Jun 2007

Apricot and Berry Crumble

Berry and Apricot Crumble

An excerpt from Ruth Reichl’s Gourmet Weekly e-newsletter—

The first California apricots showed up at the market this week, which makes me absurdly happy. Fresh apricots, with their understated tartness, make the best—and easiest—desserts. You don’t even need a knife to cut them. Here’s my favorite crumble:

  • 2 pounds apricots
  • 1 stick butter
  • 3/4 C. sugar
  • 3/4 C. flour
  • Grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pull apart 2 pounds of apricots, remove pits, and put apricots in a pie plate.

If you don’t have 2 pounds of apricots or want to include berries into the mix, add an assortment of blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc. to equal 2 pounds of fruit total.

Melt 1 stick of butter and stir in 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup flour. Grate in a bit of fresh nutmeg and cover apricots with the mixture. Bake for about 40 minutes and serve warm, with vanilla ice cream.

Berry and Apricot Crumble

Jun 2007

Audrey Claire – Philadelphia

May 25, 2007
Cuisine: American (New), Tapas

276 S 20th Street, Philadelphia 19103
Between Rittenhouse Square & Spruce Street

Phone: 215-731-1222
Website: http://www.audreyclaire.com

Course I: Spicy Hummus, House Cured Salmon and Mesclun with Herb Vinaigrette Flatbread ($9.50)

Course II: Buffalo Mozzarella, Plum Tomatoes, and Israeli Basil Flatbread ($9)

Course III: Grilled Octopus with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Lemon and Fresh Herbs Over Greens ($8)

Course IV: Grilled Shrimp with Saffron Rice, Spring Peas, Chorizo and Paprika Vinaigrette ($11)

Course V: Spiced Lamb Meatball with Chickpea-Carrot Salad ($10)

Course VI: Sauteed Softshell Crabs with Black Bean and Roasted Corn Salsa ($23)

After four years of arduous seminars, tough problem sets, and way too much stress, the madness that is Swarthmore College finally ended for The Astronomer late last week. To properly commemorate this red letter day, champagne, good food, and great friends were in order. The Astronomer and I, along with his BFF Matt and teammate Connor, headed over to Audrey Claire for a celebratory feast with a bottle of bubbly in hand (and a lot of beers too).

Due to the extensive wait for a table outside, we opted to sit indoors. Luckily our group was large enough to merit our own table rather than a communal one because I hate hearing other diners’ conversations, which is oftentimes unavoidable in this compact space.

I always have a blast eating at Audrey Claire because the menu encourages mixing and matching flavors and sharing food family-style. My dining partners were refreshingly open-minded eaters so it was a breeze choosing which dishes to order.

We started off with two of Audrey Claire’s signature flatbreads. The spicy hummus with house cured salmon did not disappoint. I’ve tried this dish once prior and it was just as good as I remembered. Truly a perfect summertime delight. The Buffalo mozzarella, plum tomatoes, and Israeli basil flatbread was excellent as well, but perhaps too closely resembled a pizza. High quality ingredients and simple flavors are what makes these flatbreads sensational.

The Astronomer insisted that we order the grilled octopus because he is mildly obsessed with the tentacled creature. When the dish arrived, we were all let down by the ratio of octopus to greens; from the menu’s description we thought the octopus would be the star. Expectations aside, the dish was pleasantly light and the octopus was decent in spite of being chopped up into bits.

Our fourth course was chosen by Matt—Grilled Shrimp with Saffron Rice, Spring Peas, Chorizo and Paprika Vinaigrette. The one shrimp I had was suitable, but not as jumbo or juicy as I would have liked. The vinaigrette added a lovely tang to the shrimp. We all agreed that the saffron rice was more or less blah. I’m always surprised by how mild saffron tastes because its dying properties are indeed phenomenal.

Our fifth course—Spiced Lamb Meatball with Chickpea-Carrot Salad—was the highlight of the evening and perhaps the best dish I’ve ever eaten at Audrey Claire. The meatballs were intensely savory and impressively retained a deep lamb flavor. The chickpea-carrot salad was sweet, cinnamon-y, and amazingly delicious. The Astronomer usually shuns chickpeas, but loved the salad a great deal. A subtle mint sauce brought the dish to a whole new level.

Our final course was one of the evening’s specials—softshell crabs. Two good-sized crabs were fried up nicely, drizzled with spicy mayonnaise, and paired with a black bean and roasted corn salsa. The individual elements of the dish were tasty, but the entree overall lacked a certain something to tie it all together. I’m always a sucker for ordering specials and unfortunately they always seem to be a let down; I need to stick to the tried and true menu items.

FYI: this post marks the 100th restaurant review on gas•tron•o•my!

Dessert at Capogiro

Audrey Claire on Urbanspoon

May 2007

Walnut Bridge Coffee House – Philadelphia

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May 24, 2007
Cuisine: Coffee, Sandwiches, Pastries

2319 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Phone: 215-496-9003
Website: http://www.walnutbridgecoffeehouse.com/

turkey crop

Turkey Panini ($6.50)

Vegetarian

Vegetarian Panini ($6.50)

My friend Wes and I met up at the Walnut Bridge Coffee House last week for a laid-back lunch. After running by this shop twice daily to and from the Schuylkill River, it was nice to finally sit down and enjoy the coffee house’s wonderful ambiance and colorful decor. During our visit, the work of German artist Connie Reschke lit up the already vibrant walls.

Walnut Bridge serves up Illy Coffee, a good selection of pastries, and oodles of gourmet chocolates, but on this midday visit Wes and I both ordered paninis. After making our selections and paying at the counter, the paninis were grilled in the kitchen and brought to our table.

My vegetarian panini, stuffed with tomatoes, red peppers, fresh mozzarella, artichokes, and basil, was marvelous! The cheese melted beautifully under the press and the bread was perfectly toasted. The artichokes and tomatoes were fresh and delicious as well. This panini rivals Già Pronto’s as the city’s best.

Wes’ panini contained tomatoes, red peppers, fresh mozzarella, basil and thin slices of turkey. Unfortunately, too much basil kept Wes from totally enjoying his sandwich.

Walnut Bridge Coffee House on Urbanspoon