blackberry walnut cookies

There is nothing quite like the perfect sandwich cookie. You can smear a bunch of things between two cookies and call it good, but in reality, not all sandwich cookies are created equal. Think of the oreo. It's an insult to the sandwich cookie if you think about it. Like the famous linzer cookie with its heart-shaped cut-out reminiscent of the holidays. Those are pretty darn perfect.

And the cookie in question: two buttery, nutty shortbread cookies with tart berry jam in between, dusted with powdered sugar. mmmmmm.

I am a fan of this cookie recipe, not only because it looks so pretty, dusted as it is with powdered sugar as if to say 'this was just an after-thought, nothing more, nothing less' but because it is such an easy recipe. If you have a food processor or nut grinder for the walnuts, even better. But if not, finely chopping the walnuts is the hardest thing you'll have to do.



I served them as a simple ending to a holiday meal. It was a Hanukkah dinner I gave for my b.f.'s family. I made potato latkes and topped them with smoked salmon and horseradish cream, as well as a homemade spicy apple chutney. I got inspired to try them after seeing the beautiful spread in the December issue of Gourmet.



I have to say, for a 'shiksa' (is that the correct spelling?) I make a pretty damn good latke. I have become quite fond of embracing my non-Jewish Jewish side and for two years now I've made latkes for the family so we can say we celebrated Hanukkah, even though the Catholic girl is the only one who really gets into the tradition. What can I say? I love food traditions revolving around holidays --religious or otherwise-- and any excuse is a good excuse to throw a dinner party.



Blackberry Walnut Cookies (from Gourmet magazine, Dec. 2008)

2 sticks unsalted butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup a.p. flour
1 cup walnuts, toasted, cooled and finely chopped
about 1/2 cup blackberry or raspberry jam
garnish: confectioner's sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350. Blend together butters, sugar, vanilla and 3/4 t salt in a bowl. Stir in flour and nuts (dough will be sticky). Form level tablespoons of dough, or use a cookie or ice cream scoop, into balls (40 total) and arrange 2 in. apart on 2 large, ungreased baking sheets. Flatten balls to 1/3 in thick with the back of a water glass dipped in flour. Bake, until edges are golden about 20 minutes. Cool completely.
Spoon 1 tsp jam into flat sides of 20 cookies, then sandwich with remaining cookies.
Dust with confectioner's sugar.

Bakeshop

I have been busy in the kitchen lately. It has been a regular Santa's bakeshop around here. I decided at least a month ago that all of my gifts this year will be homemade. So if you're reading this and you are expecting a gift from me, this is a SPOILER: your gift will be so delicious.

That's because I had a marathon baking day with my good friend and stellar baker, Betsy. She roped me into baking for a neighborhood artisan market last weekend where all of our cool, hip neighbors sold their artistic wares in a new vacant building space in East Nashville. It was a very fun community event and I was glad to be a part of it. Not only did I hawk a few baked goods, but I met many nice people and was reminded of why I love this 'hood so much.


Betsy and I made s'mores in the shape of little houses with homemade graham crackers, homemade marshmallows and chocolate. She made the most beautiful linzer tortes with a X-mas tree on each piece.



We made a lot of yummy things, including two kinds of biscotti: almond dipped in chocolate and chocolate-orange-pistachio.







We made mini cranberry walnut loaves and maple-glazed pumpkin spice loaves (the best-seller of the day), and our baker friends Lisa and Tom joined in the fun and made cheese straws, chocloate cookie crisps, sugar cookies, walnut fudge and apricot-pecan bread. Our table was overflowing with homemade goodness. You should have been there.



With what I have leftover, I am giving all kinds of nice presents to friends in the coming days. It's the perfect year for making homemade gifts, really. Not just because we're all broke, but because it recalls a time when life was simpler and giving the gift of something made with love in your home kitchen was greatly appreciated.

I hope this year is no exception.

An Easter Egg Feast

In case you hadn't noticed, Easter is all about eggs. This may sound trite but for me this year it really was. Maybe because I am working as a baker right now and have learned a lot of fun things about the art of pastry, or maybe because my mom always did a lot of baking for holidays... either way I did an almost all-pastry Easter brunch this year. The only thing that was not made of pastry was the salumi and tomino cheese plate, which of course I bought at work.

Eggs are beautiful as well as symbolic. They are synonymous with Easter, not because of any Christian import, but because of the pagan ritual of Springtime celebrations that focus on Nature. Eggs symbolize rebirth and renewal, as well as fertility. They also happen to be the number one ingredient in baking.




The first thing I made, two days ahead, was this "Torta di Pasqua" (Italian Easter tart). It came from a magazine, La Cucina Italiana, which has recently been published in here. I learned from them that this is a traditional thing to make on Easter because it holds up for a few days, is even better on the second and third day, and travels well to the Easter Monday picnic I spoke of in my previous post.

It starts with a basic pate brisé, or non-sweet pastry dough, similar to pie dough. The filling is made with ricotta cheese, diced ham (I used Boar's Head Black Forest), fresh marjoram or thyme, salt and pepper and lots and lots of eggs (12-14 depending on the size of your cake pan). An 11-inch springform was called for, but not owning one that large, I used a 9 inch round cake pan instead. In the future I will use the springform as it makes for a much prettier presentation. The cool thing about this tart was that is is like a quiche, but also like a cheesecake, but one with a pastry top and whole eggs baked in the middle! You roll your chilled pastry out, lay it in the pan, pour in the filling, then make indentations with the back of a large spoon and crack a whole egg in each one, like so...



