Pear Wine

A work colleague of Adam's was recently visiting from the Boston area and we invited her over for dinner.  It was, truthfully, one of my biggest debacles as a host: I was way behind on the cooking itself and then I dropped a brand-new, entirely full bottle of $45 O& Co. olive oil on our tile kitchen floor...just as I was serving dinner.  But sometimes, in my obsession with trying to be a good host, I forget to pay attention to my awesome guests...Melanie reminded me of this when, a week after our dinner, she mailed us a lovely new bottle of olive oil to replace the one I dropped.

Melanie also arrived at our apartment with a bottle of pear wine, which her stepfather makes himself.  He also makes his own limoncello and wine.  Adam and I actually didn't open the pear wine that night, which I'm not sure followed the proper rules of etiquette.  Are there rules governing whether we should have opened it with Melanie or not?  Let me know if you have any ideas...

...but we did open it up about a week or two later.  It's fairly regular for us to pour a "nightcap" after Bug goes to bed: it's that drink we sip while watching a show or playing a game or chatting with one another.  It's a signal that our kid is in bed, we've eaten dinner, and our day is finally winding down.  On this particular night we felt like pouring something special and decided to open up the wine.

I wasn't sure what to expect.  Something über-sweet, for certain, and maybe a bit syrupy.  But I didn't know if it would be very pear-specific or what other flavors I might encounter.   The rich golden color was just gorgeous - I loved holding it up to the light.  And the flavor?  Beautiful and infinitely more elegant than I was expecting; I was also relieved to discover it wasn't nearly as sweet as I had expected.  I also got some honey and vanilla on the nose, as well as on the palate. It's a dessert wine, to be sure, but it was just more subtle and light than I thought it would be.  In short, it's a new favorite.

How do you score a bottle?  Well, you really can't score a bottle from Melanie's stepfather; in fact, I'm conspiring myself to acquire another bottle (or two)!  It involves sending Adam up to Boston under the guise of a work project of some sort, buttering Melanie up, and hopefully sneaking a bottle home with him (I kid, Melanie!).  But I did find lots of web resources for making your own: this site gives recipes/instructions for making two different kinds of pear wine (one uses raisins and sugar for sweetness, the other uses honey and is more mead-like).  

But if you're more my style, then you just want to buy it.  Hillcrest Orchards has a pear wine.  Honeywood also has a version; I haven't tried their pear wine, but their other wines have proven way, way too sweet for me in the past.  And I'm very curious about Maple River's pear wine: they're based in North Dakota, which isn't normally conducive to pear growing but they make it work (but, dear god, they need a web designer).  Sounds like a unique wine tasting experience.  Lastly, having tasted a few wines from Virginia, I've been rather impressed with what they've produced (see my post about Villa Appalaccia).  Brooks Mill Winery in Virginia does a pear wine that I'm particularly interested in tasting.  Do you have any wineries you love who do a pear wine (or other fruit wine)?

Eat, drink, and pear well.

The Roger Smith Cookbook Conference 2012

I spent all day last Friday and Saturday at the Roger Smith Cookbook Conference here in NYC, listening to some of the top people in food sharing their expertise and experiences: Melissa Clark, Judith Jones, Peter Kaminsky, Molly O'Neill, Laura Shapiro, Bonnie Slotnick, Tanya Steel, Joe Yonan, Grace Young...and so, so many more.  My favorite part, though, was that all the panelists shared stories with us.  Storytelling was actually a major theme of the conference, I think, and the story-loving librarian in me just soaked it all up like a dry sponge.  I felt elated, inspired, fired up, excited...and I also felt so far out of my league that I hardly introduced myself to anyone.  Aw well.  There's always next year, right?

I took a crap-ton-load of notes that I'll share with you, and I also pulled some of the tweets from #cookbookconf.  I highly encourage you to check out the hashtag for the complete rundown, including different perspectives, discussions, and notes.  (Side note: what did we do at conferences before Twitter?  I love that it enables us to experience panels we can't attend, and it allows for a multi-layered discussion and engagement.)

