Two years ago, having just moved back to Aspen, I was invited to join good friends at a local restaurant for dinner. Our paths hadn’t often crossed for the previous eight years so this was a celebration. What I recall most about that glorious evening – there was much to remember – is the small white bakery box sitting on my plate when I arrived. It was nondescript except for an elaborate bow that enclosed it.
Oven-Ready.
After slipping off the ribbon, I discovered two individually wrapped, exquisite-looking chocolate chip cookies meriting an immediate Wow!, Mmmm, from a nearby table. A perfect Welcome Home gift. No one reading this Post fails to recognize the thought, time and effort that went into those cookies. Since 1965 the Pillsbury Doughboy (initiate stomach poke) has said it best, “Nothin’ says lovin’ like something from the oven.”
My Speculoos are ready to share at a potluck dinner.
Although many of my friends often gift me with splendid homemade goodies, I’ve never reciprocated. Time to step up my game. Both of my French Fridays with Dorie recipes this week, Speculoos or Cheez-it-ish Crackers, are the perfect hostess thank-you, table favor, get-well-soon token or just because. These are easily made, delicious, and do-aheads that can park themselves in the freezer until needed.
It’s Springtime in the Rockies and time for babies. Mama Canada Goose is taking loving care of her 7 little goslings at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies.
Wait, there’s more. For me, packaging homemade food and bakery items is a frustrating task. Yes, there are excellent books, good magazine articles and Pinterest Boards devoted to this subject. Let’s get real. At 5:30pm, when you still need to shower, dress and feed the dog before a 7pm dinner invitation, who remembers that clipping about a perfect receptacle for the cookies you’ve just baked. Nothing to do but grab a paper plate and Saran Wrap. Yuck. Readers, I’ve solved that problem also. You can thank me later.
The Cheez-it-ish Crackers are ready to bake in the oven.
First, the baked goods. In Belgium Speculoos say Christmas and are made in celebration of Saint Nicholas’ name day. Here, where these crisp brown-sugar delicacies have recently become quite popular, any month is fair game. Make them big or small (I chose a 2” round cutter.), thick or thin and spicey, spicier or spiciest. This is an elegant cookie, perfect with coffee, tea or espresso. A snack, with milk. Dessert, with ice cream or sorbet. The recipe is below.
Cheez-it-ish Crackers. It’s not possible to eat just one.
Cheez-it-ish Crackers are the perfect nibble with before dinner drinks. I don’t often serve hors-d’oeuvres. To me, Dorie’s Herbed Olives,Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts and these Crackers are just the right touch with wine, champagne or mixed drinks. Made in a food processor, these are slice-and-bake, finger food. I used a 1 1/2” cutter. This recipe is also below.
Now here are two packaging ideas that, hopefully, will carry me, maybe, you, through the summer. This spring I’ve stopped by the many thrift shops in our Valley searching for tin containers or boxes imprinted with company names and logos. These are plentiful, colorful, inexpensive and always well-made. After washing them thoroughly and lining them with decorative waxed paper, they are the perfect containers for cookies, cupcakes, muffins, scones and bundt cakes. Voilà.
Secondly, between Target and Michael’s I’ve stashed a healthy inventory of paper products, stickers, ribbons, sacks and tissue to last for the rest of my life. Realizing I’m prone to exaggeration, that, dear Readers, is the truth. There is nothing I can make that won’t fit nicely into something. Voilà, encore.
SPECULOOS by Dorie Greenspan, Around My French Table
Be prepared: The rolled-out dough needs to be chilled for at least 3 hours.
Makes about 50 cookies
INGREDIENTS:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 (packed) cup light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
Tip: If you prefer spicier, add more ginger and cloves.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices together in a bowl.
2.Working in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the sugars and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and beat until well-blended.
3. With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until the flour disappears into the soft dough. You may have some flour at the bottom of the bowl, or the dough may not be entirely smooth, but that’s normal. Using your hands (always my first choice) or a spatula, reach into the bowl and knead or stir the dough 2 or 3 times, just enough to eliminate any dry spots.
4. Divide the dough in half. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll the dough between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap until you have a circle that’s a scant ¼ inch thick. As you’re rolling, turn the dough over a couple of times and pull away the paper or plastic, so you don’t end up rolling creases into the dough. Put the rolled-out rounds of dough on a tray or cutting board and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen, well wrapped, for up to 2 months.)
