Josh Kilmer-Purcell's Blog, page 77

The Avian Flew

 

People often talk about certain designers having “a good eye”.  But this is not really what makes a good designer.  Everyone has an eye for what they think is beautiful or unique.  What differentiates a talented designer is the ability to tell a story through a single object or room.

Finding cohesion in a room (tying all of your favorite things together with a common story) is what will make a room look “designed” as opposed to having merely a collection of things.

In a prior post we talked about using shape as a way to bring a room together. Here we tell a “story” in the same room using a different element. Notice that even though bird motifs play a major role in this room, the story is not too obvious. Sometimes you want a design feature to hit you over the head and stop you in your tracks, and other times, subtlety is the goal

 

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Have a design dilemma? Feel free to ask us in the comments section below. Someone in Beekman world is bound to have a suggestion for you.

2nd Annual President’s Day Meal

Some of you might remember that last Presidents’ Day we started a tradition of creating a dinner from our 1887 “White House Cook Book” to celebrate a holiday that seemingly has no other traditions other than deep discounts on electronics and auto sales. If we’re gonna be honest (and one really shouldn’t lie on Presidents’ Day) last year’s dinner was so uninspired that we wouldn’t have served it to a Vice President. Or even a congressmen.

But, since this nation was founded on perseverance (and a whole lot of lackluster cooking,) we decided to keep up the tradition this year. Except instead of a dinner, we thought we’d try a “Presidential Luncheon.” We had slightly better results, with the notable exception of one disastrous dessert recipe. More on that later…

First, for our main course we chose this:

Doesn’t that sound fun?

“What did you have for lunch today?”

“A chicken Roly-Poly.”

“How was it?”

“Wheeeeee!”

So this is basically  chicken meat rolled up in a very bland dough. It certainly sounds more fun than it is. In fact, we’re going to say Roly-Poly as often as possible in this post to make it seem fun. If you decide to make this Roly-Poly yourself, it’s important to note that the meat should be precooked. Not that the recipe indicates that. Not that the White House Cookbook ever really indicates much of anything helpful. That’s why you have us as your Roly-Poly guinea pigs. (How cute an image is that?!?)

Here’s our mis en place. That’s french for something.

We could already tell by looking at these bland ingredients that pronouncing them in french wasn’t going to make this Roly-Poly taste any more interesting than the recipe foretold. So we added a few things:

Orange zest, chopped parsley and frozen peas from our garden. Looks a little more tempting now, right?

We usually try to mix doughs, and sometimes batters by hand. It’s one of the best ways to learn when the mixture is “right.” You can feel temperature, texture, lumpiness, etc that you can’t determine with a wooden spoon.

When trying to roll out dough in a rectangular form, it’s usually ok to fold over edges while rolling to keep them “square-er.” (That’s french for “more square.”) Once we got it into shape, we sprinkled it with all our ingredients:

 

 

Can you believe that in less than three weeks we’ll be planting peas?!?!? Can-Not-Roly-Freakin’-Poly-Wait.

 

 

Rolling up anything can be nerve-wracking. But this is a pretty stiff dough. Indestructible.

 

Ok. this might not turn out horrible.

We didn’t have a Victorian Steamer to cook our Roly-Poly in. And none of our stove-top veggie or seafood steamers were large enough to accommodate it. So we improvised by setting a roasting pan full of water on the bottom of the oven and preheating it for a really long time at 350F. Lesson learned: stand back when opening the door of an oven filled with steaming water.

Without any kind of wash on this dough (which is really just a recipe for thick paste) it didn’t brown too well in the oven. We should’ve seen that coming. If you decide to attempt a Roly-Poly yourself, use an egg wash on the crust before steaming.

