Brussels Sprouts Destalker and Cranberry Mold Maker: Izzy's Thanksgiving Contributions

Izzy and I had the whole day together to spend preparing our four dishes for the Thanksgiving meal. The first job was Brussels sprout destalker. Buying the sprouts on a stalk (if you can find them that way) is definitely the freshest way to go. I showed Izzy how to use a small sharp knife to slice them off. He immediately set to work.



When his task was completed, I prepped the sprouts for tomorrow by slicing them in half. The will be used to make this.

Next on the agenda was our Cranberry-Port Molds. He washed the cranberries and picked through them. He also added all of the ingredients to the pot, stirring and watching it while it simmered.

Meanwhile, I prepared the pastry dough for the Tarte Tatin ( I promise a recipe for this soon) and peeled the parsnips for this. Instead of a cooking frenzy, it was a leisurely day, with time for a walk to the bakery and supermarket, and games interspersed throughout. Ahhhhhh.

Tomorrow we will complete the dishes and cart them all to my friend L.'s Thanksgiving Feast.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Blueberry-Lemon Scones

You don't need to wait until blueberry season for these. Despite what most recipes will tell you, Trader Joe's Frozen Organic Wild Blueberries make a fine substitute for fresh. Frozen berries tend to ooze more blueberry juice but for me that doesn't seem problematic I think it adds to the homey appeal of this scone.

Blueberry-Lemon Scones

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
2. 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
3. 1/3 cup sugar
4. 1 tablespoon baking powder
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. 6 tablespoons butter
7. 1/2 cup heavy cream
8. 1 egg, beaten
9. 1 teaspoon meyer lemon or regular lemon zest
10. 1/2 cup frozen blueberries sprinkled with tablespoon flour
11. Extra cream and cinnamon sugar for topping (optional)


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. and combine dry ingredients.
2. Add butter, chopped into small pieces and mix until butter is pea-sized.
3. Add blueberries and zest and mix lightly to incorporate.
4.Mix cream and egg together, add to dry ingredients slowly, just until dough forms. Knead briefly and form a ball. The trick is to handle dough as little as possible.
5. Cut ball in half and roll out each half into a circle about 5 inches wide. Cut into 5-6 wedges. Roll out second half and do the same.
6. Brush tops with a bit of heavy cream and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
7. Bake at 425 F. for 12-15 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.

Holiday Snack Bar: Jersey Shore Of Yore

Just when I thought I couldn't find anything homemade on Long Beach Island I stumbled upon this relic of days gone by. The Holiday Snack Bar, a small freestanding building, with its circular counter, black and white tiled floors and minimal menu, truly offers a taste of the past.

Don't go for great food, but for the old-time ambiance and incredible desserts. Izzy was quite content with his split-pea soup and I didn't mind my grilled cheese which was rather ordinary diner fare. The truth is, those were just preludes to our dessert, which is the real reason to come here. The cakes and pies served here offer tastes of old-time goodness, from banana-cream pie, to Lady Lord Baltimore Cake. Today we shared a gargantuan portion of chocolate layer cake topped with billowy marshmallow frosting. Having already sampled the blueberry pie, banana-cream pie, Lady and Lord Cake, I can assure you that they are all sure to satisfy a good old-fashioned sweet tooth.

Papa Appears In Paris:Late Lunch Laughing At Laduree

We are finally all together, at least for a couple of days until Alex has to go back to work. At least we will still be in the same city.


Today some colleagues of his invited us to lunch at Laduree, an extremely traditional tea salon, know for cafe Viennois, Croissant aux Amandes and French Macaro0ns in all flavors. I used to breakfast at the original location which was known for its extraordinary decor and I didn't realize that they have since opened two more. Lucky I happened to check a guide. I automatically assumed we would be dining at the original as it is certainly the grandest of the three. Good thing I decided to inquire for it turned out we were eating on the Champs Elysees, an area I would ordinarily not venture to.


I knew we would be dining rather late so Izzy had some snacks beforehand to tide him over, so he only nibbled on his lunch. Strange thing about the menu..Le Club Sandwich figured prominently on the menu, albeit a French version. I ordered a salad and two club sandwiches, figuring Alex would finish any leftovers. Funny to think, we came to Paris and ate club sandwiches.

They were certainly better than any American club sandwich yet it still seemed a wee bit odd. The salad, however, was decidedly French, composed of a variety of vegetables and lettuces, ever fresh and delicious.

The show stealers here, though, are the desserts. I ordered a Religieuse au chocolate and Izzy ordered the mini-macaroon tasting. He selected four different flavors; chocolate, vanilla, raspberry and rose. When those arrived, the fun began. First he tried the raspberry and set it down, then he tried the chocolate and proclaimed it to be the best. Next he tried the rose and couldn't put it down. Last was the vanilla, he picked it up to take a bite and it escaped from his grasp, rolling to the ground. Soon he and I were under the table in this rather fancy restaurant, trying to retrieve the lost macaroon. We must have made an amusing sight to the surrounding diners. Mission accomplished, we adhered to the 60 second-rule and Izzy ate it up too! Verdict, rose was best (tasted a bit like soap to me!)

When our meal finally ended, Izzy had clearly had enough of was longing to jump and play. We had a long walk along the Seine and some time at the Jardins de Luxembourg. Then it was time for dinner.

Hoboken Ingredients: Let'em Eat Cheese and Cannoli

My shopping excursions ended well yesterday. I managed to get everything I needed, including the fabulous mozzarella from Fiore's and the cannoli from Carlo's Bakery, both in Hoboken.

Our first stop was Fiore's, an old-time Italian deli which has a very loyal clientele. They are famous for their "mutz" and killer sandwiches. I myself go there for the "mutz". I must say that the pillow-soft, unctuous "mutz" is defintitely worth the trip. I had no idea how much of it I would need and ended up buying 5.5 lbs, sold in two, mishapen logs. They were certainly a sight to behold and one day I hope to have my new camera up and running so that you can share in my delight.

