A Wild and Crazy Thanksgiving: The Pie Post

I hope you were up to your elbows in some combination of pie crust, cranberries, or stuffing ingredients on Thursday... My apartment was filled with the fixings for two pies: a classic apple pie (which was served with Cabot "Seriously Sharp" cheddar cheese) and a Kramer Books inspired chocolate peanut butter (a.k.a. Goober) pie.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
A big thanks to Elissa F. for the recipe for the chocolate peanut butter pie. It can be found online from Cooks.com.

I made a graham cracker crust from scratch (read: from crushed up graham crackers) which worked well but was maybe a little too crumbly. If you go that route, I would suggest adding a little more butter to the crumb mixture to hold everything together. Lastly, I used chocolate chips as a garnish which was sort of an after thought. To make the presentation a bit more impressive, I would suggest putting a quick chocolate ganache on top of the pie then sprinkling the edges with toasted chopped peanuts. Here is a really basic ganache recipe from my friends at MarthaStewart.com. Lastly, make sure to serve the pie right out of the fridge and use a knife dipped in water to help with the slicing.


Apple Pie
I was inspired to tackle the classic apple pie because of Jodi B. (author of Tasty Touring and fellow graduate of Winston Churchill High School).

Jodi shared a hilarious (and very good) recipe for a pie crust from scratch a few days before Thanksgiving so gave it a go. I followed the directions exactly with the exception of the smoke breaks (which I spent watching reruns of Grey's Anatomy on Lifetime TV). Thanks, Choire S., the crust turned out well! The proportions of butter, salt, sugar, and ice water were the same as the usual Martha Stewart recipe I have used in the past but I really enjoyed the honest, no nonsense approach to the crust creation process featured in this article.

The guts of apple pies are always the same: firm, tart apples, cinnamon, butter, sugar, and some combination of cardamom, allspice, ground cloves, lemon juice and a few pinches of lemon zest.

To make a really good apple pie, I look to advice from both of my grandfathers: filled with thinly and evenly sliced apples and topped with melted, sharp cheddar cheese.

My mom's father loved apple pie served with cheddar cheese. Whenever I see this being suggested or listed on a menu, I always think of him. The savory and sweet combination created when apple pie is served with really sharp cheddar cheese just brings the entire pie experience to a new level. We used Cabot Seriously Sharp cheddar cut into thinish slices and put the whole pie back into the oven before serving it to melt the cheese. Let me tell you, it was GOOD.

My dad's father had expert knife skills. When we used to spend Thanksgiving at his house in New York, I remember not being allowed in the kitchen while he was carving the turkey because it required his full concentration. This skill also extended to the thin and even slicing of apples for "Nana's Apple Cake" (recipe to be featured on another post if/when I get the permission from my grandmother). When people asked for the recipe for the cake, my grandmother would always reply that it came with my grandfather to handle the apple slicing and arranging.

So even though they weren't there, their pie preferences were well represented...

I took over 100 photos at my family's Thanksgiving dinner (before the pies were even served). When I got home and began to edit them, I was really drawn to black and white finishing. Here is a selection of my favorites (including several of Miss Olivia enjoying her first ever Thanksgiving dinner complete with pureed peas). She is such a willing photo subject!

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Leaving my Liberal Bubble

(NOTE: this post contains information that some may find controversial or graphic and generalizations about people from the state of Utah...and I didn't really get a chance to speak to everyone in the state of Utah so this post only reflects my impressions of the few people I met. You are encouraged to read on and learn important information about access to safe, legal abortion care and some good restaurant suggestions in Salt Lake City, UT.)


The other day, I had a realization that I spend about 98% of my time with people that are just like me.

I don't mean "just like me" in terms of religion (although I did just return from a conference composed of 3,000 Reform Jews but that was only a week) or other forms of usual diversity, but I mean that the vast majority of people I interact with on a regular basis are pretty politically progressive. The most heated disagreements we have are about tactics to dissuade Senators from incorporating something similar to the Stupak-Pitts amendment into their version of healthcare reform...or if brunch at Busboys and Poets is better than brunch at Marvin... or if Nail Avenue is an acceptable nail salon (and in case you're wondering, it so is not, in my opinion).