5. When you’re ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Choose a cookie cutter and remove 1 circle of dough from the refrigerator. Peel off the top piece of wax paper or plastic and cut out as many cookies as you can from the dough, carefully lifting the cutouts onto the lined baking sheet.
6. Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are lightly golden and just slightly brown around the edges. Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool.
Kept in an airtight container, the cookies will be fine for a week.
Mom, Dad, and 7 goslings.
CHEEZ-IT-ISH CRACKERS by Dorie Greenspan
INGREDIENTS:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
1/4 pound grated cheese (cheddar, Gruyere, and Emmenthal, are all good choices)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS:
1. Add the butter, cheese, salt, and both peppers to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until the butter is broken into smaller pieces and the mixture forms small curds. Add the flour to the food processor and pulse until curds form again. Keep pulsing. The dough gets very dry and crumbly first but then comes together into curds).
2. Turn the dough onto your work surface and knead briefly to bring it together. Divide in half, shape each half into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour or up to 3 days.
3. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
4. Remove one disk from the fridge and roll it to a scant 1/4-inch thickness between sheets of parchment. Using a small cookie cutter,about 1 1/4-inches, cut rounds from the dough. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet – you don’t need to leave much space in between, these don’t spread.
5. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the crackers are firm and golden. Use a spatula to transfer the crackers to a wire rack to cool.
The crackers are good warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container. They’ll be good for at least 4 days.
FRENCH FRIDAYS WITH DORIE is an international group of food bloggers who are cooking their way through Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table Cookbook. Thanks to Kathy Van Bruinisse at Bakeaway with Me for reminding me to bake these tasty crackers. Visit our FFWD link by clicking here.
Eight years ago, about this time, our daughter, Melissa, and her family were spending Easter with Michael and me at our home in Nevada. I was in a state of frazzle. The ramifications of Michael’s illness and the resulting responsibilities were overwhelming me. I’d recently had another meeting with our health care consultant who told me things were only going to get worse, never better. And our new phones, among other things in the house, didn’t work. It was a difficult holiday.
Orange-Almond Cream Tart, my French Firday’s with Dorie recipe choice this week
The following week, maybe Wednesday, Melissa called to chat. A few minutes into the call she casually said, “Mom, Stephen and I were just thinking…..”
(Whoa. Click into high alert. Whenever my son-in-law’s name is evoked, it’s not going to be good.)
“maybe it’s time you and Michael consider moving into a condo where everything is easier.”
As I recall the resulting conversation was very short. If my recollection is right, I just might have ended it with “When pigs fly.”
Today, after dispensing with a lifetime of belongings and a houseful of furniture, I just completed my second year of living in a 940-square foot condo where the phones always work and my chores are few. And, every so often I look up to see Wilbur, Babe and the Three Little Pigs passing by overhead. That’s the reason my French Friday’s with Dorie recipe this week is this scrumptious Orange-Almond Cream Tart. Here’s the lowdown on this sweet celebratory dessert and the special crew at The Gant who shared it.
The Front Office staff at The Gant who pronounced the Orange-Almond Cream Tart as fabulous and delicious. I’m going with that.
Americans bake fruit pies. The French prefer fruit tarts. Pate sablée (sweet dough) and almond cream are two of the three essential tart parts. Oranges are an unexpected twist but a flavorful one. Tarts are exquisite desserts often dismissed by us. I urge you to master the dough and the cream, quite easy tasks, then pick a fruit of your choosing. You’ll be pleased by the result. Although I’ve included the recipes below, here are four extra tips:
The Orange-Almond Cream Tart, ready for the oven..
1. Both the Pate Sablée and Almond Cream can be made days ahead.
2. If your tart crust starts to brown too much, cover it with tin foil.
3. Although the oranges need to be peeled and separated into segments, remember that the almond cream, when baked, covers up many sins!
4. Refer to my Post, https://www.lightsonbrightnobrakes.com/french-fridays-tart/, It’s All About the Tart, to see other ways to use sweet dough, almond cream and fruit (apples, pears, cherries, figs, peaches, nectarines, apricots, or plums) to make wonderful desserts.
This Pear-Almond Cream Tart is made with the same crust, filling but different fruit.
