Danish: the Buttery Layers

Are you ready to make puff pastry? I have to confess I never thought I'd ask that question. I never thought I'd make puff pastry. I mean, it's so easy to buy. Why put myself through all the pain and heartache of "laminating dough"?

Because I'm a Daring Baker, that's why!

Laminating dough just means folding a layer of butter into a dough to create flaky layers. It sounds scary but it's not so bad at all.

First you create your butter block. Mash up some butter, or whip out that Kitchenaid and cheat again. That's 2 sticks or 1/2 pound of butter if you're keeping track.



Add 1/4 cup flour to the butter and mix that up.

Take your lovely dough out from it's rest in the fridge.


Roll it out to an 18 X 13 rectangle that's about 1/4 inch thick. This isn't really 18 X 13, but it worked out fine enough for me.


Spread the butter mixture on 2/3 of the dough.


Fold the dough like a letter, folding the non-buttered third (the left side) over.


Fold the right side over to make a little package.


Let that rest covered in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Then take it out and roll it out again, making sure it's lengthwise on your surface.


No more butter- just fold. Left first:


Then right:


Repeat. Two more times. That makes four turns.

Not scary. Not scary at all. Just time consuming. But worth it, totally worth it.

Tune in tomorrow for fillings: Strawberry Rhubarb Preserves and Pastry Cream!

Turning pastry,
Baking for you,
Playing for me.

Meredith

June Daring Bakers Reveal!!

I know you've all been wondering, "When's the next super secret amazing baking challenge Meredith's hinted at all month?" I mean, the last one was such a success... Okay, well I never finished talking about the opera cake. I lost interest. And if I'm not interested in something, it's kinda hard to put all the energy it takes into posting about it. So it trickled off, and I don't regret it. I did learn something. 1- do the challenge closer to the reveal date, and 2- post it quickly and succinctly. Both of those things are rough, because I'm busy, and I love the epic post.

So my goal is to tell you all about the challenge in the next 3-4 days. It helps that I don't have a trip to Greece competing for web-time. So without further ado, I reveal

Danish!


Tender flaky homemade danish.


It's complicated, but not nearly as complicated as the opera cake. Just make the dough and fill it however you like- those were the rules. I followed them because I love rules. I used local and seasonal ingredients because, as you know very well, that's just how I roll.

So lets start with the dough. It's a yeast dough that's also layered with butter. So think of it as a mixture between pie pastry and bread. Not so scary really.

Measure out one tablespoon of active dry yeast. Or 1 oz. fresh yeast, which isn't at Whole Foods, so I didn't go there.


Combine the yeast with 1/2 cup whole milk in a bowl. Kitchenaid owners, you should use that. If you're hard core like me, just use a regular bowl.


Add 1/3 cup sugar


the zest of one orange


3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom


1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract


the seeds of 1/2 a vanilla bean


And 2 large chilled eggs.


The recipe called for 1/4 cup orange juice, but I didn't want my dough to be too orangey so I just added another 1/4 cup of milk.

Measure out 3 1/4 cups flour and add 1 teaspoon of salt. Look at that- I didn't forget the salt. Salt is very important in baking.


Slowly add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients. When it got thick I switched from whisk to my hands.


When everything comes together turn it out onto a floured board.


Knead until the dough is springy and not sticky anymore.


Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.


Then the fun begins. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear about that.

Playing and Baking,
Meredith

Mexican Dinner

Hahahahaha. Well, last night was the first show of the first session, and I decided to stay at my brother's in Washington Heights so I could sleep in a little. I thought ahead and uploaded the pictures for this post yesterday morning. But there has been a little hiccup. Brendan hasn't updated his safari (doesn't everyone use firefox now???) and his computer only supports html mode. Which would be fine, except I can't see the individual pictures in order to comment and explain them.



So for now, I'll just give you a general overview. I made easy tamales from a recipe from last month's Food and Wine. It was really easy because you just mix masa and baking powder in the food processor and add crisco, water and chicken stock. Then you mix in 2 1/2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese. The recipe said to wrap them in plastic wrap but that seemed wrong, so we used the traditional corn husks, soaking them for 30 minutes in boiling water to soften them up a bit. We steamed them for 30 to 45 minutes.



Michael was worried that they weren't setting up, but once they were out of the steamer and on the platter I thought they firmed up nicely. Michael made a quick chipotle sauce for them which was almost as good as ketchup. (It embarrasses Michael to the millionth degree, but I happen to love tamales with ketchup, which is how my mother taught me to eat them, and how they eat them in the Valley on the Texas-Mexican border) I don't care what he thinks, it's good. But actually that's with traditional pork tamales that our housekeepers' mother makes for us every Christmas, which is the traditional time to eat tamales. The chipotle sauce went very well with these chicken ones.



Michael made cheese enchilladas, which you've seen here before, and we rounded it out with some pinto beans and sliced avocado. Dessert was strawberry ice cream from the Alice Waters cookbook. I think it truly was the best strawberry ice cream I've ever had.



Enjoy the pictures:

































Weren't those lovely pictures. I can't remember what they were, but I'm sure they were amazing. And delicious.



Playing blind,

Meredith

A Preview

Six Flags more fun? Not so much. How about Six Flags more tired. It was fine, but when you're in charge of twelve children, you can't exactly let loose. So today I'm going to give you a taste of what's to come. A preview if you will of a weekend dinner that was delicious and pretty easy.

Check out the new chalk board in use. I love it! Chalk is so much more real and gritty than the white boards we use at camp.


First thing was first: Salsa


Admire my lovely knife skills. I love a fine dice. Here I've diced up 8 or so vine tomatoes, half a white onion, 2 tablespoons of cilantro, and a jalapeño and garlic clove that were roasted in a dry cast iron skillet until blackened and tasty. I removed all the seeds from that jalapeño, but I did split the salsa in two, and add habanero rings to half, for some kick.

Here are the ladies on the porch enjoying my salsa and Michael's amazing guacamole made with a sprinkle of cumin to make it special.


Nancy, Sue and Joyce: three wonderful women.

Peter and Wenonah joined us later for dinner.


It was awesome, but you'll have to tune in later to hear all about that.

I know, you hate me, but I promise it'll be worth the wait,

Wish me luck- my kids are performing their original work, "Hamlet: Searching for Ashley Tisdale." It's a story of a girl searching for her family, who finds out family is not necessarily who you're born with, but who you meet along the way. (I think Devin wrote that one- amazing)

Until next time,
I'll be playing,
Meredith

I'm Going to Six Flags

Sometimes my summer job really turns into just that. Instead of teaching and directing Shakespeare I turn into a bonafied camp counselor. Like today, as I head to Six Flags. It's kind of funny. I'm sitting on my couch donning a camp teeshirt and pigtails. And I'm kind of excited about the log flume.

The kids get to pick one of three groups to run around the park in. Slow, medium, and fast. I always pick slow to lead, because I like a kid who knows what they are really. Lot's of kids in fast are actually mediums and mediums are slows. But the slows- they aren't trying to be something they aren't. They scream from the mountain tops, "I'm a wimp, and that's okay!" I like that. And also I'm a wimp. Last year I went on the ferris wheel with two kids and I thought I was going to die. What would the campers do then?

So there you go...

And just for fun, I'll play this old favorite:





I know. It's terrible, but so catchy.

Playing for real,
Meredith

Biscuits and Gravy

Ya'll, sometimes you need something salty for breakfast. And southern. If you're me, you always need something salty and southern for breakfast. It's just the way I am. I think that biscuits and sausage gravy could be the appetizer to my last meal on hearth. Really, I just love them.

Michael and his guests actually saved this meal for me because Michael knows that I'd take sausage over pancakes or waffles any day of the week. If I had the luxury or the metabolism to do so. Until then, it's peanut butter toast for me, which is a little salty and a little sweet, so it'll do.

We had no butter. Or at least we couldn't find it. But Meredith, you ask, how can you make biscuits without butter?

Oh, don't worry, my friends, you can make cream biscuits. Of course, you have to have heavy cream lying around the fridge. But we did, because we were planning on making strawberry ice cream later (oh don't you worry, you'll hear about that).

The recipe is from the Gourmet Cookbook. It's easy as pie. Okay, it's actually much easier than pie.

Flour: 2 cups all purpose, sifted:


With 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Stir in 1 1/4 cups cream.


Aw yeah.


Roll out and cut into discs.


Brush the tops with cream.
Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes in your fabulous new double oven. Oh wait, that's just me.

Fry up some Jimmy Dean sausage. Or Owens. Nothing else will do. Don't even try any of that fancy gourmet stuff here. It just won't taste right. Save just a tablespoon or two of the sausage and crumble it up as you cook it. Add a couple of tablespoons of flour. Let that get a little brown and bubbly in that pork fat. Then stir in milk (we don't want to kill ourselves here). Let that thicken up, and you've got yourself some killer gravy. Season with S&P to taste.


Heaven on a plate, I tell you!


Okay, time to go get that peanut butter toast going...

Playing,
Meredith

An Almost Very Nearly Finished Kitchen

Happy Monday!
Wait, did I just actually write that? Actually, this Monday isn't so bad. I'm headed to the final week of session one of camp. The play is written. The performance is Thursday night, and then it starts all over again for session two, but longer and with more kids. But this week, there are still only four, and the play is only 12 pages or so, and life is good.

It's going to be a Hudson week. I made sure to document lots of it so I'd have things to talk about. I just don't have it in me to bake at home during the week. I'm sure you understand. But never fear, because soon enough you get to hear about this month's top secret Daring Baker's challenge, and this one was good, and people ate it, unlike the opera cake. Which I never finished talking about, but I think I'll just let it go...

Anyway, back to Hudson. You got a preview on Saturday, but I've got the real deal in action for you today.

The glorious pot rack. Apparently a pot rack that goes around corners like that is really hard to find. If it's really cool and obscure, Michael wants it...


And don't you worry, all you neat freaks out there, I spent a good hour yesterday shining the bottoms of the pans so they'd glimmer in the sunlight. I really did. I couldn't help myself. The bottoms of your pans need to be cleaned just like the other sides, people. Especially if they're going to hang on pot racks.

Hello my friend, beautiful Kohler sink,


Thank you so much for helping defrost that ground beef. It really is a wonderful sink.

And now, something totally new! Double wall ovens. It took Michael and Gabe hours to get these babies in here because they were so heavy. But they're lovely and I can't wait to bake all sorts of goodies just for you in them.


You can also see the bookshelf with just a bit of brick peeking through. Those aren't all the cookbooks, by the way. Yeah, Michael likes cookbooks. It's also a really easy thing to get him. He's hard to shop for.

Check out the cool technology:


It's so shiny you can see Aunt Joyce sitting at the counter.

And what was for dinner? Potato cakes made from leftover mashed potatoes.


I asked Sue what was in them, but then I forgot. I think there's some egg and onion in there. Maybe a little buttermilk? I'm not totally sure. Sorry.

Check out our wild back yard:


It matches Michael's hair! Just kidding. He's growing it out so he can be Cary Grant, and I've got no complaints about that.

And what are we grilling? Why hamburgers of course.


If you give them a little dent like that they end up cooking up flat instead of rounded.

Oh, and back to the potato cakes. They taste like latkes without the texture of grated potato.


Sue at the stove.


Joyce hanging out.


The fixings:


The plate:


Oh it was good. It was heavenly. The beef was grass fed. The potato cake was smooth and yet crunchy. The pickles, well the flavor was great but they've lost their crunch.

And for dessert?

How about some vanilla ice cream with strawberries and chocolate sauce? That little wafer is a round of pie pastry, just so you know.



That was mine. Michael didn't use chocolate sauce because he didn't want to take away from the fresh strawberries.


What do you think? Which one looks more delicious? Let's have a vote.

I think I'll find we see eye to eye.
I mean, chocolate???
Playing,
Meredith

Just for Fun

I'm rained in. Okay, it's not as dramatic as it seems, it's just that everyone's left Hudson and I'm closing up the house, and I'd like to take the towels to the laundromat, but I can't because it's raining. So instead I'm going to post old pictures of the house before it was remodeled.

Doesn't that sound like fun? I thought so. And I'm very sorry to anyone who comes up for July 4th and doesn't have a clean towel. I'm sure you understand my predicament.

Sadly we don't really have any pictures of the kitchen, but there are some fun things to show you.

Here we have the parlor. How many different kinds of wallpaper does a Victorian home remodeled in the 70's need? How's about three?


A very Brady bedroom (note: bedrooms only need 2 different kinds of wallpaper, but they must share a color scheme).


Wait? Didn't I say no kitchen?


Oh wait, that's the third floor. Apparently it was an apartment. Now it's the media room, and there is an awesome screen that covers the entire back wall.

We certainly have come a long way...

Playing,
Meredith

A Breath at Hudson

Aha! I'm blogging on a Saturday. Look at me being so good and diligent, oh faithful readers. I think it has something to do with me being awake at 6 AM. I managed to lay in bed for 40 minutes or so, but really, do I want to totally whack out my sleeping schedule? That might make Monday morning a little rough.

But you know what, it's all good. I'm sitting in the dining room with three lovely ladies: Michael's mom Sue, his aunt Joyce, and friend Nancy. They've been here over a week now, and I was anxious to meet them. I missed many a delicious meal, including fried chicken Thursday night, much to my chagrin. But of course, there's more good food to be made- wonderful grass-fed hamburgers, potato cakes and fresh picked strawberries and ice cream. But more about that later...

It's always amazing to me, the relaxation that happens on the train ride up to Hudson from Penn Station. You leave the dirty grimy underground station, and ride up the beautiful river. All of the stress of the week, anything that weighed on my shoulders, takes a break. Oh yes, it comes back when I return, but I get a break. I like that about Hudson.

Hey- I borrowed this picture from Sue, but I wanted to show you a preview of the almost done kitchen.


And Joyce, Sue and Michael. Yay pot rack! Yay grout!

