Apparently I turn Jewish in the kitchen at Passover
Here at UO, we have a Library Staff Association, which basically just exists to organize fun things for the library staff, and foster goodwill or something. Today is the Spring Sale, one of their handful of annual events; people bring in plants, seedlings, baked goods, handmade stuff, etc. to sell. I'm not actually sure if the money goes to the LSA, or people keep it for themselves (one of our Japanese catalogers said something about donating the funds from her pottery to Japanese tsunami relief efforts.) Anyway, there is a raffle to benefit the LSA, and the raffle prize is traditionally some kind of fancy dessert. This year I was asked to make the dessert, partly on the virtue of the banana cupcakes I brought in on my birthday and probably partly because they figured I was new blood and wouldn't know any better. ;) After some wibbling about what to do (I wanted it to be something special and pretty and delicious, but not too fussy/heavy/over-the-top; I wanted to try something new, but not too experimental; I wanted to do chocolate, but then I also wanted to do something light and springy), and some expert consultation with innostrantsa, I noticed that the sale was scheduled on Passover, and I got inspired to look at Passover desserts... more out of curiosity than anything else, since I haven't ever deliberately made something kosher, let alone kosher for Passover, and I wanted to learn more about it. Honestly, I'm assuming that anybody who's so observant that they'd be interested in a kosher for Passover dessert probably won't be at work today anyway; and anybody who's really, really observant wouldn't take something I made anyway, because while the ingredients may be kosher for Passover, my kitchen is not. I haven't done the heating of the utensils until they glow or other purification methods, blah blah blah. And I realize that the seders were all last night, but maybe there are some secular stragglers here and there. But I do have fond memories of the seder that f_butterfly hosted at Morris House my sophomore year-- I can't remember who all was there, definitely innostrantsa, probably sioneva and/or littleowl, but I do remember that out of the 6 or 8 of us in attendance, only 2 were actually Jewish, but I absolutely loved the food and the ritual and the togetherness of it.
Anyway, I found this Bon Appetit recipe: Hazelnut Macaroon and Strawberry Tart. And that was it. I picked it for a few reasons: it hit the kosher for Passover spot, yet also sounded yummy enough that it would appeal to plenty of other people too; it was very springy; and it prominently features hazelnuts, which are a local staple around here, so I was excited to be able to use the ones from the farmers' market down the street. Plus parts of it could be made in advance, which would mean I'd only have to assemble it, not do the whole thing, on a work morning. And it looked awfully pretty.
The crust did puff up quite a bit more than I anticipated when I baked it, but there was still enough room for the filling and the layered berries. The recipe makes excess crust anyway, and my tart pan was a little smaller than called for, so I actually had enough extra of everything to make a small individual tart for myself. I'll see how it is tonight. This was also the first time I'd actually gotten to use my grandmother's tart tin, which was nice. I did have to hunt all over Eugene for Passover brandy, of which I now possess a rather large bottle that I don't anticipate having much need/use for.
But it turned out quite lovely:
The overlapping strawberries kind of suggest a lotus in bloom, which pleases me.
While I was at it, I found another Passover dessert recipe from Martha Stewart (I know, the irony is not lost) for Matzo Bark, which looked easy and fun and pretty, so I decided to do those to contribute to the regular part of the sale. Letting loose my inner Jackson Pollack with chocolate was pretty enjoyable, and I topped them with pistachios, crystallized ginger, and dried mangos, pineapples, & cranberries (though in retrospect, I should have chopped everything much finer than I did.) Not the greatest photos, as they were shot at 1 in the morning in my kitchen, so the light wasn't ideal, and this was before I broke the bark up into pieces, but whatever.
Dark chocolate with white chocolate drizzle:
And vice versa:
By the by, I recommend watching the embedded video on that recipe page from when Martha made these on her tv show with Joan Rivers as her guest. Joan launches in on a bunch of earthy and self-deprecating jokes about changes that occur in women's bodies as they age, and Martha, unable to deny her true WASP nature, gets all huffy and hisses "We don't talk about that!" HILARIOUS.
Oh, and here is a cat picture for you. He actually caught and killed a mouse the other day, thoughtfully leaving it for me just outside my bedroom door. Thankfully he did not decide to be more thoughtful and leave it on, say, my pillow, nor did he eat or otherwise make a mess of it, so it was easy to dispose of. As a reward, he got canned food for breakfast and a new feather toy. A day later, here he is, basking in the proud glow of his mighty hunterdom:
Anyway, I found this Bon Appetit recipe: Hazelnut Macaroon and Strawberry Tart. And that was it. I picked it for a few reasons: it hit the kosher for Passover spot, yet also sounded yummy enough that it would appeal to plenty of other people too; it was very springy; and it prominently features hazelnuts, which are a local staple around here, so I was excited to be able to use the ones from the farmers' market down the street. Plus parts of it could be made in advance, which would mean I'd only have to assemble it, not do the whole thing, on a work morning. And it looked awfully pretty.
The crust did puff up quite a bit more than I anticipated when I baked it, but there was still enough room for the filling and the layered berries. The recipe makes excess crust anyway, and my tart pan was a little smaller than called for, so I actually had enough extra of everything to make a small individual tart for myself. I'll see how it is tonight. This was also the first time I'd actually gotten to use my grandmother's tart tin, which was nice. I did have to hunt all over Eugene for Passover brandy, of which I now possess a rather large bottle that I don't anticipate having much need/use for.
But it turned out quite lovely:
The overlapping strawberries kind of suggest a lotus in bloom, which pleases me.
While I was at it, I found another Passover dessert recipe from Martha Stewart (I know, the irony is not lost) for Matzo Bark, which looked easy and fun and pretty, so I decided to do those to contribute to the regular part of the sale. Letting loose my inner Jackson Pollack with chocolate was pretty enjoyable, and I topped them with pistachios, crystallized ginger, and dried mangos, pineapples, & cranberries (though in retrospect, I should have chopped everything much finer than I did.) Not the greatest photos, as they were shot at 1 in the morning in my kitchen, so the light wasn't ideal, and this was before I broke the bark up into pieces, but whatever.
Dark chocolate with white chocolate drizzle:
And vice versa:
By the by, I recommend watching the embedded video on that recipe page from when Martha made these on her tv show with Joan Rivers as her guest. Joan launches in on a bunch of earthy and self-deprecating jokes about changes that occur in women's bodies as they age, and Martha, unable to deny her true WASP nature, gets all huffy and hisses "We don't talk about that!" HILARIOUS.
Oh, and here is a cat picture for you. He actually caught and killed a mouse the other day, thoughtfully leaving it for me just outside my bedroom door. Thankfully he did not decide to be more thoughtful and leave it on, say, my pillow, nor did he eat or otherwise make a mess of it, so it was easy to dispose of. As a reward, he got canned food for breakfast and a new feather toy. A day later, here he is, basking in the proud glow of his mighty hunterdom: