Dizzy Swallows

Pâte Brisée

June 30th, 2010

This simple flaky crust is essential to the répertoire of any chef, cook or homemaker. It comes together in a breeze and is absolutely divine. I use it for sweet or savory pies, stuffed pastries, tarts, galettes, etc.

For a single 9″-10” round crust
  • 1 heaping cup all-purpose flour (or about 5 oz)
  • 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 Tbsp. sugar (less if your filling is very sweet)
  • 3 Tbsp. chilled water

There are two ways to make this pâte brisée: with a food processor or by hand. If you have a food processor, I highly recommend using it as the dough will come together in under 2 minutes and the results will be a flakier, truer pâte brisée. The less you handle the dough the better, as the heat from your hands will melt all those delightful little pockets of butter that create the

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Deep in the Heart

June 27th, 2010

Texas won me over the moment we hit hill country and saw the meadows of brightly painted wildflowers, cosseted among the oak trees. There is a certain charm for me in the simplicity of this place. It has to be noted that this comes as something of a surprise to my friends in the Northwest who harbor a certain, shall we say, reserve towards Texas. And so, in an effort to dispel stereotypes and bridge the divide, I’d like to share a few snippets from what I have come to love about Texas.

Images from top:
A spring calf nestled down for a nap.
The sunset sky alive with colors from our backyard.
Young fruit peaking out from the leaves of our fig tree.
Flowers so bright they seem saturated by fuchsia paint.
The weathered face of small barn.
Tacodeli in Austin. There are no words to describe its magnificence.… Continue reading

World Cup Banana Bread

June 24th, 2010

I apologize for this brief rant if you are not a soccer fan. Feel free to skip to the second paragraph. I absolutely adore World Cup season: the national pride, the camaraderie, the excuse to go to a bar before 9am. I have shared memorable hours of agony, elation and suspense with friends, family and total strangers. This season, however, has been shaping up rather differently. Each game is fraught with more crap officiating than I have previously had the displeasure to witness. And that include the Seahawks v. Steelers 2006 Super Bowl game. Penalties are called when no intended aggression is seen, while what would at other times draw a card goes on unchecked. But quite clearly the worst of it is the disallowed goals. The USA squeaked by with ours, but today Italy was not so fortunate (case in point: ball comes off Slovakian defender from inside the … Continue reading

Summer with Baloji

June 21st, 2010

I love this new song and video from Baloji (found on his website www.baloji.com). He is a Congolese artist raised in Belgium who weaves his hip-hop style lyrics with more traditional African instrumentals. Crackle “Siku Ya Baadaye” out of some old speakers while sipping a mint julep on your front porch. Happy Summer!… Continue reading

Escapes and Chili

June 20th, 2010 2 Comments

Jacob and I have been settling in nicely, if not altogether gracefully. I have so many mosquito bites, my legs look like a couple of measles victims. If I had any calamine lotion I would take a bath in its glorious pink syrup. And no more outside for kitty until she’s fixed. We don’t need any teenage pregnancies up in hurr. On her last daily romp in the backyard, Sita managed to squirm through a hole in the fence and spent the next 15 minutes taunting me from behind our neighbor’s cabbages. Eventually Jacob took pity on my hand-wringing misery and walked around the block to retrieve her. Our neighbor, an adorable wisp of a white-haired grandmother, offered us a standing invitation for pickled beets.

For the past few weeks, when I’m not nesting down in our new home, I’ve spent the majority of my time finishing out my studio. … Continue reading