A Very Mandy Meal

Before the extravaganza that is the traditional American Thanksgiving, Mandy and I put together a sumptuous for our apartment. It featured Mandy's latest crock-pot concoction ('tis the season, after all): lentil & butternut squash stew. 

Of course, Tim will claim that his meddling monitoring not only contributed to the cook of the stew, but also to preventing the house from burning down. Alongside this hearty stew, I added a loaf of my usual no-knead, no-worry artisan bread, paired the meal with a rather dry, tart Spanish apple cider.

And for those of you not familiar with my aunt: crock-pot meal + mountain of fresh bread + green drink = a very Mandy meal (though I believe a sprinkle-encrusted bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream would also qualify.)   

A New Season of New Possibilities (and Pies)

It's been a long time since I posted here. What have I missed?

Visiting friends ...
A great concert ...
Good meals on rooftops and elsewhere ...

Regardless, summer is behind us and autumn has finally arrived in earnest. Although I would say summer is my favorite, I welcomed the new season by participating in a celebration of its bountiful harvest.



Mine = lower right; Mandy's = upper right

 Mandy and I sprinted to Brooklyn Sunday afternoon carrying two apple pies fresh from the oven. Our destination: Enid's 9th Annual Apple Pie Contest. The only rules: they must have crust, and must have apples. Though we followed those rules to the letter (and just barely got our pies on the table before the entry deadline), we did not come home winners. Not that our pies were bad, but out of the 25+ entries, ours fell short of the lard (just one of them many "useful prizes" awarded.)

Mandy baked a pie with a complex filling--Bourbon-soaked raisins accompanying a sugary/spicy medley of skin-on apples chunks--wrapped in a gorgeous crust decorated with star cutouts and handmade apple-shaped center piece. For my filling, I peeled Rhode Island Greening apples, mixed them with brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves (and a little lemon juice), and baked them in a thick, buttery crust adorned with an array of cutout NJ shapes. Whether they tasted any good, we weren't even sure. But they certainly looked damn good, though perhaps they could have been cooked a little longer to produce blue-ribbon golden crusts and softer fillings.



pickled egg on a stick? of course!

  Unveiled at Enid's, our pies received a few compliments from on-lookers, but we had to wait for the judges' assessment. In the meantime, we sampled treats from the bar (spike apple cider!) and the kitchen, including corn dogs, sloppy joes, apple fritters, and even pickled eggs on a stick.  Since the barroom was crowded with pies and hungry patrons eyeing them longingly, we took seats outside. The evening was appropriately chilly; a breeze rustled the leaves in McCarren Park, while strollers and cycling hipsters rolled by. After visual inspections and sample tasting, the judges reached a decision: they're were no perfect pies, but they had definite winners for each category. Mandy and I anticipated hearing our number called out. I can only assume she would have bounced with joy if #34 had won, while I would have proudly held my #29 aloft for all to see and behold. Though indeed beautiful, Mandy's did not win "Prettiest Pie." And although unique, mine did not win "visually creative." Feeling snubbed (though still proud of our baking prowess), we retreated to the bar with our umpteenth mug of cider and two hearty helpings of assorted pies. Crust and fillings mashed together, and no one could tell what pie was what, whose was whose--winner or loser.  Drunk and full of pie, we collected our pans (with their delicious dregs), our critiques, and even a corn dog for Tim before heading back to New Jersey.

The air is crisp, the apples ripe, and a new season's potential is palpable and welcome. Our pies can be better, and so can we: so long as we try, fail, learn, and fail better the next time.

Breakfast: bloggable minutiae reaches a new low (or high?)

Yes, it's come to this. Me, telling you, what I had for breakfast. (Truly, the nadir of blogging knows no limit.) Usually, it's just oatmeal and tea. But on the weekends that changes. 

When I have time, I will make brunch for my roommates.  Last weekend I made a pretty good applesauce cake, and attempted a Spanish-style tortilla (as you may have seen better executed on my friend Alex's blog.) And though she may have the recipes, photos, and humorous testimonials that make a good food blog, she does not have the regular access to New York and its eats you will find on this one.

And speaking of such things, on some weekends I work. And since I must go into the city early, I usually pick up breakfast and coffee somewhere to make the morning bearable.  Sometimes, I'm looking for good coffee, with the meal being secondary. And other times the treat is more of a pastry. My standard is the pain au trois chocolat from Bouchon Bakery. Yes, I know--very bourgeoisie. But it's awesome: a chocolate-dough croissant, with creamy chocolate filling, and little drizzled on top ... decadent, and it keeps me buzzing all morning. I should post a picture here, but you'll pick up one the next time you're near Columbus Circle. 

