We all need something good to read and make during global pandemics, don't we?
Hi friends! What a week (month/year/four years) it's been. I hope you're all hanging in there as we deal with...everything. I went to Target yesterday on a normal shopping trip for sparkling water and toilet paper and for the most part everything was normal until you looked at the shelves of Tylenol and cleaning supplies and (weirdly) Band Aids, which were completely empty (my preferred toilet paper brand was also sold out). Anyway, now that we're all washing our hands compulsively and singing little songs while we do it, we should all go out and buy more hand cream (which there was plenty of at Target!). I just got some of this Cerave hand cream, which isn't expensive, so you can get tubes of it for your purse and home and work and your car; it's nicely moisturizing without being sticky or greasy, and isn't scented. My hands are grateful for it!
We all need something to read (lots of somethings, probably) during times like this, right? I know that I've been having MANY conversations as of late about Station Eleven, the incredible book that came out a few years ago about a global pandemic and the way people lived during and afterward (if you haven't read it yet, now is either the worst time to read it or the best, I'm not quite sure which). I tend not to like apocalyptic books, but I really loved this one, I think because it's more about people and society than the apocalypse itself. Luckily, that author has a new book coming out in just a few weeks, so if you want brilliant literature but don't want to freak yourself out, you can hold on for The Glass Hotel -- I got an advance copy of this book, and started it one night a few weeks ago when I got in the bathtub right before bed. Three and a half hours later, I finished the book and finally got out of the bathtub, that's how good this book is. I knew nothing about it going in, except that it was by an author whose previous book I loved, and all I'll tell you is that it's very different from Station Eleven but equally wonderful; about how lives intersect, the nature of family, and friendship, and denial, and greed, and regret, and the ghosts we live with, and I need everyone to read this book as soon as it comes out so I can talk about it with everyone I know just like we've all been talking about Station Eleven lately.
My second book recommendation for you today is Radium Girls, which I read a month or so ago -- it's the true story of women who worked in radium dial factories during and after World War I, how the radium destroyed their bodies, and the fights for justice they had with their employers (who told them to put radium in their mouths!!!). It's fascinating, depressing, and inspiring, and I really recommend it.
Related to the above, I've been trying to review books I read on Goodreads more these days, mostly because it felt hypocritical for me to ask other people to review my books there and elsewhere, and not to do it myself for other books. You can follow me here if you use that site regularly, or just if you're trying to remember a book I recommended either here or on Instagram. A note about ratings though -- if I like a book, I give it five stars, if I don't like it, I just don't review it. I sort of hate having to give a book a star rating in the first place; my feelings about books are far more complicated than stars can tell you. (It makes me think about what Soleil Ho, the SF Chronicle restaurant reviewer, said about why she doesn't give restaurants stars). (I was also thinking about Soleil last week because of this newsletter of hers about breakfast sandwiches, where she says something very similar to a passage I have early in Party of Two, but there I go again on a food digression). When I tell you about a book, I try to make it clear in the review what I liked about it, and if anything, what I didn't like. (This is not to criticize other authors who do it other ways, we all have our own ways of doing things! This is just how I do it). I will always still talk about books at length in this newsletter, though!!!
Okay so it's clear that a lot of people have been doing panic shopping, and if you have a kitchen full of food and want to do some panic cooking, I am here for you! I tend to cook when I'm stressed, and there's nothing more soothing to me than a big elaborate cooking project when I need a break from the world, so I have two for you. First, anyone who watches my instagram stories knows that this week I've been eating a lot of enchiladas, because my copyedits for Party of Two were due this week (It's almost a real book! I'm excited/terrified/thrilled/freaking out!) and I knew I would be working a ton and didn't want to make food decisions, and because enchiladas are one of the few things I can eat over and over again without getting bored. So on Sunday, I made a big batch of the enchiladas from The Proposal, and I highly recommend that recipe if you are in the mood to cook something that takes a lot of time this weekend (it's very easy to multiply every part of the recipe!).
