Sunday Polo, Concert in the Park, and Cherry Plum Crumb Tart

Cherry Plum Crumb Tart, Cherry Plum Crumb Tart, Cherry Plum Crumb Tart...say that three times!

I'm just about a week late on this one, but it came in handy when I needed to put something together Sunday morning for Sunday evening's Concert in the Park. I had to leave home by noon to make it to the Aloha Sunday polo match with my photography group, so I was up early and scrambling to get this baked. It never would have happened without the sweet tart dough I happened to have left over in the freezer, or the cherries and plums I purchased the day before. I did have to to run out and get almond flour, but then it all came together easily...

I was lazy and pressed the dough into the tart pan, pricked it all over with a fork, and threw it in the freezer while I made the crumb topping. While the tart crust was baking, I made the almond filling, and pitted the cherries and plums. Dorie's recipe is for a cherry tart, but I had some cute little plums and decided to mix the cherries and plums. Because I was in a rush, I didn't even allow the crust to cool. I spread the filling into the crust, pressed the plum halves and cherries into the filling, baked the tart for 40 minutes, sprinkled the crumb topping over the top, baked for another 30 minutes, put it on a rack to cool, and raced out the door to the polo match. When I returned home at 4:30, I wrapped the cooled tart in plastic wrap, threw it in the picnic basket, and raced over to the park!

It was very crumbly, due to the buttery, flaky crust and crumble topping, so I just broke it into rustic shaped pieces and started handing out small plates to those who were sitting around me. I don't know how I managed to escape with a small piece to go with my coffee this morning, but I did! I served it room temperature at the concert, and chilled with my coffee, but I bet it would be perfect served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream as well. This one is a keeper.

 A quick photo taken at the concert...

Cherry Plum Crumb Tart

The Company Men at Coronado Concert in the Park

A few photos from the polo match...

***

Tuesdays with Dorie is an online cooking group where anyone can bake along. The group bakes from two books – Baking with Julia and Baking Chez Moi. I occasionally bake along with the Baking Chez Moi group. The group bakes two recipes per month (voted on by the members in advance) and posts on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. We are asked to refrain from including the actual recipe in our posts, to promote the publishing industry and encourage others to buy the cookbooks.

See more Cherry Crumb Tarts here.

Apricot-Blueberry Galette for Tuesdays with Dorie

I was bad. I strayed a bit from the Apricot-Raspberry Tart we were supposed to make this week out of Baking Chez Moi. I couldn't help it. The Blueberry-Pecan Galette on the cover of this month's Bon Appétit was so enticing, with its rustic, free form shape and golden brown, sugar sprinkled crust. I strayed even more by using Thomas Keller's pâte sucrée from Bouchon Bakery, which he uses for a stunning plum tart with almond cream.

The pâte sucrée is made with all-purpose and almond flours, powdered sugar, vanilla bean, butter, and 56 grams of eggs. His recipes are so precise, but one large egg was right on the money. This dough is wonderfully silky and easy to work with, and there was no pre-baking required.

Of course, I had to play around with an old copper pan, and the fresh apricots and blueberries. I could only find a few basil leaves to add some greenery, but they did not go into my galette.

Apricots and Blueberries

Apricot-Blueberry Galette

I apologize, Dorie. Sometimes I feel the need to wander, experiment, and give a little love to some of my cooking magazines and other cookbooks hanging around. However, I did take a peek at several of the Apricot-Raspberry Tarts posted this morning, here, and must say they are gorgeous! Maybe I'll get back on track for the next recipe...

*** 

Tuesdays with Dorie is an online cooking group where anyone can bake along. The group bakes from two books – Baking with Julia and Baking Chez Moi. I occasionally bake along with the Baking Chez Moi group. The group bakes two recipes per month (voted on by the members in advance) and posts on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. We are asked to refrain from including the actual recipe in our posts, to promote the publishing industry and encourage others to buy the cookbooks.

Boozing Up My Cranberry Sauce and Tart

I'm thankful I didn't have to cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner today and am looking forward to sharing the evening with friends and family. I made the Bourbon-Caramel Pumpkin Tart featured on the cover of Fine Cooking, Cranberry Sauce with Red Wine & Figs suggested by David Lebovitz, and will be making Yorkshire Pudding (from my man, Tyler) with the drippings from the prime rib. Of course, there will also be turkey, stuffing, sides, desserts and wine!

