Beyond the Newton

So - all of the sudden - it's Fall!  How did it sneak up on me like that?  There were so many things I wanted to do this summer - you know, like lose 20 pounds and blog more often.  But - all of the sudden the days are getting shorter, there's a slight chill to the evening air,  pumpkins and squash are starting to fill the weekend Farmer's Markets and I'm ready to start making apple crisp, pumpkin pie and carrot cake.  Before I do, however, I need to catch up on a few blog posts that sat half-written at the end of summer while I focused on The Festival.  So, forgive me - I know we're all feellng autumnal, but I have a few last hurrahs of summer rattling around my DRAFT folder and want to share them with you before we dive headfirst into Fall.

I love the fruits of summer - berries, peaches, cherries - and, the odd-looking but delectable fig!  I must admit, growing up in the Great Midwest, I was shamefully ignorant about figs - after all, there weren't lots of fig trees in Akron, Ohio.  Back in the day, I had no idea what a fresh fig looked or tasted like.   Before I moved South, all I knew of figs was that they were the key ingredient for the  dark, dense and murky tasting inside of a Fig Newton -- man, I didn't know what I was missing!  I'll never forget the first time that one of my Clemson classmates reached up into a green large-leafed tree in his back yard and plucked a teardrop-shaped fruit off of a branch and popped it directly into his mouth...what was that thing?...and why was he smiling so much while he ate it?   But, once I tasted one, I got it - the mystery fruit was sweet and rich and lovely and oh-so-different than the dark brown goo in the middle of the Fig Newton - I was instantly bewitched and hooked. 

Figs come in many shapes and sizes - and, in late summer,
you can find them all throughout the South.  

A few years ago Guy got me a small fig tree for our yard - unfortunately, it's not big enough yet to fulfill my growing fig habit.  Fortunately, however, I do have lots of friends and neighbors with fig trees in their yards - and, they are willing to share!  Thanks to Rosie (actually, Rosie's neighbor - whose name I don't even know), Sue, Tony and the lady who lives behind my friend Susan in Greenville,  I had a large supply of figs this year.  I picked some myself and had help picking others - as you can see in the pictures below.  Although picking figs can be a fairly miserable task - very hot and sticky, after all, they do ripen in August in the South - I'm lucky that the promise of fig jam persuades my husband and most other men I know into helping with the fig harvest. 

My husband Guy is very focused and very efficient in his fig
picking -not really a surprise if you know Guy.



Lawrence DuBose, husband of my best friend Susan, helps pick figs
from one of their neighbors' trees. 

This variety of figs, Celeste, has a lovely brownish-purple color on the outside....

...and a lush, lovely and sweet pink inside.  Seriously - isn't that a beautiful color?

In addition to eating them fresh, one of my favorite things to do with figs is to make fig jam - a great way to remember one of summer's sweet treats all throughout the year.   Like most jams, this one is fairly simple to make - especially when  you have fresh, sweet, ripe fruit like I did. And, I'm pretty much a purist when it comes to fig jam - no fancy recipes, spices or mixtures - just figs, sugar, pectin (I use the low sugar kind) and some citrus juice and zest (I've used both lemon and orange and like them equally well - just depends on what I am in the mood for that day).   I've attached a link to my fig jam recipe:

http://pickyourown.org/figjam.htm

This is actually one of my favorite sites for canning info and recipes - Pick Your Own - it's a great resource for canning, pickling and all other sorts of foodie info.  It's definitely one to bookmark. 

I love the beatiful, rich, dark pink color the Celeste figs impart to this jam.
(I hope you do too, since most of you will find a jar like this in your Christmas goodie bag!) 

Of course, fig jam is mighty tasty as a breakfast treat - try it on toast, an English muffin or a biscuit.  But, one of my favorite uses for this sweet pink spread is to pair it with goat cheese for a super easy and delicious appetizer.  Get the freshest, smoothest chevre you can find, spread it over crostini or a hearty wheat cracker, then place a dollop of fig jam on top of the chevre - the sweetness of the jam complements the salty tang of the goat cheese - a perfect match.  

So - like many of the lessons I learned since moving to the South - my introduction to the fig has been both interesting and enjoyable.  Now I know the real story of this beautiful and mysterious fruit - and it's so much more than the dark brown filling for a Fig Newton!

The Saint Simons Food & Spirits Festival

I know I may be a little prejudiced, but, I have to say - this was one great festival!  I wanted to share some pictures with you ... but, next year - y'all have to come on down and experience it for yourselves!!





Our market featured local artists, farmers and specialties. 
Guests strolled through the market before entering the tasting tents.



Gascoigne Bluff was a beautiful setting for the festival.  The moss-draped trees
provided a lovely canopy for our tents and shade for our guests. 

Over 25 local restaurants prepared dishes for our tasting tents. 

It's the Georgia coast - there had to be oysters!  The entire festival
highlighted local cuisine prepared by local chefs - so, of course everything
was fresh and genuine Southern!

Trust me - nobody went away hungry!

One of the best parts of working on the Festival was meeting some of the 
talented chefs on The Golden Isles. Chef Matthew, from Little Saint Simons,
is a lovely person and gifted chef who is building an amazing
garden and restaurant featuring fresh, local foods. 

Cheers to a great day! 

There were plenty of "spirits" flowing.  One of the great mixologists from the
King & Prince serves up specialty cocktails featuring Southern artisanal spirits. 

On Saturday I was responsible for our demo tent - The Culinary Creations
Cooking Stage.  It was a great job - I got to work directly with
our invited culinary talent, and some super volunteers!

Here's the line-up - Ted Dennard, Ford Fry, Libbie Summers,
Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart - WOWZA!!

Ted Dennard, the founder of Savannah Bee Company was a blast - fun and
laid back.  His demo featured some great smoked salmon with a honey glaze,
a honey cheesecake and a honey-sweetened lemonade with mint. 
He's the hometown hero and an all-around great guy!

Chef Ford Fry from Atlanta (JCT Kitchen, no 246, The Optimist) served up
creamed Carolina Gold Rice with local shrimp - of course, it was delicious. 
Here's a shout out to Timmy Stubbs, Native Seafood, for providing our
shrimp.  Looking forward to a ride on the shrimp boat sometime soon, Timmy.

Libbie Summer is one cool chick!  She's a food stylist, cookbook
author and blogger who preaches the gospel of "food-inspired living". 
She put together an amazing "food-inspired table" with corn as
her theme.  It was a true WOW!

Libbie and her husband Josh - signing books and chatting
with guests under the oaks.

There she is - Nathalie Dupree the Grand Dame of Southern Cooking - holding
court, cracking jokes and making biscuits.  Working with Nathalie was
absolutely one of the highlights of the Festival for me.

That's me - prepping tasting portions of Nathalie's biscuits for guests
in the demo tent. Nathalie Dupree's Two Ingredient Biscuits
with a dollop of honey butter and a drizzle
of Savannah Bee honey on top - that's pure heaven!

The day ended with a Low-Country concert featuring The Mosier Brothers
and Mudcat.  Mudcat roused the crowd with their lively march around
the grounds before taking the stage.

A great end to a great day of food and spirits.  Mudcat brought it home
with a concert -- music flowing through the oaks and a backdrop
of a colorful sunset over the water. 
It just doesn't get any better than this! 

Back on the Grid

I know, I know - it's been too long - I've missed you all and I am officially apologizing for my woeful lack of posting in the past weeks.  I know some of you are worried about me...I even got a text from a friend the other day asking me to confirm my existence - yes, Patti - I promise, I am alive.  Sorry I've been so out of touch, but I've been working my butt off getting prepared for The Saint Simons Food & Spirits Festival.  Who knew my intern assignment would turn out to be such a big (and fun and rewarding) job?