I returned home this week after a three month absence. If you recall, I live at The Gant, a 143-condo resort complex in downtown Aspen offering upscale lodging opportunities to tourists. Each condo is individually owned but managed by a staff of 100.
I returned home in time to join my dear friend, Luky, at the Aspen Mountain Club, where she is the Membership Director, for a delicious Easter Brunch.
Never did I believe this living situation would be such a fortunate stroke of serendipity. I arrived with more memories than baggage to live in the smallest spaces of my life. I can usually grow where I’m planted but even to me, this was a stretch. However, I soon discovered if I had visions of self-pity, licking my wounds or grieving, I’d picked the wrong address.
Tuesday morning I joined the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies Birdwalk. At our North Star Preserve we observed a Heron Rookery with 5 active nests. This Rookery , located in conifers, is the highest in Colorado.
The Gant staff is all about great service and providing comfort. “Are you having a good day, Mrs. Hirsch?” I’d be asked. “Do you need anything?”“Mrs. Hirsch, How’s your day going?” Honestly, I almost felt obligated to just get out there and, doggone it, not return until I’d had a good day.
Our nature group is beginning a study of Colorado water issues this month. My colleague, Donna, and her husband, Bernie, invited me and well-respected Colorado journalist Brent Gardner- Smith and his wife, Ann to dinner. Brent is a recognized authority on local water issues. We had questions. Perhaps, too many.
As you might suspect, I am very independent, closely guarding my privacy, and, of course, they all have jobs to perform. During the past two years we’ve settled into an easy and compatible relationship in which I’ve thrived. The goodwill of 100 who always have your back is something to treasure. I know that for sure.
Since the road to the Pass is closed, my friend and neighbor, Ann, and I hiked up towards Independence Pass this morning.
As these photos show, my returning to Aspen has been wonderful. But, sadly, I also returned home to grieve with my special friend, Karen, who unexpectedly lost her husband in February. Jim, newly retired from an unblemished career flying jumbo birds internationally, was my friend and one of this blog’s staunchest supporters. From the day I wrote my first French Fridays with Dorie Post, he called me Dorie. I knew he never understood the concept of FFWD nor had heard of Dorie Greenspan but to one and all, I was Dorie. If it was my project, he’d be a booster. “How ‘bout dinner tonight, Dorie?” or “Dorie,” he’d ask, “What’s your recipe this week?”
Before I left for my Cambria winter the three of us drove to Denver to see the Broadway production of “Kinky Boots.” For dinner, after meticulous online research, he promised he had found ‘the perfect tiny French bistro for Karen and Dorie.’ The bistro was indeed très magnifique and the evening, magical. No one dreamed it would be our last. Too young. So missed. Fly High, my friend.
This White-breasted Nuthatch lives in the cottonwood near my balconey.
Orange-Almond Tart by Dorie Greenspan, Around My French Table
INGREDIENTS:
1 recipe Pate Sablée by Dorie Greenspan (Sweet Tart Dough), partially baked and cooked
4 navel or other meaty oranges
Almond Cream
6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) sweet butter at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar 3/4 cup almond flour
2 tsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 large egg
2 tsp. dark rum or 1 tsp. top-quality vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
To prepare the oranges: Using a sharp knife (I use a chef’s knife), cut a thin slice off the top and bottom of each orange so it can stand upright. Working from top to bottom and following the curve of the fruit, use the knife to remove the peel in wide bands, cutting down to the fruit. You want to expose the juicy fruit, so take the thinnest little bit of fruit away with each strip of peel. Carefully run the knife down the connective membranes to release the orange segments one by one. Place the segments between a triple layer of paper towels and let them dry for at least 1 hour, or for several hours, or even overnight. If you have the chance and the towels seem saturated, change them.
To make the Almond Cream: Put the butter and sugar in a food processor and process until the mixture is smooth and satiny. Add the almond flour and process until well blended. Add the all-purpose flour and cornstarch, and process, then add the egg. Process for about 15 seconds more, or until the almond cream is homogenous. Add the rum or vanilla and process just to blend. (If you prefer, you can make the cream in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a bowl with a rubber spatula. In either case, add the ingredients in the same order.) You can use the almond cream immediately or scrape it into a container and refrigerate it until firm, about 2 hours. It’s better if you can allow the cream to chill, but it’s not imperative. (The cream can be refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to 3 days.)
