Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup

I’m often asked to recommend recipes for Thanksgiving, so here’s a few suggestions for you all.

I’ve never actually cooked a turkey, so this will just be sides and desserts. To be honest, that’s pretty much are all I care to eat at Thanksgiving dinner anyway.

Noticeably missing from this list are recipes for cranberry sauce (I use the one on the cranberry bag – no need to mess with perfection), mashed potatoes (there is no recipe, it’s instinctual if you’re Patsy’s daughter), and stuffing (I’ve never made it, that gets assigned to someone else).  

Hope these are helpful. Happy Holidays!

Sides

Veggie and Gluten-Free Options

Desserts

Orecchiette with Basil Pesto, Fennel & Sausage

As the weather turns towards winter, the basil plant on my windowsill begins to worry me. Sure, it has sun in that spot, but less and less with each day, and eventually not enough to keep it alive when cold winds pummel the adjacent glass. Time to harvest what basil remains before it’s lost. I had just enough basil for a batch of pesto, but no pine nuts. What I did have was a tiny jar of walnuts in my freezer – exactly the amount I needed! So I made a batch of pesto using my recipe for basil pesto, substituting walnuts for pine nuts.

I also had about 2 cups of homemade chicken broth in the freezer. So I scouted around for a good way to use both the broth and the pesto and discovered this recipe from NYT Cooking. I substituted the basil-walnut pesto for the broccoli-rabe pesto in that recipe and Viola! A new recipe. It was delicious!

I love it when ingredient availability drives cooking invention.

Orecchiette with Sausage and Basil-Walnut Pesto

Ingredients

  • 1 generous cup basil-walnut pesto Recipe link in instructions
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup finely chopped fennel bulb
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 500 grams orecchiette about 1 1/4 pounds dried, or fresh (made with 4 cups flour)
  • Sun dried tomatoes, thinly sliced, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  • Make a batch of Basil pesto, substituting walnuts for pine nuts, using this recipe.
  • Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on low. Add fennel and onion, and cook until soft but not brown. Add sausage and cook, mashing it to a fine crumble, until it is no longer pink. Add chicken stock and cook until the stock has mostly evaporated and just glazes the sausage. Transfer sausage mixture to a food processor and pulse until finely ground (But Not too much! ). Return sausage mixture to the pan. Fold in a generous cup of the pesto.(Can be made ahead and held here.)
  • Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add orecchiette and cook until al dente. Reheat sausage mixture and add 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain pasta and add to pan with the sausage mixture. Toss until pasta is evenly coated. Fold in remaining ½ cup cheese, check seasoning, add more pasta water if needed, and serve topped with grated Parmesan and thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes.

Basil Pesto

Posting this recipe for easy reference in an upcoming post. Enjoy!

Basil Pesto

Ingredients

  • 2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 2 large garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • Combine the basil, garlic, and salt in the bowl of food processor and grind till the mixture forms a paste. While running the food processor, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.  Fold in grated Parmesan. (If freezing, hold the Parmesan till just before using the thawed pesto.)

Eleven Madison Park Granola

They don’t offer this granola on the menu at Eleven Madison Park, New York’s award-winning, 3-star restaurant serving only plant-based food, with a tasting menu that will run you $365 a pop. Instead, all diners get a jar of the granola as a parting gift at the end of their meal, to serve at tomorrow morning’s breakfast. It’s actually a nice touch…

The restaurant wasn’t always vegan, and not everyone was happy when chef Daniel Humm decided to eschew all but plant-based foods when he re-opened the place in 2021 after a Covid hiatus. Although Eleven Madison was once purported to have a waiting list 50,000 people long, I found plenty of available seating for dinner in December in their online system when I checked today. But the restaurant has kept its 3 Michelin stars and its granola remains a star of the show.

The granola is rumored to be both delicious and addictive, with an unusual saltiness. If you want to try it, you can buy a trio of 10 ounce jars online for just $69.

Or you can make it yourself, using the recipe published in Humm’s pre-vegan Eleven Madison cookbook and on the New York Times website. It’s delicious.

I’ve modified Humm’s recipe to make just 3 cups of granola, because we just won’t go through more than that before it starts to go stale. I’ve also reduced the salt as Sam Sifton of the Times suggests. I love how salt enhances almost anything, but Humm seems to have overdone it a bit in my opinion. (And that’s even after using Diamond kosher salt, which is the least salty per weight of the two Kosher salts) I also over-browned this batch a tad – still getting used to the countertop oven we are using while our gas is shut off. Humm states he cooks it at 350 degrees, but the Times recipe says 300, and when I tried a first batch at 350 it burnt. So stick with 300 degrees, and watch the granola closely while cooking.

Eleven Madison Park Granola (Modified)

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 Cups Rolled Oats
  • 1/2 cup shelled raw pistachios
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut chips, chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp Diamond Kosher salt More or less to taste, but do add some salt.
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup dried sour cherries

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, pistachios, coconut, pumpkin seeds and salt.
  • In a small saucepan set over low heat, warm the sugar, syrup and olive oil until the sugar has just dissolved, then remove from heat. Fold liquids into the mixture of oats, making sure to coat the dry ingredients well.
  • Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and spread granola over it. Bake until dry and lightly golden, watching closely and stirring granola every 10 minutes, for somewhere between 20 and 35 minutes, depending on your oven and desired browning. Granola will still be soft when it's finished, and will crisp up as it cools.
  • Remove granola from oven, and mix into it the dried sour cherries. Allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to a storage container. Makes about 3 cups.

Repurposing My Defunct iPad Mini

I hate Apple.

Everything they make becomes useless over time.

Take my iPad Mini. I purchased it in 2013 so that I’d have an easy-to-carry device to showcase our mammogram decision aid at the MedX Conference, where I had a poster presentation. It’s been rarely used since then. But yesterday, as I was squinting at a movie on my iPhone’s little screen while working out at the gym, and wondering if I needed new readers, I remembered that iPad mini. I could use it at the gym!

When I got home last night, I pulled it from the back of the desk drawer. After charging and resetting it, I was thrilled to see it turn on and even connect to the internet!

And that was about it.

The bluetooth could not find my earbuds. Even after upgrading the OS to the latest version. And other than Safari (pre-installed), no Apps I’ve tried to install are compatible. Not a one. That means no Kindle reader, no Netflix , Hulu or HBO. No Outlook, Gmail, Chrome or Google Docs.

Nothing.

I was ready to throw the damned thing out – correction, recycle it. Then, while making granola today, I was consulting the recipe on my iPhone when my daughter called. As I was switching back and forth between the phone and the NY Times Cooking App, it hit me. As long as I have internet access, I can use the iPad as my recipe screen in the kitchen!

It was easy. I just mounted the iPad with double sided mounting tape on the wall near the stove. I disabled the pass code because there’s nothing on the iPad that I need to protect, and nothing I hate more than that damned pass code. I have an extra-long iPhone charging cord and a nearby outlet, so I won’t even have to take the iPad off the wall to charge it.

The other thing we do in the kitchen is listen to NPR while we cook. Annoyingly, our old battery operated radio is starting to drift off station way too often these days. Happily, both NPR stations we love (WNYC and WHYY) are accessible on Safari and don’t require an App to live stream on an iPad.

I had a great time using the iPad to read the recipe while listening to WNYC and making Madison Park’s Granola. (I’ll post that recipe tomorrow) And I was even able to take a call on my iPhone without having to switch screens!

I still hate Apple, but I love my new wall-mounted kitchen recipe reader and radio.

And I love technology.

Enlightened Cream of Tomato Soup

Warning – The story behind this soup is a long one. A melodrama in three acts as it were.

Act I

It all started with a chicken that I purchased some weeks ago, in order to get a single chicken liver to use in a Bolognese ragu. After removing the liver from the little packet stuffed inside the chicken, I put the neck back in the cavity, put the chicken in the freezer and made the Bolognese.

Act II

Two weeks later, I took the chicken out of the freezer, put it in a pot with some veggies and water and cooked it, giving me a meat to make soft tacos for the a couple of dinners and lunches. And also a gorgeous chicken broth, which I froze to use later.

Chicken Broth and Cooked Chicken

Instructions

  • Wash chicken. Place it in a big soup pot along with chicken neck; an onion studded with 2 cloves and cut in half; a large leek, a large carrot and stalk of celery each cut into thirds; a turnip and parsnip cut into halves; a few sprigs of fresh thyme, and a handful of fresh parsley. Cover it all with cold water and for good luck add a small box of chicken bone broth (optional). Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper, simmer over low heat for a couple of hours till chicken is falling off the bone. Strain the broth, saving the chicken for later use, and refrigerate the broth overnight. De-fat and freeze in 3 cup batches.

All week I wondered what I should make with that broth. Motza ball or chicken noodle soup? Not in the mood for that. Risotto? Too heavy. White bean soup? Nah, not cold enough yet.

Act III

This morning, I sat down to get my costume ready for my friend’s birthday/Halloween bash tonight (sit down dinner, music and dancing). Its a big birthday for him, and I was excited to go. I was also kind of excited about our costume. We were going as a couple of idioms. I planned to tie apples, oranges and bananas from the bottom of my dress (low hanging fruit). Mr TBTAM would be a Catch 22 (No 22 pasted into a baseball glove, go Phils! ). Cute, right?

But first, as requested by our host of his guests, I did a rapid Covid test. And then I did another.

The results? Lets call them equivocal. (Here, see what you think, but know that the line in the pic is fainter than it looked in real life…)

I sent a pic of the results to my daughter, who works as a Covid liaison for the Department of Health, and her friends. It was unanimous – I was “positive”. I then uploaded the pic to the enormous text stream I have with my brothers and sisters and their spouses. They were unanimous. I was “negative”.

I had woken up feeling fine, but now, I was sure that I was starting to feel a little feverish, so I took my temp – normal. I did a third test, a different brand. An unequivocal negative.

What to do?

I think I’m probably negative. But, if I went to the party tonight and I’m an early positive, I’ve exposed a lot of folks to Covid, many of whom are in high risk groups. If I stayed home and I’m truly negative, the only evening that gets ruined is mine. I’d never forgive myself if someone got sick because of me, so I emailed our hosts my deep regrets. And immediately started to feel sorry for myself.

By this time, it was getting close to lunchtime. Mr TBTAM suggested grilled cheese – true comfort food for the woe begotten.

And then I knew what I had to make with the chicken broth. Cream of tomato soup.

But not rich, over buttery, cream-laden tomato soup. Something lighter, but with just a touch of creaminess. I didn’t have time to roast the tomatoes the way Cooks Illustrated and Ina Garten do, and as I will try next time I make this soup, but figured the home made broth more than made up for that. And I was right. The soup was wonderfully light but immensely flavorful.

The cheese sandwiches Mr TBTAM made us were also enlightened, using just and ounce or so of cheese for each, layered with tomatoes, red onion and a little mustard. He did toast them a little too dark, but I’m not complaining.

As we ate our delicious lunch, the warmth of the soup bathed my innards and I began to feel a little less morose. I sent some soup downstairs with Mr TBTAM to give to my daughter, who stopped briefly by on her way to Brooklyn with friends. She had it for her lunch, declared it a success and requested the recipe. That was all I needed to turn it into a great afternoon.

And tonight? Well, after all, it’s game 2 of the World Series, and the Phils won last night.

I think I’ll be fine.

ADDENDUM

Here’s my test from the next day. Unambiguously negative.

Enlightened Cream of Tomato Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 28 oz can San Marzano Tomatoes, chopped
  • 3 cups Chicken Broth Preferably homemade
  • 1 Tsp Sea salt Add more to taste
  • 1 generous pinch saffron threads
  • Ground pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup 2% milk
  • 1/4 cup Half and half

Instructions

  • In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Saute onions, garlic and celery till soft. Add flour and cook a minute. Add tomatoes, both and spices. Simmer uncovered for 40 mins.
  • Remove from heat and puree with immersion blender till smooth. Stir in milk and half and half and return to heat. Heat and serve.

Philly Block Party Lemon Bars

We’ve owned our house in the Fairmount section of Philly for almost three years now, in anticipation of the day when we are ready to trade money for time, give up the daily grind that is the price for life in New York City, and move back home.

Well, I’m here to tell you that day has come.

A little sooner than anticipated.

You see, our landlord has decided to sell our Upper West Side apartment, and is not renewing our lease. Though I adore the apartment (small, but airy and sunny and the nicest kitchen I’ve ever had), we’re not going to try to buy it. Now is not the time to sink any part of our life’s savings into a building whose infrastructure seems to be crumbling around us.

Since we moved in, the hot water supply in the apartment has been anemic and erratic – it takes almost a half hour to heat up the water in the shower in our apartment line. (Old pipes…) Thankfully, our upstairs neighbor gets up earlier than we do, and runs her shower while she’s working out so that by the time we wake up, we can all take a hot morning shower. (I love New Yorkers…)

Four weeks ago, the building failed a Con-Ed inspection and our gas was shut off. (Old gas lines…) That means we have no working stove or oven. And probably will not have for the duration of our lease, which ends in four months.

Don’t feel sorry for me. It’s not the end of the world. We have heat and hot water (as it is). I’m making do for now with a cheap hot plate, but our landlord is getting us a larger countertop burner and oven. (I’m praying it will accommodate a Dutch oven for bread making…)

We’ve taken all this – the hot water, the gas, the unexpected lease non-renewal – as a sign that it’s time to leave. Not just this apartment, but New York City. We’ve been dragging out this goodbye for almost three years, and now it’s time.

Truth be told, I think we needed the push. ‘Cause you know, I do so love New York.

But I also love Philly.

I love the fact that we won’t need to keep working to afford to live there.

I love that I’ll be so close to family. (My sis and I share an alley and my daughter lives a few blocks away and did I tell you she’s engaged???!!!).

I love that I have a little brick row house with a backyard and it’s all my own, on the VERY BEST BLOCK in Philly. It’s a few blocks away from where we lived when we first were married, just around the corner from an amazing coffee shop, a bodega and local grocery, the best Bahn Mi sandwiches sandwiches and burgers I’ve ever eaten, and the great Irish bar with music on Friday nights. A stone’s throw from the Schuykill River and the excellent biking on the river drives. (Although I’m still puzzling out where to store the bikes…)

This past Friday, my daughter, sis and her hubby joined us and our dear out-of-town friends for drinks at our house, which is still sparsely furnished and awaiting our move here early next year. After drinks, we walked a few short blocks for a delicious Italian dinner on an outdoor table bathed by a warm heater. We closed the place after 11 pm, stopping on our walk home to watch the last play of the Phillies-Padres game on the outdoor big screen at the Irish bar. To top off the evening, the Phils won.

Then on Saturday, as If I needed any more convincing to move to Philly, our block had a party. (Didn’t I tell you I live on THE VERY BEST BLOCK in Philly?). The weather was perfect.

They blocked the ends of the street off to cars and set up chairs and tables, a moon jump for the kids and a big screen TV for the game.

There was even a band!

And lots of food.

We contributed our wooden folding table and benches. And I made lemon bars. In my WORKING GAS OVEN.

We met the most interesting, lovely people. Everyone was warm and welcoming. I can’t wait to get to know them all!

At the end of the night, we gathered around the TV to watch the Phils win the game that put them into the World Series. A perfect Philly way to end the day. Or as my sis put it “…watching the Phils’ at a block party? You gotch’er bona fides!”

Philly, I’m coming home.

Lemon Bars

This recipe is from Ina Garten. Be sure to use the correct sized pan (9x13x2in). My pan was small, so the bars were a little too high, though they tasted delicious!

Ingredients

Shortbread Crust

  • 8 ounces Butter At room temperature
  • 2 cups Flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Filling

  • 6 Extra large eggs At room temperature
  • 3 cups Sugar
  • 2 tbsp grated lemon zest (4-6 lemons)
  • 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 cup flour
  • Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
  • Cream the butter and sugar until light. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed and gather into a ball. Press it into a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill for 30 mins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
  • Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
  • Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serve.

Blistered Shishito Peppers

Thanks to my daughter for turning us on to Blistered Shishito Peppers – a simple, fast, delicious and fun appetizer.

The Shishito is mild pepper brought to the US from Japan and now widely available here in the United States. We got ours from Trader Joes, but you can easily grow them in your home garden.

The Shishito pepper likely came to Japan from Spain, where it is called a Padron pepper and is much hotter. It is believed to have mellowed after generations of selective breeding in Japanese soil.

The fastest and most fun way to get to know Shishito is to toss them in a little olive oil,

blister them in a cast iron skillet on the stove top

toss with lime and salt and eat ’em while they’re hot !

Despite its mild Scoville score of 50-200, it’s said that every batch of Shishitos will have at least one really hot pepper. Ours had more than a few hotties. Not that we complained. We like it hot!

Once you’ve mastered the blistered Shishito, don’t stop there. There are many ways to serve these bites of delight beyond just scarfing them down as they come out of the skillet. You can make a Shishito Salsa and serve it with steak. Or serve the blistered peppers atop a Corn and Japanese Curry or with charred cauliflower in a picada sauce. Or simply serve them with a dipping sauce.

As for me, next time I make blistered Shishito peppers I plan to double down on the Japanese – I’ll cook them in sesame oil and toss them with furikake and lime.

Blistered Shishito Peppers

An easy, fast, fun and delicious appetizer.

