What is that?

I didn’t know people ate celery roots until I saw Ina Garten hacking one up on her show one day. I was intrigued by one of the ugliest looking vegetables I’d ever seen – it looked like a formidable opponent – a big roughly round shaped thing with knots and knobs bursting out of it here and there. But there Ina was, cheerfully peeling, chopping, and cubing the thing into perfect little white chunks. She kept insisting on how wonderful it was and how lovely the flavor was…but I filed the memory away somewhere deep in the recesses of my mind and went on with my life.

Recently, however, celery root is the flavor de jour. Soups, salads, roulades, purees – you name it, I’ve seen celery root in it. And Ina was right…it is a delicious little (big) tuber. It actually is the root of a celery plant, and if you pick one up at the market, besides getting wary stares from your fellow shoppers, you will see that it usually comes with little sprigs of celery sprouting from the top. It has a celery-ish taste, but it’s a little more citrusy and is starchy instead of crispy and watery like its aboveground compatriot so the flavor of celery is richer and more concentrated.

Needless to say, it’s the perfect thing to make a soup out of at the end of summer, a soup which is as equally delicious hot or cold – depending on whether your apartment is an over-airconditioned ice cave or a sweltering sauna. The recipe I used is an amalgamation of a few different recipes I found online – none of them had all of the components I was looking forward to, so I mixed and matched. The soup came out really delicious and was the perfect remedy to a night on which I’d forgotten to thaw any meat and had only chicken stock to work with in the protein department. Add some of the fresh herbs I’ve managed to keep alive, in pots on our patio, for about 2 weeks now and voila! A fresh, light, and filling summer supper.


Celery Root Soup
1 medium celery root, peeled and chopped into ½ inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 leek
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 slices smoked bacon
3 ½ cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 sprigs parsley and 3 sprigs thyme tied together with kitchen string
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add bacon. Render out fat (cook until bacon has begun to brown on both sides) and remove from pot.
2. Reduce heat to just medium, and add onion, leek, celery root, and garlic. Add salt and pepper. Sweat over medium-low heat, stirring once in a while, until onions and leeks are translucent and celery root is tender.
3. Add tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and let it reduce until it is almost completely evaporated.
4. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and add parsley and thyme bouquet. Let simmer for at least 25 minutes, covered.
5. Using a blender or food processor, puree the soup until it has a smooth consistency without any big chunks. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Addiction

The first thing I did when I got home from New York was bake. Ok, not the very first thing, but very close to the top of that list. I was back on a Sunday and I was baking by Monday afternoon. What can I say? Baking is therapeutic in its insistence on methodology; combine dry ingredients, then wet ingredients, mix slowly. And who can argue against the intrinsic beneficial properties of a freshly baked cookie? I’d like to see someone try.

I was thrilled to get my hands back on my 6-speed hand mixer – I felt like an addict being reunited with a favorite crackpipe. Now to find some crack…or in my case, a recipe. I delved into the stash of recipes I’d been stockpiling all summer and felt the pang of nostalgia when I found one for peanut butter cookies.

The Conde cafeteria I’d frequented all summer had the most delicious little peanut butter cookies and I knew immediately that I’d made my decision. Someone in that kitchen had the brilliant idea to burry peanut butter chips that melted in your mouth into the crumbly buttery cookie shell and the results were simply divine.

And so I set about making my own version. I knew that I was on the right track as soon as I tasted the dough – it was soooo good. I was eating it off the mixers like someone who thought Salmonella was a city in Italy. The recipe I was using was a variation of Magnolia Bakery’s and called for only smooth peanut butter. I like a little texture in my cookie so I used half smooth and half crunchy. As the title of this post implies, the cookies were fabulous – so good that an unwitting friend who had come over in the midst of my baking was so enthralled by them as to eat four in about five minutes.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (I used ½ cup smooth and ½ cup chunky)
¾ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1) In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2) In a large bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract.
3) Add the flour mixture in three stages, making sure each time the flour mixture in thoroughly incorporated before adding more. Beat thoroughly.
4) Fold in the peanut butter chips.
5) Using two spoons, scoop about a tablespoon of dough at a time, making round little balls of it. Place theses on a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet with plent of space in between for expansion. When all the balls have been placed on the sheet, take a fork and press lightly on each ball but hard enough to leave a criss-cross indentation but do not overly flatten the cookies.
6) Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake – they may appear to be underdone but they are not!

