North, the story of Anne Morrow Lindbergh

We just wanted to send a congratulations to our friends, collaborators, and colleagues Jennifer Schlueter, