What do a newly-retired airline pilot, a building contractor, a Chicago banking executive who’s also just retired and I have in common? Give up? We all thoroughly enjoyed, devoured and didn’t leave one yummy crumb of this week’s recipe choice, Whole-Cherry Clafoutis.
Dorie Greenspan’s Whole-Cherry Clafoutis
This dessert français, Clafoutis, is not without controversy. A dust-up over food? The French? As in a is-it-cake-or-is-it-pudding fuss? Bien sur.
“Technically,” Dorie explains, “clafoutis is considered a cake, but, as you’ll see, it’s more like a pudding, a firm, eggy, flour-based pudding that, when cut into wedges stands up straight on the plate.”
To begin, I settled a pound of whole, sweet pitted cherries snugly in a well-buttered, two-quart, deep dish container. Although in France it’s traditional not to pit the cherries – if you keep the pits the cherries retain more flavor and juice – that wasn’t an option I considered. Next, I whisked together eggs, sugar, flour, milk, cream, vanilla extract and salt. I poured my smooth, almost flan-like batter over the cherries and popped it into a 350 degree oven. Dorie recommends 45 minutes baking time. My clafoutis took more than an hour. You want firm, no jiggles.
Admittedly, this is not a sweet dessert. It’s, how do I explain this, just filled with goodness and completes a dinner nicely. If you want a sweeter clafoutis, and many prefer that option, look at Julia Child’s recipe which uses more sugar.
Karen and Ann ( l to r)
I was nervous about asking Karen (building contractor) and Jim (her husband and former pilot for Saudi Airlines) and Ann (retired Chicago banking executive) to join me for dinner this week. They didn’t know each other, both Jim and Ann are new to Aspen, and, if this small group didn’t click, it would be a loooong evening.
Not to worry, it was close to midnight when they left. Click. Click. Click.
Discussing the Pros and Cons of retirement. Although Ann’s was by choice, Jim, like all pilots, had to adhere to the mandatory age requirement. He’d rather be flying………..
I’m giving some credit to my delicious Whole Cherry Clafoutis.
A light dusting of confectionary sugar. Yes, I’m a bit heavy-handed with the CS but I love it.
If you’d like to make Dorie’s clafoutis dessert, here’s a recipe that’s closely adapted to hers. To see the clafoutis of my French Fridays with Dorie colleagues, go here.
Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table recipe book. Photo: Elise, Simply Recipes.
Wheat Berry and Tuna Salad (I substituted Israeli Couscous for the elusive Wheat Berry)
This Post almost didn’t meet the Friday deadline because I was waiting for this feed back.
“Oh, Mrs. Hirsch, that salad was great. We all loved it”
“Do you think I could have the recipe?”
“The dressing was just right, not too much. So often there’s too much dressing on a salad.”
“The tomatoes, avocados and hard-boiled eggs were perfect with it.”
It’s America’s Fourth of July Weekend. The Gant, where I live, is bursting at its seams with all 140 condos occupied by owners or paying customers. It’s a demanding weekend for the young people who work the front offices. That’s why I decided to make this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice, Wheat Berry and Tuna Salad, for their lunch today. Keeping in mind that hungry kids will look favorably on almost anything that’s freshly homemade (think of Mom), they do take seriously the responsibility of critiquing my “Dorie” recipes. No negatives this week, however. This hearty-meal-in-a-bowl, is a true winner.
An Aspen Food & Wine Festival classic coversation,”The Chef & the Rancher”, with (l to r) Chef Chris Cosentino, businesswoman Anya Fernald, Chef Mario Batali and Editor Dana Cowin.
One adaption. Not only was there no fireworks display on Aspen Mountain this week (too dry), there also was no wheat berry to be found in local grocery stores. I easily substituted Israeli Couscous for Wheat Berry. Other grains, like quinoa and farro, would work also. What makes this extra-delicious is the Dijon mustard vinaigrette. Besides the tuna and grain, the many veggies – celery, onion, bell pepper, greens, tomatoes, avocado – in addition to an apple and hard-boiled eggs, make for a substantial and colorful salad.
Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs, hard at work during the Grand Tasting at the Aspen Food & Wine Festival.
Just because I have not written about Aspen’s 31stFood & Wine Festival, which took place in mid-June, doesn’t mean I won’t. During the next few Posts, I will comment – providing my goods, bads and uglies.
Let me start by saying the two most impressive, forward-thinking speakers/chefs I heard were Anya Fernald and Marcus Samuelsson. No one else, to my thinking, came close.
Following Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s cooking class entitled “Meatball Master” at the Aspen Food & Wine Festival
Fernald is the CEO of several innovative agricultural companies in California, Belize and Uruguay. As the San Francisco Magazine wrote earlier this year, Belcampo, one of those companies, is “the retail arm of a larger operation unlike any other in the United States — one that includes not just a storefront but also a 10,000-acre farm in Shasta Valley and a slaughterhouse designed by animal welfare expert Temple Grandin. As chief executive officer of this multilayered business, Fernald enjoys a luxury unknown to other sustainably minded meat producers: control of every step in an animal’s march to market. Forget farm-to-table. Think of it as pasture-to-processing-to-plate.
‘We’re pretty much going balls to the wall here,” Fernald says. “But if you want to do the right thing while delivering a consistently superior product, that’s the way to do it. You’ve got to own more of the supply chain.’ ”
Chef Marcus Samuelsson talking with food writer Corby Kummer at the Aspen Institute’s Ideas Festival 2013
I knew little about Samuelsson, the owner and executive chef at Red Rooster Harlem. In 1995 he became the executive chef at Aquavit, the famed Scandinavian restaurant in Manhattan and went on to win numerous culinary awards including being crowned a champion on both TopChef Masters and Chopped (which, unfortunately, I don’t watch so am clueless about these honors).
Samuelsson was arguably the most accessible celebrity chef at the F&W, willing to hang around after his appearances to answer questions, sign autographs and pose for pictures. No fan was left wanting. He also participated in a one-on-one conversation at this week’s Aspen Institute’s annual Ideas Festival 2013. He was interviewed by Corby Kummer, a Senior Editor at the Atlantic magazine and one of the most widely read, authoritative, and creative food writers in the United States. The topic was “Cooking and Eating Your Way to a New Community,” which was an underlying theme at the F&W Festival also and one I will discuss often. I encourage you to read, Yes, Chef, Samuelsson’s bestselling memoir. Called “One of the great culinary stories of our time,” by Dwight Garner of The New York Times, I just received a copy, my bedtime reading tonight.
Chef Thomas Keller being interviewed at the AllClad Booth at the Aspen Food & Wine Festival
Hopefully you’ll make Wheat Berry and Tuna Salad for your friends or family this summer. To see how my colleagues felt about this week’s recipe, go here. This salad was an assignment for French Fridays with Dorie, an international cooking group working its way through Ms. Greenspan’s Around My French Table.
This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice, a buttery sweet shortbread galette slathered with lemon curd and topped with seasonal berries, is a fabulous dessert which can be made by committee. Last evening at my house, six of us created this delicious cookie tart.
Sablé Breton Galette with Berries
When I moved back to Aspen in April, my neighbors and good friends, Fred and Cathy, suggested we get together once a week – on Thursday – for Dinner Not a Dinner Party. Cathy’s cousin, Ann, a newcomer to Aspen and my neighbor, was also game. Cathy suggested guidelines. Simple fare prepared by the host. Nice wine. To avoid talking about our health issues, golf, or other people, our host would e-mail a Question for dinner discussion. For example, the first DNDP question I proposed was, “What event most changed the course of history?” (My answer: Joseph Gutenberg’s invention of a printing press in 1440.) Everyone always has a different response- there are no rights or wrongs – that provokes further discussion. We’re surprised at the fun of these gatherings.
