by Sam Tackeff | Feb 25, 2014 | Baking, Books
There was a period of time in the mid 2000’s when Richard Sax’s Classic Home Desserts was out of print, and there were rumors of it going for outlandish black market prices. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) it was republished in 2010, before I had to seriously contemplate selling my much loved copy for a large windfall. One of my favorite sections of the cookbook is the chapter on ‘Compotes and Baked Fruit’, because while most of the time I can’t be bothered to make elaborate desserts, cooked fruit is always easy, and feels virtuous.
Crinkly Baked Pears
adapted from Richard Sax’s Classic Home Desserts
with inspiration from Edible Boston
This recipe, more of a method, quite adaptable too, is for pears, slowly baked in their skins, in a bath of fortified wine, sugar, and spices. Preheat the oven to 300 F. In a shallow ceramic baking dish, mix a cup of Lillet – a citrusy fortified wine*– with half a cup of brown sugar, a cinnamon stick, a small knob of ginger, three or four allspice berries, and a few cloves if you have them. You could also add a strip of lemon zest and some vanilla, but I often make these without. Nestle 6-8 firm Bosc pears in the wine bath, stems up if you can, and bake for about two hours, basting every 15-30 minutes (or however often you’d like a taste of the luscious syrupy goodness) until the pears are tender, and the skins have begun to wrinkle. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and serve on their own, or with some ice cream, and plenty of the wine-sugar-syrup. Store the leftovers in the fridge, if you have them and reheat in the morning for a perfect breakfast.
*Sax’s original recipe calls for Marsala or dry red wine, but I opted for the fortified Lillet this go around. I’ve had success with Marsala, and Port as well. I also cut the amount of sugar in the recipe, and substitute brown sugar for white, because I find that brown gives it a little bit more depth of flavor that stands up well to the spices.
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 23, 2014 | Books, Books in 2014
#7. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Paperback, 447 pages (Vintage)
First published October 17th, 2002 by Crown
Borrowed from A.S.
I’ve been meaning to update my reading list over here. I’ve managed to make a large dent in my book stacks in February, and I’m up to my 13th book for the year. Number seven was a book that’s been sitting in the house for months, borrowed from a friend. Feeling like it had overstayed it’s welcome in the house, I finally picked it up and read it in a weekend, barely surfacing from the pages to eat.
Made up of several (non-fiction) sub-plots, the book revolves around the World’s Columbian Exposition (the Chicago World’s Fair). A substantial portion of the book is devoted to architectural history – the outstanding feat of Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the veritable who’s who of architects of the day – building the shining White City on a timeframe that seems impossible even now to imagine. The other half of the book is devoted to a deliciously evil serial killer – making it a poor choice of reading for the evenings that I was alone in the house. Weeks later I’ve been thinking about this book almost daily. Loved it!
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 22, 2014 | Art, Photography
We got sun today! It’s been a week of dreariness. Grey, sludgy, slushy – I’ve been under the weather, and trapped in the house. It’s the time of year that I get bored of the cold and grey, and hope that we get out of it soon. Spring, when I can play outside again. Spring, when things grow and bloom. Spring, when the ice cracks up on the lake, that whistling and howling and popping that requires you to be walking next to the water at precisely the right moment. Spring, when things feel like they are happening again. In the mean time, I’m patient. I’ve been reading. I’ve been dreaming about writing a cookbook, and a children’s novel, and learning how to paint botanicals. I acquired a bright new lamp, and a little yuca tree, and I’ve been drinking warm beverages.
There’s a lovely photographer I follow named Xanthe Berkeley, who has been working on a collaborative project with Andrea called the color/colour project, focusing on shooting a color at a time. In the cold and grey, I like to pick up my camera to combat the dreariness, so I thought I’d follow suit and capture some yellow this week.
I think we could all use a little less of this ^, and a little more of this..
Happy Weekend!