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces Shishito Peppers
  • 1 scant tbsp olive oil
  • Sea salt Or finishing salt such as Maldon
  • 1/2 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions

  • Rinse peppers then dry them well. Toss with just enough olive oil to coat, without any excess.
  • Heat cast iron skillet on med high heat till hot enough that a drop of water tossed into the pan bounces, sizzles and evaporates. Add peppers, distributing them evenly on the pan. Allow them to sit a few minutes to start to char, then begin turning them one by one so they char evenly on all sides. As they heat up, the peppers will expand and pop. This can be a little scary and cause burns, so avoid the popping by piercing the peppers with a tooth pick or tip of a sharp paring knife as they expand. As they become charred, they will loosen and shrivel down a bit, but should still retain their bright green color in non-charred spots. Remove them one by one as they become perfectly charred and place in serving bowl. The smaller peppers will cook and blister faster than the larger ones.
  • Toss with salt to taste. Serve warm with lime wedges.

Maccheroni alla bolognese

Before there was Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy, there was Regional Italian Cuisine, a cookbook tour of Italy’s regions through its foods and recipes. While Stanley’s show is a light aperitivo, this book is the ten course meal, with recipes for dishes that will make you feel like you’re one of the Famiglia.

Each chapter of Regional Italian Cuisine focuses on a different region of Italy, summarizing in sequential, gorgeous two-page spreads of perfectly balanced text and photos its climate, crops, food specialties, regional events and sights to see. It then follows with short, well-written recipes of dishes native to the region. Every single recipe has an accompanying photograph, and some have photos of the recipe in progress. The recipes presume some knowledge of cooking, but I’ve never found them lacking in needed detail.

I don’t know where or when I bought this gorgeous tome, or when I annotated its regional map of Italy with notes to summarize the foods made there (I’m always prepping for an exam…). I do know that for years, it’s been my go to for all dishes Italian. The book (and it’s update in 2008) is out of print, but available used at a reasonable price.

Craving Ragu Bolognese

Recently, I found myself craving a ragù bolognese and remembering the light bolognese lasagna my friend Fabrizio had served us some years back. Unfortunately, Fabrizio was in Rome and not immediately available to give me his recipe. So I turned to my mainstay Italian reference, where I found a recipe for Maccheroni alla bolognese.

The first thing I noticed was that this Bolognese has no milk or cream, an ingredient that seems to be ubiquitous in most ragù bolognese, including the one officially notarized in 1982 by the Bologna Chamber of Commerce. Nor does it have tomatoes, though tomatoes are offered as a variation for those who just cannot imagine a ragù without them. (I used a small amount of tomato paste). And it has a single chicken liver!

So is this really a Bolognese?

Yes! In fact, it is closer than many to the most famous early recipe for ragù bolognese, published in 1891 by Pellegrino Artusi in his book La Scienza in Cucina e l’Arte di mangiar bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well). The translated recipe is below.

Maccheroni alla Bolognese (Macaroni Bolognese)

For this dish the people of Bologna used a medium-sized pasta called denti di cavallo (horse’s teeth), and I agree that this kind of pasta is best for cooking in this style. … The following proportions are approximate for seasoning 500 grams (a pound) or more of pasta. 150 grams lean veal (better if in fillets.) 50 grams pancetta. 40 grams butter. One quarter of a regular onion. Half a carrot. Two palm-length ribs of white celery or the herb portion of a green celery. Just a little pinch of flour. A little pot of broth. A small amount of salt, depending on the saltiness of the pancetta and broth. Pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Cut the meat into small cubes, chop the pancetta, onion and herbs with a mezzaluna, and put them under the heat with the butter. When the meat has browned add the pinch of flour and broth and continue cooking until it is done.

Drain the pasta thoroughly and toss it with Parmesan cheese and this sauce, which you can make even better by adding some dried mushrooms, or sliced truffle, or a bit of chopped cooked chicken liver. Finally, you can add a half cup of cream to the sauce at the end of the cooking to make it more delicate. In each case, it is best that the macaroni arrive at the table not dry, but bathed in a bit of sauce..

Note that Artusi does suggest adding a half glass of cream at the end of his recipe, but this is only a suggestion and is entirely optional, according to Thomas Gwinner, who published an impressive history of the ragù bolognese.

Let us remember for comparison with later recipes that Artusi uses twelve ingredients and offers three optional ingredients for his ragù bolognese recipe. The twelve ingredients are veal, pancetta, butter, onion, carrot, celery,flour, broth, salt, pepper, nutmeg and Parmesan cheese. The three optional ingredients are dried mushrooms or sliced truffles, chopped cooked chicken liver, and cream.

Gwinner goes on to cite an even earlier related recipe from Alberto Alvisi in the 18th century. that uses chicken gizzard and cinammon, but never mentions milk or cream.

Ragù per li maccheroni appasiciati (Sloppy Macaroni)
Put well-rendered lard, an ounce of butter, a finely chopped onion, and veal, pork loin or even some finely-minced chicken gizzard in a pot, and cook the mixture over high heat until nicely browned. Add the broth little by little along with an ounce of flour to give body to the sauce as it reduces. Be aware that this ragù must be neither too watery nor too thick, but perfectly cooked, and sufficiently flavored with salt, pepper, cinnamon or other spices. The pasta must then be perfectly cooked in meat broth or well-salted water before serving with the above mentioned ragù.

Drain the pasta thoroughly and put it into a large bowl. Add the ragù and give it a stir. It will suffice at least for a first course at lunch. It is essential that the dish be hot and well mixed before bringing it to the table. Please note that in order to give the above mentioned ragù more substance it may be necessary to unify the savory flavors by adding some finely chopped mushrooms or truffles.

Eataly and Lydia Bastianich have published ragù bolognese recipes without milk, so I think I’m in good company with this recipe. And check out Massimo Bottura’s ragù bolognese – not only does he omit the milk, he chops the meat himself ! (Well, his assistant chops it …)

While my recipe uses tubular pasta, these days it is considered traditional to serve ragù bolognese on tagliatelle (preferably homemade). Like Artusi, Bottura cooks his tagliatelle in the same broth he uses in his ragù, and then finishes the pasta off in a pan with the ragù. I think that will be my next iteration of this incredible dish.

