Desserts

Hamantashen

March 10, 2009 by Charles 4 Comments

According to an old Jewish joke, if you put three Jews on a committee, you’ll get four different opinions. . .which is exactly the number of different explanations I found detailing the origins of Hamantashen.

Hamantashen are triangular cookies that are served during the Jewish holiday, Purim. Purim tells the story of how the Jewish people in Persia avoided persecution at the hands of the King’s vizier, Haman. The three-cornered confections, commonly filled with jam or a poppy-seed concoction, owe their shape to Haman’s ear, clipped with shame. Or maybe to his triangular hat, which was the style at the time. Or maybe to his pockets weighted with bribe money. Or maybe to the three Jewish patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In other words, no one really knows.

Even the origins of the word are disputed. One explanation says Hamantashen derives from the Hebrew word “tash” for weakened, so that the word refers to Haman’s defeat. A second source …

Meringues Chantilly

February 22, 2009 by Charles 9 Comments

Meringues are a royal treat. Legend has it that Marie Antoinette loved meringue kisses so much, she often made them herself. So whether you’re making your meringues for the royal family or just your family, this elegant dessert is bound to please.

Meringues are built around sugar and egg whites. But despite this simplicity, there are a number of techniques to making the perfect meringues.

1) Look at your weather forecast. Heavy humidity …

Lady Bird Johnson’s Lemon Bundt Cake

February 17, 2009 by Charles 5 Comments

In 1934, a day after meeting her, Lyndon Johnson, a 26-year old congressional aide, asked Lady Bird Taylor to marry him. A few months later, Taylor yielded to Johnson’s pressure, and the two were married. Sam Rayburn, the Speaker of the House and a long-time friend to Johnson, later told him that marrying Lady Bird was the wisest decision he ever made.

Indeed, Lady Bird Johnson was a quick study. She graduated from high school at the age of 15, and the University of Texas at 20, finishing in the top 10 of her class. She stayed another year at Texas, earning a journalism degree. In 1943, with her husband (now a Congressman) off at war, Johnson used her inheritance to buy a small Austin radio station. In a matter of years, she transformed the debt-ridden radio station into a media empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars. According to one biographer, Lady Bird was the only first lady to have built and sustained a fortune with her own money.

Her business acumen extended into the legislative arena as well. When President Kennedy won Texas in the presidential election, …

Creme Chantilly

February 16, 2009 by Charles 3 Comments

Chantilly, France is a small commune located twenty miles North of Paris. For nearly 200 years, Chantilly belonged to the Princes of Conde, a younger branch of France’s royal family. During that period, the region served as an example of the ascendancy of French art, architecture, and taste. And on the matter of taste, no one exemplified French cooking better than Francois Vatel.

After an apprenticeship as a pastry chef, Vatel began working for Nicolas Fouquet at his Chateau in Vaux-le-Vicomte. Jealous of Fouquet’s displays of wealth and opulence, King Louis XIV jailed Fouquet in 1661. Six years later, Vatel moved to Chantilly, where he worked for Louis II de Bourbon, the Prince of Conde at the time. In 1671, King Louis announced he would be visiting the Prince at his Chateau in Chantilly. The visit required Vatel to prepare three days of meals for six hundred nobles and several thousand other members of the Sun King’s staff. Vatel was given fifteen days to prepare, and barely slept for most of them.

On the first day of his Majesty’s visit, unexpected guests arrived, leaving two tables without meat, plungingVatel into a deep depression….

Michelle Obama’s Shortbread Cookies

January 20, 2009 by Charles Leave a Comment

Today, the Nation welcomed its 44th President. Like most, I had to watch the Inauguration from a distance. But since I could not make the trip to Washington, I decided to see how I might otherwise get a taste of this historic event.

In looking for ideas, I read that the Ritz-Carlton Hotels had decided to forgo putting mints on its guests’ pillows. In place of the mints, the Ritz-Carlton catered to its Inauguration visitors by serving them the First Lady’s Shortbread Cookies. These cookies, …