The word celebrate conjures up different images for most people. For some, it’s the image of party hats and streamers. For others, it’s the pop of a champagne cork. For me, it’s food. Birthday, anniversary, holiday - my first thought is ok, what should we cook! And at this time of year, that cooking becomes baking.
The world is divided into two types of people - those who cook, and those who bake. I am a cook. Sure, I have three or four dessert recipes that I make really well and always rely on, but baking really isn’t my thing. Except at Holiday time. That’s when I throw caution to the winds, break out the big Kitchen Aid mixer and place an order with King Arthur for 20 lbs. of flour (they really do have the best flour - kingarthur.com).
For some reason baking is more fun to do with family than cooking (I guess the aroma of gingerbread is more pleasing than garlic and onions), and everyone seems to gravitate to the kitchen when they hear the clanking of the measuring spoons, cups and bowls, in anticipation of a sweet treat.
These cookies are very simple, and not too sweet - perfect with a glass of milk or a cup of hot cocoa.
Brown Sugar and Spice Cookies

6 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 egg
1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Topping:
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice

Preheat oven to 350. Using a wooden spoon or a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add molasses and the egg, and mix well. In a separate bowl mix together the rest of the ingredients (flour through allspice). Mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture until you have a soft dough. Pinch off some dough and roll a ball between your palms about 1 inch in diameter, and place on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Continue until all the dough is used up. (these cookies do not spread much so you can place them fairly close together) Gently press down on each ball with your palm so they’re slightly flattened. Sprinkle the topping mixture over the cookies, and bake approximately 10 minutes (check them after 8 minutes). Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool.
You can play with the spice in these cookies to suit your taste - too much “gingerbread”? - omit the molasses and reduce the ginger to 1 teaspoon. Want to sneak in some fiber for the kids? - reduce the white flour to 1 1/4 cups and add 1/3 cup whole wheat flour.

Feeding Friendship

This week I have been reminded of how our friendships need to be fed - both literally and figuratively, both good and not so good.
My friend Charles has colon cancer. His diet now is something new to me, this non-residue diet that is the opposite of the way all of us strive to eat. No fiber, no whole grains, no beans, no raw fruit or vegetables. So I'm trying to research recipes for him, so he'll at least have something tastier than boiled chicken and white rice. Next week is his birthday party, and I'm thrilled to be doing the cooking. I'm feeding our friendship, literally and figuratively.
My friend George's father was hit by a car the other day, and is in the hospital. George's mother just had surgery on her shoulder and can't move her right arm (what's that saying - when it rains, it pours?). So yesterday I spent hours cooking for her so she'll have some food in her kitchen when she comes home from visiting at the hospital. I dropped the food off to her late yesterday, and her smile let me know I was feeding more than just her stomach.
Last night 7 of us went out to eat at Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown to celebrate my friend and co-worker Raquel's 30th birthday. It was a happy occasion made even happier by good food and great company. Raquel's delight at being with friends still has me smiling. (that's all of us at the top of the page)
When we cook for the people we care about, we're doing so much more than just providing sustenance, we're feeding and nurturing relationships that mean the world to us.
So cook something for someone you love. It doesn't have to be gourmet or fancy or unusual and different. And if you really can't bring yourself to turn on the stove, go out and break bread together. Just make sure no matter how you partake, you add a big heaping cup of caring.

I Love Soup

I love soup. All kinds of soup. I love the big peasant ones, that are a whole meal with a loaf of crusty bread; I love the delicate creamy ones, like butternut squash with a swirl of creme fraiche. When I'm sick I crave the lemon, nutmeg and parmigiano "worms" that make up straciatella, or the lemony creaminess of a Greek Avogolemono. I love the smokiness of a rich split pea soup, and the smoothness of a carrot laden lentil soup. The list just goes on and on.
But the thing I enjoy most about soups is that they are truly easy. You can throw almost anything into a pot, add some liquid, put the burner on low simmer, and just walk away. An hour or so later (or maybe even less), you come back and voila - soup's on! On a lazy afternoon you can put up a huge pot (my pot is so big it actually has a spigot!), divide it into small containers and stock your freezer. You're set for weeks (maybe months). And making soup really gives one a sense of accomplishment. You start with all those raw ingredients, put in a little effort, and you've made something magical.
One of my absolute all time favorites is escarole and meatball soup. It still evokes memories of when I was a kid, and my mother would make me tiny fried meatballs to munch on while she made the soup. When I had my daughter I did the same for her, and she loved sitting in the kitchen, blowing on the meatballs to cool them, watching me make the soup that she then refused to eat! Not even meatballs could entice her to eat escarole soup. She doesn't know what she's missing.
So here's my recipe. Make it for someone you love, tiny fried meatballs and all.