Ragù bolognese is not your mama’s spaghetti sauce

It’s a whole different dish, a true meat sauce. Unlike your mama’s tomato sauce, it does not take hours to make and is light yet rich in flavor. You must try it.

Don’t be put off by the clove in this recipe – it’s there, but it’s not. Or the chicken liver – you cannot taste it individually, but it really enriches the flavor. Not to mention that you now you have something to do with the some of the giblets inside that chicken you just bought!

Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Maccheroni alla bolognese

Macaroni with meat sauce, Bologna style (Emilia-Romagna)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound ground beef
  • 1 chicken liver (1 ounce)
  • 2 thick slices bacon, minced (3 ounces)
  • 1 carrot, minced
  • 1 celery stalk, minced
  • 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  • 1 lb Pasta I used pasta al ceppo
  • 1/2 cup beef stock Warmed, plus more to thin the sauce later if need be
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp flour
  • 1 onion
  • 1 whole clove
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Freshly ground nutmeg to taste I used about 1/2 tsp
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste

Instructions

  • Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add carrot, celery and bacon and stir-fry lightly
  • Add ground meat and brown. Dust the meat with flour and add beef stock and tomato paste. Season w salt, pepper and freshly ground nutmeg. Add the clove and bay leaf. Simmer, covered, about 20 mins.
  • In a large pot bring 8 cups of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook al dente.
  • Mince the chicken liver and add to the ground beef. Cook 3-4 mins. Season again with salt and pepper and a pinch of the cayenne. Remove the bay leaf (and the clove if you can find it).
  • Drain the cooked pasta. Plate and top with the meat sauce. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Variation – Peel and seed 11 ounces tomatoes, chop and cook together with the sauce.
Note – If you mistime the pasta and ragu, and the sauce thickens while you’re waiting for the pasta, just add some warmed beef stock or pasta water to thin the sauce out.
 

I was a poet and didn’t know it…

My poem entitled “Then and Now”, written at the height of the Covid Pandemic, has been published in Ascensus, the Weill Cornell Medicine Journal of the Humanities. It’s an in-house publication, started in 2013 and run by medical students to showcase the humanities at our medical school.

I was privileged to give a reading of my poem at the Ascensus 11th edition launch reception last evening. It was a joy to be with so many artistically minded medical colleagues, whose works ranged from poetry to prose, photography, painting and music. A special shout out to Courtney Lee for her moving poem “Hoarder”, to Koianka Tencheva, whose poem “My Dowry” brought tears to my eyes and to med student J Lind , whose emotional song lyrics were backed by some serious geetar playing. (You can find more on Spotify…)

Congrats to the Ascensus editorial team for another great edition of this wonderful journal, and to all my colleagues on their submissions.

THEN AND NOW

Then 
We lived in sweet, willful ignorance.
Nanoscopic particles bent on our destruction existed, surely, 
But attacked predictably, and only once a year
Allowing us to plan and fortify
With protein shields delivered through ethanol swabbed skin.
Few fell
But those who did
Passed within the soft embrace of love
Untainted by fear. 

Then
We lived and moved in shared spaces
Breathing the same air, 
Voicing the same songs,
Touching without fear, 
Hands grasping hands, 
Arms linking arms, 
Lips grazing lips, cheeks, foreheads. 

Then 
We blithely squeezed together in metal tubes beneath the streets,
Lined up tightly in shared anticipation,
Marched shoulder to shoulder on grand boulevards,
Brushed past one another in narrow halls and passages and
Mingled sweat and smell in crowded theaters and packed arenas.

Now
We live in isolation, 
Faces masked and drawn,
Warily walking along emptied streets
Past boarded stores and vacant food halls. 
We line up uneasily,
Pass gingerly,
Stand separately
Love guiltily.

Now 
We live and move in fear
Of this new predator 
And of one another. 
Those among us who fall
(And there are many)
Do so alone
Or at best, 
Watched from afar by faces on blue lit screens,
Witnessed by swathed strangers
Who stroke limp arms through gloved hands 
And whisper words of comfort
That pass between layers of three-ply polymer
And ricochet off polyurethane shields.

Margaret Polaneczky 11/19/20

TBTAM Digest – A Weekly Newsletter from the Blog that Ate Manhattan

I just published the inaugural issue of TBTAM Digest, a weekly substack newsletter from the Blog that Ate Manhattan. Let me help make the internet a little easier to assimilate by sharing what I’ve written and read this week about food, women’s health and other topics.

I’ll be cross-posting it here each week, but encourage you to subscribe !

Blog Post – I Had Lunch at the CIA

This week, I visited the CIA (Culinary Institute of America), where I enjoyed an amazing lunch at Bocuse, their faculty and student run French Restaurant. You can read all about it, plus see pics and an egg video, on my blog.

Health News

  • Hear Her. Over 700 women die from pregnancy-related complications each year in the United States, some because their symptoms were not recognized or heard when they tried to share them. The CDC has launched a campaign to teach women how to recognize the warning signs of pregnancy complications and be heard when they share their concerns with their providers. Just as importantly, the campaign targets healthcare providers, friends and family to listen and trust women when they tell them something is wrong. The personal stories on the site are powerful and memorable. I urge you to visit, learn and listen.
  • My Best Source for Covid News. Ruth Ann Crystal, MD makes it easy to stay up to date on all things Covid with this easy to understand, relevent and timely weekly newsletter. It’s a must-read for both doctors and lay persons.

What I’m Eating or Wanting to Eat

What I’m Watching and Listening to

  • The US and the Holocaust. Ken Burn’s 3 part , 6 hour documentary on PBS about the consequences of America’s unwillingness to open its doors to the desperate people seeking refuge from the Nazis in the years leading up to and during WW II. It’s riveting.
  • The Birds are Heading South about now. This Fresh Air podcast on the Amazing Lives of Migratory Birds is revelatory.

