We Are What We Eat

It's the day before New Years Eve.  In the next day or so,  I will try try to take a moment, look back and take stock of the year...at work, at home, triumphs, disappointments, promises made and promises kept.  If it's been a good year there will also be recollection of memorable meals shared with friends and family.  This year that includes moments spent at Against the Grain where it seems that food is always on everyone's mind...what's new... "are there sun buns in the back because I don't see any in the case.  Oh no, have they already sold out?"

A few days before Christmas, my daughter, Sofia, who works at the bakery, read to me a passage from a book that she was reading, Toujours, Provence by Peter Mayle...she said the passage reminded her of me.  I told her it was one of the nicest gifts that anyone had ever given me.  On Christmas day she gave me a card.

On the inside, in beautiful lettering was the passage...it reminds me not only of the bakery, but more importantly of the people who come and go, of friends, acquaintances and strangers too who come to take home or eat a piece of what Doug and company make there...so I thought I'd share the passage with you...

"there is something about lunch in France that never fails to overcome any small reserves of will power that I possess.  I can sit down, resolved to be moderate, determined to eat and drink lightly, and be there for hours, nursing my wine and still open to temptation.  I don't think it's greed.  I think it's the atmosphere generated by a roomful of people who are totally intent on eating and drinking.  And while they do it, they talk about it; not about politics or business or sports, but about what is on the plate and in the glass.  Sauces are compared, recipes argued over, past meals remembered and future ones planned.  The world and its problems can be dealt with later on, but for the moment, 'la bouffe' takes priority and contentment hangs in the air.  I find it irresistible."

Happy new year to all of you.

Christmas Day - The Nog Blog Continued

Several times this week I heard from readers of this blog concerning my posting of Trickling Springs Egg Nog sold at "The Bakery."   Some were moved to purchase a bottle and give it a try.  Others told me that it had made them think about their parent's or grandparent's egg nog.  One told me she was going to find the recipe and make her grand mother's.  So...yesterday, Christmas Eve, I decided I'd make my father's egg nog. It been at least 20 years since I made it.  (He got the recipe from his grand father, Don [as in the godfather] Jaime Rivera.)
Yesterday was the last market day for the season in Chestertown and I purchased a dozen organic eggs, and later in the day organic milk, cream and half and half...like my friends at Against the Grain, I too believe that fresh, top quality ingredients are essential, in baking, making furniture or egg nog!
This morning, after we opened gifts and ate breakfast, I set myself to work.  I decided to work in my Aunt Nilda's small kitchen.  She passed away 3 years ago and her small cottage sits empty except for the occasional visitor.  I brought some music over, all the ingredients that I needed and for about three hours, at least in my own mind, I communed with my aunt and my father...a nice way to spend a few hours on Christmas...with two people that I greatly admired, loved and miss.
I made enough to give some to a few friends, and just enough to serve with dinner and a last sip (pictured below) as I wrote this posting.  The recipe is below for those who may be interested...maybe next year we should think about the First Annual Chestertown Egg Nog Cook Off.  That might be a fun event to Celebrate the Holiday, bring some different folks to town and spread the spirit of our departed ancestors to a new generation.

By the way, I tried the Trickling Springs Egg Nog with rum and it was much nicer than with brandy...it was smoother and did not overwhelm the dairy products.

Heating milk and separating the yokes 

  

      Egg Nog ready to add rum and pour into glasses

   

Not much left - a bit to inspire these words that I write...

Ortiz Family Egg Nog Recipe

Ingredients:

12 large egg yokes, 1 quart whole milk, 1 pint half and half, 1 pint heavy cream, 1 tablespoon vanilla,  1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup of water, 1 cup granulated sugar, ground fresh nutmeg, run to taste...(I add 1/3 quart of (amber) dark rum...my father's choice was Bacardi Puerto Rican rum.

- Heat the quart of milk in a pot.  When the milk skins over, turn off the flame, carefully remove the skin and cover the pot.

- In a separate larger pot, separate the yokes from the egg white.  Hold the yokes in your hand, pierce the yoke sack and let the yoke drip into the pot, discard the yoke sack.

- Pour the entire contents of the sweetened condensed milk into the pot with the egg yokes and stir until mixed together.

- Pour the hot milk into the larger pot with the stirred yokes and sweetened condensed milk.

- In a very small pot boil the cup of water and then pour in the cup of sugar, stirring to make a simple syrup.  