So - here's a quick catch up.  As most of you know, I've spent the past few months as an intern for a culinary production company, Culinary Works.  It's been a great experience and I've had the opportunity to see many different aspects of this type of work - food styling, recipe development, and culinary event management.  Our major project for the past few months has been planning and executing The Inaugural Saint Simons Food & Spirits Festival, on Saint Simons Island, GA.  The Festival took place last week - the Festival proper was Saturday Sept 22, but we had dinners and other events on Thursday, Friday and Sunday - it was quite the weekend!  But, I'm home now and ready to get back in the blogging saddle. 

This was a major project!  Please take note of the word "Inaugural" - yep, that means this was the first year of the Festival and there was nothing to work from - we had to develop everything from scratch.  Gena, my boss and the principal of Culinary Works, was the Festival Director and essentially responsible for all elements of the Festival - and, as her Director of Operations (I know, gotta love that title!!), I have gotten to work on every part as well.   The Festival was birthed by a group of enthusiastic local folks on Saint Simons Island who wanted to showcase all the great culinary talent in their community and raise dollars and awareness for a great cause - Hospice of the Golden Isles.  After a few months they realized that their volunteer committee wouldn't be able to pull off such a large event and called in Gena, who happens to do this kind of thing for a living and also happens to be a native of Saint Simons. The rub - they didn't call her in until just a few months ago - so it's essentially been a mad dash to get everything put together by September 20-23 - completing a 9 month project in 3 months! (Check out our website www.saintsimonsfoodandspirits.com)

Over the past 3 months I've touched every aspect of the Festival - from soliciting sponsors to writing website postings and press releases to development of the overall event schedule to writing menus for Festival dinners to working with our invited culinary talent to developing all Festival signage to organizing the restaurants participating in our Tasting Tent to working with local farmers who provided food for our chefs. I've spent lots of time on Saint Simons Island, which is filled with beautiful scenery and lovely people. I've been lucky enough to work with some amazing people - from the local chefs (Griffin Bufkin and Harrison Sapp of Southern Soul BBQ, Dave Snyder of Halyards, Jonathan Jerusalmy of Sea Island) to the dedicated committee members to our Festival talent - Grand Dame of Southern Cooking Nathalie Dupree and her co-author Cynthia Graubart, Savannah Bee's founder Ted Dennard, cookbook author and blogger Libbie Summers, and Atlanta chef and restaurateur Ford Fry.

So, after weeks of preparation, the Festival was upon us last week.  We headed down to the island bright and early last Monday morning and set up a production office in our donated house.  Hard to imagine, but as busy as the last few months have been, they paled in comparison to last week.  Festival Week was a whirlwind of activity, all leading up to our First Bite Kick-Off Reception on Thursday night.

Saint Simons Island - not such a bad place to work - huh?

Enjoyed a relaxing evening on the island early in the week, a
much-needed respite before the craziness of Festival Week began.

 

Beatiful, moss-covered trees fill Gascoigne Bluff, our Festival site. 
Hard to believe this space was filled with tents and hundreds of
hungry festival goers by the end of the week.  

 

Let the games begin - we posted our Festival banner early in the week
to welcome folks to the island and spread the word about The Festival.

Like most projects I've worked on, there was a time when we all doubted this thing would really happen - how could it, there was so much to do?  But, by the end of the week, we were thrilled with how well the Festival came together - how much fun everyone had, how beautiful the events were, and how great it was to be a part of something that highlighted the local culinary talent, celebrated the local culture and also benefitted a great cause.  Make no mistake - by Sunday we were EXHAUSTED - but, we felt good and proud of all we had accomplished. 

 

So - I'm back on the grid - thank you all for being patient with me while I had my head down working on the Festival.  I've got lots to catch you up on - so stay tuned. 

The perfect peach-to-cake ratio

     It's summer in the South...the abundance of fruits and vegetables is a beautiful and delicious gift...and nothing says summertime in Georgia like the glorious peach!  So, when selecting my cake for July, I of course selected our fuzzy friend the peach to be the star of this month's cake.

