Pasty Making 2016

Pasty making is something I almost always get around to doing in November.   Thanks to the United Autoworkers and my generous employer, I get Veteran's Day off.  It used to be moved around to get it closer to the opening of firearm deer season in Michigan (which is November 15)  but now we are celebrating it on Veteran's Day proper, which I think is good.    I got this pasty recipe from my best friend Alison who got it from her ex mother-in-law who was from Hancock.   We often joke that the 3 best things she got out of that marriage were her 2 sons and this pasty recipe.  She and I used to get together and make pasties for the freezer every year on our day off.    Looking over the years, I see that we made 52 pasties in 2008, 79 pasties in 2009 and 80 pasties in 2013.  Sadly, she has moved away and my kids are away at college so we don't do it anymore in November.

Last year, I got together in January to make some pasties with a group of girlfriends that wanted to learn how....and I realize now that I never blogged about it.   Here we are:

I think I only made 8 for myself last year, as it was just for us two.   Even though I still have 3 of those left in my freezer, I decided I needed to make pasties again this Veteran's Day.  It was destiny because last weekend I was at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market wearing an MTU hoodie and I spied a big basket of freshly dug rutabagas that were huge for only $1 each.  I told the farmer that this was a sign from God that I needed to make pasties, and he noticed my sweatshirt and pointed to his hat....he was sporting an MTU ball cap!  He said his daughter was a senior at my alma mater (and home to the Upper Peninsula's finest pasties) and I told him that my son was there and that my husband and I also went there.      I've never had a freshly dug rutabaga before and it was way easier to dice and peel than the wax covered ones I normally buy at the grocery store.

a fresh 'baga

My daughter stopped home in the morning to witness part of  the pasty making, She's taking a class at EMU about food history and was tasked to write about food history and she remembered our annual pasty making affairs.  It's funny what the kids remember from their youth! When she was in middle school, she refused to eat pasties anymore, so I was surprised she wanted to document this effort.  She said she wanted to write about how we learned about pasties as MTU students and it became a food tradition for our family.   Jane is always on different food kicks, she went through the obligatory vegetarian phase every teen goes through, she then was making microwave brownies in a mug, and now her latest is taking in nutrition by drinking some kind of soy product made into a shake.   I asked her if she wanted me to make her some pasties too, and I was surprised when she said "Yes"!  Maybe pasties now sounded good to her after having to drink Soylent for a while.  She said she didn't like them in 6th grade because they didn't have enough seasoning in them but would like to try them again, and suggested adding some curry powder so I did that for a couple, just to see how it would taste.   Why not?

Andy said that my pasties were too small last year, so this year I made 10 giant ones instead of 15 regular sized.   I'll give the curried pasties to Jane for her freezer and I'll send Eddie back up to the Keweenaw with some for  his freezer, too.   I called Alison to let her know I was making pasties and she is going to make some for her new husband and his daughter too,   The tradition lives on!

My Paris Kitchen

This month, the cookbook club got together to cook from David Lebovitz's book My Paris Kitchen, which is the best kind of cookbook to me, one that is also an interesting read.   What I loved best about this book is that he  accurately describes life in Paris so well.   A couple years ago, I visited Paris with my husband and son, and couldn't help but notice how much it didn't live up to its hype.

Here's a picture of me near the Eiffel Tower.   Doesn't it look fantastic?  What's not shown in the picture is all the panhandlers surrounding me.   I'm from Detroit and used to very aggressive panhandlers, but I've never experienced anything like what happens in Paris.   Between the little sad faced boys trying to get you to buy colored metal Eiffel Tower key chains to the very attractive young woman pawing my husband trying to convince him that she found a ring that she wanted to give to him to the extremely tough looking Nigerian men trying to weave a "friendship" bracelet onto my son's wrist without his consent, you can't go anywhere without being preyed upon.  Rick Steves described all of these and more ahead of time, so I was well prepared to fend them off.   You might wonder what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower? Me too!  On this day, we couldn't go to the top because the workers were mysteriously on strike that day.   This happens often in Paris, the government workers are constantly walking off the job for one reason or another.  Some parts of the Metro might not be working unexpectedly.   Also, the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays.  Why Tuesdays?   Because it is France, and nothing can ever be easy!    