In addition to the fact that I love including seemingly random personal information at the beginning of blog posts, I volunteer this information to illustrate the significance of the following statement...

This weekend, I left my liberal bubble.


In fact, I flew over 2,000 miles and spent the weekend in the middle of a Conservative stronghold also known as Salt Lake City, UT (Fun Fact: Forbes Magazine proclaimed Salt Lake the most vain city in America based on the number of plastic surgeons and their spending habits on cosmetics. Thank you Wikipedia.)

The prospect of my visit to Utah was exciting since I rarely get a chance to travel to states I've never visited before (let alone places where I know absolutely no one). I was met with almost silence when I put out the word that I was looking for restaurant recommendations in Salt Lake (thanks for saving the day, Beth S. and Kirsten S.) and when I landed in this snowy state, I didn't have any local residents to text message announcing that my plane had touched down in their hometown. As my cab drove from the airport to my hotel, I noticed bill boards for gun shows (really) and the very beautiful Mormon Temple in the distance...it was obvious I was no longer in Dupont Circle...alas I arrived at my hotel and was engulfed once again in a sea of liberal activists...some of whom will become abortion providers after they graduate from medical school!

I was in Salt Lake for the 2009 Annual Medical Students for Choice Conference.

The gathering of over 500 medical students from across North America was truly memorable. Did you know that 97% of family practice residents have no experience performing first trimester abortion procedures? I feel like I knew this before I got the conference, but it was not until I was standing among the conference participants in a gigantic and drafty hotel ballroom while learning how to perform an abortion on a papaya that the fact really hit me. For many at the conference, this was the first time they had been exposed to the procedure. I got a little light headed when the local anesthesia options were discussed and demonstrated on our pelvic model papayas and listened as the med students asked clarifying questions.

In addition to the papaya workshop, I ventured out of my hotel for one evening out on "the town." (Quotes are necessary because Salt Lake doesn't really get wild. I was also being carted around in the hotel's airport shuttle--so if you are attempting to picture my wild Saturday night in Utah, please include that in your mental picture.) With the help of my former Planned Parenthood colleague, Kirsten S., I found two memorable establishments: Mrs. Backer's Pastry Shop and The Red Iguana. The latter seemed to be a bit different from many of the non-alcohol serving establishments that populate most of the downtown area (the beer selection was impressive), but I was too full from chocolate chip cookies from Mrs. B's to order a brewsky (and let's be honest--if you have ever met me you know I would choose a cookie over a beer in a second).

My first stop was at Mrs. Backer's Pastry Shop. There is a big sign on the glass at Mrs. B's asking customers not to lean on the glass case as it is "over 70 years old." When you walk in, you sort of feel like you're in someone's living room who never learned the "less is more" decorating adage. I also had a theory that everyone in the shop was keenly aware that I was in town attending the MSFC conference...even though I was sure to remove all conference paraphernalia before getting out of the hotel shuttle. The paranoia really set in when I wanted to begin chatting with the people behind the counter about my visit and where I'm from and ask if they had ever been to the Levain Bakery...but didn't want to blow my "liberal in a very conservative place" cover so I decided to stick to ordering. The cookies I selected were delicious but nothing compared to Levain. I am still curious if Mrs. B or her business associates have ever ventured to that cookie mecca. (W and CP reader Robin T. recently did and e-mailed me to tell about it! How lovely!)

My next stop was the Red Iguana ("home of killer Mexican food" according to their website). The hotel shuttle driver insisted on driving me, so I forced him to take a few cookies to share with his hotel employee colleagues and took several pictures of the Mormon Temple out the window while owning my very tourist identity. I arrived at the restaurant around 6:30 on a Saturday night and was told by my new shuttle driver buddy that there is usually a line out the door and an hour wait. I was prepared for such a wait (armed with several pastries I had purchased at Mrs. B's) but was worried since it was snowing on the night of my visit and as much as I tell people I would prefer to be freezing as opposed to sweating in the swampy conditions that are DC in August, it was REALLY cold in Utah and there is no way I would have been able to stay warm for an hour. Lucky me, food blogger and party of one, there was a table right at the front of the restaurant waiting just for me! All of the tables at Red Iguana are covered in the brightest oilcloth which makes the entire inside of the establishment look so cheerful. So I took my seat and began photographing.