     I know, I know - you thought I had forgotten about The Year of the Cake - didn't you?  You didn't really want to say anything - but, gosh, I've been so busy with all of this travel, life-change and culinary internship stuff that it seems like my monthly homage to The Cake may have fallen by the wayside...not so!! I am still committed to making a different cake each month - and, when at all possible, baking with friends...and July is no exception.

     My dear friend Kim sent me a LOVELY cookbook for my birthday this month - America's Test Kitchen's Best Summer Desserts - what a great gift!  If you don't know, America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated is one of my absolute favorite cooking resources - their detailed, exacting and thoroughly tested recipes are just perfect for this engineer-aspiring-to-be-a-baker.  So,when I got this book in the mail, I immediately started flipping through it to find a recipe for this month's cake...and it didn't take me long to settle on their Summer Peach Cake, which promised to deliver all sorts of lovely peach taste without any of the dreaded sogginess that often accompanies this type of recipe.

A fabulous birthday gift..and the source for this month's Summer Peach Cake recipe. 

     I share my July birthday with my-best-friend-from-junior-high Susan.  As we have for many years, we spent some time this year just hanging out with our husbands and celebrating our joint birthday-month.  In addition to being one of the people who knows me better than almost anyone, Susan is a great cook and entertainer, so it seemed fitting that I bake my July cake with her.

     The Summer Peach Cake has a moist, rich texture with a layer of peaches in the middle of it as well as a layer of peaches on the top...it's a little bit like a cross between a cobbler and a poundcake.  As promised in the cookbook, this cake is a relatively simple recipe that relies on a few tricks to make it something special.  The first trick is that you actually toss half of the peaches in peach schnapps and then roast them in the oven - this concentrates the flavors and ensures that the cake isn't soggy from incorporating the fresh fruit.  The cake is made in a springform pan - part of the batter is layered in the pan, next comes the layer of roasted peaches, than another layer of batter, and finally a layer of peach slices fanned out on top of the cake.  This final layer of peaches is topped with some almond-extract-infused sugar - just to give the top of the cake a slight crunch. 
    
     Well, I must admit - those folks at ATK do know what they are doing...this was a very yummy cake.  According to our husbands, the official taste-testers, all of this layering resulted in a very satisfying cake-to-peach-ratio in the final product - just the right mix of moist cake and juicy peaches.  And, as promised, the peach flavor was deep and intense - roasting the peaches definitely ensured that we captured all of the sunny goodness of our peaches (and, of course, adding Schnapps to any recipe can only be a good idea!) 

The Summer Peach cake - layers of batter, alternating with layers of peaches,
topped with a heavy sprinkling of sugar -- all in one pan.  A relatively easy
recipe that highlights the beauty of THE PEACH.

The perfect peach-to-cake-ratio

     So - if you want to savor some of summer's bounty, head out to your local farmstand or farmer's market and get some peaches...eat a few straight from the basket and use the rest to make this simple Summer Peach Cake...it's a simple and tasty treat.

PS - Susan - Happy Birthday to us!!

Summer Peach Cake

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

• 2 1/2pounds peaches , pitted and cut into 1/2 inch-thick wedges
• 5 tablespoons peach schnapps
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup packed (3 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs , finely crushed