Stay tuned for double wall ovens and book cases, as well as a play by play of wonderful meals.

Playing and Breathing,
Meredith

Homemade Energy Bars

When I read about this recipe in Serious Eats a few months ago, I knew I wanted to make it for camp. At camp we feed the kids a snack every day. It's always apple juice and either pretzels, unsalted saltines (I know, who would eat unsalted saltines- isn't that an oxymoron?) or graham crackers. Sometimes on a lucky day we get Cheezits. The point is, these are empty calories designed to spike children's blood sugar just so they make it to lunch. Well, I don't know if I've let you in on this little secret yet, but a sugar snack is not going to keep me going. I'll have a sugar crash for sure, and the result isn't pretty. I get grumpy and mean. I have to have protein. 4-5 times a day at increments. It's just the way I am.

And so, when I read about this healthy protein and nutrient rich snack I could make myself, I couldn't resist.

Here's whats in them:


Wheat germ, whey powder, whole wheat flour, maple syrup, rolled oats, chopped walnuts, dried cherries, dried coconut, cinnamon and peanut butter. What can be wrong with all that?

First measure out the peanut butter,


And the maple syrup and mix them together.


Then add everything else. The oats:


And everything else. I mean seriously, why do I have to take individual pictures of everything going in all the time? Oh wait, I don't.


Spread it evenly into an oiled baking dish and smooth it out with your spatula.


Bake at 350 degrees until nice and brown. Shouldn't that go without saying?


Cut into bars while warm. I only made 12, but they were a bit big. Let the bars cool in the pan.


They're pretty good, and I like that I know what went in them. Even the most "natural and healthy" of those bars have ingredients I can't pronounce.


I packed them up in these snack bags for ease. And they are easy- just pop one of these in my bag and I've got 2 snacks.


They're a little dry. Either I'd let them brown a little more till crispier, or I'd add something to make them chewy, like oil. Or maybe apple sauce. I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud here.

Ultra-Energy Bar

From Serious Eats
Adapted from The Well-Rounded Pregnancy Cookbook

Ingredients

1 cup pure maple syrup
2/3 cup chunky natural peanut butter
2 2/3 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup soy protein powder or whey protein powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut
1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit, chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

2. Use the back of a wooden spoon to mix the syrup and peanut butter together in a large bowl until well blended.

3. Combine the ingredients to make a uniform dough. Press it into the prepared pan. It will be slightly sticky but should still spread easily into the pan if you grease your fingers.

4. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cut into bars while still warm but allow to cool completely in the pan. Wrap each bar individually and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 1 month.

Woohoo! I'm enjoying them, and I think you will too. And plus, I have enough extra ingredients to make the bars at least one more time, possibly more.
Enjoy, my friends.

Playing,

Meredith

Tarte Flambé

I'm here to tell you about tarte flambé. I first tasted it at the Modern Bar Room in Manhattan, and I've never been the same. It's like a pizza, only there's no tomato or parmesan cheese, and there are lots of onions and smoky bacon bits. At the Modern Bar the crust is crisp and cracker like. It is a thing of beauty.

This is the first recipe that came to me when I was planning last weekend's cocktail party. I googled "tarte flambe" and came upon this site, which seemed to be good.

You start with the dough. Combine one packet of dry yeast with 1/4 cup lukewarm water and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Let it get nice and bubbly.


Measure 4 1/4 cups flour into a bowl and add 1 1/2 cups water:


The yeast mixture:


Stir that together, or you know, let your Kitchenaid do all the work if you're lazy and blessed with one. Add more water if needed to get a sticky dough.

Add the salt. Don't forget like I do sometimes. This time I didn't! Just so you know, I use my hands to incorporate the salt in the bowl. It makes it easier.


When the salt's combined, turn it out onto a floured surface.


Knead for a good while. I don't know, 15 minutes or so. Less if you've got that elusive and expensive appliance.

When the dough bounces back when you poke it, it's good to go. Let it rise in an oiled bowl for about 2 hours. I actually let it rise about an hour and a half then put it in the fridge overnight, because I didn't have time to finish it.


I just took it out of the fridge the next day, punched it down and allowed it to rise again. That worked out perfectly.

Now slice up your vidalias. The recipe called for four, but I tell you, I threw away a lot of sliced onions that wouldn't fit, so you might want to do only three.

Boil a big pot of water. Add sliced onions. Bring back to boil. Drain. Shock with cold water. Done.


Not done. Next cut your dough in half and stretch into desired shape. I picked the circle. Very creative.


Add this mixture of eggs, fromage blanc (French cream cheese) coriander, corn starch, salt and pepper. Spread half on each pie.


Top with the onions and sliced smoky bacon. Bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until everything is brown and delicious.


That was some good pizza.


I mean tarte flambé. Make it. I dare you.

Playing,
Meredith

I'm Drawing a Blank

Have you ever woken up at 5:50 AM and gone to your computer hoping to find some sort of inspiration and you just come up short? What? You don't write a blog, you only read mine, exclusively, as if it were divine prophesy?

Oh my, the pressure. Sometimes it's just too much. But the thing is, I've really come to embrace my little corner of the world wide web, where we meet daily and talk about things that matter to me. So I can't just take a break this morning, even though there's no way I'm telling you about the Tarte Flambe I made on Saturday or the homemade energy bars I made on Sunday. So you see, it isn't about actual content this time, it's just that I don't have it in me to photoshop, organize, upload and comment on those photos of those wonderful lovely recipes I cooked this weekend.

I thought I'd let you know what I'm doing these days, and why the heck I'm waking up at 5:50 AM. I am teaching Shakespeare to children at a summer camp. Or at least I'm making an attempt to do so. I've done this twice before, but this time's a little different, because the program was streamlined from "Junior Bards," the younger portion which I taught, and "Shakespeare" which my dear friend Katie used to teach. Now it's just "Shakespeare" and I teach it with Devin, an excellent and positive co-counselor.

This year is easier in many ways so far. We only have 3 campers for the first 2 weeks, which makes things easy to control. But you go ahead and figure out a way to make a performance of Shakespeare for 3 children. We haven't quite figured it out yet. But I'm very confident in the next 48 hours we will. I mean, we have no choice. The show must go on a week from Thursday, and those kiddies need a little time to learn lines. So I'll let you know how it goes.

So there you go. Perhaps my real problem is that my creative energy is focused somewhere else entirely. Or maybe it's just too darn early in the morning... What can you do?

Playing,
Meredith

Kale Phyllo Rolls

But first last weeks Greenmarket Gold! You know you love it. A lot of these made appearances at my cocktail party. Look at those precious baby carrots. Note that they are real honest-to-goodness babies, and not mechanically separated carrot parts. I left their hair on when I served them because they were just so much cuter that way.

I also used squash, sugar snap peas, eggs and sirloin, but some things I didn't get into the meal, like that bread, radishes and kielbasa. I had plenty of food without them.


Speaking of food, how about those Kale Phyllo Rolls?

