Tempus Fugit

Looking back over the posts on sweet/tart, you'll see that the most recent is dated from the beginning of July. It's shocking to realize that it's now mid-October. There are a few reasons for the gap: the planning of WizRockStock, the Harry Potter 7 party for UBS (check out the photos here), and the subsequent planning of our fall season (more info to be found here). I can assure you that even though I haven't been posting, nothing comes between me and my food.

Over the course of the last few months, I rediscovered a wonderful old friend of a recipe, the Coffee Coffee Cake. This cake was a top seller at A. van Slyck catering, the kitchen where I really learned how to bake. Its dense vanilla-scented pound cake is tempered with an intensely sharp espresso swirl. The lily is gilded with a crunchy sweet espresso glaze.

It has the added bonus of being a flexible recipe. One afternoon I was already deep into butter-creaming, and realized that I was out of the espresso required for the marbling (note to new bakers: there's a reason why you're supposed to get your mise en place ready before you begin). No worries though! I quickly mixed together some cocoa powder, a little brandy and sugar, and voila, we had a chocolate marble instead.

I have also had a fun couple of months exploring some delightful new cookbooks: Pure Flavor, the lovely collection from Kurt Dammeier (of Beecher's Cheese) includes the recipe for their crazy good mac & cheese, and challenges you to eat without additives.

Not to be confused, Pure Dessert is Alice Medrich's new dessert cookbook. It concentrates on specific "pure" flavors (like milk, fruit, grains) and offers recipes that showcase those flavors. Many of these recipes are deceptively simple: the whole wheat sables are basically the same to throw together as a classic sugar cookie, but they have a delicate nuttiness, and a lovely toothsome bite.

But my current favorite is the new dessert cookbook from Babbo's pastry chef, Gina de Palma.

Dolce Italiano is a fantastic book--its gorgeous color photos, Gina's personal stories, and the breadth of accessible recipes make this the book to buy for your baking fanatic friends this Christmas.

The zucchini-olive oil cake, with lemon crunch glaze is straightforward but quite pretty, and incredibly moist. It also keeps well, which is always great if you're baking for the week.

This morning, I've been baking the sesame cornmeal biscotti. These came together really quickly--it's a basic butter cookie batter--but the cornmeal adds a little tenderness, and the sesame give them a little crunch and an almost anise-like aroma. It's such a pleasure to discover a cookbook that delivers on all counts. The recipes actually work exactly as the say they should, and the results are absolutely delectable.

And finally, a little tart to even out all these sweets. The boyfriend and I were at some friends' for dinner last night, and after a lovely autumn meal of potato leek soup, Leigh and I experimented with some quince that she had on the counter. She had made some quince compote, and was planning on making quince paste with the remaining fruit. I was curious to see what it tasted like before cooking (I couldn't remember if I had ever had it raw). Leigh obliged, and we cut into one. It was amazing--lemony and floral and absolutely puckering!

We decided to juice the raw quince, and then strained and reduced the resulting juice with just a bit of sugar. We shook the quince syrup with a little vodka and white cranberry juice, and made a sort of quince cosmo. It had "Danger" written all over it, it was so good!

Next we're going to try making quince curd. Stay tuned!

Food for the Fourth

I was lucky enough to be invited to two parties celebrating Independence Day, good food and friends. The first was a pre-fourth barbeque at some friends of a friend. Neil and Nancy take their barbeque seriously, and served the most delicious ribs that had been slathered in dry rub and then smoked. A beautiful, chunky red sauce was served in bowls at the table. The rest of the spread was just as tasty. Sweet corn, just in season; deviled eggs; curried cauliflower with peas; and a classic potato salad rounded out the sides. And for dessert we indulged in an apple cream cheese tart, tres leche cake, honey brownies and the blueberry crostata that I brought. Using the Oscar Wilde motto, "Moderation in all things, including moderation," I tried everything!