My waitress looked exactly like Kate B. (aka Suburban Sweetheart). And because I was eating dinner alone at a table of four, had just performed a fake abortion on a papaya, and am a person who sometimes talks to people I don't know, I decided to be her friend. I learned three important things from our conversation:

• People in Utah are giving things away for (almost) free. The cost of my entire dinner was $9.47. What? And the four bedroom house that my waitress rents in downtown Salt Lake costs less than 1/2 the cost of my two bedroom apartment in DC.
• The Red Iguana makes a wide selection of moles. As soon as I asked a question about a mole, a whole plate of mole tastes was brought to my table to sample. And they were good--some smoky, some sweet, some very spicy.
  
• Eating dinner alone while photographing my food is getting less and less awkward. Especially when compared to my experience at Melt.
  

I ended up ordering the floutas which were very delicious but not as good as some of the moles I wish I had ordered as part of my main course.
My last unique experience while visiting the Crossroads of the West was an early morning visit to Kinko's. I was shocked that Kinko's was even open on Sunday (the entirety of Salt Lake closes around 9:30 on Saturday night and doesn't really reopen until Monday). The medical students were such eager conference participants that they snatched up all 200 copies of Abortion: A Christian Ethical Perspective and The Continuum of Choice in Sanatana Dharma that I had shipped to the conference from my office in advance. I was desperate and had five more hours of tabling ahead of me.

I wish I could have documented the faces of the Kinko's employees when I presented them with the original documents I needed reproduced. Unlike the bakery interaction, there was no way I could keep my liberal identity a secret. I think the hardest thing about the whole scene was that I didn't even strike up a conversation--I couldn't even disprove the judgments I had made about the people behind the Xerox machines. So their true feelings about my handouts will remain a mystery.

If only I had brought some extra cookies from Mrs. B's to share with them....

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New Deli

Welcome to the third installment in my W and CP Toronto series. You may recall that I had so much great information to tell you about the tasty adventures I took while North of the border that I split what would have been one gigantic post up into several restaurant specific recaps. And in case you don't recall that, I suggest you reread my post on my search for authentic food in Toronto and the pie mecca that is Wanda's Pie in the Sky to set the scene.

On our second night in "the 416," Elissa F. and I decided to try one of Rabbi Aaron L.'s suggestions: Caplansky's Deli.

Let me first tell you that I really love delis.

And I love trying new restaurants, especially in new cities when I get personal recommendations that they are excellent (duh).

But I am pretty cautious when getting excited about a deli prospect for several reasons:

• You see, I grew up about 600 feet from Weissblatt's Deli (which is now called the Celebrity Deli but that is not important). Weissblatt's was no New York Deli, but it was a fantastic option for a hungry Baskin Robbins cake decorator and set the bar pretty high for neighborhood delis (I did not appreciate this fact until I moved into the District).
  
• I once accompanied my grandfather to four (yes, four) delis to select the perfect chopped liver for our Passover Seder (he sampled at least three types of chopped liver at each destination).
  
• And whenever I'm in New York, I make a point to stop at the 2nd Avenue Deli or Zabar's for a deli fix (as the deli selections in DC are admittedly weak--you know I am not messing around because it is rare that I ever make a sweeping generalization about the District).

Alas, the prospect of Caplansky's was quite significant. And according to Aaron L., a native of Montgomery County and ordained Rabbi, Capalansky's is the real thing. In fact, it is owned by Aaron's friend, Zane. The more I learned about Zane Caplansky, the more I knew I needed to visit his hotbed of Jewish culinary delicacies and smoked meat.