Phyllo is a pastry like substance consisting of lots of papery layers. It can be a little tricky. Especially the brand I get at Whole Foods. I don't know why, but all the layers stick together. I can usually salvage enough for the recipe, but I never have leftovers. I don't even know if you can put phyllo back in the freezer after thawing it, but I've never tried, because of all the sticking and tearing. But don't be afraid. Just go into it like me and don't be too afraid if some of your sheets end up like this:


AHHH! A pile of paper in the kitchen! Oh, don't worry, it's just phyllo.

If you manage to get a sheet free, set it on some parchment paper and brush it with melted butter.


Then sprinkle it with sesame seeds.


Repeat. Make about five or six layers, depending on how many relatively intact sheets you can pry from the bunch. Don't worry about using a few torn sheets, as long as the tears are in different places in the layers so the roll won't fall apart.

Now on the upper part of the rectangle scoop out an even strip of goat cheese. If it's local you get an A+.


Now add your filling. I just simply sautéed some kale and onions in a little butter and olive oil. That kale came in the CSA! Yay CSA's- everyone should join one. Like my friend Lena says, you pay the money upfront, so it feels like you get free veggies every week. Only they aren't free at all. You could also use sautéed spinach, or another favorite of mine, dates and bacon. But I wanted this to be vegetarian for my sister-in-law Sarah.


Once you have an even layer, fold in the edges kind of like a burrito and start rolling. This part is pretty easy, especially compared with the deceptively difficult task of separating the sheets.


Now you have a perfect little package. And no one will know how many phyllo sheets you tore to get it either. I promise, I'll never tell.


It's a good idea to slash the roll before putting it in the oven, to make it easier to slice when it's baked. Just go about an inch in, nothing crazy.


Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and delicious. I forgot to take a picture of the actual finished product, but you can imagine that it was beautiful and tasty looking.

Here are people eating it. We've got Lena, Zach, and my brother Brendan giving me a weird look.


Something else I served: Seared beef sirloin.


I just marinated it in olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and rosemary and quickly seared it in a hot pan. Then I cut it up and served it with toothpicks. It was really tender meat, I have to say. Thank you greenmarket!

A nice pic of my brother and sister-in-law, and a shot of G she really doesn't like. But it shows the apartment so nicely.


I'll post the recipe for the rolls later. I need to eat breakfast before I leave for work. Ah, summer- the busiest time of the year...

But only if you're a Player like me,
Meredith

Cocktail Monday: Thyme Gimlet

My summer job starts today. I think I need a cocktail.

Just kidding, I made these for a party I had on Saturday night. I'd never drink before teaching children Shakespeare. That would be ridiculous. And I think I'd just fall asleep on the train and miss work. So no. Party. At night. On the weekend. No children involved.

Now that that's all settled, lets talk about gimlets. A gimlet is generally gin or vodka with lemon or lime juice and sugar. In a dive bar, that would be Rose's Lime, which is just not acceptable. It has to be fresh juice, if you ask me. When I was a bartender, a fresh lime vodka gimlet was my cocktail of choice. Then I met Michael and met the "brown liquors", which have more flavor and finesse than vodka if you ask me. The one clear liquor that holds it's own with whiskey and rum would be gin. I mean, it has botanicals and stuff. So when I saw this recipe on the awesome Sour Cherry Farm, I knew I had to make it.

Take a bunch of thyme, or if you have a wondrous fire escape herb garden, you can just go to your window, open it up, and snip snip. Hee hee. Then wash all the East Village scum off the thyme before muddling it in the gin. Sour Cherry Farm said use Martin Miller's Gin, but I used Plymouth, because I went to the wine store, and they don't have much of a selection. And Plymouth is great. I don't have a muddler, so I used a wooden spoon.


While that steeps for a few hours, make a simple syrup by heating equal parts sugar and water until the sugar dissolves. Somehow I didn't document that, but I think you can imagine it so I'm not going to worry about it.

When the gin is nice and thyme-y, squeeze a bunch of lemon juice.


Mix the juice, gin, and simple syrup, shake with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain to serve.

I didn't take a picture of the finished drink. (I had a lot going on- which you'll hear all about this week)

But here's G with one in her lap. Everyone enjoyed it I think. Even Lena's boyfriend Zach liked it, and he's really more of a beer guy, so I was excited about that.


Is that cocktail making you a little hungry? I think maybe you need a little snack. How about a little herb and yogurt dip? Yeah, I thought you might like that.

Chop up some herbs. I used parsley, basil, chives and dill. You know, from the fire escape. Okay, the dill was from Whole Foods, but everything else was as local as it gets, y'all.

Check out my garden:


Isn't it wonderful? I think so too. I have to think G and her parents for this one, actually.

But for this one, I only have to think G:


That's a lot of herbs, and I plan to make good use of them.

Pick your herbs or just go ahead and buy them like a normal person, and give them a chop. Make it about 2 tablespoons- but it's really up to you.


Mince one or two cloves of garic and throw it in your beautiful olive wood bowl from Umbria. Don't have one of those? Sorry to rub it in. Use any bowl, but wood is nice for smashing garlic. Sprinkle some salt on it and start mashing away with your fork.


Now add some Greek yogurt. I found a local one! Greek yogurt is nice and thick, which makes it wonderful for dips. I used low fat, because I wanted to lighten things up with this one. (I saved the fat for later)


I did add a little creme fraiche, which is just rich French-style sour cream. It's pretty delish, just so ya know.


Call that a quarter cup.

Now taste for seasoning. Mine wasn't quite tart enough for me so I added a squeeze of lemon juice.


Note how I catch the seeds in my hand like a pro. I know, sometimes I'm just really impressed with myself. Not really, but it is a good thing to do nonetheless.

Add some fresh ground pepper, and more salt if it needs it, and call it a dip.


I served it with baby carrots, sugar snap peas, and sliced zucchini, but alas, I forgot to take a photo. Again, there was a lot going on. I'm sure you're looking forward to hearing about it.


Sour Cherry Farm's Lemon Thyme Gimlets

3 cups Martin Miller's or Plymouth gin ( I just used the whole bottle)
1 bunch thyme
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (due to extra gin, I added 1/2 cup to make it 2)
1 1/4 cups simple syrup (prepared by melting 2 cups sugar in 2 cups water and cooling)


Muddle the thyme in the gin and let it steep for several hours.
Combine the ingredients in a large pitcher.
Pour mixture into a cockail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled cocktail glasses and garnish with a thyme sprig.

Makes 4-6 cocktails. (Or more if you use the whole bottle- heehee)


A Player's Herb and Yogurt Dip

2-3 tablespoons chopped herbs of your choice (parsley, chives, dill, basil)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup creme fraiche, or sour cream
juice of 1/2 lemon, if desired

Put garlic in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Mash to a paste with a fork. Add yogurt, creme fraiche and herbs. Combine and taste for flavorings. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with veggies or pita bread.


Keep on playing,
Meredith

I Need Your Help!

I don't know what to do. I'm at a standstill. I've abandoned my baking duties and stare at pictures of myself for hours on end. Is my nose too big? Upper lip too small? My hair too wild? What message do I want to convey? Silly? Sexy? Dramatic?