To bake: When you’re ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and put the tart shell on it. Stir the almond cream, then turn it into the crust, smoothing the top. Arrange the orange slices in a decorative pattern over the top. Don’t cover every bit of cream — it will bubble and rise as it bakes, and it’s nice to leave space for it to come up around the fruit.
Bake the tart for 50 or 60 minutes, or until the cream has risen and turned golden brown. If you slip a knife into the cream, it should come out clean. Transfer the tart to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature. Right before serving, dust the tart with confectioners’ sugar and enjoy!
French Fridays with Dorie is an international group of food bloggers cooking the book, Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan.
Green Onion Galette, a quick supper of puff pastry, onions and Parmesan cheese.
It’s time for my Cottage Cooking Club wrap-up of five tasty vegetarian dishes. Every month I join other bloggers to feature recipes from award-winning food writer Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Veg cookbook. Realizing there isn’t much about beef, pork, poultry and seafood that I don’t relish, you may wonder Why Vegetarian? Why now?
EMMA
As I’ve admitted, I was tossed into this vegetarian mumbo-jumbo by shame. Years ago, my dear vegetarian friend, Susan, brought her own meals to Hirsch dinner parties. I couldn’t be bothered. (Yes, I have groveled and apologized about that for 25 years.) Eventually I offered an elegant green salad and crusty bread to my veggie guests. Gradually I began to realize that this dietary option is not mumbo nor jumbo. It’s a legitimate choice.
For your left over puff pastry, Cheesy Peesy Puff Turnover, filled with peas (fresh or frozen) and grated cheese.
Cheesy Peasy Puff Turnover is folded to a triangular pocket. I served it with homemade Broccoli-Leek Soup.
Four years ago, my 9-year-old granddaughter announced she was a Vegetarian. Although I suggested to her Mother it was just a phase, how the hell was my darling sweet Emma going to get enough iron, zinc, Vitamin B-12 and calcium to grow and flourish. Where’s the protein? Would her friends think this strange? Would Melissa, her mother, have to make two different menus for their dinners now? Couldn’t her Mom and Dad just say, “No?” ( I don’t say these concerns were legitimate, I am just admitting having them.)
Emma (9) in 2011, the year she announced she was a Vegetarian. Clara (7) is on the right. Death Valley National Park
Fast forward four years. Emma is still a healthy young woman, about to enter high school, and, yes, a Vegetarian. (Grandmothers can be wrong.) Before her family’s recent visit, I called Emma and asked to interview her about her vegetarian lifestyle. I’d never had a serious discussion with anyone about this rather important lifestyle choice. She agreed. We set a date, stipulating no Mom, no Sister, listening in. (They’d already asked.) Briefly, this is the very enlightening result.
Honey-roasted Cherry Tomatoes, an easy topping to make and delicious on risotto and grilled or roasted vegetables.
Grandma: Emma, I’ve heard various rumors but will you tell me why you chose to be a vegetarian?
Emma: You remember we went to Hawaii when I was 9, right?” she asked. (I nodded affirmatively.) “Our family went spearfishing. Dad caught a fish. When the boat people pulled it in, it wasn’t dead. They just whacked and whacked it on the head to kill it.” (Emma demonstrates the whacking technique.)
Grandma: What did you do?
Emma: Clara (7) and I started screaming and crying. Mom took us down into the cabin until the trip was over. Then, later that night we went to a Luau where they were roasting a pig. It just went round and round on the spit all night. I got sick.
That’s the night Emma made her announcement.
I piled my Honey-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes on toasted Artisan bread with Maldon Sea Salt flakes sprinkled on top.
Grandma: What did your Mom say?
Emma: She said okay. But right from the beginning she made three rules: [Readers, I know. I know. Pot. Kettle. Black.)
1) We went to the library, checked out books about food, proteins, vegetarian stuff. I had to read them and any books she gave me on the subject.
2) I was responsible for taking vitamins every morning, especially B vitamins;
3) When I am around other kids who are eating hamburgers, stuff like that, I can’t say, “Gross!” or “Ooh.” I must be polite.
My health concerns were proven unnecessary. The Places lead an outdoor lifestyle. This Summer Emma and her Dad took a 4-day Hiking trip over Paiute Pass ((11,423-ft). Emma carried a 24-pound pack.
