Dimanche (That Means Sunday)

Posted on February 18, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Dimanche 2.18.18
Welcome to this edition of Dimanche (That Means Sunday), a roundup of things that caught my eye this past week.

I didn’t write a post last Sunday because I was puking my guts out (excuse the bluntness). I had a bout of (food poisoning?) (stomach flu?) so I spent the day in bed, unable to move. It was a humbling experience and one that I never hope to repeat. I’m a food writer, though, so I guess it comes with the territory.

After I got that trauma out of the way, the week actually shaped up well. I successfully ignored Valentine’s Day, caught up with some old friends whom I haven’t talked to in a while, and watched some good movies. I also took a long hike along the Missouri River today, which was beautiful as always (see above).

February is an odd month. It’s shorter than the rest but it always manages to feel longer. Maybe February is a lesson in patience, one that I’m still mastering. Sometimes it’s important to realize that time as we know it is largely insignificant. The most important thing is to make the most of the time we have.

Without further ado, here is Dimanche:

This article about startups being accused of violating a dessert trademark is the most French thing EVER. French techies have adopted the English word “pitch” to describe their business activities. This does not sit well with Brioche Pasquier Group, one of France’s largest dessert producers. The company makes brioche-like snacks called “Pitch,” and now it’s trying to stop French tech startups from using the word by claiming that it owns it. You can read more about the situation here.

In a semi-shamless plug, I had an article go live last week that I’m proud of. I interviewed Thu Rein Oo, the executive chef at a popular St. Louis restaurant called The Crossing. Oo is a Burmese refugee and he’s worked his way up through the ranks over the years to his current position. He’s so kind and truly an inspiration. Check out the story here.

After I got sick, I lost my appetite. It was one of the scariest feelings because I usually walk around all day wanting to eat everything in sight. I decided the best way to jumpstart my appetite would be to make something delicious that I would look forward to eating for breakfast. Cue: This chocolate tahini granola. I’d highly recommend it, food poisoning or not.

I really enjoyed this article about restaurant critics’ moral responsibility in the age of #MeToo. There’s been a lot of back and forth the last year about whether food writers should let their morals guide their reviews. For example, should food critics review a restaurant if the head chef is accused of domestic violence or sexual harassment? I veer toward saying, no, they shouldn’t, but this story in The New Yorker presents all the angles.

Trump disgusts me on a visceral level, but the latest news about his “harvest box” plan makes me feel sicker than food poisoning. The White House on Monday released a budget plan that includes something called “America’s Harvest Box,” which calls for a drastic overhaul in food stamp programming. The country’s poorest citizens would see their electronic benefits, or ability to buy food, reduced by half, and instead would get boxes of shelf-stable food. This would remove choice for people using food stamps and it would essentially eliminate their ability to get fresh produce. The plan is “an unworkable solution in search of a problem,”Matt Knott, president of Chicago-based Feeding America, a national network of food banks and pantries, told the Chicago Tribune earlier this week. I couldn’t agree more.

I got excited Thursday when I got a message from my friend Lynn DeLean-Weber from Edelbrand Pure Distilling. She told me that one of the photos I took of her, her husband Martin Weber, and her daughter Tess got picked up by a blog that was writing about her brandy business. It made me remember how much fun I had visiting the farm in December. Lynn and Martin’s dedication inspires me. My goal is to start my own small business by their age, and meeting them helped me get more ideas about how to make this dream a reality.

In uplifting news, Union Loafers has chocolate chip cookies now and they’re some of the best cookies I’ve tasted ANYWHERE. That is not an exaggeration. I walked in for lunch Friday afternoon and I thought I’d get my usual turkey/soup or salad combo. Then I saw a little boy at the counter enjoying a chocolate chip cookie. I have pretty good cookie radar so I can tell just by looking at one whether it will be delicious or not. This one looked off the chart good, so I decided to order one. I was not disappointed.

Union Loafers Cookie

Enjoy your week! Here’s a song to get you started. I’ve listened to it 50 times between Friday and now, which elates and terrifies me.

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Crêpes with Citrus Honey Ricotta Filling

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Blood Orange Crepes
Crêpes are an art. I’ve tried to master it over the years and I’d like to think that I’ve gotten better, but they take practice and patience. I’m good at practicing but I’m terrible at being patient.