Le Sablé Breton: buttery shortbread cookie dough made into a Galette.
Since I was the host last night, I decided it would be fun for us all to put together this week’s recipe choice, Sablé Breton Galette with Berries. Earlier in the day I made the galette, a giant shortbread cookie formed in a 9-inch fluted tart pan. I purchased a jar of Wilkin & Sons TiptreeLemon Curd at Whole Foods (lemon curd and the high altitude don’t play nicely). I also bought blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries.
Because the lemon curd will spread, Dorie suggests leaving a 1/2 to 1-inch of the edge bare. Luky was a bit obsessive about lining this border.
Our friends, Luky and Gene, not only joined us for ham, black bean & quinoa salad and very tasty wine but also helped with the dessert. A picture is worth a thousand words so……..
Ann spread the remaining lemon curd and circled the tart with blackberries.
It’s Luky again, with the blueberries.
Did I mention, obsessive? Notice that Ann does throw on some blueberries.
Cathy loves raspberries. Serious business.
Gene puts both whole strawberries and halved berries on the tart.
Fred finishes it off with more blueberries and seeks approval from the hecklers.
A Job Well Done. (Might I add that all my friends are good sports.)
The question for the evening was, “What are five Objects/Things/ or Pieces of Equipment that have made the most difference in your life that weren’t around when you were born?” Our answers were as amazing as our dessert. My answers were: 1) All of Apple’s High Tech Equipment; 2) Garage Door Openers; 3) Pacemakers; 4) International Airliners like the 747, 777, Airbus and Dreamliner; and 5) Well-designed Sports Equipment, especially Helmets. Both Luky and Cathy voted #1, Blowdryers!
To see who my colleagues shared their desserts with, go here. If you wish to make this recipe (and, I suggest you try it), go here.
It’s my theory that the recipes found on the back of food packages are worth trying. In fact, Best Recipes, From the backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans and Jars, by Ceil Dyer, is a cookbook that celebrates just that. Leafing through this 589-page book is a stroll down memory lane. While I no longer whip up Lipton’s California Dip or Hershey’s Fudge Cake, our family holidays would not be complete without a triple batch of Chex Party Mix and a Barcardi Rum Cake.
Grated Comté
Dorie originally spotted this week’s recipe on a card distributed to fromageries throughout France by the Comté cheese producers. After a twist here with a tweak there, our leader adapted their recipe into her own and published Back-of-the-Card Cheese & Olive Bread in Around My French Table.
The ingredients tell a tasty story – tapenade, coarsely grated Comté, chopped oil-cured black olives and grated lemon zest. Toss these together with the usual suspects, flour, baking powder, eggs, milk and olive oil, for a bread loaf that is distinctively different from the usual. Serve it as a pre-dinner nibble with white wine or Champagne, as Dorie suggests, or, with a salad.
This was a perfect addition to a dine-with-your-mind dinner party I attended this week. Our hostess, who had just finished reading Catherine the Great, Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie invited some friends to choose a monarch, prepare a short presentation about the royal, and make a dinner dish representative of the ruler’s country.
Game on!
A “French Fridays with Dorie” make-up recipe, Dauphinois Pommes (potato gratin)
I choose Eleanor of Aquitaine, the wife of two kings, mother of three kings, and a key political figure of the Middle Ages/twelfth century. Since my hostess asked me to bring a side dish, this was a perfect opportunity to also make Dorie’s Pommes Dauphinois (pages 360-361), a potato gratin made before my joining French Fridays with Dorie and arguably the most traditional potato dish in France. What’s not delicious about heavy cream, russet potatoes and Gruyère? Caloric? Yes. Artery-clogging? You bet. But, delicious.
A salute to five centuries of female monarchs: the baubles tossed on the table were genuine. The diamond tiara holding the flowers was on loan from the Tower of London.