What I’m Reading

  • Savage Beauty – the Life of Edna Saint Vincent Millay. Wow. What a life. What a poet. Did you know she was named after St Vincent’s Hospital in NYC? Had love affairs with both women and men? Was a playwright and actor as well as a poet? And joined in the movement to get Jews into the States in the years leading up to WW II? A hefty read well worth your time.
  • The Secret to Love? Kindness. It’s THE most important predictor of satisfaction and stability in a marriage. Like a muscle, it can be built but takes work to maintain. In other words, exercise kindness towards one another. Sounds just like what my parents (who had a long happy marriage) always told us kids. This article is a must read for all couples out there, so share it with someone you care about if you want to see their marriage succeed.

And that’s it for this week’s newsletter. Feel free to subscribe and share. If you have great links to share, let me know. See you next week!

I Had Lunch at the CIA

Ever since reading Michael Ruhlman’s The Making of a Chef in 2007, I’ve wanted to have a meal at the CIA. No, not that CIA, although I hear they do have a half-decent cafeteria. This CIA is the Culinary Institute of America, one of the world’s finest cooking schools, located in Hyde Park, NY.

Long term readers of this blog may recall that it was Ruhlman’s tales of life at the CIA that led me to my first food blog – Butter Pig – whose author Tom Dowdy had written a diary of his own 3 months at the school. Blown away by what I had discovered, I bought the CIA textbook The Professional Chef, got myself some good knives, read some Harold McGee and began to cook more. Tom’s writing led me to other food blogs, including the Julie/Julia Project, and suffice it to say, life hasn’t been the same since.

This week, my foodie little brother and his wife invited me to join them on their vacation in the Hudson Valley. I knew immediately where we had to go. Hyde Park and the CIA. The only thing available when we made our last minute call for reservations was an early seating for lunch mid week. We took it!

The CIA is one stunning campus. Timeless, ivy-covered brick buildings (one sporting a figurehead of Paul Bocuse, the hero of French nouvelle cuisine), orderly gardens and stunning views of the Hudson River hills, which were still lusciously verdant on the gorgeous late summer day we visited. Chefs and wanna-be chefs dotted the campus in their chef’s hats and whites, walking with purpose or talking to one another animatedly. There is no lounging on the quad on this campus….

The main building houses the CIA’s restaurants, bookstore and classrooms, which we brazenly spied upon through glass windows along a corridor named for Anthony Bourdain.

It also houses the school’s cafeteria, where seeing the rows of students and faculty in the high arched ceiling room led Rachel to proclaim it to be “Hogwarts with chef’s hats”.

I myself was drawn to the pastry kitchens, and it was all I could do to stop myself from wandering inside to sit in on a class.

Our lunch was at The Bocuse Restaurant, a beautifully appointed space with modern architecture, a window into the kitchen, and really great chairs. (I need to find out where to get those chairs…)

Like all CIA’s restaurants, Bocuse is student and faculty run and staffed, and priced accordingly. This makes for an amazing if somewhat uneven food experience. For instance, the french rolls were fabulous – the pale yet crisp crust retained the smoky flavor of the oven and the crumb was light and soft. The duck with pomegranate reduction was proclaimed by Joe to be the most perfectly-cooked he’d ever eaten,

the heirloom tomato salad with whipped feta had the most delicious pickled onion I’d ever tasted,

the just-right cooked egg atop the fresh cappelini first course wiggled delightfully,

and the salmon was perfectly cooked with an amazingly crisp skin and a Meyer Lemon-Caviar Beurre Nantais to die for.

But the blini served with the smoked salmon first course were nothing special (I was dying for a crisp potato pancake), and the dry, flavorless risotto should never have been allowed to leave the kitchen (we left most of it uneaten).

The desserts however, were perfection.

I have to say, I was almost expecting someone to ask me to grade the service provided by the earnest, hard working students who waited on us. After all, I had quite a few suggestions I wanted to share with them. For instance, I’d say, learn a little more about the items on the menu so you don’t have to keep going back to the kitchen to answer our questions. Seeing our empty glasses, offer us another glass of wine before the main course. Ask us if we want coffee with our dessert. Wipe up those crumbs and that bit of cream sauce on my place mat between courses. And never sweep in to grab my plate while I’m still wiping up the Meyer Lemon-Caviar Beurre Nantais with my bread, although I did like the little “Pardon my reach” you said when doing so…

The experience made me consider why we never asked our patients for feedback on our medical students and residents during their training. After all, who better to tell us what we’re doing right or wrong?

But I am really not complaining. I’m lovingly critiquing.

Because if you ask me if I’d go back to eat at the CIA again, the answer would be a resounding yes. Again. And again.

It was such a privilege to be a part of these young folk’s training and to witness their energy, determination and drive to be among the best-trained chefs in the world.

Life in a restaurant kitchen is not easy, and for many, it is not a well-compensated profession. This can make it hard to justify the expense of a high-end culinary school like the CIA. David Lebowitz has a good summary of the pros and cons of a professional culinary education in his post Should You Go to Culinary School? and renowned pastry chef Shuna Lydon lays out a strong case against culinary school education in her blog Eggbeater

I didn’t go to culinary school, I did not own a single knife, I did not know what an ‘all-day’ was. I learned everything on the job. And so can you. Or you can go to school. Or take all that money you would sign over to a school, put it in the bank, and go work for someone whose food you love for free and live on that bank account.

The Covid Pandemic made it apparent that food industry workers are essential workers, and deserve to be compensated as such. This in turn has strengthened the movement to unionize the industry and get folks paid the wages they deserve. I for one hope the union movement continues to garner strength. And I hope the CIA is preparing their graduates well to succeed in this challenging calling.

I wish them all the very best.