Still, the crêpes I made last weekend are a testimony to my hard work. They turned out better than I expected. I think they would have been almost perfect if I had the tools (an actual crêpe pan and one of those little wooden mallets that you use to swirl the batter). But for what they were, they were great.

A trick to getting your crêpes to turn out well is refrigerating the batter for a while before you make them. This can be really frustrating, especially if you’re hungry and impatient. But trust me when I say, it’s worth it. Even if you just stick the batter in the fridge for a half hour before cooking the crêpes, it will improve the outcome. It makes the batter less bubbly and will help the crêpes stick together while they cook.

You can fill your crêpes with whatever you want but I’d recommend adding this citrus honey ricotta filling. It’s fluffy, light, and slightly tangy. The ricotta-filled crêpes actually remind me of blintzes, or a Jewish dish that I used to eat all the time growing up. It’s the same concept except you usually serve them with some fruit or jam on top.

Another tip for making good crêpes is confidence. This can be difficult to muster, especially if you’re making them for the first time. But the more you just get in there and swirl the batter quickly and masterfully in the skillet, the better your crêpes will turn out. I’m still getting the hang of this so don’t worry if it takes a while.

In other news, it’s finally the weekend and I’m pretty amped about it. My plans include having brunch tomorrow, going on a long hike if the weather is nice on Sunday, and finally doing my taxes. I HATE taxes/tax season so hopefully I get it over with as quickly as possible. As I told my sister last night, I’d rather eat my own hand than do taxes for a living. That is not an exaggeration.

Here’s a song to take you into the weekend. I’ve been really into country music lately.

Tune in Sunday for another Dimanche (That Means Sunday) post. I didn’t write one last week because I got food poisoning, but this Sunday I’m going to put one up.

Crêpes with Citrus Honey Ricotta Filling

Ingredients

for the crêpes:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk (I used almond)
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 Tbsp melted butter
butter for coating the pan
powdered sugar, blood orange or other orange slices, orange zest for topping

for the citrus honey ricotta filling:
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta
1 Tbsp orange blossom honey
juice from 1 mandarin orange
zest from half a mandarin orange

Directions

Blend the eggs, milk, water, flour, and melted butter in a blender on high until smooth. Place the batter in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking.

Meanwhile make the citrus honey ricotta filling. Whisk together the ricotta, honey, orange juice, and orange zest.

Melt some butter in a pan/skillet. Pour 1/4 cup batter into the skillet at a time and quickly tilt the pan to swirl the batter. Cook for about 30 seconds, then flip and cook for another 10 seconds. Set the crêpe on a plate and stack them as they’re finished to keep them warm.

Once you’re done making the crêpes, fill a few with the citrus honey ricotta filling and place side by side on a plate. Top with orange zest and powdered sugar and serve with orange slices. Enjoy!

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Chocolate Tahini Granola

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Chocolate Tahini Granola
I’ve been craving chocolate tahini granola for a few days, so yesterday, I decided to do something about it.

Also I needed a really, really good breakfast to jumpstart my appetite. I got (food poisoning?) (stomach flu?) over the weekend and it was TERRIBLE. It started with me spending a day flat on my back in bed and ended with me having no appetite. The latter was scary because I usually want to eat everything in sight. I knew it was bad when I didn’t even want to touch the frittata I made for lunch Monday.

This granola might not be a universal cure for food poisoning but it definitely makes you feel better after you’ve suffered through it. It has a bunch of my favorite things: Cocoa powder, maple syrup, tahini, sea salt, almonds, hemp hearts, and cacao nibs. It combines a lot of flavors and textures but the unifying element is definitely the chocolate. It sings through and pairs well with the tangy tahini.

I like my granola on the saltier side, so if you like your granola sweeter I would recommend increasing the amount of maple syrup you add OR adding a teaspoon or so of sugar. You could even use coconut sugar if you have it. I think this granola strikes a good balance between sweet and savory. Last night when I was eating it off the baking sheet, it reminded me a little of cocoa pebbles. It just wasn’t fake sweet.

I ate the granola this morning with some honey Greek yogurt, blood orange segments, and raspberries. I’d *highly* recommend the blood orange/chocolate tahini granola combo. Blood oranges are slightly sweeter than regular citrus, which make it a perfect pairing with this granola. I also liked adding raspberries to the mix. They were juicy, plump, and tart, and added some flavor to the bowl.