Without further ado, here is a sample of my (copious) notes from the conference:

• I discovered a rididonkulous amount of new blogs and websites.  Here's a taste: Three Many Cooks, Artful Gourmet, Eat Boutique, Operation Gastronomia, Lady Gouda (my favorite blog name by far!), Art of Gluten-Free Baking, The Experimental Gourmand, Kitchen Play, The Editor's Kitchen, JessicaTom.com, Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Kitchen, Poor Girl Gourmet, One Tough Cookie, and many, many more.  My Google Reader is happily filled to bursting!

• BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS.  Thanks to the outstanding panelists, I have a long list of books I want to read: Culinary Intelligence (Peter Kaminsky), Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge (Grace Young), Simple French Food (Richard Olney),  Climbing the Mango Trees (Madhur Jaffrey), A Fistful of Lentils (Jennifer Abadi), and others.  These are all books written by panelists (save Richard Olney), and the stories they shared were just breathtaking; I couldn't get enough of them.  I can't wait to delve into their books!

• Peter Kaminsky shared with us the three things we all need to be healthy: 1) Don't eat processed food, ever; 2) buy the highest quality, most full-flavored food you can afford; and 3) cook - or at least live with someone who does. 

• Betty Crocker wasn't a real person!  Did you know that?  I didn't...  Not surprised, of course, but still...

• June Hersh stated that the ubiquity of recipes means that the future of cookbooks is in the stories.  I can definitely see it coming, and I'm thrilled: the stories behind the recipes are my favorite part!

• I learned that some people - namely Jane Lear and a number of the people in the room at the time - are not MFK Fisher fans.  I'm a die-hard groupie so I was floored to learn that there are people out there who don't love her writing.  I still don't see how you couldn't...

• Speaking of Jane Lear, there was a lively discussion on the panel about "food TV" and how it has complicated things.  People watch shows like "Iron Chef" and even Ina Garten and "they don't see the A to B, let alone the Z."  So when it comes time for viewers to cook for themselves, they overstretch themselves, not understanding that cooking actually isn't all that easy.  Then they end up frustrated and give up.  I personally know so many people who have had this experience.  That said, though, food TV can often be the gateway to getting people into the kitchen in the first place so I don't feel like I can completely condemn it.  But, yes, it certainly complicates things.

• I loved what Peter Kaminsky shared about planning a menu for a dinner party.  You need to think carefully about the progression of each dish, how they work together, building everything to a crescendo.  He quoted, "A diva wouldn't start the aria on the highest note."  I'm sooo going to remember this the next time I host a dinner party!

• We also talked about authenticity and ethnicity quite a bit.  In particular, I found Krishnendu Ray's points to be illuminating (for me).  He pointed out that chefs master French techniques and, once mastered, they are considered truly skilled and accomplished chefs.  However, ethnic food is still seen as a list of ingredients that a chef is familiar with, rather than techniques that are mastered; it certainly isn't considered haute cuisine.  He also held up various cookbooks: the ones that are Euro-centric (i.e. The French Laundry Cookbook; NOMA) have covers that are cream or light-colored.  Cookbooks that feature "ethnic" foods have covers with "ethnic" colors: blue, green, red, orange (i.e. Indian Home Cooking).

• A major theme of the conference was that "Perfection Is OVER."  Gone are the days of Martha Stewart's example of shiny perfection and seeming effortlessness.  The whole structure of the family meal is oppressive and romanticized.  Books like An Everlasting Meal and The Improvisational Cook feature much more democratic, creative ways of cooking.  Molly O'Neill said that there's more chaos in the American home these days; cookbooks bring order.  Embracing your failures in the kitchen is honest and authentic.  So, everyone, you can breathe a sigh of relief now. 

