50 Women Game Changers in Food - #44 Nigella Lawson - Liptauer Cheese

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...lShe appeared on the scene at a time when celebrity chefs still wore button-down "dress" whites and their cookbooks, for the most part, were formulaic "knit one, purl two" instruction manuals. This photogenic daughter of the British peerage seemingly burst out of nowhere, and, with her famous come-hither grin, convinced us that a lusty appreciation of good food was an acceptable extension of the good life. I speak, of course, of the domestic goddess, Nigella Lawson, who is being featured this week on our on-going series of women on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game Changers in Food. She is a wife, mother, writer and media personality who happens to come from a distinguished and privileged background. Her father was  Chancellor of the Exchequer in Margaret Thatcher's government and her mother, a great beauty, was an heiress with an impeccable background. She attended Oxford where she received a Master's degree in  Medieval and Modern Languages and she went on to become the deputy editor of The Sunday Times. Her love of food led to some cross-over in her writing, and  she began to write a food-column for The Spectator  magazine. She married John Diamond, a broadcaster and fellow journalist while writing for the magazine, and he was instrumental in transforming her appearance and developing her public persona. Her first book, 'How to Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food', was published in 1998 and it was the springboard to her television series 'Nigella Bites.' The show was a huge success and it led to a second book and another series. In 2000, she published her 3rd book, 'How To Be A Domestic Goddess', which was voted Cookery Book of the Year' by the Guild of Food Writers the following year.  While it was a period of professional success,  she lost her mother, sister and  husband to cancer during this time. She took a brief rest and then went on to write 'Forever Summer', 'Feast: Food that Celebrates'  and 'Nigella Express'.  Her books have sold over 3 million copies and she  has continued to appear on television, here, and in Britain.

My favorite Nigella story regards an appearance she made with the heiress Gloria Vanderbilt on an Anderson Cooper show years ago. Vanderbilt is Cooper's mother and I think it is fair to say she did not do a lot of cooking when he was a child. At any rate, she and Nigella were friends and they agreed to appear on the program to do a dry run of the Thanksgiving meal Gloria planned to make for her son. Nigella walked and talked her through stuffing and roasting a turkey and things went swimmingly, save for the fact that Anderson Cooper was so stunned to see his mother in an apron, that he had a fit of giggles he could not control. His mom just beamed. It was a gotcha smile if ever there was one.  I wonder if he got the wish bone that year?

While the food that Nigella Lawson prepares is very approachable, I have yet to come across a recipe that represents a culinary breakthrough. Her food is seductive and nicely done but her books are not places you will find innovation or new techniques. Her recipes are interpretations of food she has eaten and enjoyed and I am fine with that. With that in mind, I wanted to chose a recipe that I had had elsewhere and compare her version to it. I chose Liptauer cheese, a personal favorite of mind. There are many recipes for this wonderful cheese spread and while I really liked Nigella's version on bagels, I prefer  my old stand-by for snacks and appetizers. There are no pitfalls in the recipe below. I hope you will give it a try. Here's Nigella's guide to making Liptauer cheese.

Liptauer Cheese...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Nigella Lawson

Ingredients:
18 ounces cream cheese
2-1/4 cups cottage cheese
4-5 tablespoons capers
8 cornichons, chopped
3 teaspoons paprika
Pinch of salt
Good grating of black pepper
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 teaspoons French mustard
For drizzling over:
1-2 tablespoons flavorless vegetable oil
Fat pinch of paprika

Directions:
Beat the two cheeses together until they are smooth, and then add all the other ingredients. Mix everything together well, and then turn into a small bowl with a capacity of approximately 1 quart, lined with plastic wrap for easier unmolding later. Smooth the top with a spatula and cover with the overhanging plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator to set. I put a couple of cans on top to press it down, but I don't feel it's crucial. I think it's because my mother was always putting pâté and suchlike in the refrigerator with weights on. When it has become cold enough to turn out — a few hours should do it — unwrap the folded-over plastic wrap on top, place a plate over the now uncovered bowl, turn it the other way out and unmold. Pull the plastic wrap off and drizzle over a rust-red ooze, made by mixing the oil with a pinch of paprika. Serve this with bread or poppy-seed-sprinkled bagels, gherkins, and, if you like, some chopped red onions.