1 large head of escarole, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 quart chicken stock
1/2 lb chop meat (I like to use a mix of pork, veal and beef)
1/4 cup parmigiano cheese
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (I use fresh, but you can use dried)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Make the meatballs: combine all ingredients except the escarole and the chicken stock in a bowl and mix well. With your hands, form 1 inch meatballs (and even tinier ones for your kitchen helper) Fry the meatballs in olive oil in the bottom of a heavy soup pot (I use Le Creuset) until golden. The larger meatballs will still be a little raw in the center and will cook through in the soup. Remove the tiniest meatballs for munching. Add the escarole and the chicken stock to the pot. Cover and simmer approximately 30 minutes, until the escarole is soft.
Serve with crusty bread and a dusting of parmigiano cheese.

Canellini beans make a good addition to this hearty soup. If you want a thicker, heartier soup, you can puree some of the beans with some of the chicken stock, and add the pureed mixture to the pot.

Kitchen Intimidation

For years I've been afraid of pie crust. I know, such a small thing, but the idea of trying to making that dough come together with such a ridiculously small amount of water.........it made me cringe. So I'll come clean. I would buy Pillsbury Pie Crust. And I thought it was good. I even convinced myself it was better than any crust I could have made.
WRONG.
The other day I decided that being intimidated by flour, water and butter was embarrassing. And to be honest, I was tired of hiding the red Pillsbury box every time I made a pie. After studying about 40 different recipes for pie crust (researching before starting a new recipe is a real sickness), I put together my own recipe, took out the rolling pin and crossed my fingers. The crust came together beautifully, and best of all - it was EASY!
Here you go:

For the crust -
6 ozs all purpose flour (1 1/2 cups)
6 ozs cake or pastry flour (1 1/2 cups)
6 ozs cold butter, cut into pieces (1 1/2 sticks or 12 tablespoons)
2 ozs crisco (4 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
1/2 cup (maybe less) very cold water

For the filling -
4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used 2 Golden Delicious and 2 Honeycrisp)
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon all-spice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees

Make the crust -
Mix the flours, sugar, salt and baking powder in a food processor, pulsing several times to incorporate. Add the butter and crisco and pulse several more times until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the cider vinegar and half the water, and pulse until the mixture ALMOST comes together. Use the rest of the water if needed.
Remove the dough from the processor, separate into 2 halves, and bring each half together, flattening each into a disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

In the meantime, make the filling -
Mix the sugars, cinnamon, all-spice, ginger and flour until well incorporated and there are no lumps of brown sugar left. Sprinkle the mixture on the cut apples and mix well.

Remove one disc from the fridge, sprinkle some flour on your counter, and roll out the dough, taking care to roll from the middle out, and turn the dough a little bit each time you roll. Make sure you have enough flour under the dough so it doesn't stick to the counter.
Carefully place your dough in a 9" pie pan and fill with the apple mixture. Place this in the fridge while you roll out the second disc. The cover the apple mixture with the second dough and crimp the edges together, trimming the excess with a scissor if there's too much hanging over the sides. Cut some slits in the top to allow the steam to escape, and brush the top with egg wash.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, then lower the oven to 350 for about another 30 minutes. If the edges start getting too dark, cover them with aluminum foil.
Remove from the oven, let cool and enjoy!

Welcome

So I've decided to blog. Not as easy as one would think.

I'm going to try to stick with what I believe in - which is, quite simply, that eating good (and good eating) is easier that most people think.
So I'll talk (or write I guess), and hopefully you'll comment, and we'll chat.
About eating.
About good eating.
About easy eating.
And anything else that comes up.

Welcome to my blog.