• As a blogger, one of the major things I am taking away from this conference is that I can reach out way more than I do.  I'm an active user of Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest...but I'm not reaching out at all to authors.  A perfect example is that I LOVED Georgeanne Brennan's A Pig In Provence (I reviewed it), and I'm an evangelist for Laura Calder's French Food at Home (I cooked from it here and here).  But I never reached out to those authors, or any of the others I've mentioned here.  There were lots of authors at this conference and the overwhelming majority seemed eager to reach out to and collaborate with bloggers.  So I'll remember that going forward - I'd love to reach out to some of my favorites and let them know that they're inspiring me and that I'm spreading the word!

• I didn't go to Judith Jones' panel, but everyone was tweeting up a storm while she was speaking.  First, she apparently had on a salmon-hued pleated Hermes scarf that was To Die For.  Second, she shared her distress that chefs seem to be ruling the food world these days; chefs and their dramatic, titillating cookbooks have very little relevance to the home cook trying to get dinner on the table for a family.  I couldn't agree more.  Many people buy chef's cookbooks because of the name recognition, but these cookbooks are intended to intimidate; they are inaccessible.  This makes their books a form of literature, rather than true cookbooks.

• Grace Young was easily one of my favorite panelists: her passion, knowledge, and stories were inspiring.  Additionally, her rage at the mutation of traditional Chinese cooking got me fired up (particularly when I learned that my $100+ stainless steel wok is damn near useless for traditional Chinese cuisine...but at least it's better than a nonstick wok, which Young said was the worst thing you can use for Chinese cooking.  The high heat gives off poisonous chemicals and all you get out of it is a "soggy braise").  Young also shared beautiful stories about cooking with her mother, and I took away the importance of passing recipes and food from generation to generation; oftentimes, food is the "iron thread" that binds us together.  Lastly, she spoke what was one of my favorite moments of the whole conference: "Record what is real because it has meaning.  It has legs." 

• As I said before, one of the major themes of the conference was the idea that you need to make connections and relate on a personal level.  Jennifer Abadi shared gorgeous, poignant stories about trying to record her grandmother's recipes; ultimately, she said that "it was about more than recipes. It was about history, stories, culture, connection, so much more."  On that same panel, Susheela Raghavan shared that "it has be personal.  That's what it's all about." Indeed.  And amen.

I know, this is the Longest Blog Post Ever.  But I was just so inspired and had so much to share!  I hope to attend this conference annually - it was an invaluable experience and I learned a tremendous amount.

Thanks to all the panelists and organizers!  Thanks as well to the Roger Smith Hotel for hosting, as well as to all the sponsors who provided us with such yummy treats!

Eat, drink, and share your stories.

The Roger Smith Cookbook Conference

I'm off today to The Roger Smith Cookbook Conference which, luckily, is taking place right in my own backyard: NYC.  I can't wait to get inspired and learn all kinds of new things at panels like "The People Behind the Pages: The Appeal of the Personality-Driven Cookbook" and "Cookbooks in Libraries: Gateways to Food Studies".  And some of the best in the biz will be speaking: Betty Fussell, Molly O'Neill, Rebecca Federman, Joan Nathan, Laura Shapiro, and so many more.

I'll be live-tweeting, barring any unforeseen technical difficulties, so check it out over on Twitter.

Cannellini Beans with Rosemary, Thyme, and Lavender

Man, it's hard for me to come here to post lately.  I can't even claim insane busy-ness...or a family tragedy...or anything remotely close to anything earth-rocking.  So where have I been?  Well, I find when I'm online, I immediately go to Pinterest.  I pull up to my boards, take a seat, get comfy, and I don't seem to move for ages.  Seriously, I'm addicted.  So if you're missing me here (ha!), then do head over there and say hi!

But I've finally broken free for a bit to stop by and share this gorgeous recipe with you: Cannellini Beans with Rosemary, Thyme, and Lavender.  Cannellini beans are one of my favorites: they're creamy, rich, and ridiculously versatile.  I love that you can mash them up with roasted garlic and olive oil and - bingo! - you have a satisfying crostini topping.  White beans with bacon?  Sublime.  White beans with thyme?  Perfect pairing.  A little sprinkling of crushed red pepper?  Even better.  In a soup?  Of course.  Pureed?  Yep.  I've even been known to eat them with breakfast.  I'm beginning to sound like Bubba in Forrest Gump, aren't I? 

