sophistimom – 2011

heirloom tomato salad with burrata cheese

Hello, my friends, I’d like you to meet my new friend, burrata. This little lump of cheese has made me one of the happiest people in the world. And I think it will do the same for you.

I was first introduced to this little orb of the creamier, dreamier relative of fresh mozzarella, when my peeps at babble took us out to dinner in New York last year. Since then, I have been searching high and low for it in Utah. I am happy to announce, that last week, I found it at Whole Foods, one of my favorite places in the world.

By Jaime {sophistimom}|September 28th, 2011|dinner, quick fix, recipes, salads, well-fed|9 Comments

pêches brûlées à la glace

That’s French for “torched peaches with ice cream.” I made this the other afternoon, when I was eating a gorgeous peach whose flavor didn’t measure up to what I thought it should. I knew dipping it in sugar was the only way to make it taste good, but of course, taking fruit from the farmer’s market and dipping in sugar borders on blasphemy. Dipping it in sugar and then lighting it on fire . . . well, that’s another thing entirely.

I topped it with some vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce, and gave that mediocre peach a chance to shine.

Now just imagine how good this dessert will be when it’s made with a good peach.

pêches brûlées à la glace

1 large peach, cut into 16 slices
sugar, about 1/4 cup
vanilla ice cream
homemade caramel sauce

1. Dip peach slices in sugar on one side. Place 4 slices on each plate, with the sugar side up. Use a spoon to sprinkle any remaining sugar on top of the peaches. Use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar.

2. Top with vanilla ice cream and drizzle with caramel.

By Jaime {sophistimom}|September 22nd, 2011|desserts, recipes, well-fed|5 Comments

fudgy gluten-free chocolate chip brownies

I am still getting used to the light in my new house. I am back to using a tripod again, and haven’t even unpacked my strobes. So this has been interesting. I love my new kitchen. You can see the backsplash in the picture, which I helped tile. When my five-year-old walked in while we were tiling, he said, “Wow, this looks so Martha Stewarty now!”

These brownies are almost the same as the Fudgy Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies I made years ago, but without the cream cheese layer. You could, of course, follow that recipe to make gluten-free cream cheese brownies. All you would need to do is swap out the all-purpose flour for something gluten-free. Since this recipe has so little flour, you can really relax about how the non-gluten flours will taste. The structure of these beauties lies mostly in the chocolate chips themselves. The flour is an afterthought. I think more desserts should be like that.

By Jaime {sophistimom}|September 20th, 2011|desserts, recipes, well-fed|7 Comments

macaroni with sharp cheddar, bacon, and newman’s own

This is the macaroni and cheese I grew up on, and is nothing like what you find in a box. I suppose it is slightly reminiscent of a lasagna, made with layers of cheese and tomatoes. However, this dish, passed down to me from my mother, who got it from her mother, is layered with bacon. I’m sorry, but nothing else can compare to it. It is truly addicting.

When Newman’s Own* asked me to take a favorite recipe and make it my own using their pasta sauce, I thought of my Mom-Mom’s Macaroni and Cheese. Instead of using canned tomatoes and seasoning each layer with salt and pepper, I simply used Newman’s Own Fire Roasted Tomato and Garlic Pasta Sauce. It adds a new depth of flavor to the dish, cuts out the step of seasoning it, while keeping it as delicious as I remember it.

I’m excited to have this recipe appear in the latest issue of Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food. There is just something about her October magazines that make me giddy for cooler weather, sweaters, and socks. So if you see this issue, be sure to pick up a copy. I can’t wait to get mine. And Ashley Rodriguez of Not Without Salt has a Newman’s Own recipe in Martha Stewart Living this month, as well, so you’ll need to see it. She made a gorgeous calzone.

By Jaime {sophistimom}|September 19th, 2011|dinner, quick fix, recipes, well-fed|18 Comments

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