Grandma: Do you ever do that?
Emma: Of course not, Grandma, 90% of the kids at my school are vegetarian. (eye roll and sigh)
Stir-fried Sesame Cauliflower, a strongly seasoned side dish with chile, garlic and ginger.
The kicker here is this. Our girls go to a Seven Day Adventist private school. One of the Adventist beliefs and practices is a vegetarian lifestyle. Since they have attended this school since preschool, this was a comfortable choice for Emma.
In California they also live near Loma Linda populated by a high concentration of Seventh-day Adventist. It is one of five places in the world identified as Blue Zone Areas. These are the 5 sites where people are particularly healthy and live the longest. The other four Blue Zones Areas are Karia, Greece; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Okinawa, Japan; and Sardinia, Italy.
I wish this Sesame Cauliflower photographed better because it is tasty. I served it as a side straight from the pan but, with rice or noodles, it’s supper.
Grandma: I know you make your school lunch. What’s in it?
Emma:Vegetables and Fruit, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Nuts, Tofu, Salads, Protein Bars, Leftovers, Salads and Yogurt for dessert. I love yogurt.
Emma, this Winter at Hearst Castle, just before our interview. She looks pretty healthy, huh?
Grandma: Do you ever get hungry?
Emma:No, Grandma. (another eye roll and sign)
Roasted Parsnip Chips with shallots.
Grandma:Tell me your favorite foods.
Emma:Pad Thai, Veggie Burgers, Tofu with various seasonings, Apples, Raspberries, Mushrooms and Caesar Salad.
These are ‘crisp and carmelized at the thin ends, chewy in the middle, tender and creamy at the fat ends,’ Best served hot, just out of the oven.
Grandma:Do you think you’ll always lead a Vegetarian lifestyle?
Emma:Yep, Grandma, I do.
There are many things I always want to do with my granddaughters but never in a million years did I think I would be exchanging vegetarian recipes and ideas with one of them. Every day of Life, a learning experience!
We are not allowed to print any of Hugh’s recipes but if you would like to learn how to make any of these delicious recipes, e-mail me. I’ll send them.
Pissaladière, my French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice this week.
Last Tuesday evening my Aspen friend, Luky, telephoned to check in and check up on me. As usual, we chitter-chattered, catching up on her news and mine. It was all good until she asked, “So, what did you do today?”
“I spent the afternoon at the cemetery,” I replied. “Birding.”
Silence. Thirty seconds of dead silence.
“You spent all afternoon alone at the cemetery?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“Birding,” she stated emphatically.
I knew where she was headed with this, Readers, so I started to laugh. Luky did not.
“Mary,” she said, gravely.”This is not good. Not good at all. I’m serious. You are alone way too much.”
“I had fun, Luky,” I insisted. “Really I did.”
That remark just added fuel to the fire although she was somewhat amused. “You pack your bags right now,” she ordered, “and come home. You need to come home.”
The Community of Cambria, California’s cemetery, established in 1870.
Realizing she was on a mission – I’ve know this woman for almost thirty years – we worked out a compromise. Since I’d be leaving Cambria in 3 weeks anyway, I would stay only if we talked frequently. I suggested sending daily e-mails but that was a No Go. Luky and I cut a deal. Telephone calls and no more cemeteries.
This cemetery resident, a Northern Flicker, is hiding from me.
We’ll return to the subject of cemeteries later but that conversation put a big smile on my face yesterday when I was making Pissaladière, my French Fridays recipe choice this week. Pissaladière, with its filling of caramelized onions, anchovies, garlic and black niçoise olives, is the Côte d’Azur’s version of pizza. The difference is in its rectangular shape, salty, intense flavor, and thinness of crust. Pissaladière is a French classic and the quintessential street food in Nice.
Six onions, quite easily thinly sliced with an Oxo hand-held Mandoline.
I’m not unfamiliar with Pissaladière and have enjoyed it both here and in France. However, I’ve never made it myself. To my mind, it seemed complicated. I’m delighted, after following Dorie’s recipe in “Around My French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours,” to realize it is not. My first effort worked.
The caramelized onions look just about right.
