Brown Butter Rosemary Apple Pie at Anthology and Some Big News!

I've made a pie for my Anthology column today. Worth all the pieces of its meditative effort. An excellent crust for people who love both flaky dough and a little chew, the sugared shingled layers do the trick. It's so good. Another swooner: brown butter adds nutty depth to go with the spiced flavors imparted by the likes of rosemary, nutmeg, and cinnamon. It was a stroke of genius to put these together for this pie. 

Edit: with Anthology Mag gone, I have included the full recipe below. Thank you all for sending me messages, asking for it!!

With little added sugar in this recipe, I'd say this pie could easily double for breakfast. Yes I just said pie for breakfast. And with a dollop of creme fraiche, it's even better. Try it and see for yourself…

Brown butter-rosemary apple pie with star shingled crust

for the filling

3 lbs tart apples 

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 

1 tsp lemon zest - choose organic, since you'll eat the skin

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 scant tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup organic cane sugar

1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp freshly grated cinnamon

2 tsp minced fresh rosemary

1/2 stick butter

1 egg, lightly beaten, for brushing

demerara sugar, to sprinkle

for the dough - adapted from Melissa and Emily Elsen of Four and Twenty Blackbirds

3 2/4 cups organic all-purpose flour

1 1/2  tsp kosher salt

1 1/2  tsp organic cane sugar

12 oz freezer-cold cubed butter

3/4 cup cider vinegar

3/4 cup ice water

I used to process my flour and butter in a food processor for ease. Feel free to do it that way if you are short on time. Now, I make the extra time - not much longer really, and for the result, it's worth it to cut the butter into the flour by hand. Plus, my desire for the pie ripens as I work to incorporate the dough… :)

Make the dough: stir dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add butter and cut in using a pastry blender, scraping its edge with a knife occasionally to free any clumps that form. Keep at it until you are left with pea sized bits of butter in the mix. Be careful not to overwork the dough. A few larger butter clumps are okay. 

Pour water and vinegar together and add an ice cube or two. Drizzle a little at a time over the flour mixture and cut in. It will appear shaggy as it becomes more moist, and as you keep cutting it together, the dough will form. Pinch the dough with your thumb and index finger to see if it holds together. If it's crumbly, it isn't ready. Drizzle another tablespoon or so of the cider liquid and cut in again.  Once the dough has formed, empty out into three equal portions on three pieces of cellophane.

Press opposing ends of the cellophane together to form the dough into a ball. Wrap securely and flatten dough into a disk. Repeat with remaining two dough piles, then refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to let them mellow.

Make the filling: peel, core, and cut apples into wedges. Squeeze lemon juice to coat in a large bowl, mixing the juice and apple slices together to prevent from browning. Add zest, flour, salt, sugars, nutmeg, cinnamon, and rosemary, and stir to combine. Set aside while you make the brown butter.

Brown the butter: In a light colored sauté pan - so you can monitor the change in color as it browns - melt butter over medium heat. Let it foam and give it a swirl every so often to ensure it is cooking evenly. The process should take about 7 minutes; pay attention to the milk solids which settle at the base of the pan as you don't want them to get burnt. Once you smell the nutty aroma and the butter has turned caramelly, remove pan from heat. Pour brown butter and solids over the apple mixture and stir together to combine. If the milk solids are burnt, you may choose not to add them - once cool enough to taste, try a little bit and see if you like the flavor, and then decide. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, up to overnight. 

Roll the dough: for the bottom crust, roll out one disk of dough to about 1/8-inch thick, between pieces of lightly floured parchment. Peel away one sheet of parchment, drape dough into an 8-inch diameter pie plate using the second sheet of parchment to transfer the dough, then peel it away. Trim edge flush with pie plate, save scraps to re-roll, and chill. You can do this a day in advance.

Roll out the other two disks to 1/8-inch thick using the same method with parchment. Transfer dough on parchment to baking sheets and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or, freezer for 10). 

Working with one segment of dough at a time, use a flour-dusted cookie cutter to cut shapes. Gather scraps to re-roll as needed, and refrigerate cutouts on a baking sheet as you go. If at any time the shapes start to stretch or you don't get a clean cutout, refrigerate the dough. 

You'll need at least 32 cutouts (depending on the size of your cookie cutter) for the shingled crust. Keep cutouts refrigerated until time to use. This can also be done a day in advance.

Drain sugar-butter mixture from apples into a saucepan and reduce by half. Add reduced syrup back to the apple mixture and stir to combine. Reducing the liquid will create a sumptuous pie, rather than a watery one.