So we took the Toronto subway to the neighborhood which houses Caplansky's. We walked through the University of Toronto campus and marveled at the low cost of tuition for higher education in Canada.

Then we arrived.

Caplansky's did not disappoint. It was an extra unique experience as it was a Canadian deli (which basically means that they didn't serve Dr. Browns but did have some other black cherry soda that the waitress told us was "something Jewish"). I was wowed by the borscht (which contained a very large amount of smoked meat and was described by our waitress as "a party in a bowl") and milk chocolate bread pudding. (The only way I can explain how good the bread pudding was is to say that if Caplansky's were in DC, this bread pudding would have been on the W and CP 100th post top 10 desserts list. Thanks to Elissa F. for making this comparison to illustrate the deliciousness.) And the tiny potato latkes that came with my scrambled eggs with lox were crunchy and fantastic too.


The decor was crisp and impressive. The walls are lined with giant photos of Zane and posters with sayings like "Six days to create the world. Fourteen to cure a brisket." Ah, Zane C., such a jokester.


Lastly, Caplansky's is using social media so well! As soon as I returned to my hotel room from this deli field trip, I found Zane on Twitter (@Caplansky) and am now following his deli revival lifestyle in Ontario... A lovely little reminder of my healthcare-for-all/affordable college/excellent-bread-pudding-home-away-from-home also known as the 416.

PS--Here is a fantastic article about Zane C., my new best friend, from the second to last issue of Gourmet Magazine, z"l.*

*of blessed memory

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Wanda's Pie in the Sky

Of all the restaurant recommendations I received for Toronto, I decided to try Wanda's Pie in the Sky first. (If you had a choice of going somewhere that was called Wanda's Pie in the Sky, wouldn't you choose to go there immediately, too?)

I knew they closed at 8:00 and was able to scoot out of the conference around 7:45. While on my way there, at the encouraging of Elissa F., I called Wanda's and told them I was on my way to their shop all the way from DC and kindly asked them to keep their doors open for an extra five minutes so I could get my pie fix. I am not sure if the story actually conveys in blog form but the moments leading up to my arrival at Wanda's were hectic but well worth it.

Wanda's is a pie heaven. The funky little shop is located in a VERY cool part of Toronto called Kensignton Market. Most things were closed by the time I got there (guess other crazy food bloggers from the states were busy calling shops in different neighborhoods persuading them to keep their doors open past closing time). Elissa and I decided on the chocolate peanut butter (as an homage to the Kramer's goober pie) and something cocoa nut. The folks behind the counter were very accommodating to our whirlwind pie acquisition.

We were in and out of Wanda's in about seven minutes. I managed to snap a good number of photos and chatted briefly with the cashier. Apparently, there used to be several Wanda's locations (imagine that!) but they recently decided to consolidate into one bakery and cafe which was the spot we visited. My biggest regret is that we didn't get to take home any of the delicious looking ruggelach prominently featured on the Wanda's website.

We ended up eating the pie several hours later with a pitcher of Alexander Keith's red amber ale at a bar called the Loose Moose. This was the site of the URJ Biennial 20s/30s happy hour. I consulted with Elissa and Rabbi X* and we decided it would only be sort of awkward to break open our pie slices in the bar...which we did and the other 20s and 30s happy hour participants were just a little jealous. I was highly amused while listening to Rabbi X explain to his former rabbinical school classmates why we were sitting in the middle of a bar with a pitcher of beer and two delicious slices of locally made pie ("Emily is a frequent conference goer and business traveler and she also loves pie....").


The chocolate peanut butter was the clear winner. The crust was flaky, chocolate ganache plentiful, and peanut butter mouse was strongly peanut buttery. The top of the pie was lined with toasted chopped peanuts, making the whole experience crunchy, toasty, sweet, and fantastic. I would highly recommend a trip to Wanda's and am grateful to their staff for keeping their doors open so I could meet my chocolate peanut butter pie soul mate north of the border.

And if you want to join me, I'll be back for the ruggelach around 4:00 today...See you at Wanda's!