Ok. So for our side dish we decided on this:

Saratoga chips are basically just potato chips. But nobody knew that in 1887 when the White House Cook Book was published. Because they were brand-spankin’ new. They were “invented” in nearby Saratoga, NY by an ornery cook at “Moon’s Lake House” restaurant named George Crum. (He sounds ornery, right?) When a patron sent their potatoes back to the kitchen for being “too thick,” George sliced up some new potatoes as thinly as possible and burnt the hell out of them before sending them back to the customer. Who loved them. As has every other human being who’s ever tried them in all of history since then. No bad deed goes unrewarded.

We decided to make Saratoga Chips to accompany our Roly-Poly because, well, after last year’s White House Cook Book debacle, we wanted to hedge our bets that we wouldn’t go to bed completely starving.

We used some of the last remaining potatoes in the root cellar:

They don’t look horrible, right?

And because no one on this planet actually has the knife skills to make potato chips, we pulled out our Mandoline. That’s french for Mandolin. Which is like a lute. Or a ukelele. Except that it cuts potatoes.

Okay. None of that was true. It’s a vegetable (and occasionally, fingertip) guillotine.

If you have a Mandoline like this, you know that it usually takes a good 10 minutes to remember how it gets put together. But once it is, it’s the MVP of your kitchen. Just try doing this by hand:

We did take the time to do as the “recipe” suggested and shook them in a towel to get rid of excess moisture.

Brent’s grandparents gave him this “Fry-Baby.” Which is a teeny-tiny deep-fryer.  The son of the “Fry-Daddy.” (Is there a “Fry-Grand-Pappy?”) But it’s the only deep fryer we have, and we hate deep-frying on the stove top. So we were forced to make, like, four Saratoga chips at a time.

We sprinkled the chips with coarse salt immediately as they came out of the “Fry-Baby.” They really came out fantastic. As well they should. Have you ever meet a bad potato chip?

We’re gonna post another pic of chips. Because, well, you can’t post just one:

Okay. So here’s where our Presidential luncheon went South. And we had to secede from our initial plans. This was the original dessert we tried making:

We kinda got an idea that it might not work out so well when we realized that this custard recipe contained no egg yolks. We shoulda aborted right then. But we were on a high from the Saratoga Chips. Anything seemed possible in this Roly-Poly world.

It didn’t work. At all. We’ll spare you the process pics. Because the result was horrific. The custard cups deflated and separated completely in the oven. They tasted fine, but, well, here…have a look yourself:

Plan B: a pie.

Pies are always our Plan B.

It’s tough to really mess up a pie.

We picked the most interesting one from the Cook Book. A Lemon Raisin Pie:

We fancied up this recipe a bit too. Because raisins in a crust didn’t sound outstanding. And although the Saratoga Chips were tasty, let’s be honest…potato chips aren’t exactly a breakthrough luncheon idea.

We used half dried gooseberries from our garden and half raisins. We also used a cup of Ice Wine instead of water. We let them soak together for a bit first to get to know each other. We also added a half-teaspoon of cardamom, because we thought it would compliment the wine. And wine is notoriously insecure.

Next time we make this (and it’s the first recipe in the White House Cook Book that we’ve even come close to thinking about taking out on a second date) we’ll let the fruit and liquid soak overnight. The filling was a little too watery going into the crust, which results in a slightly glue-y bottom crust.

Doncha love when a pie crust comes together well?

The pattern on the top has meaning to us. But it’s our little secret. You should totally develop your own pie crust symbolism. It’ll drive your neighbors crazy trying to figure it out. Like a crop circle.

Not bad for not having any thickener. Letting the fruit soak overnight would make it hold together even better.

So here’s our 2nd Annual 1887 White House Cook Book meal.

It wasn’t terrible.

In a Roly-Poly kind of way:

Which President would you invite to a Presidential luncheon at your house?

Spring Awakening

One of the fun parts of retail is creating an inspiring environment so that customers feel a sense of excitement and wonder when they step into the store.  At Beekman 1802, we completely “turn-over” the store about four times a year.

We are now getting ready for gardening season, and this is the last time we’ll merchandise the store before moving into our new location later in the Spring.

