Having Cake and Eating it Too

Birthday Cake can be a very personal thing. As a caterer, I have found that people approach birthday cake in very different ways. There is the wrapping paper cake, which is all about the design of the cake, meant to impress guests with it's looks, the brown paper bag cake which is all about pleasing the vast majority of guests by supplying them with a very standard and agreeable flavor of cake, and the full on fantasy cake, which is my cup of tea. My birthday just passed and every year I want the same pink cake. Pink cake is the little princess fantasy cake. Pink cake, whether it be cherry chip, strawberry, whatever, just pink, pink icing, rolled, tinted marzipan is always pretty with a little luster dust and some moderate piping, and garnished with a maraschino cherry, or some marzipan cherries, or sugar flowers, the main element of import on this cake, is the pink. It is fluffy, sweet, and packed with artificial colors. It is over the top, and every little girl's fantasy. It is my deepest birthday craving. It makes me feel like a princess, and that, my friends, is a supreme feeling for a Mom of four. Encompassed in that cake is every blown out candle wish from girlhood, every Lolly Dolly, Pretty Pony, Sugar Fairy dream come true, and I can't get enough. I don't crave and eat this birthday treat for the flavor, I crave it for what it symbolizes. It tastes like shiny glitter, and lollipops, and pretty frilly dresses, and tea parties, and playing house, and sun bonnets, and sugar and spice and everything nice. That is why I love pink cake.

Traditions Rooted in Us

This season of hustle and bustle is just rife with tradition, no? I am about to embark on one of my own. Each year, I recreate a special recipe for my Dad. It is a very simple recipe that his Mother (Alicia Linda) used to make during the holidays. I really didn't know Alicia, but everyone who did loved her. My Dad kind of adored her. He gets all soft in the eyes whenever she is mentioned, and each year, I strive for that look when he opens this gift from me because it means I have given him a sweet treat, and a warm memory all in one crunchy little package! Very rewarding! I've been making these for about 14 years or so, and everyone who tries them thinks they are scrumptious. I hope you do too!

Alicia Linda's Spiced Walnuts

1 C sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 C evaporated milk

2 tsp water

11/2 C walnuts

1 tsp vanilla

Toast and cool walnuts.

Combine sugar, evaporated milk, cinnamon, and water in a heavy bottomed sauce pot and bring to 236 degrees or the soft ball stage

Add vanilla and nuts

Stir vigorously

Immediately spread in a single layer onto parchment, breaking up large clusters

Allow to cool completely

Try to stop munching!

Empanada Mama

So I have this great client. We met when she was looking for a caterer for her wedding, and I happened to be a fit. Working with her is always a breeze. Her philosophy is that she hires people she trusts to do a job, and she lets them do it. Who would have thought?! So anyway, since then, she has hired me to cater, most recently a Cuban themed party. She wanted a variety of dishes, and flavors for her guests to enjoy. This was thrilling to me because my experience with Cuban food was somewhat limited, but the flavors are ones that speak to my own Latin American heritage, so I dove in to see what I could make. One of the dishes I settled on was Picadillo Empanadas. I made them (they are delicious) and documented the process so I can share the experience and the recipe with you!

Empanada Dough

3 3/4 C flour

1/2 C ice water

1 pinch of salt

1tbsp sugar

6tbsp lard

1 1/2 sticks of chilled butter cut into small cubes

To make this dough the right consistency, it must sit overnight in the refrigerator, and must not be too dry.

In the bowl of your food processor, combine dry ingredients, lard and butter.

Pulse until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

While the machine is on, slowly add ice water until dough forms together in a ball.

Wrap tightly in plastic, refrigerate overnight.

Picadillo Filling

1lb ground beef

1/2lb bacon, chopped

1 yellow onion, diced

2 bell peppers, diced

1tbsp chopped garlic

1/2 C sliced green olives

1/2 C red wine vinegar

1tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp dry oregano

salt to taste

In a heavy saucepan or casserole, saute onions, garlic, peppers, set aside

In that same pan, brown the beef and bacon together with spices, then add sauteed vegetables and olives

Cook over medium heat for three minutes, then add vinegar.

Turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes

Empanada Assembly

Begin by gathering the following: your picadillo filling, a rolling pin, biscuit cutter, a small bowl of water, a pastry brush, a fork, two cookie sheets lined with parchment and prepare an egg wash

Roll your empanada dough to about 1/16th of an inch thick (thin)

Using a 3in biscuit cutter, cut out discs until you are out of dough. (this recipe should make about 4doz)

Take one empanada skin, brush it with water, put 1/2-1/4 tsp filling in the center of the skin.

Fold one half of the skin over the top, and press edges firmly with your fingers to remove excess air.

Crimp edges with a fork to create a seal.

Place on cookie sheet.

Repeat

Once all of your skins are used, generously brush the tops of your empanadas with egg wash but do not allow the egg wash to pool anywhere.

Bake in a 350degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden

Enjoy!