The cranberry sauce tastes great, but you'll need to wait for my take on the tart. After reading the online reviews, I'm a bit skeptical about the texture of the crust and consistency of the caramel. I sprinkled a little fleur de sel on top but now regret messing up the glossy finish of the caramel.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Cheers,

Denise & Trapper

Ready for the NaBloPoMo Challenge and Kicking it Off with Salted Caramel Apple-Almond Custard Tart

National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo), inspired by National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is a commitment by participating bloggers to publish one post on their personal website or blog every day for the month of November (read more about it here). I chose to participate in the challenge sponsored by my advertising network, BlogHer, along with over 500 BlogHer bloggers. Yes, there are prizes involved, but I was more motivated by the challenge to cook, write and photograph much more than I have for the past year. My life is still somewhat up in the air, but it's beginning to move in many different directions. I'm hoping this challenge will also help me focus on the right path to take.

I do not intend on cooking and blogging about food every day. I have quite a few activities planned this month, so I'll be sharing stories and photos about those and, of course, Trapper will make appearances in several posts. 

I thought I should start with a French Fridays with Dorie recipe I missed a few Fridays ago, rather than the Hurry-Up-And-Wait Roast Chicken scheduled for today. I am SO very behind on French Fridays with Dorie! This Caramel-Almond Custard Tart sounded like a winner the week it was scheduled, but I just didn't need an entire tart hanging around the house. 

I had a good reason to make this tart yesterday because I wanted to bring something to our annual Halloween get together during treat or treating hours. Coronado is a very sought-after trick or treating community. All of the stores along Orange Avenue pass out candy to the kids in the late afternoon and then the island is swarming with kids until about 9:00 p.m. Alec & Nina hosted with a big pot of chili and homemade bread. Jim and Carmen brought over a bountiful charcuterie platter. I figured the tart would be a complementary contribution for an adult dessert. Alec shared a scrumptious bottle of Sika Cabernet Franc later in the evening.

For the tart, you begin by preparing a tender, buttery sweet tart dough, easily pulsed together in the food processor and pressed directly into a tart pan. The crust is partially baked, cooled, sprinkled with a layer of sliced, toasted almonds and filled with creamy, salted caramel custard. It's then baked, cooled to room temperature, sliced, and served with whipped cream or crème fraîche. I changed it up a bit by adding sliced apples, which I sauteed for about 5 minutes in a little butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. I also used crushed marcona almonds I had on hand.

I think this tart would be a little boring without the apples, but maybe because I'm not a huge fan of nuts in desserts. It would have been even better with whipped cream or crème fraîche, as suggested. I had a little bite last night, but really enjoyed a leftover slice with my coffee this morning.

***

French Fridays with Dorie is an online cooking group, dedicated to Dorie Greenspan‘s Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours. As members of the group, we have purchased the cookbook and cook along as much as we can. There is a new recipe each week, and we post about that recipe on Friday. We are asked to refrain from posting the actual recipes on our blog. The book is filled with stunning photography, and personal stories about each recipe, which makes it that much more intriguing. I highly recommend adding it to your cookbook collection if you haven't already!

Coronado Concerts in the Park - The Pacific Northwest

It's been hard rounding up the group this summer for our culinary themed Concerts in the Park, with travel and kids' activities, but we were able to get it together this week for The Pacific Northwest.

I immediately thought of salmon, crab, oysters, trout, halibut, cherries, berries and Pinot Noir and have a couple of awesome cookbooks I go to first when I want something fabulous and unique. Cindy Pawleyn's Big Small Plates is one that never disappoints. It is packed full of small plates/appetizer recipes perfect for parties and grazing. "An enticing alternative to conventional main-course cooking, Big Small Plates delivers the inspiration and insight that make this new way of eating - and entertaining - practical at home."

When I turned the page and saw the photo of Salmon, Halibut and Scallop Ceviche, I knew I had a winner for this week's themed picnic. This ceviche's uniqueness comes from the combination of fish used, the addition of coconut milk, and its presentation  -- served in chunks of fresh coconut. The fish is marinated in lime juice for the first 2 hours. It is then drained, transferred to a clean bowl, and a small amount of lime juice and the coconut milk is added, along with the red onion, serrano chile, sea salt and freshly ground white pepper. This marinates for another hour, but not longer than 6 hours or the fish will become overdone and mushy. Using a slotted spoon to drain off some of the lime-coconut liquid, the ceviche is spooned onto coconut chunks and then garnished.  This was gone in a matter of minutes, with rave reviews.

