Summertime Cooking

By: Anna Ziering
                 
I love cracking eggs. I’ve been doing it for almost fifteen years, and the
thrill should have worn off by now, but it hasn’t. And, it’s not just
eggs.  I enjoy messing around in the kitchen. Sometimes things turn
out well and other times my attempts are less successful. I still
remember the flat, blue, salty cookies I made before I realized that
baking powder really was necessary for baking.  

Cooking is also a great social activity that can bring people together,
like the Sundays when all my Italian relatives gather to eat the
spaghetti dinners my grandfather starts making at 4 AM.

Like me, Reneé Cavallo of Newton,
Massachusetts grew up in an Italian family
that was focused on food. Her restauranteur
parents owned the Venetian Moon in
Reading, Massachusetts and although Cavallo
knew she didn’t want to work in a restaurant,
she managed to carry on the family tradition.
During her eight years of teaching preschool,
her favorite activities were all food-related.
The kids enjoyed cooking, Cavallo said, and
the food was an “instant reward” for their
work. When she decided to move on from teaching, she looked around
to see if there were any places where she could continue cooking with
kids. When she couldn’t find any, she spoke to her father-in-law, Peter
Blumenthal, about starting one.

Create-A-Cook, a school for kids ages 3-15, opened almost four years
ago at 53 Winchester St in Newton, and now offers weekly classes,
summer camps, birthday parties, and walk-in cupcake-decorating. The
school uses some original recipes from its
six chef/instructors, all of whom went to
culinary school, and borrows others from
books and websites like epicurus.com. I sat
down with Renée to get a few of her favorite
summer recipes for you to make at home.
These four recipes all feature summer
fruits, vegetables, and herbs that are fresh
and in season. If you can’t find the
ingredients in the grocery store, try asking
one of the employees to help you. And don’t get discouraged if the
recipes look too complicated – the kids at Create-A-Cook are working
with instructors at the front of the room. So if you don’t know how to
do something, try asking a parent or other kitchen-savvy adult.

Watermelon Salsa (Bon Appétit, July 2000)
¼ cup fresh lime juice
2 tbsp packed golden brown sugar
3 cups chopped seeded watermelon
1 cup chopped seeded honeydew melon or cantaloupe
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
½ cup chopped red onion
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger
2 tbsp minced seeded jalapeño chilies

This recipe can be prepared 2 hours ahead.
Whisk lime juice and sugar in large bowl until sugar dissolves.
Add watermelon and all remaining ingredients; toss gently.
Season with salt and pepper.
Cover and chill.

Creamy Tomato Soup (Create-A-Cook)
½ tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 ½ cups canned crushed tomatoes (or use fresh tomatoes)
2 cups chicken stock
1 sprig fresh oregano, plus more for garnish
¼ cup half-and-half
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion
and garlic, and cook, stirring, until translucent (about six minutes).
Add tomatoes, stock, and oregano, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat,
and simmer gently until thickened (about 20 minutes).
Remove oregano sprig. Slowly add half-and-half, stirring constantly.
Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with oregano, if desired. Serve
hot.

Cheddar Corn Chowder (Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa
Cookbook)
2 oz bacon, chopped
1 TBS cup olive oil
1.5 cups onions, chopped (about 1 large onion)
1 TBS butter
1/8 cup flour
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp turmeric
3 cups chicken stock
1 ½ cups medium-diced Yukon Gold potatoes (about ½ lb)
2 ½ cups corn kernels, fresh (about 5 ears) or frozen (3/4 lb)
½ cup heavy cream or half-and-half
¼ lb sharp white Cheddar cheese, grated

In a large stockpot on medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil
until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes.
Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and
cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and potatoes. Bring to a boil. If uncovered,
simmer for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cobs and blanch the kernels
for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain (if using frozen corn, you
can skip this step).

Add the corn to the soup. Then add the heavy cream or half-and-half
and the cheddar cheese.

Cook for 5 minutes more, until the cheese has melted.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.

Peach and Polenta Upside-Down Cake (from Gale Gand)
Topping ingredients
6 tbsp butter
½ cup light brown sugar
2 peaches, each cut into 6-8 thick wedges

Batter ingredients
8 tbsp butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup uncooked polenta or coarse-ground cornmeal
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder

Peach topping: Over low heat, melt the butter in a flame-proof 9 or 10
inch round cake pan, then turn off the heat and whisk in the sugar
until blended. (The mixture may look curdled. This is ok.) Arrange the
peach slices on top, in concentric circles. Set aside.

Batter: Cream the butter in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment
until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix well. Mix in the eggs one
at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions. Add the sour
cream and vanilla and mix; the batter may look a little curdled. At low
speed, mix in the dry ingredients. Gently pour the batter over the
peach slices and carefully spread the batter to cover.

Head the oven to 375º. Place the cake pan on a sheet pan. Bake in the
center of the oven until firm to the touch and golden (about 45
minutes). Remove and let cool for 1-15 minutes. Place a serving platter
over the pan, holding them tightly together. Quickly flip them over to
invert the cake onto the platter. Serve warm, with fresh whipped
cream.