Fishmarket Bisque Soup 🦀

Lexie Ruse April 12, 2019

♥️Find Your Little Friday♥️

I have stacks of tabbed magazines, newspaper clippings, index cards and open tabs on my Google Chrome of recipes. Recipes have always intrigued me most and they lay scattered throughout my life. I used to have a notorious habit of falling asleep while reading cookbooks, it’s just always been my thing. Recipes for me are like stories. What are you leaving in, leaving out or adding in? Why are you making something, attempting something or changing everything about a recipe to make it digestible for you? I feel a sense of sentiment and connection with recipes, especially when they are passed on. The real work can also come when you have to interpret or translate the missing parts of a recipe so it makes sense to you.

Five years ago I received my first handwritten recipe from mom. I have cooked next to her many times learning recipes thru osmosis or transcribed her tricks over the phone. When I got this specific recipe I didn’t feel compelled to make it at the time. I stumbled across it as I was spring cleaning last week and it just spoke to me. I called her upon its rediscovery and began to ask many questions.

Where did this recipe come from? Did you make it often? When did you feel like making it most? Why did you share it with me?

Are you ready for the responses?

“This recipe is from 80's and came from a friend in the furniture industry. He had it on good authority that this was one of the most popular recipes served at the home of the founders of Crate and Barrel.”.....ok mom, lead with that! “I made it when I felt like impressing people but didn’t have a lot of time. This recipe comes together quickly which is nice. It’s price tag is high though because it comes from luxury.”

She is right, the crab meat alone is a high ticket value! “ I shared it with you because I knew you would appreciate it.”

Again she was right and I did/do appreciate it so very much! You can follow along on her index card but I will share a couple tweaks I added since I have to put my little twist on it! Like her notes read, you must serve this with a butter lettuce salad topped with a tangy mustard and sherry vinaigrette. Also, a little grated gruyere on the greens just to give it even more love. I sliced some yummy bread and spread a pat of butter over the slices like she suggested too! Check out some of my tweaks below

add the zest from the entire lemon as well as the juice
I used fresh tarragon because it is my favorite
I used high quality packaged crab meat since I couldn't find snow crab legs
I used fish sauce instead of Worcestershire, a perfect swap here since one of the lead ingredients in Worcestershire is anchovies
I couldn't imagine using all heavy cream, half and half is the way to go
the index recipe doesn't call for brandy but the recipe steps say to add some in, I used dry vermouth instead which rounded out the flavor nicely

I hope you enjoy this recipe and find yourself inspired to make it on your own. Who knows, you might even find another tweak or improvement yourself? All I ask is that you kindly help a lady out and share any and all insight. Enjoy and I hope this helps you #findyourlittlefriday

Dutch Baby Weekends

Lexie Ruse March 29, 2019

♥️Find Your Your Little Friday♥️

Nothing gets me thinking about weekends as a kid like a Dutch baby pancake. This was the ultimate treat that we only got to order on special occasions, mostly because they’re made to order and take thirty minutes to bake. Light, flavorful and crispy, it’s right up there as one of my favorite pancakes. I always loved ordering it fully loaded with fruit in the summer, berries being the best filler ever!

I have adopted the habit of making them on the weekends from time to time, sometimes splitting my recipe into to smaller cast iron pans for a cute whoa factor. Please enjoy discovering your #findyourlittlefriday moments. ♥️

Infredients;

•3 eggs

•1/2 cup flour

•3/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature

•1 tbsp sugar

•pinch of cinnamon

•4 tbsp of butter

•powdered sugar, fruit and lemon wedges for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

•combine the eggs, flour, milk, sugar and spice in the jar of blender, blend until smooth. you can mix by hand, just make sure it’s smooth

•place the butter in a heavy 10-inch skillet/baking dish. place in the oven. you want the butter to melt but not burn, a little browning is always yummy.

•add the batter to the pan once it’s melted and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. the pancake should be puffed and golden, then lower the temperature to 300 and bake for about five more minutes.

•remove from the oven. Fill with fresh fruit, top with a dusting of powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon! enjoy!

Citrus Cake 🍊

Lexie Ruse February 8, 2019

♥️ Find Your Little Friday ♥️

This cake has held a place in my winter baking rotation for the past five years, since Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking Chez Moi was released. Surprisingly easy to pull off and a show stopper with the toppings. I applied my own little modification and decided to add some more of the season's offerings and use blood oranges and pink grapefruits as a garnish. Dorie recommends trying a citrus flavor combo of your choice. You don't need to top the cake with citrus, the syrup recipe that follows works deliciously on its own. I have found that I loved the look and taste of the additional citrus.

For the Cake:

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 large orange

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

For the syrup:

1/2 cup sugar

Juice of 1 orange

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan, dust with flour and tap out the excess. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Put the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl in which you can use a hand mixer. Grate the zest of the orange over the sugar. Squeeze the juice into a measuring cup–you should have about 1/3 cup, but a little more or a tad less won’t throw things off.

