Sabtu, 21 Januari 2017
Rabu, 07 Desember 2016
DOWNLOAD EPUB All Cakes Considered by Melissa Gray
Melissa Gray is one of those talented people whose voices are never heard, but whose work behind the scenes gets All Things Considered on the radio every weekday. As a producer on the NPR afternoon news magazine, she is part of a team that strives to make the day’s events and other interesting developments both intelligible and listenable for two hours, Monday through Friday. Several million Americans drive home better informed, and possibly smiling, thanks to the show we call ATC. As a host of that show, as one whose voice is heard, I knowingly benefit directly from her newsy smarts and Southern wit; if you are a listener, then you benefit as well, and now you know it.
Melissa’s many gifts include a taste for baking (which is the subject of this book), an ear for radio, and a profound sense of irony. Two examples of that last gift are (1) she prepared for an utterly nonvisual career, producing radio, by going to art school and (2) she asked me to write the foreword to this magisterial work on baking for the office, knowing that I am the rare colleague who does not eat the cake she brings to work. (Avoiding cake between 9:30 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. is one of the few dietary restraints I manage to observe.) In truth, I do not have to eat Melissa’s cakes to appreciate the joy they bring to the staff of our program. For a producer, editor, or booker, partaking of a home-baked Melissa Gray cake every week is a palpable bonus of working on the program, a good thing since real bonuses are precious few and far between. Melissa’s art school training is also in evidence: her cakes look terrific.
In All Cakes Considered, I am delighted to read, at long last, Melissa’s long form writing about her baking projects. Like all of her colleagues, I am already familiar with the short form, the Monday morning e-mail message that describes what is freshly baked, edible, and sitting on the producer’s desk: “I wanted to make up something slightly different. It’s Cinnamon Almond Coffee Cake, using Saigon cinnamon, which is a bit more kicky than regular cinnamon, which is not really regular cinnamon.” “ANOTHER version of the lemon-blueberry swirl that I’ve been working on for two weeks now. Changes this time involve folding meringue into the batter and adding (GASP) a sprinkle of coconut over the blueberry before layering and marbeling. Dig in. And no complaints about the coconut.” “Up front is another attempt at that *&^%$# Cinnamon Almond Coffee Cake.”
These messages leaven the typical traffic of news reports, press releases, and sightings of earrings left in the fourth-floor ladies room that clog our desktop computers. They remind me that people who work together are a potential community, capable of sharing in some of life’s delights without distracting anyone from the tasks of the office. They are, of course, equally capable of being nine-to-five sharp-elbowed, paranoid snipers who steal one another’s ideas and office supplies. Of such colleagues I say, “Let them eat cake, baked according to Melissa Gray’s impressive and dependable recipes.” They will be better human beings.
Mimosa
Makes 4 drinks
A classy, welcoming first drink of the day – a fitting start to Christmas.
¼ cup Grand Marnier
sparkling wine or Champagne
⅔ cup fresh orange juice
Divide the Grand Marnier between 4 champagne flutes. Fill almost to the top with sparkling wine or Champagne and top each glass with about 2 tablespoons orange juice. Serve
Mango Daiquiri
Makes 6 drinks
A tropical cocktail is a great summer drink.
Daiquiris were created in Havana, Cuba – where there is an abundance of
tropical fruit and rum. Here in Australia, there is nothing like the smell of
mango to remind us that Christmas is on its way. Sip the rummy mango through
the finely crushed ice, using a straw or not, and know the festive season is
here.
2 roughly chopped mangoes
½ cup white rum
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime or lemon
juice
4 cups crushed ice
thin slices of lime and mint sprigs
(optional), to garnish
Put everything apart from the garnish in a
blender or food processor and process, scraping down the sides a few times,
until the mixture is very smooth but still frozen.
Pour the mixture into stemmed glasses and
garnish each with a slice of lime and mint if desired.
Sangria
Sangria
Serves 8–10
Outdoor summer parties in Spain always include
big jugs of this fruity, spiced wine punch. You can add seasonal fruit to give
an extra burst of variety and colour – it seems so festive and is the perfect
drink for a summer Christmas.
1 cup water
½ cup sugar
1 stick cinnamon
1 orange
1 lemon
ice cubes
750 ml dry red wine (Spanish, if available)
1 × 1.25 litre bottle soda water
Combine the water, sugar and cinnamon stick in
a saucepan and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the syrup to
cool. Slice the orange and lemon, place them in a bowl and pour the syrup over
the fruit slices. Marinate for at least 4 hours.
Fill a large glass pitcher one-quarter full of
ice. Add the marinated fruit, 1 cup of the syrup and the red wine. Stir well
with a sangria stick or a wooden spoon and add soda water to taste. Serve in
chilled wine glasses.
TIP
Peach slices, strawberries or other fruit
in season may replace the orange and lemon.
Panforte
Makes 2 × 25 cm round cakes
Devotees of panforte, the traditional nut and fruit cake of Siena, Italy, say this recipe is the real thing – it is rich and spicy, as it should be. Small individual ones make wonderful gifts.
250 g blanched almonds
250 g blanched hazelnuts
310 g caster sugar
310 g honey
2 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon mixed spice
750 g dried mixed fruits, using a mixture of currants, raisins and mixed peel
icing sugar, to dust
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lay the almonds and hazelnuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven until golden. Melt the sugar and honey together in a heavy-based saucepan over a gentle heat, then allow to boil until it reaches a temperature of 115°C on a sugar thermometer. Alternatively, test a little mixture in cold water; it should not disintegrate but flatten of its own accord when picked up with the fingers.
Meanwhile, sift the flour and spices into a large bowl and add the toasted nuts and dried fruit.
When the syrup has reached temperature, pour into the bowl and mix quickly and thoroughly together. Tip into 2 × 25 cm cake tins or a tin 28 × 38 cm and 2.5 cm deep (or a little larger than this) which have been lined with baking paper. Pat the mixture into the tins using hands that have been dipped in water.
Bake in a 160°C oven for 45 minutes. Dust liberally with icing sugar and store in airtight containers. Cut into wedges or rectangles to serve. The flavours develop and improve with age.
Rich Chocolate Truffles
Rich
Chocolate Truffles
Makes 18 pieces
Very rich, very moreish and very French – and
shaped into small balls or nuggets to resemble the ‘black diamonds’ French
chefs prize so highly. Once made, they can be finished in a variety of ways and
kept in the refrigerator.
1 tablespoon instant coffee
¼ cup boiling water
250 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
125 g unsalted butter
2–3 tablespoons brandy or rum
cocoa powder, for dusting
In a bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering
water add the instant coffee powder, boiling water and chocolate. Melt,
stirring a little, until the mixture is smooth.
Cut the butter into small pieces and beat into
the chocolate mixture gradually, a little at a time, until all the butter is
thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the brandy or rum, adding enough to suit taste
and chill for at least 3 hours or until firm enough to handle.
Break off pieces of the chilled mixture and
roll into small balls. Place in a dish containing a generous amount of sifted
cocoa powder and shake until the truffles are thoroughly coated. To store,
place truffles in paper or tiny foil cups, arrange in an airtight container and
keep refrigerated.
Variations
for finishing the truffles:
• Roll in coarsely shredded dark or white
chocolate
• Roll gently in toasted desiccated or
shredded coconut
• Roll in praline powder (crushed almond toffee)
• Roll in finely chopped toasted hazelnuts or
almonds
• Stud with pieces of macadamia nut
• Stud with pieces of glacé ginger
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