In case you can’t make it to Sharon Springs before then, here’s a little tour:

 

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Take a peak around the Garden & Outdoor Living Shop.  Click here

 

5 Beautiful Things

 

Chocolate Cake

For four months – one third of the year – I allow myself to indulge in decadence with little or no restraint. From November 1 until March 1, I go a little overboard with chocolate, which is my one true weakness. Perhaps because there are so many special occasions during this period (from Thanksgiving to Christmas, birthdays to Valentine’s Day) or because bulky sweaters so fashionably and expertly hide the flesh during the winter, I throw all caution to the wind and give in to temptation.

I am especially vulnerable to the seduction of chocolate cake. I just cannot resist thick swirls of dark frosting slathered all over a moist and delicious cake. Set a slice in front of me and it will swiftly disappear.

So, before we have to show skin again, before the beach and the outdoors call on us to trim down and get serious about resisting such sins, I say go for it. Below are five of the most beautiful looking chocolate cakes I have ever seen. In order, they are: Chocolate Guiness Cake, Chocolate Brownie Mousse Cake, Chocolate Orange Cake, Chocolate Beetroot Cake and Traditional Chocolate Cake.

Here is a link to my favourite chocolate cake recipe. I’ve made it several times and it never fails. It is Martha’s, of course, and it is moist and rich but not too heavy. The accompanying frosting recipe is courtesy of Matt Lewis of Baked. Happy sinning!

Cakes courtesy of:

1. Chocolate Guiness Cake: Littleboxbrownie.blogspot.com

2. Chocolate Brownie Mousse Cake: Chasingdelicious.com

3. Chocolate Orange Cake: Dessertsforbreakfast.com

4. Chocolate Beetroot Cake: MowieKay.com

5. Traditional Chocolate Cake: WhatKatieAte.com

Don’t leave a crumb.

Hail to the Cheese

 

“A cheese may disappoint. It may be dull, it may be naive, it may be oversophisticated. Yet it remains, cheese, milk’s leap toward immortality.” —Clifton Fadiman

Forget about Six Degrees of Separation,  now we’re just two degrees away from running the whole country!

We’ve talked about Cooperstown Cheese before, the cheesery where we make Beekman 1802 Blaak. This year as part of the presidential inauguration ceremony, the White House chef chose exceptional artisanal products from throughout the country to serve as part of the inaugural meal.

Cooperstown Cheese’s delicious Jersey Girl received the honor of being served as part of the dessert course.  And get this!  The milk used to make the cheese comes from Stone House Farm in Sharon Springs—the dairy farm owned by Farmer John’s sister and brother-in-law!

We think this gives us a strong enough platform to run for the Presidency.  Right?

 

 

 Bob and Sharon, cheesemakers and owners.

Baking with First Ladies & Friends

Presidents Day. It’s nice that we have a day to celebrate all of the men who have led this country since its inception. But you know what? We’re reminded of past presidents every time we reach for our wallet. Or fly through JFK, Ronald Reagan or G W Bush airport. Or drive by any number of monuments, libraries, and elementary schools.

But there are hardly any reminders of previous First Ladies in our culture, with the possible exception of Dolly Madison Raspberry Zingers and The Betty Ford Center. (Neither of which, hopefully, any of you are reminded of on a daily basis.)

So if Monday is Presidents’ Day, we decided to declare Sunday “First Ladies Day.” And to honor these great women by baking their (reportedly) favorite recipes. Yes, we understand that reducing our great and powerful First Ladies’ memories to the kitchen is horribly sexist. But that’s what we like to do on the weekends. (Baking. Not being sexist.)

Ready to bake:

We invited some good friends up to the farm this weekend to help us bake these First Lady favorite recipes with us. These friends also just happen to be two of America’s best bakers - Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, of “Baked,” along with their partners, Bret and Sven. (Okay, perhaps it’s not a total coincidence that we make friends with awesome bakers. In fact, we highly recommend you take up the same habit.)

