the thin chef

I’ve always thought that citrus is nature’s way of giving us hope that sunnier, warmer days are right around the corner. Think about it: these tart-sweet, refreshing, bright fruits are like sunshine in a bite. And the height of their season is the coldest part of the year. Although it’s been in the high 70s and low 80s here in Florida, I’ve heard it’s been a frosty last few weeks of winter in the rest of the country. Citrus to the rescue! I’ve already told you how I was lucky enough to grow up with oranges, grapefruit, lemons, tangerines, and kumquats in my backyard (literally). I love citrus, so when Food52 announced this contest, I knew what I was going to make. (Unfortunately, due to user error I’m sure, my tart didn’t make it into the entries. My computer froze, I never went back, and realized it a day too late. Nerds.)

But I’m still glad I made this tart. It’s a little time consuming, but the steps are simple. And it’s worth it to bite into the creamy, dreamy center and taste the sunny orange slices and rich chocolate crust. The filling reminded me of a dreamsicle, all creamy and smooth and just orangey enough to be fresh. The chocolate-crumb crust is made even richer with a layer of dark chocolate ganache, an addition that gives the tart a lovely, silky texture. Even though it didn’t make it into the contest, Jason and I loved it, and I hope you will, too.

Creamsicle Tart with Chocolate Crust
Makes 1 (9-inch) tart

If you have unsalted sliced almonds, just add a bit of salt to the crust. It shouldn’t taste salty, but you should know the salt is there.

Crust
8 chocolate graham crackers
1/4 cup (heaping) salted sliced almonds
1 tablespoon sugar
7 tablespoons butter, melted

Creamsicle custard filling
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup whole milk
Zest of 2 large oranges
6 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate ganache
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped

Orange topping
4 large oranges, peel and white pith removed, cut into segments and patted dry with paper towels

For the crust

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine graham crackers and almonds in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely ground.
3. Place crumbs in a bowl and add sugar and butter, stirring with a fork to combine. Pour mixture into a 9-inch tart pan with removable sides. Push crumbs into bottom and up sides of pan, making sure the crust is even.
4. Bake until firm, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For the creamsicle custard filling

1. Combine cream, milk and orange zest in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir to combine.
2. Bring cream mixture just to a simmer, then remove from heat. Set aside to steep for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
4. Add steeped cream to the egg yolk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly.

For the chocolate ganache

1. Heat cream in a small saucepan or in the microwave until hot.
2. Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour cream over chocolate, and stir until chocolate is fully melted and mixture is smooth.

Assemble tart

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Pour about 3/4 of the chocolate ganache into the bottom of the crust, and gently spread to edges.
3. Pour custard filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl with a spout.
4. Place crust (in pan) on a baking sheet, and place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven.
5. Carefully pour custard filling into crust over ganache. Fill almost to the top of crust.
6. Bake tart until filling is mostly set but still wobbles slightly in the center, about 30 minutes.
7. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then gently remove ring, and cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate tart until set, at least 3 hours.
8. Top with orange segments.

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It’s been cooler—and far, far drier—here in central Florida than it usually is in October, which is a welcome and unexpected break from the heat and humidity of summertime. It actually feels like fall, and that’s pretty unusual for early October.

The last three years, we lived in Birmingham, Alabama, which (among its other delightful aspects) actually has four—count ‘em, four—distinct seasons, something we just don’t get in central Florida. So I was, let’s say, a little wistful on the first day of fall, knowing I was back in the two-seasons-at-best Sunshine state. But then…oh, then…the air dried out, the temperatures dropped to a chilly 75 degrees, and we had fall.

So, what do I do in response? I make apple crisp. I had planned to make apple brown betty, but I decided that the chunkier texture from a crisp or crumble is really what I wanted. I am not really a dessert person, and I am certainly not a baker. But I love a fruit crisp. This, really, is what autumn is all about, no? Eating warming, seasonal foods that remind us that the seasons (like life) are always in motion, are always changing, and are something to be celebrated.

Classic Apple Crisp
serves 4 to 6
My version is light on the sweetness, so adjust the sugar accordingly if you know you like your desserts super sweet. If you don’t have pure maple syrup on hand, please do not use pancake syrup. Substitute with brown sugar (and go buy some pure maple syrup!). Whole wheat flour adds an extra hint of heartiness, but if all-purpose is all you have, by all means, use that. Finally, you can easily double this recipe using a 9×13-inch baking dish.

4 small gala apples
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1 to 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, depending on the sweetness of your apples
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons room-temperature butter

Preheat oven to 350º.

Peel apples; slice the “cheeks” off of the cores, and discard cores. Slice apples into 1/4-inch slices, place in an 8×6-inch (or similar) baking dish, and toss with lemon juice and maple syrup. Taste a slice, and see if it tastes sweet enough; if not, add a bit more maple syrup. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, almonds, and cinnamon. Using your fingers, work in the butter until the mixture resembles wet sand, and it sticks together in clumps. Taste, and add more sugar if you think it should be sweeter.

Pour topping over apples in the baking dish. Bake for 22 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and apples are just tender. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream for extra oohs and aahs.

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Yesterday, walking through my parents’ backyard—which winds almost an acre behind their house—I realized that I completely take it for granted. I was fortunate enough to grow up with a backyard full of prolific citrus trees. These beautiful trees have limbs that sigh under the weight of grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, mandarin oranges, kumquats, and lemons.

