Blackberry Cobbler

A few weeks ago, our friends sent us home with lots of blackberries from their garden. The blackberries are very sour and they really only taste good with gobs and gobs of sugar on top of them. The only person I know who can handle the sour berries is my friend's toddler son, who loves eating the unripe berries off of the bush!

My friend recommended a cobbler recipe to me. He said he served it to his family and that they all devoured it within minutes. I was sent home with enough blackberries to make two cobblers, which was great since Amy, Doug & the kids were in town.

The cobblers were delicious. I think it is perfect warm from the oven, but others seemed to think it tasted best after it had fully cooled. You can eat it plain or you can top it with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream! I hope you enjoy the blackberry cobbler as much as we did.

Recipe for Blackberry Cobbler

INGREDIENTS:

For the berries:

2 1/4 cups of fresh blackberries

1 cup of granulated sugar

For the batter:

1 cup of all-purpose flour

2 tsp. of baking powder

1/2 tsp. of salt

1 Tbsp. of granulated sugar 

1 cup of milk (2% or whole)

1 stick of unsalted butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

Put the blackberries in a medium-sized bowl. Sprinkle the 1 cup of sugar over the berries and toss very gently. Let the berries and sugar sit at room temperature for about 25 minutes.

After the berries have sat for about 15 minutes, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 1 Tbsp. of sugar, and milk. Add in the melted butter. Whisk the ingredients together until they are well blended. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour the batter into an 8" x 8" baking pan (do not grease the pan) and spread evenly. Spoon the blackberry and sugar mixture in even drops on top of the batter.

Bake for about 50 minutes or until the dough has risen. It should be golden-brown in color. Let the cobbler cool for about 15 minutes, then cut into evenly sized squares. Can be served for breakfast or dessert! Enjoy. 

Recipe Adapted from: Betty Crocker

*If you like this blackberry cobbler recipe, I think you will also like this recipe for blueberry buckle.*

NOTE: Joseph sent me home with more blackberries last weekend! Instead of baking with them, I made a tasty blackberry limeade. That recipe will be shared soon!

Cherry Tomato Tart with a Basil-Garlic Crust

For the Cherry Tomato Tart recipe, please visit my new website, Make It and Bake It with Beth. 

My First Frittata (recipe)

I made my first frittata the other night. It was a success, and I'm excited to share the recipe with you. I have seen many frittata recipes on some of my favorite cooking blogs, but for some reason I have always been intimidated by them. Why? I don't know. A frittata is actually pretty easy to make and it does not require too much time. I think I may have feared the frittata because it sounds kind of fancy. Greg was surprised that the dish mainly consisted of eggs. He said it sounded like it should have a crust and be fried. I agree. In cooking, names of recipes can be quite deceiving!

What I love about the frittata is that you can use a lot of different ingredients in the dish. If you are trying to use up veggies, cheese, or meat, consider the frittata! I had some chicken sausages, baby spinach, and bell peppers that were going to expire soon, so I looked up recipes that use sausage on Annie's Eats. It must had been my lucky day - I found this frittata recipe that uses chicken sausage, spinach, AND pepper! I was happy to be able to turn my baby spinach leaves into frozen spinach. I ended up using all of the spinach in the frittata, but it was good to know that if I had spinach leaves on the verge of going bad, that they could be transformed into frozen spinach. You can learn how to save your baby spinach too!

Greg and I thoroughly enjoyed the frittata for dinner on Saturday evening. It was my breakfast this morning, and Greg's lunch this afternoon. A frittata is a great way to eat your eggs, which are now healthy for you! I'm glad I tried out the frittata for the first time - I'll definitely be making another one soon! Enjoy.

Recipe for Sausage, Spinach & Bell Pepper Frittata

INGREDIENTS:
6 extra-large eggs
3 Tbsp. of milk
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. of unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. of olive oil
3 chicken sausages (precooked), sliced into 1/4-inch slices
3/4 cup of thawed frozen chopped spinach, drained
1/2 cup of red bell pepper, chopped small
1/2 cup of orange bell pepper, chopped small
1/2 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

DIRECTIONS:
Adjust your oven racks so that a large skillet will be able to fit on the top rack. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Add the oil and butter to a large (9" - 10")  oven-safe/non-stick skillet. Put the skillet over medium heat, and allow the butter to melt. As you are waiting for the butter to melt, beat together the eggs, milk, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes in a medium-sized bowl.

