September 29,2021

Dear friends,

All hell broke loose on the grape front last week. I bought a big tub of seedless Thompsons at Aldi, then realized my lush but usually barren vines out back were absolutely loaded this year and ready to pick.

 I was eating grapes like mad in my morning yogurt and by the cluster for evening snacks when the other shoe dropped. Tony volunteered to help pick grapes for his friend, Paul O’Neill, at Weymouth Farms, Orchard and Winery in Hinckley. He came home with thank-you bottles of Paul’s suave wines (www.weymouthfarms.com) and two one-gallon clam shells of vinifera grapes. The grapes are exceptionally delicious, but geez. We could barely wedge them in the refrigerator amid the watermelon, corn, a brisket and a defrosting duck.

The next morning as Tony headed out for another day of picking, I warned him against bringing home more grapes. We simply had no more room in the refrigerator, not to mention our stomachs.

Of course he brought home two more big tubs of grapes. He apologized as I envisioned rotting grapes and a kitchen full of fruit flies by morning. Then I remembered a message from a friend earlier in the day who had sympathized with my grape problem. Her solution: roasted grapes.

I took her advice and reduced a large sheet pan of grapes to one cup of luscious grape compote with roasted shallots. I’ll repeat until the grape situation is under control. The first batch of compote is in the freezer, waiting to grace my smoked turkey at Thanksgiving.

Any type of grape will work in the following recipe. It’s good enough to buy grapes just for the  compote. Or stop by and I’ll give you some. Please!

ROASTED GRAPE AND SHALLOT COMPOTE

1/4 cup olive oil

About 1 lb. grapes (enough to fill a rimmed baking sheet)

4 shallots, peeled and quartered

Coarse sea salt

1 tsp. herbes de Provence

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Pour olive oil in the middle of the baking sheet. If the grapes have seeds, remove and discard them. Combine grapes and shallot quarters on the baking sheet and toss with hands to coat with olive oil. Spread in a single layer over baking sheet. Roast at 425 degrees until grapes slump and are wrinkled and jammy, about 45 minutes.   Season lightly with sea salt and herbes de Provence. When cool, scoop into a lidded container and chill or freeze. Makes about 1 cup.

GUT CHECK

What I cooked recently:

Roasted, caramelized butternut squash, shrimp burgers from Trader Joe’s; pancakes and eggs with apple butter; smoked brisket; tarte tatin; roast tomato spaghetti sauce; roast butternut and dumpling squash; roast grape and shallot compote; smoked duck with spicy Asian orange sauce; vegan curried lentil, butternut and apple stew.

What I carried out/ate in restaurants:

Pepperoni pizza from Big Star Pizza in Copley; Superfoods Salad from Aladdin’s in Montrose; hibachi chicken-vegetable stir fry and rice at Kintaro’s in Fairlawn; tomato soup, baguette and pumpkin cut-out cookie at Panera; eggs, ham and toast at Farmer Boy Restaurant in Lakemore.

THE MAILBAG

From Ann:

Hey Jane, your lobster rolls look great! I might have to have them next week. I saw your potato post on Facebook. Nice crop!  Were yours bigger this year? Our Austrian fingerlings are up to 6 ounces! So much rain has left us with the largest crop we have ever grown. We still have to dig most of the bed, so there still may be surprises in store.

Dear Ann:

Yes, our potatoes are larger than last year and the crop is bigger, too. Those who don’t have much room or, like me, aren’t big on digging should round up some buckets or sturdy plastic grocery bags for next year.  Fill with three or four inches of soil, add a seed potato or two and cover with soil. Water and add more soil as the plant grows. When you’re ready to harvest, just dump out the buckets or bags.

I also had a great garlic harvest this year, thanks to my friend, Ric, who shared his know-how and garlic for planting. He says now is the time to plant for next year, so hop to it!

September 15, 2021

Dear friends,

Follow me down this rabbit hole, please. It’s the only way you’ll understand  how I got from baked Brie (oven-proof plate, crackers, 10 minutes tops) to the adorable miniature lobster rolls I took to a get-together last week.

Four of us were meeting, each supplying an appetizer for a communal snack fest. I paged through the recipe files in my head, discarding the Brie as too easy, the baby reuben cups as too proletarian and a reverse shrimp cocktail I’ve been wanting to make — shot glasses of cool gazpacho with a sizzling-hot shrimp hanging off each rim — as too much last-minute fussing.

So what did I really hunger for? When I asked myself that question, the answer was easy: Lobster rolls. I’d been yearning for one. But because they are a meal rather than a snack, I had to shrink them. So baby lobster rolls.

