The Weekend...

We all know at least one of those obnoxious souls who is forever claiming to perfectly understand the bits of life of about which they know nothing.  Indulge me for a moment, because I am about to become one of them.

My analogy is made in ignorance, but I am going to stand by it all the same. 

I feel like I am now in my last trimester of pregnancy.  About ten months ago a wedding was conceived and it has been growing slowly, but surely, over this past year - consuming my thoughts and my world because I know that a very great and eminent change lays on the horizon that is October 21st. 

Now that most of the preparations have been made, the books read, the appropriate individuals consulted and booked, my mind is flooding with questions.  Am I really ready for this?  I'm so excited.  SO EXCITED!  What am I missing? I know I must be missing something...  Do we know what we are doing?  Of course we don't!  What were we thinking?  Oh this is all so wonderful, I'm so happy... But WAIT!  Maybe I should change the entire wedding color scheme.  Yeah, that's a good idea...  What if I fail miserably at wifehood?  Tears and smiles, smiles and tears.

You get the idea... I'm pretty sure pre-wedding hormone highs are a thing. 

Amidst the wedding planning, this weekend we began packing and unpacking, as we unlocked the door to our very first home early Saturday morning.  We now have a little over five weeks to get this space move-in ready, and while that figure seemed roomy two months ago, I can see the days flying by before my eyes.

Thankfully, my mother is a painting fairy and in the first several hours of it being ours, the dull walls were already beginning to feel like home.  Two trips to target, three large pizzas (our favorite joint is now three minutes away), and a whole lot of clorox wipes later, we are making progress.  You can follow along and watch the progress on Instagram. 

What did you do this weekend?  Also, please tell me all the things I am probably forgetting to buy/do, I know I'm missing things. 

Happy Monday! 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

Lemon Rosemary Buttermilk Cake

I often most enjoy food when I do not have to eat.  I'm a big believer in decadent, prodigious cheese and charcuterie trays that can be enjoyed about an hour before dinner is served.  I love cake and tea around four o'clock in the afternoon.  In short, I love eating at the times when my mother would tell me not to eat because it would spoil my dinner.  She had not yet realized that regardless of my previous indulgences, I will always be ready for another meal. 

If it were not for late morning breakfasts or afternoon tea breaks, I feel that loaf cakes such as this one would be but an orphaned comestible, lacking in purpose and occasion.  

While we offhandedly call it a cake, these lightly sweetened loaves fall somewhere between a cake and a quick bread.  While they indeed make a very nice dessert, I enjoy them most in the mornings with a smooth, creamy latte, or in the afternoon with a strong brew of Earl Grey.

Their mellow sweetness makes them the ideal "pick me up" in instances where another fried egg seems far too mundane, and it is still too early for chocolate cake to be socially acceptable.  

Much like banana bread, it is all too easy to snatch away a slice every time you walk through the kitchen.  Perhaps this is why these "snack cakes" are some of my favorite cakes. 

Like all good cakes, this one begins with butter and sugar.

In order to pull as much flavor from our enhancers as possible, the lemon zest and rosemary are pressed into the sugar before its rendezvous with the butter.  This will provide the flavors with something to hold on to. 

The rosemary gives this cake an herbaceous note that is just dreamy with the piquant lemon and tangy buttermilk. 

After the butter and sugar have reached the peak of fluffiness, eggs, buttermilk, flour, and leavening join in, creating the richest of batters. 

While you could bake this cake into a regular, ol' round cake pan, it is really best suited to the loaf shape.  Remember, this is a slice-as-you-go kind of cake.

The most agonizing part of this entire process is waiting for the cake to cool.  But, though it is hard to wait, the cooling time is nonnegotiable.  Not only will it give the cake a chance to firm up so that it does not turn into a pile of crumbs, the flavors are also much more prominent when the cake is cool. 

Thankfully, we have icing-making to occupy us. 

You know how to make a confectioner's sugar glaze, right?  Sure you do! 

And you would never, ever, ever add the confectioner's sugar without sifting it first, would you? Of course you wouldn't.

This is the part where I started pretending that I was a contestant on The Great British Bake-Off and Paul's glassy blue eyes were looking at my icing with impressed adoration.  

We all have our dreams... 

At this point, your kettle should be whistling, your emails put on hold, and your favorite candle lit. It's time for a little break. 

In the misquoted words of a very fashionable lady, let us eat cake!

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Lemon Rosemary Buttermilk Cake

makes one 9x5 loaf / loosely adapted from Ina Garten

- 1 cup granulated sugar 

- 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves stripped from stems

- zest of 2 medium lemons 

- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 

- 1/2 teaspoon salt 

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

- 2 eggs 

- 6 tablespoons buttermilk

- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar 

- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a small bowl, combine lemon zest, granulated sugar, and rosemary leaves.  Press the zest and rosemary into the sugar with the tines of a fork, then transfer the mixture to the work bowl of your food processor.  Pulse until the rosemary is finely chopped and the sugar is fragrant.  Set aside. 