Anyway. I hope wherever you are, you avoid food poisoning or the stomach flu. Enjoy this chocolate tahini granola as a remedy or just for fun. I’d go so far as to suggest doubling the recipe so you have enough to last you throughout the week. I have a feeling the tub I made last night will disappear soon.

Here’s a song to get you started on your granola-making journey. It’s also good for impromptu car karaoke sessions.

Chocolate Tahini Granola

Ingredients

2 cups oats
2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup cacao nibs and 1/4 cup hemp hearts to mix in at end

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the oats, coconut oil, tahini, cocoa powder, sea salt, maple syrup, and almonds in a large bowl with a spatula until the cocoa is evenly distributed. Spread the mixture into a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the sheet and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the almonds are golden brown and the granola is fragrant. Make sure not to over-bake. Also, if you want big clumps of granola later, don’t touch it during the baking process. You can break it apart like a cracker once it cools.

Let the granola cool slightly on the sheet and then mix in the cacao nibs and hemp hearts. Break apart the granola into bite-size pieces, or to the size you desire. Place in an airtight container. The granola will keep for a week in the sealed container at room temperature. Enjoy!

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Anti-V Day Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread Cookies

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Anti V Day Cookies
I hate Valentine’s Day. It’s a phony holiday. I sound like Holden Caulfield writing a short story about Valentine’s Day, but that’s okay. I stand by my opinion.

No one gets off work. Everyone scrambles to get a dinner reservation at a “nice” restaurant. Most of the restaurants serve a pre-planned menu that doesn’t even taste that good. A lot of the time, new parents bring their baby in a desperate attempt at a night out, so you hear the baby screaming while you’re trying to enjoy your subpar meal. Then you end up getting in a fight with your significant other, because obviously you’re going to get in a fight. Expectations run high so inevitably, you’ll be disappointed.

Which brings me to these anti-Valentine’s Day cookies. I wanted to stick it to the holiday and I was craving grapefruit, so the idea for these cookies was born. I added thyme into the mix because grapefruit and thyme pair well together. There’s something about the tart citrus flavor of grapefruit and the fragrant, woods-y flavor of thyme that make them better suited than most people who get married.

I drizzled these cookies with homemade grapefruit icing. I thought the icing came out looking pretty pink, but if you want more of a pink color, you could add a couple drops of food coloring. If you’re a Valentine’s Day enthusiast and you want to convert these cookies for your purposes, you’re probably going to add the food coloring.

ANYWAY. That’s my two cents on Valentine’s Day. I don’t like it and I certainly don’t observe it, but I understand why some people do. I wish we could make the holiday about loving ourselves because then I’d be all for it. Maybe I’ll make it a personal goal to start this movement.

Until then, I’ll leave you with this song, and the recipe for these grapefruit thyme shortbread cookies.

Anti-V Day Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

for the cookies:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
2 tsp grated grapefruit zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

for the icing:
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice

Directions

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Beat the butter, powdered sugar, grapefruit juice, grapefruit zest, and vanilla extract in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour, salt, and thyme leaves and mix until just combined.

Divide the dough in half and form into a disc. Wrap in saran wrap and place in the refrigerator for an hour, or until chilled and slightly hardened.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out the heart shapes and place the cookies one inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Place the baking sheets in the fridge for 20 minutes before baking.

Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Meanwhile, make the icing by whisking together the powdered sugar and grapefruit juice.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets. Then remove and place on a wire rack. Drizzle on the grapefruit icing. Enjoy!

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Immune-Boosting Mango Raspberry Smoothie

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Immune Boosting Smoothie
This smoothie is as bright as it looks in the picture. I swear. No tinkering or filters…it’s actually that vibrant.

It’s the perfect thing to drink when you feel like you’re getting a cold, which usually happens to me once a week during the winter. Even though I work out and try to eat (mostly) healthy, the cold weather wears on me and I’m left feeling tired and worn out.

This smoothie is the antidote to the perpetual “I’m about to get sick” feeling. It’s basically the equivalent of liquid sunshine. It makes you forget that it’s February and takes you to the beach in the middle of summer when you’re laying on the sand in a bikini. At least, that’s what it did for me.

