Posts Tagged ‘food’
A Most Decadent Delight
February 23, 2011 | 
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Is that a gorgeous photo, or what???
Let me assure you — as beautiful as that fruit tart looks, the visuals can’t begin to compare to how luscious it was!
Tom had gone to our favorite bakery, Decadent Delight, to pick up some Luv Bugs — the adorable filled and frosted pastries we’d enjoyed so much last Valentine’s Day that we absolutely wanted to have them again for our celebration.
But — gasp! Decadent Delight was closed that day; they had been swarmed over the weekend, but we hadn’t thought to go shopping quite that early … we’d thought mid-morning on the day itself would be sufficient. Nope — the word has gotten out, and pastry chef extraordinaire Bryant Stuckey’s treats are now in high demand!
The Luv Bugs had made my AnnArbor.com listing of 5 Fabulous Favorite Foods Found in Ann Arbor as well as my Food Floozie 10 for ’10 top ten list for the past year. They’re sorta glorified and sophisticated Twinkie-like goodies, cakes with filling and frosting and adorable little faces. Alas, we will have to wait until next year … 
But he also came back with two other treats, consolation prizes to relish instead of the Luv Bugs — the gorgeous fruit tart above and one featuring caramelized pears.
The berries on the tart were so plump and so juicy that one could almost feel transported to summer when eating them. The colors were deep and intense, as were the flavors. And the pastry cream supporting them was truly a perfect complement — thick, creamy and not so sweet that it competed with the stars of the show.
And then there was the crust, which was flaky and crumbly without shattering when broken either by a fork (if one is civilized) or by teeth (when one is so zealous that she picks up the tart to simply eliminate any barriers between her and her beloved!). It held its shape and supported the filling just as it should without making a mess. This excellent crust also made an appearance in the pear tart, which — believe it or not — even surpassed the fruit one … who could have thought it possible?
The pears were perfectly cooked, just barely resistant to the bite, not mushy and not crisp. Pears, of course, have perhaps a 10-minute window in which they are neither hard as rocks nor slimy goo. To work within that brief time span and also poach them to an ideal consistency without overcooking them requires skill.
There was not a heavy, thick caramel layer in this tart, but rather a hint of sweetness to enhance the subtly flavored pears. And the buttery crust which wonderfully supported the fruit and pastry cream in our other lovely dessert also served the pears ideally.
So, whether you’re looking for breakfast, for a treat to go with coffee, or simply an indulgence, I assure you that Decadent Delight will satisfy any whim.
416 West Huron Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
734-761-8740
info@decadentdelight.com
“floo·zie \ˈflü-zē\: a usually young woman of loose morals.” Thus a Food Floozie is not a woman who can be seduced by virtually any man, but rather a woman who can be seduced by virtually any food (other than sushi).
For more blathering about recipes, restaurants, beverages, ingredients, and anything else even tangentially related to food, please come visit me Monday through Friday at Food Floozie or check out my mostly-regular Tuesday posts on AnnArbor.com.
Posted in Dessert, Shopping | 
Tags: Decadent Delight, Dessert, food, fruit, pastry, tart | 
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Polish Dill Pickle Soup
One of my dearest friends in the world, Connie, is 100% Polish; she’s also married to a man who’s 100% Polish. They are some fabulous cooks, and make a kielbasa that is a true work of art and a most generous gift some years at Easter. (There are too many demands and insufficient quantity to feed all of the ravenous hordes, so I have resigned myself to not being on the “in” list every year … alas!)
Anyway, Connie is a great cook, as I’ve already said. So when I went to a horrendously bad Polish restaurant last year, where the one and only redeeming food was the dill pickle soup (don’t even ask how leaden and flavorless the blintzes were … with a filling made from canned mushrooms!), I asked Connie if she would share her recipe with me. (She did; here’s the post from AnnArbor.com. And that’s her son Andrew, one of my son Jeremy’s best friends, doing the “bunny ears,” fyi.)
Connie’s soup is very easy to make, and it is some seriously astounding comfort food. But the soup at the restaurant had some flecks of carrot, potatoes, and dill, which Connie’s lacked.
So I tinkered a bit by using the original recipe as a base but then adding the other ingredients. It’s still Connie’s soup, in my opinion, just with a bit more stuff in it.
And it was truly, wonderfully, amazingly delicious!
It may sound odd to pour in juice from a pickle jar, but why use plain ol’ water when you can add some depth of flavor? Connie’s late mother-in-law used to add a bit of vinegar in her version of this Polish classic; but there’s an entire jar full of brine just waiting to find a purpose other than swimming around cucumbers! Do it Connie’s way, which she learned from her own mother, whom we call Busha ([BOO-shuh] = grandmother). Busha is in her late 90s now … the woman knows a thing or two!
