Sweet Summer

I'm not much of a sweet person. On any given day, I'd rather dig my fork into a big bowl of noodles than eat a slice of cake.

I like to think that brunch defines whether a person is inclined towards sweet or savory foods. We all know people who order french toast and pancakes lathered in syrup on Saturday mornings; that would never be me. I love eggs Benedict (bring on the smoked salmon), quiches, and plain old bacon and eggs (fried, of course). Did I ever mention how much I love eggs?

Every once in awhile, though, I crave something sugar-laden—and it's usually after dinner. This summer, the fruit was so amazing at the farmer's markets, it inspired me to make dessert.

So here I was, baking sour cherry and almond bread,

a blueberry-lavender crumble,

a peach and blackberry cobbler with almond crust,

and two fig and franginpane tarts.

I'm sad summer has slipped away—not just because warm weather already seems like a distant memory, but also because I won't see the jewel-toned fruits at the market.

Until next year.

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

One of my greatest culinary joys is taking a big bite of fresh, perfectly seasoned pasta. That being said, it should be of utmost importance that I learn how to create that experience in my own kitchen.

Yesterday, I spent the entire day making pasta with my good friend from culinary school, Amanda. We experimented with different ratios (semolina + AP flour, semolina + water, egg + AP, etc.), making a total of six doughs.

We discovered some keepers as well as some we won't be making again. Below was our favorite.

Nine Yolk Dough

1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) AP flour

9 egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1 tablespoon milk

Couple pinches of kosher salt

1. Place the flour on a work surface and make a large well in the center. Add the yolks, oil, milk and salt. Using your finger, slowly incorporate the liquid ingredients. When partially incorporated (not too runny), use a dough cutter to fully blend the ingredients.

2. Bring the dough together with your hands (it will look flaky). Knead it with the heels of your hands. Reform into a ball and repeat several times. If too dry, add a bit of oil or milk; if too wet, add a bit of flour. Continue kneading until the dough becomes soft and silky. Be patient—this can take 10 to 15 minutes. Don't worry about over-kneading the dough.

3. Double-wrap the dough in plastic so it doesn't dry out. Let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling it through a pasta machine. It can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, but make sure it comes to room temperature before using.

We used the dough for two types of ravioli (arugula-Pecorino as well as fresh corn-smoked mozzarella). Both were amazing.

Originally, we were following a recipe from The French Laundry Cookbook, but Amanda and I changed it so much we think of it as our own.

Barilla, you've got nothin' on us.

Pesto Presto

I have garlic breath.

Some might consider this a bit of a problem; I'm OK with it. Don't worry—I'm at home on my couch far away from crowds. Yes, I'll brush my teeth later, but right now, I can't get enough of the pesto I made the other day using garlic scapes.

This weekend, I experimented with the short-lived delicacy for the first time. If you're unfamiliar, garlic scapes are the curly tendrils that grow above ground as the bulb is forming underneath. The season is brief, so I suggest getting your hands on them as soon as you can.

To truly capture their flavor, I decided on a quick pesto.

Garlic Scape Pesto

8-10 garlic scapes, roughly chopped

1/2 cup basil, packed

1/3 cup walnuts, toasted

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place scapes, basil, walnuts and lemon juice in a food processor and blend until well combined. Slowly drizzle in oil and process again until well combined. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

I used a good portion of the garlic-y, green goodness for dinner the first night, combining it with freshly cooked fava beans, chopped toasted walnuts and kamut. I topped the dish with a fried egg (there's something amazing about pesto and a runny egg—well, pretty much anything a runny egg). I've been using the leftover pesto to spread on whole-grain crackers.

There's only a handful of scapes remaining in my fridge. The plan is to quickly sauté them and toss them on pizza with some fresh mozzarella and olive oil.

Guess I'll be scraping by on scapes until next weekend—that is, if the farmers' market still has them around.

