grotto and pistachio cookies

If you've ever driven a Smart Car on an Italian highway then you can understand why we took the slow, albeit scenic route on our drive from Lecce to Otranto.

Really it was a combination of things that lead us to this place. It was raining. Lecce had been a disappointment. Our afternoon was free, except for an obligation to a bag of pistachio cookies. Overall we just had a feeling that something was missing, that there was more to be discovered, maybe ruins of an ancient civilization or a seaside town not scared by tourist shots or perhaps a view to behold.

It turned out to be the latter, and we almost didn't stop. There was a crumbling fortress that we both did a double take of, but we kept driving and only after we had rounded the bend did we look at each other and say "let's stop". There was nothing, no sign or billboard, to indicate that there might be something worth seeing, but we pulled over anyway and got out of the car.

First we saw the turquoise water, lapping underneath the rock face. It was beautiful. I took some pictures. Then we saw fractures, from the surface we were walking on down to the water beneath us, which were sensational. I took more pictures. Then, as we approached the edge, we saw this grotto.

I didn't even take any pictures right away. We simply stared for a while and then proceeded to walk around the pool. Stairs had been carved in the rock and we walked down and put our feet in the crisp and clear water. I was half expecting to see a sea turtle or two. From the carved graffiti it was clear that this is a popular summer swimming spot, but for us, there during the low season, it was hidden gem, something we discovered.

It is those moments away from your guidebooks and to-see lists that can really define a trip and make it yours.

I am guilty of over-planning trips, eager to make sure we see and do everything that is recommended. I run us around until we are hungry and defeated. Having nothing planned and just going with the flow is great in theory, but it often stresses me out, that feeling that we might miss something. We often say that when we visit a city for the second time, when we are free from seeing the sites, we will stay in one neighborhood for the whole visit, that way by the time we leave we will know which bakery has the best breakfast and which café is perfect for an afternoon with a book and which old lady sitting on the stoop we need to say hi to and which we need to avoid. You know, the little things that give definition to a place.

After we tore ourselves away from the pools and the cliffs we spent the rest of the day looking at the countryside through raindrops and windshield wipers. We got out briefly in Otranto, but again, we were disappointed and didn't stay long. At that point we turned around and headed North back to our hotel. Keeping us company on the long drive back were our excitement about stumbling upon the turquoise pools and that bag full of pistachio cookies. I guess you could say it was a little bit of luck and a little bit of guidance, because the cookies were from a bakery in Lecce that was mentioned in our guide book. Curious about the local treats I made sure we stopped in our way out of town. Zach picked out a cream filled cake and I chose the pistachio cookies. The cookies were nutty, dense, delicious, and surprisingly satisfying. The cookie was composed of a light crumb outer layer and a dense gooey inside, similar to a macaroon, but heartier.

/ / / pistachio cookie / / /

Almond trees are a fixture in the Apulian landscape, so almonds and almond flour are a common ingredient in regional confections. In Switzerland almond flour can be found at Coop or Migro and in the states I believe you can buy it at Whole Foods, if not other large grocery stores. I generally process the almond meal I buy, making sure it's fine and not coarse. I used roasted shelled pistachios that I shelled and processed in a coffee bean grinder (time to buy a food processor).

I fussed with this recipe until after three separate batches it finally felt right. The cookies aren't as sweet as the originals, but for me that is a good thing, because now you get little hints of their salty roasted nut beginnings.

makes about 18 cookies

ingredients

80 g / 2.8 oz finely ground pistachios nuts

100 g / 3.5 oz almond flour

110 g / 3.9 oz fine sugar

50 g / 1.75 oz sifted confectioner sugar

35 g / 1.25 oz egg white (about 1 egg)

chopped pistachio nuts for rolling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC.

Mix the nut flours and sugar in a bowl. Pour about 1/3 of this nut mixture into the bowl of your standing mixer. Add the egg white and mix until incorporated. While keeping the mixer on continue to slowly add the rest of your nut mixture, allowing the egg mixture to absorb the dry mix before adding more. The dough should be reasonably smooth. If it is sticky add a bit more almond flour.

Using a teaspoon scoop out the dough and roll into balls between the palms of your hands, aiming for about 18-19 cookies. At this point you can chop pistachio nuts to roll the cookies in, or you can leave them plain. Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake on the middle rack of your oven for about 15-17 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on a wire wrack before eating. When cool the inside should still be fairy dense and pasty. mmmmm, yum

chocolate baby shower

I read somewhere that pregnant women who eat chocolate have calm, well-tempered, easily pleased babies. With that sound piece of scientific research I went ahead and made Tartine's Devil's Food Cake for a little shower I hosted in honor of my dear friend Odette. Odette who is due in a matter of weeks (this whole baby thing continues to amaze me). With a 'better-safe-than-sorry' attitude, I figured it was probably wise that she eat as much chocolate as possible in the hopes of an even sweeter little baby girl.