Instructions

1.   Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil spray. Gently toss 24 peach wedges with 2 tablespoons schnapps, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar in bowl; set aside.
2.   Cut remaining peach wedges crosswise into thirds. Gently toss chunks with remaining 3 tablespoons schnapps, remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in bowl. Spread peach chunks in single layer on prepared sheet and bake until exuded juices begin to thicken and caramelize at edges of sheet, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer sheet to wire rack and let peaches cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
3.   Spray 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil spray. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl. Whisk brown sugar, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, and eggs together in second bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter until combined. Add sour cream, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract; whisk until combined. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
4.   Transfer half of batter to prepared pan; using offset spatula, spread batter evenly to pan edges and smooth surface. Sprinkle crushed bread crumbs evenly over cooled peach chunks and gently toss to coat. Arrange peach chunks on batter in even layer, gently pressing peaches into batter. Gently spread remaining batter over peach chunks and smooth top. Arrange reserved peach wedges, slightly overlapped, in ring over surface of cake, placing smaller wedges in center. Stir together remaining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and remaining 1/8 teaspoon almond extract in small bowl until sugar is moistened. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over top of cake.
5.   Bake until center of cake is set and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool 5 minutes. Run paring knife around sides of cake to loosen. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely, 2 to 3 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.
   

Tartlets for 8,000

     So, I've had a couple big parties in my time - I've made over 200 cookies and 100 biscuits for a Christmas party before - but that pales in comparison to the large-scale food preparation I witnessed last week.  I worked two days in the pastry kitchen at the Georgia Aquarium as extra help they brought on to help with prepping and serving 8,000 Microsoft employees for dinner.  Yes - you read that right - dinner, drinks and dessert for 8,000 people - now that's alot of food!  It was an amazing feat to witness - thousands of pounds, pieces and portions of food being washed, prepped, peeled, cooked, mixed, plated and garnished by over 50 people.  The planning, organization, and execution was very detailed, complicated and intense - this was not a task for the faint of heart  - but it was fascinating to watch and great experience to be a part of such large scale food preparation in such a well-run kitchen that was committed to turning out excellent tasting food.  Needless to say, my contribution was fairly limited to mixing, plating, and prepping - but, still - it was fun and I learned alot. 

     On the pastry side of the house (in most professional kitchens, restaurant or catering, the pastry staff is a different group of folks who work in a separate space from the rest of the food prep) we spent the day Thursday prepping most of the different elements of the 10,000 individual desserts so the final prep and assembly could take place on Friday.  Tartlet shells were baked, cream was whipped, chocolate was melted, nuts were chopped, melon was sliced, cookies were rolled out on sheetpans - and all of it was counted, wrapped, organized and stored in coolers so it could quickly be put together the next day.  Friday morning was spent putting the final pieces together so that by afternoon we could begin plating hundreds of individual trays with desserts, then decorate and garnish them for serving at 5:45 pm.  The aquarium was closed to the public by late afternoon and the thousands of Microsoft employees from around the globe took over the place.  Of course, there was no one room in the Aquarium that could accommodate all 8,000 of these hungry folks, so food was served in multiple rooms throughout the place - requiring that we prep trays in such a way that they could be  transported by carts to the various serving stations without disrupting a single crust, marshmellow, pecan or raspberry - it all needed to arrive at its destination looking as beautiful as it tasted.  The final few hours before service were fast and furious - and pretty high-stress - trust me, I just kept my head down and kept on placing blueberries on fruit tarts - but, when all was said and done, an amazing amount of food was delivered warm, delicious and beautiful to thousands of guests.  By 6 pm, it was all over but the eating - our job was to simply make sure that the many servers had their trays replenished and that all of the edible orchids and garnishes were properly placed as the trays went out.

     So - even though it was a fascinating day, make no mistake, it was a long one...12 hours on my feet in a hot kitchen, lifting heavy trays...as I said above, not for the faint of heart.  It was a great day, though - like I said, an amazing learning experience that was topped off with a crazy, fun, treat.  Even though I was feeling pretty beat as we finished cleaning up the trays after service, I quickly perked up when my boss asked if I wanted to "check out the entertainment".  You better believe I did - after all, it was Jon Bon Jovi...no kidding.  Didn't take me long to perk up and untie my apron so I could slip out of the kitchen and join her at the outdoor concert....seriously, what 49-year-old female intern wouldn't love that?  Tartlets and Jon Bon Jovi - my idea of a perfect nite! (on a side note, I need to consider applying to Microsoft - they had both BonJovi and Maroon 5 as the entertainment for a private concert for this employee event - no wonder we pay so much for software!).  