Salmon, Halibut, and Scallop Ceviche with Coconut

You can find a printable, PDF of the recipe, here. Obviously, you want to use only fresh seafood. I adapted the recipe only slightly. I used a small red onion, an entire serrano chile (seeds removed), about 8 ounces of coconut milk, and parsley. The original recipe garnishes with fried plantains, but I went with fried won tons (John was frying won tons for his dish and offered to make some in different shapes for me). Tortilla chips would also work well. If coconut shells are too much trouble, serve the ceviche in small bowls or in sea scallop shells. 

Garnished with avocado slices, parsley or cilantro, a drizzle of olive oil and fried won tons

Men in hats - love it!

John was back at it with a Pacific Northwest version of deviled eggs -- a deconstructed smoked salmon deviled egg on a fried won ton.  The inspiration for these "eggs" came from a great party dish we've made several times -- Emeril Lagasse's savory Smoked Salmon Cheesecake. Emeril's original recipe can be found here. John halved the recipe, baked a smaller cheesecake, and used a small scoop of the baked cheesecake filling on each fried won ton. He sliced and fanned out the egg white and then garnished with crumbled egg yolk, micro basil, and drizzled on the Green Onion Coulis that accompanies the original recipe.

Deconstructed Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs with Green Onion Coulis, on Fried Won Tons

Kai prepared Mini Crab Cakes, and Hillari -- yes, Hillari, made a Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Ball rolled in pistachios.

Kai's Crab Cakes

Hillari's Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Ball

Carmen and John were in sync this week and we were able to enjoy Carmen's Smoked Salmon Cheesecake in its original glory. Carmen added a few more Pacific Northwest garnishes to her version - chopped cherries and sliced apples.

Carmen's Smoked Salmon Cheesecake

For dessert, the beautiful fresh blackberries and blueberries had been calling to me all week, so I decided to adapt Saveur's recipe for Huckleberry Crisps, double it, and make bunch of mini crisps topped with Grand Mariner whipped cream (recipe below).

Mary and Geoff surprised us, and added chocolate dipped strawberries and cookies to the dessert line up. Great to see you two a least a few times during the summer ;-)

Mary & Geoff

Mary's Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and Oatmeal, White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

Blackberry and blueberry filling for the crisps

Crumble topping

Blackberry-Blueberry Crisps
Adapted from Saveur's Huckleberry Crisps
Makes 4 servings

6 tablespoons plus 1⁄2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons flour
1⁄4 cup rolled oats
1⁄4 cup packed light brown sugar
1⁄4 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons lemon juice
3⁄4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
4 cups huckleberries or blueberries (I used 2 cups blackberries and 2 cups blueberries)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoon brandy (I used Grand Mariner)
Crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream, for serving (I used Grand Mariner-spiked whipped cream)

1. Heat oven to 350°. Place four 6-ounce fluted ceramic ramekins on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet.

2. In a medium bowl, combine 6 tablespoons sugar, flour, oats, brown sugar, walnuts, lemon zest, 1⁄4 teaspoon vanilla, 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, and cinnamon. Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until crumbly; transfer topping to freezer to let chill for 30 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, stir together the remaining sugar and salt, lemon juice, and remaining vanilla, along with the berries, cornstarch, and brandy; divide berry mixture between the ramekins. Mound some of the topping over each ramekin. Bake until the berries are bubbly and the topping is browned, 35–40 minutes. Top each crisp with a dollop of crème fraîche or whipped cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Baked and ready to go to the park

So, that was our Pacific Northwest themed picnic in the park! We'll be traveling next week and will miss Rockola, one of the most popular concerts of the summer season. However, the rest of the group has threatened to take photos and hijack the blog with a guest post. It could be interesting...

Alec's Corvette

Don't forget the wine traveler!

My Little Cutie Pie: Cranberry, Pear & Ginger Miniature Pies

Sweetie-Pie, Pie of Pies, Newfie-Pie, Noodle-Pie, Pieder-dog and Pie-Dog are just a few of the terms of endearment Dooley has acquired in his almost-13 years.

What a Cutie Pie!

