Thomcord Grape Tart

I try to avoid featuring obscure ingredients (though I know some of our favorite flavors are harder to find in areas without so many diverse markets). Today, however, I'm highlighting a variety of grape I've only found in two places: If you can find them, get your hands on some Thomcord grapes.

As a kid, I loved grape jam. Ordinary green and red grapes were such a disappointment in comparison. Eventually I found some Concord grapes at the market, but the seeds are a deal-breaker for me. Enter Thomcord grapes, a cross between Concord and Thompson. They have all the sweet, jammy flavor with none of the seeds. I shared some with friends the other day who said they're like grape candy. They're tiny, a great size for packing in lunch boxes, and they pop with flavor when you eat them. By the handful.

The Thomcord season here just started a few weeks ago. My favorite grape stand at the market offers four or five varieties, but it's the Thomcords that draw a crowd. Get your hands on some if you can! I failed to capture their beautiful purple color in the photo below: Trust me. Gorgeous.

Thomcord Grape Tart

You can substitute Concord grapes if you can't find Thomcord grapes, but you'll need to remove the seeds. Red grapes or Zante currants (champagne grapes) might work nicely, but I haven't tried it.

Crust
8 ounces gingersnap cookies (or graham crackers)
5 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling
8 ounces plain, non-fat Greek-style yogurt
8 ounces light cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar grated zest from 1 orange

Topping
2 pounds Thomcord grapes
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To prepare the crust, pulse cookies in a food processor until ground to fine crumbs. (Alternatively, you can put the cookies in a sealed, plastic bag and roll over them with a rolling pin.) Drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs and stir with a fork until well combined. Press crumbs into a pie plate and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until crust is lightly browned. Let cool completely.

To prepare filling, In a large bowl, blend the yogurt, cream cheese, sugar, and zest until smooth. This is easiest to do with a mixer, but you can do it by hand. Pour filling evenly into cooled crust and smooth top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.

To prepare the topping, put the grapes into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until grapes begin to split and release their juice. In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch and water until smooth. Pour cornstarch mixture into saucepan and stir until juice thickens and becomes clear. Let cool. Spoon topping over the filling shortly before serving.

Apple Dessert, as in 1945

Darienne shared this simple delicious apple recipe with us while she was visiting her childhood home in New England, a couple years  ago.

Besides being with her family, she was surrounded by a unique collection of something like 469 cookbooks(!). The recipe is from the 1945 North Amherst Cookbook, created by the Ladies Social Circle of the North Congregational Church of Amherst, Mass.

The Ladies Social Circle Apple Dessert

In Darienne's words: "Apple Dessert, contributed by one Edith French, is similar to an apple cobbler but with more of a cookie-like topping, instead of a cake-like topping, as my mother puts it. Her grandmother used to prepare it from this same cookbook, and my mother made it for her family when she was growing up and then for her own children. On that week she made it for a fifth generation."

4 or 5 apples

1 cup sugar, divided

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. butter, softened

salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel and slice apples. Fill pie plate with sliced apples. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Bake about 15 minutes.

Remove pie plate from oven and reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar, egg, flour, baking powder, butter, and salt. Dot mixture over apples. Return to oven and bake for 35 minutes.

Chicken with Apples and Saffron

Photo by Adi Ziv-Av

This recipe was first made while we were still living in Forest Hills, New York, seven years ago. The thought of celebrating the Jewish New Year was a culinary challenge for me. I wanted to gather apples, saffron, chicken and even some honey and nuts. With some inspiration of Moroccan flavors and Indian marinades, I made a fusion and the result became a tradition in my family.

As I usually do every year, I keep changing  the recipe slightly.  Gravenstein was the choice for apples, no dried fruits were in the marinade, chicken was the best ever from Mary's Free Range, and instead of couscous we had some purple potatoes with capers and cranberry beans.  

Apple Saffron Chicken

The yogurt marinade is the key to success with the chicken texture. I used a low-fat organic natural yogurt from Trader Joe's and that worked perfectly. This year I tested mashed papaya as main marinade ingredient instead of yogurt. The result was equally delicious.

A good saffron also helps. This year I found a very good one by Morton and Basset from Novato, California. 

2 cups apple juice

12- 14 saffron threads

2 cups of your favorite mixed dry fruit

6 tablespoons low-fat natural yogurt

kosher salt to taste

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 medium white onion, cut in cubes

3 pounds chicken breasts, butterflied

1 pound chicken thigh filets, fat removed

2 medium Pink Lady apples, thinly sliced

Your favorite honey to drizzle the apples

Warm apple juice and add saffron (and dried fruit, if used) . Reserve for later. In a big bowl whisk together yogurt (or papaya)  salt, olive oil and onion. Immerse chicken pieces and marinade overnight or a minimum of 2 hours.

Heat large skillet over high heat. Remove chicken from marinade; reserve marinade. Sear each piece of chicken, being careful to just bring the meat to the surface. If not using a ovenproof skillet, transfer the seared meat to a ovenproof dish. Cover with reserved marinade, and use the slices of apple as a top layer on the dish, to work as a lid. Bake in oven for 25 minutes at 375F. Serve hot. Ideal sides are salads, couscous and rice.