Which leads me to the very most important question of them all:

WHICH ONE OF THESE BABIES IS GONNA GET ME A FREAKING JOB?

It's a pretty important question. I say I'm an actress, but I haven't been on a stage in months. I haven't said a line in almost a year. And it's not like I choke in auditions- I can't even get my foot in the door.

This is the first thing directors see:


It's pretty, but starting to look dated. No one does black and white anymore. Back when I had them done, it was said that most directors and agents preferred b&w. That has totally changed. Also, it's too perfect. Yes it looks like me, but a me who had a makeup artist and hair stylist. Perfect lighting and a West Side studio loft. And the background? Is that a sheet? How very staged and unreal.

I was starting to think that these directors and agents who were getting my headshot weren't seeing me behind all of the smoke and mirrors. Not the good looking shadow me, but the funky, silly, quirky me.

So I asked my dear friend Katie, who's done lots of headshots, including Lena's, to do mine. And on Sunday she did. And it was amazing and fun, and incredibly hot, but we did it, and a lot of them look amazing.

Therein lies my predicament. The longer I look at the narrowed down set, the more they all look the same.

So, I've created a temporary flickr set of the pictures I'm considering, and I'd love to hear what you think. You can either comment there, or email me at aplayerandabaker@gmail.com, or comment here on the blog with your suggestions.

Check them out here.

And here's one just for fun:



A little too much hair, but I love it.

Playing,
Meredith

A Different Kind of Pie

How about some food for thought today? I started this post before I left for work, but time caught up with me and I had to leave. It's a short one, but something I'm really excited about. This is a piece done by my dear friend John Moore. It's called "Les Fantomes du Passé

Determinant les Fruit de la Tarte" or "The ghosts of the past determine the fruit of the tart."

It's part of a larger series that he's doing. Basically different ghosts make different tarts. I love the imagery. John was worried about them being too gruesome, but I don't find them gory at all. I mean, that could be a chicken leg. Is this a chicken pot pie? You know I love chicken pot pie.

I also love art. This one is hand colored:

This one isn't:

I kind of like the black and white better, but maybe I'm just crazy.

If you're interested in owning your very own "Tarte" let me know- the b&w is 400 buckaroos, and the hand colored one will set you back 575 or so. I think they're worth it, if you've got the cash.

What ghosts are in your tarte? I think mine might be cherries. OCD Hypochondriac Locavore Preaching Cherries.

Playing,
Meredith

Buttercream: an Attempt

We're back to the Opera Cake my friends. I'm also tired of this one, but I also insist on finishing what I start. So I continue. But never fear, I'm in preparation for a party on Saturday, so there will be a lot of new and exciting stuff soon. Until then, we move closer to the conclusion of the Opera Cake Saga.

Today we have Buttercream. I followed the recipe sent to me by the Daring Bakers. To the T. But it didn't turn out. I know that others complained about this recipe, so I really don't think it's my fault. So, as I tell you this recipe, use it as a guide, but don't use this particular recipe. I'll find a better one for you.

You start by combining 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan.


Add the seeds of a vanilla bean. Just slice it down the middle:


Then scoop out the good stuff with the back of your knife.


Add it to the saucepan.


Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 225 F on a candy thermometer. Once it reaches 225, remove the syrup from the heat.


While the syrup cooks, begin whisking one large egg and one large egg yolk until pale and foamy.


When the syrup is ready, begin streaming it into the egg mixture very carefully and slowly while mixing with your hand or stand mixer.


Then beat it at full speed until it's cool to the touch and satiny (5 minute)
Here it is fully incorporated:


Mash up 1 3/4 sticks of butter until it's a soft mass:


Mixing at medium speed add in 2 tablespoon chunks, until all the butter is incorporated.


Beat until thick and shiny.

Then add in your flavorings. I did some lemon zest:


And a little passion fruit juice.


Beat to combine and refrigerate.


Mine was runny. Perhaps it's due to my lack of a Kitchenaid. I don't know. But there you have it. Next up, white chocolate mousse- that was perfect and delicious. I know you'll be waiting with baited breath.

Baking, or at least I was a month ago...
Meredith

London Take 2; The End of an Odyssey

Could it be that I've come to the end of this tale? Well, almost. There are one or two things I might add later when I'm teaching Shakespeare this summer and don't have the energy to cook. But this is the last big installment, and I have to say, I'm relieved. I've enjoyed sharing this trip with you, but the subject matter doesn't exactly fit in to what I really love talking about: cooking and baking with local ingredients.

So I'm wrapping it up, putting a bow on it, and sending it to you.

I hope you like it.

And here we have the last picture we took in Greece. This is the walkway to the plane.


I'd like to take a moment to discuss the European tradition of meals on flights. Why is it that American flights can't get it together? Okay, this meal looks a little weird, but it was a full meal. I'm into it. And it didn't taste half bad.


We landed. The first part of our return to London wasn't smooth. The Victoria Express was over thirty minutes late. The tube was all messed up. We tried to get a quiet pint on Portobello Road- the trendiest and most touristy neighborhood in London, apparently. We were lugging bags filled with wine and olive oil. We were grumpy.

Then Kirstie and Mat picked us up and everything changed. They were wonderful gracious hosts. We had champagne in their beautiful garden.


There are Mat and Kirstie- I had a better picture, but I was afraid Kirstie might kill me if I put it up. She doesn't really like pictures. I think she's beautiful, for the record.

We switched to red wine at some point.


Kirstie and Mat left us to pick up stinky French Cheese at Sainsbury's. When they returned we headed over to Alex and Adam's for dinner.

More Champagne in yet another garden.



We had these savory scones as an appetizer. They were amazing. They had onion, green olives and rosemary in them, and I think we ate all of them. I've got the recipe from Adam, which I'll post at the end.


And for dinner, a wonderful spring feast.

Pea greens:


Cous cous with fava beans, I think? It's been a while now.


Spicy chorizo stew,


And mint and yogurt to balance it out.


Amazing colors!


Next we ate the cheese.


Dana was the first to eat the stinkiest one. I was so proud.

And finally Alex's fabulous chocolate cake. Although at that point I was so full, I couldn't finish it.


What a lovely cake stand.

Really, it was an amazing evening. We had a blast. And it was so nice to have adult conversations in English.

We retired back to Kirstie and Mat's for a night cap, or just a glass a water for me. When we woke up there was a fabulous spread awaiting us. I'm sad that I didn't take any pictures. I was busy eating bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese, fruit, and croissants with delicious jams. And drinking proper English tea with the milk poured first out of a special pitcher.

Next we were whisked off to a whirlwind tour of London.

We saw a lot.

Buckingham Palace:

My favorite moment during the changing of the guards: when the band played the theme of Star Wars.

I think we actually took this picture before Buckingham Palace, but who's counting. Here we are at the Peter Pan statue. It's pretty awesome.

My fat behind is covering all of the amazing bronze creatures, but I promise, they are cool.



Gratuitous shot of cheese. I can't help myself.

