Here’s a great way start to the week and the year, some love from the good folks over at Relish. What can I say but that I’m honored, having been a Relish fan for a very long time. Some other terrific blogs are listed there right along with me, so do check them out!
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Sandwiches are a humble medium that can be put to artistic use. I need reminding of that since I’m forever falling into a sandwich rut. Turkey and swiss, tuna salad on rye, those are a couple of my go-to’s. But I’m shaken out of that stupor most Decembers when my Texas aunt and uncle send me one of these bad boys. They are goooood, and the leftovers make fabulous sandwiches. In fact they inspired my one and only contribution to the high sandwich arts, the creation pictured above: smoked turkey with goat cheese, spinach leaves and apricot ketchup on semolina bread.
READ ONThree things happened to yours truly over the last ten days. First, I, along with the rest of humanity, survived past the end of the Mayan calendar. Second, I had the flu. Third, as a result of happenstance 2, I was finally able to finish reading a delightful book: Charles Darwin, Portaint of a Genius by Paul Johnson. It’s a book I’ve been anticipating for a while now: a succinct, learned and extremely polite critical biography of Darwin, written by a heavyweight historian. I’d been expecting such a book because, well, it’s about due.
Not that I have anything against Darwin, mind you. But like a lot of people I’ve become, shall we say, a little tired of the man. Or perhaps to put the point a bit more finely, I’ve gotten tired of the mindless obeisance that’s paid to Darwin in everything from natural history specials to psychology books to business and political essays. The way we throw around terms like “evolution”, “adaptation” and “survival of the fittest” as if a.) we really knew what they meant, b.) they were thoroughly proven, unassailable scientific concepts and C.) Darwin actually invented all of them to begin with.
READ ONAnd a very happy New Year! It’s been a fabulous 2012 here at joepastry.com. I was blessed with my share of successes and failures, both of which are important for becoming a better baker. However I was mostly blessed with a bigger-than-ever readership, a large share of whom contributed with comments and questions, making the […]
READ ONI hope. I’ve promised to deliver this, and I trust I can before the weekend is out. Right now I’m fighting my big oven…I choked the fire by accident, and unfortunately the bread dough is still rising no matter how much I shout at it to stop. If you’re passing through Louisville and happen to notice a blue cloud of obscenity rising over the Highlands area, that would be me. Back to battle…
UPDATE: This is going to have to wait for next year, I’m afraid. Very sorry, reader Catherine, but I ran out of everything: butter, flour, almond paste and above all time. I promise to take it up after the first when I get back!
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William Miller, for instance. He predicted that the end of the world would occur in 1843, in what proved to be the greatest second-coming anticlimax in American history. To this day the Miller fiasco is known as The Great Disappointment, and well, who’d want to be known for that? Not me, thank you very much.
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Of all the many uses for stale bread, napkin dumplings rank near the top. I remember the first time I was served these in a Bohemian restaurant in Berwyn, Illinois. I thought: where have these been all my life? Then immediately after that: please pass the gravy. Napkin dumplings are called napkin dumplings because they’re traditionally boiled in napkins. Here’s I’m using plastic wrap and foil, but honestly I think the traditional napkin method may be superior for reasons you’ll soon see.
READ ONThe banks are open for several more hours, which means there’s still time to transfer your assets over to me before the world ends tomorrow. Cash or money orders are preferred, but I’ll also gladly accept vehicle titles, blank checks and powers of attorney. So all you true believers, click on the link to the left to send me an email and I’ll forward the numbers of my various Swiss bank accounts.
For those of you out there who aren’t so certain, but may be experiencing anxiety about the Mayan calendar, I have it on good authority that the world actually isn’t going to end tomorrow. What authority is that? Why an indigenous Zapotec, a native of the Yucatán, who spent this past week weekend with us celebrating his birthday. I know what you’re going to say: “Indigenous peoples don’t have birthdays, Joe.” Actually that’s true. But even though Victor grew up speaking the Zapotec language, he likes cake and candles like everybody else. We were pleased to have him.
READ ONSome of the old Bohemian bakeries in the near west suburbs of Chicago used to sell “dumpling bread”: cubed, stale white or wheat bread in bags. You can easily make your own by letting the cubed bread sit out overnight, or by gently toasting the cubes in a low (200 – 250 degrees Fahrenheit) oven. Just don’t brown them since the dumplings should be uniform on the inside.
You’ll notice that making napkin dumplings is a lot like making turkey stuffing. And in fact napkin dumplings follow many of the same rules. They should be flavorful but not terribly salty, since gravy will be applied. They can be simple or fancy. You can make them basic, or you can dress them up with ham, bacon, mushrooms, chives, garlic and just about any spice or herb.
As for the cooking, these dumplings are traditionally boiled in napkins. I’m going to update the process a bit by using plastic wrap and tin foil, since that will both keep the dumplings from getting waterlogged and hold in all the flavor. Make yours like so:
READ ONI don’t normally go in for gender politics, but the recent announcement by Hasbro that they’ll be making a gender-neutral Easy Bake Oven has me fist-pumping over my keyboard. Way to go, gang! Speaking from my own experience teaching after-school baking classes to grade schoolers, there’s definitely a market. A little first grade fellow I met this term is the best student I have! Too bad we have to wait until February!
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