OMG a new beginning!

Connor and June, buds  *shout out to Kate and Ashley and their awesome store, Oldmadegood for letting me use their sign.

Some things I know about myself are 1) I love a good challenge. 2) I like to change careers (often). And 3) I need to be surrounded by people whom I esteem and respect. If the above things are not true for me, we are dead in the water.

This little list is relevant because I am happy to announce I will be starting a new job as the pastry chef at Lockeland Table, the neighborhood restaurant just a few blocks from my house that is eagerly anticipated by East Nashville and beyond. This job will get me back in a kitchen doing something I love to do, which is baking. I think it will be a good fit for me because the backbone of the restaurant's philosophy is local, seasonal and unpretentious food in a neighborhood setting open to all. It will be a family-run business that will also appeal to families, as the partners in this venture are long-time colleagues from Eastland Cafe (another great East Nashville mainstay) and have young children of their own. I believe they'll take that experience of caring for and feeding their own families and translate it to feeding the neighborhood. What better place for me to be?

The desserts I would love to make are ones in which seasonal fruit features prominently, things like handmade tarts, pies, gelato and other simple Italian-inspired baked goods that let the ingredients speak for themselves. I am super excited to be embarking on this new professional phase for myself, and to play a small part of Chef Hal's and Cara's dream.

Here is a rustic peach and blueberry crostata that I hope will be featured on the opening, late-summer menu. As long as peaches are still available, I'm making this. It is so simple served room temperature, alongside a scoop of vanilla bean gelato and cup of good, strong coffee. It's my favorite breakfast actually (minus the gelato).

And this zucchini-olive oil cake with lemon glaze I tested out recently (from Babbo's Gina de Palma's cookbook), and it was loved by all who tried it. It's moist without being too rich but with complex flavors of olive oil mixed with lemon and spices. It would be a great late summer-early Fall dessert when zucchinis are plentiful.

Last Sunday I attended a charity dinner at the Hermitage Hotel benefiting the national organization Share Our Strength.  They work to end childhood hunger and one of their big fundraisers is a traveling dinner / live auction with local and regional chefs where patrons bid lots of money for, among other things, a chance to have Tandy Wilson or Tyler Brown cook dinner for 12 in the winner's home. My favorite dishes were Brown's first course of heirloom beets, green olive vinaigrette, biscuit crumble and Cruze Dairy ricotta salata; and the "community plate" --a collaboration of all the chefs (chef Hal was one of them) that really spoke volumes about the honest, meaty, Southern-inspired and fresh food these chefs are serving now.

 Then, Steven Satterfield of Miller Union in Atlanta (where I recently enjoyed a fabulous farm-to-table dinner with friends) made this blackberry cobbler with Cruze buttermilk ice cream. Love that miniature skillet, but the blackberries made all the guests' teeth purple! (note to self: look up the science behind this and find out if there is anything to be done about it).

It has been a fruit-filled and fruitful summer for me. And as the temperatures and the oppressive humidity rise alongside each other, making us all move a little slower and long for the crisp, cool days of fall, I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead. For me, August always brings change and a new beginning and this one is no exception.

Peaches are perfection

There is nothing that, to me, says summer more than a perfect peach. I live in the South and I thought when I first moved here that peaches would be abundant in summer, but it turns out they have a rather short growing season. And all peaches are not created equal. 

I grew up loving peaches as they came from the only fruit tree that miraculously grew in the desert --or at least it did at my house. Growing up in a place like Las Vegas, there was not much we could grow and eat from our backyard but I do remember picking pomegranates from a neighbor's tree and seeing fig trees all over the place. Though what people did with them remained a mystery. Now I love figs and peaches and there are so many wonderful things to do with both. But my mom somehow managed to make a peach tree grow on the side of our house and with those peaches she made the most delicious pies and homemade ice cream in summer.

Here in the South we start seeing peaches at the farmer's market in late June-early July but things are all a bit off this year and fruit is showing up earlier. I bought my first batch from the downtown farmer's market (pictured above) the day before Father's day. They were from South Carolina, and while beautifully displayed in their baskets, they were not that great to eat. I made a peach-blueberry pie (left) with them for Daniel's father day dinner and they were fine for cooking. But I crave a peach that is slightly firm and juicy, not mealy in the slightest and just drips with sweetness so that you need nothing to go with it. It's perfect just the way it is.

