Cobble Cobble

Blueberry cobbler, that is, only the best kind of cobbler in the WORLD because it combines one of my favorite foods--BISCUITS--with another one of my favorite foods--BLUEBERRIES (which I've written about many other times, as in blueberry pancakes and blueberry muffins. I just wish I could incorporate BACON into the recipe somehow...) I'm berries for blueberries, or "bluebs" as I like to call them. Rhymes with boobs. Or moobs (man boobies.) Call me immature.

Anyway, I wish I could lay claim to this particular recipe but I actually follow a real recipe from Baking Illustrated (not that my other recipes aren't REAL.) This just works extremely well and I love the added crunch from the corn meal, and the addition of vanilla. I never would've guessed to use vanilla in a biscuit topping. Luscious.

For biscuit topping...

Combine dry ingredients:

1 cup AP flour
2 T cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar

Wet ingredients:
1/3 cup buttermilk
4 T melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Set aside.

BLUEBS:

6 cups bluebs
1/2 cup sugar, depending on the sweetness of the berries
1 T cornstarch
pinch salt
pinch cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp grated zest plus 1 T juice from lemon

Preheat oven to 375. Combine blueberries with the rest of the filling ingredients and place in ramekins or a 9-inch glass baking dish. I think the ramekins make a sexier dessert, with all the juices running over the side. Hot. Place in oven until blueberries are bubbling around the sides, about 25 minutes.

While blueberries are baking, mix the dry ingredients together. Combine the butter, buttermilk and vanilla and set aside. As soon as the berries are ready, combine the wet and dry ingredients until JUST mixed, and spoon or pinch over the berries.

Increase oven temp to 425 and bake until biscuit topping is golden, about 15 - 18 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes and serve with homemade French vanilla ice cream, or handwhipped cream. I bet a little mascarpone would be good as well...can't go wrong.

Wish you could have a sexy bite,
Foodsnob

If you want it then make it

I've gotta just face it. I'm getting older, and the metabolism is slowing down damn it. Plus, I'm not practicing martial arts twice a day and walking 5 miles like I used to. It's so tragic, really. Why am I being a whiny chick? My birthday just passed. Boo...er, it was actually amazing, as I was in Maui. I went scuba diving, saw humpback whales and sea turtles, and drank a lot of pina coladas. (Didn't really get drunk, though. For some reason none of them contained alcohol!)

However, the food was terrible! The best thing I ate was sashimi. Such a pity, because with all that fresh fish, you'd think they'd know how to grill a fish to perfection. I mean, why list the name of Joe the Fisherman who caught your Ahi this afternoon at 4 PM when you're going to drown the fish in soy sauce or smother it in a creamy oversalted sauce until it's inedible? For real.

I might have to say that fish and chips was one of the best meals I had. Can't go wrong with frying fish (and I wonder why I need to lose 10 lbs.) and serving them with chips. So, I've decided that this year, if I want something, I'm going to have to make it. Exempli gratia: POTATO CHIPS.

After the Super Bowl, where we gorged on pizza, chicken wings, club sandwiches, and chips, I've had a hankering for Kettle Chips. Oh man I hadn't had chips in AGES, so today for lunch I decided I should make steak sandwiches with caramelized onions and gorgonzola with fresh potato chips and continue that Super Bowl theme.

To make chips, you do need a mandoline, unless you want to spend a lot of time slicing those potatoes paper thin...I sorta just cut them and dropped them in oil, and when they were done I drained on paper towels and sprinkled with freshly ground sea salt and black pepper. Make sure you don't overcrowd your pan or else it'll drop the temperature of the oil (around 350). Divine. Crunchy and delicious(ly bad for you). Oh well, you only live once. Guess I'll never be a ninja.

I'd better go on that run...

Wish you could have a sea salty bite,
Foodsnob