The following bloggers are also featuring the recipes of Nigella Lawson today. I hope you'll pay them all a visit. They are great cooks who have wonderful blogs.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan - The Spice Garden
Heather - girlichef, Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades
Mary - One Perfect Bite, Sue - The View from Great Island, Barbara - Movable Feasts
Linda A - There and Back Again, Nancy - Picadillo, Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen, Annie - Most Lovely Things, Jeanette - Healthy Living
Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook, Alyce - More Time at the Table
Kathy - Bakeaway with Me, Martha - Simple Nourished Living, Jill - Saucy Cooks
Sarah - Everything in the Kitchen Sink

Next week we will highlight the career and recipes of Diana Kennedy. It will be really interesting to see what everyone comes up with. If you'd like to join us please email me for additional information no later than Monday, April 23rd.

50 Women Game Changers in Food - #43 April Bloomfield - The Breslin Ricotta Pancakes with Orange Syrup

From the Kitchen of One Perfect Bite...A gastropub is a bar and restaurant that serves high-end beer and food without pretension. Who knew? Certainly not me. I had no idea what a gastropub was until I started looking for information about April Bloomfield. It turns out that she is a Michelin star chef who would have become a police officer had she not missed the application deadline for the academy in her hometown of Birmingham, England. By default, she followed in the footsteps of her sisters who were working in restaurant kitchens. Following graduation from the Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies, she continued her training in some very prestigious kitchens that included Kensington Place, Bibendum, Roscoff and the legendary River Cafe. She came to the United States and worked in the kitchen of Chez Panisse with Alice Waters before opening her own restaurant, a small and casual gastropub, called The Spotted Pig, in New York City. The restaurant features seasonal British and Italian food designed to highlight the simple beauty of fine ingredients. Portion control and elegant or fussy presentations are left to others. The Spotted Pig won a Michelin star in 2005 when April Bloomfield was just 31 years old. She and her partner, Ken Friedman, have since opened two other restaurants, the Breslin and the now defunct John Dory Oyster Bar. She has also written her first cookbook, A Girl and Her Pig , which is a collection of her best recipes complete with backstories that also reveal bits about her life and cooking philosophy. I found a wonderful link to a New Yorker feature about her that's very insightful and well worth reading. Take a peak if you can. She has accomplished a lot for a woman not yet 40 and she has earned her place on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game Changers in Food.

The recipe I've chosen to highlight the  food created and served by April Bloomfield is a brunch entree that is served at the Breslin. This is an outstanding way to begin the day. Each element of the dish, and there are three, is delicious in its own right, but when they are brought together culinary magic occurs. The pancakes are large enough to please Paul Bunyon, though I suggest you  serve them hot  from the griddle. They are light when warm but tend to become heavy and damp as they cool. The ricotta cheese is the perfect creamy topper for them. My favorite element of the three is the orange syrup which is spectacular. I was struck by the balance and restraint of this lovely citrus syrup and I will use it often for other dishes that I cook. This, coincidentally, makes a wonderful topping for those who do not use alcohol in their cooking. I hope that you will try this lovely entree. Here's the recipe.

The Breslin Ricotta Pancakes with Orange Syrup...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of April Bloomfield

Ingredients:

Orange Syrup

1 orange
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Ricotta Topping

1-1/2 cups fresh ricotta
1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean

Pancakes

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fine white cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup fresh ricotta
Vegetable oil, for frying
Toasted almond slices, for serving

Directions:
1) To make syrup: Peel zest from the orange in long strips and julienne. In a saucepan of boiling water, blanch zest for 30 seconds. Drain and repeat. In a saucepan, simmer orange juice, sugar, water and blanched zest until syrupy, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
2) To make ricotta topping: Mix ricotta, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla seeds in a bowl.
3) To make pancakes: Whisk whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda in a large bowl. In another large bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg yolks and ricotta. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. In a large, clean stainless steel bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold them into the batter.
4) To cook: In a large cast-iron skillet, heat a thin film of vegetable oil. Drop in 1/4-cup dollops of batter and cook over moderately high heat, 2 minutes per side, until golden and fluffy. Serve about 3 pancakes per person. Pass the orange syrup, ricotta topping and toasted almonds at the table. Yield: 4 servings.

The following bloggers are also featuring the recipes of April Bloomfield today. I hope you'll pay them all a visit. They are great cooks who have wonderful blogs.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan - The Spice Garden
Heather - girlichef, Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades
Mary - One Perfect Bite, Sue - The View from Great Island, Barbara - Movable Feasts
Linda A - There and Back Again, Nancy - Picadillo, Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen, Annie - Most Lovely Things, Jeanette - Healthy Living
Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook, Alyce - More Time at the Table
Kathy - Bakeaway with Me, Martha - Simple Nourished Living, Jill - Saucy Cooks
Sara - Everything in the Kitchen Sink

Next week we will highlight the career and recipes of Nigella Lawson. It will be really interesting to see what everyone comes up with. If you'd like to join us please email me for additional information no later than Monday, April 16th.