You definitely want to have house guests who bring you gifts like these.

You’ve probably seen Matt and Renato on Cooking Channel, or Food Network, or Martha Stewart. Or you’ve seen their great products in Williams-Sonoma. Or you have one of their beautiful cookbooks. Or, if you’re really lucky, you’ve visited their Red Hook Bakery in person.

We made three desserts that we’ll share over this coming week – one by Mary Lincoln, one by Mamie Eisenhower, and one by Rosalynn Carter.

Occupational hazard when baking with other food bloggers: lots of pictures of people taking pictures.

We definitely had mixed results…but also had a lot of fun baking together. And if that’s not a great way to remember these fantastic women, we don’t know what is.

It’s certainly better than staring at a monument or driving over a bridge.

 

Have you ever made a recipe penned by a first lady? Let us know in the comments section.

Barber of the Ville

One of life’s most memorable experiences (for proud parents) is the first haircut.  Now that Josh is a full-time resident in Sharon Springs, we thought it was time to introduce him to the town barbershop.

Keith Mallery is the barber in Sharon Springs.  His father was the town barber before him.  Keith worked in the historic Shaorn Springs bathhouses as a teenager. Now at 81 years old he is as precise with the blades as ever. When he is not running the shop, he is taking care of his wife and his mother who is 104 and has lived in Sharon Springs her entire life!

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Tell us what you love about your town barber or beauty salon in the comments section below

Gartending: Tickled Pink

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Klaus loves winter almost as much as he loves oysters!  This can be construed in many ways.  Either you love winter or you hate it.  In Klaus’s world, this can only mean love- because he is absolutely passionate about oysters!

Recently Klaus received a letter from his father in Germany.  Klaus has been doing a bit of research about his history and contacted who he thought was his father.  Not all gnomes are made in Germany, but Klaus is relieved to learn that he is in fact from a company located in the former East Germany.  Griebel Zwergenmanufaktur Graefenroda is where Klaus pushed his way out of the soil.  Klaus is really an amazing little guy and now he knows who he really is and where he comes from!

Klaus loves B&G Oyster in Boston and visits every time he is in town.  The friendly counter-help know Klaus by now and offer him a fine seat right by the oyster bar where he can watch the action.  Klaus is most interested in the oysters from New England.  The water at this time of the year is highly saline and the oysters are bursting with their liquor.  Liquor?  Klaus loves liquor of all kinds!

Everywhere Klaus goes on his travels he makes new friends.  And now that he is in closer touch with his unique heritage, his story becomes even more interesting to tell!  In the letter Klaus learned that the drinking gnome has not been produced for perhaps one hundred years.   He has to be quite old!  The letter went on to complement his condition for his age- that he may not have been kept outside because his coloration is still vivid and clear, right down to his little ceramic jug of liquor.  Why is this important?

Because Klaus is the Soused Gnome!

During the winter months Klaus’s garden in New Jersey is lying barren, covered in a Vermeer blanket of sugary snow.  Here and there tips of the heartier herbs make their way out of the snow and green up a bit in the sun.  There was some thyme this morning, that wasn’t frost burned, along with some rosemary and lavender.  Do you think that Klaus has a garden inspired drink in mind for this frosty morning?

Somewhere deep inside his little ceramic stomach a thirst is building for these herbs from the garden.   Why should Klaus wait until spring for gar-tending?

Why not right now?

Klaus is quite fond of blood oranges as well as freshly snipped herbs in his winter cocktails.  One of his recent inventions takes the rosemary, thyme and lavender then packages the fragrant herbs in cheesecloth, then submerges them in simple syrup made from Cane sugar for a few hours.  Later in the day, Klaus fishes the little cheesecloth parcel out of the cane sugar syrup and a new flavor element is born.