For Linda

I lost a dear, sweet friend today. We grew our friendship over the past few years through food. She loved to eat my Old Fashioned Mac and Cheese with hunks of bacon, pizza with sausage on it, anything with sausage on it. She loved to drink Capri Suns, and would buy them for my children when we visited so she could share in the treat. She asked me to cook sacred food, celebration food for those she loved, for Passover, Sukkot, Chanukah. She shared herself and her traditions with me, and I cherish her memory. I am honored to have cooked for her.

Fantasy Meal

Part of what I love about my job is that people come to me with their deepest, most secret food fantasies and ask me to make them a piece of their reality. Part of the fun can be recreating a food memory from childhood, or helping someone revisit their European honeymoon. I never get bored. People build a life which includes culinary bricks. They stack Grandma's pot roast on top of merguez sausage, on top of chicken noodle soup and PB&J sandwiches, on top of menudo on top of well, you get it. Life is a series of meals which tell a story. My youngest child will always be reminded that her first solid meal was cassoulet.

The ingredients for this cassoulet were given to my husband and myself as a birthing gift from Scott and Rachel. We saved it through that spring, summer and fall because cassoulet is a meal best eaten in bitterly cold weather. It warms the body and the soul. So when the snow flew in the air, I flew to the kitchen and began the process. Cassoulet is a process. Soaking beans, braising duck legs in fat, chopping, simmering, the French are masters of layering flavors. Cassoulet is a meal that takes time and a lot of love to prepare. We invited guests (my parents) to share this indulgent feast, and were all consumed with slurping, savoring and sopping up the cassoulet with the baby on my lap when she reached out and grabbed a hunk of duck off my spoon. Now, I love duck with all my being and was conflicted. Should I snatch my favorite bite from my baby's chubby mitt, or should I delight in the fact that she reached for it? Well, before I could process the thought, she was gnawing away at it and grinning like a fool in love, so I knew that she was a baby after my own tastes. It was a bonding moment. I will never be able to eat cassoulet again without thinking of her sweet face and satisfied smile after we shared that first dish. I have since concocted my own fantasies about the two of us flying off to France some February years from now, seeking out a small, poorly lit bistro, and sharing this story with her over some nice braised duck, flageolet, sausage, and pork belly bathed in that rich, supple gravy.

If you are in search of a good cassoulet recipe to follow I can recommend two.

First, of course will be Julia Child's recipe in which she refers to the dish as

"French Baked Beans"

It is on page 399 of MTAOFC (Mastering the Art of French Cooking) vol 1

She offers several variations on the dish and is of course painstakingly precise in her rendering of this classic, yet rustic dish.

Second is in Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook Page 212

I have eaten this dish at Les Halles and it is superb, in fact I have eaten it there on more than one occasion. If you visit New York, I recommend you do the same. I have used this recipe at home as well, and it has turned out flawlessly each time.

Get Thee to the Library!

I have known these people through their writing, and through that writing, they have touched my life.

Appetite for Life by Noel Riley Fitch

Go ahead and skip Julie and Julia.

Tender at the Bone, Comfort Me with Apples, both by Ruth Reichl

A heart tale.

The Tuscan Year by Elizabeth Romer

No, not Under the Tuscan Sun, that drivel.

The Making of a Chef and The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman

Blood, sweat, and duck fat.

Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon

Reminded me of my childhood and how out of hand and greedy this world has gotten.

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant by Jenni Ferrari-Adler

Talk of secret food desires...juicy...

A Year In Provence by Peter Mayle

Read in my youth, inspired me to the kitchen.

Climbing the Mango Trees by Madhur Jaffrey

Tales of mango and mulberry. Tart, sweet.

Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain

Met him in my SF days with my first Chef, then went to eat duck and noodles in Chinatown.

Hidden Kitchens by Nikki Silva and Davia Nelson

A gift from my husband before my own "hidden kitchen" existed.

Luna Feeding My Soul

This is my first blog post. I had it all planned out. I'd been thinking all day as I cooked my way from 8am to 10:30pm. I took photos and thought I'd write about these cute little cupcake bites I'd made inspired by Bakerella.com It was a whimsical start, and I had some good quips. Then, I ended my day making tamales. It had been a process, roasting meats, making the red and green gravies, using my great grandmother's recipes. The more tamales I made, the more I thought about my Great Grandmother Luna.

I barely knew her in life, she died when I was very young. I know she was indigenous to New Mexico, that she lived there her entire life on the soil of her ancestors, worked hard, and was a good Christian woman. She wore turquoise jewelery. I know that she once killed a boy in her car, she could not have helped it, he ran directly in front of her, but she could never sit behind the wheel again. I know that she made tamales, and that she taught my mother how to make tamales and red chili gravy, who then taught me, and that I make and share today.

Every year, when I begin my own process of making tamales, I think of this woman who I barely knew, but who lives on in my roasting of chilies, onions, garlic and pork shoulder. I pay homage to her as I float test my masa dough and spread it on the moist corn husk. As the aroma from the steam fills the kitchen, it seems as though her spirit is dancing around me. Immersed in these thoughts, It became clear to me that in writing this blog, I wanted to explore the relationship between people and their food, how the cooking and sharing of it connects us to the earth and one another. How food can bind a family in tradition, revisit a long gone childhood, make people fall in love, heal physically and emotionally, help to teach culture, tolerance, and cultivate communities. Because this is what is important about food to me.