Baking With a Heavy Heart

Sometimes bad news really knocks you in a way you never could have imagined.  It doesn't even matter whether or not you saw it coming, the blow still feels crushing.

This kind of bad news makes you re-evaluate your perspective and the words we've come to throw around so casually when defining what are actually nothing more than life's little hiccups.  Will I find it "unbearable" if my flight is cancelled and I'm stuck at the airport all day?  Will I be "depressed" if it rains during our holiday at the beach or if our favorite team "tragically" doesn't make the finals?

Only in the face of something bigger can you look back objectively and see that in reality, all of those occasions actually represented the good times in life...the moments when there was nothing more important to fixate on. They were the times you were in fact blessed and didn't even know it.  

It's about perspective easily lost and suddenly regained.  Is a "depressing" day some dark clouds and a missed opportunity for a holiday tan?  It easily could have been.  But after Friday, "depressing" and "unbearable" will be terms reserved solely for the real issues in life.  The ones that sneak up on you when you're busy being happy and knock you so hard you forget how to breath.  Such as an unexpected phone call on a random afternoon informing you that your beloved puppy has cancer.

It probably seems ridiculous to link a post about baking French pastry with a post about cancer.  Given that I tend to lose my appetite altogether in times of stress rather than finding comfort in food, baking should seem all the more trivial and ridiculous.  But weirdly it didn't.  In truth, I have no idea what one should do when trying to absorb the incomprehensible, I just know what somehow felt right.  And to me, that was to get out my treasured pastry cookbook by the incomparable Michael Roux and bake some of his pâte à choux.  (His wonderful gougère recipe is available here from Gourmet Traveller.)

Dexter sat in the kitchen with me from start to finish and patiently observed my every move.  While  I have always enjoyed baking, I found this particular process strangely cathartic as the oven's warmth soothed me and our entire flat filled with the wonderful smell of baking dough.

When the delicate golden puffs were ready, David joined us in the lounge and we enjoyed sweet chouquettes dusted with lavendar sugar and savory gougère crusted with baked Gruyère cheese.  Dex of course received his share.  More than his share in all honesty, but he was not going to be denied today. Tomorrow will come with all its problems and difficult decisions, but today we would enjoy as a family, taking the time to really savor the small moments that really do matter most.

Cheese Making for Dummies

For anyone who's ever been 'round to our house for brunch, dinner or a even just a few cocktails, it's no secret that David and I love cheese.  Whether it's a gorgeous aged Comte, a fragrant Pecorino teaming with delicate white truffle or a pungent Epoisse oozing off a slice of toasted raisin bread, we love to eat it. We love to serve it. We love to pair it.  

But I never imagined saying we love to make it.  I suppose I really should have seen this coming...

During one of our many recent outings to Borough Market (aka Foodie Heaven), David and I struck up an aquaintance with Jerome, a French cheese maker from Une Normande a Londres.  In the interest of full disclosure, it was Dexter our Bernese Mountain Dog who technically forged the introduction, voluntarily performing his entire repertoire of circus-like doggie acrobatics in the hopes of scoring a scrap of anything.  

The effort paid off and Jerome, now completely smitten with Dex, spent the better part of the afternoon teaching us not just about the origins of the many types of cheese he sells, but about the incredible blend of science and art required to produce quality artisan cheeses. His passion was infectious. 

SO infectious it turns out, that despite the fact I only turned my back long enough to scope out the heavenly looking pastries at the vendor next door, I returned to find David with his arms full of new cheese making toys getting a big send off by Jerome in the form of "Bon chance!"  Yes, bon chance indeed.

Needless to say, complete cheese making rookies that we are, we started with a safe, "entry level" cheese similar to this recipe, as an introduction to the process.  It produces a basic, soft cheese that looks a lot like a cottage cheese in consistency but spreads more like ricotta.  However, the best part was adding the flavoring.  With such a neutral  dairy base, the sky was really the limit so went for the following trio: 

#1. A Provencal herb mix bursting with thyme + rosemary topped with our favorite summer olive oil.  

#2.  Sea salt + white truffle oil from Alba.   Because seriously, does anyone not love white truffles?

#3.  A slightly sweet blend of organic honey topped with diced red chili flakes for kicks.  You know, just because we can.

Slice up a fresh baguette and serve.

Verdict?  Surprisingly delish, and actually pretty fun!   Look out mozzarella,  looks like you're next! 

Fortnum & Mason: Food Porn in Technicolor

A visit to London's iconic Fortnum & Mason department store is unlike any other.  (And this is coming from a girl who's seen a LOT of department stores in her day!)  At over 300 years old,  Fortnum's is far less Bloomingdales and far more foodie paradise meets historic British art museum. The result is a visual feast that celebrates color, design and all things quintessentially English.  

I could easily spend all afternoon drooling over the incredible displays, to say nothing of sampling the gourmet foodstuffs.  From the exotic coffees and teas, each meticulously presented as if they were individual works of art, to the awe-inspiring candy counter with so many glorious colors and flavors it would humble Willy Wonka himself. 

If you're like me however, lingering too long in such an environment can provoke a dementia-inducing sensory overload.  At this point, it's definitely time to beeline for the tranquility of afternoon tea in the Gallery, or better yet, head underground to indulge in the monthly champagne flights and live music in the candlelit corners of their 1707 cellar bar.  If only all shopping could be such bliss. 