Cutie Pie, Flipside, Piejar, Piepop, and Petit-5 are Danie Cone's terms of endearment for her handmade, all-natural miniature pies featured in her Cutie PIES: 40 Sweet, Savory, and Adorable Recipes, of which I recently received a review copy. Dani is also the owner of Seattle's High 5 Pie, a pie shop that sells these pies.

The cover photo of a Pear-Cranberry-Ginger Piejar looked beautiful and festive for this time of year. However, I was unable to find mini-mason jars and settled on these pretty 4 1/2-inch ramekins, from Cost Plus World Market.

Most of the recipes are adaptable for Cutie Pies (baked in a standard 12-cup muffin pan), Petit 5s (baked in a mini-muffin pan), Flipsides (updated version of the classic turnover), Pie Pops (pie lollipops), Piejars (baked in mini mason jars), or a single 9-inch pie. Piejars are the most charming to me, and would make lovely holiday gifts, so I do need to track these down. Even our local Leroy's serves desserts in jars.


Cutie Pies offers four crust options: All-Butter, Graham Cracker, Vegan, and Gluten-Free.  Some crusts work better with certain pie shapes or fillings, and that is noted in each recipe. The same applies to the three Pie Tops: Flat top, lattice top, and Crumb top. For the Cranberry-Pear-Ginger Pie, the All-Butter Crust and Crumb Top are recommended.

Cranberry-Pear-Ginger Filling

Sprinkled with Crumb Topping, and ready for baking

Cranberry-Pear-Ginger Cutie Pies
Slightly adapted from Cutie Pies: 40 Sweet, Savory and Adorable Recipes
Makes 8 Cutie Pies (4 1/2-inch ramekins)

All-Butter Pie Crust

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch cubes
½ to 3/4 cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, briefly pulse together the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the butter and pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. Add the ice water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing between each addition, until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump the dough out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Crumb Top

½ cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch cubes
1/4 cup rolled oats

In the bowl of a food processor, briefly pulse together the flour, brown sugar, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add the butter and pulse 8 to 12 times, until the size of peas. Add the oats and pulse to create a crumbly consistency.

Pear-Cranberry-Ginger Filling

3/4 cup water
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 16-ounce bag of fresh cranberries
4 medium Bosc pears
1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Pour the water and sugar into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the cranberries, lower the heat, and simmer the cranberries about 10 minutes, or until they start to pop. Drain the cranberries and set aside to cool.

Peel, core and cut the pears into ½-inch cubes.

In a large bowl, mix together the pears, ginger and cornstarch. Add the cranberries and mix to combine.

Assembly and Baking

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness, lightly dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut circles from the dough, large enough to fit in the ramekins with a little bit of an edge left to crimp. Press the dough rounds into the ramekins and crimp the edges. Spoon the filling into the ramekins. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the filling. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling.

Allow to cool, and serve warm or at room temperature. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. I served ours with whipped cream, flavored with a touch of ginger liqueur and some crystallized ginger sprinkled on top.

Served as is, with crunchy, crumbly, cinnamon topping

Kicked up a notch, with ginger liqueur spiked whipped cream
and crystallized ginger sprinkles

"Praised by Bon Appetit, DailyCandy, and Sunset magazine, the secrets behind Dani Cone's signature handmade, all-natural miniature pies are revealed for the first time inside Cutie Pies: 40 Sweet, Savory, and Adorable Recipes. Whether you're grabbing the perfectly portable Flipside on the way to work, enjoying a Piejar as a tasty afternoon treat, or looking for a fun and impressive dinner party dessert, Cutie Pies provides the perfect morsels to satisfy sweet and savory cravings alike.

Inside Cutie Pies, Cone presents 40 exclusive recipes inspired by the unique line of compact pastries she serves at her Seattle-based Fuel Coffee and High 5 Pie locations, which have received a Best of Seattle Weekly award. Sweet, one-of-a-kind treats like a Mango-Raspberry-Lemon Piepop mingle with savory recipes like Cone's Curry Veggie Piejar, all in a distinct and delightful design.

Cutie Pies is illustrated throughout with more than 20 mouthwatering, full-color photographs, and its contemporary fashion and straightforward recipes enable bakers everywhere to create these tiny treats with big flavor."  - Amazon.com

Walnut Turtle Pie, from Fleming's Prime Steakhouse

Back in early October, we spent An Afternoon at Fleming's with EC Gallery and Painter of Chefs artist, Christopher M.  The luncheon prepared by Chef Christopher Gardner was incredible, and Fleming's signature Walnut Turtle Pie, part of the dessert trio that day, had John drooling all the way home.