Assemble the pie: Preheat oven to 400F. Fill pie shell with syrup-spice-apple mixture, slightly mounding the fruit at the center. Lightly brush pie edge with water. Lightly brush water on back of shapes, as you go. Start at outside edge, layering dough shapes like shingles, lightly brushing their reverse sides and pressing gently to seal them together. 

Once you have made one ring of shingles, layer a second ring in the same fashion. Continue until only a small opening remains at the top.  Brush beaten egg over the surface of the dough and scatter demerara sugar to coat. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 3 hours. The colder your pastry, the more assurance you have that it will stay put once met with the heat of the oven!

Bake the pie: Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, just so crust begins to brown. Lower heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust is golden all over and juices bubble, about 55 minutes more. 

Cool completely on a wire rack and serve with creme fraiche or ice cream. Pie will keep for 2 days unrefrigerated, wrapped in foil, and up to 1 1/2 weeks in the refrigerator in a container with a tight fitting lid.

This time is busier than ever for me. I move next week, long distance, back north. It's a long story, but my sweetheart and I lived apart for nearly a year as we navigated new developments in our careers. This move represents us reuniting. We cannot wait. Our home is entirely in transition and the movers come this weekend. Edit: it's happening again! We have to move from our "reunited and it feels so good" home and, in the next couple weeks, will go through another huge bandaid ripping to get acclimated and settled into another living quarters….Fingers crossed that this time pans out a little less dramatically. We are ready to NOT MOVE for a bit.

In other news, I am making a cookbook!! It will be filled with fantastic recipes and gorgeous images, and all kinds of tips and tricks for success. I am thrilled about this project. Producing a cookbook is something I've been considering - and then trying to plan for - for a while now. That is all I will share for the moment, as I must return to dusting, consolidating, and packing. But oh what good things await, around every corner!

Have a beautiful weekend. Enjoy the crisp days of fall. Eat this pie and share it with friends. Thanks so much for being here for the journey.

Brown Butter Rosemary Apple Pie at Anthology and Some Big News!

I've made a pie for my Anthology column today. Worth all the pieces of its meditative effort. An excellent crust for people who love both flaky dough and a little chew, the sugared shingled layers do the trick. It's so good. Another swooner: brown butter adds nutty depth to go with the spiced flavors imparted by the likes of rosemary, nutmeg, and cinnamon. It was a stroke of genius to put these together for this pie. 

Edit: with Anthology Mag gone, I have included the full recipe below. Thank you all for sending me messages, asking for it!!

With little added sugar in this recipe, I'd say this pie could easily double for breakfast. Yes I just said pie for breakfast. And with a dollop of creme fraiche, it's even better. Try it and see for yourself…

Brown butter-rosemary apple pie with star shingled crust

for the filling

3 lbs tart apples 

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 

1 tsp lemon zest - choose organic, since you'll eat the skin

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 scant tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup organic cane sugar

1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp freshly grated cinnamon

2 tsp minced fresh rosemary

1/2 stick butter

1 egg, lightly beaten, for brushing

demerara sugar, to sprinkle

for the dough - adapted from Melissa and Emily Elsen of Four and Twenty Blackbirds

3 2/4 cups organic all-purpose flour

1 1/2  tsp kosher salt

1 1/2  tsp organic cane sugar

12 oz freezer-cold cubed butter

3/4 cup cider vinegar

3/4 cup ice water

I used to process my flour and butter in a food processor for ease. Feel free to do it that way if you are short on time. Now, I make the extra time - not much longer really, and for the result, it's worth it to cut the butter into the flour by hand. Plus, my desire for the pie ripens as I work to incorporate the dough… :)

Make the dough: stir dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add butter and cut in using a pastry blender, scraping its edge with a knife occasionally to free any clumps that form. Keep at it until you are left with pea sized bits of butter in the mix. Be careful not to overwork the dough. A few larger butter clumps are okay. 

Pour water and vinegar together and add an ice cube or two. Drizzle a little at a time over the flour mixture and cut in. It will appear shaggy as it becomes more moist, and as you keep cutting it together, the dough will form. Pinch the dough with your thumb and index finger to see if it holds together. If it's crumbly, it isn't ready. Drizzle another tablespoon or so of the cider liquid and cut in again.  Once the dough has formed, empty out into three equal portions on three pieces of cellophane.

Press opposing ends of the cellophane together to form the dough into a ball. Wrap securely and flatten dough into a disk. Repeat with remaining two dough piles, then refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to let them mellow.