I spent the fourth on a boat on Lake Union. We arrived early to share a meal with more friends. While we munched on fresh veggies and watermelon, Randy grilled gorgeous organic steaks on a small deck hibachi. He had gotten these from Better Meat Co. in Ballard. Wowee! Although mine was as big as my head, it was super tender and better for being simply dusted with salt and pepper before grilling. My pal Deborah made a spectacular heirloom tomato salad (with little fresh mozzarella balls and fresh basil), and we also enjoyed steamed asparagus dressed with an Asian vinaigrette and sesame seeds. Just before the fireworks, we served the angel food cake that I brought, topped with raspberries and blueberries and whipped cream. I am not ashamed to tell you that I ate two pieces of cake. It's angel food--that's almost health food, right?


Now for the recipes:

Blueberry Crostata (Adapted)
The blueberry crostata is based on a sour cherry crostata from the newish Gourmet cookbook. Another time I'll tell you just how much I love this cookbook! For now, here's the adapted recipe.


Ingredients:
For pastry
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. lemon zest

For filling
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
5 1/4 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen (unthawed) )
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. cold water
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. rosewater
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. coarse sugar for dusting
Equipment: 9" tart pan with removable bottom


Method:

Make the pastry:

• Using an electric mixer beat together butter and 1/3 c. sugar until pale and fluffy. Reserve about 1 Tbsp. of beaten egg in the refrigerator for egg wash, then beat remaining egg into butter mixture. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour, salt and lemon zest. Mix until batter just forms a rough dough.
• Divide dough into two parts and form each part into a 5-6" disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Make the filling:

• Heat butter in 12" skillet until foam subsides. Add blueberries, any juices, sugar and bring to a simmer. Simmer, while stirring until sugar is dissolved and blueberries release their juices and are tender (about 6-7 minutes). Stir together water and cornstarch into a smooth paste, then stir into simmering filling. Be sure to continue stirring gently, while you add the paste or it will clump. Continue stirring and simmer the filling another 2 minutes to thicken.
• Remove the filling from the heat and stir in the rosewater and cinnamon.
• Cool filling by spreading it in a shallow pan and refrigerating
  

Assemble and bake:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Place in the center of the middle rack of the pre-heating oven.
• Roll out one disc of pastry (while keeping the other chilled) between two sheets of wax paper. Remove one piece of wax paper and flip the pastry side down into the 9" tart pan. Remove other piece of wax paper. Trim excess pastry, leaving a 1/2" overhang. Fold overhang into pan and press into sides (to reinforce the sides). Roll your rolling pin over the top of the pan to remove excess pastry and give it a uniform top. Chill.
• Using the same method, roll out remaining disc of pastry. Remove top piece of wax paper and cut pastry into ten 1" strips. Slide marked pastry onto baking sheet and chill.
• Spread filling in tart shell. Arrange 5 strips of pastry spaced evenly across top of filling. Arrange the other 5 strips at a slight diagonal to form a diamond lattice pattern. Press the strips into the sides and trim strips flush with the sides of the pan. Brush the lattice work with your reserved egg wash, and sprinkle with 1Tbsp. coarse sugar.
• Bake crostata on hot baking sheet until pastry is golden and filling bubbles through lattice (about 50 minutes). If pastry browns too quickly, use a pie shield or cover loosely with foil.
• Cool the crostata completely before serving. It is delicious with ice cream or whipped cream.

Basic Angel Food Cake (Adapted)
The angel food cake is adapted from another of my favorite cookbooks, The Joy of Cooking. This is a great, all-purpse cookbook to have on hand. As I do in a lot of recipes, I've substituted some whole wheat pastry flour for some of the all purpose white flour. Some say you shouldn't try this with foam cakes (chiffon and angel food) but I still find the cake tender and light.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

12 large egg whites (reserve yolks for brioche or custard--yum!)

1 Tbsp. water

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. sugar

Equipment: 9 or 10" tube pan

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flours, sugar and salt three times. Set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, gently mix the wet ingredients for about 1 minute. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium (not high) and beat until the mixture increases in volume 4-5 times, and looks like soft foam with tiny bubbles. The foam will hold a soft shape when you lift beaters.
• Gradually beat in the remaining 3/4 c. sugar, adding it 1 Tbsp. at a time. This should take 2-3 minutes. When all of the sugar is added, the foam will be creamy white and will hold a soft, glossy peak that bends slightly at the top. Do not beat until the whites are dry!
• Transfer the foam to a large, deep mixing bowl (4-6 quarts is about right) and sift about 1/8th of the reserved dry mixture over the top. Gently fold in the flour until it is almost incorporated into the foam. Repeat the sifting 7 more times, always gently folding the dry into the foam. Don't stir or mix. In fact, use about half the strength you think you should. When the last of the dry has been incorporated, there should be no visible trace of the flour.