I’ve wanted to mix two smoothies together in a glass together for a while, but I never did it because I didn’t want to wash out the blender and start all over again. I’m not a fan of doing dishes.

Still, I knew this smoothie would be worth it. I made the mango smoothie first, rinsed out the blender, and then made the raspberry component. They look so pretty together in the glass.

I topped the smoothie with a sprinkle of hemp hearts but feel free to get creative. Chia seeds, fresh or slightly-thawed frozen berries, or even granola would be excellent additions. It also helps to drink this with a bright straw. It adds to the vacation element.

Here’s a song that reminds me of this smoothie. It’s also good for days when you’re counting down the hours to the weekend and you really, really don’t want to be sitting at a desk for seven hours.

Immune-Boosting Mango Raspberry Smoothie

Ingredients

1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
pinch of ground cayenne pepper
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1 blood orange, peeled and segmented
1 cup almond milk
hemp hearts for topping

Directions

Blend the mango, lemon juice, turmeric, cayenne pepper, orange juice, and ginger in a blender on high until smooth. Pour into a tall glass until it fills half the glass. Rinse out the blender and then blend the raspberries, blood orange, and almond milk on high until smooth. Pour into the glass on top of the mango smoothie until it fills the glass. Swirl the two together until you have a colorful blend. Top with hemp hearts. Enjoy!

 

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Grapefruit Rose Doughnut at KNEAD: A Lesson in Persistence

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

KNEAD
I’ve been known to go out of my way for good food. There was the time I broke all my rules and stood in line for two hours in the freezing cold for Filipino food at Bad Saint in D.C. Then there was the time I took a bus for an hour to go to a new bakery that had just opened in Portland, Oregon. If I get an instinctual feeling about a place, and I’ve heard good things, there’s nothing that can stop me.

Which brings me to the grapefruit rose doughnuts at KNEAD. I already know and love the bakery, which is located in St. Louis’s Southampton neighborhood. I was scrolling through their Instagram earlier this week and I saw a picture of a grapefruit rose doughnut. It looked so good, I temporarily stopped breathing. I decided to get one as soon as possible.

Work was unexpectedly busy on Tuesday so I couldn’t get over to KNEAD until around noon. When I walked in, I didn’t see the doughnuts anywhere. “Do you have any grapefruit rose doughnuts?” I asked the cashier. “I just sold the last one,” she said apologetically. I looked behind her and the doughnut was sitting on a metal tray on the counter, waiting for someone who wasn’t me. “That’s okay,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment. “I’ll come back earlier tomorrow.”

Yesterday I walked in at eleven. I didn’t see the doughnuts anywhere. Me and the same cashier locked eyes. She recognized me and looked instantly apologetic. “You’re sold out again?” I said, somewhat incredulously. “Yes,” she said. “I’m so sorry, I meant to set one aside for you.” She gave me a free homemade pop tart, even though I protested. “It’s the least I can do,” she said. I guess the disappointment was written all over my face, even though I was trying to hide it.

At this point, many people would give up. I mean, why drive yourself crazy trying to get something after multiple attempts? The answer is, because you know how good it will be, and despite all reason, you know in your heart that you’re meant to try it. Also, there’s a part of me that refuses to give up no matter what’s thrown at me. Call it stubbornness or sheer persistence, but if I want something, I go after it.

This morning I woke up an hour early so I could get to KNEAD before work. I pulled into the parking lot a few minutes before they opened. A friendly cashier let me inside. I saw the grapefruit rose doughnut sitting behind the glass case. I felt happy and relieved. This was the moment I’d been waiting for.

Grapefruit Rose DoughnutI got the doughnut and a cup of coffee. I ate it at the counter by the front window. The sun shined through the glass and felt hot on my face, but that’s okay. It’s winter and I hardly ever see the sun these days.

I sat there, enjoying the bright citrus and soft rose flavors in the doughnut, the warmth of the sun and the coffee, and the peacefulness of the bakery in the early morning. I felt more relaxed than I have in days. I realized that life is about these small moments of pleasure. On some level I’ve always known it, but my experience at KNEAD this morning confirmed it.

With that happiness brought a certain clarity. I want to open my own bakery someday. I want to bring that same feeling of satisfaction to other people. It might not happen in a year or ten years, but I know it will happen eventually. Until then, I’ll enjoy the journey.