And the best thing?  For me?  Is that they come in a can!  I know purists and cooks more advanced (or snobby) than I am will sniff at how easy it is to soak dried beans overnight, etc, and blah, blah.  But, you know, some things are just quicker from a can.  Easy as that.  If I can take this shortcut, then I'm taking it.  There are many, many other places where I don't cut corners when I'm cooking; opening a can of cannellini beans is practically a gift to myself.

I thought I'd tried damn-near every preparation - it seemed that way - so I was particularly excited when I read this one in one of my new favorite cookbooks, The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider.  I have to confess that I've never used lavender in a recipe before so I was completely intrigued.  Sally Schneider has a note before the recipe that has some serving suggestions: "[these beans] make a fine little meal on their own, with some shavings of Parmigiano, aged goat cheese, or ricotta salata [...] They are also a classic accompaniment to grilled or roasted lamb."  I'm not a big lamb fan so we just served the beans on their own, but feel free to give the pairing a try yourself!

And - bonus! - this is a one-pan recipe!

CANNELLINI BEANS WITH ROSEMARY, THYME, AND LAVENDER
Inspired by Sally Schneider's The Improvisational Cook


Serves 4-6


2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1/2 cup shallots, thinly sliced
1 1/4 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
Pinch of dried lavender
4 cups cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (about 2 cans)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice


1. Combine olive oil and shallots in a large (12-inch) heavy skillet.  Cook, covered, over moderate heat until the shallots are soft and golden, about 5 minutes.  


2. Stir in rosemary, thyme, and a pinch of dried lavender (note: careful on that pinch - lavender is very potent!).  Saute, stirring, for 1 minute.


3. Add beans and 1/3 cup water to the pan.  Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 5 minutes.  Add lemon juice.  Adjust the seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed.  Spoon the beans into 4 bowls.  Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over each serving.  If desired, serve with grilled baguette slices.


LAVENDER NOTE: Dried lavender wasn't easy to find. I ultimately found it at the Union Square Greenmarket.  You can order it online at Lavender By The Bay (the same sellers at Union Square).


WINE NOTE: I paired this with the Cupcake Pinot Noir, which you can get at Trader Joe's.  The beans brought out all the berry in the Pinot Noir - very nice.


NOTE ON KID-FRIENDLINESS: I know, I know.  I haven't made many kid-friendly meals lately.  This was served on an "Adult Dinner"night after Bug had gone to bed.  She won't touch cannellini beans.  


Eat, drink, and look for new ways to dress up old favorites.

Buvette's Brussels Sprout Salad

The Soul Twin (a.k.a. my best friend, Andrea) recently celebrated a birthday.  It's the first birthday I've actually shared with her in person in...years and years.  Maybe even since we graduated college?  So I was incredibly excited to take her out to Buvette for lunch this year to celebrate live and in-person.  I'd heard amazing things about Buvette, but I just never had the chance to go...it's in the West Village after all and, like most Manhattanites, I cry and whine about having to go to the opposite side of the island.

Anyway, Buvette surpassed every expectation I had and more.  The ST and I nibbled and drank for three hours.  The restaurant folks didn't seem to care; it truly is the sort of place you can sit and enjoy as long as you want.  We had sandwiches...we had a gorgeous selection of cheeses...we had a bottle of wine...but the stand-out for us were the Brussels sprouts.  We ordered them on a bit of a whim - they were "just" a side dish and, even though we're deep into winter, we're still obsessed with trying everyone's variation on Brussels sprouts.

Buvette's were heavenly.  They were sliced very thin and tossed with walnuts and cheese.  The taste was so fresh and so light, and we desperately wanted to be able to recreate them at home.  So we asked the server how they were prepared: Brussels sprouts, Pecorino, walnuts, olive oil, salt, and pepper.  That. Is. It.  To quote Ina Garten, "how easy is that?"