Sift to combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

Fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment and beat butter for 1 minute on medium speed; until fluffy.  Add rosemary sugar and beat for an additional minute.

With the mixer on medium speed, beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. 

With the mixer on low speed, incorporate the flour mixture and buttermilk in increments, alternating between the two until all the ingredients are well combined. 

Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray and dust with flour.  Shake to remove any excess flour.

Fold the batter into the pan and smooth the surface with a spatula.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the cake is deep golden and a fork comes out clean when inserted into the center. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before transferring the cake to a cooling rack.  Allow the cake sit for 20-30 minutes before icing.  The cake should be warm, but not hot. 

Place lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl and slowly sift in the confectioner’s sugar, while whisking constantly.  When the icing is thick and all the sugar has been incorporated, pour the icing over the cooled cake and allow it to set for 20 minutes.

Slice and serve! Enjoy!

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Peach Rosé Sorbet

Summer is fading fast.  Truth be told, in many ways, it is already behind us, and though I will fiercely miss its warm breezes and long evenings, I cannot help daydreaming of pumpkins and cozy bonfires.  Though the autumn is full of its own glorious, cinnamon-scented charms, I want to cherish these last, warm summer moments and drink them in, literally and metaphorically. 

       O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been 

         Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth, 

     Tasting of Flora and the country green, 

         Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth! 

        O for a beaker full of the warm South, 

             Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene, 

                With beaded bubbles winking at the brim, 

            And purple-stained mouth

           - Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats

Last summer, my fiancé and I drove a couple hours so that we could spend an entire Saturday browsing through old bookstores with quirky proprietors, and stopping for refreshments every half hour.

We happened upon a small gelato shop serving a peach bellini gelato that was beyond heavenly. It was a sweet, southern afternoon captured in frozen cream.  That gelato, it's majesty still imprinted upon my mind, was the inspiration for this sorbet.

Before the comments come rushing in, I do not claim to be a wine connoisseur, and I am sure that a sommelier would turn his or her nose up to this ten dollar bottle of rosé that I picked solely based upon the packaging.  Though I plan on giving the world of fermented beverages further study at some point in the future, for now, the ten dollar stuff suits me just fine, especially since I was not planning on drinking it. 

This rosé is combined with granulated sugar, and reduced into a light syrup that brings the flavors of the warm south to our sorbet. 

Let's take a moment to talk about sorbet...

Surprisingly, this three-ingredient treat is not as simple as I had originally thought.  I did a heavy load of research while testing this recipe and learned that the sorbet craft is a finicky one - one that requires a rather stringent ratio. 

Sugar is very important to sorbet making, as it will effect the texture just as much as it will the flavor.  Sugar lowers the freezing point of water, meaning that, in the proper amount, it will keep our sorbet scoopable.  Of course, too much sugar could prevent the sorbet from freezing altogether, so it's important to keep the total sugar content (yes, including that of the fruit) of your sorbet around twenty to thirty percent. 

With rosé at the party, we must be even more careful, as alcohol further reduces the freezing point of water.  We have to tread carefully in order to keep our sorbet from being nothing but very cold soup. 

Fortunately, I did all of the research, failing, and panicking for you so all you have to do is follow the recipe.  If you would like to read more about the science of a perfectly executed sorbet, this article explains it very well. 

Now that all the technicalities are behind us, let's talk about how wonderfully the flavor of sun-ripened peaches pairs with the soft, effervesce of a blushing rosé.  It is pure heaven. 

Today, let us preserve the fading call of summer and savor a few last tastes of the season. 

This.  This is my very own beaker of the warm south. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Peach Rosé Sorbet

serves 6

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 cup Rosé (look for something in the 12% alcohol content range)

- 2 1/2 cups sliced peaches,* skins removed

*You may use fresh or frozen peaches for this application.  However, if you do opt for frozen peaches, make sure they are fully defrosted before using them in the recipe.

Combine sugar and rosé in a small saucepan and place over medium heat.  Stir constantly, until the sugar has completely dissolved and then bring to a simmer.  Simmer for five minutes, and then remove from heat.  

Place the peaches in your blender and cover with the rosé syrup.  Blend on high speed until the mixture is smooth. 

Allow to chill in the refrigerator or in an ice bath until the mixture is very cool.  Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.*  Transfer the sorbet to an airtight container and allow it to set up in the freezer for 2-4 hours. 

*Depending on your ice cream maker, the sorbet may not completely freeze in the machine.  Some ice cream makers do not get cold enough to really freeze the mixture, but do not worry, it will set up in the freezer. 

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