Serve it hot, warm or at room temperature. For breakfast this morning, I tried the cold version. Still tasty. It’s perfect for lunch or dinner, with salad. A meal. My preference is to feature it as a stand-alone appetizer. Small squares. Hand food. Truthfully, I’ve always thought Pissaladière to be very la de da.
Oven-ready
The onion mixture can be caramelized a day ahead and refrigerated. For the crust, make the same favorite dough recipe you use for savory tarts or pizzas. Frazzled and short on time? Grab your sunglasses and slink into your favorite grocery store to buy ready-made fresh pizza dough. The secret is to stretch or roll the dough until it’s about 10 x 14 inches and very, very thin. You will find Dorie’s recipe for her delicious filling below.
Add the anchovies and olives for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
Now let’s return to Luky and our cemetery discussion. Who even thinks about cemeteries until you’re forced into a situation where you must? But Tuesday night, before I fell asleep, I found myself making a mental list of some cemeteries I’ve visited. My List gave me pause.
Molière’s tomb at the Père Lachaise Cemetery
First and foremost, I’ve visited Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia where Presidents John F. Kennedy and President William Howard Taft are buried. More than 400,000 others, so many recognizable notables, are buried there. We’ve been to Pearl Harbor where the USS Arizona is an active U.S. military cemetery. After going to Normandy one never forgets Cimetière américain de Normandie in Colleville-sur-Mer, France.
Singer Edith Piaf’s gravesite in the Pere Lachaise cemetery
Then, there’s the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, site of three WWI memorials and resting place of many French cultural icons. If you’ve visited New Orleans, you’ve undoubtedly seen the elaborate stone crypts and mausoleums that are built above ground. I’ve just recently visited the presidential libraries where Presidents Reagan, Nixon, Eisenhower and Truman are buried.
Kit Carson’s Tombstone in Taos
Closer to home, Michael and I once spent the day in Leadville, Colorado, celebrating the restoration of the Hebrew Cemetery established there in 1880. Last year, in Taos, I found the frontiersman Kit Carson’s tombstone. North of Taos are the deteriorating grave sites of the Pueblo de Taos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Doc Holiday, gambler, rogue and Wyatt Earp’s pal is buried at Pioneer Cemetery in nearby Glenwood Springs. Donna Chase and I both noticed his tombstone while, uh, on an Audubon birding field trip.
The Pueblo de Taos graveyard
I am fortunate to live one block from Ute Cemetery, Aspen’s oldest graveyard established around 1880. On the National List of Historic Places, it’s been completely restored in a remarkably wild and abandoned-looking manner. There are paths winding through the 5-acres that hold 200 marked and unmarked graves. Every so often, I grab my coffee cup and walk through the cemetery, enjoying its silence, wildflowers and imagining the lives these early settlers and Civil War veterans lived.
Doc Holiday’s tombstone in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
You have your own thoughts and experiences dealing with a subject not often discussed. Thank you for allowing me to share mine. Now let me share Dorie’s recipe for Pissaladière which, hopefully, you will want to share with your friends.
Remembering Civil War veterans at Ute Cemetery in Aspen
PISSALADIÈRE by Dorie Greenspan
Makes 6 servings
INGREDIENTS for ONION TOPPING
2 Tbs. olive oil
6 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced (I used a mandoline.)
1 thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
About 12 good-quality anchovies packed in oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
About 12 Niçoise olives, pitted or not
DIRECTIONS
1. Pour the olive oil into a large skillet and warm it over low heat. Toss in the onions, thyme, and bay leaf, stirring to coat everything with oil, then cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, soft, and golden, about 45 minutes to an hour, maybe more—this isn’t a job you should rush.
2. While the onions are cooking, chop 6 of the anchovies. When the onions are cooked, pull the pan from the heat, stir in the anchovies, which will dissolve into the onions. Season lightly with sea salt and generously with pepper.
3. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F.
4. Line a large baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
5. Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is about 10 x 14 inches. The exact size of the rectangle isn’t really important—what you’re going for is thinness. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and top it with the onion mixture, leaving a scant inch of dough around the edges bare.
6. Bake the Pissaladière for about 20 minutes, or until the dough is golden. Pull the pan from the oven, decorate the top with the olives and remaining anchovies, and bake the Pissaladière for 5 minutes more, just to warm the new additions. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Make Ahead Tips
The onions can be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Once made, the Pissaladière can be kept at room temperature for a few hours.