One of several batches of dough I made for biscuits...mixer came up to my chin 
and recipe called for 17 pounds of flour, 3 pounds of sugar
and 4.5 pounds of butter.

That's a lot of key lime!

Thousands of tartlets lined up in rows...how cool is that?

Fruit salad - each bowl weighed almost 20 pounds...

...and we made 20 bowls!

A Summer Intern at 48!

Hey everyone....Happy 4th of July!! It's hard to believe it's 4th of July already...it's truly been a whirlwind since I got back from France 10 days ago.  While a month in France was truly a luxury and we did have a glorious time - I have to admit I was actually getting a little antsy by the end of the trip...most likely due to the fact that I didn't have a specific plan for what I was going to do with myself starting June 25.  I know, I know - that seems a little crazy, given the fact that I just left my job of 18 years - so, now you know why I was feeling a little antsy!

     So..to catch you up...

     While my original post-vacation plan had been to immediately start a 1-year baking and pastry program at the Art Institute here in Atlanta, I had actually been rethinking this recently based on some discussions/advice I had gotten from some of my friends/acquaintances in the industry.  Several very seasoned, successful and wise culinarians had actually challenged me to consider a different approach - rather than a 1 year academic program, why not put together a series of experiences and smaller, more targeted educational programs that would really set me apart, help me understand what I wanted to do and better prepare me for a job.  Well, gosh - that sounded like a pretty good idea - except for the fact that it blew my nice, neat plan for starting school in July right out of the water, required alot more thinking/planning on my part and therefore scared the crap out of me!  So, I took a deep, cleansing breath and headed to France - hoping that sunshine, baguettes, wine and cheese would help me sort out my options.

     Well, as usual, things have a way of working themselves out.  As luck would have it, at the very end of my trip, just about the time I was starting to get antsy, I got an email from Gena Berry, the owner of Culinary Works and a very important player in the Atlanta culinary world. (you may remember that I mentioned Gena in a previous post - "Do I Smell Something Burning").  I had chatted with Gena before leaving for France and she knew I was interested in working with her - and, lucky for me, she had a couple of projects come up - so she was contacting me to see if I would be available to "intern" with her through the end of September.  Like - are you kidding me - of course!  What an amazing opportunity to learn about this side of the business - Gena does "all things culinary" - from culinary event planning to teaching classes to food styling to recipe development - and I will get to work directly with her on two major projects and several smaller ones. 

     So - I got back from France on Sunday June 24 and started with Gena on Tuesday June 26  - and it's been full-on since then.  The two major projects we're working on are 1) recipe writing and testing for a new cookbook for major chef here in Atlanta and 2) planning a 3-day food and spirits festival on Saint Simons Island.  In just a week I've had the chance to spend the day on a movie set helping with food styling, help develop a proposal for a major sponsor for the food festival and work in the kitchen with one of Atlanta's Top Chefs - whew!  I know the next 3 months will be filled with great experiences - it will also give me time to think more about exactly what sort of school experience I will take on.  It's hard to believe I'm a summer intern again at age 48 - but, to be honest, I'm pretty excited about it and feel incredibly lucky to be getting such a great opportunity - how wild is that?

     So, it's July 4th and I have enjoyed the day off - this intern thing is pretty hard work.  Spent the day at home with my sweet husband, did a little baking and also enjoyed barbecue with some friends.  I have much to be thankful for and it's been a great day - God Bless America!

Lots of blueberries buried in a moist, rich cake.

Blueberry Crumb Cake for 4th of July Breakfast - God Bless America!!

It's that time of year - when the berries are plentiful and delicious.  Made the Barefoot Contessa's Blueberry Crumb Cake for a holiday breakfast treat - a very tasty way to start my day off!

Ingredients:

For the streusel:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup fresh  blueberries
• Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel: Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light.

Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers,

crumble the topping evenly over the batter.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

Pretty in Pink

So, it's Friday and it's the last day of our wine trip...it's hard to believe. It's been such a great week filled with so many wonderful experiences...we are all excited for the day ahead, but beginning to be a little sad that it is drawing to an end.
Our destination for the morning is Chateau D'esclans, a relatively new venture for Sasha Lichine, a larger-than-life figure whose family (his father was Russian immigrant Alexis Lichine) is very important in the recent history of French wines. At Chateau D'esclans, Sasha and his team are working to elevate rose above the status of a relatively simple wine only suited for sipping on the porch in summer. What we saw, heard and tasted on our visit there certainly converted all of us into die-hard believers and rose supporters.
Like everything about Chateau D'esclans, the grounds are stunning, opulent, and immaculately kept.
















We started our tour in the cave, getting an up-close-and-personal view of the equipment and processes. From the very first we were impressed with the precision and unique blend of art, craftsmanship and technology they were using to ensure the highest quality and impart depth and richness to their rose wines. From the sorting of the grapes to the destemming to the pressing to the monitoring/controlling of temperature of juice through the entire process, the team at Chateau D'esclans is diligent (almost militant, you might say) about producing a repeatable but unique and elevated wine. After learning about the different steps and processes, we had a special treat...a barrel tasting in the cave. One of our hosts extracted samples of wine directly from different barrels with a pipette, then poured it directly into our glasses...he discussed the intricacies of the different samples (one was the first press, another was the second, anther had been aged longer than the first) and allowed us to taste...it was fun, interesting and oh-so-delicious!
We then moved on to a more traditional tasting, enjoying samples of their complete line of D'esclans rose...all a beautiful pink color with an amazing aroma...without a doubt, these were rose wines like no other.


The processes and techniques at Chateau Desclans were highly controlled and technologically advanced. Their diligence pays off...their rose wines are a beautiful pink color and taste amazing!
























Next we headed into the Chateau for a lunch, hosted by Sasha Lichine himself...what an incredible afternoon. Sasha was a big man...full of life, stories and charisma. His home was gorgeous and full of the rich and colorful history of Sasha's family and their dealings in the French and American wine industry. We were also quite taken by Sasha's friendly European Golden Retrievers who joined us for lunch and flirted shamelessly with us all. I know I've said it on every posting, but it's true...this was just an unbelievable, once-in-a-lifetime experience. This kind of personal and intimate view of the winemaker and the vineyard rarely happens....and it was such a treat. We all left totally enamored with the Chateau D'esclans rose wines and also with a little bit of a crush on Sasha.


Our lunch with Sasha (top pic, light pink linen shirt) was glorious...beautiful wine, delicious food and amazing stories!




















We were all quite taken with our host Sasha...but we were especially smitten with his two beautiful European Golden Retrievers.








We reluctantly left Chateau D'esclans and headed out for our final outing...a trip to the small coastal town of Cassis where we were scheduled for a boat trip and dinner for our last evening together.
We climbed into a small boat, just the eight of us with our bus driver Francis. Our local boat driver/tour guide was personable and knowledgeable, giving us lots of history and colorful descriptions of Cassis and the Calanques, steep-walled cliffs of limestone that surround the Mediterranean in this area. We spent an hour touring the coast, reveling in the sun and the scenery. We finished our evening, enjoying aperitifs and dinner (local seafood, of course) sitting at an outside cafe.
We spent our final evening of the trip enjoying a boat trip off the small town of Cassis, followed by dinner sitting along the pier.








































POSTSCRIPT:
So, it's Saturday morning and we are all preparing to go our own ways, some of us on to more holidays and some headed home. It's been an amazing trip, with a lovely group of friends...once again, The Trip of a Lifetime!!
Rosie takes a final picture of our group in the out yard of Villa Glanum, our hotel in St Remy de Provence. We've had a great week!