Milk Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake

This is yet another cake that we served at Jake and Alice's wedding in June.  This is the best cheesecake--made all the better by the mascarpone. 

Chocolate Crust:
1 cup chocolate wafer crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling: 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
6 oz. Milk Chocolate, melted and very warm

 Make Crust: 1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350ºF. Butter bottom and side of a 9-inch springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper round, cut to fit. 2. Place cookies in bowl of food processor and process until finely ground. Add sugar and cocoa and process to blend. Transfer crumbs to medium bowl and stir in melted butter. Press crumbs into bottom of prepared pan and bake for 5 minutes. 3. Place pan on wire rack and cool crust while you prepare filling.

Make Filling: 1. Place cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment; beat on medium speed about until very smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat for about 4 minutes, or until well blended. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour, vanilla, mascarpone cheese, eggs and sour cream until blended. Stir 1 cup of cheese mixture into warm melted chocolate. Stir this mixture into remaining cheese mixture until completely blended. 2. Pour batter into cooled crust and smooth top with an offset spatula. 3. Place pan in a large roasting pan. Place pan on rack in oven and pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up side of springform pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until center is set (but still jiggly) and edges are puffed. Run a paring knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cool cake completely on wire rack. Chill for at least 2 hours before removing springform pan side to serve.

Choosing a Ketubah

My eldest son recently got married, and the ketubah that they signed, along with the rabbi and two witnesses, was very beautiful. It got me thinking about the everyday beauty that can be brought into a household through their religious and traditional beliefs. The ketubah is the historical marriage contract that Jewish law requires a groom to provide for his bride on their wedding day. It is intended to protect the woman, primarily by establishing the man's financial obligations to her in case of divorce or widowhood. She may be seen to be circling him during the ceremony (a tradition that is often seen as sexist, but one of the non-Jewish wedding guests very aptly characterized as the woman proving that she can run circles around her spouse), but the groom has obligations too. These are on display at the wedding, which is why the artistry of the ketubah has evolved. The exact date when the ketubah became a central part of the Jewish marriage ceremony remains unknown. It is a rabbinic institution, not a biblical one, and goes back to Talmudic times (70-500 C.E.). So not 3500 years old, but old non-the less. Old enough to be written in Aramaic. The test of the ketubah is similar, if not the same the world over, but the decoration of it is up to the individuals. This is the ketubah they chose, and I think it is a particularly beautiful one.

The Virtues of Polish Amber

If I were Pablo Neruda I would write on ode to amber. Sadly I lack the succinctness of a poet, and the artistry of the Nobel Prize winner from Peru, so I am working with what I've got, which is a blog post. One of the many wonderful things that I discovered on my recent trip to Eastern Europe (a trip so engrossing for me that I cannot stop writing about it) was amber. The most prevalent color of amber is a warm yellow, but it also comes in green and orange, and it is very pretty. But best of all it is ver light--so you can wear earrings that are a bit bigger than you might otherwise be able to tolerate for an 8 hour day. The Poles not only have mastered the art of amber, they have very attractive jewelry making skills. I bought a necklace and earrings in Krakow, but succombed again in Warsaw because it was so pretty. It is always fun to buy a piece of jewelry on a trip because when you wear it next you remember the place that it comes from, and Poland was a very nice trip indeed.

Green Bean, Red Bean, and Tomato Salad

I know. This is a classic combination. It harkens back to the 1950's, maybe even further back in time than that. But this is no three bean salad out of a jar. You trim the green beans and cook them for 4-5 minutes in boiling water with a little salt. When you drain off the hot water, you run them under icy cold water so they retain their bright green color. Add a can of your favorite bean (red beans, chili beans, whatever you like--but a bean with a creamier consistency, not chick peas), some minced red onions, and as many sliced tomatoes as you want--the proportions depend on individual taste, and just how bountiful a tomato year it is--this is a good year, so lots of tomatoes. Chiffon up whatever herbs you have, at the very least basil and parsley, and toss with a dressing of your choice (my choice was a walnut champagne vinegar with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic-- I don't even bother to mix it, just put equal parts vinegar and oil right onto the salad). Divine....

Allegory of California by Diego Rivera

I was in San Franscisco recently, and was attending a reception at the City Club, which is located in the Stock Exhange building on Sansome. It is a gorgeous Art Deco building with all sort of wonderful decorative details of the era. But the most specatcular--and for me unexpected--thing of all was this fantastic mural by Diego Rivera. He is my favorite muralists and one of the painters who I almost always enjoy his work.

How did this mural come to be there? In it's first life, the room was the lunch room for the Pacific Stock Exchange, which seems an unlikely place for an avowed communist to leave his mark on the United States, but everyone has to earn a living, and in the late 1920's Mexico was not a hospitable place for working artists. Ralph Stackpole, a sculptor, was in charge of the artistry for the Stock Exchange building. Stackpole had become acquainted with Rivera in Paris, and the friendship deepened in 1926 when Stackpole visited Mexico. He greatly admired Rivera's work at the Ministry of Education and at Chapingo, and had bought some of his paintings and taken them home. In 1931, Rivera completed this painting, depicting Califia, and all the bounty of California. Calafia is a fictional warrior queen who ruled over a kingdom of Black women living on the mythical Island of California. The character of Queen Calafia was created by Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo who first introduced her in his popular novel entitled Las sergas de Esplandián (The Adventures of Esplandián), written around 1500. Califia has been depicted as the Spirit of California, and has been the subject of modern-day sculpture, paintings, stories and films; she often figures in the myth of California's origin, symbolizing an untamed and bountiful land prior to European settlement. Something about that appealed to Rivera, and this is the mural to prove it.

