verbatim

Baked Goods

I've been meaning to show you some of the books in the teetering-tottering stack next to my desk. Today I'll do just the ones for the bakers out there.

Here are two I edited, both by Dede Wilson. First is another in her stellar Baker's Field Guide series: A Baker's Field Guide to Doughnuts:

OK, so I've never actually made doughnuts, but this book has me thinking it's totally doable. Did you know that in addition to potato latkes, it's also traditional to make jelly-filled doughnuts on Hanukkah? In Israel they're called sufganiyot. It all has to do with the miracle of the oil that kept the Eternal Flame lit in the Holy Temple for 8 days instead of just 1. We don't have an eternal flame here in our house, but we sure do like to fry foods, so maybe I will give it a whirl. (Did you also know that Hanukkah starts on December 8 this year? And were you aware that I haven't even given a single thought to buying presents for my kids yet? I am too busy being freaked out by the knowledge—thanks, Internet!—that next year Hanukkah begins on the night before Thanksgiving! Really! I officially give up now.)

The second is Cake Balls:

This is filled with recipes for all those, well, cake balls, that you see at bakeries and coffee shops nowadays. The subtitle is "More than 60 delectable and whimsical sweet spheres of goodness," and that's eactly what you get. There are cute cake balls, elegant cake balls, holiday-themed cake balls, you name it. I am not much of a decorator, but I know an 11-year-old named Julie who is dying to try making some of these, so maybe she will be the cake ball queen of this house. 

These next two I did not edit. First, Abby Dodge sent me a copy of her latest gem, Mini Treats and Hand-Held Sweets:

As suggested by the title, this book is for things like cookies and candies rather than cakes and pies, so the recipes would be ideal for parties, bake sales, picnics, and so on, where you don't want to have to cut slices or use a fork to eat. (Or if you just want to eat them all yourself, one by one.) The book is already completely clogged with post-it notes from Julie, who is obviously eager to get started. She learned early on that every recipe Abby's ever come up with has been a winner.

And finally, this last one is a huge door-stop-sized masterpiece, Bouchon Bakery:

Michael Ruhlman sent me this one—he ghost-wrote the whole thing, the latest in the Thomas Keller cookbook series. It's quite a major work, complete with recipes for every imaginable cookie, scone, muffin, etc., as well as all manner of fancy-shmancy pastries and breads. It is also a simply gorgeous book just to flip through. Andy already made the Pecan Sandies, the same day the book arrived.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I still can't believe it's already Thanksgiving—seems about a week too early this year, doesn't it? But here it is. I am up early, getting ready to pop Turkey #2 into the oven and wondering where I'll stow all the clutter that seems to accumulate every day (and magically overnight). We're going to lock the kitties in the basement for the party because they have already demonstrated an appalling lack of respect for such things as smooth tablecloths and sticks of butter left out to soften.

As always, I am looking forward to a house filled with many family members laughing and schmoozing and hugging, and more delicious food than anyone could possibly eat (well, until the weekend, that is). I am thankful for Thanksgiving—both the holiday itself and the opportunity to stop for a moment and remind myself of all I'm blessed with. 

And to you, my "Internet community" of friends (both the kind I've met and the virtual sort), I wish many reasons of your own to be thankful. 

A Post on Not Posting

A loyal Verbatim reader complained that lately he hasn't been getting his money's worth from this blog, and he's right. So I'm willing to offer a pro-rated discount to anyone who likewise feels that I haven't been posting frequently enough to justify the high subscription rate.

And you won't be hearing much from me this week, either, I'm afraid. What will I be doing?

I will be busy making 2 turkeys with lots of gravy, 6 pans of stuffing, 4 trays of roasted root veggies, and so on.

I will be working, working, working. I just finished editing a low blood sugar cookbook, I'm nearly done with a vegan cookbook, I'm about to start on a bread baking cookbook, I'm waiting on a panini cookbook, and I'm supposed to be proofreading a novel any day now (well, that's what they've been saying for the last couple of weeks, anyhow). I'm also helping put the finishing touches on Michael Ruhlman's Kindle project, which I can't wait to share with you! 

I will be watching as the plumber makes a hole in the kitchen ceiling in an attempt to tackle the horror show that is an ancient toilet in the girls' bathroom directly above, leaking into our pantry. "And it's not the good water," quoth the plumber. He did some exploratory surgery this morning and came away shaking his head.