- Pour the hot simple syrup into the the hot milk, yokes and condensed milk pot - stir with a rubber spatula making sure you mix anything that is on the bottom or sides of the pot.  

- Take a strainer and pour from the large pot, through the strainer and into an even larger pot the milk, yoke, syrup and condensed milk mixture.  

- Stir in the tablespoon of vanilla, pint of half and half and pint of heavy cream.

- Stir in rum to taste - I use 1/3 quart - my father used to pour in the quart.

- Grate fresh nutmeg into the egg nog, to taste (don't over do it)

Pour into a mason jar, grate a bit more nutmeg on top just before you put on the lid, tie on a ribbon and you're done!  Chill in the refrigerator for a few hours or better yet, let it sit around cooling in the refrigerator for a few days.

Yes, there is a lot of cholesterol in this recipe...I know that...I'm not advocating that you drink glasses full...I'm a believer of "all things in moderation" but that very much includes "all things" and for the holidays that includes egg nog!  Bon appetite!  and Merry Christmas to my father and aunt...

The Nog Blog

         To quote a higher authority, "man does not live by bread alone."  So with that in mind let's talk about egg nog.  'Tis the season after all.  No, not the kind you get at your local grocery store...I gave up on that a long time ago and so should you.  But a few weeks ago, while waiting on line to get my morning coffee and croissant, I noticed a new item in the refrigerated case..."Trickling Springs All-Natural Egg Nog"  from Trickling Springs Creamery in Pennsylvania.
           And there it's been for the past few weeks, calling out to me in the morning as I order a small coffee and something small to get the morning off on the right foot...It's been years since I've made my father's home made egg nog recipe (egg yokes, heavy cream, half and half and milk,  simple syrup, sweetened condensed milk, a brandy and rum mixture with a hint of nutmeg.)  At Christmastime I always think of my father making it for his friends when I was a kid.  Then, on Friday, I could not resist any longer... I bought a bottle...

   
           So...I'm here to tell you...this is good stuff.  I've tried it with a bit of brandy and it's very nice.  I hope to try it with some good Puerto Rican rum.  I think this will be a nicer fit as I think that the brandy tended to overwhelm the smoothness of the egg nog...still it was a nice evening treat.  Oh yes, and "un-doctored" - just by itself, it's a nice holiday drink.  I'll post an update (with rum added)  before New Years and lift a glass to those of you who read this...or better yet why don't you try it and post a response to this blog entry!!!
           P.S. thanks to Pam for the title of this posting

Why this Blog

        Several friends have asked me why I'm writing this blog so I thought I'd put those thoughts into a posting.  First of all there is the obvious answer...I grew up a few blocks from "The French Bakery" in NYC and developed a love for French breads and pastries that is equal parts nostalgia, and a love for baguettes, pain au raisin, and plain croissants.  Secondly, I like the challenge of writing this blog...can I write a short entry - can I make it interesting for the reader - make them laugh or at least smile...show them an insight that perhaps they had not considered regarding life at the bakery?
        Perhaps it's the third reason that most interests me...I have been a woodworker/furniture maker for almost 27 years - 25 on my own - www.ortizstudios.com -   I have a great deal of respect for anyone who starts a business.  But this is much more than that.  This is a business, like my own, that manufactures, that makes, that creates what it sells.  This is something special, something that is much rarer than it was a generation or two ago.   And I admire that.  I want to support it...so...this blog.
        It would be enough if it were just about the bread and the pastries...but my sense is that this place is about other things also.  I admire the fact that when I walk in, sometimes, I see Doug or Michael looking through reference books reading up on flours, cakes, recipes.  When I recently saw Doug looking through one I asked what he was reading?  He told me that he is always trying to refine the ingredients of his breads and pastries...trying to make the best products possible.  He was reading up on regional flour makers.
         This place is also, I think, about building community through food...live music gets played here on occasion, baking classes for children, the occasional coffee cupping...Thanksgiving Dinner for friends...photo below.  There's good energy here...besides great breads and pastries...the body is fed but perhaps more importantly, so is the soul.

Good Morning, Chestertown!

