[1] Crunchy Triscuit cups (photo © Nabisco).

[2] Roasted cherry tomatoes (photo © Botanica Restaurant | Los Angeles).

[3] How many different varieties of Triscuit are there? The answer is below (photo © Nabisco).

[4] It’s easy to grate the cheese as-needed (photo © London Deposit | Panther Media).

[5] Fresh thyme sprigs (photo © Karolina Grabowska | Pexels).

[6] Pyrex, ceramic, and enameled bakeware don’t react with acidic foods like tomatoes (photo of Pyrex bakeware set © Williams Sonoma).

Just in time for Labor Day lounging, the folks at Triscuit sent us this fun appetizer idea for Roasted Cherry Tomato Bites. Who’d have thought of soaking Triscuits to form crunchy cups?

You can fill the cups with anything, from hummus to artichoke dip; but start with colorful cherry tomatoes and enjoy with a glass of wine or beer.

Prep time is 25 minutes, total time is 45 minutes. You can find more recipes on the Triscuit website.
 
 
RECIPE #1: ROASTED CHERRY TOMATO CUPS

Ingredients For 24 Pieces

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F.

2. FILL a 9-by-13-inch pan halfway with warm water. Add the Triscuit crackers in 2 batches and soak, turning twice until just soft, about 2 minutes, no more than 3 minutes.

3. OIL two 12-cup or one 24-cup mini muffin tins. Press a softened Triscuit into each cup, pressing and molding any cracks together. Sprinkle each with cheese. Bake until firm and slightly more golden, about 25 minutes. When ready to serve…

4. FILL each cup with a roasted cherry tomato, and drizzle a little sauce over top of each one. Garnish with thyme and serve immediately.
 
 
RECIPE #2: ROASTED CHERRY TOMATO SAUCE

Prep time is 5 minutes, cook time is 40-45 minutes.

Ingredients For 1 Cup

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 325°F. Arrange tomatoes and garlic in a non-reactive 9×5-inch baking dish/loaf pan (see note below on non-reactive cookware).

2. WHISK together the olive oil, vinegar, thyme, sugar, and salt. Drizzle over the tomatoes and garlic.

3. BAKE until the tomatoes are wilted and caramelized, about 40-45 minutes. Let cool. You can pre-make and store the cooled tomatoes and juices in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
 
 
WHAT IS A NON-REACTIVE PAN?

Cookware can be made of reactive or non-reactive materials. Reactive materials can interact negatively with acidic foods and light-colored foods, and should be avoided in preparing them.

 
 
TRISCUIT TRIVIA

When you think Triscuit, do you think “shredded wheat?” That’s what they’re made from!

Now made by Nabisco, Triscuit snack crackers were invented in 1900 at the Shredded Wheat Company of Niagara Falls, New York. They were awarded a patent in 1902, and commercial production began in 1903.

For their first 20 years, Triscuits were not today’s two-inch squares, but 2-1/4 by 4-inch rectangles. In 1935, the manufacturer began spraying the crackers with oil and adding salt.

In 1984, new flavors were introduced, and the crackers were made even crisper. We counted 21 varieties:

 
In terms of where you find the supermarket shelf with all of these tempting choices, we know not!

Old-fashioned and delicious: Plum Poppyseed
Cake. Photo courtesy GoBoldWithButter.com.

We don’t have the answer, but our response is: Both should be used more often, starting with this delicious recipe. And don’t tarry: plums are a summer fruit.

Poppy seeds, obtained from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), have been harvested for thousands of years. The seeds are used, whole or ground, in recipes and are pressed into poppyseed oil.

Poppy seeds have long been cultivated in the Middle East; the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians farmed them. The Minoans, a Bronze Age civilization on Crete (circa 2700 to 1450 B.C.E.), cultivated poppies as a sleeping aid, and also for their effect on fertility, wealth and the magical power of invisibility. (Gee, how did those work out?) [Source]

Plums are available in a wide variety of sizes and colors. Enjoy them as a hand fruit, sliced into green salads or fruit salad, served with cheese, and of course, baked into something sweet. In addition to the recipe below, consider a plum Tatin* or a plum tart with a base of crème pâtissière.

 
*Tarte Tatin is a one-crust fruit pie invented by accident in France in the early 1880s. It is served upside-down; the apples are on the bottom with the crust on top. The Tatin sisters, Caroline and Stéphanie, ran the Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, southwest of Paris in the Loire Valley, not far from the town of Chambord. Stéphanie, preparing an apple tart, erroneously put the apples in the pan without the crust underneath. The apples caramelized, the customers loved it and the Tarte Tatin was born. You can adapt this recipe for Quince Tatin.

†The ban is based no particular reason we could find, but likely has historic roots that are no longer relevant, but remain mired in bureaucracy that no one is motivated to resolve.

This recipe, by Karen of FamilyStyleFood.com for Go Bold With Butter, calls for red plums. While you can use any plum variety, red, and secondly, purple plums, provide the best color. The best color will come from a red plum with red flesh.

Prep time is 10 minutes, cook time is 1 hour, 30 minutes

RECIPE: RED PLUM POPPY SEED CAKE

Ingredients For 8-10 Servings

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch tube pan.

2. CREAM butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, using a heavy-duty mixer. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the yogurt and vanilla until combined, scraping down bowl if needed.

3. WHISK together the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds in bowl. Add to the butter mixture and stir on low speed until batter is just combined.