Here we are, enjoying a meal at a Paris bistro near Notre Dame.   Doesn't it look great?   It actually wasn't all that hot.    Most of the meals I ate in Paris were pretty lackluster. And sitting outside at a Paris restaurant, no matter how nice the weather is, is a huge mistake because everyone smokes like chimneys in Paris.    People often wonder how the French stay so thin and eat such rich food; their secret is that they are all chain smokers.   I learned very quickly that the smoking area is outside in French restaurants and not to sit there.   To me, the great things about Paris is all the history, the beautiful gardens, the ice cream, the fantastic bread that is served everywhere, and the wine.   My son liked it too....he is 15 in this picture, and a Coke cost 3 Euros (about $5) for a dinky little glass served warm with no ice, so we immediately relaxed our no alcohol rule when we were there for him.  At least he got to experiment with some really great wine instead of Boone's Farm like I did at his age!    Also, I'd recommend getting out of  Paris.....I really enjoyed the Alsace region much more.   The food was better, the people were much nicer.   Would I go back to France some day?   Sure, but I've spent enough time in Paris, thanks!

David Lebovitz captures all that is Paris very well in this book....the good and the not so good.   He's pretty frank about the fact at a lot of French food isn't all that great.   He worked for Alice Waters before he moved to Paris on a lark, so he compares American food with France very well, and also humorously highlights the biases that many Parisians have about l'americain.

For our cookbook club, I made the leeks with mustard-bacon vinaigrette and the eggplant caviar.   I didn't think the eggplant dish was worth the effort, although I was surprised that the smell of the blackening eggplant reminded me of the scent of le shit (French slang term for marijuana).   When I make these leeks again, I will slice them.   It was too difficult to eat them whole and they fell apart anyway.    I liked steaming them instead of boiling them, as he described.  I also tweaked a few other things to my liking:

Leeks with Mustard-Bacon Vinaigrette
Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish

3 large leeks, cleaned well and sliced

For the vinaigrette
1/2 lb thick cut bacon, cut into lardons
1/4 c. sherry vinegar
3 T olive oil
2 T. dijon mustard
1 t. kosher salt

For the garnish
2 hard boiled eggs, diced
Reserved bacon
3 T. chopped parsley or diced chives

Steam leaks until tender over a pot of boiling water, about 10 minutes.  Put the leaks in a strainer and allow them to cool.  Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels.  In a pint canning jar, add the vinegar, oil, mustard, and salt and shake until emulsified.   Add half the bacon and shake to coat.   Pour over leaks and garnish with eggs and remaining bacon and parsley or chives.

Bon appetit!

Chicken of the Woods Mushroom Soup with Lemon and Dill

My son found a huge chicken of the woods mushroom near our lakehouse in the Keweenaw, right before MTU Family Weekend, when we came up to visit him.   I have never found this mushroom before; I've been looking for it ever since I got my wild mushroom foraging certification last spring.   The proper name for this mushroom is Laetiporous....the one he found specifically is called Laetiporous cincinnatus.

Isn't it a beauty?   The cool thing about Laetiporous is that it will keep growing back if you just cut the tips off of it.   Much more mushroom to come!

I was searching for a recipe to make with it....my friend Gina suggested a Hungarian mushroom soup she once tasted that she still dreams about.    I didn't have any paprika, so I improvised on a recipe I found for one online, and I came up with this truly delicious soup that was easy to make.   I'm sure it would be great with any kind of mushroom, not just chicken of the woods.  

Mushroom Soup with Lemon and Dill

1 large onion, diced

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1 lb pound sliced fresh mushrooms

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon dill weed

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup whole milk 

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 cup sour cream

Juice from half a lemon

In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook 4-5 minutes longer or until mushrooms are tender.  Stir in the flour, dill, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in the broth, milk and soy sauce. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Just before serving, stir in sour cream and lemon juice (do not boil). 

Makes 4 servings