sip and read

The Food and Pottery Connection is about sipping something sweet from a handmade source while exploring NEW cookbooks.

To Sip in Summer:

Watermelon Berry Sparkler 

recipe from Redbook - makes 16

• 2 cup(s) watermelon, cubed and seeded
• 1 container(s) (6 ounces) red raspberries
• 2 tablespoon(s) superfine sugar, use 3 tablespoons if too tart
•  cold brut champagne or prosecco (dry Italian sparkling wine

1. Puree watermelon and raspberries in a blender. Scrape mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard seeds. Stir sugar into puree (adding more if too tart). Puree can be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated.
2. For sparklers, pour 2 tbsp puree into each champagne glass and top with 4 oz cold brut champagne or prosecco. For a nonalcoholic version, use club soda or seltzer instead.

To Sip from:

Pretty dishwasher safe tumblers

dedham square artist guild

To Read (while sipping):

1. The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier by Ree Drummond

2. Dinner: A Love Story: It all begins at the family table by Jenny Rosenstrach

3. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman (due out in October!)

Treasures from the Sea

sea glass dish 

One of my favorite things to do: collect sea glass.  Walking on the beach, looking for bits of color and returning home with my pockets filled with treasures... that's how I spent my Memorial Day Weekend... how about you? 


After a day of beach combing, what could be better than a delicious meal with friends?


Chicken Marbella - 10-12 servings
Silver Palate Cookbook


4 chickens, 2 1/2 pounds each, quartered 
1 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed 
1/4 cup dried oregano 
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 
1/2 cup red wine vinegar 
1/2 cup olive oil 
1 cup pitted prunes 
1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives 
1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice 
6 bay leaves 
1 cup brown sugar 
1 cup white wine 
1/4 cup Italian parsley or fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine chicken quarters, garlic, oregano, pepper and coarse salt to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice.

With a slotted spoon transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.

To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in cooking juices before transferring to a serving platter. If chicken has been covered and refrigerated, allow it to return to room temperature before serving. Spoon some of the reserved juices over chicken.

  

More treasures from the sea.... I'll be delivering three beautiful square dishes to Gallery 9 this Friday.  They will make a beautiful wedding gift or purchased separately as hostess gifts over summer vacation. 

Enjoy the last of seasonal blueberries..

It must be the end of summer when all the local blueberries are gone. Here's a recipe to savor the last of a favorite summer fruit. It freezes well too.

Blueberry Pound Cake
Cooking Light Cookbook 2000

2 cups sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
8 oz lemon yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Beat together sugar, butter and cream cheese. Add eggs. Add vanilla.
3. Combine 2 Tbls flour with blueberries.
4. Combine remaining dry ingredients. Add alternately with lemon yogurt to sugar mix. Fold in blueberries.
5. Pour batter into a 10" tube pan coated with cooking spray. Tap on table to rid air bubbles before putting in the oven to bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
6. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool 15 more minutes on rack.
7. If you like things really sweet, you can drizzle a mixture of 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar and 4 tsp lemon juice over the warm cake before serving.

Blue of Blueberries Bowls...

Ah...Tomatoes!

Not only was today distribution day at the farm, but I also received the latest issue of Everyday Food Magazine. Today is all about tomatoes...5 lbs of fabulous summer fruit from the farm and fresh tomato recipies to try!

Italian Panzanella - serves 4
Everyday Food Magazine

1/4 c red wine vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
coarse salt and pepper
2 cans (15.5 oz each) cannellini beans,
drained and rinsed
3 cups large cubes country bread (5-6 oz)
1 pound plum tomatoes, cut into small pieces
1 cucumber, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
4 oz provolone cheese, diced
1/4 c fresh basil leaves, torn

1. In a large (handthrown!) bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.
2. Add beans, bread, tomatoes, cucumber, onion and cheese. Toss to combine. Cover and refridgerate at 2-8 hours. Just before serving, stir in basil.

Big Blue Bowl for Salad...

colorful three-bean salad ... perfect to share

The best thing about summer is having the time to reconnect with old friends. It all starts with "Can't wait to see you!" and then "What can I bring?" When you have purple, green and yellow beans that are fresh from the field, a salad is the perfect choice.

Three Bean Salad - serves 4
Great Good Food by Julee Rosso (silver palate cookbook author)

1/2 lb fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed
1/2 lb fresh yellow beans, rinsed and trimmed
1/2 lb fresh purple beans, rinsed and trimmed
12 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 cup vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 T fresh italian parsley
1T dijon mustard
2 t sugar
1 t black pepper
1 garlic clove minced

1. In a large pot, boil 2 qts water. Add beans and blanch 1-2 minutes. Then rinse under cold water. Drain.
2. Place beans and thyme in a shallow serving dish.
3. Whisk remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour over beans. Toss to coat.
4. Cover and marinate for 1 hour before serving.

A shallow serving dish, of course...

Ode to Asparagus

In the first chapter of Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, she talks about asparagus being the tempting first crop of the harvest. I'm well into the season now and finding a good balance for picking, storing and cooking my local fare. Asparagus is symbolic in my life and my work as the start of Food and Pottery. Recipes from Barbara's book.

Asparagus Bowl to mark the start of a new season...