On the topic of little girls, when I was a little girl I hated chocolate. I know. I hated chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream and chocolate bars. My favorite ice cream flavor was, and still is, strawberry, and I loved yellow cakes with vanilla frosting (have you had yellow cake recently? so good) and my favorite candy was anything of the gummi variety. Oh how things change. Now I love chocolate, so much so that I have to will myself not to eat it. Today, Sunday, is currently day two of a no chocolate stint, started after I ate an entire box of chocolate that I picked up at the Salon du Chocolat in Zürich. An entire box of little chocolate prailines, nutty chocolate slivers and orange crinkle chocolate thingys. I'd like to think that anyone in my situation (I mean you saw those chocolates right?) would have done the same thing, but I bet some of you out there have slightly more self restraint than me.

But I doubt you'd have enough self restraint not to have a couple of slices of this cake. Somehow this cake is more chocolatey than a plain bar of chocolate, and richer too. It could be described as chocolate covered in chocolate and caramel and sprinkled with more chocolate. The cake itself is perfectly moist and just dense enough to maintain a sensation of melted chocolate. It's not a cake you make on a whim because it takes some time and effort to make the separate components and then bring them all together, but I don't think you'd want this to be a whim cake, it is a special occasion cake. And whats more special than a new baby girl on the way?

The domes of the cake are saved to make the crumb topping. I must have eaten about 1/4 of the broken up domes (sitting there on the cookie sheet to left in the photo). The cake was still slightly warm and the little pieces tasted so much like brownie bites. As I sat there munching away I contemplated a 'Devil's Food Cake' ice cream - yum!
Over each layer you spread caramel and then chocolate ganache before topping with another cake layer. At the end you cover the whole thing in chocolate ganache (before covering with ganache I surrounded the cake with parchment paper to catch the drips and drabs, of which there were lots).

Devil's Food Layer Cake

Tartine

*this is a fairly involved process so give yourself some time. It's worth it!

** I have given instructions for dressing the cake with the toasted cake crumbs. Tartine notes that you should make more ganache if you chose to skip the toasted crumb topping, but I found that I had plenty of extra ganache so I think you can stick to the recipe below even if you don't want to top with crumbs.

*** I have no idea how to keep this process clean. My cake was super messy, just go with it

cake ingredients

1 3/4 cup // 250 g all purpose flour

4 1/2 tbsp // 60 ml cornstarch

1 tsp // 5 ml baking powder

1/2 tsp // 2 ml baking soda

1 1/4 cup // 115 g cocoa powder

1 tsp // 5 ml salt

1 cup // 225 g unsalted butter

2 3/4 cup // 570g sugar

5 large eggs

1 1/4 cup // 310 ml buttermilk

chocolate ganache ingredients

24 oz // 680 g

3 cups // 750 ml heavy cream

caramel ingredients

2/3 cup // 150 ml heavy cream

1/4 vanilla bean

1 1/4 cup // 240 g sugar

1/4 cup // 60 ml water

1/4 tsp // 1 ml salt

2 tbsp // 30 ml light corn syrup

3/4 tsp // 4 ml lemon juice

4 tbsp // 55 g unsalted butter

the cake

Preheat the oven to 350ºF//180ºC. Butter two 9" cake pans and dust with flour, knocking out the excess. Cut a piece of parchment for the bottom of each pan - this will make getting the cake out much easier.

Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl and set aside. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the butter until light and creamy and then slowly add the sugar continuing to beat until light in color and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next. With the mixer on low, add the flour in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Stop and scrape down the side of the bowl every once and awhile.

Divide the cake batter between the prepared pans. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean and the top of the cake springs back when lightly touched. Let the cakes cool completely on a wire wrack.

chocolate ganache

While the cakes are cooling you can make the ganache. Place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl. In a separate pan heat the cream until just under a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a minute or two before stirring, allowing the cream to melt the chocolate. Stir until smooth, light, and shiny.

let the ganache come to room temperature, or even a little cooler before trying to ice the cake.

caramel

Pour the cream in one sauce pan. Split the vanilla bean and scrap the seeds into the cream. Bring to just under a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low to keep the cream warm

In a second heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, water, salt and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved stop stirring and cook until the mixture is amber colored, 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat.

Quickly, but carefully add the cream in a slow stream to the sugar mixture. The mixture will bubble furiously at first, so let it calm down before stirring. Whisk until smooth. Add lemon juice and cool for about 10 minutes.

assembly

Set the oven to 250ºF//121ºC. When the cakes have cooled turn them out of their pans. With a serrated knife slice off the domed portion of each cake, to make the top of each cake flat. The domes will be your cake crumb topping so place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Break up the cake domes. Place in the oven and bake for about an hour or until the crumbs are dry. Let cool and then process with a food processor until finely ground.