So my variation is below.  Make sure to use a very dry, crumbly Pecorino, and you also want to salt liberally.  The key, though?  You need to keep tasting, tasting, tasting to make sure you have the seasoning right.  And don't skimp on the olive oil!

BUVETTE'S BRUSSELS SPROUTS
Serves 4 as a side dish


1 pound Brussels sprouts, sliced thinly
1/2 pound aged Pecorino, grated
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted 
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper


1. Trim off the dry ends of the Brussels sprouts and run them under some water.  The best way to slice them very thin is to use the slicing attachment on a food processor: feed the Brussels sprouts into the processor and they'll be finished in about a minute.  You could use a mandoline, but be careful of those fingers.  And I suppose you could slice them by hand but that'll be a long process.  Once finished, empty Brussels sprouts into a large bowl.


2. Add the grating attachment to your food processor.  Add Pecorino to grate.  Again, you can do this with a hand grater too.  Add cheese to Brussels Sprouts in the bowl.


3. Using a dry pan, toast walnuts over medium heat until fragrant and slightly darker.  Add to bowl.


4. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper to the bowl and toss well to coat.  Taste for seasoning; add more olive oil, salt, and/or pepper, as needed.  Serve.


KID-FRIENDLINESS: Who are we kidding?  Bug would never eat this.


WINE NOTES: Usually, a crisp white is the way to go with Brussels sprouts, but the Pecorino makes them a bit more red wine friendly.  I had the Foris Pinot Noir with this and liked it.  


Eat, drink, and recreate your favorite restaurant dishes.

Bacon and Hazelnut Leeks

Why does this happen every year?  By the time the New Year comes, I'm so excited for things to wind down a bit.  I envision a January that's cozy, quiet, and slow-paced.  But that NEVER happens.  I don't exaggerate: NEVER.  This year has been no different.

But it's been okay.  As I mentioned before, I've had some exciting changes happen.  In mid-December I was hired as a visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute; I'll be teaching master's level library science students children's and YA literature.  I'm ridonkulously excited.  I'm also doing some consulting work for Scholastic Book Clubs.  Lastly, I just planned a spontaneous trip to California in February: I've been feeling a little homesick for the West Coast and need to head back to the Golden State for a spell.

Part of the reason I think I've been avoiding blogging lately is because I've just been in the moment and going about my day-to-day life.  Frankly, it hasn't occurred to me in weeks to even take a picture of what I'm cooking.  I'm just making it, serving it up, and enjoying time with my family.  But I am coming out of it now, helped along by the fancy new flash I got that will help me take better photos in my dark, dark apartment (Note: the photos below are pre-fancy flash).

And like everyone, I'm paring down post-holiday, trying to make simpler foods that are (slightly) healthier for me...and if they're not healthier, then they're just simpler.  Today's recipe is just that: Bacon and Hazelnut Leeks.  With a cup of heavy cream, it certainly isn't all that healthy.  But it's simple to make, rich in flavor, and even a little bit sexy.

It's probably un-French but I make this 4-serving dish for just me and Adam.  But this is all we eat - I don't make another course.  Served up with some bread to sop up the sauce, it's all we need.

BACON AND HAZELNUT LEEKS
From Laura Calder (French Food at Home)
Serves 4 (or 2, in our house...)


4 medium leeks
4 tablespoons coarsely chopped hazelnuts
4-6 strips bacon, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Trim all but an inch of green from the leeks.  Wash them thoroughly (get in between the layers - they are usually sandy/dirty), tie them in a bunch with string, and plunge them into the boiling water.  Cook until tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes (this cooks them pretty soft - cut down the time if you like firmer vegetables).  Drain and quickly rinse in cold water to stop the cooking.  Drain, remove the string, pat dry, and keep warm.


Meanwhile, toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan; set aside.  In the same pan, fry the bacon until crisp; remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Deglaze the pan with the vinegar, scraping up any good stick-to-the-pan bits.  Pour in the cream and boil for a minute or so to reduce to sauce consistency.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in the bacon and nuts.