Vietnam Restaurant, San Francisco

This restaurant is located on Broadway, just east of Stockton. We were staying near Union Square on a recent trip to San Francisco, and walked through Chinatown midmorning en route to Yuet Lee, an old favorite restaruant. But low and behold, it didn't open until 11:30 and we were there almost an hour before that, too hungry to really wait that long before we had some breakfast. After a quick tour through Yelp on what our newaby options were, we came upon this little Vietnames restaurant. We have been marveling at the new found quality of the Banh Mi sandwiches at a local restaurant at home, and decided that we should try them here. Oh my goodness. Absolutely delcious. It kind of ruined the ones we could get locally for awhile, these were so much better. But the best part was that the two women assembling our sandwiches were fantastic. Two people came in to order while we were waiting, and as they were going through the exact ingredients they wanted in their banh mi, the women weighed in--no, you do not want to skip the pate, that is critical, yes you want cilantro, and so on. We got the sandwich they would prefer to eat, and nothing else. Which was pretty great. We ate sitting on a nearby park bench, watching the Bay to Breakers pariticpants run by, and decided that perhaps we need to spend a month in San Francisco once we retire.

Cabbage Salad with Pancetta Balsamic Dressing

I had some cabbage from the Farmer's market and I wanted to make something a little different with it. I modified this recipe from the Epicurious web site, and it was delicious--it would work without pancetta as well. The dried fruit adds sweetness, the almonds crunch, and the balsamic vinegar adds flavor complexity, so you could add something else to replace the salt and flavor of the pancetta and be vegetarian.

1/2 cup dried fruit (I used craisins, but current or raisins will do)
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
6 cups thinly sliced cabbage (green or red) 
3-ounce thinly sliced pancetta finely chopped
1/4 c. onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup whole almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Place cabbage and dried fruit in a bowl; set aside. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; sauté until brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Add onion to pancetta and drippings in skillet; sauté 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour pancetta mixture over cabbage and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Add almonds and parsley; toss to blend.

Synagogue Building Committees: A Polish Perspective

When I was at a now non-functional but beautifully restored yeshiva in Lublin, Poland, I was struck by this picture on the wall. As long as there have been Jews and buildings they have to build as a community, there have been building committees. Our temple is building a new structure (more precisely, we are renovating an existiing structure--it is going from a fitness center to a place of worship--from Gold's Gym to God's Gym), and the process has been time consuming and largely unrewarding. The tensions are, as you would predict, how to stay within budget and yet get the most beautiful place we can manage. The definition of what is affordable is in the eyes of the beholder, and worse yet, what is inconsequential and what is critical is also open to interpreation. My 'must have' is your 'unaffordable extra'. So when I look at this group of somber men, I imagine what they looked like before they were on the building committee--they are all in shorts and T-shirts, sporting tennis racquets, sipping iced tea and living a care free life. No more. The building committee stole all their youthful optimism and turned it into budget cuts, protracted discussions and architect fees.

Barbarian Nurseries by Hector Tobar

This is a really good book--and deserving of it's place on the New York Times Notable Books of 2011 list (I had been on a streak of reading fiction that I did not feel belonged there, but this ended it). The main, fascinating characters are Araceli and her employers, the perfectionist stay-at-home mother Maureen and her software programmer husband Scott. Scott is a second generation Mexican American who has been living the SoCal dream. He has a family, an enviable house in a good neighborhood and a good job. The problem is that when the economy took a turn downwards, the Torres-Thompson family was caught unawares. They had been living a little above their income, not paying off their credit cards, and employing a gardner, a cook, and a nanny. Suddenly they need to economize. Scott doesn't quite spell out how bad it is to Maureen and Maureen doesn't really know how to juggle financial decisions, and pretty quickly they are in worse shape than when they started to cut back, they are not speaking to each other, they have left the dook in charge of the kids, and unbeknownst to them, neither of them is home. Only Araceli. What happens next is a roller coaster of the life that foreign workers in the US face when one thing sets them off the rails and they have to cope with the political and legal systems as a result. The book is nuanced, filled with striking visual imagery and the deep political rifts that are a real part of America along it's border with Mexico. The Barbarian Nurseries is a must-read, knitting together the wealth and poverty, privilege and furtiveness, fear and joy of living in Southern California today.

Barley Salad with Zucchini, Corn, and Radishes

It is getting to be that time of year when it is impossible to ignore just how much wonderful summer squash there is, but one's ability to whole-heartedly envelope it grilled is starting to wan. It is great that way, but there is so much squash at such a great price, that you really need to eat it several times a week. In addition to breaking out old favorites, I have been trying some new recipes--this is a variation on a salad that I found on a great food blog, 'Big Girls, Small Kitchen'. They have quite a lot of grain based salads that veer away from pasta and potatoes, so well worth exploring their web site!

1 teaspoons salt
1 cup pearl barley
1 cup diced zucchini
1/4 c. finely chopped red onion
2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. adobo from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup corn kernels, cut from the cob or defrosted frozen
1/4 cup sliced radishes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish

In a medium stockpot, bring 2 1/2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Add the barley and reduce to low heat. Simmer, uncovered, for about 45 minutes, until the barley is al dente. If liquid remians, drain the barley in a colander or use the lid of the pot to strain off any excess moisture. Set aside. Meanwhile, bring another small pot of water to boil and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add the diced zucchini and cook for about 2 minutes, until the zucchini is just cooked. Drain in a colander and shock with cold water. Drain again and set aside. In a salad bowl, whisk together the red onion, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, honey, and adobo. Drizzle in the olive oil, whisking as you go, until the dressing is emulsified. Stir in the cumin and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the barley, zucchini, corn, radishes, and cilantro and toss to combine. Taste for seasoning, and serve at room temperature, garnished with the extra cilantro. This can be made up to a day in advance and stored in the fridge. Let come to room temp before serving