His blood oranges are juiced, staining the juicing glass a deep red hue.  The Rhum Agricole is added to a shaker along with a bit of the herbal simple syrup, then an application of bitters finish the soon to be shaken ingredients.   The shaker gets some ice and Klaus shakes the shaker back and forth hard, until the contents are well mixed and quite frosty.  Meanwhile, over on the table, Klaus has a couple of Rocks glasses filled with ice and water.  Along with the ice and the water there is a shot or so of Tenneyson Absinthe in each glass.  The Absinthe will stick to the inside of the glass while it cools down.  As Klaus always tells everyone, don’t pour this Absinthe wash down the drain- pour it down your throat!  Why waste good liquor!  Klaus is always so thoughtful.

Klaus is insistent that his ice should be hand cut from a block of filtered water.  Why filtered?  So it remains clear when adding this material to the drink.

One large cube of hand cut ice, the juices, bitters and Rhum Agricole, and a finish of pink grapefruit sparkling natural mineral water from Perrier.  Oh, catch your breath Klaus; you’re soon to be smashed!

 

Louis Pasteur’s Ear cocktail

Ingredients:  (makes two extremely potent cocktails)

1 oz. Tenneyson Absinthe with regular ice and water in each Rocks glass to cool  (then pour into your mouth, not to waste the fine liquor!)

4 oz. Rhum Agricole (Klaus likes JM Rhum or Clement- only the best for Klaus)

4 oz. Blood Orange juice

4 oz. Herbal infused Cane Sugar Syrup- whatever is freshest in a cheesecloth bag submerged in the syrup overnight- then remove the bag and use

4 drops Bitter End Mexican Mole’ Bitters

Hand cut ice from Mavea filtered water (freezes virtually clear)

4 oz. total Perrier Pink Grapefruit Sparkling Natural Mineral Water

 

Preparation:

Add Tenneyson Absinthe, water and ice to a couple Rocks glasses and let sit to cool

Pour out the water, ice and Absinthe into your mouth

Add 1 giant hand cut ice cube

Shake a Boston shaker filled with the Rhum Agricole with the Blood Orange juice and the herbal infused simple syrup.  Add about ¾ with regular ice, then shake for twenty seconds

Strain over the large ice cube and add two drops of the Bitter End Mexican Mole’ Bitters over the top of each glass

Finish with 2 oz. of the Pink Grapefruit Perrier over the top of each glass

Garnish with a Blood Orange slice and watch the fun begin!

Klaus?  Klaus?  Oh, he’s wandered off again.  Looking for a party.

 

Awwww, shucks!

 

 

Be Ours?

Ah…Valentine’s Day in Sharon Springs. Who will be ours?

We snuck around early this morning leaving anonymous Valentine’s Day Cards for our neighboring business owners in the village of Sharon Springs. Each of the Valentines had small “Hello Kitty” temporary tattoos attached.

If you’re shopping around the village this weekend (and if you’re not, why not?) ask all the shopkeepers to show you their tattoo…that way you’ll know if they’ve agreed to be our Valentine. (Fair warning: This is Sharon Springs. We cannot guarantee exactly where that tattoo will be placed on their bodies.)

In the spirit of those terrible puns on your childhood Valentines, we “painted the town Red” on our Valentine’s Day blitz. Check it out:

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Valentines for Margaret

Last year, our good friend Linda gave us a beautiful present – a collection of old Victorian Greeting cards. According to the inscriptions on them, they were the collection of a woman named “Margaret.” We thought today would be a great day to share the Valentines Cards Margaret received with you, and also share a little research we conducted on them with the help of our good friends from Hallmark. (See photos and story from a previous visit to the Hallmark headquarters and archives here.) Hallmark is one of our favorite American companies…any time we have a history question, they research and get back to us the same day. We heart them (Valentine’s pun intended.)

Click through the slide show below to learn more about the Victorian Era greeting cards in our collection. Many many thanks Linda for sharing such a beautiful gift with us, and also to Sharman Roberts, Image Collection Manager, Hallmark Archives, for answering our questions about Margaret’s cards. Please echo our thanks to them in the comments section below.