We completed our mission at Carlo's, another Hoboken institution, where I purchased 40 empty cannoli shells and 3 lbs. of cannoli cream with which to fill them (this way you have crunchy shells the next day but a royal pain to be sure when you have a zillion other things to do). Of course Izzy and I could not resist having a couple of filled cannoli to enjoy before making our way home in the drizzle.

Once home, I still had tons of stuff to do before the party. Veggies to prep, gingerbread cookies to cut out, dip to whip up and countless other details to tend to. I figured I would be up until two a.m. but Izzy couldn't sleep and needed me to soothe him. I ended up going to sleep earlier and leaving too much for the morning. At least I could rest-assured that two important items were ready for tomorrow. So if nothing else was done I could just say, "Let'em eat cheese and cannoli".

The Cream Puff: A Fast Food Shocker

Ever heard of Beard Papa's? It is a Japanese import that specializes in, yes, you guessed it, cream puffs. Because it is a chain, I hate to admit that they produce a rather high quality product. But they do. They even use organic vanilla beans.

Perhaps they manage to produce such a wonderful product because of their narrow focus, the cream puff and not much else (though they do seem to experiment with a few other dessert items). The light, golden puffs are filled to order so as long as you eat your puff immediately it will have just the right amount of crunch which encases the ethereal custard filling... vanilla is the standard flavor and they feature a weekly flavor as well. I have noted strawberry and chocolate.

I discovered Beard Papa when Izzy was tiny because it just so happened that they opened up shop around the corner from his first pediatrician's office. I always made sure to stop by to treat myself after enduring Izzy's pitiful screams while he received the "pin cushion" treatment. When he got old enough to catch on to what I was snacking on, I would buy two of them and I would feed him while we made our way home on the subway. I can still envision the vanilla cream smeared all over his mouth.

Since we have switched pediatrician's we hadn't had a cream puff in many moons, until last weekend. It was our snack on our way home from the city, after a long day. We actually sat in the back of the shop (which is nothing to write home about) and ate our puffs there. Izzy savored every bite and we even contemplated getting a third but someone has to know when to stop..right!?

Strudel Mania: Revisiting an old haunt

Nostalgic for my old NYC neighborhood, we stopped in at Poseidon Bakery on Ninth Avenue (45th Street). How could I have stayed away for so long?

The apricot-cheese strudel, my particular favorite, was warm from the oven. I had to have that but also couldn't resist the savory pies - Spanokopita and their Kreatopita (meat pie with leeks), both encased in their perfectly flaky phyllo dough. The owner also persuaded me to buy some type of custard-filled phyllo creation which was also warm from the oven. By the time I walked out the door, my bag was full. We sampled the custard treat in the car (sorry for the mess, R.) and I deemed it to be too sweet, though Izzy didn't seem to mind.

When we got home I broke open the box and served up the savory pies. Izzy ate about half of the Spanikopita, a few bites of the Kreatopita and then announced that he was done with lunch. I hesitated a moment before finishing his and mine, forgetting that sometimes he comes back for more.

Boy did I feel awfully gluttonous when, an hour or so later, he came around pouting, "Where is the pie with the green stuff? I want to finish it." I replied, "I thought you were done with lunch. You can have the dessert strudel." "What about the meat pie?" "Uh, I ate that too and put one in the freezer." "I'll take some of the apricot-cheese then". And so he did, but he seemed forever interested in finding more Spanikopita.

How could I have been so remiss? I thought for sure he would want the dessert strudels. I didn't mean to gobble up his lunch and most of his dessert. Did I mention that I ate up all of the apricot-cheese too? Next time I will save some. I promise.

One cannolo, two cannoli, three cannoli, four..

Did I mention that while we were in the city yesterday, we were near Veniero's Bakery so I suggested that we stop by to pick up some cannoli. I have always had a thing for cannoli so understandably they were one of the first desserts that I allowed Izzy to try. He has probably been eating them since before the ripe old age of two. Though I did manage to keep him from most sweets before the age of 2.5 years, I was unable to keep him from cannoli, nor did I try to, since I rationalized that as far as sweets go, they figure amongst the healthier options (never mind the deep-fried cannoli shell), the filling is basically ricotta cheese and sugar. Now I used to think that Veniero's made fairly decent cannoli (and they do) but that was before I moved to Jersey City.

Back when we first moved to Jersey City, I continued to go to NYC when I needed a cannoli fix. Until, during one of my weekly jaunts to Hoboken, I discovered another tempting source for cannoli, Carlos City Hall Bakery. Each week, after completing my errands, I always made a point of stopping in for a cannoli or two. Izzy was barely eating solids at the time, so his initial taste for them must have come from my milk (which reminds me to share the whole breast milk and taste theories later.) When he was finally old enough to show an interest, I broke down and gave him a small sample. It was all over after that. I couldn't eat cannoli without sharing with him. His love affair with cannoli had begun. I couldn't help but grin when we would get to the counter and he would say "cannoli"...The counter staff would always seem perplexed that this little being would be requesting cannoli rather than cookies.

So yesterday's cannoli purchase provided fodder for an impromptu cannoli comparison.."Mama, these cannoli aren't the same as the ones from the Hoboken bakery. They aren't as messy." Indeed he had a point. The shells on the Hoboken cannoli are flakier (read tastier) and hence crumble more. I might also add that the filling is creamier. He noted that the filling from Veniero's had green candied tidbits on the ends, as well as chocolate chips, while the ones from Carlos' had white bits. I myself, couldn't remember. I guess that the next step is a side-by-side test taste though for me, Carlos is already the winner.