MANGER

Icelandic fish soup

Merveilles

Moroccan Orange Salad

I've have a new favorite place to visit, thanks to a tip from a friend. It is a food and family blog called Manger, superbly written out of Médoc, France by Mimi Thorisson. It really couldn't be lovelier. Take a scroll a few posts and I promise you will feel your winter malaise lifting. The photography is generous and inviting. The food featured on the blog is lovingly prepared for the family to eat and that purpose comes through in the images. I want to take a vacation just so I can make all of the cakes in the recipe archive!

Photos by Oddur Thorisson via Manger

You don't have time to make this bread

I spotted this bread at the store this morning and thought the packaging was so great. This fancy rye bread is made the old, old, old fashioned way. Only wooden tools (bowls, boards, etc.) used to handle it, only branch-less wood used to fire the ovens, no yeast, left to rise for 36 hours, double-baked at 1000 and then 500 degrees, etc. Quite the story (here is a cute video about it). The promotional script promises that the bread will make one feel "lavishly nourished." I think those two words sound very good together! I'm planning a little outdoor adventure this weekend in the snow and cold . .  maybe I will pack some of this bread and some butter for the trip?

Have you tried a new food product lately that you've really enjoyed? Tea? Crackers? Cheese? Chocolate? I would love to hear about it.

{Images via}

Eat Jeni's Ice Cream

Let's just take a moment to talk about this ice cream. I made lovey-eyes at the pint of Pistachio & Honey at my grocery store for almost a year before finally splurging and taking it home last week. Myyyy oh my - it was so good that I actually felt a little bit embarrassed when I took my first bite, kind of like when you watch a really, really great make-out scene in a movie. Lucky for me, these delicious ice creams are sold locally. But Jeni's ships all over the place! I've shipped gifts to MA and MN in the last week, which was pretty fun. Cute detail? The flavors are handwritten on all the pints. You can check out all the flavors here.

What's almost as good as eating ice cream? Looking at vintage photos of other people eating ice cream! I like this post from last year.

Yummy spoon images courtesy of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

Oreo cookie cameos

        

My friend Olivia just told me about Judith G. Klausner, an artist who carves cameos out of Oreo cookies, among other foodie projects (like embroidering toast).  I just giggled and giggled when I first looked at these portraits - and now I kind of want to try to make one myself!

Images courtesy of Judith G. Klausner

Seduce someone drinking chocolate

You never know when you might need to seduce some so it is good to have a few tricks up your sleeve, non? I think drinking chocolate is the best way, personally. This super-simple recipe yields a cup of chocolat chaud that is flavorful and rich - really, a liquid version of your favorite bar (whatever you choose to chop!)

Seduce Someone Drinking Chocolate

Supplies needed: your favorite dark chocolate bar, milk (preferably whole), 1/2 and 1/2, measuring cup, saucepan, mixing pitcher, whisk

Method: Finely and evenly chop the chocolate bar using kitchen knife. 1/4 c. of chopped chocolate is enough for a rich demitasse. Chop more if you want a bigger (or double) serving. Put the chocolate in a heat-proof mixing bowl or pitcher (I like using my Pyrex) and set aside.

Measure milk & cream (just a splash for good measure) and put in the saucepan. The general rule: Use twice the amount of milk as chocolate (for my demitasse, I used 1/2 c.). The 2:1 liquid/chocolate ratio will ensure that the drinking chocolate is rich and thick but not pudding-like. If you prefer a milkier drink, use more milk here. Want to make ganache? Reverse the ratio.

Bring the milk/cream just to a boil on the stovetop. Remove from heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let the mixture rest for a few seconds then gently begin to whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and the drink is frothy. Serve hot or warm - the drink will thicken the longer you let it stand.

I'm famous!

 

My name appears no less than twenty times in this adorable little pamphlet for an incredible and life-changing product called "Duff's Ginger Bread Mix." According to the good people at D. Duff & Sons, thanks to this no-fuss mix a host of homes will be having ginger bread oftener and it will be mighty good for the ingredients are the best obtainable.  I'm guessing this cute ingredient book is from the late 30s or early 40s. I wonder if this stuff was any good? I suppose we'll never know!

A stollen story

The other day, I was working and daydreaming about stollen. I've craved it every holiday season ever since I had my first bite a few years ago at Zingerman's. Sometimes I buy one for myself. Last year, a friend made me one and shipped it from D.C. (thank you Mariana!) This year, I realized I had no plan for stollen acquisition. Fretting, I off-handedly posted this on Twitter:

Can someone just drop by and bring me some homemade stollen? I would be ever so grateful. I would also probably kiss you and cry.