Once butter has melted, add the sausage, peppers, and spinach to the skillet. Stir the mixture frequently and cook for about 5 - 6 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-low. Carefully pour in the egg mixture to the skillet. Top evenly with the cubed cheese. Cover the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes. The eggs should be set but the top will be runny.

Use an oven glove to carefully move the skillet from the stovetop to the top rack of the oven. Cook at 475 for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the top is set and no longer runny. Remove the skillet from the oven (make sure to use the oven mitt)! Let the skillet cool for a few minutes.

Once frittata has cooled, cut into 8 slices and serve. Top with extra freshly ground black pepper, if desired.

Have leftovers? The frittata will still taste good after a couple days!

Recipe Adapted from: Annie's Eats

Gorgonzola Salad (Inspired by the Tomato Palace)

The Tomato Palace restaurant in Columbia, Md is one of my favorite restaurants. I've been going there since it opened & I even had my rehearsal dinner there! I get together with two of my friends for lunch at the Tomato Palace a few times a year. Every time we go, Bonnie and Sandy ALWAYS order the Gorgonzola salad. I try to get something new each time I go, but the last time I went there I actually tried the gorgonzola dressing that goes on the salad. At that moment, I finally understood why Bonnie and Sandy refuse to order anything else from the menu.

Bonnie had said she tried to recreate the dressing at home without success. We decided to ask our friendly waiter what was in the dressing, and he asked the chef. The waiter came back and told us the chef said it was just "oil and gorgonzola cheese." So, obviously the chef didn't want us to know what was really in the dressing.

I took a bit of the dressing back with me and I looked up some gorgonzola dressing recipes online. I found one that looked similar, and within minutes Bonnie emailed both me and Sandy with the exact recipe, saying that she thought that it might be the one.

I followed the recipe that we found, and it tasted like the real thing. I made the salad to go along with dinner one night, and it was delicious. My husband told me that the salad was "really really good" when he was eating dinner. Then, later that night, he told me that the cheese was really strong and he wasn't so sure about the salad. So I guess he changed his mind about the salad, and he shall now be known as the moody-eater. Greg is right though, gorgonzola is a strong cheese. But it is so good - and I would say it is much tastier than blue cheese.

Don't worry Bonnie and Sandy, just because we now know how to make the gorgonzola salad it does not mean that we will no longer be meeting at the Tomato Palace for lunch! We still need to get our tiramisu fix...

Recipe for Gorgonzola Salad with Toasted Walnuts

INGREDIENTS:
For the dressing
1/4 cup of Extra-Virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. of white balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/4 cup of crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1/8 tsp. of kosher slat
5 - 6 grinds of freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
3 cups of Baby Romaine lettuce leaves
3 Tbsp. of toasted walnut pieces
1/4 cup of crumbled gorgonzola cheese

DIRECTIONS:
For the dressing:
Pour the 1/4 cup of olive oil into a liquid measuring cup. Add in the vinegar, salt, pepper, cheese, and pressed garlic. Mix well. Pour the dressing into a container and cover. Put in the fridge until ready to use.
For the salad:
Toast the walnut pieces first. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the walnuts evenly onto a baking sheet and cook in the oven for about 10 minutes. Take baking sheet out of the oven and let them cool.
Once walnut pieces are cooled, divide the baby romaine lettuce leaves onto 3 serving plates. Divide the 1/4 cup of gorgonzola cheese crumbles evenly between each plate. Sprinkle each plate with the toasted walnuts. Take the dressing out of the fridge and give it a good stir. Pour the dressing over the salads or serve on the side. Enjoy!

Gorgonzola Dressing Recipe Adapted from Tastebook

Bonnie, Sandy & me outside our favorite restaurant -
the Tomato Palace! 

NOTE:

Do you have a garlic press? I have wasted so much time in the kitchen cutting up garlic, but I finally got this awesome garlic press! It makes cooking (and my life) so much easier.