Simple Pleasures: Shortbread

Two days ago, I walked into an office and spied a bowl filled with wintergreen Lifesaver mints, each in its own little wrapper. The scent hit me before I finished signing in at the visitor’s book. I snagged one and went off on my merry way to see an art show. I snagged another on my way out…take two, they’re small, I said to myself. I had not had a wintergreen lifesaver in ages. I remembered ducking into dark closets to chew these candies, mouths wide open, so whatever friend ducked into that closet with me could see the sparks. “Your turn now!” I don’t know why that happens, and I don’t care. I like that it happens. And I love me some wintergreen Lifesavers. Which got me thinking…what other of life’s little food pleasures can be had for less than $10.

Here’s my list…give me yours…

1. Wintergreen Lifesavers–see intro!

2. Shortbread. You can sometimes buy just little packages of two fingers of Walker’s Pure Butter Shortbread. This is perfect dessert–I call shortbread butter and sugar held together by juuuuust enough flour.

3. A glass of red wine on a cool evening, a glass of good white on a hot summer’s evening. I would rather have one glass of wine a day than all the sweets in the world. Just one. It is about savoring, good company, relaxing and ever such a little bit of a buzz. I like a glass of wine.

4. Good coffee in the morning. I prefer my own espresso with hot milk, my own little cafe au lait home–so much that I’ve been know to pack the espresso machine (an old, very basic Krups model) for vacations. Good coffee, whether at home or out, is kind of like the glass of wine. Time to relax, savor, make conversation, enjoy.

5. One plain croissant, baked dark, not overproofed and all fluffy. I like plain, what can I say. Like shortbread, this is just pure goodness. Sometimes I like a little marmalade on that croissant, too…but not often…

6. Good, true bread (I sense a trend), like the bread at Tartine in San Francisco. So know, I have not actually VISITED Tartine, but I’ve worked on the bread at home from the book, and I knew Chad when he was a youngster doing his culinary school rotation in Philadelphia, Pa. I would happily spend every cent of that $10 on a loaf of this bread.

7. Mamoun’s Falafel in NYC (and in Connecticut…)–This is one of those things I crave. More than 20 years have passed since I lived a short walk from Mamoun’s, but when I get to Manhattan, I still try to get to there.

8. Plain, old-fashioned doughnuts. I bet cro-nuts are awesome. Really, I do. But I don’t like to wait in lines for food. There is this one Shoprite supermarket in Stanford, Connecticut. It’s on Route 1. The best. plain. old-fashioned. doughnut. anywhere. Not the puffy glazed doughnuts, but the ones that get fried to a golden color, then dipped in a glaze. I almost always eat a doughnut when I visit my sister in Connecticut…and I pretty much do NOT eat doughnuts any other time

9. Okay, you can’t get these anymore, but if you are reading maybe you can give me a good substitute. Best’s Kosher Hotdogs. I do NOT know why these are not made any more..bought out, sold, whatever. But why?! So if you are wondering why someone who cooks for a living loves hot dogs, it is that I love a GOOD hot dog. And man, Best’s were…the best. I haven’t eaten a hot dog in years, but if you showed up with a Best’s, I would invite you to sit down and we’d enjoy that hot dog.

10. Wintertime oranges. I had to do something healthy! I have to say when I get an orange in January, February and March, and it is so perfect, so juicy…just so orangey…well, I count that as a good few minutes spent savoring. It could be that I have had a few incredible oranges in the past week, so I am craving them anyway. But man, when an orange is good, it’s great.

What ten innerness

I grab the small ball of sunshine, a clementine, then I grab another. Take two, they’re small. The peel is lumpy, dimpled. I know it is like a too-big coat, space left between the outer layer and the inner core, the sweet, juicy fruit that needs this oversized protection.

But that is why I love clementines, too. All that space means that ill-fitting cloak is easy to rip off, and I want little effort standing between me and my citrus wedges.

