Berries and Cherries and Stone Fruit…. Oh My! Yes, one of the many rewards to braving the summer heat is sinking your teeth into one of these delectable fruit gems…. bare and simple; baked into a treat; or incorporated into a delicious sauce of both savory and sweet dimensions. Two of my favorites…. the sour cherry and the blueberry.
Sour cherry season is short lived. Very short. Mid June through early July, and many of the farm markets sell out of their stash (at least the ones that I frequent!) To my friends out there that laugh at me for trapsing into the city on a random early weekday morning to secure my lot of sour cherries… take one bite of this tart or turnover and see why I am so passionate about it! (Oh and forgive the lame shot of the sour cherry tart as that was me taking the picture at 10pm on Sunday night on my cell phone. Manish wanted make sure I mentioned that! 🙂
I went blueberry picking with some friends and my daughters over at the Hillview Farm here in Meyersville. It was the perfect morning, weather wise, and most of the blueberries were ripe, juice, and ready to be plucked. We left with 7 lbs of blueberries, all deliciously plump and sweet. Three days of blueberry pancakes, muffins, and jam, and we still wanted more!
Sour Cherry and Almond Tart
Ingredients
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 tablespoons ice water
1 lb sour cherries, pitted
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup raw almonds
1 tablespoon sugar
Combine first 3 ingredients together in a medium bowl. Mix in butter pieces with fingertips until incorporated (it’s ok if you see clumps of butter.) Stir in ice water with a fork until just combined (dough will be shaggy.) Empty contents of bowl (in other words, the shaggy dough) into a large piece of plastic wrap. Form the dough into a disc and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Flour a piece of parchment paper and place dough disc on top. Place another piece of floured parchemnet on top (flour part touching the dough.) Roll dough out into a 12 to 13 inch diameter circle. Transfer dough carefully to a 10 inch tart pan. I found this pate brisee very delicate, so if it breaks, no worries – just “seal” any holes with the scraps of dough. Form dough into tart pan and up the sides. “Roll off” any excess dough with the rolling pin. Refrigerate for one hour.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the sour cherries, sugar, and almond extract in a bowl. Grind the almonds and 1 tablespoon sugar in a food processor until fine.
Sprinkle almond mixture into the tart shell, and pour the cherry mixture on top. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Serve warm.
Nantucket Bay Scallops (Sashimi style) with just a drizzle of lime and some snipped chives. This paired magnificently well with the 2007 Gilbert Picq Chablis. The incredibly fresh, sweet scallops offset the zippy acidity and mineral tones of the Chablis. We also had the delicious Pacific Peale Passage oysters along side – creamy and rich with still the briny flavor that you expect with a raw oyster. The brown sauce in the picture is just a little ponzu/soy dipping sauce – but we didn’t need it! (Thanks to Nick at 
The “Soft Boiled then Breaded then Fried” (Blue Hill style) Egg atop truffled barley risotto with the 2000 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rioja. The earthy tones of the barley and the wine matched 
perfectly. Here are the before and after pictures of the dish… Once you cut into the egg, the soft yolk blends into the base and creates a velvety sauce-like texture to the risotto.
Another egg favorite… Soft egg Raviolis with Truffle Cream. These little pockets of flavor exploded with savory goodness. We first mixed together fresh ricotta with some Parmiggianno Reggianno, some fresh lemon peel, and a light sprinking of sea salt. Placed that in the middle of a fresh pasta round, and then topped the dollop of ricotta mixture with an egg yolk. Top that with another pasta round (carefully,) seal the edges, and voila. Soft egg ravioli! After a very brief simmer in a shallow pan of water, the raviolis were dressed with the truffle cream. This paired with the 
This menu inspired me to create something similar – Indian spiced Lamb Chops with Carrot-Ginger Puree and Spinach simmered in Yogurt and spices.
Speaking of Christmas – my girls gave me my very first Macaron cookbook. As many of you know, I’ve blamed bad recipes, my oven, and lack of time to my inability to create those little Parisian masterpieces. I’ve attempted over a dozen times, and a few of those attempts were successes (perfect macaron “feet” and all!) Now I have no excuse! I will most definitely blog my efforts later this month, as Maya has already asked me to bake her a “Macaron cake” for her 11th birthday. It’s a challenge… so I’ll try it!
I can’t forget the adorable and expertly inventive dessert – Bacon and Eggs. Sous Chef Joe Sparatta removes the top of an organic egg, removing its contents and filling it with brioche french toast. Then he tops that layer with a creamy egg and bacon custard, and a creamy maple foan tops off the egg. On the side of the egg is a strip of bacon and a slice of french toast. It’s even better than it looks in the picture!
We started off the evening with the incredible 2005 Gilbert Picq Chablis. A magnum at that! It showcased the perfect balance of fruit, minerality, acidity, and “stony-ness” that you look for in a Chablis. If you are not familiar with the terroir (or the land and geographical surroundings) of where the Chablis region’s grapes are grown, let me enlighten you! The soils in that region are very special. The basin of limestone marl that runs all the way down through the Champagne region, into the Loire, Chablis, and other parts of B
urgundy is known as the Kimmerdgian Trail. All of the soil from these regions contain that limestone clay which is heavy with nutrients of the sea shells and fossils from many, many years ago. The grapes pick up those slate-like tones and the resulting wine is perfectly balanced with a stony minerality and vibrant fruit. Lovely!
With the Picq Chablis, we enjoyed an array of hors d’oeuvres. Asparagus and thin bread sticks wrapped in “truffled” prosciutto di parma; Summer garden bruschetta; Assorted Olives; and something that I never served but intended to… Summer Fruit Gazpacho. More on that later!
We moved onto the 2006 Peter Michael Le Moulin Rouge Pinot Noir. Exquisite – definitely young but contains enough structure and finesse to pair with the next course. I must say that I was a tad intimidated to show this wine. But Manish and I enjoyed it when we first sampled it in CA last year. It was showing 100 times better than our last tasting – and it was perfect with the Ravioli Oeuf with Truffles. With the yolks still on the “softer side,” these raviolis, stuffed with a savory ricotta filling and an egg yolk, were so decadent. The filling had a dash of lemon zest which really brought out the nuances of all of the other components. The truffled butter sauce revealed an earthy note to the entire course. It was so savory, and now one of my favorite stuffed pasta dishes of all time.