Pour this batter into the tube pan and gently spread to level the top. Just look at how luscious this batter is!

• Bake about 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 1 1/2 hours. It's easiest to do this by balancing the pan on 4 glasses.

When it's time to serve, slide a knife or icing spatula around the edge of the cake, pressing it into the pan so you don't cut the cake. Repeat around the edge of the center tube. Place a plate over the top of the cake and pan. Turn the whole shebang upside down and gently tap on the counter. The cake should release from the pan onto the plate.

• I served this with mixed berries that I macerated in a little brown sugar and vanilla. When the berries are this fresh and in season, be sure and start with less sugar than you might think, and add to taste.

Oxbow's Newest Farmer

On Sunday, the boyfriend and I met our friend Julia (and her dog Calvin) at the Ballard Farmers' Market. We were running late, and I was feeling a tad bit on the wrong side of cranky.

As we wound our way through the crowded street, I was looking for my favorite berry stall. But sadly, Jessie was no where to be found. The farmers had begun to pack up, in anticipation of their 3pm close, and I was starting to worry that I wouldn't have time to get my weekly market fix. After a quick, but medicinal cup of coffee from Cugini, and one of those delicious rolls from Tall Grass (you know, the ones with the raisins) I was on my way to see my very favorite farmers (in fact, I often take ownership and call them "my farmers"): Luke and Sarah from Oxbow Farms.

I've been buying their gorgeous veggies and fruit for the last four years or so. And one Sunday, last summer, I even stood in as a cashier, when Luke ran to grab a bite to eat. This last Sunday their tables were almost empty (they're not just my favorites, clearly!) but I was delighted to see that Sarah had brought Oxbow's newest farmer, their 7 month old daughter Pearl! I hadn't had a chance to meet Pearl, and it had been almost a year since I had seen Sarah; she doesn't always make it to the Sunday market. This beautiful little girl was just the pick-me-up that I needed! After grabbing some beefy red beets, my mood was restored and I set about gleaning what I could from the remaining farm stands.

Speaking of gleaning, another of my favorite stands is Jeremy Faber's Foraged and Found Edibles. Jeremy provides wild and foraged produce for area restaurants (Sitka & Spruce notably) and for several Seattle farmers' markets. I picked up a quarter of a pound of beautiful morels that I plan on sauteing with a little sweet onion for individual pizzas later this week. And just wait until he brings in his next haul of wild huckleberries. oh, the pies I'll make!

I can't tell you how much I enjoy this weekly opportunity to connect with the people who nourish me. The trip to the market provides almost as much fuel as the stuff I bring home!

Fresh Baked Bread

Those of you who know me know that I bake bread nearly every week. I find that mixing and proofing and baking are contemplative tasks for me. It's time that I spend busy, but quiet. Intent. I have missed this chore in the last few weeks: my schedule hasn't allowed for much baking lately. I almost don't know how to describe the delight that I feel when I shape the dough after the first proofing. The silkiness of the bread feels so much like a plump baby's bottom. The tang of the raw dough as I pinch off a bit for a taste. It's addictive! and how to describe the smell of fresh baked bread? It wafts through my house and assaults my senses. It demands that I cut a slice of the still warm loaf, even though I really should wait until it's absolutely cool to the touch.
Today I baked the Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread from the Macrina Cookbook. One of my all-time favorite loaves for slicing and sandwiches. This recipe is extremely forgiving and the baked bread lasts about a week--that is, if you don't eat the entire loaf, hot from the oven!
Here is the recipe I used. It's basically the same as the Macrina recipe, but I substituted some whole wheat pastry flour for some of the white flour.

