oes summer seem too hot for cooking?
The season still has its hungry moments. We do the grilling thing, which is quick and simple, and we scoot into the air conditioning for formal dining.
That leaves long stretches of golden days with time to relax, to nibble a sweet mouthful, sip a cool something, and forget all sense of purpose even if we’re not officially on vacation.
So here’s a plan. Get up early, do a batch of easy baking, finish off the chores.
Then spend lazy hours in the heat of the day just kicking back, perhaps lounging on the porch, or on the grass under a tree, or by the pool as early shadows creep in.
Load a tray with a fresh pitcher of homemade lemonade, chilly glasses of milk or iced tea; make space for a little dessert or a plate of cookies, perhaps including a touch of chocolate.
“The White Barn Inn Cookbook” ($35) features menus and recipes for all four seasons from a renowned inn at Kennebunkport, Maine, a region where summer has a special aura.
The text by Susan Sully is illustrated with evocative color photos; recipes by executive chef Jonathan Cartwright include stylish food for fall, winter, spring, and summer.
Green tea sorbet is not only easy to make, but its main ingredient may bring health benefits, as current medical research on tea increasingly seems to suggest.
Green tea sorbet
2cups boiling water
8green-tea bags
2cups water
11/4cups sugar
1/4cup dark corn syrup
2tablespoons lemon juice
In a teapot, pour boiling water over the tea bags. Cover teapot and brew for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and gently squeeze the remaining flavor out of them. In a medium-sized sauce pan, bring the 2 cups of water and sugar to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in the tea, corn syrup and lemon juice. Pour into a metal bowl. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour. Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Makes 1 quart of sorbet.
From Salada Green Tea
A classic can often be given an extra nudge toward perfection with some inspired tinkering.
Take the chocolate chip cookie – here’s an evolution that calls for using two kinds of chocolate, plus espresso coffee powder and pecans.
Chocolate chip pecan cookies
10ounces (21/2 four-ounce bars) bittersweet chocolate baking bars, broken into pieces
1/2cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1cup brown sugar, packed
1/2cup sugar
4large eggs, at room temperature
1teaspoon vanilla
21/4cups unsifted flour
1teaspoon baking powder
1/2teaspoon baking soda
1/2teaspoon salt
1teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
111.5-ounce package milk chocolate chips
1cup pecans (or walnuts), coarsely chopped
Melt bittersweet chocolate in top of double boiler over hot water.
Beat butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Turn mixer down to lowest speed, add eggs and vanilla.
In separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder. Add 1/2 of flour mixture to creamed butter, stirring constantly. Add 1/2 of the melted chocolate. Stir until ingredients are well blended. Add remaining flour, stirring in completely; add remaining chocolate. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Cover and refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Drop 2 tablespoonfuls of dough per cookie onto nonstick cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Remove cookies to wire rack to cool. Store in airtight container at room temperature or in freezer for longer storage.
Makes 4 dozen cookies.
Recipe from Ghirardelli Chocolate
Ice cream and brownies may be near the top of any national popularity poll, separately or together. Here’s a festive, summery combination to enjoy; the recipe makes two sundaes and can be multiplied as desired.
All-American chocolate brownie sundae
6small squares of homemade chocolate brownies
1/4cup warm (prepared) bittersweet chocolate sauce
1cup vanilla ice cream
2tablespoons chopped, salted pecans
6fresh Bing cherries with stem attached
Arrange 3 brownie squares on each of 2 serving plates or shallow bowls. Top each square with a small scoop of ice cream. Drizzle chocolate sauce over ice cream and brownies. Sprinkle nuts over the top. Top each scoop of ice cream with a cherry and serve.
Makes 2 sundaes.
Homemade brownies
1 1/2 ounces semisweet baking chocolate
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cake flour
3/4teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup finely chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly butter and flour a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler, then let cool. In a small bowl beat eggs and sugar until light in color and add to the chocolate mixture. In another bowl sift together the flour, salt and baking powder; add to the chocolate mixture along with the vanilla and nuts. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.
Makes 1 dozen brownies.
Recipe for AP from the California Milk Advisory Board
Homemade lemonade
1/2cup fresh lemon juice
1/2cup sugar (or to taste)
1cup ice
Fresh mint, optional garnish
In a medium pitcher, combine the lemon juice and sugar with 21/2 cups of cold water and stir until the sugar dissolves. This mixture can be made a day ahead and refrigerated.