Polish Dill Pickle Soup
1 pound pre-cooked kielbasa
1 cup water + water to cover kielbasa
1 tablespoon bacon fat or butter
1 small onion, chopped
3/4 cup juice from a jar of dill pickles, preferably Polish
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium potato, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chopped dill pickles
1 teaspoon dried dill
slices of caraway rye bread, toasted and buttered, because as Connie puts it: “Of course, you have to have a good rye bread to go along with it.”
Place the kielbasa into a medium saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer for 1/2 hour. Remove the kielbasa from the saucepan saving the liquid, and slice to desired thickness.
Heat the bacon fat in a small skillet and saute the onion just until translucent. Add to the reserved cooking liquid.
Add the 1 cup of water, the pickle juice, salt and pepper to the saucepan with the onion. Bring to a boil, then add the potatoes and carrot; cook for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
Combine the sour cream and the flour in a medium bowl, then slowly stir in 1/2 cup of the broth until smooth. Whisk this mixture back into the saucepan, bring just to a boil (small bubbles around the edge of the soup), then remove from heat.
Stir in the chopped pickles, the kielbasa and the dill. Serve hot, with the toasted rye on the side.
Makes 4 generous servings.
“floo·zie \ˈflü-zē\: a usually young woman of loose morals.” Thus a Food Floozie is not a woman who can be seduced by virtually any man, but rather a woman who can be seduced by virtually any food (other than sushi).
For more blathering about recipes, restaurants, beverages, ingredients, and anything else even tangentially related to food, please come visit me Monday through Friday at Food Floozie or check out my mostly-regular Tuesday posts on AnnArbor.com.
The Birthday of the Trees
The Jewish celebration of Tu B’Shvat [TOO bayshuh-VAHT] — The Birthday of the Trees — begins tonight at sundown. In recent years, it has been common to hold a seder with rituals protocols and readings; but I’m just planning to enjoy traditional treats like dried fruits, nuts, olives and citrus. I’m always there for the food!
A town like Ann Arbor , of course, is a perfect place to celebrate Tu B’Shvat! Planting trees and enjoying the fruits that they bear are two of the primary traditions for the day, perfect for my beloved town’s eco- and health-consciousness. Nurturing trees is so vital a tradition in Judaism that Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai (who lived from 30-90 A.D./C.E.) is quoted as saying: “If you should be holding a sapling in your hand when they tell you the Messiah has arrived … first plant the sapling, then go out and greet him.”
According to MyJewishLearning.com: “The Bible expresses a great reverence for fruit trees as symbols of God’s bounty and beneficence. Special laws were formulated to protect fruit trees in times of war and ensure that the produce of trees would not be picked until the trees were mature enough and tithes were given from them. In order to calculate the age of trees, both for determining when they could be harvested and when they were to be tithed for the Temple, the Talmudic Rabbis established the 15th day (Tu) of the month of Shvat as the official ‘birthday’ of trees.”
As opposed to many Jewish holidays where it’s traditional to eat cholesterol-laden challah or latkes fried in oil (which is, of course, half the fun!), this is a party where you’re actually encouraged to eat nutritious fruits. So whether you eat a savory meal like the chicken dish I offer below, or enjoy fresh fruit out of hand, join me in celebrating Tu B’Shvat as we wait through the frigidly cold winter until all those beautiful trees bloom again in spring ….
Braised Chicken Thighs in Lemony Olive Sauce
3 tablespoons oil
3 pounds chicken thighs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small onion, halved, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons shawarma spices (available at Middle Eastern markets; substitute a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, cardamom, and garlic powder if needed)
1/2 teaspoon ground sumac (available at Middle Eastern markets)
1/3 cup Sicilian Lemon Balsamic Vinegar (available at Fustini’s Oils and Vinegars, a fine Michigan-based franchise)
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup green olives with pimientos, chopped
Heat oil in a large, deep-sided skillet over medium heat. Season both sides of the chicken with the salt and pepper, and place into the skillet skin-side down.
Cook for 10 minutes until nicely browned. Turn the chicken over and cook for 5 minutes on the other side. Remove the chicken to a plate.
Saute the onion and the garlic until the onion is translucent. Sprinkle in the spices and cook for 1 minute.
Combine the vinegar and the broth; pour into the skillet and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet, skin-side up.
Cover the chicken, then turn heat to “medium-low” and cook for 35 minutes. Place the chicken on a serving platter and boil the sauce down to reduce it until it has thickened. Stir in the olives.
Pour the sauce over the chicken, and serve hot.
Makes 4-6 servings.
“floo·zie \ˈflü-zē\: a usually young woman of loose morals.” Thus a Food Floozie is not a woman who can be seduced by virtually any man, but rather a woman who can be seduced by virtually any food (other than sushi).
For more blathering about recipes, restaurants, beverages, ingredients, and anything else even tangentially related to food, please come visit me Monday through Friday at Food Floozie or check out my mostly-regular Tuesday posts on AnnArbor.com.
