the prepared baking pan, brushing each with melted butter. Sprinkle some of the nut mixture evenly over them.


5. Continue layering the sheets of phyllo, 1 at a time and brushing each with melted butter, and sprinkling with some of the nut mixture until all of it has been used and only 4 sheets of phyllo remain. (If it has been necessary to trim the phyllo, brush the trimmings with melted butter and place between the layers.) Top with the remaining sheets of phyllo, brushing each one with melted butter.
6. Score the top layers with a sharp Knife into small diamond-shaped or triangular pieces. Brush with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle lightly with warm water to prevent the phyllo from curling. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.



7. Meanwhile, make the syrup. Put the sugar, honey, and vanilla, into pan, pour in 2 cups water, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer, without stirring, for 5 minutes.
8. Ladle most (I used about 3/4) of the hot syrup carefully and evenly over the baklava as soon as you take it out of the oven. Let it absorb the syrup and cool completely. Add more if needed.



9. Baklava keeps, covered loosely with a cloth, at room temperature for 1-2 weeks.