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Recipes that speak to the authentic taste of Summer in Northwestern Pennsylvania. A bit of Summer Thanksgiving and a bit of the best dishes I have ever created in my many Summers.
Lost at Lake
Tarragon Onions
2 cups of white distilled vinegar
1/2 cup of water
1/8 cup of sugar (2 Tbsp)
1T kosher salt
1/2 cup of fresh tarragon
2 serrano chillies, julienned
2 white onions, sliced paper thin
(about 4 cups)
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While you bring the vinegar, sugar, salt and tarragon to a boil, thinly slice the chillies and onions. When the sugar and salt have dissolved, turn off the heat.
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Pour the hot vinegar over top of the chillies and onions that have been prepped and placed in heatproof jars. Let the pickles cool slightly on the counter and then chill in the fridge.
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You can start using these immediately. They will last up up to two months.
Deep Dish Cherry Almond Torte
Made this ripper of a torte on a Tuesday in July when my friends Kayla, Ashley, and Jessie joined me for dinner. I was making 2 experimental fish dishes for first course and entree, so I knew if those went wrong, this dessert would make up for their failure. No such thing happened as the fish turned out, but the torte still stole the show.
4 eggs
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
2T melted butter
1t kosher salt
1t almond extract
1t vanilla extract
1t lemon zest
1/4 cup of flour (I use spelt or all-purpose)
1 heaping cup of pitted cherries
1 9-inch pie crust
I use an sturdy aluminum pie plate for a crispy crust.
Beat the eggs in an electric mixer until very smith and yellow. With the mixer running, gradually pour the sugar in until a thick, almost custard like mixture forms. With the mixer on low, add in the melted butter, salt, extracts, and lemon zest.
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Turn off the mixer and stir in the almond flour or ground almonds, if using. This behaves better in the oven if it sits in your refridge for 30 minutes, which is perfect time to make a pie crust.
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the crust on a floured surface and place it in a shallow 9 inch pie plate. Flow the almond mixture onto the pie crust and layer the pitted cherries on top. Fold the edges of the crust toward the center, galette style, and give it a nice egg wash.
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Bake the torte for 45 minutes total. 20 minutes uncovered and then 25 minutes covered.
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How I Serve: room temperature with vanilla ice cream.
Zucchini Bread Pudding
First make a loaf, a very good loaf, of zucchini bread. See: Onto Something Delicous.
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Build a custard. Scald 3 cups of milk and set aside to cool. When cool, whisk in 1 cup of heavy cream. Stir in 1 cup of fresh mulberries or other seasonal mulberries.
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In a separate bowl, whisk 5 eggs until no streaks show. Into the eggs, whisk 1/2t salt, 1t vanilla., and 1/2 cup of shredded zucchini. Combine the two mixtures together and set aside.
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Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x9 inch baking dish and sprinkle a bit of sugar on the bottom of the pan. Cube the loaf of zucchini bread and arrange it haphazardly in the dish. Pour the custard mixture over top of the zucchini bread and cover with 1 cup of extra mulberries.
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Bake for 40 minutes in a water bath until set.
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*Additionally, you can toss the cubes of zucchini bread with brioche or another sort of light bread like croissant.
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How I Serve: with a chantilly cream.
Midwest Lobster Roll
Not a roll you'll find in the New England states, but one that is common in Northwestern Pennsylvania (NWPA) by way of the midwest. We have a brand of hotdog here called Smith's that is the only hot dog I will eat in the United States.
2lbs Smith's hotodogs, cut lengthwise and sliced
1lb shredded yellow american cheese
1 cup of Mrs. R's Chillie Sauce
1 cup minced white onion
1/4 cup of neutral oil
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Prepared all of the ingredients according to the recipe list. Mix everything together in a large bowl and stuff the mixture into the top of split-top style rolls. ​Set on a hot grill or bake in the oven for 15 minutes until the cheese is melty and the hot dogs are heated through.
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How I Serve: needs no dressing, but to each is own.
Chicken Croquettes
1lb. ground chicken
3/4 cup grated onion
1T butter
1T flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
1t cayenne pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1/5t salt
1 whole egg + 2 egg yolks
2 cups cracker crumbs (preferably saltines)
Lard for frying
Mix together 1 pound of ground chicken and 3/4 cup of grated onion in a bowl.
In a large skillet, melt 1T of butter and 1T of flour. Whisk over low heat until ightly browned in color, 3-4 minutes. Pour in 1/2 cup of buttermilk and continue whisking until smooth and creamy, 2 minutes. Add in the ground chicken, 1t cayenne, a light grating of nutmeg, 1.5 tsps salt, one whole egg, and two egg yolks. Cook for 7-10 minutes or until the moisture has cooked off.
Remove the chicken from the heat to cool. Lay out 2 cups of pulverized cracker crumbs on a tray. Begin forming small ovals out of the chicken mixture and roll them in cracker crumbs to coat. Fry in hot lard (350 degree F) for 1 minute on each side.
How I Serve: with lime wedges and a tomato salad.