French Fridays with Dorie is an international group of food bloggers who are cooking their way through Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table cookbook. You can visit the FFWD site here.
Cotriade, a Breton fish stew, is my French Fridays with Dorie choice this week.
Ciopinno. Bouillabaisse. Cotriade.
Odds are that you recognize two out of three of these fish stews. Cotriade, maybe not. Ciopinno was created by Italian fishermen who had migrated to San Francisco in the mid-1800’s. It’s a tomato broth stew loaded with fish sourced from the Pacific Ocean. When you visit the City by the Bay, it’s a must-try.
But if you’re in Marseille, walk over to the old port where their world-famous Bouillabaisse, a Provençal fish stew, is the speciality. What sets traditional Bouillabaisse apart from others is the Provençal herbs and spices used in its broth with an assortment of bony Mediterranean fish. Cotriade, my French Fridays recipe choice this week, is a traditional, coastal fish soup originating from the French province of Brittany. It’s the staple that Breton fishermen made aboard their boats while at sea for days or, maybe, weeks. The secret (and, filling) ingredient here is potatoes. In Dorie’s Around My French Table cookbook, she entitles this recipe, Simplest Breton Fish Soup.
The mussels are put into the fish mixture at the last 2-4 minutes. Discard any closed mussels before serving.
After a 1,053-mile road trip to California this past week, I arrived safely in Cambria, picked up keys to my rental house and literally dropped my bags in the garage. Then I dashed eastward to Templeton where I found all the necessary Cotriade ingredients at Trader Joe’s and Pier 46 Seafood. (Not mentioning that it was an additional 50-mile roundtrip – food blogger-journalist-deadline – a crazy combo.)
Although their are only two main ingredients added to the broth, fish and potatoes, the onions, shallots, garlic cloves, celery and leeks add flavor and depth. A Bouquet Garni, salt and pepper, are all the spices you need but I also added saffron. Love that aroma and taste. What Dorie suggests also is a red or white wine-based vinaigrette to drizzle over the fish before it’s served. Unique, delicious with the drizzle and a wonderful first-night dinner.
It is traditional with this dish, which Dorie calls Simplest Breton Fish Soup, to bring the kettle to the table and ladle the soup into bowls which have a toasted baguette slice already at the bottom.
Although I’ve been vacationing in Cambria with my family for the past eight years, this is only my second winter here. Cambria is a drowsy, quaint seaside village of 6,000 people, primarily retirees, located on the spectacular central coast and sitting among a native stand of Monterey pines. If you want excitement, stimulation and élan, if you will, Cambria’s probably not for you.
It’s a good choice for me, perhaps, and here’s why. Cambria is everything that Aspen is not. Two years ago when I had the responsibility of recreating my Life, the realization was I better get it right. Me being me, and, that’s not always good, I gave myself a year to do it. That deadline thing, you know. Two years later, I’m still tweaking, the plusses, minuses, the want-to-do’s, forget-that’s and what-was-I-thinking’s?
I love Colorado and the whole crazy, invigorating and challenging Life I lead there. Aspen is home and friends and organizational commitments and social activities. I visualize Cambria, amusing as it may seem to you, as a sabbatical, retreat, time-out and rest. A period to be selfish with my own time and be quiet. Do you get that? It’s almost anti-American to want to be alone, isn’t it? Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading my blog as I take you along on my winter adventure. Solitude does not translate to boring, I promise.
French Fridays with Dorie is an international group cooking it’s way through Around My French Table. To see what my colleagues made this week, go here. If you want a copy of this week’s recipe, Simplest Breton Fish Soup, go here.
Dorie Greenspan once remarked that World Peace Cookies, created by Parisian pastry chef Pierre Herme, were as important a culinary breakthrough as Toll House cookies. Her neighbor, after tasting these dark chocolate marvels, was convinced ‘a daily dose of Pierre’s cookies is all that is needed to ensure planetary peace and happiness.’ Thus, the name. Dorie included these ultra-rich cookies in herBaking, From my home to yours cookbook. I thought them totally appropriate for my first 2015 post, a delicious recipe to wish you Happy New Year.
Remembering that miracles can happen, bake some World Peace Cookies, my French Fridays recipe from Dorie Greenspan.