Place 1-2 leeks on each serving plate, spoon around the sauce, and serve hot.


NOTE ON KID-FRIENDLINESS: Forget about it.  This is something I dish up after Bug's gone to bed and had a dinner of her own.


WINE NOTE: Hands down, Chardonnay is what you need to be drinking with this.

Eat, drink, and simplify.


P.S. I really do love Laura Calder.  Check out her recipe for Pear Pork here.

Eternal Flame

I tried a new recipe during the holidays: Scallops with Chestnut Sauce and Crisp Sage from Food and Wine (November 2009).  It was the first time I had encountered these instructions in a recipe: "Add the Cognac and carefully ignite it."  Needless to say, I was a bit nervous.

Bug had the nerve great idea to film the whole thing...being a child of the millenium and all, she already wants to get everything on camera.  So here it is (please ignore my Valley Girl voice and delight in Bug's whispered, "Oh my god"):

As you may or may not have been able to tell from the video, I singed my arm hairs.  "Singed" is such a gentle word, of course, but what I did was create a film of blackness on my arm and made the whole kitchen smell like burned cat.

Of course, it was AWESOME.

Eat, drink, and be daring.

Happy New Year's!

I've mentioned here before how seriously I take New Year's Eve and the few days that precede and follow it.  Sure, I party and celebrate with the best of 'em...but I also take a moment for introspection and, truth be known, I shed a few tears of happiness every year.  To me, New Year's is one of the rare times when we have no other choice but to live in the moment, straddling what has passed and what is to come. I take stock of what I've done and who I am...and I think about how that'll look going forward.  And it's a bonus if I get to share all this with friends and family.  And I did this year, toasting to me, Adam, and Bug moving to Manhattan, toasting to the Soul Twin and The Other Husband moving to NYC, toasting to my new position as visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute (oh, wait...did I not tell you guys about that yet?  More to come...).  In the end, Adam and I invoked one of our favorite toasts: "To all our shit!"  Seriously.  Because we're vulgar and dorky that way.

I'm still getting my feet back under me, post-holiday, so it'll be a couple days before I'm back with recipes, photos, and chatter.  In the meantime, my rad friend Jen sent me this article: "A Recipe for Simplifying Life: Ditch All the Recipes" by Tara Parker-Pope, and I would love for the rest of you to take a look at it as well.  Let me know what you think.  I have conflicting feelings about the book Parker-Pope is discussing, AN EVERLASTING MEAL: COOKING WITH ECONOMY AND GRACE by Tamar Adler...or, more accurately, I have issues with Parker-Pope's complete reverence for it in this article.

First, I think not having a gimmick is the new gimmick and, as someone who has been in marketing for a publisher, I see the marketing behind this book from a mile away.  Second, cooking isn't easy and I have real problems with any book that makes the promise that it is (even my beloved Ina is guilty of this).  Why not say that, yes, it is hard work?  Yes, it does take up a large chunk of time?  Yes, you will have failures in the kitchen?  But the rewards are soooooo worth it?  But I don't know that enough of these books do that.  And then their readers get frustrated when they inevitably experience failure...or when they inevitably realize that it's still a lot of work, that "simple" does not equal "easy".  Lastly, there's so much emphasis on cooking made easy and simple...but I have always felt that menu planning and food shopping is given short shrift in the cookbooks I read.  THAT is the time-consuming, complicated, creative part of the cooking process, I think.  I'd love to discuss that more.  (And I will note that I haven't read AN EVERLASTING MEAL yet.  Amy mentioned it to me, and I'm adding it to the top of my list)

Phew!  Okay, well, there's my rant.  If you read the article, let me know what you think or, better yet, if you've read Tamar Adler's book, let me know how it works for you.

Happy New Year, all!  I'm not a fan of resolutions (to quote Mary Poppins, they're pie crust promises: easily made, easily broken).  However, I always strive to live life fully, eat and drink well, treasure my friends and family, and challenge myself.  So I hereby renew my conviction to do so in the next year.

Eat, drink, and cheers to new beginnings!