One Last Date

Yesterday, in true Carrie Bradshaw style, I dressed up and went out for a date with my favorite city. Seeing as it was the last Sunday I will spend here in who-knows-how-long, I thought it only fitting to put on a pretty dress and step out into a truly beautiful summer day to soak up as much as a physically could (literally – I had planned to walk through Central Park from 81st street all the way down to the edge at 59th but had to hobble out at 72nd due to an ill-fitting ballet slipper). It was a day that could have been made for an Indian summer but had been displaced in August. The air was clear and dry, the wind was blowing and swishing my skirt all around, the air smelled sweet, and the sky was a patchwork collage of bright blue sky and dark parcels of grey cloud that cast a shadow every now and then. A gem of a day in what has otherwise, in terms of the weather, generally been a coalmine of a summer.

The day began with a trip to the West Village where I wanted to seek out what I’d been saving myself for for weeks – a perfect burger. So, with that intention I set out for the Spotted Pig, the gastro pub owned in part by Mario Batalli and Chef Alice. They charge $17 a burger and the place is always packed so, I thought, what better place to binge? Until, that is, I plunked myself down at the bar and looked at the menu: Charbroiled burger with Roquefort cheese and shoe strings.
“Excuse me, does the burger come with anything on it besides the cheese?”
“No.”
“Can I put other things on it?”
“No, she won’t do it.”
“She?”
“Yeah. She’s really strict about the menu.”
“But who is this magical ‘She’?”
“Chef. Won’t do it.”
“Well, Can I order sides of things that could hypothetically be put on a burger like onions and lettuce?”
“No.”
“Wow. Ok, Umm…let me look at the menu again.”
At which point I slipped off my stool and snuck out down the stairs, abandoning my untouched drink on the way. Now, I’m all about a good indulgence every once in a while but if they’re going to ask you to pay $17 for a burger, you better damn well get what you want. Even if you think I’m going to compromise the integrity of your burger by adding some lettuce and onion – you should just feel sorry for me that I am ignorantly ruining everything rather than refuse. Too snotty…even for me. And whatever happened to the good old rule that it’s ok to eat unhealthy things as long as you do it with a veggie…hence the ever-popular choice of lettuce for hamburgers. It may not actually make it better for you but at least you feel like you’re being kind of responsible by eating the lettuce, too. Right?

So, out I stepped, as hungry as before in search of a decent alternative to satisfy my burger craving. I settled on a burger joint down the street that wasn’t as gourmet but looked accountable. Ok, there were peanut bins. And checkerboard linoleum floors. Not the best burger I’ve ever had but it definitely hit the spot. Next stop was the Met.

I figured, what better time to finally give in and act like a tourist than my last weekend in the city? The place was packed. There were entire paintings I missed just because I couldn’t see around the crowd of people surrounding it and I didn’t have the patience to wait. There were lines of people curling out of the bathrooms, the subway was jammed until 42nd street, and even the 9 blocks I spent in the park felt like a tourist attraction. They. Were. Everywhere. I ached for the isolation of the village, where the tourists are, at least, confined to Bleeker Street.

But, no matter. I floated on, through the park, which is truly beautiful. A masterpiece of urban design. When I got home, feet aching, hair a little disheveled, tired but also invigorated by the beautiful day I’d just been a part of, I couldn’t help but to climb into bed for a quick reprieve. I woke up with an insane desire for greenery and so I set about making a nice dinner of veggies. I whipped up two of my favorite side dishes and served them side-by-side for a good hearty dinner that left me satisfied and smug about how healthy I’d been…kind of. Zucchini and green beans are two vegetables that I nearly always have around, just because they’re so delicious on their own and, thus, too easy to make even better. I also had some left over Parmesan from the potato and squash torte and some shallots. So, I made zucchini with Parmesan and green beans sautéed with shallots.

Zucchini with Parmesan
1-2 zucchinis, cut into ¼ inch rounds and then halved
1/3 cup grated Parmesan (more if you prefer and depending on how much zucchini you use)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Combine zucchini, olive oil, salt, and pepper in large bowl and toss to coat
2. Heat sauté pan over medium-high heat and add zuchhini
3. Saute, stirring every couple minutes until zucchini is lightly browned on both sides
4. Take off the heat and sprinkle Parmesan over zucchini, stirring and tossing to coat. Serve.

Sauted Green beans with Shallots

½ pound of green beans, ends trimmed
½ cup finely chopped shallots
½ tablespoon of unsalted butter
½ tablespoon of olive oil
½ teaspoon salt (emit if using salted butter)
¼ teaspoon black pepper

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add green beans. Boil for 2-3 minutes depending on preference for crispness. Drain and transport the green beans to a large bowl of ice water. When cooled, drain again and set aside.
2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat
3. When butter is melted, add shallots to pan and sauté until just starting to turn golden.
4. Add green beans to sauté pan and sauté until shallots are just browning and green beans are heated through. Serve.