– Sam
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 2, 2014 | Meal Planning, Uncategorized
This week at the office was our Hackathon at RunKeeper – two days we take a few times a year to build crazy projects outside of our normal course of work. In an incredible HGTV worthy timeline, the non-technical team “Addition by Subtraction” took second place for building this (working) bar in the back room of the office. (You read that correctly: RumKeeper.)
Week of Saturday, February 1st
Saturday: Langoustine Curry with jasmine rice. I had some leftover khao soi broth from Thai North, which I decided to fashion into something quite different for night two. Spinach salads on the side for some greenery.
Sunday: Stuffed burgers, tater tots (yes), and broccoli. I just can’t do wings, and I wasn’t going to make queso or a guacamole bar or hundreds of deviled eggs this year. But I did want to make something that would feel like “Superbowl Food”, so stuffed burgers (with blue cheese and bacon) seemed like the right way to go.
Monday: Salad with paprika and allspice chicken, chopped vegetables, mango, avocado, mint, and basil. Lime dressing. This week on Jamie’s 15 minute meals, he had a similar recipe which he called “San Fran Chicken Quinoa Salad” – I liked the flavor combination, although not quite sure what makes it “San Fran”…
Tuesday: Pasta with cauliflower, saffron, parsley, and feta. (From Deborah Madison’s Vegetable Literacy). I’ve been reading through this cookbook and everything looks good. It’s been months since we had pasta in this house, and I try to avoid it most of the time, but this recipe seemed too good to pass up – I thought it’d be a nice treat for us.
Wednesday: Braised brussels sprouts and apple, pork bratwurst. I’ve been craving sauerkraut lately (it’s always good to eat fermented foods!), and this was originally going to have sauerkraut, but I couldn’t resist brussels sprouts, and I went to the wrong store for the kraut.
Thursday: Wing it. Actually, I realized as I was typing this up that I had simply forgotten to write something down on the list, and proceeded to do my shopping neglecting this meal entirely. I’ll likely forage the freezer, but it might end up being a Whole Foods salad bar night.
Friday: Out.
–– Sam
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 1, 2014 | Books in 2014
January, part two. It was a good month for reading – which is to say, very cold, and I didn’t want to do much other than sit on my couch curled up with a book.
#4. I will teach you to be rich by Ramit Sethi
Paperback, 266 pages
Published March 23rd 2009 by Workman
Borrowed from library
This past year, I’ve been working to tighten up my personal finances in a more meaningful way. A month ago I became a “real adult” and got myself a credit card that gives me 6% cash back on groceries. I got over my “I don’t want give money to the man”, and chose a card that would work for me, given my main spending category every month, and the fact that I’ll pay in full at the end of each billing period – specifically to continue building credit.
About the time I got my card, I picked up Sethi’s book. While the tone of the book may not be for everyone, and it’s geared towards the 20-35 crowd, the financial information covered hits all the basics. Except for the dated piece about savings accounts – sorry, you won’t see 4% returns anywhere these days – this book covers paying down debt, credit cards, saving strategies, retirement investments, automating cash flow, budgeting, etc. This book isn’t about getting rich quickly, but about learning the basics of financial literacy.
#5. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim
234 pages
First published 1923 by Doubleday, Page & Co.
Read on Kindle (link is to the *free* Kindle book)
I’ve been reading The Enchanted April for nearly a year now. Every week or so I’d pick it up and read just a few pages, hoping to savor it as much as possible – it was just the charming escapism that I needed. Four women, strangers to each other, escaping their daily lives to converge together in a villa in Italy – this is the original Eat Pray Love/Under the Tuscan Sun/etc. except I didn’t feel like screaming at any of the characters. A lovely, enchanting (sorry) read. Highly recommended!
#6. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
259 pages
Published June 18th 2013 by William Morrow
Listened to audiobook, read by author HarperAudio
Sometimes I seek out books that I know will be better read to me by the author, and this was one of them. Neil Gaiman, aside from being a wonderful writer, is a phenomenal storyteller. This wasn’t my favorite of his books, but listening to him read it made it special. Perfect walk commute book! (Plus, he’s married to Amanda Palmer, so that’s a thing I find interesting.)