*This story is true but one name has been changed to protect the identity of a pie/beer consuming spiritual leader.

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Restaurant Recommendation Superheroes

Greetings from my hotel room in downtown Toronto. I am here attending the Union for Reform Judaism Biennial Convention. I am thrilled to be staffing the Religious Coalition's table (and supporting my friend Cara F. who was on the planning team for this momentous event). Come visit, we're #341, right across the aisle from the 37th modern Judaica table and in between the synagogue-data-management and learn-Hebrew-on-your-Mac software booths.

As I'm sure you've figured out my now, I travel quite a bit for work. Sometimes I actually go months without any work travel and other months I am on the road more than I am home. This month is one of those crazy travel months--after I return from Toronto I leave for Utah (for the Medical Students for Choice conference) three days later. Before most trips, I make a point of getting at least a few authentic, local restaurant recommendations so when I have some free time in my destination city I end up dining in somewhere other than TGIFriday's (not that there is anything wrong with Friday's).

Oddly, I had lots of trouble getting any good information about delicious eateries in Toronto. Also, can we spend a moment discussing Toronto? I have only been here two times. Both times I attended very large conferences for more than 3,000 Jews in the same convention center. (In 2005, when I was working at Hillel, I was here for the United Jewish Communities General Assembly, which oddly enough, this year is happening in DC right now. Everyone got lots of chocolate in their conference totes which I think happened because there wasn't a recession going on and it made for a very enjoyable conference tote experience.)

My time here has not afforded me much time to explore the city, but the little contact I've had with life outside the Convention Center has been fascinating. (WARNING: generalizations ahead) I love that everyone has healthcare here. And Canadians seem to be so progressive and polite. I just wish it didn't get so cold. One of the conference volunteers told me that it will be "unseasonably warm" today with a high of 57 (that's 14 degrees Celsius).

Okay back to my search for delicious food in this cold city. So for the week or so leading up to my trip I scoured Yelp and Chow Hound to get a feel for what Toronto is known for. I came up with a few leads but nothing was a clear or overwhelming favorite. I figured I would talk to some locals at the conference and get my answer. (I find this is usually the best route anyway. A restaurant recommendation scribbled on the back of a piece of paper is like gold.) I chatted with several volunteers at the conference and was met with either food apathy or Canadians who didn't live anywhere near Toronto to make suggestions. I was beginning to think that my week with Swine Flu and Tamiflu nausea had permanently altered my food touring karma or completely eliminated my appetite....

Then something significant happened. Although they weren't wearing capes, Laura H. and Aaron L. swooped into the Biennial and saved the day. I know Laura and Aaron from my days working at Hillel. (Aaron happens to be one of those people that Facebook LOVES and whenever I log-on, his status updates are very prominently displayed for me to see. Laura won me over when she came home (to Toronto) for Thanksgiving last year and brought a box of Smarties* for me back to DC.) They stopped by my table and we quickly got to talking restaurants.

Aaron drew me a map of Toronto and tipped me off to his friend Zane's new deli called Caplansky's. (Have we discussed delis recently? Washington is a little sparse on the good delis front so this recommendations was particularly interesting.) Laura seconded the Caplansky's recommendation and also threw out the idea of Wanda's Pie in the Sky into the mix. How could anywhere with a name like that be bad? Laura's list also included a dim sum suggestion (Rol San) and several other Toronto specific sights to see before we left. My search for some Toronto pride and good food suggestions was finally gaining traction.

I've made my way to Wanda's and Caplansky's and Rol San over the span of the last three days. I have too much to say about these adventures to fit them into one readable post so I've decided to break my report up into a few posts. Stay tuned for the yummy details and delicious photos.

*Smarties: You've heard me talk about them before. They are similar to M&Ms, except way better, complete with a significant focus on the candy shell and a much wider color selection. Do not confuse these Smarties for the Smarties found in the US that are tart and not as delicious. I'm stocking up on Smarties while on this trip and will bring you a box if you leave a nice note in the comments section of this post.

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