perfection!

Perfection isn't something I generally strive for. I prefer a little wiggle room in my endeavors, some breathing space for the unexpected, the startle of serendipity, a jumping off point towards how to proceed next. For me, actual perfection is the state of not needing any improvement, a completeness, an awareness of the beauty of the moment. 

Visiting Paris is an exploration of this kind of perfection. There are always days when I would wish for less rain, or avoid the frustration of finding a favorite museum or shop closed for the day. But the city offers pleasures unbound and a treasure trove of opportunities to explore the joy of what is.

Paris October 2012

Tripping through the city of light on a recent four day spree of mostly rainy days and nights needs few words.

A garden wall dripping with green vines.

That turquoise blue!

 Tiered urns in a garden on Rue de Arenes.

 The window of a shop that sells only pies. Savory and sweet, buy them by the slice it seems.

 A fierce door knocker. Makes you think twice about knocking.

Spotted in a restaurant window. This is PORCELAIN! Not a real cauliflower. Truly amazing!

 The cafes beguile. This is the left bank of Paris with sunlight evoking the South of France.

 A mansion overlooking Parc Monceau reminds me of an carefully detailed wedding cake; confection perfection.

 This charming framed tapestry is hanging in the Musee Nissim de Camondo, a Belle Epoque private mansion housing a collection of eighteenth century decorative arts.

 A coppery corner of the period kitchen at Musee Nissim de Camondo, to die for!!

When I returned home, with my heart full and my imagination fired, I came across a recipe for "foolproof pie crust" published by Cooks Illustrated. Foolproof indeed? I had to find out, so I gave the recipe a try. Their secret ingredient is vodka and I happened to have some particularly peculiar tasting vodka on hand, brought home from a trip to Iceland,  sitting mostly untouched in a cabinet for over a year. I was happy to sacrifice it up to the experiment.

Working with the dough turned out to be a mess. It was so soft and sticky I could barely handle it. The dough stuck to my hands and completely fell apart as I attempted to roll it out, even after the required resting in the fridge for an hour. I gave up my idea to bake an apple pie with it and instead salvaged what I could by pressing the dough into a tart tin. In the Parisian spirit I arranged my apple slices into a perfectly pleasing pattern.

Apple Tart -recipe-
1 recipe of Cooks Illustrated Foolproof Pie Dough
4-6 apples sliced into thin wedges, leave the skin on (I used a combination of yellow and red apples for a colorful effect)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon  lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Remove the pie dough from the fridge and use one of the two discs (save the other for another recipe or make two tarts.) Press the dough into a removable bottom 9" tart tin. Try to get the dough to be about 1/2 inch thick all around. Try not to get too frustrated with the very sticky dough. Sprinkle flour on it as you work with it to make it more manageable. 
Stick the dough lined tart tin into the freezer while you prepare the filling. Combine the apple slices with all the remaining ingredients in a bowl and toss well to coat. Taste an apple slice to adjust seasonings. Remove the tart tin from the freezer and begin to arrange the apple slices, skin side up, in a spiral pattern.  Place in hot oven for about 45 minutes, until the apples are tender when poked with a knife point and the edges of the crust are golden.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

The finished tart was delicious! The crust was truly light as a feather, buttery and tender. I plan to use the Cooks Illustrated recipe as a go-to for my tart crusts from now on. I remain skeptical about rolling it out for a traditional pie, but am willing to experiment with adding more flour than recommend when rolling it out, and see if that helps. It doesn't have to be perfect!

Finally!

Deborah
My Irish eyes are smiling. No, not over green beer. There is action going on in my backyard. The earth is finally stirring up some fresh shoots.

The crocus are up!

Forsythia buds

Chives! I can start harvesting them now.

An oregano that I planted in the fall.

In honor of St. Patrick's day I made a fair amount of corned beef for my clients this week. The dish that got me excited, however, was a red cabbage braised with shredded apple.

Red cabbage has such dramatic color.

I let the cabbage cook down till it is really caramelized and adjust the seasoning to get a deep sweet-tart flavor. A handful of nuts at the end of cooking will add some crunch and a little protein.

The cabbage will be brightly colored when it first goes in the pan but as you cook it down the color will get deeper and darker. Make sure to cook it till the color is a dark, dark burgundy. My camera ran out of batteries before I could take the photo.


This cabbage dish is really tasty and not CABBAGEY at all. Meaning that it should appeal to most. The dark rich sweetness gets a nice counterpoint from the tart apple. I wish I could show you the picture. I added pistachio nuts at the end and the light green color of the nuts made a very festive presentation.

Amanda is there any wine to celebrate an Irish holiday?