Make the filling: peel, core, and cut apples into wedges. Squeeze lemon juice to coat in a large bowl, mixing the juice and apple slices together to prevent from browning. Add zest, flour, salt, sugars, nutmeg, cinnamon, and rosemary, and stir to combine. Set aside while you make the brown butter.

Brown the butter: In a light colored sauté pan - so you can monitor the change in color as it browns - melt butter over medium heat. Let it foam and give it a swirl every so often to ensure it is cooking evenly. The process should take about 7 minutes; pay attention to the milk solids which settle at the base of the pan as you don't want them to get burnt. Once you smell the nutty aroma and the butter has turned caramelly, remove pan from heat. Pour brown butter and solids over the apple mixture and stir together to combine. If the milk solids are burnt, you may choose not to add them - once cool enough to taste, try a little bit and see if you like the flavor, and then decide. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, up to overnight. 

Roll the dough: for the bottom crust, roll out one disk of dough to about 1/8-inch thick, between pieces of lightly floured parchment. Peel away one sheet of parchment, drape dough into an 8-inch diameter pie plate using the second sheet of parchment to transfer the dough, then peel it away. Trim edge flush with pie plate, save scraps to re-roll, and chill. You can do this a day in advance.

Roll out the other two disks to 1/8-inch thick using the same method with parchment. Transfer dough on parchment to baking sheets and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or, freezer for 10). 

Working with one segment of dough at a time, use a flour-dusted cookie cutter to cut shapes. Gather scraps to re-roll as needed, and refrigerate cutouts on a baking sheet as you go. If at any time the shapes start to stretch or you don't get a clean cutout, refrigerate the dough. 

You'll need at least 32 cutouts (depending on the size of your cookie cutter) for the shingled crust. Keep cutouts refrigerated until time to use. This can also be done a day in advance.

Drain sugar-butter mixture from apples into a saucepan and reduce by half. Add reduced syrup back to the apple mixture and stir to combine. Reducing the liquid will create a sumptuous pie, rather than a watery one.

Assemble the pie: Preheat oven to 400F. Fill pie shell with syrup-spice-apple mixture, slightly mounding the fruit at the center. Lightly brush pie edge with water. Lightly brush water on back of shapes, as you go. Start at outside edge, layering dough shapes like shingles, lightly brushing their reverse sides and pressing gently to seal them together. 

Once you have made one ring of shingles, layer a second ring in the same fashion. Continue until only a small opening remains at the top.  Brush beaten egg over the surface of the dough and scatter demerara sugar to coat. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 3 hours. The colder your pastry, the more assurance you have that it will stay put once met with the heat of the oven!

Bake the pie: Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, just so crust begins to brown. Lower heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust is golden all over and juices bubble, about 55 minutes more. 

Cool completely on a wire rack and serve with creme fraiche or ice cream. Pie will keep for 2 days unrefrigerated, wrapped in foil, and up to 1 1/2 weeks in the refrigerator in a container with a tight fitting lid.

This time is busier than ever for me. I move next week, long distance, back north. It's a long story, but my sweetheart and I lived apart for nearly a year as we navigated new developments in our careers. This move represents us reuniting. We cannot wait. Our home is entirely in transition and the movers come this weekend. Edit: it's happening again! We have to move from our "reunited and it feels so good" home and, in the next couple weeks, will go through another huge bandaid ripping to get acclimated and settled into another living quarters….Fingers crossed that this time pans out a little less dramatically. We are ready to NOT MOVE for a bit.

In other news, I am making a cookbook!! It will be filled with fantastic recipes and gorgeous images, and all kinds of tips and tricks for success. I am thrilled about this project. Producing a cookbook is something I've been considering - and then trying to plan for - for a while now. That is all I will share for the moment, as I must return to dusting, consolidating, and packing. But oh what good things await, around every corner!

Have a beautiful weekend. Enjoy the crisp days of fall. Eat this pie and share it with friends. Thanks so much for being here for the journey.

Grilled Head-on Shrimp and Chermoula at Anthology, Perfect Ice Cream at New York Times, and Some Thoughts about Labor

Summer is ending. The food doesn't really say so here in the lush south, but everything else does. Particularly, the light which streams into my studio… more directional, sharper and crisp. It's a beautiful thing, really, but I'm not ready for the huge thrust fall brings. More on that in a bit.

This chermoula, bursting with flavor, is essentially a north African version of salsa or pesto. And, it's my newest story at Anthology. Click here for the full story and recipe.