A Very British Food Revolution
This year, like many others previous, I holidayed the coasts of Europe, namely the wonderfully sunny South of France. As well as a warm week on the French coast, I also spent a fortnight in America.
Although I have alot of French family, I would never ever class myself as a Francophile in any sense of the word, but holidaying in France is not only convenient, but it’s also relatively hassle free. After all, you can reach it by train, plane or boat.
France has sun, some splendid beaches and is very family-friendly as well as making the perfect getaway for a couple’s weekend. The food, as I’m sure those of you who read any David, Mayle, Olney, Fisher, have ever eaten at Raymond Blanc’s or ever seen a cookery show on TV will recognise, is pretty good. I have no desire to sound like an espadrille and straw hat wearing Englishman-in-Provence stereotype but, yep, they got fruit, they got veg and they’ve got meat.
No doubt you’re aware that France, with its vast, regions of endless mineral-rich, fertile fields have some fantastic produce, world class in fact. The wine, oils, cheeses and meats are all top notch stuff and for many years have put British foods to absolute shame. Previously restaurants would often bypass British produce opting for French, Italian and Spanish goods to sit proudly on their menus instead of home grown.
But in just the last few years there has been a silent but swelling revolution, a food revolution, a British led food revolution that is totally unique to this island. We have in the space of a few years become the world leaders in quality and variety. People are protesting with their plates and shopping bags, no longer do they want Chicken Dippers and Turkey Twizllers, chemical and additive rich foods, just good, simple, honest stuff.
Producers based in and around the South-West, Cotswolds, Surrey and London are finally receiving recognition for their hard work, local produce is officially back in fashion, beautifully crafted goods from smaller producers can be seen on menus and in Delis, farm shops and even on Supermarket shelves. Leading the way are some colourful characters, sure we’ve all seen Jamie Oliver travelling round calling this and that ‘puka mate’, and we’ve seen the Hairy Bikers riding around telling us all about food that they champion, but who are the real champions at a local level in this revolution?
Well I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear there are quite alot and where I live in the Cotswolds the change in food production, marketing and selling has been drastic. No longer to people want cheap anything goes food packed full of additives and chemical nasty’s. Good food is here to stay in Britain but as I discovered in America this ethos has not yet landed on US shores.
Champions such as Rob Rees the Cotswold Chef, Farmers markets around Gloucestershire, television presenter Tom Herbert owner of Hobbs House bakery’s in Nailsworth are setting the trend for the new generation of foodies.
Companies such as the Cotswold-based Winstone’s Ice Cream have managed to defy the Global recession and continue to grow, and with growth innovate and adapt their already world famous product.
The company started in 1925 by Albert Winstone’s, is now owned and run by Albert’s great granddaughter Jane Vear. Along with her two sons Tom and Benjamin Vear they have managed to attract new customers by ensuring that their ice cream is made with the finest possible local ingredients. The shift to using local fruit, milk and cream has been gradual, costs have increased but their customer base understands that quality costs more.
Along with adapting recipes that are almost a century old, bringing ingredients up to date and using local producers the company has also began to undertake a program of green initiatives including recycling all of their cardboard and plastic waste.
For Jane’s son Ben, who looks after the majority of the companies communications it is not just important to take these steps; recycling waste, supporting local business and using the highest quality ingredients but as he explained to me, ‘its hugely important to actually communicate to the outside world that we are making these changes, we do this via promotional material, social networking such as twitter and facebook and more directly by telling our customers at the point of purchase’.
British food is back in fashion and inspired by the cultures and daily needs of an indescribably complex group of individuals. Food with resonance, spirit, challenge, not some faded outdated recollection of a mythical, romantic, classical past but instead obsessed with food miles, quality of ingredients and with an audience of ever more conscious eco shoppers. Britain is heads and shoulders above its counterparts, America still has a long way to go and Europe is firmly following the trend.
Pickled Eggs
Pickled Eggs have always been a special snack treat in our house. I can’t remember the first time I ate one, but I am sure I was probably a toddler. I remember seeing them on the counter at Phillippes in downtown Los Angeles. My grandfather and my father would always order several, cut in half. I can’t say whether this recipe is Phillippes recipe or not, but I am sure it was my family’s attempt at recreating it. Enjoy them with a little salt and a cold one!
2 doz hard boiled eggs, peeled
1/2 box of pickling spices
1 pint Pickled Beets. (DelMonte in a jar preferred; I used Auntie Nellies here in the south.)
1 pint Heinz white vinegar
2 Tbs sugar
Fill a 3 quart pot with the above ingredients (not the eggs) and bring to a boil.
Put eggs in a large glass crock or jar. Pour the boiling liquid over the eggs.
Let pickle at least 12 hours before sampling. 24 hours preferred.
Here are the eggs right after I added the Pickling liquid.
Sample egg after 12 hours in the “sauce”. Still has a way to go, but tasted great!