Spanish Sofrito and the Mediterranean Diet

Sofrito topped flatbreads

In the largest study of its kind to date, the Mediterranean Diet has trumped a low fat diet in secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The study was conducted in Spain, where participants assigned to the Mediterranean diet received free olive oil. They were also instructed to use sofrito – “a homemade sauce with garlic, onion, aromatic herbs, and tomato slow cooked in olive oil” – in their cooking two or more times a week.

Free Spanish olive oil and Sofrito as a required food group? I’d have moved to Spain to be in that study! But since that never happened, I figured I’d make some Sofrito and find out why it’s front and center in the Mediterranean diet.

What is Sofrito and Why is it So Healthy?

Sofrito is an aromatic mix of herbs and vegetables, a sort of Mirepoix, used as a flavor base and enhancer in Spanish and Caribbean cultures. It’s more a cooking technique than a recipe in and of itself, and it’s where many recipes start. If you’ve made Paella, you’ve made a sofrito.

There are many versions of Sofrito, depending on where it’s being made. A Puerto Rican patient of mine once gave me a jar of her homemade Sofrito, which was a rich, oily cilantro-based delight. (Here’s a recipe for Puerto Rican Sofrito) Dominican Sofrito uses vinegar, and Cuban Sofrito has ham. The Spanish or Mediterranean Sofrito is primarily tomato based, and includes onions, garlic, herbs, peppers and lots of olive oil.

Spanish researchers have analyzed Mediterranean Sofrito, and determined that its heart healthy attributes are derived from an abundance of antioxidants – polyphenols and carotenoids – as well as Vitamin C. Slow cooking the veggies in olive oil allows these bioactive compounds to move into the olive oil, which in turn enhances their bio-availability. The beneficial effect is almost immediate – inflammatory markers decline in the bloodstream after just a single portion of sofrito!

How I’m Using Sofrito

Tuna on Farro with Sofrito and Parsley

It took no more to convince me to start including Sofrito in my diet. I made a simple recipe for Spanish Sofrito, which I served atop some leftover farro and Italian Flott Tuna (My fave canned tuna). It was a delicious, umami-rich lunch! A few days later, we topped a flatbread recipe from Ottolenghi with the rest of the sofrito, and served it alongside his Gigli, Chickpea and Za’atar.

I’ll be making Sofrito again soon and hope to find ways to incorporate it into my diet at least three times a week. Thinking of cooking an egg atop some sofrito, like a shakshukah, or using it to atop broiled fish. If you have ideas or suggestions for using Sofrito in everyday cooking, feel free to comment below.

Spanish Sofrito

This classic sauce is a staple of a heart-healthy Mediterranean Diet. There are lots of different Sofrito recipes out there – all have varying portions of tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, and herbs. This recipe is modified from one I found on the Spruce Eats.
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keyword: Mediterranean diet, Sofrito, Spain, Spanish, Tomatoes

Ingredients

  • 5 tbsp Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Onion Minced
  • 4 cloves Garlic Minced
  • 1 green pepper seeded and minced
  • 14.5 ounces Diced tomatoes
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 tsp Pimenton (Smoked Paprika)
  • 1 tsp Dried oregano
  • 1 Bay Leaf (Optional)

Instructions

  • Place a large heavy-bottom skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Once the oil is warm, add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until only slightly brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onion and peppers, lower the heat and begin to cook them down VERY slowly, stirring occasionally, until the onions are caramelized. This will take about 30 minutes. About halfway through, stir in salt, pepper, pimenton and oregano.
  • Once onions are caramelized, add tomatoes and bay leaf (If using). Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until all the liquid evaporates and the color turns deep red, 25 to 35 minutes more. When everything is caramelized, the oil will begin to separate from the vegetables a bit. Remove the bay leaf.
  • Sofrito can be used immediately, or stored in fridge for a week and up to a year in the freezer.

Olive Oil Flatbread with Spanish Sofrito

This is modified from an Ottolenghi Flatbread recipe.

Ingredients

  • 200 g Bread flour
  • 1 tsp Fast acting Yeast
  • 1 tsp Olive Oil
  • 120 ml Lukewarm Water
  • Grated Parmesan Cheese
  • 1/2 Cup Sofrito

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and yeast. Add 1 tbsp of oil to the water, pour into the flour mixture and combine w a rubber or dough spatula. Transfer to a lightly oiled work surface and, with lightly oiled hands, knead the dough for five minutes, until soft and elastic (add more oil if it starts to stick to the surface). Transfer to a large bowl, cover with a slightly damp, clean tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for about 40 minutes, until nearly doubled in size, then cut into four equal pieces.
  • Warm the sofrito in a small saucepan on the stove. Heat a large baking tray on the middle shelf in a 450 degrees Fahrenheit oven. When it has doubled in size, transfer the four pieces of dough to a lightly oiled work surface and use your hands to stretch each one into a rough circle about 18cm wide and 5mm thin.
  • Remove the hot tray from the oven and quickly put two flatbreads on it, spacing them well apart. Quickly return the tray to the oven and bake for eight minutes, until the dough is golden brown and crisp. Repeat with the remaining dough.
  • Top the flatbreads wtih the warmed sofrito and grate a little Parmesan atop. Serve immediately

Foraged Sumac / Ottolenghi’s Gigli with Chickpeas & Za’atar

I first encountered wild sumac in 2015 in Pennsylvania’s Loyalsock Forest. I’ve foraged for it most summers since, both there

and along the Pine Creek Rail Trail.

This year’s sumac crop was a little disappointing. Despite how much I picked, most of the fruits had worm infestations that limited the amount of usable berries. (Note to self – pick sooner in the season next year…) Still, I got about a cup and a half of dried sumac for my efforts, more than enough for my needs. (If you want to know how to harvest and dry sumac to make the spice, read here.)