These are shortbread, slice-and-bake cookies, crumbly and rustic in appearance. (If you prefer a perfectly round, smooth result, my Tip is in the recipe below.) WPC’s are special-occasion treats. Served with champagne? Be still my heart. Tea and coffee? Okay. Cold milk? The perfect nonalcoholic alternative. I made these for the New Year’s Eve crew on duty at The Gant. While these cookies couldn’t compare with seeing Huey Lewis & The News at Aspen’s Belly Up nightclub, (where they’d rather have been), they were appreciated.
World Peace Cookies
Appreciation. Let’s talk about that. 2014 was a banner year for me. I appreciate that more than anyone realizes. Thank you for being part of that. However, I recently celebrated my birthday. Readers, it was a big number. Truthfully, as we enter this New Year, I am still struggling with it. Not whining. Not complaining. Not grumbling. Just resolved to make peace and getting my arms around my aging.
New Year’s Eve was a long night. Aspen being Aspen, we not only had fireworks at 8pm, but also at Midnight. Since I live at the base of the mountain where the display is launched, I was in for a loud albeit spectacular evening. After baking and delivering the World Peace Cookies and taking a moment of silence to remember Dick Clark, I decided to spend the evening settling this whole 70’s-problem.
Fireworks in Aspen as seen from the Roaring Fork River, New Years Eve, 2014. Photograph by Jeremy Swanson
I resolved to see my limitations as possibilities. Admittedly, I physically cannot do as much nor mentally learn as quickly nor emotionally be as strong as I have been in the past. While I’ve not adjusted to that reality, I think my family, friends and, even The Gant employees, see it all too clearly. Luckily I am surrounded by people who value and respect me enough to understand, be kind but still nudge, challenge and encourage me to keep trying (as if I wouldn’t) and do better.
A challenge for the upcoming decade —
In thinking about who I Appreciate, the List is long. To my lifelong friends who remembered, welcomed and embraced me when I returned to Aspen, I Appreciate. Here at The Gant, where no one really l-i-v-e-s, I’ve been treated like a Queen. I Appreciate. To my nature study group, the Valley Vixens, who are truly my support system, I Appreciate. To my virtual colleagues, such a lifeline, I Appreciate. To my friends in France, who encourage me to travel again, I hear you. To my friends in Nevada, saviors during a difficult decade, I’ll see you soon. To my childhood friends, for steadfast loyalty always, I Appreciate. And, to my family, who, in every way and with great effort, embrace me. I Appreciate.
I Appreciate that for the past three years Klara, Gretchen, Freya and Imken, who live in Germany, have asked their Mother who blogs at The Kitchen Lioness, to send me their Christmas artwork. If one can have a Virtual Family, they are mine.
Maybe, in this new year, you wish to take a few moments to think about those You Appreciate. As for that age problem of mine, it’s a work-in-progress but I’ve just reminded myself why I need to be more grown-up about it. Happy New Year, Everyone. Enjoy the World Peace Cookies.
WORLD PEACE COOKIES adapted by Dorie Greenspan from Pierre Hermé
Makes 36
INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
5 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
PREPARATION
1. Sift flour, cocoa, and baking soda into medium bowl.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter on mediukm speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars, vanilla, and sea salt; beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Add flour mixture and pulse the mixer at slow speed for 5 to 7 times, a second or two each time. Beat just until blended. Mixture may be crumbly. Add chopped chocolate and mix just to distribute.
4. Divide dough in half. Place each half on sheet of plastic wrap. Form each into 1 1/2-inch-diameter log. Wrap each in plastic. Chill until firm, about 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
5. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using thin sharp knife, cut logs crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Space 1 inch apart on prepared sheets. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies appear dry (cookies will not be firm or golden at edges), 11 to 12 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
TIP: According to Dorie, the easiest way to keep the log of dough round while stowing it in the fridge or freezer is to chill it inside a cardboard tube left from a roll of paper toweling. Slit the tube so it’s easy to wrap it around the dough. When you’re slicing the log, the easiest way to prevent losing that nice roundness is to give the log a quarter turn each time you slice off a circle of dough.
French Fridays with Dorie is an international group of bloggers cooking their way through Around my French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours, by Dorie Greenspan. To see the Simplest Breton Fish Soup which my colleagues made this week while I was baking World Peace Cookies, go here.