 

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Smoked Salmon Soba Noodle Salad

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Smoked Salmon Soba Noodle Salad
My friend Jim likes to smoke salmon, and the other day he was generous enough to give me some. It was perfect timing because I’d been thinking about making soba noodle salad with smoked salmon.

This salad is something you can make year-round. In the winter, it’s good because soba noodles are hearty, and smoked salmon and soy sauce is warming. In the spring and summer, it’s delicious because the cucumbers are cool and crunchy and the scallions add some brightness. I haven’t met many recipes that are this versatile, except for maybe chocolate cake.

ANYWAY. I’d highly recommend making this salad as soon as possible. If you have leftover smoked salmon or scallions, buy some cream cheese and make scallion cream cheese, and put it on a bagel with the salmon. That’s what I’m going to do for breakfast tomorrow and I’m pretty amped about it.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this song. It’s good for days when you’re counting down the minutes until you can sneak away from your desk and go get the doughnut that you wanted to eat yesterday at your favorite doughnut shop, but they were all sold out.

Smoked Salmon Soba Noodle Salad

Ingredients

3-4 oz soba noodles
1 ½ cups sliced or diced English cucumber
1/2 cup sliced scallions (cut on the diagonal)
4 oz smoked salmon
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine vinegar

Directions

Cook the soba noodles for about 5 minutes in a pot of salted boiling water, or until they’re al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Whisk the sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar in a large bowl. Add the soba noodles and toss to coat. Then add in the cucumber, scallions, and sesame seeds and toss together. Top with smoked salmon and any reserved sesame seeds, scallions, or cucumber. Leftovers will keep for a day or two in a sealed container in the fridge. Enjoy!

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Swiss Pear Tart with Edelbrand Plum Brandy

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Swiss Pear Tart
A couple months ago, I went to Marthasville, MO, to visit Edelbrand Pure Distilling. The business, which is owned by Lynn DeLean-Weber, Martin Weber, and their daughter Tess DeLean, makes vinars, or Swiss brandy. “Vinars” is word in Romansh, or a language spoken in a small mountain region in Switzerland. Martin is from this region. He moved to the U.S. and met and married Lynn, and they decided to start making Swiss-style brandy at home.

It was very cold the day I drove an hour and a half to Marthasville to meet Lynn, Martin, and Tess, but that didn’t deter me. There’s something serene about Missouri farmland during the winter. The hills are dotted with snow and seem to roll into the clouds. Occasionally you’ll see animals grazing in the pasture, but mostly, it’s just wide open space.

Screen Shot 2017-12-31 at 12.16.52 PM
Lynn, Martin, and Tess welcomed me warmly when I got to their farm. They had an adorable dog who curled up next to us in the living room. I interviewed them for a story I was writing and then Martin gave me a tour of the brandy facility.

Edelbrand makes its vinars in a converted shed on the side of their farm. The space is small, only big enough for a few people to fit inside comfortably and walk around. There are tanks lining the floors and copper stills near the wall.

I expected a small operation but it was amazing to see what Lynn, Martin, and Tess are able to do in a confined space. Edelbrand makes about 1,100 to 1,200 bottles of vinars a year. Some of those go to local restaurants and shops. Edelbrand also sells its brandy online.

The company sources all its fruit for its brandy from local purveyors and relies on friends and family to help them peel and prepare it. Once the fruit is ready, it goes into mash tanks and sits for a while. Then it goes through the distillation process. Martin and Lynn have to get up at 5:30 A.M. to prepare the stills.

After distillation, Martin dilutes the brandy down to drinking strength. It comes out of the stills at 160 proof, which is very strong, so he uses well water from the farm to bring it to 80 proof. You can read more about the process in the story I wrote for a local food publication.

edelbrand brandies.jpgAfter I toured the brandy room, Lynn, Martin, and Tess brought me back inside for a vinars tasting. Lynn made a beautiful Swiss pear tart using some of the company’s plum vinars. I liked it so much, I asked her for the recipe. I made it last night after I got home from work.

There are three things I love about this tart: One, it’s relatively easy to make. As long as you have dough made the night before or a premade crust, you’ll be set. I’d advocate for making pie dough if you can. It’s not intimidating (I promise) and for the extra effort, you’ll be rewarded with buttery, flaky pastry and a more authentic flavor.