And although I had to be at the Lincoln Center again yesterday morning, I just had the chocolate croissant the last time I worked a Saturday. And besides, I was a looking for something to hold over my doughnut craving, as I eagerly anticipate the opening of the Doughnut Plant branch at the Chelsea Hotel--very near to where I also work.  (And by "eager", I mean that I mention it to my roommate nearly every week, check the website often, and even monitor the situation in person whenever I visit the public library across the street from the future storefront.)  So, I sought out a list of the best doughnuts around not made at the Doughnut Plant (or in my kitchen).  And as it turns out, Bombolini is very highly regarded and very near the LC.

I'd read that the Nutella-filled bombolini was very good, so I of course selected the one indicated by a chocolate-covered hazelnut balanced on top. But for my other doughnut, I was at a loss.  I didn't want to seem too ignorant of Italian, (genuinely wanted something not in the realm of chocolate), so I avoided the labels I could not translate and simply asked for a fruit-filled one.  I got an apricot, which turned out to be a good choice.

The dough itself was chewy, with a nice fried crunch on the outside.  The ratio of dough to filling was balanced, leaning slightly towards the filling, which is what I want if it's especially good. The apricot was sweeter and thicker than I'd expected. Granted, my only real reference for apricot pastries would be my grandfather's apricot kalac (although not as good as the nut version--which he will tell you is "so freakin' easy" to make.) 'Twas a good doughnut, with even a powdered sugar garnish.

Fortunately, I had to handle several phone calls and could digest a little before the Nutella one.  Again, the dough was good, with the filling being definitely lighter than Nutella.  Though delicious, it did not have the intense chocolate and hazelnut of the pure spread. But, considering most eater's palates, a more custard-like filling was probably a good decision.

Yes, the bombolini were rather good (though perhaps not the healthiest way to start the morning), but ... the craving for the Doughnut Plant's seasonal specialties and solid standards (and amazing chai!) was not abated.

Let's ... make ... a pie--an apple pie!

Tasty Habits, anyone?  Weren't you there?  Remember that show they did at WMUC above the South Campus Dining Hall--the night they promised "improved stage antics"?  And then they delivered by tossing marshmallows into the audience halfway through the set, and because it was a very small room with way too many people it got way too hot and all the marshmallows melted and stuck to the floor/our shoes?  How can you not remember that?  Well, that's why I baked this apple-cranberry pie.

Actually, it was for my office Thanksgiving party (from which I'm still full, despite leaving the office five hours ago.)  Yeah, those folks like their food & drink. I'm just sorry you didn't get to try my apple pie ... whoever you are.  Well, you can expect me to not stop making pies or going to concerts anytime soon, so eventually our paths will cross.

Ah! More baked goods than writing! (the usual)

This weekend, keeping with the seasonal theme to my recent cooking, I baked two decadent dishes much to the delight of my cold, hungry roommates.

First, the pumpkin cake/bars with maple cream cheese icing and topped by bacon:

 Yes, that’s caramelized bacon on a cake.

I ran across this recipe on a food blog, took one look at their photo, and decided that it had to be made.  It makes a great dessert, but an even better breakfast.

Speaking of good breakfasts that can be also be a dessert, yesterday morning I whipped up a batch of apple cider donuts:

before the flip ...

... and after

 And here’s even a video of me frying the final (disastrous) donuts:

Please forgive the puns and misshapen results (delicious all the same, though.)  Actually, a mistake from the pumpkin bars the night before—a maple cream cheese icing that turned into a vat of rich caramel—turned out to be the perfect glaze: a sweet compliment to the fresh-fried dough as well as an excellent adhesive for the minced apple topping.

Oh, look: they read the New Yorker and the Village Voice with their doughnuts.  Well la-di-da ... A bit desperate to prove our Manhattan bourgeois cred, aren't we?

While the donut holes received a cinnamon-sugar treatment right out of the oil.

Yes, that’s how we do it up in Jersey City.  And this wasn’t even for guests!  Just stop in for a visit and see what kind of culinary madness you’ll be served (quite possibly on our roof, winter be damned).

Apple Breakfast Bake

On Sunday I acquired four large Granny Smith apples—cooking apples—and I’m determined to try some new things with them this week, it being apple season after all.

I first decided to bake my apples into some sort of breakfast treat.  I considered the upside-down apple cake I have mastered, but I wanted to try something new.  So I looked at many recipes online and eventually selected the one requiring the least amount of time to prepare and no ingredients outside my own kitchen (this is probably the best way to select a recipe, but I often fail to consider both of these factors.)  So, I baked a moist cake full of apple chunks in a pie dish.

apple cake with whipped cream

Not too bad, especially warmed up in the microwave a few seconds, but I definitely should have churned up the cinnamon butter the recipe recommended as a condiment.  Three apples to go.