It was hard to pass up Bobby Flay's Throwdown Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving, but I decided to give this Turtle Pie a try.  It's more of a cake than a pie, or like a rich, chocolate brownie.  The chocolate crust becomes one with the filling as it bakes.  The center  is chocolaty and gooey, almost like a lava cake.  The rich chocolate filling coats the walnuts as they rise to the top, creating a crunchy, caramelized-walnut layer that caves back into the soft center as it cools.

Walnut Turtle Pie

Adapted from Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse
Makes two 6-inch pies

Ingredients for the Crust:

8 ounces all purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup cocoa powder
½ lb. unsalted butter (cold, ½-inch dice)
2-3 tablespoons ice water
Pan coating

Ingredients for the Filling:

1 ¼ cup light corn syrup
½ lb. unsalted butter
½ teaspoon salt
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 large eggs
1 ¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup dark Crème de Cocoa (a chocolate flavored liqueur with hints of vanilla)
12 ounces walnuts, roughly chopped

Preparation:

Make the crust by combining the 8 ounces flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, cocoa powder and ½ pound diced butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium-low speed until cornmeal consistency. Add 2 tablespoons of ice water and mix just to form into a smooth ball (use extra tablespoon if dough doesn't come together). Divide the dough in half.

Lightly flour a cutting board and roll out the first piece of dough to a 10” circle, about ¼ inch thick. Spray the inside of the pan lightly with pan coating, such as Pam, and then gently lay one crust inside, and press down on the bottom and up the sides. The crust should come up the inside side of the pan about 2 inches. Repeat with the other piece of dough and pan. Place pans in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

For the filling, combine corn syrup and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a low boil. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1 ¾ cup sugar, vanilla and dark Crème de Cocoa; add the reserved corn syrup and chocolate mixture, and blend well (I also used the electric mixer for this step).

Sprinkle the walnuts evenly over the bottom of the crusts, and then pour in the batter. Place the pans on a baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees F (300 degrees F for a convection oven) for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the center of the pies puff up and appear set.

Remove pies from the oven, and allow to cool for 15 minutes at room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Store leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Serve with whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.

A slice of chocolate heaven

Preparation Photos and Newfie Notes:

Fleming's recipe provides quantities for 2 cakes and 4 cakes, but doesn't specify what size cakes.  I'm assuming, by the instructions to roll the dough to 12 inch circles, that they are using 8 or 9 inch pans (the recipe says to use cheesecake pans).  However, I recently bought two, 6-inch cake pans with removable bottoms, which is why I adapted the recipe for these pans. I had a little left over dough and filling, so I experimented with a third pie in a 3 1/2 inch ramekin.  I like smaller cakes and really love the size of these pans, but you could use these same quantities to make one large turtle pie using a 9-inch cheesecake pan.

Before baking

I took the small ramekin out of the oven after 50 minutes.  The 6-inch pies were still a little jiggly in the center at 1 hour and 30 minutes, so I baked them about 10 minutes more.  They puffed up and cracked slightly, and the centers then sunk back down as they cooled.

After baking

I served the first pie that evening, after about 3-4 hours of refrigeration.  It was gooey in the center, which is actually how it was served at Fleming's.  The second cake firmed up slightly, after refrigeration overnight.

Petite Turtle Pie

Coronado Concerts in the Park - New England Cuisine

We enjoyed a long, warm and glorious summer weekend in Mayberry. Tourists swarmed the island, parking was non-existent, and the only option was biking or walking to the next destination. Those, however, were also the safest options, with wine and sangria flowing freely at the Concert in the Park on Sunday, Bloody Marys galore at P & J's before the big Parade on Monday, and a new batch of sangrias and mimosas for sipping during the Parade.

Our culinary theme for Sunday's Concert was New England Cuisine.  I've spent a few days in Jamestown, RI, which reminded me of an east coast version of Coronado, and a quick in and out of Boston, MA, but I haven't had the pleasure of visiting any of the other New England states.