An Apple a Day...

via mickeyd600.deviantart.com

...is frankly a lot better if it comes in the form of a classic tarte tartin.   Since my first introduction as a university student in Paris, I've always been a fan of this delightful dessert, but for some reason it never occurred to me to learn to make one.  Maybe it comes down to which side of the Atlantic you come from.  

As all card carrying American's know, if apples are to be sliced, coated in spices and baked to a delicious golden brown, they certainly better be surrounded by a traditional flaky pastry crust.  It's as American as....well, apple pie. (Hey, the cheesy saying exists for a reason.)   

Baking the perfect apple pie is almost a right of passage in some families.  My grandmother had a delicious recipe.  My mom perfected it.  And now I guess it's my turn.  Only problem?  I don't actually like apple pie.  (A secret I will take to the grave after years of politely claiming the opposite at every family picnic or gathering!) 

via foodnetwork.com

I can't explain why I so much prefer the French cousin to the American gold standard, but I suspect it has something to do with the crust.  To like pies, you probably should like pie crust.  And even as a six year old, determinedly scraping the fruit filling out of whatever pastry crust it was presented in, I knew it wasn't for me.  So when I recently signed up for a class at the fabulous L'Atelier des Chefs cooking school in Marylebone, you can imagine my excitement when I discovered that the desert we would be perfecting is non other than tarte tartin!  

But here's what I didn't know all these years...it's easy!  Yes, despite being the product of a nation of serious foodies, not to mention that whole flip-it-upside-down thing, it's honest to goodness a fabulous desert that's fun to make.  

{peel and core the apples}

{melt the sugar and butter in a pan over medium high heat}

{place apple slices in the caramel sauce one by one}

(cover the entire surface of the pan}

(place the puff pastry on top of the apples and seal the edges} 

{flip the tart over onto a serving plate}

{slice, serve and enjoy}

For the tarte tatin:
6 whole Braeburn apples
100 grams caster sugar 
50 grams unsalted butter 
200 grams puff pastry


For the calvados cream: 
20 millimeters Calvados
20 grams icing sugar
150 millimeters double cream


Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Peel the apples, cut into quarters and remove the core.
Heat a frying pan until hot and add the sugar. Melt, rotate the sugar around the pan, without stirring until it caramelizes and then add the butter and the apple slices. 
Lower the heat and allow the apples to caramelize.

Place the apples in the base of one standard size tart tin. *Note: as was done here, if you have a a frying pan that is oven safe, you can actually delete this step and bake the apples in the same pan as the caramel prepared.

Cut the puff pastry into a round disc large enough to cover the perimeter of the baking tin or pan with the apples. Pierce a small hole in the centre of the pastry, this will allow the steam to escape as the tart cooks. Transfer to the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
Upon removing from oven, allow to rest for about 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the inside of the pan to unstick an caramel from the edges. Place a large serving plate upside down over the top of the tarte.  In one fluid motion, flip the pan and plate over taking care not to spill any of the caramel. Let cool before slicing and serving.

For the Calvados cream: place the Calvados, double cream and sugar in a bowl. Whisk until thick and serve alongside the tarte tatin.

The Shop Around The Corner:

Peggy Porschen Cakes

With all the news of doom and gloom on London's streets this week and images of damaged storefronts or shops boarded up altogether, it's easy to get the the impression that things here are pretty bleak. But as I was strolling around Belgravia yesterday afternoon, I was mesmerized by the unexpected tranquility and "business as usual" attitude that has already resumed in this charming neighborhood and in the many fabulous independent boutiques and businesses who call the area home. 

The Peggy Porschen cake shop on Ebury Street perfectly epitomizes this sunny optimism. With its cheery color palate and welcoming cafe tables adorned with their own little personalized sugar pots, this is not your ordinary cupcake shop. The signature pink and polka dots may be the stuff of every little girl's fantasy tea party, but the devil is most definitely in the details.  Once you step inside, there's no denying the refined elegance and whimsical touches that make this little confectionary gem the perfect fashionista retreat for a sugar fix with plenty of extra eye candy on the side.  

Bistro Jeanty Crême de Tomate en Croute--Not Your Mother's Tomato Soup

It might be one of Napa's worst kept secrets, and nearly worth the price of the plane ticket back to California just by itself.  But when I make my annual pilgrimage back to my old stomping grounds on the West Coast, no visit is complete without a visit to the exquisite Bistro Jeanty in Yountville.  

Bistro Jeanty is the kind of place that is ridiculously easy to fall in love with.  Casual, welcoming atmosphere?  Check.  Classic French bistro ambiance?  Check.  Now throw in some delightfully quirky decor complete with vibrant vintage posters, antique nicknacks and an array of items that look like they just possibly came from your great grandfather's old country farmhouse and you start to get the idea.  

This place is quite simply the very best possible mash up of a charming old French village and the nostalgic warmth of West Coast Americana.  And then there's the food...

Despite the inexplicable number of high end (and incredibly high quality) French cuisine options available in a town as miniscule as Yountville, in my personal opinion none of them can equal that special "je ne sais quoi" that makes Bistro Jeanty an absolute MUST visit each time we are in town. The menu combines classic bistro fare served perfectly and without pretense such as moules frites and escargot in garlic pastis butter, but also includes more adventurous options such as langue d'agneau (warm lamb's tongue.)  

However, the star of the show is without question, their world famous tomato soup served under an enormous flaky puff pastry.   Quite literally a meal in itself--and oh what a meal!

For those of you who need a little fix in between visits, the official recipe for this incredible dish can be found right here, compliments of the folks at Bistro Jeanty themselves. 

image credits:  
4, 5, 6
*all other images by My Union Jack