   

     There are many things that I enjoy about my morning walk to the bakery.   As I walk the block and a half from my studio I find myself wondering..."who's there this morning?  Will there be 'pain au raisin,' (my favorite - only there on occasion) or will Doug, Michael, Stu or Paul have a new treat to try."
     Just before I get to the corner, if the wind is blowing toward the river, I might be greeted by the sweet aroma of French baguettes in the oven.  I can almost taste the crust.  I walk a few more steps and as I round the corner onto High Street and look to the right...towards the river...if I'm lucky - and if it's late Fall or early Winter - I get to see some beautiful sunrises (pictured above.)  Its just for a moment or two, but on a good day, the whole experience...the walk, the anticipation, the aromas, the sky, entering the bakery and sitting down for 20 minutes to a croissant or pastry and coffee - sometimes with the company of friends or with the morning "paper,"...all this helps me get through the day.
      So here's my best wishes to "the crew" at ATG for the start of a second wonderful year!!!   ...and thank you for being there.

OMG-ATG -HBD

OMG! ATG is one year old today!!!

Doug Hard at Work

Congratulations and thanks 

from all your ATG fans!

Matilda (L) and Kelly (R) at work 7 AM.  

'Tis the Season

           Two years ago, a few days before Thanksgiving, I met a friend of mine, from Baltimore, at Play it Again Sam Cafe here in Chestertown.  It was lunch time, we both wanted coffee but not lunch.  She noticed a sign at the check out announcing "Stollen" baked by "Doug." "Let's buy a Stollen and have that with coffee, she said."   Over the years, like everyone else, I've eaten my share of dried, lifeless holiday baked goods.  I was skeptical but we purchased the holiday fare, asked for a knife and two plates and sat ourselves down.
            We cut two slices, I took a bite and...WOW!!!...this is not what I expected.  Fast forward an hour or so and when we get up to leave, half the stolen had been eaten.  Hay listen, it's the holidays - okay?   Before leaving, we each went back and purchased another to take home with us.

          The easy part is to tell you WHAT Stollen is.  Its a traditional German Christmas sweet bread, with rum soaked dried cranberries, raisins, apricots, candied lemon and orange peel filled with whole almonds, almond paste and a blend of holiday spices.  Lastly, it's dipped in butter and dusted in powdered sugar.                                         Describing Doug's Stollen like that is sort of like describing the Mona Lisa as an oil painting of a woman. ...yes, it's that -  but it's so much more.
           The rum soaked cranberries, raisins, apricots etc. spend at least two and a half months in their bath of 50% rum and 50% sweet syrup.  This is Doug's own recipe.  It makes for a subtler and smoother flavor rather than one that is 100% soaked in rum.  His hope it to eventually be able to soak the fruit for at least 9 months.   The stolen, pictured above wrapped and ready to go weighs a bit when you pick it up.   Yet when I serve myself a piece and begin to eat it, one of the first things I realize is how light the textures and flavors are...with a good cup of coffee or tea, meaningful conversation and good friends...this is truly..."priceless."
            Also I noticed on an announcement at the bakery...available for Thanksgiving..."French Rolls!!!"  Not always on the "menu" but there they are...a nice addition to any holiday meal.

Bon Apetite!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I'll be at home with family, turkey, good bread and Stollen

Let Us Eat Cake!

       There are many ways to categorize people, by nationality, whether they're country folk or city folk or my favorite...whether they are cake people of cookie people?  My daughter, Sofia, is a cookie person.   My son, Daniel,  like me is a cake person.  Since we had a birthday in the family this week I thought, let me ask Doug and Michael if they make birthday cakes...I'm here to announce that yes they do...you need to ask and be sure to give them enough lead time.

     The cake that is pictured here is a chocolate cake (4 laters) with chocolate butter cream icing and a thin raspberry jam spread on each layer.  The slice that I was served had a deep chocolatey taste that I usually associate with heavy cakes.  This one, much to my surprise, was light with the taste of raspberry subtle and a nice complement to the chocolate.  The cake would easily serve 10 to 12.  Beautiful to behold, wonderful to eat and share with friends and family.                                   

     Last night it was cake with coffee...tonight, it's a splash of port wine with a small slice...I may not be at the bakery...but this is just as good when I can enjoy it at home after a long day.  Happy day after your birthday, Pam.  

"After Hours" at ATG

Here are some random, after hours photos of the Bakery, back at the ovens, in the kitchen and mingling with First Wednesday Night's Music with Pamela Cardullo Ortiz and friends.

Here's the View From High Street - Just after Halloween 9 PM

 Miche Man in the Window

Breads of all sizes and shapes and varieties

First Wednesday Night "Crowd" between sets

THE BOYS IN THE BACK

Doug baking bread

Michael preparing to make a quiche

Stu "laminating" dough for croissants

Paul doing what he "does" in the early morning.