When ready to serve, add the ice to the pitcher of lemonade, stir, and serve immediately. For extra flavor, garnish with fresh mint.
Makes 4 cups.
From “White Barn Inn Cookbook”
If you want to take this peach tea on a picnic, pour it into a pitcher and chill it before transferring it to an insulated thermal container. Rub some extra lemon juice on the peach wedges to keep them from discoloring, and store them in a separate container.
Peach iced tea
1cup sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4firm, ripe peaches
4tablespoons Darjeeling tea leaves
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar with 1 cup of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar is dissolved, add the lemon juice and remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, remove the pits from two peaches and roughly dice the flesh, leaving the peaches unpeeled.
In the jar of a blender, combine the sugar syrup and diced peaches and puree until smooth. Strain through a sieve and reserve in a small pitcher.
In a kettle, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. While the water is boiling, remove the pit from one of the remaining peaches and roughly dice the flesh. Place the tea leaves and diced peach in a heat-resistant pitcher. Add the boiling water and infuse for 3 minutes.
Add 4 cups of cold water to the pitcher and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon, smashing the peach pieces to a pulp.
Remove the pit from the remaining peach and cut the peach into 6 wedges, leaving the peach unpeeled. Combine the wedges in a serving pitcher with 4 cups of ice. Put another 4 cups of ice in a large sieve and place it over the serving pitcher. Strain the peach and tea infusion through the ice-filled sieve into the pitcher. Add peach syrup to taste and stir to mix. Serve immediately. The remaining syrup can be served with the iced tea for those who prefer their tea sweeter.
Makes about 3 quarts.
From “White Barn Inn Cookbook”
These glazed lemon cookies are guaranteed to have bright flavor and emerge from the oven thin and crisp, with golden brown edges – if you follow the recipe worked out by the testers of Cook’s Illustrated magazine.
Their new cookbook, “Baking Illustrated” ($35) offers the recipe among about 350 others and enough helpful information to encourage any would-be baker.
You will need a food processor to make the lemon cookies. The dough, formed into a log and wrapped in parchment paper and then plastic wrap, will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. The cookies are best eaten the day they are glazed.
Glazed lemon cookies
For the cookies:
3/4cup granulated sugar
2tablespoons grated zest plus 2 tablespoons juice from 2 lemons
13/4cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4teaspoon baking powder
1/4teaspoon salt
12tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 -inch cubes
1large egg yolk
1/2teaspoon vanilla extract
For the lemon glaze:
1tablespoon cream cheese, softened
2tablespoons juice from 1 lemon
1 1/2cups powdered sugar
For the cookies: In a food processor, process the granulated sugar and lemon zest until the sugar looks damp and the zest is thoroughly incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the flour, baking powder and salt; pulse to combine, about 10 1-second pulses. Scatter the butter pieces over; pulse until the mixture resembles fine cornmeal, about fifteen 1-second pulses. In a measuring cup or small bowl, beat together the lemon juice, egg yolk and vanilla with a fork to combine. With the machine running, add the juice mixture in a slow, steady stream (the process should take about 10 seconds); continue processing until the dough begins to form into a ball, 10 to 15 seconds longer.
Turn the dough and any dry bits onto a clean work surface; working quickly, gently knead together to ensure that no dry bits remain and the dough is homogenous. Shape the dough into a log about 10 inches long and 2 inches in diameter, wrap the dough in parchment or plastic wrap, and twist to seal. Chill the dough until firm and cold, about 45 minutes in the freezer or 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Meanwhile, adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle position; heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray. Remove the dough log from its wrapper and, using a sharp chef’s knife, slice the dough into rounds C\,-inch thick; place the rounds on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Bake until the centers of the cookies just begin to color and the edges are golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 5 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature before glazing.
For the glaze: Whisk the cream cheese and lemon juice in a medium nonreactive bowl until no lumps remain. Add the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth.
To glaze the cookies: When the cookies have cooled, working 1 at a time, spoon a scant teaspoon of glaze onto each cookie and spread evenly with the back of the spoon. Let the cookies stand on a wire rack until the glaze is set and dry, about 1 hour.
Makes about 30 cookies.
From “Baking Illustrated”
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