If you want to bake something elaborate and also delicious, here is a recipe for a Danish pastry braid -- it's from the old Baking with Julia show (and cookbook) and I've made and loved it a number of times. (Epicurious has a version of the recipe here, but it differs from the recipe in the book, and the recipe from the website of the woman who made it on the show with Julia -- I'm giving you the recipe from the book but we should all try both and compare!) This recipe is to make two braids; I usually make them with two different fillings, either two different kinds of jam alone, jam plus the confectioner's cream below, or with the buttercream filling from the Epicurious recipe. Fill it with whatever you like!
Danish Pastry Braid
Ingredients
Danish Pastry:
1/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup milk at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter
Filling:
Jar of apricot jam or jar of raspberry jam (or any jam you like)
Confectioners cream:
1 cup half and half or heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Glaze:
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons milk or water
Pearl sugar or crushed sugar cubes, for sprinkling on top
Sliced almonds for sprinkling on top
Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons warm water or coffee
Instructions:
Pastry
Mix: Pour the water into a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast on top, and let it sit for two or three minutes. Add the milk, egg, sugar, and salt, and whisk to mix together, then set aside.
Put the flour in a food processor set with the metal blade (you can do this without a food processor too, just add the flour to another large bowl). Cut the butter into 1/4 inch thick slices, and drop them onto the flour. Pulse 8 to 10 times, until the butter is cut into large pieces (various recipes called this the size of a kidney bean/no smaller than 1/2 inch in diameter). (If you're doing this by hand, use forks to cut the butter into the flour -- or use your fingers, but fingers get warm quickly and you don't want to melt the butter, so be careful).
Pour the butter/flour mixture into the bowl with the yeast; working with a rubber spatula, gently fold all together, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. You want the butter to still be in large, discrete, pieces.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least four hours, or overnight, or up to four days.
Roll out and fold
Lightly flour a large work surface. Turn out the dough, and dust it lightly with flour. Pat the dough into a rough square with your hands, then use a rolling pin to roll it out into a square about 16 inches per side. Fold the dough into thirds (like a letter), then turn to the side, roll out again, fold in thirds again, and do this four times (the last time, just leave it folded into thirds). Cut the dough in half, wrap well in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to four days, or wrap very well and freeze).
Fill
For the confectioner's cream: whisk the half and half or cream, cornstarch and sugar together in a medium size pot on medium heat. Bring it to the boil, stirring frequently. Whisk together the egg yolk and vanilla in a bowl; slowly whisk a little of the hot liquid into the yolk, then pour the yolk mixture into the pot. Cook on medium for another minute or so, until the consistency is that of lemon curd. Cool to room temperature.
For the braid: (if you need a visual, this site has good pictures of the final product!)
On a board covered in parchment paper, roll one half of the chilled dough into a rectangle 10 inches wide and 16 inches long. Pour whatever jam you're using into a bowl, and stir it to make it more spreadable. Spread a scant cup of jam (or buttercream, or whatever else you want to fill with!) down the center third of the rectangle of the dough, and then top the jam with some of the confectioner's cream. (Use however much of either as you like; just be careful not to overfill it!) Using a pizza cutter or the point of a sharp knife, cut 12 to 14 slanting lines down each side of the dough, each about 3/4 inch wide. Fold the strips of pastry into the center, criss crossing the filling by alternating one strip from the right side of the pastry with one side from the left. Lightly press the ends together to seal.
For the glaze: Combine the beaten egg with either milk or water, and brush it on the pastry. Sprinkle with the sugar and almonds. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes until it looks puffy.
To bake: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and put a rack in the center of the oven. Slide the parchment paper with the braid on it onto a baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
To glaze: (Note: the glaze recipe makes enough to cover two braids; if you're just making one, cut it in half.) Combine the coffee or water with the powdered sugar. Spoon the glaze into a plastic baggie, seal the top, and cut a tiny bit from a bottom corner. Squeeze the glaze out onto the pastry to your heart's desire. Present the braid triumphantly when it's warm, then slice to serve.
Have a great weekend, everyone. Take care of yourselves and the people you love.
Jasmine
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