blackberry puffs

it’s been a weird couple of weeks around here. rather urgently, i had to have all four of my wisdom teeth extracted, which i have been putting off forever (i managed to put it off until i no longer had dental insurance), and my recovery time collided with three of our biggest back-to-school events at work, along with my birthday and our wedding anniversary. sadly, yes, i spent our 4th anniversary in a drug-induced nap, and while my appetite has returned since, i’m still not chewing like the champ that i am just yet.

this painful experience was accompanied with a surprising lack of energy, so i’m thrilled that my mom went picking wild blackberries and shared a whole bunch with me.

i’m also secretly so glad i didnt have to pick them myself!… the end of every summer of my childhood found us picking a lot of wild blackberries for winter storage, the brambles having grown all year at a rapid pace, like in the movie Sleeping Beauty, overwhelming nearby plants or structures, and scratching little welts into my hands and arms as i reached for the fruit. i hated this chore. i hated helping my dad beat back the brambles in the pasture in Autumn, or loosening their grip on the chicken coop, trying to scoop the prickly vines into a bonfire pile. blackberry brambles are mean. but the fruit is well worth the scratches!

this is a beautiful and super-simple dessert that showcases flavorful, end-of-summer blackberries with just four ingredients. purchased puff pastry is baked into squares that puff up into flakey pillows, which are cooled, split and filled with blackberries. Martha’s original version uses mascarpone cheese as a complement to the fruit, which i recommend, but when i made these i didn’t have any, so i slightly sweetened some whipped cream instead. i make these every time i have fresh blackberries and both versions are delicious… i imagine softened cream cheese would be a good substitute if you can’t find mascarpone, as well. enjoy!

adapted from martha stewart

makes 8

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 12 ounces blackberries
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• mascarpone cheese or cream cheese (about 1 cup)

on a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to a 10 x 12-inch rectangle. cut into eight 3 x 5 pieces and chill on a parchment-lined baking sheet for about 15 minutes. preheat oven to 400 degrees.

bake until puffed and golden, 12 – 15 minutes. let cool.

mash blackberries in a bowl with the sugar, until juicy but with pieces of fruit remaining. split cooled pastries in half horizontally, spread with cheese and top with fruit.

grilled chicken and chile burgers

how was your Labor Day weekend? i had three days off, which ruled. if you had to work: i thank you for laboring. i had some friends visiting from out of town — one a brand-new mama, the other soon to be a mama, and it warmed my heart to see them and meet baby D. my husband and i went to a great cookout where i consumed no less than three plates of potluck gold over the course of the evening, and more Jim Beam than i should admit, and i jumped on the giant trampoline for hours. that Flip the Bacon game gave me terrible whiplash. WORTH IT. super fun to wear glow-stick earrings in the dark, and the kids tried to teach me how to do flips! last night was spent playing dominoes on our friends’ deck… one of my favorite summer things. the evenings are perfect outdoors this time of year!

there was so much good food and good fun, but after a busy 10 hours at the office today, i was looking for a super-quick dinner. this is one of my favorite quick sandwiches… grilled chicken from the barbeque, creamy ailoi and melted cheese, layered with fire-roasted chiles. i love their smokiness. jalapenos make me chuckle because seriously, you just don’t know how spicy one is going to be from the next. hot or not? it’s a little Russian Roulette every time i eat one. i love spicy foods, but sometimes those suckers sear off my taste buds. other times, they seem quite mild.

unpredictable food!

this burger is so good and the aioli and melty cheese really help combat the spiciest of jalapenos. though you are welcome to use any kind of chile you like — a milder one will do fine. everything gets cooked on the grill, so if it’s still hot where you are, don’t worry about heating up the house from the kitchen. cook outside! i have a marinade option of yogurt and garlic, which brings wonderful punch and tenderizing juiciness to the chicken, but if you don’t work ahead and just grill some chicken breasts, these burgers still light up your plate. and your taste buds. get ready, y’all.

grilled chicken and chile burgers

serves 4

• 2 large chicken breasts or 4 chicken breast tenders
• optional marinade (1/2 cup plain yogurt, 2 cloves minced garlic)
• salt and pepper
• 2 jalapeno chiles (or poblanos, a mild chile)
• aioli (or in this case, mayonnaise mixed with a well-minced clove of garlic)
• 4 thick slices of a delicious melty cheese — such as havarti, fontina — i used gruyere
• 4 burger buns

optional marinade — combine yogurt and garlic and toss chicken to coat. refrigerate a couple hours, or before you go to work for the day. squeegee the yogurt mixture from the chicken with your fingers before proceeding.

between two layers of plastic wrap, pound chicken to an even thickness. when doing this, use a sliding pounding motion, to spread the chicken out, rather than just pounding straight down. if you have two large chicken breasts, cut them in half lengthwise to make four pieces — they may be thin enough already.

meanwhile, grill the chiles until charred all over. place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and let them sweat it out for a short while. when cool enough to handle, remove stems, charred skins and seeds. slice into strips.

season the chicken with salt and pepper and grill until cooked through. top with cheese for the last 60 seconds or so. assemble your burgers with aioli, chile strips and grilled chicken.