Book and Cookie Pairing: The Paris Wife, Paula McLain & Palmiers

Palmiers or elephant ears are quite possibly one of the most simply delicious things ever. With modern advances in frozen pastry they are easy to make and are just as lovely even if you don't make the puff pastry yourself. I'm quite capable considering my high breed sugar education but, sometimes even I will take the easy road out.

I remember fondly that my second nanny, Joy, after Sarah the Brit who introduced me to Nutella quit, would take me to a bakery and every time without fail, I would choose a palmier. Back then I remember them being bigger than my head. Small hands can make memories seem so much larger. I think I questioned the chef when I was in school to make sure the "mini" version was the correct size. I was convinced they should be much larger and still believe it to be true.

I'm currently reading The Paris Wife, the story of Hemingway's first bride. Set in St. Louis, Chicago, and Paris this book screams for a sweet to match it's splendor. This two ingredient cookie is perfect! Light, flaky, buttery tasting with just a bit of sweetness, they are complimentary to my afternoon tea and fantastic book.

Palmiers

Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed
Sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle some sugar onto a board and unfold the puff pastry. Sprinkle the dough with more sugar and roll out the dough using a rolling pin. Roll both sides in towards the center. Place in freezer for 5 minutes to firm up. Slice into small pieces and place on a parchment lined sheet pan. Bake until puffed and golden. Allow to cool before enjoying.

Winter Book and Cookie Pairings

Tennessee Winters are cold. I know I lived through Winters in New York and have spent Christmas in Paris but being a California girl it's easy to forget that once the temperature drops there's no hope for a beach day in December. The wind through the mountains sends a chill up your spine, and I'm told we haven't even seen the cold months yet.

The first Wednesday of the month in California was always a special day for me. It was the evening I most looked forward to. Wine and Art Pairings at the St. Regis Hotel. Imagine sipping a glass of Pinot while you are admiring a Picasso, and a Merlot with Matisse. This my friends is Orange County culture at it's finest. My secret love, art paired with perfect wine, and best of all an education on both from a renowned sommelier and educated and charming art dealer. You can purchase both the wines and the art, though my banjo skills haven't quite payed off yet. Alas, there will come a day where it will afford me my very own piece of art and wine history. Count on it!

Back in the tundra of East Tennessee, I'm trying to stay warm. I have purchased a faux fur coat and since I seem to feel like I'm in Russia during the Winter, it works out well for me. I don't mind the stares from the nice people here. I'm completely a fish out of water and everyone is still so pleasant.

Since I can't sit in the sun and catch a tan while catching up on my reading, I stay inside next to the warm fire from my wood burning stove. Missing my pairings, I thought I should do my own version. I have read so many great books recently. I've also been baking and eating a lot of cookies which is better than wine in this case, as I have a tendency to read a book cover to cover, generally in under three days. Cookies are good for about three days after you bake them (if they aren't consumed before then), and since I had shipped so many I wanted to see how they taste on the third day when they arrived to my friends, as opposed to the first and second. It was an interesting study and quite delicious. If your book takes you longer to finish, I'm sure your cookies will still be good.

Book and Cookie Pairing: Number One: Momofuku Milk Bar, Christina Tosi & Cornflake-Mini Chocolate Chip-Marshmallow Cookies

I'm obsessed. I have been to Milk Bar. I have had the "Crack Pie". I have been forever changed.

I feel it's appropriate to start my book and cookie pairing with a cookbook and a cookie from it. Christina Tosi wrote my version of a perfect cookbook. It's part book instead of just series of recipes thrown together. I read it cover to cover. It like the savory Momofuku cookbook is a book that compiles stories and technique lesson in an honest read. The best part is the measurements are in BOTH weights and American cup/teaspoon etc. Pure genius. You must buy it in it's gorgeous form of hardcover as opposed to on your iBooks/Nook/Kindle. You need to leave it lying around your house so when your friends come over they can flip through it and beg you to make them a birthday cake, or cookies, or pie.