Could it be done with minimum teeth-gnashing? Yes. I made 3-inch-long brioche buns. I cracked lobster claws and dug out the meat. I tossed the meat in melted butter (mayo is for philistines) and, at my friend’s house, stuffed the buttery lobster into the wee buns. They were delicious.

They were also a good bit of work. I enjoyed making them. Those who are not like-minded could always cut purchased hot dog buns in thirds for easy mini lobster rolls.

The dough for the buns is made one day, risen overnight in the fridge, and shaped and baked the day of the party. This helps streamline production. I found frozen, 1-pound bags of lobster claws and legs in the shell in a supermarket. One bag yields 8 ounces of meat, plenty for about a dozen rolls.

Of course, you could always just heat up a wheel of Brie. But then you’d miss the joy of eating a lobster roll in two perfect bites.

MINI LOBSTER ROLLS

BUNS:

3 1/3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

2 tbsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. warm milk

1 cup warm water (90 to 110 degrees)

2 eggs

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Melt butter and combine with warm milk. Whisk together warm water and one egg in a small bowl. Combine with the butter-milk mixture.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains and a shaggy dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 1 hour at room temperature. Refrigerate overnight.

Bring dough to room temperature. Line two 9-inch-square baking pans with parchment paper. Briefly knead dough on a lightly floured surface. Pinch off a large walnut-sized piece of dough and weigh. Add or subtract dough to get a 1 1/2-ounce portion. Repeat until you have 12 portions. Wrap and freeze remaining dough or shape into a large loaf to bake later.

One at a time, roll or pat each piece of dough to a rectangle about 4 inches wide and 5 inches long. Fold the short edges toward each other, overlapping like a letter. Press to seal. Beginning again at a short edge, roll dough tightly like a cigar. Fold the ends under and press the seams to seal. The finished dough logs should be about 3 inches long.

Place 8 dough logs in one pan, evenly spaced in two rows. Place remaining four logs in one row in the other pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 to 2 hours.

Whisk remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. When dough is ready to bake, uncover and brush tops with the egg wash. Bake 15 to 20  minutes, until tops are golden. Cool slightly, then remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

FILLING:

4 tbsp. butter

8 oz. lobster meat, thawed if frozen

Melt butter. Pat the lobster meat dry. Cut the lobster into irregular pieces. Stir into the melted butter.

Make a vertical slice lengthwise in the top of each bun. Fill with buttered lobster meat just before serving. Makes 12.

GUT CHECK

What I cooked:

Baked korma chicken with brown basmati rice; tomato sandwich with whipped cream cheese and pesto; thick-cut smoked porterhouse steak, sheet pan ratatouille, corn on the cob; mini lobster rolls; stuffed peppers; broiled Spam, cheese, onion and tomato sandwiches; cheeseburgers and wedges of honeydew melon; brownies; fresh tomato soup with sausage and wilted greens.

What I ate out/carried in:

A perfect corn dog at the Geauga County Fair; pepperoni pizza from Big Star Pizza in Copley; fried pollock, french fries and a salad at Alexandri’s in Wadsworth; a bunch of appetizers at my friend Joan’s.

THE MAILBAG

From Diana H.:

Hi, Jane. Thank you for your roasted beets recipe in your cookbook. We roasted beets, let them cool and then removed the skin. For the dressing, we used apple cider vinegar instead of raspberry vinegar. Then we added goat cheese and chopped almonds! Delicious! Thank you.

Dear Diana:

I have been looking at fresh beets at farm markets with that recipe in mind. I will buy some this week. The prep is almost too simple to be called a recipe: Fresh beets are roasted, the skin slipped off, and dressed with raspberry vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil. If you want to get fancy, add a few crumbles of soft cheese and a few toasted nuts. Here’s the recipe for those in the mood for fresh beets this month:

ROASTED  BEETS WITH RASPBERRY VINEGAR

6 medium beets, about 2 inches in diameter (about 1 lb.)

2 tbsp. raspberry vinegar

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. snipped fresh chives

Sea salt

Trim the leafy stems to within a half-inch of the beet tops. Do not trim the root end. Gently wash the beets and place in a baking pan with 1/2 inch of hot water. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the beets can be pierced easily with a fork. Uncover and cool.

Trim off the top and root ends in a sink. Slip off the skins under cool running water. Over the sink, cut the beets into batons about 1/2 inch wide and as long as each beet.

Place beets in a shallow serving bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil and chives. Drizzle over the beets, tossing gently. Season to taste with sea salt. Chill. Toss again just before serving.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.