Braised Red Cabbage and Green Apple
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 head of cabbage, shredded or finely sliced
1 green apple, shredded
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, cashews, pistachios)
s & p to taste
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook till golden and tender. Add the cabbage and the apple and cook, stirring frequently for 15 minutes on medium to low heat, being sure not to let the cabbage burn and stick to the bottom of the pan. The cabbage should begin to be tender and start to dry out, at which point add the apple juice and stir. Allow the juice to simmer down into the cabbage for about 5 minutes. Cover the cabbage and cook another 10 minutes till the cabbage has browned and caramelized. Add the chopped nuts and serve.

A Gourmet beginning

Deborah
The news of Gourmet magazine's closing hit me like the loss of an old friend I haven't seen in years. Memories of our time together came flooding back, along with a certain chagrin that I hadn't kept in touch. Having moved on to other sources for culinary information and inspiration years ago, Gourmet magazine was now a source of nostalgia, profound nostalgia as it turns out.

I first encountered the magazine as a young 11 year old girl at my mother's side. My mother was a young girl herself at that time. At age 29, she was a new bride beginning a second marriage with three children from a previous marriage in tow. My mother's cooking at that point was simple and serviceable, with specialties being spaghetti and meatballs and meatloaf. Her new husband was European and so our mother decided that we needed to learn how to cook more sophisticated food for him, to sweeten the domestic pot as it were. He was, in fact, Scottish and his culinary viewpoint was even more narrow than our own, but we did not know that then. He resembled George Harrison, had a cool accent and was putting up with three kids, so impress him we must.

My mother embarked on her subscription to Gourmet magazine and each month would pass the issue around to my younger sister and I to mark off recipes we wanted to try. My mother had no qualms about setting us youngsters up at the stove and the results were staggering. We were making fancy, delicious dishes out of what seemed to us piles of unrelated ingredients. Following the instructions as closely as chemistry lab experiments we tried out our first gazpacho, our first curries, our first cassoulet. Culinary courage and curiosity exploded in our home as we poured over the beautiful pages that represented exotic sophistication to our young inexperienced selves.

As the years went by and my family grew, my brothers were also drawn into the kitchen. We became known to our extended family and friends as the cooking family. No occasion was lost for a group cook-a-thon with way too many of us in the kitchen, but fortunately no spoiled broth. My mother continued her subscription throughout her life and as an adult I would look forward to curling up with copies of the latest issues when visiting her and my step-father for weekends in Sag Harbor. My mother died way too young at age 65 in 2003 and now Gourmet is gone. I will always have them linked in my mind. And I am grateful for the culinary push they both gave me.

A prize specimen from my local nursery in Forest Hills, Queens.  Cinderella would be proud to ride around in this!


In the spirit of culinary adventure I thought of this soup which can be made from any of the winter squashes including pumpkin. The most recent version I made was with acorn squash. I like to roast the squash first to really intensify the flavor and get some caramelization going. Winter squashes tend to be sweet and can handle a lot of strong flavors as a counter balance. So don't fear the cayenne. It will give the soup some integrity. The addition of the apple brings some tart, acidic sweetness to the mix and is a trick my mother picked up from reading Gourmet.

Chili peppers are the spice of life!

Acorn Squash Soup with Ginger and Coconut milk
1 Acorn squash, peeled and chopped into large cubes
1 green apple, peeled and chopped
2 inch piece of peeled ginger
4 cloves of peeled garlic
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 teas. salt
1 onion, chopped
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock or water
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Butternut squash makes great soup too.

Preheat oven to 400 F
Lay the acorn squash and the apples in a single layer on a large roasting pan. Sprinkle with a little s & p and roast in the oven for 20 minutes until the squash begins to soften and brown a little bit.

If you have a mortar and pestle pound the ginger and garlic into a paste. If you don't have one, put them in a food processor with a tablespoon of water to blend into paste.
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan and add the ginger-garlic paste. Cook over a medium low heat until the paste begins to slowly turn a golden color, about 2 minutes. Add the onions and salt and cook till softened and translucent, about 5 minutes more. Add the roasted squash and apples and the stock or water and bring to a simmer. Let the pot simmer for 25- 20 minutes until squash is completely tender when poked with a fork.
Turn off heat and allow soup to cool for a bit before adding to a blender or food processor (try to wait because hot food really expands and splashes out when blended). Blend until very smooth. Pour soup back into the pot and TASTE IT.
At this point you want to adjust the seasonings. If it is too bland, add a little salt and/or sugar ( a pinch at a time, keep tasting). Once the flavor tastes balanced to you add the coconut milk and the cayenne and bring the soup up to a simmer. Let soup simmer for 5 minutes till all the flavors are blended and the soup is warm enough to serve.

enjoy!

Amanda
Beautiful commentary on Gourmet magazine, Deb. I loved the magazine as well, but it obviously holds a much deeper connection for you. I always referred to the magazine around the holidays - no magazine could compete with their Thanksgiving issue!