I will be driving my kids all over the place! Soccer season is over, so now Pete is all about basketball and indoor track. But at long last, Bar Mitzvah year is over—he had two more these past two Saturdays, and now I am done with the 11pm Saturday night party picking up routine (until Julie's turn in a couple of years, that is!). Speaking of Julie, to our delight (and some amazement), she made the All-City Band for clarinet, which is a really big deal. I had told her what an honor it was just to be invited to audition, and then she was accepted! It's for grades 5–8 citywide, and she said there were only about 10 fifth graders at the first rehearsal—that's out of 15 elementary schools in the city! Steph is still volunteering at the hospital, which is convenient because she can walk there, but she also got a real job! She's assisting with weekend birthday parties at Create a Cook, the wonderful cooking school run by Jo Horner. So far she's mostly washed a lot of dishes, but she loves earning her own shopping money, and I don't blame her. (She also managed to make Honor Roll this term, even with this new item on her schedule!) Oh, and she's now taking driver's ed. Gulp.

I will be playing with Violet and Luna, if I can get them out of this box (this is in response to another loyal Verbatim reader's complaint that I haven't been sharing enough kitten photos):

What will you be doing this week?

We Interrupt This Blog Silence

Well, I've been pretty scarce around these parts lately, haven't I? Let's see if I can catch you up on some of the more interesting things that have been going on besides the overly ambitious work schedule I managed to arrange for myself this month. 

I won a Twitter contest! And that meant that Andy and I got to have dinner out at Lumière. It was lovely—and extra-special because it was a midweek treat. I went for the special local/in-season menu: Roasted Local Carrots with Cranberry-Maple Chutney for a starter, followed by Tagine of Vermont Veal, Local Root Vegetables, and Maine Golden Eye Beans with Dried Local Apricots and Lumière Preserved Lemons. Delish. For dessert it was a Lanni Orchards Apple Crumble with Maple Sugar Ice Cream and Molasses Caramel, which was right up Andy's alley—just as well, as I was stuffed. 

Then, for our (24th!) anniversary, we went as usual to Mistral, which never ever disappoints. I started with the Butternut Squash Tortellini with Brown Butter and Sage, which was heavenly. And, as I so often do there, I followed up with the Roasted Duck with Wild Mushroom Risotto and Wisconsin Dried Cherry Gastrique. It's perfect, and Andy likes when I order that, because I can never finish, and he gets the rest for lunch the next day. I could barely see straight after that, but Andy persuaded me that we should share a Warm Chocolate Torte with Vanilla Ice Cream and Sauce Anglaise. OhMyWord

Let's see, what else.... Oh, I don't think I told you about our last book group. We read The Submission by Amy Waldman, which we all enjoyed, although some more than others. This is a novel that imagines a contest being held in NYC after 9/11 for artists and architects to submit designs for a memorial to be erected at Ground Zero. The submissions are anonymous and the winner is chosen by a panel of artists, civic leaders, and so on. And what if the design that was chosen just happened to have been submitted by an American Muslim? You'll have to read to find out. The characters were really believable, and all sides were presented so well that I found myself quite unsure where I stood on the various issues. Very thought-provoking. Next months we're doing The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. Anyone read either of these?

I do have other things to talk about, but I'd better hit PUBLISH now before I get side-tracked. Maybe I'll post yet again this week—wouldn't that be something?

Hurricane Cookies

Hi, remember me? I used to blog here?

I hope everyone out there survived Hurricane Sandy without too much damage or inconvenience. No trees fell on my house and we didn't lose power at all, although our Comcast service (phone, TV, and Internet) went out for Tuesday and half of Wednesday, and then again for half of Friday. I hear that New York is going to get hit with a nor'easter later this week, and I can't even imagine how much worse things will get there. Stay safe, everyone!

Julie and Andy made yummy vanilla cookies just before the worst of the storm hit here, so these will forever be known in our house as Hurricane Cookies. They were chewy and delicious while still warm, but I didn't like them as much once they had cooled and crisped up, so my advice is to eat them all at once. They would also be splendid sandwiching raspberry jam or Nutella, neither of which we had on hand.

Vanilla "Hurricane" Cookies

1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups sugar
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean (or 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
2 large eggs

Heat the oven to 375°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment or silpats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. In another medium bowl, beat the butter on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla bean seeds (or extract) and continue beating until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until well blended, about 1 minute longer. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just blended, about 30 seconds.

Place heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough in mounds about 3 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Bake two sheets at a time, swapping the sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until the edges are golden brown, 10 to 14  minutes.

Set the sheets on racks and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the racks to cool completely. Using cooled cookie sheets, bake the remaining cookie dough.

Update 10/4/13: This post is attracting all the spambots, so I'm closing off comments. Email me if you wish!