I peel both clementines in a few seconds, the sounds of the peel ripping similar to tearing paper. As I peel, I make sure to crush some of the skin, sending little jets of citrus oil into the air, a tangy, slightly bitter and sweet smell, all at the same time. It is a bright scent that belongs only to these fruits and comes during the darkest of winter months as a little reward.

I break the globes of fruit into individual sections, all laid out in front of me now. I pop one section at a time into my mouth, not chewing at first, but mashing the fruit, getting at the juice first, then chewing to enjoy the sweet and slightly tart flavors.

Winter can be a very very good time.

I’ve been threatening this for a while, now I’m doing it–for a month, I’m painting daily (well, I hope I keep the daily part going), and the subject is food…whatever photo tickles my fancy, I’m going to paint in watercolors.

Here are a few, and if you want to follow along, visit My Year of Watercolor.

I have been threatening to make homemade marshmallows for ages. Finally saw peppermint marshmallows I cannot resist. And I ask you this, too: why ever buy fluff again (some of you may ask why Ever buy it at all. It is obvious you have not known and loved the great fluffernutter sandwich. I digress.)

These were simple..well, if you don’t count me boiling the syrup over and fretting that the tablespoon or two I lost to the stovetop would alter the chemistry enough that I would not have marshmallows at all, just goop. It didn’t. But use a deep saucepan. When the stuff starts to boil, no amount of blowing on the surface of the boiling mixture (a known and well-used method in restaurant kitchens, no joke) kept it from overflowing. That’s okay. I needed something to clean up while I whipped the concoction of gelatin and sugar syrup to fluff.

I followed Alton Brown’s recipeRecipe, using peppermint extract instead of vanilla. I swirled red food coloring through it all, too. ( note to self: a few drops will do!) I may gild the lily and add chocolate to the top, as one person did..but that sounds like work.

Behold. The Pizza Oven…

There is something to be said for a place where you can have plenty of land. You know. Land where you can build a pizza oven.

You know what else you get with a lot of space? An  Aga. Just saying. I love Punxsutawney.

Friends F and S indulged me in inviting myself to their home in Punxsy to make pizza in the oven. F built the oven, the stone walls, the stone house..but it was that pizza oven I was after.

F built a fire early in the day so by the time we arrived, the coals were glowing hot. I brought the dough and a few toppings. They had some great mozzarella cheese, homemade sausage, basil from the garden.

Take some basil. And green beans. And oregano. And…and…and…

And that oven.

I practiced on a little foccacia.

It seemed easy enough. But as I made bigger pizzas, it was tougher to get them off the peel and onto the floor of the oven. I lost some toppings into the oven. Oops.

But with practice? I got this.

I use Carol Field’s pizza dough. I cannot get it thin enough–or could not last night…I plan on learning to toss pizza dough, so I think I can conquer that problem. How hard can it be, right?

Here are two winning combos and my secret ingredient for really great pizza:

Stretch your dough. Brush the dough with EVOO mixed with anchovy past, just a touch. No one will know but you, and it makes it awesome.

I like to sprinkle just a little parmesan cheese on next in case toppings are wet-ish.

Great topping number 1:
Fresh marinated mozzarella (oil drained–we used mozzarella bocconcini from Costco), homemade sopresata, and drained and chopped artichoke hearts. I chopped the artichokes and drained them on paper towels while we waited to make the pizzas. I tore the mozzarella as I put it on so it was not too big.

Great topping number 2:
Red onion, thinly sliced and sauteed. Red bell pepper, thinly sliced and sauteed. Smoked gouda.
Prep the dough the same way (anchovy olive oil, sprinkle of parm) and top.

I think we cooked a little too late–my host thought the oven should have been hotter, and for the very last pizza, he raked the coals (I should have paid more attention) and the pizza cooked a lot more quickly…I liked turning the pizza in the oven with the peel–once it was in, if I waited about a minute, it was easy to lift and turn the pizza to take advantage of the coals.

Awesome night–thanks, my friends!!
Until we cook again…