That was actually near this amazing organic market we wanted to go to. Unfortunately we were a little late and everything was closed. It looked like it was really cool, though.

And we had a nice pint at a nearby pub.


I love pubs.


Next we stopped over at Mat's studio.

It was pretty cool.

Sparkly.


A blurry shot of where the magic happens.


I really like these photos:


Next, we went here for fish and chips. I insisted on fish and chips while I was in London. I don't care if it isn't exactly PC these days, given all the over-fishing and everything.

Jamie Oliver likes this place, and that's enough for me.


Fresh fish fried to order- what could be better?


It's a cool place. They were Greek, which was funny because G's "friend" was called George. Or rather we called him George because we couldn't pronounce his name. That George didn't really give me anything. Georges gave me tender flaky fish, so I'm voting for the English version.


Oh yeah.


The chips are not crispy enough for me. Apparently that's not their thing. But it is my thing. The fish is amazing though.

We ate it in the Garden. A lovely backdrop to this quintessential London dish.


We ate, we packed, we left.

The journey to the airport was uneventful, thank the gods.

Here we are at the end of the flight. Bleary eyed and exhausted.


G's going to kill me for putting this picture up. What can I say, I'm a little evil. She didn't like the nice guy who was taking the picture of us, I think....

And what you've all been waiting for: Scones!!

Here's what Adam wrote when I asked for the recipe:

I used a basic sweet scone recipe (from Delia Smith) and omitted the sugar and replaced it with onions (sweated in a bit of butter and finished with some balsamic), pitted green olives and chopped rosemary.

Quantities for the main body of the scone are:

8oz self raising flour
1.5 oz butter
milk (approx 2 tablespoons, maybe more, maybe less)

rub butter into flour. stir in other savoury ingredients (i put far too many onions etc in the first batch i made when you guys came over so quickly made another batch of the plain mix and combined) you need enough savoury stuff in there to be interesting but enough of the basic mix to allow it to rise, salt & pepper, add milk, mix to a dough (add more flour or milk depending on consistency)

roll out to approx 2cm deep. cut out (i used the top of the gin bottle, but don't tell alex).

place on greased baking tray bake at 180 for approx 12 minutes.

I think the recipe translates pretty well, actually. It's all about the feel, and the balance of the add-ins and dough. 8 ounces is about a cup- but I'd use a scale anyway. 180 Celsius is about 350 Fahrenheit.

Thanks so much for contributing, Adam!

I'll be baking those soon!
Meredith

Hudson Kitchen

I'm having trouble with the weekend posts. I have an excuse. The Hudson house has been in an upheaval. The balance has been off- and we've been doing our darndest to get it back on again. that takes time and effort. Lot's of each.

This weekend, I was up at the house on my own, trying to get the house ready for Michael's mom and Aunt Joyce. Joyce has never been this far away from her home, and we want to make sure it's as comfortable as possible. So I've been washing dishes that have been covered in dust in the basement, organizing linens, cleaning mouse droppings out of bags of brown sugar (you might have heard on facebook) dusting, drilling, and moving furniture. But you know what? Despite the back breaking work, I find it quite exhilarating. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a project, especially if it appeals to my OCD sensibilities.

But enough of that- I didn't take pictures, as I was very busy, hot and dirty. I did take pictures last weekend when Michael and our wonderful, fabulous saint of a contractor Gabe, put up the tile.

Remember this? The blank slate I had to label to give you an idea of what's to come?


Check it out now! There's Gabe doin' some tilin' (insert southern accent).


It was fun to see the guys working together. By the end, it was like a tile ballet. Hee hee- I had time to think of that one while they were working hard and I was sitting drinking my gin and tonic.


And here is a new debate, or rather it was a debate, because it has been resolved. Paint! Oh my, I wish I cared as much about paint as Michael. Perhaps it's best if only one of us does, because we might really go crazy if both us had such strong opinions about paint colors. I'm not sure but I think the one we picked isn't even up here. Correct me if I'm wrong, Michael...


Yay double ovens and warming drawer!! That's what's eventually going to live here. In front of the brick is where the cookbooks will go.


Check out our awesome sink:


Doesn't she look so graceful and beautiful surrounded by fiddlestick tiles and soapstone?

And the pendants- I believe they are from an old department store. The entire thing would be hidden in the ceiling, but aren't they so interesting looking exposed like that?


Oh yes, and check out our new egg mc muffin toaster- it makes poached eggs while your English muffins toast, so that everything comes out at exactly the same moment. My friend Liz really got a kick out of it. She has an awesome blog that you should read now.


Another thing we did last weekend was house plants. I went along with Wenonah, our landscape architect and dear friend, and we bought plants for her terrarium project and the Hudson house.

Then Michael and I went on a pot hunt. Nothing funny people, the ceramic kind. Then we had a potting party. It wasn't really that fun, but it was worth it.


We were racing a huge storm that was rumbling in.


I did most of the smaller plants. Michael did the harder bigger ones. He's good like that.


And here they are in their new spot- don't they make our parlor look so lovely and Victorian? Or is it a drawing room? I don't know the specific terminology of these things...


And there you have it. I'll have the complete after pictures in a few weeks.
In the mean time, we'll tie up a few loose ends with opera cake and the second London leg of the Greece trip.

Until then,
I've been playing Upstate,
Meredith

Greek Food: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (but mostly the great)

I'd like to begin this monster post with a cautionary tale. It's great to get free things. We got a lot of free things on our trip, because we were a trio of lovely charming girls, and because G learned a little Greek, which endeared us to the people. But, if you're going to get free things, there's a catch. They might not be that good.

Or they could be disgusting.

Take this dessert we got in a small restaurant. The meal was fine, but nothing to write home (or on your blog) about.

After we asked for the check, we were presented with this:


I think it was their version of Kefalonian favorite, almond cake. I'm not sure. What I know is that it was disgusting. I do not exaggerate. I'll eat anything, people! My mama raised me right. But this was a struggle. G took a bite and was about to say, "There's no way I'm eating that poo." or something similar, but I stopped her. That dessert was a gift. And we had to receive it. And we did.

Here's G forcing it down.


We ate almost all of it like good girls. And that's what you should do as well. These people work hard to please tourists like us, and we have to respect them, even their weird recipes.

Okay. Enough of that. Now for some fun memories.

This beer! Oh it was good. Nice and cold and crisp. I highly recommend the big bottle.


I think we've seen this one before...


And now for our favorite restaurant in Assos: Platanos.

I don't think it has anything to do with the New World fruit, though.

Platanos was the only restaurant in town that served pita with their mezze (appetizers). Apparently pita is only served in low-brow souvlaki places.

But the bread is not great, and this pita is amazing.


Also on the table: Squash Fritters, Stuffed Grape Leaves, Feta Dip, and Tzaziki (yougurt and cucumber dip)


More Greek salad and the most delicious sausage ever. Really, it was amazing.


That was good stuff.

And now for what was supposed to be our very special meal in Fiskardo. We picked this restaurant for the view. And because it was off the beaten path a bit, and less touristy.