Rub the sugar and zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. If you’re using a stand mixer, fit it with the paddle attachment and attach the bowl. Add the butter to the bowl and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each one goes in, then pour in the juice and beat to blend. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. The batter may look a little lumpy and grainy, but that’s fine. Turn the batter out into the cake pan and smooth the top.

Bake the cake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. The top of the cake will be pale, the bottom even paler. As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, unmold it onto a cooling rack, invert it onto another rack and then put the rack over a baking sheet lined with plastic film or foil.

Meanwhile make the syrup: as soon as the cake goes into the oven stir the sugar and orange juice together in a small bowl, and then stir a couple of times while the cake is baking. Don’t worry if the mixture is a little grainy–it will still soak into the cake nicely.

Spoon or brush the syrup over the hot cake, working slowly so that it soaks into the cake. I use only half of the syrup–I like the cake moist but not wet–but you can use more if you want a thoroughly-soaked through cake.

Optional; Citrus Topping-Start this process while the cake is baking

Make the cake the same but do not make the syrup. You will 2-3 oranges/grapefruits. One grapefruit and one blood orange is what I used. You will need to cut off either end of the fruits then trim closely along the sides of the fruit to remove the peel. You will do this a total of 5 times around, creating a hexagon shape. Be sure to stay close to peel and not take too much of the flesh away. Next turn the citrus on its side and cut 1/8 inch thick slice.

In a large surface frying pan bring 1 cup of water and sugar to a boil. Add a cinnamon stick and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the citrus segments and poach in the liquid for another three minutes. Carefully remove the citrus with a slotted spoon and place onto the hot cake. This part is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. Try to make sure there is no space of cake exposed, trim any pieces that hang over the edge. Strain the syrup and pour about half over the citrus. Keep the remaining syrup to add to your coffee or tea.

Allow the cake to cool to room temperature, if you can let the cake set over night. Store at room temperature covered in plastic.

Enjoy this recipe! I hope this encourages you to get baking, anyone in close proximity will thank you for a slice of this joyful cake!

#FindyourlittleFriday

Three Sisters

Lexie Ruse December 21, 2018

Three sisters, their mother, one of their nieces/daughters (me) and a recipe for borscht. This recipe has been repeated, rephrased and reinterpreted through each one of us. Every Christmas Eve as a child I dreaded the thought of this dish, I was only in it for the pierogis from that feast. It was oxblood purplish red and represented the blood of Christ. That was literally too much to digest as a child and I was grossed out by the resounding slurping around the table.

I’ve changed, I now look forward to this recipe and evening over so many others over the course of the year. My first attempt at this recipe was a mere three years ago and it quickly became a part of my repertoire from that Christmas Eve on. While preparing to make it for the first time I called on my mom Laada (Josie), my cioci Ursie (aunt Ursula), my cioci Susie (aunt Susan) for their guidance and tricks they learned from my babci, their mother and my grandma (Olga). They each gave me their individual input and tips from years of making this soup.

Below are the top 3 pieces of advice each of them gave to me on that fateful first attempt, with my real life reaction/response following.

From Cioci Susie-The eldest and most revered in the kitchen for her skills. To me, she sounds like she is singing when she speaks and she knows how to make everything---I mean everything! My times with her in the kitchen are full of laughs, isms and a little sass.

“If you really want to make it special and full of flavor you have to go to the butcher and ask for the bones from the beef to make it the most flavorful.”

My response? Better Than Bouillon Beef, this makes my life and borscht the stuff of legend….I still do this step every time and have never looked back-a riff if you please.

From Cioci Ursie-The middle sister with the most practical nature and lots of cultivated skill in the kitchen. She cuts to chase and gives it to you straight. I truly learned from her that you could be a great cook with the simplest techniques and ingredients.

“Whatever you do, don’t let the borscht turn into a brown color and make sure that it stays clear. The skins need to be clean, keep an eye on them while they boil and flavor the water. Babci was known to throw out the entire batch if it wasn’t a true beautiful color.”

30 minutes into my making my first batch-Oh Shit! It’s not really any color! What the fuc* do I do? I think quickly and call my local juice spot and ask for a small order of pure beet juice to be delivered, crisis averted. The color is now the perfect shade of creepy blood comparison.

From Josie, my mama-The youngest sister who would define herself as a well-taught novice but to me she turned great before I knew her beginnings in the kitchen.

“It doesn’t really matter what you’re making if your attitude is wrong. Christmas Eve is all about how you behave, however you act will follow you all year long.”

Well great, I’ve already lied by using bouillon and cursed so much clarifying the borscht that there isn’t enough soap in my kitchen to cleanse my mouth. I guess more of this behavior for the next 364 days—until I get a rematch.

This is very personal and special for me. My grandmother never got to teach me her borscht directly or get to try mine. I find comfort in the ritual and keeping traditions alive, so I know on some level she and her daughters are proud.

Here is my mother’s recipe, direct from text-

Go find your own little moments of delight and a Merry Christmas if that’s your tradition.

#FindYourLittleFriday

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