Mind-dining is fun. We each learned much we didn’t know about Eleanor (1122-1204), and also, Queen Isabella of Spain (1451-1504); Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587); Catherine the Great, (1729-1796); Queen Victoria (1819-1901); and, Queen Elena of Italy (1873-1952). As you see in the picture, we also had fun, each of us was crowned with the diamond tiara when we presented our monarch and our recipe.
Whoops! We needed a bathroom break. Francine, who is ready to dish on Queen Victoria and dessert (Frambroisie St. George) waits patiently (#%@&%).
Although our hostess assigned us specific courses, we did not coordinate our evening’s menu. To our surprise every course from the antipasto platter to the salmon to the dessert, Framboises St. George, meshed together beautifully. Because so much thought was put into this dinner by each of us, the evening translated into a very special gathering that I might urge you each to try.
Today, Friday the 14th, the 31st Aspen Food & Wine Classic begins. I’ll be sharing it with you next week. Dorie recently mentioned on her Facebook page that her company, Beurre & Sel, shipped 2750 cookies to Aspen for this event. I think, it’s just my guess, that Kobrand Wine & Spirits is going to serve her cookies with their products. Although it’s not official, I understand that Ms. Greenspan is also going to be in town. Stay tuned…………
The two recipes featured this week can be found here (Pommes Dauphinois) and here (Pain de fromage et d’olive). To see what my colleagues created this week, go here.
This week, for me, has been one of those lucky-to-be-alive times to grab and hold tightly. In our family we accept Life as it comes, with its peaks —quite often, with its valleys. That’s why I’ve made a pact to not waste a moment of “peakness”. This week has been a whoop-de-doo, hoop and hollering cause for celebration. Nothing’s more delicious than Happy.
My week is best told in pictures.
While unpacking, what could taste better than Goat Cheese & Strawberry Tartines
First, please try this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Goat Cheese and Strawberry Tartine. Although this little bit of yummy is best served at cocktail time with a chilled glass of Chenin Blanc, I made this for a simple, quick and tasty lunch.
After dripping balsamic glaze on the strawberries,let them rest for 5 minutes so the glaze can seep into the fruit.
Slice a baguette. Spread with goat cheese. (I used goat cheese with honey.) Place sliced strawberries on top and sprinkle with coarsely ground pepper. Finish with balsamic vinegar, if you wish. I chose to drip a balsamic vinegar glaze over the strawberries. The glaze disappeared quickly, seeping into the berries and, when eaten, creating a sensational burst of flavor in the mouth. After you slice your bread, leave it fresh or toast it. I did both. Which is better? It’s a draw.
Second, the construction and cleanup chores on my condo were finally completed so I could begin to move boxes from my storage unit to D-203. By the time you read this, I will have my kitchen in order. Unpacking old friends to hang on walls or put on tables and in cupboards turns a condominium into a home. I’m surrounded by the familiar and it’s a wonderful feeling.
Lastly, after an absence of nine years, I am now back in uniform. It’s official as of this week. Being a volunteer US Forest Ranger carries with it the responsibility of knowing and interacting safely not only with tourists but also with the natural world – the plants, birds and critters. To that end, this week I’ve participated in wildflower and birding field trips, a botany class and an evening river float. It’s tough duty but somebody’s got to do it. All part of Life back in the mountains.
Early morning birding at the Maroon Creek Wetlands in Aspen
An early evening float east of Aspen to see nesting Great Blue Herons. This colony of Blues, at 8,000 feet in elevation, is the highest one in N.A. and is the only one occurring in blue spruce trees.
I love Herons but this was my first Float e-v-e-r. I don’t swim. I didn’t wear the right equipment. My paddle got stuck in willows several times. The water was cold. AND, as you can see, it was stormy!!!
A full-day wildflower and birding field trip. After a 5am wakeup call for a 7am meet-up at the trailhead, we finally stopped for lunch at 12:30pm. I was thinking about my ham and cheese sandwich by 11am.