The Peach Truck peaches

This is what I finally found in the Georgia peaches being sold in Nashville by the cute little operation called The Peach Truck. A husband and wife team whose family owns a farm in GA, the kids go out in a green vintage pick-up truck selling their peaches out of the back for $6 a bag. I first saw them at my friends' coffee shop, Crema, and almost got in an accident, I pulled over so fast. The guy and girl selling them were both so friendly and cute and their logo so well done that I thought, "I sure hope these peaches taste good because these people have a great idea and it's all just so inviting."

Sure enough, after tasting one bite, I bought two bags and June and I were on our way, peach juice dripping down our chins as we drove away.

I got home and after raving about the peaches on social media (what? who does that?) I started making stuff.

I made this peach tart for a dinner party.

 But mainly we just ate them. We ate them alone, with peaches n' cream ice cream, over cereal, for a snack, late at night. We can't stop eating them. And I hear from the peach folks that peach season is over in only 2 more weeks! Say it isn't so. I need to stock up and I strongly encourage you all to do so as long as that cute green truck is hopping around town. But just don't buy them all because I still have lots of things to make.

I didn't make this peach cake. My friend Tom at Marche did and it's delicious.

The Peach Truck

sweet potatoes + pie = rainy day fun

We woke up to a very dark, rainy day today with the temperature dropping into the 40s as the day goes on. I love the winter because it makes me feel like staying home and nesting, decorating the tree like I did yesterday, or cooking a few things that can be frozen for later --to give as gifts or serve up for an easy weeknight dinner.

root veggie dauphinois

I have a lot of root veggies in my pantry right now, all beauties from our CSA: potatoes, sweet potatoes, gigantic pink turnips, parsnips and radishes. I love root veggies because they seem so daunting and a lot of recipes for them are really boring and uninspired. So they present a challenge which inspires me to make something great out of them.

My friend Ellen posted this wonderful recipe on her blog, which she found on design sponge last week. It's for a gratin daupihois (just a cheesy, creamy potato dish) made with turnips and sweet potatoes as well as regular potatoes. The recipe actually comes from the beautiful blog la tartine gourmande.



I loved the photos of those beautiful pink turnips next to the orange sweet potatoes, all of it enveloped in the cheesy, golden brown crust that is the marking of a great gratin. I happened to have everything I needed in the house and more. I actually made two of them, one to eat tonight and one to freeze and give to my friend who will have a baby soon.



coconut-sweet potato pie with spiced crust


I still had sweet potatoes staring at me from the counter. Then, I remembered I had seen this beauty on the nytimes last week as an alternative to the traditional thanksgiving pumpkin pie. Oh, don't make me make this, I said. And with the delicious sweet potatoes from the farmer! I didn't actually make the spiced crust (which sounded amazing) because I had a purchased (!) graham cracker crust in the fridge and wanted to save time.

I should serve this tonight for dessert but I don't think I'm going to make it that far. It is sitting on the counter now, filling my kitchen with the most fragrant sweet potato, spices and coconut smell. How can I resist having a warm slice with my coffee this afternoon?

Who said rainy days had to be boring?

Apple-plum pie

As the weather turns cooler and the days get shorter, I welcome my favorite season and crave being in the kitchen with the stove on. I love baking even more than usual when the fruits of late summer-early Fall beckon me to create gorgeous fruit-filled pies, cakes and tarts. Now plums are on their way out, and apples and pears are just starting to appear at the farmer's markets.



Fortunately for me, there seems to always be an excuse to bake something. Like the backyard party we went to recently to which I took two homemade apple-plum pies.

I am always trying new recipes, especially for pie crust. This one is from Dorie Greenspan, a true expert on all things baked. Hers is for an old-fashioned mixed-apple pie. I tweaked it to include the plums and and left out a couple of things hers included in the filling, like tapioca and raisins, mainly because I didn't have them.
I think the 1/3 cup of vegetable shortening in the crust is what makes it "old-fashioned." You could leave it out, but it really does give an extra flakiness to the pie crust.

Everyone loved it at the party. It was a great complement to the end of summer fare the hosts provided for the last BBQ of the season, things like corn and bean salad, hot dogs and burgers, potato salad and beer.

