Midsummer's Mayhem
Page 21
My marvelous critique partners have helped me from the very beginning, when I was just planning the menu for this story, so to speak. Together, we have read and listened and agonized and celebrated, and this book wouldn’t exist without them. Thank you, my fellow chefs: Alison Goldberg, Sharon Abra Hanen, Shannon Falkson, and Hayley Barrett. Thanks also to my dear friend Theresa Milstein, who provided a crucial beta read.
To my teachers, in English and otherwise, from when I first started school to the online and in-person classes I’ve taken as an adult: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’ve been shaped by all of you.
Just as Mimi’s family is the heart of Midsummer’s Mayhem, my family is my heart. They are the ingredients and the sauce, the main course and dessert to this story and everything I write.
My parents, Chakravarthy and Kasturi Narasimhan, raised me with love, patience, and delicious food, never limited me in scope or imagination, and taught me to set my sights high and strive for what I wanted.
Lou LaRocca, my best friend since the day we met at age eighteen, is the most wonderful husband and father I could ever have imagined. He is also the hilarious, Shakespeare-loving foodie man of my dreams, the one who sings to me (and with me!) in the car and on the dance floor. His support has made all of this possible.
Our son, Joe, a brilliant student and super-talented musician, always motivates me to tackle new challenges. Unfailingly positive and kind, Joe has taught me about determination and perseverance, and his enthusiasm for my writing means more than I can ever say. Somewhat unbelievably, Joe is not a fan of sweets, but he makes up for this with amazing pasta-making (and -eating) skills.
Our daughter, Mira, is a joyful spark that lights up our lives, and the inspiration for my character Mimi. Mira is talented in uncountable ways, with a sharp wit, gentle humor, and incredible inner strength. She’s a fellow book lover, my baking BFF, and my rock through the ups and downs of writing and publishing this story. She makes me want to be the best writer—and the best person—I can possibly be.
My final thank-you is to the readers of this book. I hope you found Mimi’s story delicious, and I hope it inspires you in your own creations. I hope you dream big, work hard, and reach to make something from your heart, something that in all of the world, only you can do.
BAKING TERMS
Brioche Dessert-like bread made with lots of butter and eggs.
Buttercream Frosting made by beating butter with confectioners’ sugar and other flavorings.
Choux pastry Light pastry dough used to make cream puffs, profiteroles, and éclairs. A mixture of butter, flour, salt, and water is cooked on the stove, then eggs are mixed in one by one.
Clafouti Puffy, pancake-like baked dessert, often flavored with cherries or other fruit.
Cream puff/profiterole Light, hollow pastry filled with whipped cream or pastry cream.
Crème brûlée Dessert of rich custard that is sprinkled with sugar on top, which is then torched to form a thin layer of hard caramel.
Custard Creamy pudding made of milk, sugar, and eggs cooked on the stove.
Macaron Two light cookies made with egg whites, sugar, and ground almonds sandwiching a sweet filling.
Madeleine A small, rich cake, usually baked in a shell-shaped pan.
Meringue Whipped egg whites and sugar, baked until crisp.
Napoleon/mille-feuille Pastry made with three layers of puff pastry sandwiching two layers of pastry cream. The top layer of pastry is often covered in icing or dusted with confectioners’ sugar. In French, mille-feuille literally means “thousand leaves.”
Palmier Flaky, crisp puff pastry in a palm leaf or butterfly shape.
Petit four Bite-size cake, usually covered in fancy icing.
Soufflé Sweet or savory dish made with egg yolks, beaten egg whites, and other flavorings and baked until puffed up. From the French verb meaning “to breathe” or “to puff.”
HERBS AND SPICES
Cardamom Fragrant seeds of the cardamom plant, from green or black pods, used in sweet and savory cooking.
Cayenne Spicy red powder made from ground dried chili peppers.
Five-spice powder Blend of spices, usually fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and peppercorns, often used in Chinese cooking.
Gotu kola South Asian herb, used in Ayurveda (the traditional Hindu practice of medicine using diet, herbs, and yoga) for wound healing and improving memory and intelligence.
Lavender Fragrant blue-purple flower often used in perfumes and cooking.
Saffron Red-orange fragrant dried stigmas of the saffron flower, a purple-colored crocus. The most expensive spice in the world!
Tamarind Sticky brown sour pulp of the tamarind tree.
Turmeric Bright yellow powder made from the boiled, dried, and ground root of the turmeric plant.
Wasabi Pungently spicy green paste made from the Japanese horseradish plant.
INDIAN FOODS
Chapati Indian flatbread usually made with whole wheat flour.
Dal Word used to describe many varieties of dried, split legumes (lentils, peas, and beans).
Ghee Also known as “clarified butter.” Butter that has been melted and had the milk solids removed.
Gulab jamun Popular Indian dessert of deep-fried dumplings made from milk solids and flour and soaked in a rosewater-cardamom syrup.
Kesari bhath Popular dessert from South India, particularly Karnataka, made as a thick grain pudding with semolina, milk, sugar, ghee, cardamom, and saffron.
Kosumbari South Indian salad made with dal and raw vegetables and seasoned with popped black mustard seeds.
Kulfi Dense, creamy Indian ice cream, often flavored with nuts, cardamom, rosewater, or fruit.
RECIPES FROM
MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM
CHOCOLATE-CHUNK THYME COOKIES WITH CITRUS ZEST
Makes approximately 30 cookies
Ingredients
1 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh citrus zest: tangerine, orange, or lemon
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves OR 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1½ sticks butter (12 tablespoons), at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups semisweet chocolate chunks
Directions
1. Combine the sugars, citrus zest, and thyme in the bowl of a stand mixer or another large bowl. Rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and very fragrant. Add the butter, and cream together with the paddle attachment on medium speed until fluffy and pale. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer or beat really well with a spoon or whisk. Add the vanilla extract and eggs and mix well.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Mix on low speed (or with a spoon) until just combined. Add the chocolate chunks and stir in by hand with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl well.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours (and up to 24 hours).
4. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough by the tablespoon and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
5. Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until they are light brown on top. Let them cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
GULAB JAMUN CUPCAKES
Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 egg
2 tablespoon maple syru
p
2 teaspoons rosewater
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
5 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled a little
½ cup plain yogurt
For the Frosting
8 ounces Neufchâtel cheese (low-fat cream cheese)
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
¼ tsp salt
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 teaspoons rosewater
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and cardamom in a bowl and whisk together until well blended.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, maple syrup, rosewater, and lemon juice, then beat in the butter and yogurt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
5. Spoon the batter into the cupcake pan, filling each liner about ¾ full, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden on top and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
6. While cupcakes are baking, combine all frosting ingredients together and beat on medium speed in a mixer with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer, or by hand) until fluffy.
7. Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost using a pastry bag with a fancy tip. Garnish with candied rose petals (see below). Enjoy!
CANDIED ROSE PETALS
Ingredients
About 40 edible rose petals, unsprayed (organic)
2 teaspoons meringue powder
2 tablespoons water
1¼ cups superfine sugar
Directions
1. Mix meringue powder and water and stir well until powder is dissolved.
2. With a clean small paintbrush, paint the front and back of the petals with the meringue solution.
3. Sprinkle the petals with superfine sugar. Place on a sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper and allow them to dry overnight. Use as a sparkly topping for cakes or other desserts.