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Sue Spitulnik

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Pastry; Which is Your Favorite?

There are many different types of pastry, most of which would fall into one of the following categories:

  • Shortcrust pastry – simplest and most common.
  • Sweetcrust pastry – similar to the shortcrust but sweeter.
  • Flaky pastry – simple pastry that expands when cooked.
  • Puff pastry – has many layers that cause it to puff when baked.
  • Choux pastry – very light pastry that is often filled with cream or other fillings.
  • Phyllo pastry – paper-thin pastry dough that is used in many layers.

I didn’t know there were so many types of pastry so I included the above from the National Day of Calendar.

I think we all know the first two types of pastry are your typical pie shell pastries. When making a pie, once you put the crust in the pan, trim the edges even. Those trimmings can be rolled flat, slathered with room temperature butter, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and baked all by themselves. A nice treat when you have to wait for the pie until after dinner.

Flaky pastry would be a biscuit or croissant. You can actually peel away layers.  While the biscuit is still warm, carefully separate the layers, butter and consume with a satisfied sigh.  Yum.

Puff pastry is used to make turnovers, among other things. You can actually see the layers of dough when you cut into it. Cherry turnovers are my favorite.

Choux pastry is used when making an éclair, or cream puff. Don’t forget the chocolate frosting.  My mouth is now watering…..

Phyllo pastry is used when making Baklava or appetizers such as fresh creamed mushrooms. Years ago I had an older lady friend that taught me how to make Baklava. The secret to working with the Phyllo and not having it tear, is to thaw it slowly.  I miss my friend Leta, and being able to eat Baklava without worrying about calories.

If you aren’t the baking type I’m sure you have a favorite place to go to get your pastry fix. Remember, the fresher it is, the better it will be!

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An Apple A Day

I just spent a whole lot of time with my sister and her husband helping out after she had a knee replacement. It was a pleasure to be able to do it. During one breakfast we talked about our Christmas Stockings when we were kids. The toe usually held an orange or an apple. We looked forward to that piece of fruit almost more than the other small gifts from Santa.

When I was in grade school, I got a box of apples in the mail at Christmas time. They were from the man who was the postmaster in our little one block town. They were each nestled in fake straw in a cardboard thing that looked like a huge egg carton. My sisters and parents shared the apples and the shiny red ones were always eaten first.

Currently, I make a salad each morning for my husband’s lunch. When we can get fresh Empire apples he gets one of those for his afternoon snack. There’s nothing else like the first bite into a juicy red apple.

Back to my sister; her doctor’s name is David Grimm. My friend, Mary, always makes about ten different types of cookies at Christmas time and she passes out tins of them as gifts. When she delivers to Dr. Grimm’s office, because he did her knee too, she includes an apple for Dr. Grimm because he prefers it. Me, I’ll take the cookies.

Today is also National Pie Day. I recommend Apple, that way, no matter what, you can eat an apple today. Enjoy!

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Tie One On

Any one that likes to imbibe,  enjoy a happy hour with co-workers or friends or celebrate the start of the long holiday season knows the day before Thanksgiving is the “best drinking day of the year.” Why? Because very few people get up to an alarm on Thanksgiving. Well, if you are driving to Grandma’s you might, but it’s generally only the person putting the turkey in the oven early in the morning (and fixing the rest of the meal, and cleaning the house, and bearing the weight of the day) that has any real responsibility. If you are lucky enough to not be the one in charge of cooking, then why not tie one on, just because you can. Let loose of the stress even before it happens!

Oh wait! Look at the picture! This day is actually about tying on an apron because you are the cook. Darn, I was ready to call my husband and tell him I would meet him out for a cocktail or two.

On any regular week-day, my husband says he can tell when something serious is going on in our kitchen because I have an apron on when he gets home. If I am making a big meal, or fancy desert and moving quickly, I like to wear an apron to preserve my clothing. As was my mother’s habit, I take it off before I sit down at the table, and then of course I dribble something down the front of me. But, a lady never wears an apron to the table.

I have four aprons that I made myself so I can wear the one that matches my outfit….usually blue jeans and a blouse. Like I really need to match….I guess I’m hoping one day my daughter or daughter-in-law will ask if they can wear one. That probably won’t happen either because I have taught them they don’t have to help. I usually do most of the cooking ahead if the family is going to be here, just so I can visit while they are here. My husband helps me clean up the mess when everyone goes home. Our system works well for us.

Whatever role you play in your holiday meals, enjoy yourself and Tie One On.