Oeuf!... I Did it Again

Day 53

Consomme was consuming my life before; now it's poached eggs.

I think I have the clear soup down. It no longer intimidates me like it did a few weeks ago. What is scary is poached eggs over cooked vegetables with hollandaise. Individually, all the components for the dish aren't too bad. Something changes, though, when they're all put together.

It's funny, because this seems to be the one dish with which the majority of the class has issues. For many, it's the hollandaise. I don't want to jinx myself, but I find the sauce enjoyable to make (besides the fact that I apparently over-salted it last week). I've never really had problems with it breaking like the others.

Today, the vegetables were my obstacle of all things. They were a runny mess and weren't seasoned properly. Hopefully it's an easy fix for Friday when we have to make the dish AGAIN.

Hit me baby, one more time.

Feeling Salty

Day 49

Perfectly poached eggs. Ideal temperature. Good taillage. Nice consistency on the sauce—and it didn't break!

Overboard on the salt. Uh, oh, oh, oh, oh: the white stuff.

It's funny, because when I started culinary school, everyone warned me that the chefs are always criticizing students for not using enough salt. So as a habit, I always add an extra pinch just when I think a dish is flavored to my taste. For the most part, it's been OK; I've usually been told my sauces are well-seasoned. Today, I guess I had a heavy hand on the hollandaise sauce, which was served over poached eggs and cooked vegetables.

For the amuse bouche, one of my teammates—who happens to be from Thailand—made beautiful Thai egg netting, which we wrapped around medium-rare slices of steak, caramelized pears and goat cheese. It was pretty awesome.

Tomorrow is that two-dish thing: Each student has to prepare the fish dish from earlier in the week as well as the lemon tart. After cooking, we're taking an exam.

Talk about adding salt to a wound.

Get Crackin'

Day 26

If asked to list my top five favorite foods, eggs would likely make the cut. So it's no surprise that I've been looking forward to the day dedicated to the incredible edible protein ever since I cracked open the Level 2 book.

My preferential egg is either sunny side up or over-easy; either way, the yolk is extremely runny. I love them straight up with salt and pepper, paired with a hamburger, or atop a pile of hot pasta. That's what I call a good egg.

The lesson succeeded in teaching me some new techniques. We started class with a couple demos. Chef made us oeufs brouilles, or French-style scrambled eggs. They are much better than the American style, which I associate with being dry, neon yellow and under-flavored—probably the result of one too many bad hotel continental breakfasts. French scrambled eggs are soft, a bit runny and light yellow, due to the addition of cream and butter. Yum.

Chef then showed us the proper way to poach an egg and sent us on our way. I love the "swirl" technique, where you stir the simmering water and distilled vinegar mixture and drop your egg in the middle of the mini tornado. It forms the best looking poached egg you've ever witnessed. I will definitely be more apt to make eggs Benedict (Ryan's favorite) on Sunday mornings.

Oeufs cocotte a la creme (baked eggs with cream) came next. The eggs were placed in a ramekin dish with heavy cream and a bit of either chorizo or foie gras, and the dish was set in a bain-marie for gentle cooking in the oven. It's a great dish for entertaining.

Of course, we also worked on our omelet-flipping skills. For me, this is going to take some practice. Every time I flip, the omelet breaks. Chef said the key is to brown the bottom of the omelet and use a significant amount of olive oil. I prefer the rolled omelet (not the flat, Basque-style one) not only because it doesn't require flipping but also because the eggs are supposed to be a little runny on the inside.

The class ended with stuffed eggs, Chimay style, which are basically amped up deviled eggs. The stuffing is a blend of the hard-boiled yolk, mushroom duxelle and Mornay sauce (a bechamel with gruyere). The egg halves are covered with the sauce and shredded cheese, then placed under a broiler until they brown.

At this point, I should be egged out. Instead, I went home and made sabayon and spooned it over fresh berries.

It was egg-actly what I needed.