Slice each cake into two layers, so that you have 4 layers in all. Place one layer on your chosen serving plater. Spread 3 tablespoons of caramel evenly over the layer. Spread a thin layer of ganache, about 1/4 inch thick, over the caramel. Top with a cake layer. Repeat for layer 2 and 3. When you top with the final 4th layer you do not need to add caramel. At this stage refrigerate the cake for about 1-2 hours until the center seems firm and it's not slipping all over the place. Cover the ganache with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature.

Remove the cake from the fridge and use the rest of the ganache to ice the top and sides. In order for the crumbs to adhere the ganache needs to be soft. (you can use a hairdryer to soften things up if your cake/ganache has hardened). Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the top and sides of the cake. The sides were challenging, I had to use my hands to catapult crumbs onto the side and then flatten them into the ganache.

Serve the cake at room temperature. You do not need to refrigerate the cake.

We had fun pom-pomming the apartment. Martha Stewart is always there when you need her for an idea.
It was Katie's birthday so the cake doubled as a birthday cake, but don't worry there were plenty of shower-spefic goodies. We made scones, iced cakey cookies, lemon cake, another chocolate cake, a strawberry tart, chocolate birds nests with marzipan eggs, fig-ricotta crostinis, fennel and bean dip and just for good measure, a fruit salad.

Oh, and that life size chocolate bunny is currently sitting by my stove waiting to be turned into some sort of cake, or cookie, or mousse.
It was a wonderful shower and you can be sure that all of the food was enjoyed. The leftover cake found homes outside of my kitchen (thank goodness) and word make it back to me that husbands and kids and friends loved the cake too.
This is the chocolate bunny that kept us company at the dinner table. While we were away the bunny melted and we returned to a bunny with no back or tail.

Speaking of our trip....I'm planning on looking at the photos tonight so hopefully there will be a post soon.

out and about : sisu, café und bar

While I wait for film to be developed I thought I'd start a little something new on the blog, an out and about in Zürich section. Slowly, as I've settled in and become more accustomed to life abroad what I blog about (mostly food) could be done from anywhere, from New Haven or New Zealand or New Dehli. Unlike an expat living in Paris, eager to grasp the techniques of French cooking, I have no real desire to conquer Swiss cuisine. It's too rich and too creamy. I know, maybe that sounds good, but imagine alternating between fondue and schnitzel every night, and then perhaps you'd change your mind.

Anyway what I'm trying to get at is that I want a Zürich-specific section. I want you to be able to visit the blog and if you live here or travel here be able to find a few spots to hang out on a rainy day. I also want to do it as a reminder of places I've been and places I like to go.

so here we go....

Sisu Café und Bar

Meinrad-Lienerstrasse 1

8003, Zürich

website

Sisu won me over with the iittala owl cups, but the big brown leather couch that I sunk into and could barely get out off didn't hurt either. The owl 'taika' (meaning magic) reflect that fact that Sisu is a Finish café. They also serve sweet pulla, a Finish cardamon-cinnamon spiced sweet bread, and Karhu, a Finish beer. And they serve it all in a very relaxed, low-key, atmosphere, where you could comfortably hunker with your computer and a coffee for a few hours (they have free wi-fi).

I discovered Sisu because was noted in a New York Times travel article about the gentrification of a previously seedy area of town.

It's taken me awhile to get the hang of European coffee. Drip American coffee has no place outside your own kitchen, the exception being Starbucks, so it's important to get comfortable with the coffee menu. My current favorite is café crème, a long espresso or americano with cream on the side.

I hope you like this new installment. And if you live in Zürich and have any favorite spots, I'd love to hear about them.

ciao

There are pictures and memories and rings. It happened. It was a day. We loved every minute of it. Every single one. I often catch myself staring at pictures or day dreaming about our wedding and what's crazy is that somehow (I have no idea how so don't even ask) we are approaching the one day dedicated to reflection and memory and us. Our anniversary is Monday. This year, and hopefully many in the future, our anniversary falls on Easter weekend so Zach has a long weekend. And this year, for our big one year, he made it an extra long weekend and we are heading to Italy, to the heel of the boot - Puglia - and we are leaving tonight!

If you've been following the blog for a little while then you've probably caught on to the fact that we love Italy. We've been to Northern Italy, Tuscany, the Almalfi Coast, Rome a few times and now we are heading to the Southern tip, to the land of peasant food, fresh fish and pasta and olive oil. I cannot wait!

Recently I've been wondering why I crave chocolate for breakfast and then I realized that's because my dining partner is an eight inch milk chocolate bunny. It's a miracle he still has ears, after all oatmeal and chocolate make a fabulous combo.