When I was growing up, and still to this day, the fridge is always stocked with fresh juice that my dad lovingly hand squeezes every weekend. On the kitchen floor are galvanized buckets full of fruit for snacking. I think I got, like, 1 cold all through high school, most likely thanks to my daily high doses of vitamin C.

Citrus is innately Florida. Most of the old money here came from the citrus business, and most of the central part of the state where we live and where I grew up was, at one time, all orange groves. Even when I was in high school, there were still sprawling old groves that were eventually torn down for housing developments. (Though I’m fairly certain these groves had been overcome by citrus canker, a disease that renders the fruit too ugly to sell.) When I would drive home from college in the springtime, I’d roll down my windows when I got into town to smell the orange blossoms. Forever and ever, citrus will mean home to me.

I grabbed a few oranges from one of my parents’ trees yesterday…and on this gorgeous, blue-sky-perfect spring afternoon, I decided to use them to make a sunny cocktail. I don’t always love bourbon, but with fresh orange, it’s lovely. A few bubbles courtesy of some Perrier lightened it up just enough for an effervescent afternoon libation.

Sweet Orange + Bourbon Cocktail
makes 1

1 ounce bourbon
3 ounces fresh orange juice
Sparkling water

Pour bourbon over ice in a glass. Add orange juice. Top with as much sparkling water as you prefer (just taste as you go). Best enjoyed outside in the sun under blue skies.

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There might be three words that seem to be the key to maintaining a healthy weight, having energy in the morning, and starting your day off right. Don’t. Skip. Breakfast. Even Jason, who used to claim he “just wasn’t a breakfast person” has noticed a difference since he started eating a regular morning meal.

Though it can take an extra few minutes in your morning routine, breakfast is something everyone should make time for. And making something portable for breakfast is always a good idea—either something that you can eat at your desk, or even better, as you walk out the door/in your car/on the train.

Breakfast sandwiches are nothing new. Actually, some of the absolute worst-for-you breakfasts are contained in sandwiches. But the concept is, well, pretty brilliant. While most of us are familiar with the savory bacon-egg-and-cheese bagels or sausage biscuits, I bet you haven’t seen many sandwiches that lean toward the sweet side of things.

I made this recipe to accomplish a laundry list of ideal breakfast goals. Filling but not heavy, check. Nutritious, check. Protein-plus-grain, check. It also hits the all-important mobile breakfast quality—you can eat it with one hand. Good morning!

Peanut-Butter Waffle Breakfast Sammy
makes 1 sandwich

2 whole-grain waffles (such as Van’s)
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 banana, sliced or 6 thin apple slices
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Toast waffles and top each half with one tablespoon of peanut butter. Top one half with banana or apple slices, sprinkle with cinnamon, and top with other waffle.

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As some of you know, for my master’s thesis, I created a healthy eating magazine for parents with young kids. I developed a handful of healthy but yummy recipes that would get lots of good-for-you things into kids but still taste delish.

They were a hit with my tasters (a bunch of 13-year-olds) and I think they do a pretty good job of being healthy. But just because kids would like them doesn’t mean grownups won’t. I had sort of forgotten about these recipes, but now that it’s so darn hot outside, lighter, healthier fare just seems appropriate. Hope you enjoy!

Sweet and Savory Chicken salad
serves 4
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt
1 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons agave nectar*
1/2 apple, diced
1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Place chicken breast in shallow pan. Add chicken broth and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 5 minutes. Turn off heat, and allow chicken to cook 10 minutes more, or until the middle is no longer pink.
2. While chicken cooks, whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, and agave nectar in a large bowl.
3. Remove chicken from broth, and set aside until cool enough to handle. When cool, cut chicken into bite-size cubes, and place in bowl. Add fruits, almonds, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.
4. To pack for lunch, put 1 cup of the chicken salad inside a whole-wheat pita pocket or place leaves of bibb lettuce at the bottom of a resealable plastic container, and mound 1 cup of chicken salad on top.

*Agave nectar is a sweetener made from the agave plant that doesn’t cause spikes in blood sugar. You can substitute with honey.

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The plums in the market right now are so lush, the skin so purple it’s almost black. I love the flavor dichotomy of ripe plums — the first bite of skin and fruit is tart, but as you get closer to the pit, the flesh gets sweeter. There are 2,000 varieties of plums, but only about 20 types are generally sold in the U.S., several of which were available at Publix. I grabbed a few classic purple ones, red ones, a green one and even a red-flecked pluot, which is a cross-breed of a plum and an apricot.

I got home and realized that, on impulse, I’d gotten far too many and they’d probably be overripe before I could eat them all. I decided to cut them into chunks and mix them with some cantaloupe, some fresh lime juice, mint and a touch of sugar for a salad. The combination of the flavors and textures of the different plums made for a lovely mix. The smaller, green ones are tart and firm, while the darker ones are sweet and softer. The melon added another layer of flavor, while the lime and mint added some depth. You could certainly sub out the cantaloupe for honeydew, and add in some peaches, blueberries or any other summery fruit you think would work well. This keeps well in the fridge — I ate it for three days and it was just as good (if not better) the second and third day.

Plum and Melon Salad
makes about 2 1/2 cups
1 or 2 medium purple plums, pitted and cubed
1 small green plum, pitted and cubed
1 medium red plum, pitted and cubed
1 pluot, pitted and cubed
1/4 t0 1/2 cantaloupe, peeled and cubed
Juice of one small lime
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint

Combine everything in a large bowl, toss to coat fruit in juice and sugar. Cover and refrigerate at least 1/2 hour. Stir before serving. Keeps up to four days, refrigerated.

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