Macrina's Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread (adapted)
Makes 1 9x5" loaf

1 1/2 c. rolled oats
1 c. boiling water
1/4 c. warm filtered water
2 tsp. dried yeast
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 c. coarse whole-wheat flour
2 c. whole-wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp. kosher salt
Spray bottle of water

• Set aside 1/4 c. rolled oats for decorative sprinkle. Place remaining 1 1/4 c. oats in medium bowl and cover with 1 c. boiling water. Stir with wooden spoon to moisten all oats. Let bowl sit uncovered for about 10 minute, stirring occasionally while oats absorb water.
• Place 1/4 c. warm water in bowl of stand mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Mix with a whisk to dissolve yeast. Let rest about 5 minutes to proof yeast. (It should foam slightly and smell yeasty.)
• Add soaked oats, buttermilk, canola oil, brown sugar, and all flours. Whisk in kosher salt. With hook attachment, mix on low speed to combine, then increase speed to medium and mix for about 10 minutes. Dough will be wet and cling to hook, but have a satiny finish.
• Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Proof in a warm room (I set the bowl on top of my oven and preheat the oven to help it along.) for about an hour. Dough should almost double in size.
• Place proofed dough on lightly floured surface. Gently flatten with your hands to release air bubbles. Shape dough into 12x6" rectangle and position so long side is facing you. Fold the two short ends onto the top, so they meet in the middle. Starting with the closest end, roll dough away from you into a log. Let loaf rest on its seam for a few minutes.
• Transfer loaf into an oiled 9x5x4" bread pan, seam side down. Gently push dough down so it extends into all corners of pan. Cover with plastic wrap and proof a second time in warm room for about 35-45 minutes. Loaf should rise slightly above bread pan.
• While loaf is proofing, preheat your oven to 385 degrees F.
• Remove plastic wrap and spritz loaf with spray bottle. Scatter the remaining 1/4 c. of rolled oats along top. Place on the center rack of pre-heated oven and bake about 1 hour. The top and sides of the loaf should be a deep golden brown. Let cool in the pan about 20 minutes and then remove onto a cooling rack.
• Theoretically, you should wait until it is completely cool to cut (it can damage the integrity of the loaf to cut it while it's still warm) but I haven't managed this yet!

Savoring Seattle is Live!

Savoring Seattle's debut is here! The segment aired as part of the June 14 edition of CityStream on the Seattle Channel. If you'd like to see the show, you can stream it at http://www.seattlechannel.org/CityStream/. Just click "Watch." The Savoring Seattle segment is about 7 minutes into the show, and about 3 minutes long. It's very exicting!!

New York, New York: Part Two

After eating my weight in risotto balls and other small bites the night before, I was ready for a real meal. So Saturday night found me at The Modern, which is the cafe that is part of MoMA. Having heard great things about this place, I was excited to be invited to a private dinner there. Hidden away in the Bar Room, about 40 booksellers and publishing types gathered to celebrate the new novels from Tom Perotta (known for Little Children and Election) and Gail Tsukiyama (Dreaming Water).

I hate to say it, but I was a little disappointed by the food. It may be that as part of a private party, our food was prepared more "banquet style;" I found my salad over-dressed, and my beef tenderloin, while beautifully cooked, was over-salted. The best part of the meal was the lovely buttermilk panna cotta with strawberry sorbet and rhubarb compote, served in a shallow bowl with a paper-thin slice of candied rhubarb set jauntily across the rim.

Luckily, the company outshone the food. It was an absolute delight to talk with Perotta and Tsukiyama about their new books: The Abstinence Teacher and The Street of a Thousand Blossoms respectively. And they surprised us by accepting our invitation to a dance party that was happening down at The Fillmore. This is an annual opportunity for booksellers and publishing people to blow off steam and shake their groove thang. It's actually pretty great. The evening ended around 1:30, as we found our way back to Brooklyn, and to bed.

Even though I have been to New York several times, I'd never been to Brooklyn. I know, how can that be? Well, I made up for it on Sunday by exploring as much as possible. Lauren and I had breakfast at a great diner/bar on the edge of Cobble Hill called Gravy.

Very hip, but the service was super friendly, and we managed to get a table right away. I had this crazy plate of goodness that they called The Cowboy Breakfast: skillet cornbread topped with BBQ beans, sweet corn (actual, real corn from the cob!), sweet chorizo and eggs, over medium. All of this was topped with fresh pico de gallo. This was so yummy I'm still thinking about it, although I only managed to eat about a quarter of the serving. In true New York fashion, the coffee was terrible. :)

Later on, as I explored Park Slope I had better coffee at The Red Horse Cafe when I met a couple of friends of mine there. These Seattle-Brooklyn transplants showed me around their new neighborhood--I loved the feel of the tree-lined streets and the business district had a ton of cute shops. We stopped into several, including the Community Book Store (a sweet little book store with a leafy, cobbled patio out back) and Sweet Melissa (couldn't resist buying my assistant Melissa a little treat here).

