Filled with the tedium of email set up, benefit paperwork, orientations and trainings, my first week was not exactly a culinary dream. Yet, each morning I would walk through that vestibule and be transported to the warm summer afternoons of my youth, coming in from playing on the swing set in the backyard or later coming home from a day idling cruising around in someone’s nearly broken down boat of a car with the windows down and the music up to a dinner of chicken and dumplings, sliced tomatoes from pop’s garden, and a warm peach crisp for dessert. Each morning I walked through that vestibule, I knew as soon I could start cooking, it would be that memory I wanted to share first.
There are many ingredients that beg you to do nothing. It can be a shame to fiddle with the sheer perfection of a juices-running-down-your-arm peach, a pristinely briny oyster, or a tomato still hot from the garden by sautéing, braising, or any such nonsense. I am, however, a chef, and sometimes I just can’t help myself. I need to get my hands in and my creation on. Early this summer, when I first started walking through that vestibule it was the strawberries that called to me. So, I did what I had to do. For my very first cooking demonstration, I made strawberry rhubarb crisp. The crisp is a fantastic way to do almost nothing to perfect fruit, whether the fruit is sweet juicy summer berries, luscious stone fruit, or tart fall apples. I knew it would be a great way for me to celebrate the coming summer, the glorious produce, and – secretly – present to strangers what moves me about food. And they got it.
So I suppose being able to share what food inspires in me with random strangers as they gobble up what I created, snap up the recipe, read it carefully, and ask me questions about, may indeed be the best thing about my new job. . .but that vestibule really is something to behold.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Fruit:
3 lbs Fresh Strawberries
2 lbs Fresh Rhubarb
1 c White Sugar
½ c Brown Sugar, packed
1/3 c All-Purpose Flour
Streusel (Crisp Topping):
1 ½ c All-Purpose Flour
1 c Brown Sugar, packed
½ c White Sugar
½ lb (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, Cold, plus an extra T room temp for buttering pan
1 c Quick Oats
½ t Kosher Salt
¼ t Ground Cinnamon
¼ t Ground Nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Dice butter into small pieces and then return it to the refrigerator so it stays very cold. Butter a 9x13 baking dish.
For the Fruit:
Trim the ends of the rhubarb, split them in half lengthwise, and slice the stalks into ¼ inch slices. Hull and cut the strawberries in halves or quarters, depending on the size of each berry, the pieces should be fairly uniform. Toss the fruit with sugars, salt, and flour and let the mixture sit at room temperature while you make the streusel. The liquids will release somewhat.
For the Streusel:
Mix flour, sugars, oats, and spices with a whisk so they are incorporated, making sure to break up the brown sugar. Cut the cold butter into the mixture using a pastry cutter, stand mixer, or two knives until the biggest pieces are the size of lentils.
Putting it all together:
Pour the fruit mixture into the buttered baking dish. Top with the oat mixture loosely; use your hands or a spoon to do this. It will be a thick layer, slightly higher than the sides of the baking dish. Do not pack the mixture down.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbling at the edges. You may put the baking dish on a sheet tray to catch any dripping. Let the crisp cool at least 30 minutes before digging in or the fruit will be too runny. Serve it warm or at room temperature; plain or topped vanilla ice cream.
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