I would serve this pie just as it is, with a small dollop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Apple-plum pie (adapted from Dorie Greenspan, in bon appetit, Oct. 2009)

Crust
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 cup solid veg. shortening, chilled (optional)
6 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Filling
1 1/4 lbs of apples (peeled, cored and cut into wedges)
1 lb plums, sliced into wedges
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup golden or dark raisins (optional)
21/2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca (optional)
1 1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 tblsp. raw (turbinado) sugar (optional- for sprinkling on top)

Make dough using the food processor method (dries first, then add butter + shortening by cutting in and pulsing until it looks like cornmeal; then add ice water and blend until moist clumps form, adding more ice water if dough is dry). Gather dough into ball and divide in half. Flatten each disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Butter 9-in pie dish. Roll out dough onto floured surface to 12-in round. Transfer to pie dish pressing down on sides and bottom, allowing overhang to extend over sides. Roll out second piece (for top) and chill both on baking sheet while preparing filling.

Preheat oven to 425. Combine apple and plums wedges, 1/3 cup sugar, raisins, tapioca, lemon peel, salt and nutmeg in bowl. Toss to coat fruit and let stand about 15 min.
Transfer filling to crust, mounding slightly in center. Dot filling with butter cubes. Brush edges lightly with water. Transfer second dough round atop filling; trim overhang, press edges together, then fold under. Using tines of fork, press on crust edge around rim of dish to seal. Cut some 1-inch slits with a sharp knife in top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush top lightly with milk or water and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake pie 15 min at 425. Reduce oven to 375 and continue to bake until crust is golden, apples are tender and juices are bubbling over, about 50 min. longer. Let cool to lukewarm or room temperature and serve.

For more fall recipes, see this pretty apple cake, or this post with some of my Fall favorites: chard gratin, moroccan sweet potatoes and farro with chickpeas and butternut squash.

Crostata di marmellata

There is something so simple about Italian desserts. If I come across a new "Italian" dessert cookbook and the recipes call for multi-stage cake baking or lots of hard-to-find ingredients I know it's not really Italian. Because in my experience, the Italians are fans of homemade, rustic desserts. The ones your nonna used to make. And those are the same ones that Italians repeat over and over at home, as well as the ones you will find in a good Italian pasticceria.

Now, don't get me wrong. There are regions in Italy where pastry is a tradition involving skill, artistry and technique, rivaling that of the French pastry tradition. These are mostly in the South - cities like Naples, Palermo and Siracusa in Sicily.


like this beautiful Sicilian cassata (image from www.on_sicily.com)

But in the rest of Italy, pastry is not an elevated tradition, but more a tradition of simplicity and seasonality.


crostata di marmellata and torta della nonna in a pastry shop window


pan di spagna (chocolate cream cake) made by Carla, my Tuscan friend/cook

That is why this 'torta di marmellata' speaks volumes to me about Italian desserts. It's not overly sweet, nor is it ostentations or decorative. If this were art history, it would be Medieval rather than Baroque. It says "anyone can make this," or "just use whatever fruit is growing in your backyard," or "give me an espresso and a piece of crostata and I will give you perfection.


getting a little fancier but still rustic crostate

So I first learned of the crostata (Italy's version of pie you could say) while hosting my good friend Betty Bottoni (yes, that's Betty Buttons) on her first visit to the U.S. to see me. We met in 1997 in Urbino where she was studying journalism and I was passing through after helping direct a study abroad program in Perugia. We became fast friends and she invited me and a few other straggling foreigners to her apartment for dinner that night where her mother, visiting from her town in Lazio near Rome, cooked what was probably a fabulous meal in the tiniest kitchen imaginable. Betty's mom is a wonderful Italian home cook. I have learned a lot from her over the years.

In fact, I am sure that Betty's crostata probably hails from her mother's kitchen, one in which there is always a jar or two of homemade jam left from the previous summer. (Right now I have a jar of grape-strawberry in the fridge and my favorite, fichi-cacao (chocolate fig) in my cupboard from the last visit to Rome. Betty's mother always sends me home with marmellata and various other jars of homemade goodies.

You get the idea. The real Italian sweets, the kind your mom makes, are made with whatever you have on hand, which is why so many of them involve seasonal fruit. And always, a short crust, or 'pasta frolla'- heavy on the butter, light on the sugar.