So good. On these shrimp, on everything prepared for this feature. Really, chermoula is good on everything. Do let me know if you decide to make it. I love to hear when a recipe (or photograph) seizes you.

A couple weeks ago, I had another Page One piece, produced for The New York Times Food section. This time it was ice cream. I produced simple, amazing vanilla. Certainly gave me a renewed appreciation for this humble flavor. 

five simple ingredients is all it takes

Here is the ice cream recipe.

I am on the edge of telling you some big news. It will have to wait until more is clear, but many changes are in store. Thanks for staying tuned!

Eat great food this holiday. Maybe both of these tasty recipes will make it onto your menu. They surely will not disappoint.

Beyond good eating with those we love, I hope in your Labor Day festivities you will make room to appreciate the countless people who toil so hard -  often for pennies a day - around the world.

In the distant past and now again, our economies suppress the value of labor. The rhythmic work of nimble human fingers, day in and out. Bodies which lift machinery over and over, actions repeated at a dizzying pace, or, skills so particular only few can do it. Never mind the repetitive stress those fingers and bodies face…. Young people assembling iPhones in China. Brick workers who are essentially slaves, in Pakistan. Men without safeguards against debilitating injuries in General Motors factories, in Colombia.

Do we value this work? How do we value human labor? In my own world I labor intensely, but thankfully I am (more or less) in charge of how and when it gets done. But no safety net, no built-in room to slow down. I'm working on that….

Of the above, this group has a link where you can offer your support, if you would like to help:

ASOTRECOL - association of injured Colombian GM workers.  These men suffer debilitating injuries from repeated work processes during a time when no safety standards had been implemented in their factory. They have been discarded by GM, with no means or medical insurance to have the needed surgeries, to live healthy lives and get new jobs to support their families.

What good fortune we have to be privileged! And so, what good use a few minutes to give recognition and gratitude to those who help pave the way, who don't get that privilege.

Have a fantastic "sending-off summer" weekend. And then, on to plan the wonderful things we will do this fall. Thanks for being here with me, dear friends. xxx

Flavor-packed Cold Noodle Salad - My latest at Anthology, Zippy Gazpacho with The New York Times, and a Whole Lot More

Crunchy, tangy, punchy, meaty, chewy, spicy. Yep, all that, and almost no cooking to do.

My monthly column at Anthology has been a ongoing affair for two years now (next month!) - how cool is that?!

I made this using somen noodles, shiitake mushrooms, royal burgundy beans, slivered jalapeño, cucumber, Chinese chives, pickled red bell pepper, and mint and cilantro. My choices here serve as a guideline - pictured is an array of possible elements you can incorporate. My hope is that in sharing this as a guideline, it inspires you to play. Experiment with the type of noodles, the pickled and spicy elements. Definitely swap crunchy veg variations to see which harmonize together, and what is freshest at the market. 

These are building blocks to lift-off from and have fun, using your own sensibility and really, what's beautiful when you visit the farmers market. This recipe is one of those I find myself returning to and modifying a bit each time. 

While this seriously tasty preparation takes cues from Asian flavors, this isn't explicitly from a particular culture. More, an interest to eat flavorful food that isn't expensive, and, perfect for picnics on lazy summer days. Though it isn't a saucy pasta dish by any means, don't let the apparent plainness fool you - this dish is packed with flavor.

If you have a few pantry staples - the sauces and vinegar, and pasta - you can make this virtually no-cook recipe without notice. It is a mix-and-match pull-from-what-you-have kind of thing. And the best part? This dish makes for a beautiful presentation and a really satisfying meal for whomever you serve it. 

Cold noodle salad

Serves 4-6

for the noodles

1 pkg noodles, cooked according to the directions on the label 

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tbsp good olive oil

2 tsp fish sauce

1/2-1 tsp soy sauce

1/2-1 tsp rice wine vinegar

allium  

choose one, 2-3 tbsp, divided - finely chop whichever you choose 

Chinese chives

garlic scapes

spring onion

chives

garlic

crunchy

a few handfuls total, a mixture of two or three

green beans, royal burgundy beans, etc
kirby or Persian cucumbers

sweet bell pepper

asparagus

snap peas

green papaya or mango

hakurei turnips

meaty 

choose one - 1-2 cups

mushrooms (any of these is great): button, shiitake, cremini, king trumpet

poached or sautéed fish flaked into pieces, such as salmon or mackerel

poached or sautéed shredded chicken 

cubed and roasted tofu

cooked chickpeas

spicy or pickled - very thinly sliced 

choose two, 2 tbsp (unless you like spicy - then add more)

pickled shallots, onions, peppers, radishes, carrots, summer squash, ginger, cornichons, etc*

sriracha

jalapeño, very thinly sliced or chopped

spicy Japanese yuzu condiment

fresh herbs for garnish

choose two - 1 small handful per serving

cilantro  

mint

parsley

basil

*Store-bought pickle variations work great in a pinch. However, if you make your own pickles, here's a delicious and fun place to incorporate them. 