Then you lay your second rolled out disk on top, pinch the edges together, sprinkle the top with coarse salt and cumin (I used flax) or dark sesame seeds, and bake for about an hour or until the top is puffed and golden.



Next up, I had to counter the savory tart with something sweet so I made something else I've never made before: a Swiss Easter rice tart that I had seen in NYTimes Dining & Wine last week.




I made it on Sat. night. It was a simple tart, with a custardy filling made of white rice, milk, sugar, eggs, lemon zest and almond meal (or ground almonds mixed with a little flour). It was very easy to make. I love making tarts and my 10-inch removable tart pan is probably the most used pan in my baking arsenal. Everyone raved about the lemony, nutty, not too sweet tart. Who knew the Swiss could bake?

And, as if I hadn't used enough eggs or butter, I whipped up some Hot Cross Buns on Sunday morning just for fun. I'd never made them (or even eaten them) before, as they were not in our family's Italian repertoire. I learned to make them at work on Friday and it was easy enough to duplicate at home. You make a brioche dough first (c'mon, I know you all know how to do that), then add golden raisins and nutmeg and mix into the eggy, buttery dough, mix with the dough hook for a while, then chill overnight if you want. I find that working with yeasty things that need to rise, breaking it up into stages makes it a lot less overwhelming.



On Sunday morning I woke up, took out my dough, shaped them into little 3-oz balls, laid them aside to rise just like Jesus, and popped them in the oven after making the requisite little crosses on top with a knife. They baked in less than 20 min. and came out smelling divine just in time for my guests to arrive. I let them cool a bit, iced the crosses and handed them out with coffee for a little warming goodness before the main dishes.



(Long post, I know, lots of baking. Can't say I didn't warn you).




We sipped mimosas, nibbled on deviled eggs and egg-shaped cookies--as I said, I used a few eggs, but who's counting?-- and enjoyed my pastry labors in good company. I must look insane to some of you with all this work for one meal, but for me it's a labor of love. There is nothing I like more than making something from scratch that transforms into a beautiful and edible thing, to be shared with the people I love. My mom, whose favorite season was Spring and who loved baking as much as I do, would be proud.

Baking

I bake a lot. It makes me feel productive, creative and calm. I love the feel of the dough on my hands, but mostly I use the mixer unless I'm making bread. I make focaccia bread and brioche everyday at work. But at home I make more simple things. I recently made an old family recipe called "potica."

It originated in Eastern Europe but my mom's Italian family used to make it every Christmas. My Aunt Kate would bring it from Colorado with her when she and my uncle came out to visit us, their car weighted down with food they made themselves: canned tomatoes from their garden, along with peaches and apples, pizzelles, peanut brittle, and toffee candies and of course, the potica. 

Potica is a yeast bread that is rolled out, with a filling of walnuts, brown sugar, raisins and butter spread evenly over the surface, and the whole thing is rolled up and set aside to proof before baking. It is then sliced and served warm or at room temperature. It's perfect with coffee for breakfast. Although it's not something I'm likely to make more than once a year, it is a special thing. My Croatian neighbor, Erwin, is the only person I've ever met outside my family who knew it. So I made this and brought some to him and his wife and his Croatian parents while they were visiting. They loved that I knew how to make it. But then his mother sent us some of hers during the holidays and it was sooooo much better. 

 

I also bake cookies a lot. For the holidays I gave away these packages with ginger cookies, linzer cookies, almond shortbread and chocolate cut-outs. I also make bread everyday at work--foacaccia and brioche- and I love them both. There is something really nice about starting your day early with a cold slab of freshly made dough, set it aside to rise and go back to it, shape it, bake it and see it through to completion. It's very satisfying and something I love about my job.

 

The pizza-ish thing is a fruit focaccia I made at home with some leftover dough one day. 

And lastly, my dog Olive. Even though she is known to indulge in my baking from time to time without permission, how could I stay angry at that face?

What's for dinner?

This is a question that could be perceived in a burdensome, obligatory way. As someone who does most of the cooking in my house--and I love it--sometimes I feel bored or uninspired and those nights are perfect for the taqueria down the road, or the gyro place, or even Nashville's finest: hot chicken. But when you're trying to eat healthy and cook mostly at home, there are some things that you can do that are easy, warm and tasty--and pretty healthy too. Like a soup of whatever happens to be in the fridge. Tonight it was a mire poix of carrots, onions, garlic and celery. I added some fresh ginger that needed to get used, and a lonely parsnip that got left behind, some chopped tomatoes, and a can of Health Valley canellini beans. I seasoned it with salt and pepper, a few pinches of crushed red peppers, oregano, a pinch of rosemary and a pinch of cumin, let it cook only about 20 min, took out my favorite new toy (the immersion blender!) and pureed the whole thing, added a dollop of creme fraiche I had from a recipe over the weekend, and that's it! It was delicious. With a grilled cheese sandwich on seeded bread on the side, it was the perfect last-minute winter meal. Homemade soups are the bomb. Canned soups just can't compare. And since I'm all about cooking with fresh, seasonal ingredients, my conscience wouldn't let me open a can of soup. I love a hearty soup that I've made from scratch.