It pairs nicely with the wonderful crunchy-sweet-salty-gooey-chocolate madness of the cookie. It will change the way you look at ingredients and give you all the tools and tips necessary to make the recipes a success. It's rare to be able to read a cookbook cover to cover but this one is amazing and is one of two cookbooks I refuse to live without, Momofuku being the other. Buy the book to unlock the cookie recipe. It's available on Amazon and get the current issue of Lucky Peach while you're at it. You're welcome, in advance ;)

Book and Cookie Pairing: Number Two: Then Again, Diane Keaton & Citrus Sugar Cookies with Orange Glaze

Diane Keaton has had an interesting life. She has made her untraditional path an awesome one. After discovering the treasures held the stories her mother wrote in a series of journals, she made them into a book. In parts she responds to her mother's beautiful writing, and in others, she is sharing her personal stories. She grew up in Orange County and writes of places I know well. She has written a refreshing though sometimes heavy book yet seems to make it light. My citrus sugar cookie has similar characteristics. The density of the cookie is brightened by the citrus zest and the orange glaze gives it a sweet and refreshing aspect that lightens what could be a heavy tasting cookie. A perfectly palatable paring of Orange cookies and stories from a girl who lived in Orange County.

Citrus Sugar Cookies

2 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp good salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
Zest 1/2 orange, 1/2 lemon and or lime
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

Sift together the flour and salt, set aside. Zest the citrus into the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on medium until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add in the egg and vanilla bean paste and mix until light and fluffy. Add in the flour in two segments, mixing until just combined. Turn out the dough onto a piece of parchment or wax paper and form into a log. Refrigerate for at least two hours or freeze for 25-30 minutes. Slice the logs into cookie rounds and place on Silpat or parchment lined sheet pan. Bake at 350 degrees F until the bottoms just start to turn golden, 12-15 minutes. Let sit on the sheet pan for 5 minutes to cool before transferring to a cooling rack.

Orange Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 T lemon juice
2 T orange juice
Zest 1/2 orange

Whisk all ingredients together and place a teaspoon or so of glaze cookies while slightly warm on the cooling rack. Sprinkle with decorative sugar if desired.

Book and Cookie Pairing: Number Three: The Beach House, Jane Green & Nutella White Chocolate Cookies

A guilty pleasure pairing! I have become a fan of the fantastic Jane Green novels. While far from a romance novel, The Beach House is definitely a guilty pleasure read. The characters lives are relatable via fantasy. Much like my Nutella White Chocolate Cookies, you might not want to admit how much you enjoy the book or how many of these cookies you will eat. Both rich and indulgent they pair perfectly and I won't tell anyone if you also have a glass of wine with them ;)

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

10 T Butter or 1 stick plus 2 T, softened
1 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 Egg
3 T Nutella
1 1/3 cups AP Flour
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp good Salt
1/4 cup or more White Chocolate Chips

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg and beat until light and fluffy. Add in Nutella and continue to mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the mixer if necessary. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. With a spatula, stir in the chocolate chips by hand. Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment or wax paper and roll into a log. Refrigerate for 2 hours or place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice circles of dough and place on parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake 10-13 minutes (or more depending on the size) or until they look done. Cookies will be soft. Allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet for 1-2 min before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Sweet December: Fleur de Sel Caramels

It's been quite a month so far...
I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen and at the post office. Some lucky friends and family have received my Christmas Cookies & Candy. I started making holiday treats long before I became a chef. My mom used to make divinity and I always loved making cookies for my friends. My candy skills have grown over the years but my favorite cookie recipes are the simple familiar ones, with a new twist. I made my peanut butter cookies and used M&M's instead of chocolate chips and rolled them in either red or green sugar before I baked them. They turned out pretty and seem to be a favorite among my friends.

I made vanilla marshmallows which is secretly my favorite thing to do EVER. The science of it is pretty awesome. The result is so amazing and wonderful I would run out of descriptive words if I told you how I really felt about them. I added crushed peppermint candy canes to the tops before they set up and it was not only pretty, but a great texture contrast.

The overall winning holiday recipe for me is a toss up. I can tell you that the cookie recipe I'm now obsessed with is Capt'n Crunch Berries-White Chocolate-Fruity Marshmallows. It's a twist on the also awesome Cornflakes-Mini Chocolate Chip-Marshmallow cookies from my favorite cookbook, Momofuku Milk Bar by a fellow French Culinary alum who is the chef at their sweet joints in NYC and Brooklyn. I refuse to repost her recipe because I think you should all buy the book. I will however, share my sweet recipe for Fleur de Sel Caramels. My favorite candy. Beloved by foodies this is a treat that sings when you bite into it. They are not as hard as the store bought caramels but you haven't had a caramel until you've had it with salt.

Fleur de Sel Caramels

2 cups white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup butter (unsalted)
1 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tsp Fleur de Sel (it's salt, but the only salt I use for baking) plus more for topping the caramels

Lightly spray a glass or ceramic baking dish with non stick spray (not the flour kind).

In a large heavy bottom pot combine all the ingredients except the vanilla and salt. Bring to a boil and cook until a candy thermometer reaches 250 degrees F stirring constantly. The mixture will expand so make sure you are using a large pot. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and teaspoon of Fleur de Sel. Pour into prepared dish and allow to set. It will take a while to cook and a long time to cool. Cut into small rectangles and sprinkle with Fleur de Sel. Wrap in traditional wax paper. Send some to my mom because she loves them.

Many Reasons I Heart East Tennessee

Today, like many days, proved itself interesting, and full of stuff and things. My Aunt is here which always is pleasant. Things are easy and fun and she is wonderful and full of light and inspiration. I woke up to my first official frost after the disappointment of Siri/My weather App telling me it was going to snow on Tuesday. I had mentally and physically prepared by purchasing wine before her arrival so I wouldn't have to drive in the snow. Fail! No snow....just rain but we went to the movies and saw My Week With Marilyn, which was fantastic. Insert uneventful Wednesday, and that brings us to today. Three good meals in and my Aunt Toots now knows I am a good cook.

We ran some errands and of course ran into some of my favorite Tennessee regulars. Faye, asked about Thanksgiving and was sweet as pie, as usual. I want to clone her. She told me how she split her time among her husband's family and her's and didn't have to cook and she was so proud that I did. Win! Then there's the other regulars who feed it to me straight and make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world for being here and loving Tennessee like they do.

Later we stopped by this place in Clinton, TN (next to my bank) that was founded in 1930. It's part Drug Store, part Soda Shop, part Restaurant and filled with the nicest people in America. I found a shiny little gift that I told the gentleman that was helping me, that I would buy if they put a bow on it. He said, "You don't want me to tie it, but I'm sure I'll find someone here who will." Bless his heart! He gave us a Pharmacist who was delighted to help. She started pulling ribbons and said only the wire double sided would do, and the proceeded to make a bow like I had never seen.

Having been half joking when I asked for a bow, I didn't expect Martha herself to show up and show me up. I stopped her and politely asked how she was doing what she did and advised her she should teach classes. With more than a smile she proudly said, "I was a Brownie Scout!. When I was young, a woman from Hallmark came and taught us to make bows." I could have fallen over at this point. I was a Daisy, Brownie and Jr. Girl Scout and never did some woman from Hallmark show up to teach me how to make a bow. All those years and now I'm however old and learning bows in a family owned Drug Store in TimbucTennessee! She continued with, "It doesn't matter how fancy the gift, as long as it is wrapped pretty or has a fancy bow on it." Words of wisdom that ring so true. She then said how she had the greatest job in the world because some days she can sell a fishin' license and other days she gets to make bows. Now I want to be a pharmacist/fishing license selling/bow maker as my career of choice.

So, today I learned how to make pretty bows. I learned that Mom & Pop Shop's are still awesome and serve things from a soda fountain late at night. I learned smiles come from things like frost covering your yard in the early morning. When you think you can't handle the cold, walk outside and watch the sun come up. My yard looked liked it was sprinkled with all colors of glitter with the frost and sunshine mixing. If you haven't seen it you need too! Joy comes from within the spirit of the holiday you choose to celebrate. I am making my December care packages soon and can't wait for my friends to enjoy some wonderful holiday treats from my happy Tennessee kitchen.

xoxo
Mandy