The CulinaryWoman Newsletter
Giving fall fruit its due
I’ve been reading David Lebovitz’s books for years. He has the job many of us envy: writing about food from Paris. David recently launched a newsletter, and his latest recipe was for roasted Italian prune plums.
I’ve been using the same plum recipe for years, but this week, I tried his, and it was spectacular. You can find it when you subscribe to his newsletter. Meanwhile, I wrote about roasting fruit in this story for The Takeout, and there’s still time to try out come of these methods.
David’s recipe and my roasted fruit story got me thinking about fruit we enjoy in the fall, and how it doesn’t seem to get as much attention as summer fruit.
My theory is that we simply have more time to focus on summer fruit - days are longer, many people go on vacation, farmer’s markets are abundant, and there is time to enjoy every bite of shortcake.
By the time plums, pears and apples arrive, the fall harvest is in full swing, the holidays loom, it gets dark earlier and we have many ways to spend our time. There’s a lot of eating on the fly, so that we can get to the next thing.
But I hope this fall, you’ll have the time to enjoy the tartness and sweetness of different types of late year fruit. Martha Stewart can give you some recipes in her latest book, Fruit Desserts, and you also can get suggestions from our friend Kate McDermott.
Whether you bake a pie, make a crisp, whip up a loaf cake or cook some sauce, find ideas for using the jewels of fall.
The Heat Is On
There was not a whole lot of fruit in the latest episode of The Great British Bake Off, aside from a few roasted grapes. It was Bread Week, aka Paul Hollywood Scowls At Everyone Week.
After all these years of the show, Paul’s position as the Lord of the Loaf (or Laird to my ancestors) is part of the show’s aegis. Bread making always scares the bejeezus out of the contestants. That, plus the short amount of time available, is probably why the results can be uneven.
Spoilers ahead, so stop now if you prefer to be surprised.
Right from the star, the pressure is on Italian baker Giuseppe. There are two challenges involving Italian breads, focaccia and ciabatta, and you can hear the “dun, dun, DUN” of high expectations whenever he is on screen.
“Can he carry the flag for his country?” Prue Leith and Paul wonder.
Lo and behold, he aces his focaccia and gets the first Hollywood Handshake of the season. Paul even requests the recipe.
The technical challenge involves ciabatta breadsticks, snd a lot of them are a mess - flaccid and pale. Paul and Prue openly mock the under-baked ones, wagging the limp ones with glee. “What were you thinking?” Paul says of one set.
Thankfully, Giuseppe aces this challenge, too, and wins the technical. By now, regular viewers know that unless Giuseppe completely melts down, he has a lock on star baker.
Who bakes a baby?
The showstopper is a little perplexing: the judges direct the creations to be made from milk bread. I love milk bread, which I first tried in Japan. In Ann Arbor, I buy it from local Japanese and Korean bakers.
Toasted, it makes a wonderful BLT, and you cannot beat a thick slab of milk bread topped with good butter and cinnamon sugar.
But milk bread is soft, even squishy, and it’s hard to imagine how the bakers will get any structure from it. They wind up shaping the milk bread into things, with varying levels of success.
Freya, the vegan baker, makes her own version and the recipe looks pretty tasty. Hers subs in coconut milk powder and soy milk for dairy.
Jurgen, the star baker the past two weeks, inexplicably shapes his dough like a baby. Seeing Paul lop off its arm for a tasting is one of the strangest moments of the entire show.
Giuseppe’s offering is a basket of milk bread vegetables, while Amanda crafts a beautiful octopus.
No matter how bizarre this challenge seems, the bakers approach it with humor and creativity.
Prue speaks for all of us when she says, “I don’t want anyone to go home.” This is a nice group of bakers, and you can tell that there are some real standouts.
In the surest sure thing ever, Giuseppe is star baker. Next up: dessert week.
A Classic New Orleans Cocktail
By Sue Strachan
Coffee, liquor and fire. What could better describe New Orleans?
If you dine in a classic New Orleans restaurant or are invited to an old-school private dinner, a moment may come when the lights are dimmed and the aroma of caffeine and spirits fills the air. Suddenly, the room is ablaze with bowls of a heavenly cocktail: the Cafe Brulot.
Its name literally means “burning coffee.” In her delightful book, long time New Orleans writer Sue Strachan traces its roots. The basic ingredients of coffee, brandy, sugar, cinnamon, lemon, oranges, cloves, and sometimes an orange liqueur. Needless to say, you will feel awake and relaxed.
For people who love to entertain or who love New Orleans, the book would make a charming gift. Click the link in the title to order one.
One of the first things I do each morning is scroll through Twitter, looking for overnight news developments.
In mid-September, I saw a tweet from my former Chicago public radio colleague Sarah Jindra, now the traffic reporter at WGN-TV. She tweeted that I-57, a main route into the city, was closed while police investigated a shooting.
That seemed unusual, so I asked if it had happened before. Oh, yes, Sarah replied. There were four freeway shooting investigations in one week earlier in the month, and last week, there were three in one morning.
Incidents of crime are relentless across Chicago, and no neighborhood is immune. I wrote about the frustrating situation in my Washington Post column.
There are lots of suggestions for addressing it, but nothing seems to be working. For us to feel safe living and visiting there, officials have got to get their arms around it.
An Exciting Author Moment
A box landed on my porch last week. Inside was something that thrills every author: galleys.
These are early paperback editions of a new book that are sent to reviewers, librarians and other valued people who might want to read it in advance.
Although my Feb. 22 publication date seems a ways off, these galleys help it get on the radar for the spring season.
As soon as the holidays are over, news outlets will start writing and talking about the next round of books. I’m excited to think mine will be one of them.
Along with these physical previews, another element helps spur interest in upcoming books: social media.
Dorie Greenspan, my culinary fairy godmother, offered some perspective on modern book promotion in an email yesterday.
Her next book, Baking With Dorie, will be published in two weeks. It is her 14th, and comes 30 years after her first book. If you follow Dorie on Instagram, Facebook or read any cooking sites, her book jacket is already familiar.
“For months, I’ve been chirping, ‘Baking With Dorie is coming!’ ‘Baking With Dorie is coming!’ And now the day is almost here,” Dorie said.
“So much has changed about publishing” in 30 years, she writes. “Pre-orders, so important for authors, and so convenient for readers, didn’t exist then.”
Neither did social media, where readers are already posting their attempts at making her new recipes, thanks to a bonus they got for ordering early.
You still have time to order Dorie’s book and get her pre-order presents.
Meanwhile, you can visit my book page at Scribner’s to find out more about Satisfaction Guaranteed, including all the places where you can pre-order one.
Be sure to save your receipt for a treat from me, inspired by Dorie!
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
Feel free to contact me at CulinaryWoman at gmail dot com. You can follow me on Twitter and Tik Tok @culinarywoman. My Instagram is @michelinemaynard.
Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my Canadian friends! Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Stay healthy, wear a mask and see you next week.
The book is going to be awesome!
Congrats on the book!