Cook the pasta and drain. Transfer noodles to a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Use tongs to turn pasta, ensuring all strands get a light coat of oil. Once the noodles have cooled enough to touch, add the the fish sauce, soy sauce, and lime juice, and use your hands to gently separate any remaining clumps. Taste and adjust soy (salty), vinegar (tangy), or fish sauce (savory) to suit your taste. Refrigerate at least a half hour, up to overnight. If you refrigerate overnight, cover in cellophane.

For whichever crunchy elements you chose, chop them. If you chose cucumber as one of your veg, peel the skin if it is tough, or if the cucumber isn't organic. if you were lucky enough to score kirbys or Persian cukes, their seeds are small and you can leave them intact. Otherwise, scrape seeds out with a spoon. 

Chop the beans into thin cross-sections -  little bursts of assertive crunch! I got royal burgundy beans a local farmer friend grew. Basically if you can find any snap-fresh bean, then you won't need to cook them. Ask if you can taste one: it shouldn't be fibrous or tough to chew. 

Choose an allium - a little goes a long way. Chop it finely and reserve a little for table-side garnishing.

Trim mushroom stems and halve or quarter any larger ones. Sauté mushrooms in a little olive oil, on medium high heat in a cast iron or enameled skillet until tender - about 5 minutes - adding a small amount of water (or broth, should you have some on-hand) to keep them juicy. Transfer cooked mushrooms to a bowl and toss together with all the above chopped elements once mushrooms have cooled a bit.

On a mandoline, shave jalapeño or ginger (etc), and add to the mix. If you have pickled veg, chop them as you did the beans and add them in. I sometimes add a little of the brine liquid for added punch. Up to you. 

To serve, transfer noodles to a serving platter. I created little piles by coiling the noodles around my hand. Do what fits you in the moment. Scatter the crunchy-peppery-meaty mixture onto the piles, leaving a little extra aside for serving. Additional chopped allium is nice table side, too. 

With a final flourish, add the fresh herbs to top. Enjoy!

If you have not already heard, Anthology will be closing their doors at the end of this year. Of course this is very sad news for me as I have loved our flourishing relationship, the numerous online and in-print stories together and the million emails getting it all done. But as anything in life, change happens. The show will still go on.

I imagine the great homes in my future. New and relevant places to continue sharing my voice. I might even update here more… :P If you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

For better or worse, I work like a fiend. My Instagram page bears the evidence. I cook new and varied (deeelicious) things, multiple times in a given day. All this of course is mounting to something fantastic, still simmering and melding....

If you're hankering for more of me, visit me there. I have a lot of fun rescuing food. I play extensively on set. Be forewarned: you will get hungry, stat.

Another piece I recently produced for The Times is this terrific, zippy gazpacho. It is a great basic recipe; one to which I added tequila, lime, and a pinch of salt this evening (in a cocktail glass), to reward myself for all the hard work cooking, styling, and shooting I've been up to.

Yes oh yes. Makes me feel like we are still embarking on summer, not that it is almost over….

I have seen the light change at home base. A longer cast of the sun inside, sign of earth's rotation towards autumn. That will mean the pussycats get to bask in more sun spots, but it also means the end of tomato season. Not yet. But, it's a real thing to reckon with and I'm definitely (and defiantly) not ready.

There is an ice cream story on the horizon. And a pop-up dinner. Then there's the story I shot for Saveur Magazine, about craft cocktails at a neighborhood spot called Lou's. And soon, a trip to Maine filled with lots of lobster. I'm still firmly planted in balmy evenings and icy cocktails, see?

For myself…. today I baked a gorgeous fig, black pepper, and smoky blue cheese galette. I hungrily picked the figs from a neighboring tree near a friend's home, sweet reward in itself after a long three-day shoot. After a final round in front of the camera tomorrow, I get to devour it.

Also on the agenda: making a quail egg and roasted tomato pasta with capers and chives. Sounds good, doesn't it? Visit Instagram to see how it turned out!

Maybe I'll convince someone to go foraging again with me, if I can buy myself some free time. In any case, I will eat like a queen. Come sit at the table with me. Eat some of this good food.