Renowned for its fresh seafood and down-to-earth regional ingredients, New England cuisine has been a staple of American cooking since the days of the Pilgrims, who wrote about the region’s bountiful “fruits of the sea.” Much of New England’s culinary traditions today can be traced back to the early English settlers, who began cooking with the ingredients found in the area’s fertile landscape. In the past 200 years, Italian Americans, Irish Americans, and coastal Portuguese have all left their mark on New England cuisine [The Culinary Institute of America].

Kai kicked off the celebration with Lobster Rolls. A traditional lobster roll contains the fresh cooked meat of a lobster, tossed with mayonnaise and served on a grilled hot dog bun or similar roll, so that the opening is on the top rather than on the side. The filling may also contain diced celery and/or scallion, or may use drawn butter instead of or in addition to mayonnaise. The sandwich may also contain lettuce, lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Traditional New England restaurants serve lobster rolls (made with butter, not mayonnaise) with potato chips or french fries on the side. Unfortunately, while I was busy grilling White Clam Pies, they disappeared before I could get my hands on one.

Alec and Nina sported patriotic tees, Alec in the Cape Cod one above, and Nina in this one.

Nina made this dark, slightly sweet, New England or Boston Brown Bread.  Slathered with a little butter...so good!

I did manage to swipe a few of Alec's Clams Casino, a dish originating in Narragansett, Rhode Island, before they disappeared.

Although I bitched and moaned quite a bit during the preparation of homemade pizza dough, my White Clam Pies turned out quite nice. Pepe's Pizzeria Napoletana, in New Haven, CT, opened in 1925, and, to this day, Pepe's premier pizza is its white clam pie. It's made without mozzarella, and is nothing but crust strewn with freshly-shucked littleneck clams, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and a dash of grated cheese.

I added some fresh mozzarella to mine, and a little arugula salad dressed with olive oil and lemon, on top. For the crust, I used Jim Lahey's No-Knead Pizza Dough, and I adapted Mario Batali's White Clam Pie and Food Network's White Clam Pizza recipes for the topping.

Mary and Geoff made it down from Del Mar to join us. Attempting to grill pizza in the park is challenging and fun, but I missed out on tasting many of the dishes in the process, including their scallop dish.

Geoff is looking rather tan and rested after their month-long vacation in Bali.  I am so ready to retire and travel to a few exotic destinations!

Jack and Sandra, just back from celebrating Sandra's birthday in Las Vegas, came bearing a large platter of sandwiches.

Nina wasn't kidding when she e-mailed me the week before the Concert, saying she couldn't decide between Lobster Pie, Brown Bread or Boston Cream Pie. She went with the Brown Bread and this lovely Boston Cream Pie. In 1996, the Boston Cream Pie was declared the official dessert of Massachusetts. It's not a pie, but a pudding and cake combination comprised of two layers of sponge cake filled with vanilla custard or crème pâtissière, and topped with chocolate ganache. Nina glammed hers up with fresh blueberries, raspberries, and mint sprigs. The late afternoon sun wreaked havoc on the ganache.

Mom set her sites on Thomas Keller's Blueberry Cobbler, from Ad Hoc at Home, and I was able to secure the most beautiful, plump blueberries from Little Italy's Farmers' Market.

Keller's cobbler has more of a cake-like topping to soak up all the juices. Here's the recipe.

The evening was peacefully winding down, our tummies were full, our sweet cravings satisfied, and Brad was settling back comfortably into his chair....

And then it happened. Thankfully, I didn't see the stalk, and then the pounce, as Bridezilla decided to intrude on our circle of friends, and continue in her harassment and immature behavior. It appears the honeymoon was short-lived and she was bored dancing with Cheapass-Jackass her new husband.

She pulled poor Bradley out of his chair, dragged him out to the dance floor, and then proceeded to bump and grind him to pieces. Jim appeared very distraught, even more than he was earlier in the evening when he told us he suffocated five dozen mussels the night before (see Safely Storing Oysters and Other Mulluscan Shellfish).

Everything spiraled downhill from there. A eucalyptus branch snapped and fell, hitting the crowd below...

And Sparks spilled her vodka tonic all over Kellee's beautiful French pedicure and gorgeous sandals...

Fortunately, we were all able to recover by the next morning and make it to Bob's prime parade viewing site for the Parade, mimosas, and more sangria.

Bradley was able to relax, once again.

For my album of Coronado's Fourth of July Parade photos, check out NewfFacebook.