Strawberry and Fig Jam

Today was the 4 year anniversary of my Dad's passing. This morning we had a mass said for him at St. Lawrence Church in West Haven. After mass, a friend of our family came up to my sister and I and said she had something for us. It was 3 jars of jam that a fellow parishioner had made using the figs from the fig tree my Dad had planted in the Church yard. It was such a sweet thing. The jam was delicious. It's nice to know my Dad's gardening is still bringing people joy.

We Do Love Pizza

Was that pizza last Sunday a fluke? Well, one way to find out is making it again! Even made it in the heart shape.

One pie was onion, pancetta and bacon, guess who's pie that was. 

And the other was hot and sweet peppers, artichoke hearts and olives. Both had Mozzarella and Parmigiana cheese. They were both delicious. So we will be making our pizzas using this recipe from this day forward.

Being Sunday I had to do some bread baking. Kept it simple and used the 18 hour recipe. This is a no fail bread.

Last night we ate dinner with Lenore and Ralph. Ralph has a few fig trees that he got from my Dad. They were small and probably in coffee cans he received them. Last night Ralph gave me a bag with some figs from these trees.

 

This is the stuff that dreams are made of. As I bit into the fig I was back in my parent's yard standing next to my Dad who was waiting to see if I liked the fig. It was delicious and perfectly ripe. A lovely food memory.

Bacon & Onion Tart and Fresh Figs with Goat Cheese & Peppered Honey

So I have these figs and felt like figs and goat cheese. I found this recipe on epicurious.com.  Fresh Figs with Goat Cheese & Peppered Honey. It took no effort to make this. Peppered Honey! Nice flavor and the goat cheese, always a good choice. Chris seemed to enjoy the one that he ate.

Ingredients -
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 fresh figs
1/4 cup soft fresh goat cheese

Method -
Combine honey and pepper in small pitcher; stir to blend. Starting at stem end, cut each fig into quarters, stopping 1/2 inch from bottom to leave base intact. Gently press figs open. Spoon 1 teaspoon cheese into center of each. Arrange figs on platter; drizzle with peppered honey.

The Bacon and Onion Tart is from saveur.com. This thought just popped into my head - What the hell did I serve for dinner before there were all these sites to find recipes? I remember,  I use to cut out recipes from magazines and take out cookbooks from the library... Ah memories.

So back to dinner. Yes we have had bacon two night in a row. Don't worry there is Farro on the horizon. This was like a big popover with bacon and onion. I thought it was bland. Would I make this again... maybe but as individual popover size. Now that sounds good!

The recipe called for 6 slices of bacon, I used 3!

Ingredients -
6 oz. slab bacon, cut into 1/4″ matchsticks
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced lengthwise Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. dry mustard
1 1/4 cups milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Method -
Heat bacon in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fat renders and bacon is crisp, about 12 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain; pour bacon fat into a 9″ × 11″ baking dish and set aside. Return skillet to medium-high heat, and add butter; add onions, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring, until lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat oven to 425°. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, mustard, and pepper; add milk and eggs, and stir until smooth. Let batter rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place baking dish with bacon fat in oven and let heat for 10 minutes. Remove baking dish from oven, pour in batter, and sprinkle with rendered bacon and caramelized onions; return to oven and bake until puffed and golden brown, about 30 minutes.


So what did we have for dinner a year ago?
Hurricane Cooking - Day 6. Is our porch light on?

So what did we have for dinner 2 years ago?

Chicken Sausage, Zucchini, Onions and Polenta!

So what did we have for dinner 3 years ago?

Of course Frittatta

The First Fig

Today I was at my dad's house. We were picking green beans and he said he had a surprise for me. The first fig was ready for picking! Of course we shared it. It was so good.

Tonight we had Steak and Green Beans (the ones I picked this afternoon). But I am having technical difficulties with my camera so.... no photos.