Sausage for Tom

We had Tom over for dinner. He brought us a Gazpacho Soup made from his home grown tomatoes. It was chilled and delicious.

We decided to make Grilled Sausage and Radicchio from a recipe in the New York Times. We purchased the Sausages from McCall’s Meat and Fish. The fennel sausages are just wonderful, big and plump and juicy. I made enough so Tom and I could have leftover sausages. Unfortunately the Radicchio was very bitter even with the addition of Balsamic Vinegar. Sometimes that happens. You can get the recipe from our blog of: July 13, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

I have been experimenting with grilling using more natural wood and less briquettes. I think it makes for a smokier taste to the grilled foods.

Surprisingly, at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market they had shelled lima beans. So we made a Lima Bean Puree using a recipe for Fava Bean Puree. You can find the recipe on our blog of: April 26, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

For dessert we made Fig Clafoutis from Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells. It is a wonderful dish and relatively easy to make.

Fig Clafoutis

Bistro Cooking

Patricia Wells

One fall weekend years ago we were driving around in the Savoy and walked into a pretty little restaurant for dinner. Sitting on the counter was one of the most beautiful fig tarts one could imagine. I was mentally putting in my order for dessert, when I heard the owner say, complet—all booked. There would be no dinner there, what's more, no fig tart. Ever since, fig desserts have reminded me of that mythic tart. This clafoutis, rich with the flavor of honey and figs, always reminds me of Provence. The exact number of figs used will depend on their size.

4         tablespoons (2 ounces) un-salted butter

2         heaping tablespoons full-flavored honey

½         teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon

10 to 12 (about 2 pounds) large fresh figs, stemmed and halved

lengthwise

6         large eggs

½         cup Vanilla Sugar

1         cup milk

2/3         cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

Confectioners' sugar

1.            Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2.            Butter and sugar a 10!/2-inch ceramic baking dish or pie plate.

3.            Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Set aside to cool.

4.            Warm the honey and cinnamon in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Roll each fig half in the honey mixture. Arrange them, cut sides up, in the prepared baking dish.

5.            Combine the eggs and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until frothy. Slowly incorpo­rate the milk, hour, salt, and melted butter. Be sure that the mixture is well blended.

Pour the batter over the figs. Bake until the batter is firm and golden, from 30 to 35 minutes. Re­move to a rack to cool. When slightly cooled, sprinkle on confectioners' sugar. Serve warm or at room tem­perature.

Yield: 8 servings