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Cranberry Relish

Thanksgiving means turkey to most people, and in my house, you must have cranberry relish with turkey. I insist! My grandson will only eat the jelly type, no lumps for him, in the relish, the potatoes or the gravy. I like the kind with chunks of berries in it. Even better, I like home-made with fresh cranberries, oranges, apples, nuts and sugar.

During the Watergate scandal I was working at a restaurant in a small town. I guess you could say it was a big town as there were two restaurants vying for the same customers. As a new employee of one of them, I was given a ten-dollar bill and told to go have lunch at the competitor. I was to report the menu selections, the quality of service, especially how long it took to get my order and if it was correct. Wow! Really! It made me realize if this went on between two restaurants, there was certainly spying going in government or business.  I digress.

My favorite part of working at that restaurant was the days we made cranberry relish. There was a big grinder we poured multiple bags of cranberries in, then oranges, a few apples, some pecans and then sugar. The machine ground and mixed to perfection. That relish was served in little paper cups with toast in the morning, with any turkey sandwich or dinner, and any time someone asked for it. I would eat it as a treat when I could get away with it. It had the perfect balance of sweetness, and tart fruit.

The restaurant is still open. I wonder if they still serve my favorite cranberry relish. Maybe I should stop next time I drive by.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

 

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Stuffing, Home-made or Not

Growing up I liked to help my mother make the home-made stuffing for our Thanksgiving turkey. We would save the bread heals for a couple of months letting them dry in a pan in a dark cupboard. (As I think back, I wonder why they didn’t bring us visits from a mouse or two.) The day before Thanksgiving we ground the bread in a hand-crank grinder that we screwed on to the edge of the kitchen table. Cranking it was my job. Mom would cut up celery and onions until they were very fine, then saute them with butter. We also cooked the giblets and the neck meat went into the stuffing. I don’t know what spices she used, but we all had our fill of stuffing for the meal and leftovers too. We never added apples, cranberries, or chestnuts. My father liked his food plain and plentiful.

As an adult I discovered Stove-Top Stuffing. I rarely use a prepared food but I have never come close to the flavor of Stove-Top when trying to make my own. Plus, we can have it any time of year with no fuss or muss. I still don’t add any extra ingredients. This year might be more interesting as I am now following a gluten-free diet. Gluten free bread is readily available in my city, and it always crumbles, so it might be just the thing to make a good stuffing with. I will check with my blogging firends to find a good recipe for a home-made stuffing for our turkey dinner.

May you enjoy Thanksgiving with family and/or friends. Safe travels to you all.

 

 

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Clean the Fridge

The National Day of calendar says this day is set aside to actually empty your refrigerator in order to wash the walls and shelves. Who does that? Well, I do once in a while, usually before out of town company comes for a visit, kids and family don’t count!

Eleven years ago my step-son was working for the Cal-Berkeley Girls basketball team as their videographer. He became friends with a student named Jon Doss who did the play-by-play on the campus radio station. We met Jon the first time when we visited California. A few years later Jon came to New York to attend the Newhouse School of Broadcasting at Syracuse University. We got to know him a bit better. Then Jon got a job at WHAM, in Rochester, NY, as a sports broadcaster. I got in touch with him and informed him he would not stay in a hotel when he arrived, but would stay with us until he found a suitable apartment. We gladly became his “Rochester parents”; loaning him a car at times, rescuing him when he locked himself out, feeding him dinner on his day off and holidays, making middle-of-the-night trips to the airport and welcoming his wife whenever she was able to be in town.

I’ll get to the refrigerator….one evening while he was visiting, he asked if I had any lime juice. I told him to look in the fridge door. He found a bottle of Rose’s Lime Juice but  refused to use it because it was about six years passed the expiration date. With good humor and dismay he asked if I was trying to kill him. Then he proceeded to check most of the bottles in the fridge, throwing out half of them. With a twinkle in his eye, he said something to the effect of, “God, I eat here all the time!” Now generally I serve fresh vegetables, salad and meat. I make my own dressings, and rarely use a box mix or prepared food. He felt better when I pointed that out, then went to the pantry and continued the purge. By this time we were howling with laughter; well I was anyway. I had a lot more shelf space when he got done. The next Saturday at the public market I got him some fresh limes. He did continue to come for meals.

Jon moved back to California this past March to keep Bakersfield up to date on sports news and to live full time with his lovely wife. We miss his company, his humor, his wife, and that occasion when he thinks my fridge needs a clean out.

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