Puffed Rice Omelette with Chives and Mint
It's an omelette with a crushed rice cake and a heap of fresh spring herbs that is most definitely worth noting.
Heat a knob of salted butter over medium heat and just as it stops foaming, add 3 scrambled eggs with a pinch of salt and crushed rice cake.
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Shake the pan vigorously and fold the eggs on top of each other with a spatula for 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and flip the omelette onto a heated plate.
Heap with sprigs of mint, chives, and chive flowers... the sweet purply ones.
How I Serve: with thick cut bacon.
Caramelized Zucchini Pasta
2T salted butter
2T olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced white onion
3 thinly sliced cloves of garlic
6-8 cups of thinly sliced zucchini
1 lb. pasta, such as fusilli longhi or spaghetti basil, lemon, and parm for finishing
​Set a pot of water to boil on the stove. Salt it heavily.
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Melt the butter and the oil in a dutch oven over medium heat and add in the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions are well sweat, 5-7 minutes. Using a mandoline, prep the zucchini by slicing it very thin. Cooking zucchini like this is similar to spinach - it seems like a lot, but it cooks down even more.
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Add the zucchini slices in with the onions and stir to combine. Stir the zucchini occasionally, but dont over stir it. As the zucchini cooks, it will let off liquid in stages. Keep stirring until the liquid gets reabsorbed into the vegetables. It will suddenly begin to transform into a silken, creamy dish. Adjust heat as necessary, but keep cooking until it begins to brown. Remove from the heat.
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Cook your pasta al dente. When the pasta is done, pour it into the zucchini sauce and toss until coated. Rub a handful of basil in-between your palms, squeeze half a lemon, cover the pasta in parm, and toss again.
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Serve with extra parm and a smile. This is one of the best delights of summer.
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How I serve:
Red Checked Tablecloth. Red vase. Sunflowers and Zinnias. Green candles.
Extra parm. White wine.
Fricatelli.
Grossy Pelosi's Roasted Eggplant from Let's Eat
Peach Cobbler
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*Go by feel, not time. The zucchini must let off and reabsorb liquid to begin caramelizing and then you can add in your pasta.
Aronia Berry Pierogi
Steph from Wild Field Urban Farm in Erie, Pennsylvania grows aronia berries on her farm and as I spent part of the afternoon there one mid-summer day we discussed how I could develop a couple of recipes for these beautiful and native albeit tart and astringent berries to persuade people to use them in their cooking. I've always wanted to make a "sweet" pierogi outside of the traditional traditional cheese pierogies my family makes, so that where I began and this is the resulting recipe. A familydough recipe wrapped around a simple beet and berry filling with a supplemental dill and sour cream.
1 batch Yezball Family Pierogi Dough
3 cups all purpose flour
1t salt
1 whole egg
2 egg whites
1/2 cup of milk
4 cups grated beets (here's how I do it)
2 cups finely chopped aronia berries
1T kosher salt
1/2t white pepper
1T dried dill
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Dill Sôs:
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup of sour cream
1T mustard
1/4 cup tart brine
5 chopped pickles
1/8th cup minced red onion
1/8th cup minced dill
1T minced chives
chili flakes
pepper
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To make the dough: Make a mound out of the flour and use your fist to hollow out the center, but leave the edges quite high. Whisk the eggs, salt, and 1/2 cup sour cream together in the center and pull in the flour using the edge of the fork. Start kneading the dough until its slightly sticky. Rest in the fridge for an hour or overnight. Before rolling, let the dough come to room temperature. **if the dough is dry, you can add in a palmful of milk or water.
Divide the dough in half and roll out on a floured surface quite thin. Cut the dough into circles using a biscuit cutter or water glass. (Keep in mind, the size of the cutter you use and the thickness you roll the dough will affect your pierogi yield.)
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Place a tablespoon full of filling on one side of the dough and moisten the perimeter of the round. Fold the sides to meet and make a half moon seal.
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Boil in salted water for about 3-5 minutes. Set the pierogies on a metal drying rack and flip over occaionally. You can eat them immediately, fry them with butter and onions, or freeze them for up to 8 months.
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How I Serve:
Alongside pulmenti, a chilled beet soup, and with a sour cream and dill sauce.
Aronia Pulmenti (chilled soup)
4 cups grated beets
2 cups grated/ground aronia berry
2 cups finely chopped beet greens
2 cups thinly sliced onion
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup vinegar
2T sugar
-add whats below after cooking-
1/4 cup minced dill
2 cups sour cream
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 large cucumber, chopped and peeled
Into a large pot, add the beets, aronia berries, beet greens, onion, salt, vinegar, and sugar. Cook until the onions are tender and the sugar is dissolved. Add in 4 cups of juice of boiled beet water and 4 cups of fresh water.
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Cook on medium low heat until the soup is one and the greens are tender and toothsome. I leave it for about 2 hours.
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Cool the soup completely, like overnight fridge completely. The next day or until it is indeed chilled, stir in the dill, sour cream, eggs, and cucumber.
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Serve alongside the aronia pierogies.