And the view is indeed amazing.


The food however, wasn't. Actually the salad we had was very good- lots of different greens (a nice switch from Greek salad, and salty anchovies, and a cheese other than feta). But this "Seafood Souvlaki" which basically means shish kabob, was overcooked, rubbery and mushy. The waitress recommended it after saying she didn't really like seafood. So that was probably the mistake- don't let someone who doesn't like something recommend it. They'll probably just throw one of the most expensive things on the menu at you.


Also, the potato was boiled and tasteless. I liked the creamed spinach, but it was heavy on the dill, and G didn't like it.

That restaurant's saving grace was this free dessert.


It was the opposite of the "almond pooh" we got before. This was delicious fresh balls of dough fried and soaked in honey syrup. It was freaking amazing! It was possibly the best thing we ate the entire trip.

Unless you count this:


We picked up a jar of Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) at the market, and enjoyed every last drop.

And here was another at home creation: A Player's Daiquiri.

Squeeze lots of limes and lemons (the lemons were my addition, because they were local)- about 10 or so.

Add 3-4 heaping spoonfuls sugar and let it dissolve in the juice.

Add 1-2 cups white rum and ice if you've got it. (If not, like we didn't, just add some cold water to dilute it a bit)

Et voila! A refreshing beach beverage:


And when drinking a Player's Daiquiri, one must have a snack.

How about cheese toast? Toast thin slices of bread and top with grated parmesan. Toast some more. Eat.


And life is good.


One night we were just downright tired of eating out. So I made us dinner. We didn't have many ingredients to work with, but I like to think I can make something out of nothing.

I made a simple pasta sauce, enriching it a bit by frying up some salami in olive oil. Then throw in some chopped cloves of garlic, deglaze the pan with some wine, and add a can of crushed tomatoes. Make sure you've got water boiling as well. When it boils, drop some penne or other short pasta. Throw the cooked pasta into the reduced sauce and toss in lot's of grated parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil off the heat.

We rounded it off with another Greek salad, because we just couldn't help ourselves.


It was lovely. Note G's red wine in a water bottle. She bought table wine to go from Platanos, and this is how they brought it out. It was vinegar. But G doesn't seem to mind that.

And now for another contender for the best meal we had in Greece. It was also the cheapest. Pork Souvlaki and ice cold Mythos beer, in the capital Argostoli. It was savory and delicious. Such a nice change to the huge meals the Greeks serve at restaurants. We found the joint near the local market, which is always a good bet.


And finally, here we are on our last night. Full of meat pies and pita, perhaps ready to be back in an English speaking country.


Which is where we'll head next on the final installment of "Greece: an Epic Odyssey of Food and Waiters" (the waiters were just for G). Back to London, and into the arms of lovely hosts, Kirstie and Matt. Oh it was short and sweet, and I'll tell you all about it soon enough.

Playing,
Meredith

Greece: An Overview

I'm pushing the peddle to the metal. I'm jumping the gun. I'm taking the plunge.

I've been dancing around doing a big post on Greece. I don't know why. I guess I didn't want to overwhelm you or something. But now, as I'm ready to move on, and back into the present, I'm just going to do it. I think I've got about 2 posts on the trip in me after this one. I call that progress.

So this is a post about a lot of stuff. An overview, if you will. It's still pretty meticulous, because I can't help myself. But I'll try to be succinct.

Here we have Myrtos Beach. She's the pin-up girl of the Ionian Islands. And she deserves it. If a beach can be female and deserve things, that is.



It's a "sandy" beach, which means that some of the pebbles are really tiny. The first time we went there, apparently a "Saharan wind" was blowing, and we were pelted by these tiny pebbles. It was kind of like being whipped. Suffice it to say, we didn't stay there for long that day. The beach in Assos, with it's big pebbles suited just fine that day.

Here I am, not happy about the sand-lashing.


And moving on to the thing you've been waiting for...


Goats!!!

So, we were warned that we might drive into a herd of goats, and I'll tell you, I think G and I have never been more excited about anything in our lives. It didn't happen until a few days into the trip. I think the build-up made it even better when we were driving along and saw this:


Hee hee! We stopped and took pictures. Then we drove a bit more, and came upon this:



GOATS IN THE ROAD!! Oh that's good, it's really really good.

Here's my favorite guy:


He reminds me of my dog Marco, God rest his soul.

This guy is pretty awesome as well, I have to say.


Goats not your thing?

How about a cow?


I don't know how that cow got there, but my life is better for it. He looks like at any moment he could fall into the ocean.


"Don't you worry, darlin', I'm not going anywhere."

Okay, enough of that. Moving on to our "hike". We were told by our travel agents on the island that we could hike up mount Enos. We thought that was a great idea- hike off a few Kefalonian Meat Pies. So we drove to the mountain and looked for a trail, or a place to park. We got nothing. So we just kept driving. And then we were on the top of Mount Enos. So we took pictures and pretended like we had hiked.


Don't we look tired? The only one who's actually tired is G, because of her particular friend George.


On a gray day we decided to go to the caves around the island.

This is Melissani Lake- an underground lake that was exposed to light by an earthquake about 5000 years ago or so.


You get in a boat and a guy rows you around.


They supposedly tell bad jokes and sing to you, but I think our guy was shy. He just told us about the history of the caves.


It was pretty cool though. The water is a surreal blue.


Back to the day of the "hike". We were thirsty after all that exercise, so we went to the local winery.



It was your run of the mill wine tour, really. The wine is called Robola, and it's a white. They remove all of the tannins and sulphites from their wine, which is nice for the day after drinking. I wondered why I wasn't getting hangovers after drinking bottles of this wine...

The tour guide was pretty interesting.


Here I am doing a little tasting.


I couldn't help but put this one in:


Word to the wise- don't drink the red here, even if it's what you usually drink. The first night we were there, we ordered red, but they sent us white anyway. And the red is pretty bad. The white, on the other hand is quite good.

To top off the long day on the road, I sent everyone on a honey hunt.

We drove by these blue boxes on the hill, and saw a sign saying there was honey for sale in the town above.

You know I can't refuse local products bottled at the source.


So we bought honey here, in someone's driveway. It was hardcore.


It's great honey. I'm still eating it.

And finally people, we've got our boat trip. We rented a boat in Fiskardo.

I was the captain.



Here are G and Dana:


We actually went across the way to another island, Ithaka. We walked over to some ruins and had a picnic.

We forgot glasses, so we had to do it ghetto style. But actually, the wine wasn't cold, because we forgot ice, and since I had to drive the boat home, we had a few swigs, and that was it. It didn't stop me from taking a picture though.


We had pita chips, spreadable cheese, ham, and grapes. It was okay.


It looks kind of pretty.


But there was a lot of litter and spiky weeds around. We preferred just hanging out on the boat in the middle of the ocean.



Ah, back on the boat- much better.


Stay tuned for a huge food post tomorrow. We're on the home stretch now, folks.