And what to my wondering eyes did appear but a tweet from my sweet friend Olivia, who replied in less than one minute:

I've got a really good recipe if want to try making it yourself! Or I could make you some : )

Now, Olivia is a seriously great baker. It is my fervent wish that someday she will open a bakery where I can order her treats by the dozen. Her recipes are often creative (the last thing she shared was a persimmon purée and chocolate muffin with buckwheat flour) and she has an unfailing sense of proportion and good taste. So naturally, I pursued her offer to make me stollen. She graciously accepted and yesterday the mailman delivered the dense, precious little loaf to my door. Please see Exhibits A-C above. It is absolutely delicious.

Olivia keeps a cooking/baking blog here and here is her stollen recipe. Also, if you live in the Ann Arbor area and find yourself in need of a special treat, I highly suggest getting in touch with her (via her blog) and discussing a custom order. You will be so pleased!

Thanksgiving menu

  

  

      

Last Thanksgiving was a hoot. It was our first year in our house and we invited the whole family for the holiday. It was my first experience hosting the big dinner and I had a lot of fun picking out recipes. I am basically making the same menu this Thursday (it's been a year, no one will mind right?) with a couple adjustments. What made the cut? The lemon-stuffed turkey, the swiss chard stuffing, the cranberry conserve (so good on yogurt if you have leftovers) and the parmesan roasted butternut squash, which was my absolute favorite last year. What's changing? Brussels sprouts with pecans in place of roasted vegetables and pumpkin cheesecake in place of pecan pie. Oh, and my mom will be firing up the microwave to make that Midwest classic - Green Bean Casserole.

How are you celebrating Thanksgiving this year? What is the food/tradition that you look forward to the most?

You might want to make this tonight

Cornbread has nothing to do with vintage jewelry but this recipe is too good to keep to myself. It comes from my friend Steph who is a brilliant PhD student by day and a gifted home cook by night. She mentioned her "signature cornbread" to me in an email last month and my ears perked right up.  I consider myself to be a bit of a cornbread connoisseur and I can say with confidence that this is the best I have ever had. I served it with chili last week for dinner and then had the leftovers for breakfast the next day. It has a dense, cake-y crumb, it's not too sweet, and you can serve it with honey and butter or cheddar and peppers! I'm going to be making this recipe for the rest of my life.

Steph's Cornbread (modified from Dana Sly's Blue Ribbon Vegan Cornbread)

2 T ground flax seed + 6 T boiling water
3/4 c white flour
1/4 c rye flour
3/4 c fine cornmeal
1/4 c polenta
2 1/2 T sugar
4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 c milk
1 T vinegar
1 1/2 t vanilla (optional)
3 T oil
1 T applesauce
1/2 c corn kernels

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 9" cake pan. In medium bowl, stir boiling water into ground flax with fork. In large bowl, thoroughly stir together flours, cornmeals, sugar, baking powder, and salt. To flax mixture, add: milk (bit by bit to combine smoothly), vinegar, vanilla (if using), oil and applesauce. Then mix this into the dry ingredients and add corn kernels. Stir just to combine. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 22 minutes.

You may add frozen cranberries or raspberries to the batter and dust with sugar for a sweet cornbread dessert or sprinkle a little cheddar cheese and pepper/chilis on top just before baking.

A Thanksgiving solution

This split pie pan from The Spoon Sisters is pretty genius. I think I would still opt for full versions of each pie, though. Pie leftovers are so good!

Images courtesy of The Spoon Sisters

We ate cake

I went to a little cake sampling session last weekend with Lauren and Maria. We tasted four cakes and picked out two for my baby shower in a few weeks - Mexican Spiced Chocolate and Apricot Ginger. I got to take the leftovers home!

The best fruit crisp

Photo by Romula Yanes for Gourmet, 2007

Tonight I'm participating in a Pop Up Shop with Purple Deer Vintage and Verseau Vintage. It should be fun. I'm taking about 70 pieces of jewelry, most of them totally new!

I'm also taking a Plum Berry Crisp to share. I love this recipe from Gourmet (everyone can take a moment here to cry a little bit for the loss of this great magazine). If you don't have plums, you can use rhubarb or even apricots. It is so good and so simple - I've made it dozens of times!

Plum Berry Crisp

Adapted from the August 2007 Gourmet recipe by Shelley Wiseman

FILLING:
1 1/2 lb plums, rhubarb or apricots, sliced
2 cups berries (blackberries, raspberries or blueberries)
1/3 to 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (Billington's is best)

TOPPING: 
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into bits and room temperature
1/4 tsp salt
a handful of chopped walnuts (optional)

METHOD: 
Prehat oven to 425ºF. Toss together the berries and filling sugar in a 2-quart shallow dish and back 10 minutes. Meanwhile, blend together all the topping ingredients in a bowl with your fingertips until the mixture is well combined and crumbly. Stir the fruit filling then sprinkle the oat mixture over it and back about 30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the crisp is golden brown.