4. SPOON the batter evenly into pan. Arrange plums over top and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until tester inserted into center comes out clean.

5. COOL the cake in the pan on a rack until completely cool. Invert onto a serving plate and slice.

6. STORE any leftover cake tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze it.

David Chang is a well-known New York chef and restaurateur, founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. He wants you to enjoy lobster that’s more tender.

So don’t boil the lobster, he advises in an article from GQ, which the magazine shared with us.

“I’ve sent thousands of lobsters to Valhalla in my day,” says Chef Chang, “and I’ve found that baking, or better yet, grilling them over indirect heat, yields tastier, more tender results.

“Undercook them slightly, like steaks, and let them rest when they come off the heat. There will be some carryover cooking.”

The chef also advises to leave that three-pounder in the tank.

“Buy lobsters that weigh 1.5 pounds or less,” Chang advises. “Bigger beasts are tougher and less sweet. Alive is great, but frozen will do—just make sure to defrost them [slowly, in the fridge] before cooking.”

How much lobster do you need?

Chang suggests corn, potatoes, cole slaw, and “maybe some sausages.”

“Forget clarified butter,” he concludes. “Just use melted unsalted butter. Add a touch of lemon or vinegar to the butter and have plenty of lemon wedges on hand.”

For the full article, head to GQ.com

Right now, we’re dreaming of lobster rolls.
 
  

Smartfood, a Frito-Lay brand, has made popcorn in Kettle Corn, Sea Salt and White Cheddar. And now, there’s Movie Theatre Butter.

Recently, Smartfood send us samples of their Movie Theater Butter flavor. As the name promises, it is very buttery (the ingredients include real butter). You get buttery flavor without buttery fingers.

The popcorn is well salted, too.

We personally like less salt—and also know excess salt isn’t good for you. But no doubt this recipe tested well with consumers. While devoured the whole bag, and if another bag were set in front of us, we would eat it as well.

Archaeologists estimate that popcorn dates back to around 3600 B.C.E. They deduce that popcorn was first made by throwing corn kernels on sizzling hot stones tended over a campfire, or onto heated sand.

It was not eaten as a snack food: The corn was sifted and then pounded into a fine, powdery meal and mixed with water. This same cooking technique was used by the early Colonists, who mixed ground popcorn with milk and ate it for breakfast as a kind of cereal.

Popcorn is the better-for-you salty snack. A cup of plain popcorn contains about 31 calories, compared to about 139 calories for a cup of plain potato chips.

Smartfood popcorn is air popped is all natural, free of artificial flavors or preservatives. It’s available in 7.5-ounce bags at grocery stores nationwide.

Discover more at Smartfood.com.
  

[2] In addition to (or instead of) plums, you can add other stone fruits: apricots, cherries, nectarines or peaches (photo © Washington State Fruit Commission).

[3] Love that burrata! (photo by Elvira Kalviste | © THE NIBBLE).

[4] Pluots, a cross of plums and apricots (photos © Frog Hollow Farm).

[5] Ripe black and green pluots (photo © Sid Wainer).

We’re always in the mood for burrata. After making grilled grapes with burrata a few days ago, we whipped this up yesterday.

This recipe combines fresh summer plums, creamy burrata cheese, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and honey into a dish that’s called a “salad,” but consider it a cheese course dessert.

The contrasting textures, flavors, and colors are what we should aim for in every dish.

The recipe is from Bee Raw Honey, which used its star thistle honey for extra special flavor. You can substitute pluots for the plums.

Star thistle honey, harvested from wild star thistle plants in Colorado, is thick and creamy with hints of cinnamon. It also pairs well with apples—drizzled over apple slices or added to baked or roasted apples.
 
 
RECIPE: PLUM SALAD WITH BURRATA, PEPITAS & HONEY

Ingredients For 2-3 Servings

 
Preparation

1. BREAK the burrata into about 24 bite-sized pieces,

2. PIT and slice plums into 8 slices each, set aside.

3. LAY out four salad or two dinner plates. Divide the burrata pieces equally among plates. Top the Burrata with plum slices. Dot plates with olive oil and honey, covering cheese and fruit with each.

4. SCATTER each plate with pumpkin seeds and mint; serve immediately.
 
 
WHAT IS BURRATA?

Somewhere around 1920 in the town of Andria in the Puglia region of southern Italy, a member of the Bianchini family figured out how to repurpose the curds from mozzarella making.

Burrata was born, a ball of mozzarella filled with creamy, ricotta-like curds. Cut into the ball and the curds ooze out: a wonderful marriage of flavors and textures.

Their burrata was premium priced, made in small amounts, and remained the delight of the locals for some thirty years.

In the 1950s, some of the local cheese factories began to produce burrata, and more people discovered its charms. Only in recent years, thanks to more economical overnighting of refrigerated products, did we find it in New York City’s finest cheese shops.

Now, you can find domestic burrata anywhere there’s a Trader Joe’s. It’s just as delicious as the imports (in fact, American-made burrata is so good that there’s no longer a need to import it).
 
 
WHAT’S A PLUOT?

Pluots, plumcots and apriums are all hybrid combinations of plums and apricots, but with different percentages of each parent fruit’s DNA. The names are trademarked by their respective breeders.

They were developed to present the best qualities of both fruits. For the consumer, this means more sweetness and juiciness; for the grower, easier to grow, harvest, and ship.

 
You’re most likely to find these specialty stone fruits at a farmers market.

If you don’t see them, ask!