That night we ate at Bar Tabac, which is a short walk from the Brooklyn Marriott. The food was straightforward French bistro fare. The table shared a chilled rose, and several small plates including a selection of charcuterie and several different brochette. All in all, pretty tasty. While some ended the meal with dessert, I opted for an Amaretto on ice, which was the perfect, light finish.

My New York eating spree closed with a couple of stand-out places. I met some friends for drinks at Pacifico. The pitchers of margaritas were delicious and deadly! The next morning it took breakfast at Sarabeth's on Central Park South to fully recover. Now, this place is pretty well known in New York, and I might not normally write about it, but the food was really good. I ordered a smoked salmon scramble and I was surprised at how perfectly the eggs were cooked. I was also pleasantly surprised by the reasonable prices. And the coffee--it was pretty darn good too. (Now if only they would spread their secret to the other coffee shops in town!) It was a great way to end my trip. I hopped back on the train to Brooklyn, grabbed my luggage and co-workers and we made our way to Newark, and home to Seattle.

New York, New York: It's a Wonderful Town! Part One

I just returned from a business trip where, lucky girl that I am, I got to eat at some of New York's tastiest restaurants with some of the best and brightest authors around. The week included a number of private dinners and fancy-pants receptions (including a rare opportunity to chat with the usually reclusive Philip Roth).

Lauren (the children's book buyer at UBS) and I arrived late last Wednesday night and met up with a friend at a sweet East Village restaurant called Supper. We started with the delicious Salmon Marinato, an arugula salad dressed with thin slices of cured salmon,

lemon and shaved Parmesan. I tried a special tagliatelle with prosciutto and marinara (this intrigued me, since I've normally only had prosciutto with cream sauces). At our friend Kris's recommendation, we ordered the hazelnut panna cotta. It was crazy good, drowned in chocolate sauce and topped with fresh berries. Kris clearly knows her stuff. (Here'a a picture of me trying the tiramisu, with the panna cotta in the foreground). I couldn't believe how affordable this place was--I think our bill came to about $40 each, for three courses, a glass of wine, tax and tip. What a deal!

Lauren and I were staying in Brooklyn, so lunch on Thursday clearly had to be at Junior's. This place has been serving diners since 1950, and is world famous for it's cheesecake (after walking around, I got a bit turned around and asked a guy on the street to direct me. He knew just where it was.) Sadly, I didn't get to try the cheesecake, but chowed down a huge BLT with the complimentary sides: homemade beets and pickles. I have to say that these were some of the best I've ever had. The beets were tender and simultaneously sweet and tangy. The pickles were crunchy, salty and perfectly brined. In fact, these were so good that I asked if I could buy a pickle or two to take home. The lovely waiter got me a whole container of pickles to take with me--they made a fantastic late night snack!

One of the highlights of the week was a reception on Friday night at Cafe Gray in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle with the aforementioned Philip Roth. His publisher Houghton Mifflin was celebrating the publication of his upcoming book Exit Ghost and could not have thrown a classier party! Even though I was a little tongue-tied trying to make conversation with Mister Roth, I still managed to enjoy the amazing appetizers that were provided. There were tiny braised short rib tartlets with creamy grits, beautiful little salad hand rolls, a gorgeous, aromatic ground lamb pizza that was served on a hot stone that sizzled atop whole spices and tuna tartar and tiny chicken wings that were breaded with pink lentils and fried. But by informal poll, the mushroom risotto cakes were the partygoer's favorite.
And you heard it here first: risotto cakes are the thing to serve at cocktail parties. I tasted three different versions at three different parties over the weekend! I'm not sure they would translate well for home use, but even the least delicious risotto cakes were pretty darn good. Our party that night continued with an informal dinner at Landmarc , where I tried their nicoise salad (I am slightly obsessed with this currently) and finished with an annual secret party for booksellers at Cowgirl.