There are as many recipes for the pastry as there are for pie crust, varying only slightly, so go with what works in your kitchen. But here is one I return to again and again, given to me by Betty so many years ago. It's still written in Italian so forgive the estimations on equivalents. Like I said, it's not so much about precision as it is presentation. Take this to a party and people will think you're an expert baker.

La crostata di Betty

pastry:

1 1/2 sticks (12 T) chilled unsalted butter
1/4 c sugar
1 egg and 1 yolk
2 cups a.p. flour
pinch of salt
2 T cold water

filling:
1 1/2 cups jam (or fresh fruit if available)
1 t finely grated lemon peel
1/2 t almond extract
powdered sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)

Mix as you would pie crust, divide in half, wrap in plastic and chill at least one hour, up to one day. Roll dough out on floured surface, transfer to 9-in tart pan, or whatever you have, and press into sides. Stir jam or (cooked fruit), lemon and almond extract in bowl to blend. Spoon filling into crust in pan. Roll out remaining dough and cut into strips. Arrange them on top any way you like. Seal strips to crust and trim edges. Bake tart at 350 until golden, about 50 min. Can be made a day ahead. Cover and serve at room temp.

Rustic plum tart

What do you call plums cooked with a red wine (or port) and brown sugar syrup scattered over a simple rolled out pie dough and served with vanilla ice cream? A perfect summer dessert.

This was a breeze of a thing, thought up after seeing it in bon appetit recently. Plums have just made an appearance at the local market and I bought some hoping to do something like this with them (although I love plums eaten fresh on their own too).

I took it to a father's day dinner party and it was enjoyed by all. It's no 'knock your socks off' crazy dessert; just a simple and easy thing to whip up that tastes homemade and makes good use of a seasonal fruit. It could easily be done with peaches (also in season now) or cherries. Yum!

Rustic plum tart (adapted from bon appetit, june issue)

For the crust:

2 cups a.p. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c + ice water
1 + 1/2 sticks of cold butter

For the filling:

about 6 ripe plums, seeded and quartered
1/2 c + 1 T brown sugar
1 T flour
a dash of maple syrup
2 c port or red wine

Make crust: put flour and salt in bowl and cut in butter with a pie cutter or a fork. Add cold water a little at a time and mix with fork until it comes together with small lumps of butter. Divide in half, make 2 discs and cover with plastic. chill for at least one hour.

Make filling: Boil wine or port, brown sugar, maple syrup until reduce to about 1/2 cup of syrup (10-15 min). Cut plums and put in bowl, sprinkle with flour and toss to coat. Drizzle syrup on them and let sit until crust has chilled.

Roll out crust on a parchment-lined baking sheet til about 10-11 in. in diameter. Put plums in the center and drizzle with remaining syrup, if any. Fold edges of dough over and brush with water. Sprikle edges and plums with brn. sugar and bake for about 40 min., until edges are golden brown.

Serve at room temp. with vanilla ice cream and lick your plate!

Simple pleasures

Learning the art of pastry has made me a better cook all around. For example, I have learned that it's really not that hard to make things look beautiful. Whether it's a simple arrangement of fruit on a plate, or a glass of wine served in just the right glass, or a billowy meringue on top of a chocolate and lemon pie, it's all about beauty for me lately. Of course, taste is important too, but I really appreciate the way things look in my cooking and presentation--something I was not aware of before I started this year of cooking and learning...

My natural attention to detail is probably also an advantage to my work as a baker. I love it when things turn out perfectly and to me, a rounded and golden puff of brioche that has risen smoothly and gloriously out of the pan on all sides, is an example of simplicity of form. I guess that's why I am in a meringue phase these days. I am fascinated by the way it comes together because of chemical properties in the sugar and egg white, and produces this textural wonder of snowy white and softly shaped peaks. I love the way it tastes on top of a custardy- yellow-chocolate pie too. It's hard to come up with a better topping. I guess that's why those Southern ladies always made the best meringue pies. (By the way, the best pies in Nashville are made at the Sylvan Park Cafe).

I am going to be cooking for a friend in the next few days so will be pretty busy. Four meals in a day and then delivered to her ready to heat and serve. It's a new challenge, but I'm up for it. The menu for five includes a Moroccan chicken tagine; a Southern Italian lamb stew; a turkey sausage and rapini lasagne; and roasted sea bass with rainbow chard (which will have to be replaced with kale as chard was not available). Wish me luck!

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?