The second thing I love about this recipe are the plum brandy-soaked pears. The brandy softens the pears even more and makes them very tender. You place them in a circle around your pie crust and pour the custard on top. The brandy pairs well with the eggs and cream, and it balances the sweetness of the pear.

My third favorite thing about this tart is the hazelnut element. You might be like, meh, why do I need ground hazelnuts if I already have a pie crust, pears, and custard? Trust me, you need them. They complement the pears and add a nutty, earthy richness to the tart.

I’m so happy Lynn shared this recipe with me. I can’t wait to eat the tart for lunch the next few days.

Swiss Pear Tart with Edelbrand Plum Brandy (slightly adapted from Edelbrand Pure Distilling)

Ingredients

pie crust (here’s the recipe I used*)
3-4 Tbsp of finely ground hazelnuts
1/4 cup Edelbrand vinars de pera (pear brandy) or vinars da plogas (plum brandy)
2 ripe pears, slice thinly (you can also use 2-4 plums)
200 ml of heavy cream (about 7/8’s of a cup)
1 egg
1 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 430 degrees Fahrenheit; place rack toward bottom of oven.

Lightly spray tart pan with cooking spray.

Roll pie dough out into a circle and lay into base of a 10-inch tart pan, pressing well into sides. Prick (lightly so as not to scratch tart pan surface) base all over with a fork. Place in freezer for 15-20 minutes.  This will make the crust flaky when baked.

Place sliced fruit in shallow dish or plastic baggie and pour vinars over fruit. Allow to sit until ready to lay onto pie crust.

Spread hazelnuts evenly over pastry. Gently lift fruit out of vinars and lay sliced pears in a circular design, starting with the outer edge. I usually end up with 3 full circles, overlapping each circle with the other until I reach the center.

You can mix the vinars into the cream mixture (next step) or serve at room temperature or slightly chilled with the dessert when it is ready.

Whisk together cream, egg, flour, and sugar until mixed thoroughly. Pour slowly over pears, starting from the inside of the pan to the outer edge. Bake approximately 30 minutes, until filling is golden brown. Remove and cool on wire rack for 20 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

*I made the dough, shaped it into a disc, and let it chill in the refrigerator overnight before I rolled it out. I would recommend doing the same. It will be more buttery and flaky that way. 

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Lemon Poppyseed Cake with Mandarins

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Lemon Poppyseed Cake
I was craving lemon poppyseed cake last week, partly because I miss California/Los Angeles. When I was there last fall, I went to Sqirl and got lemon poppyseed cake that blew. my. mind. I still think about it often, especially when the temperature drops forty degrees overnight and I have to break out my winter parka again.

To soothe myself, I made a lemon poppyseed cake Saturday night. I was looking for a recipe that would be similar to the one they used at Sqirl, but I had trouble finding one. If you google “Lemon Poppyseed Cake,” most recipes will be for pound cake. I wanted something fluffier and lighter.

Then I saw this recipe for poppyseed cake on Food52. The recipe didn’t call for any butter or flour. I was a little skeptical because what is a cake without butter and flour? Then I decided to take a chance. The cake in the picture at the top of the recipe looked delicious, and so did the mandarin orange garnish. I bought a bag of mandarins, poppy seeds, and lemons, and got cracking.

The recipe is pretty straightforward except for the granny smith apple. Why put a grated granny smith apple in lemon poppyseed? you may ask. I asked myself the same question. The answer is that it makes the cake even more moist and light. It dissolves in the oven while the cake is baking and adds a little more tartness to the batter.

You can top the cake however you’d like but I’d recommend going the mandarin route, especially if you like oranges or you need an extra jolt of vitamin C. I also sprinkled some powdered sugar on top for extra sweetness.

Next time I make the cake I might make two layers, and then put a layer of orange blossom or rose water icing in between. The rose water/lemon combo would resemble the cake I tried at Sqirl, but if I’m going to be honest, I don’t think anything could top that cake.

Here’s a song to get you started on your lemon poppyseed cake-making journey. I found it on NPR’s “H*ckin Good Puppies” playlist, which I would highly recommend checking out if you like dogs or songs about dogs.

