Today is a day about endings and beginnings. In the wee
hours of the morning, a skeleton crew of journalists walked out the door of a
stalwart institution for the last time. In the early hours of dawn, the first wave hit the
shiny downtown office tower that now houses us. The bulk of the staff checked
out for the last time on Friday, urged on by eager movers and the journalistic
need to hit a watering hole on such occasions. It was an odd day, with
bicyclists racing around the building sporting Go-Pro helmets, and writers
unleashing their words upon the soon-to-be demolished walls. Milton and
Aerosmith quotes vied for wall space. A fat lady was depicted singing.
Petroglyphs of journalistic deeds sprouted on cubicle walls, and a chalkboard
outline of a reporter appeared on the carpet. My coworkers are a clever bunch,
and a tad kooky. Probably the most succinct: “425 Portland. The writing is on
the wall.”
Limited to three moving crates, we spent the final weeks
leading up to the move essentially in one giant book exchange. Journalists love
words, and hoard words. But with space at a premium, out came the books. I
limited myself to snagging two of the copious quantity of cookbooks: a
Williams-Sonoma book on holiday baking, which clearly speaks to my obsessive
holiday preparations, and a door-weight of a book on desserts from Bon Appetit.
(Luckily, someone organized a book donation so the remainders won’t all go in
recycling.) Do I need another book? Of course not. But I need a sweet coda for
a venerable building, so tonight I chose something from my last souvenir cookbook. It's tastier than something from that box of lead type.
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| Dave got me this Italian bakeware pan for Christmas. I utterly adore it. The crisp wasn't bad either. |
Apple-Almond Crisp
From “Bon Appetit Desserts”
Ingredients
Topping
1½ cups flour
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¾ cup chilled butter, cut into ½-inch cubes (1½ sticks)
1 cup sliced almonds
Filling
¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 small Granny Smith apples peeled, halved, cored and thinly
sliced
1½ teaspoon vanilla
¾ teaspoon almond extract
Method
To assemble topping, whisk flour, sugar and cinnamon in a
medium bowl. Rub in butter until it forms small clumps. Mix in almonds. Cover
and chill until ready to use, up to three days.
Whisk sugar, flour, lemon peel, cinnamon and nutmeg in a
large bowl. Toss in apples, then extracts. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan.
Spoon apple mixture into dish. Sprinkle with topping. Bake in preheated 350
degree oven until apples are tender and top is golden and crispy, about 1 hour.
Cool at least 10 minutes before serving warm.
Rating: Really hard to go wrong with that list of ingredients.
Coconut Ice Cream
Ingredients
2½ cups heavy cream
½ cup water
8 egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
1 cup coconut milk
Method
Heat the cream and water in a heavy saucepan over medium low
heat until hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat. Whisk egg yolks for 2
minutes. Stir in cream, whisking constantly. Return mixture to pan and heat on
low, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
Pour mixture through a strainer into a clean bowl and set aside to cool. Cover
and chill for at least 2 hours before processing in an ice cream maker
according to manufacturer directions.
Rating: A subtly
flavored vanilla ice cream. Just a hint of coconut. Otherwise a nicely textured
custard-based ice cream that paired well with the crisp.
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