Raccoon and Lobster

Recipes to come after packages have been received.

The crazy people I play shoot-em-up games with decided to celebrate their first anniversary by exchanging baked goods through the postal service. To everyone’s surprise, no one died, and this year they decided to repeat the trick with more participants. Somehow I got roped into participating, which is just one more reason why having a blog about food is a bad idea. Even worse, expectations are high because I appear to have developed some kind of culinary credential by posting pictures of proof that I have occasionally been near an oven. Thankfully there is not yet an annual dogs-who-wear-funny-hats exchange.

Due to an increase in interest this year, all participants are required to mail confections to 4 people, which means I have a whole lot of baking ahead of me. Shipping addresses were released this weekend while I was away, and packages must be mailed out by the first week in October. So I have about a week to bake cookies for 4 people who will then publicly review my baked goods after it spends 3-7 days in the mail (thanks a lot, Canada!) and compare them to the baked goods of my peers.

No pressure.

My weekend was stolen from me by a friend’s long distance birthday party that I was obliged to attend (in person, no less). To rub it in further, she forced all party attendees to ingest a ridiculous lemon meringue cake. A devious plan. While I have no content of my own thanks to my party attendance, she has milked her stupid beautiful cake for 3 blog posts and 6 pictures from various angles. Ingenious and hateful. She wins this round, but I will be back. Oh yes.

The secret is to put small pieces of bread on their paws too so they can’t move.

One more photo from the fair. It’s black and white, so it’s classy despite the title. Ansel Adams said so.

This is another recipe that I’ve been sitting on for a while instead of posting. The ribs themselves were delicious and tender beyond belief but the photos just didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked. They’re not bad, mind you, but I just didn’t think they were as good as the meal. A lot of tiny little things about the end result that bugged me long enough that I hesitated in posting. In the end I felt like depriving you of the chance to make them yourself was cruel, so squint a little when you look at them and try it out for yourself, okay? They’re really worth it.

Short Ribs Provençale

4 beef short ribs
olive oil
1 white onion, diced
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk of celery, diced
10 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons AP flour
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon savory
2 cups red wine
2 cups beef broth
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup water
~1 cup baby carrots
~1/2 cup peas
~1/2 cup pearl onions
~1/2 cup pitted olives
fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 325°F. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Pan sear the ribs in a large dutch oven over meadium-high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. You’re looking to get them browned and nicely caramelized. Remove the ribs and pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft. Add the garlic, flour, basil, thyme, and savory and stir for about a minute. Now pour in the wine and beef broth to deglaze the pan. Stir and scrape off all the fond and then turn the heat up to high. Once the sauce has been brought to a boil, add the tomatoes and bay leaf. Return the ribs to the pot. If necessary, add just enough water to cover the ribs and bring the whole thing to a boil.

Cover the pot and stick it in the oven. Bake until the meat is very tender and almost falling off the bone, about 2-2.5 hours. Add the 1/2 cup water, carrots, peas, onions and olives (this part is pretty free form, feel free to omit or substitute). Return to the oven and continue cooking about 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Remove the ribs and cover them to keep them warm. Skim the fat off the liquid and discard the bay leaf if you can find it. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat and let it thicken to a sauce, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste and pour over the ribs and any vegetables you’re serving with them. Sprinkle with parsley. Dig in!

This Sunday, instead of staying in and playing video games, we went to the LA County Fair. In the interest of complete disclosure, the pictures that follow are not an accurate representation of the fair. The fairs I have been to in the past were all in more rural areas, and I was expecting a lot more in the way of heifer judging and giant vegetable contests. Even though Southern California has a lot of agriculture, the fair itself  consisted mostly of fried foods and rides and games. Even so, there was plenty for me to take pictures of. Here are some of the better ones.

This guy looks like he’s been stuffed.

From the garden display

At the Fairview Racetrack

Guys with stogies! At the track!

At the farm where you can see and pet a variety of barnyard animals. Sponsored by McDonald’s. That’s not creepy at all!

This guy, I love.

Petting zoo pictures

Good news, everyone!

I have improved the tart recipe in a new and significant way. One of the common complaints for a custard-y tart filling and especially one with tomatoes in it is that the crust gets soggy. All that effort and time making the perfect pâte brisée for naught. Well, not any more! After lining the tart pan with your dough, stick it in the oven for about 10 minutes, until it just starts to get some color. Then, take it out and brush an egg white wash on top of the dough. Let it cool long enough for the egg wash to form a barrier against the filling, then layer in your ingredients as normal. Et voilà! Lovely flaky crust without sogginess.

It’s turning out to be a very canine centric weekend…