 

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Dimanche (That Means Sunday)

Posted on February 4, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Activated Charcoal Latte
Welcome to this edition of Dimanche (That Means Sunday), a roundup of things that caught my eye this past week.

This week was…odd. It went from being almost spring to winter again, which I wasn’t happy about. I did my best to shoulder through. This involved distracting myself with baking projects, reading, and coffee, and it also involved a leisurely dinner with my friends from Edelbrand Pure Distilling (more on that later).

In other news, I just started going to Kundalini yoga. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the practice, it involves more chanting and breathing exercises than regular yoga. I went to my first class last weekend and I was surprised by how much it worked me out. I woke up with sore arms the next day.

Yesterday when I went, my teacher was talking about fire in the body. Fire, or some kind of unpleasant emotion, can be a good thing. It spurs us to act or motivates us to keep going. But when it goes out of control it can destroy us, just like a fire does in real life. My teacher encouraged us to let go of some of the fire, or negative feelings, through our breathing and chanting. I know it sounds hokey but it worked. It was a good reminder that we can’t always control our circumstances but we can control our response.

Without further ado, here is Dimanche:

French fraud officials are looking into the recent Nutella riots. In last week’s Dimanche I wrote about a super sale on Nutella that sent tons of French people to the grocery store to stock up on containers. After the sale spurred riots, the Directorate General of Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control in France looked into whether the sales were legal. You can read more about the situation in this article from NPR.

When the weather gets cold and I need something warm and reassuring, I turn to Big Heart Tea. They’re based in St. Louis and they have some of the best herbal loose leaf tea blends. One of my favorites is the Cup of Love, which has dried rose petals. Rose is such a calming scent and the flavor is delicate and light. You can find the tea at a lot of local shops and coffee shops, including Lemon Gem in The Grove.

Cup of Love

I don’t really care about sports, but this story about animals on the playing field caught my eye this week. The Atlantic put together an article with photos of kangaroos, cats, dogs, and other animals who have intruded on sporting events. I predictably lost my shit when I saw the photo of the baby deer (see: #10). They forgot a photo of rally cat, though, the cat who crashed a Cardinals game last year and made headlines after it started attacking the guy who tried to take it off the field.

I like moments when I feel like a tourist in my own city. This happened last week when I took an impromptu field trip during my lunch hour to the Old Courthouse in Downtown St. Louis. The courthouse is best known as the place where the Supreme Court heard the Dred Scott case. There’s a lot of history inside and the interiors are stunning. I’d highly recommend checking it out if you’re in St. Louis, especially if you’re by the Arch.

Old Courthouse

A spice seller in Wisconsin really hates Trump and he’s not shy about it. I’m a big fan of Bill Penzey after reading this article in The New Yorker. Penzey, who owns Penzeys Spices, is using his business’s social media platforms to lambaste Trump for his racism and elitism. So far, it seems to be paying off: Online sales spiked after he made the statements. Still, not everyone is on board with Penzey’s business philosophy. Penzey’s sister, who runs a competing business, encouraged conservative bloggers to buy spices from her company using a promo code, “NOPOLITICS.” Sounds more like “NOPROFIT” to me.

I was scrolling through Twitter earlier this week and a tweet from Dana Cree caught my attention. Cree, who used to be the pastry chef at a well-known restaurant in Chicago called Publican, recently decided to step away from her position there to open an ice cream joint called Pretty Cool Ice Cream. Cree is opening the shop with the owner of Bang Bang Pie, a popular pie shop on Chicago’s Northwest side. To make a long story short, Cree got good press about her upcoming shop in the Chicago Tribune. Then Eater wrote up the story from a sexist angle and made it sound like Bang Bang’s owner, who is a man, was leading the new company. Check out Cree’s tweet for the whole story.

Last but certainly not least, I finally tried Polite Society Friday night and I was blown away. I went with Lynn DeLean-Weber and Martin Weber, my friends from Edelbrand Pure Distilling. We had a great time sampling all the food but this Ozark mushroom tagliatelle really stood out. The pasta was tender and perfectly cooked and the white wine sauce, mushrooms, and spinach paired well together. Check out more pics of my meal on Instagram.

Tagliatelle

Enjoy your week! Here’s a song to get you started. I got up early this morning, made waffles, and then got back into bed and listened to 60s soul and R&B music. This song is one of my favorites.

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