When Mother Nature hands you lemons, make lemonade...(or a special egg sandwich!)

So....this is Sultana Down Rigging Weekend and Artworks Studio Tour in Chestertown.  You're expecting several thousand visitors on Saturday to tour ships, visit artists studios, and walk around town on a lovely Fall day.  You plan ahead, place your orders during the week to ensure that you have enough bread, pastries, and food...and then mother nature sends cold winds, drenching rain and the threat of snow...what to do?  Move to "Plan B..."

There won't be Bread at the Farmer's Market today in Chestertown.  The boys will be at the Market in Easton selling out of the truck at the Farmer's Market there.

But here...at the Bakery in Chestertown...Special...for today...
One-Egg Special Sultana Sandwich - with artisan bacon and melted provolone on a country French roll.
As I am writing this, Paul just opened the oven and the sweet aroma of bacon has filled the bakery....and here it is.

So...come by the Bakery, get the special of the day,take home some comfort food for tonight, visit with some friends or meet some new ones.  We'll be here until 2 PM.

Building Community one loaf at a time

I woke up this morning to news of the Euro zone financial crisis threatening to send us all into the abyss...not the calmest way to get the day going.  I got to my studio and walked to the bakery.  There is something very comforting in the short walk, hearing the rustling leaves underfoot, seeing the first rays of the sun rising beyond the Chester River.  Despite the gloomy world news, I feel much less alone seeing the morning "regulars"going about their own ritual...croissant and coffee on the way to work...half a dozen pastries for the office...a baguette for dinner this evening.
In order for a community to feel like a community,  there not only have to be people who value such things but just as importantly, places for those people to see one another, "bump"into each other, say good morning.  I look forward to greeting Matilda behind the counter, Kelley (Doug's mom) juggling between preparing the coffee, and doing paper work...it helps to ground me in a place...in a community.   (As I'm writing this a bus just pulled up with about 15 students on their way to Baltimore - a class from Washington College examining life in the Chesapeake watershed.)  They get it.

I'm hoping to be able to post a video of the "Chestertown Four" when they delivered 90 loaves of bread to "Occupy D.C."  They were well received, got introduced to the assembled people who in turned shared bread, thanks and conversation.  Below is a photo by Robbie Behr of the group as they were loading the two cars that took the bread to DC.  Check out Robbie's blog at http://idiotsbooks.com/

Feeding the multitude with bread

Sofia and Lindsay at the Chestertown Farmer's Market

      Today's post has more to do with the spirit of the bakery than with the bakery itself.  As I am writing this Doug, head baker and owner of Against the Grain; Michael, head pastry Chef; Sofia, my daughter who works at the bakery and Lindsay (of the newly cropped hair) who also works at the bakery, are in Washington D.C....at Mac Phearson Square.  They brought 90 loaves of Miche to the folks gathered at "Occupy DC."
      They loaded up the van at 4 PM (after a full night and day of work) drove to the New Carrolton Metro stop and took the train downtown with their donation to the cause.  More photos and stories when "The Chestertown Four" return.

Doug at the oven

Michael baking a quiche crust

Comfort food for a rainy Wednesday

7 AM and rain, it's still dark out but the lights of the bakery easily cheer me up.  This morning, a different aroma is in the air...I take a moment and guess..."olive oil?"  Doug Rae, head baker confirms it..."olive oil" is being heated in a pan to drizzle on goat cheese pizza and also on a fresh mozzarella, provolone and pepperoni pizza...today's lunchtime pizza special.

Yes, I know this is supposed to be about pastries and bread but there are so many other delectable things that go on here and the olive oil caught my eye - or nose if you will.  Anyway, on a rainy day I need comfort food so it's a Maine Blueberry Muffin and coffee for today, there are more here waiting for you.

What's For Breakfast?

I grew up in Greenwich Village, New York City two blocks away from a little bakery simply called "The French Bakery."  My mother would send my father, brother and I to get French rolls or a baguette on Sunday mornings...the baguettes never made it home in one piece and on occasion they didn't make it home at all...

Fast forward some 40 years and the 21st Century version of "The French Bakery" has opened up on High Street in Chestertown, Maryland...it's been a wait worth waiting for and with any luck I'll be sharing my love for French pastries, breads and good coffee with those of you who want to join me occasionally in the morning to see what "the boys" have been baking, experimenting with and creating in the kitchen...

Stay tuned and bon apetite.