I used the fruits of my harvest to to make Za’tar, a Middle Eastern spice mix of sumac, thyme, oregano, salt and sesame seeds.This year, my friend Paula gifted me some dried oregano just around the time I finished drying my sumac, so I used that and discovered that home-grown dried herbs make a superior spice blend! (Duh…)

If you’re looking to use za’atar in cooking, look to the cookbooks of Yotam Ottolenghi, the Israeli-born Brit who has introduced many a home cook to the flavors and spices of the Middle East. (He sells Sumac and a Palestinian Za’atar on his site.)

From Ottolenghi’s cookbook Simple comes this recipe for Gigli Pasta with Chickpeas and Za’atar. Here he uses za’atar as a garnish, which I find is a wonderful way to showcase the individual spices in the mix.

Even if you don’t forage your own sumac, za’atar is not too hard to find in most good grocery stores or online. I urge you to give it a try!

Gigli with Chickpeas and Za’atar

As much as I love this dish as published by Ottolenghi, I’ve made a couple of changes. First, I increased the garlic from 2 to 3 cloves (and may go to 4 cloves next time) and doubled the spinach. I’ve saved some pasta water to thin out the sauce at the end, as it really thickens if you let it sit. And I feel like the dish needs tomatoes to complete it. There are two ways to accomplish this. One is to add tomatoes to the sauce itself or to leftovers the following day. An even better option is to serve the pasta with flatbreads topped with tomato sofrito and garlic, as I’ve done up there. The combo is perfection.

Gigli with Chickpeas & Za’atar

Ottolenghi's recipe for pasta with chickpeas, spinach and za'atar.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keyword: anchovies, Chickpeas, Pasta, sumac, Za’atar

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 10 grams thyme leaves, finely chopped 1/2 cup
  • 7 anchovy filets drained and finely chopped
  • zest of 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • salt and black pepper
  • 2 cans 15.5 oz/480 g chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 2/3 cup chicken broth
  • 7 ounces gigli pasta
  • 100 grams baby spinach leaves
  • 3/4 cup chopped parsley (15 grams)
  • 1 1/2 tsp za'atar
  • 1 small can diced tomatoes (optional)

Instructions

  • Place large saute pan over high heat, All olive oil, then onion, garlic, cumin, thyme, anchovies and lemon peel, 1/2 tsp salt and a good grind of pepper. Fry, stirring often till soft and golden. Decrease heat to med-high, add chickpeas and sugar and fry , stirring occasionally, till chickpeas begin to brown and crisp up. Add chicken stock and lemon juice and simmer 6 mins, till sauce slightly reduced. Remove from heat and hold. (Can make ahead) If you are going to add tomatoes, I would do so along with chicken stock and lemon juice.
  • Boil large pot salted water. Cook pasta for 8 mins till al dente, Drain and set aside. (Save some pasta water if the sauce has gotten too thick, you can thin it a bit.)
  • Stir spinach and parsley into chickpeas, warming it to wilt the spinach if needed. Add pasta to the chickpeas and stir to combine. Divide among 4 plates and srpinkle za'atar atop. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve.

Dorie Greenspan’s Apple Cake ala’ Marie-Hélène

I found the recipe for this delicious Apple Cake on Food52, which features an adorable and informative video of Samantha Seneviratne and her little boy making a modified version of the original recipe, which Dorie Greenspan originally shared on Epicurious. Dorie credits her friend Marie-Hélène Brunet-Lhoste for the recipe, but truth be told, Dorie created this recipe herself, having been given only a few vague instructions from Marie-Hélène.

This cake is mostly apples with a little sweet batter (and a little rum…) holding them together. It’s easy to make, bakes up beautifully, and, reports Dorie, tastes “more comforting with each passing day”, making it a wonderful make-ahead dessert for a dinner party or pot luck.

Dorie’s recipe calls for an 8-inch springform pan, so if you have an 8-inch springform pan, work from her recipe and not mine. Since I only had a 9 inch springform, I adjusted Dorie’s recipe, increasing it 25%, which I learned is the increase in surface area when you move from an 8 to a 9 inch cake pan, and increased the baking time by about 10 minutes. (Thank you, Epicurious! ) I made my cake using gala apples, which tend to hold their shape while baking. Next time, I’ll take Dorie’s advice and mix up apple types, so that some melt into the cake while others hold their form

I used about 1/4 home milled whole wheat flour in this iteration, and plan to try it again with 50% whole wheat, which I read can be done without making any other adjustments to a recipe. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

Marie Helene’s Apple Cake From Dorie Greenspan

Via Epicurious and Food 52 and adapted to a 9inch springform pan.

Ingredients

  • 120 g all purpose flour (I used 100 g all purpose and 20g home milled red spring wheat)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Large pinch salt (Somewhere between 1/16 and 1/8 tsp)
  • 5 large apples (if you can, choose different kinds)
  • 2 1/2 large eggs (62.5 g beaten eggs)
  • 187 grams sugar
  • 4 tablespoons dark rum
  • 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in small bowl.

Peel the apples, cut them off the cores and into 1- to 2-inch chunks.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk till foamy. Pour in the sugar and whisk for a minute or so to blend. Whisk in the rum and vanilla. Whisk in half the flour and when it is incorporated, add half the melted butter, followed by the rest of the flour and the remaining butter, mixing gently after each addition so that you have a smooth, rather thick batter. Fold in the apples so they are evenly coated with batter. Scrape the mix into the pan and make sure it’s even.

Bake on the parchment lined baking sheet in the center of the oven for 60-65 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean; the cake may pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes.

Carefully run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. If you want to remove the cake from the bottom of the spring-form pan, wait until the cake is almost cooled, then carefully run a spatula under and either slide it onto your serving plate, or invert onto parchment paper lined plate and then invert again onto the serving plate. (Mine just slid easily without needing to invert it twice.)

The cake can be served warm or at room temperature, with or without a little softly whipped, barely sweetened heavy cream or a spoonful of ice cream. (We served ice cream)

The cake will keep for about 2 days at room temperature. Dorie advises not to wrap the cake, as it it too moist. Just leave the cake on its plate and press a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper against the cut surfaces. I store mine in a vintage covered cake saver.