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.
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