Playing in the Grecian Sun (or at least I was 2 weeks ago...)
Meredith

A Break from Greece: Opera Cake Jaconde

Hello, my faithful readers,

I think you might be tiring of Greece. Okay, I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm kind of getting tired of Greece. So I'm going to take a break today, and then I promise, I'm going to wrap up the Grecian Epic this week. I'm ready to live in the present again. Also, I have another Daring Baker's challenge to begin, to be revealed at the end of the month, so there will be baking galore. And the CSA just began, even if it was a little anticlimactic, so I'll be cooking lots of local, seasonal recipes for you.

I never thought I'd have too much to write about. But I do. So let's get to it.

Opera Cake. It's the most complicated thing I've ever baked. This is the second step, following the sugar syrup, which you can read about here. The Jaconde is a sponge cake made with almond flour. It isn't flavored at all, except for the syrup that will eventually soak it.

The Daring Bakers recipe called for a square cake, using half sheet pans. I don't have one, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't fit in my mini oven anyway, so I went with rounds.

First you'll want to line your pans with parchment. I just trace around the pans with a pencil:


And cut. Try to cut inside the line so you don't feed your guests graphite. Although I don't think it would hurt that much.


Brush the pan with melted butter.


Now separate six eggs and save the yolks for something else. Like pudding. Mmm pudding.


Beat those egg whites.


When they form soft peaks add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.


Then continue to beat until stiff peaks form.


Sift 2 cups confectioner's sugar into your mixing bowl.


Measure 2 cups of almond flour, or if you love precision like I do, weigh 225 grams on your kitchen scale.


Mix together the sugar and almond flour, then add 6 eggs and beat with your hand mixer, or stand mixer if you're lucky enough to own one.


I do fine with my hand mixer, actually- I find that I really have contact with the food in a way I wouldn't if it was packed safely in a kitchenaid. But I wouldn't say no if you wanted to buy me one. Just putting that out there.


Here is the lovely incorporated base.


Now add 1/2 cup AP flour and mix until just combined. Remember, don't over mix flour in cakes!


Fold the base into the egg whites gently. Don't be scared. If you want to see me folding, go here. I'm still working on the whole video thing...


Here it is combined.


Now, fold in 3 tablespoons butter.


Now, I wanted to make 3 layers, and had 2 pans, so I eyeballed a third of the batter into each pan.


Bake at 425 until the layers are lightly browned and springy to the touch- about 5 to 9 minutes.

Remove them, run a sharp knife around the edges, and cover with parchment.


Flip the pans around to unmold. Carefully peel away the parchment round and let cool to room temperature.


If you have a third layer, go ahead and line your pan again and bake it. And get ready for butter cream. And then white chocolate mousse. And then ganache. Oh yeah- it's complicated. And I love it.

I'm going to post the recipe at the end of the line, in one big chunk, just to keep you waiting.

Baking up a storm,
Meredith

Eating Out in Assos

Eating out. It's not something I usually discuss. I don't know, I just figure there are so many blogs about restaurants, and the lighting is so bad in them anyway- it's almost impossible to get good photos. We all go to restaurants. We don't all make sourdough bread from scratch. So that's usually what I want to tell you about- unique things that I do that might inspire you to think outside the box.

And so it's totally logical that I would feel compelled to actually blog about restaurants in Kefalonia. I mean, how many of you can say that you've been there? We were certainly the only Americans there, and in our town, there were only about 20-30 tourists, mostly Brits. So odds are, you haven't been there. Unless you're Kirstie, who actually suggested it to us. Anyway, the point is, I thought you might want to hear about it, in case you ever have the opportunity to get to the Greek Islands.

Even though Assos is pretty tiny, it has a pretty good variety of restaurants. They all face this little bay.



Here we have the lower brow more casual restaurant where we like to get a beer.


Here we have the restaurant we went to the first night. We look a little puffy- but can you blame us? I think that is the least amount of sleep in a 48 hour period I've ever gotten. Ever.


The first night, I didn't take photos of my meal, which I really regret. I had grilled sardines, and they were amazing. I could tell they were right from the sea.

The key to ordering in Kefalonia, and I'm imagining most of the Greek islands as well, is to order something on the specials list. Very often the other items on the menu won't even be available. The meals on the specials list are the freshest and most seasonal, and you know how I like that. You'll like it too, because the fresh seafood is incredible.

This restaurant is where G met George. He was her particular friend on the trip. This is a family blog, so I'm not going to go into the particular details of that friendship, but I'll say that Dana and I were not involved.


Just so you know, this is the standard Kefalonian table cloth. Every single restaurant puts this paper map of Kefalonia on the table when you sit down. It must be a requirement.


Not all the restaurants in Assos are worth going to. The one at the very end of the bay- it wasn't very good. I did have this crazy octopus. It was a little chewy, but it did have fun suction cups.


When in doubt, order Kefalonian Meat Pie. It's always a hit.


Kefalonian Meat Pie is always a special, so order away. More on the ubiquitous meat pie later.

Until then,
I'm playing with my food,
Meredith

Back to Business: Greece, Continued

Okay, I'm back and ready to roll. When last we left we had finally arrived. We were put on a bus and taken to Assos, the village in which we were staying. Oh my, that was quite a ride- the roads are windy and narrow and hug cliffs the entire way. The trip on the bus took about twice the time it would in a normal car, because it couldn't swing those sharp curves with any speed at all. We were tired and dirty, and the last thing we wanted to sit on a bus and almost fall off a cliff for an hour and a half.

And then we walked into our apartment and out the back door and saw this:


Yes, my friends, that was the view that I woke up to every morning. Now don't go hating, you know how hard it was to get there- I paid my dues.

But seriously people- all of the stress, the queasiness from the bus ride, the lingering muscle twinges from sleeping on marble- it all melted away into a sense of general wellbeing.


Assos is a tiny little village on a little isthmus.


Our little deck was right on the beautiful water.


We had to get a couple of things done. We needed euros, and there was no ATM in Assos, so we had to drive up the island to Fiskardo to get cash. We also picked up some feta cheese- the first feta of the plethora of feta we consumed on the trip.

We wanted to live like Greeks while we were there, so we had a snack so we could make it to a late dinner- they don't eat before nine.

The lovely people at the Seapath Apartments left us bread and crackers, along with a chilled bottle of wine. That, plus the feta made a lovely snack.



With a view like that, we could have been eating dog food and felt like queens. Or Helen of Troy.


G enjoying some feta:


She's so Greek.

Is this the face that launched a thousand ships, and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?


Hee hee.

Oh man, it was good.

More to come.

Playing like a Greek,
Meredith

So Sorry!

I went to Hudson, and the internet went down. Also, we were so busy that we couldn't find time to call the cable company. Hence the silence. I'm sorry- I felt the pull of my readers almost every moment. I have so much to tell you about- I mean, there's the continuing epic of Greece, the Opera Cake, not to mention the exciting new kitchen in Hudson! But sad to say, you're going to have to wait a few more hours, because I'm downright tired and hungry. I promise to be a better blogger this week, though.

Until then, I leave you with a teaser of tales to come:


Oh yes, there were goats, and they were wonderful.

Playing,
Meredith