Playing With Food This Summer
Some cooking and baking ideas from the archives
Hello friends! I recently found myself stumped about what treat to bake for a leisurely weekend breakfast, so I looked back at my recipes on Substack. I saw my upside-down blueberry yogurt cake with granola streusel and remembered its gorgeously plush crumb, tart blueberries, and delicious salty-sweet topping.
I decided to remake it, and I can report that my memory was, indeed, correct. This is absolutely delicious and 100% worth making (I’m so excited to make it again next year–or sooner–with different fruit). After this success, I went through my posts, re-made more recipes, and flagged others I plan to make in the coming weeks.
Big pan pancake blueberry edition
The evening after making the blueberry yogurt cake, I learned we would have friends coming over for breakfast the next morning. With only a few ingredients left in the fridge, I knew exactly what to make. I whipped up the sourdough version of the big-pan pancake and mixed in some blueberries I picked up from the green market earlier in the week. The whole thing was gone in minutes, there truly is something special about pancakes with friends.
This loaf is one of my favorite breads to make, and it comes from my potato brioche-ish cinnamon roll recipe. While I only make the cinnamon rolls once a year, I make this version every few months store it in the freezer and use it for toast and sandwiches. You can find the small tweaks I made to the cinnamon roll recipe to turn this into a loaf at the top of the original recipe. The dough also makes delicious hamburger and sausage buns.
I think the images speak for themselves here so I’ll keep this short. The soft, supple potato brioche above makes delicious BLT bread. You can find my recipe for a BLT with bacon fat mayo, here. Perfect.
Tomato corn and cheddar galette
As I say in the original recipe, I have not only been making this galette for years, but I love it so much that I served it at my wedding. Don’t just trust me, trust the multiple people who attended the wedding and loved it so much that they have gone on to make it. When we had it the other night, Théo forewent dessert for a fourth slice. This time, I topped it with a whole bunch of buttered corn (instead of mixing the corn in with the cheese). Someone on IG suggested a corn topped tart would be delicious, and they were right. What’s better than buttered corn? Not much!
Corn, nduja, basil, and sungold pasta
Speaking of the elite combo of corn and tomato, one of my favorite summer recipes is one I sent out last summer in an article featuring three tomato and corn recipes. The corn, nduja, basil, and sungold pasta is my favorite. I made it half a dozen times last summer, and can’t wait to make it again.
One of my other favorite summer food combos is peaches and raspberries. This recipe for slab pie is delicious and great for a big crowd. It has tips and tricks for assembling a lattice, and includes the pie dough recipe I spent years perfecting. There’s something about the flat rectangular shape, crinkle-edged lattice, and a scoop of ice cream that makes my heart swoon.
Hazelnut tiramisu ice cream sandwiches
Yes, I know I just posted these ice cream sandwiches, but I brought them home to my parents last weekend, and my father started laughing while he ate it – that good. So, I’m reposting it. You can also find the original version (sans hazelnut) here.
On the topic of no-churn frozen desserts, I loved this lemon and sage granita last summer, and want it again. I am sending this email from Italy, have had a few gelatos, but have not yet had the opportunity to have a granita, hopefully this afternoon.
I also recently posted this one, so this is just a friendly reminder it exists. Some people have made it, and loved it! Every time this happens, it truly makes my day! Thank you so much for being here :)
I did not write up a formal recipe for this zucchini quiche last year, but I did write up the method here. If you’re comfortable with that, this is a nice and light quiche to make. I made this year’s version with eggs, cream, milk, and salt, and flavored it with Parmigiano Reggiano and lemon zest. I baked it until just set. Simply yum.
I loved it so much, I made it again recently. The second time was with garlic scapes and basil, and I switched up the zucchini method by slicing them thicker, roasting them until they dried out a bit, and then squiggling them and pouring the custard in.
In September, I will be making another big batch of ratatouille to remind myself of summer all fall and winter long. I highly encourage you to follow this recipe and do the same.
You can find all of my recipes in my Substack’s archive. Do let me know if you dig into any of my old recipes, I’d love to hear what you guys are loving this summer!
the s’mores cake is the BEST cake i’ve ever made/ had
Simply divine! <3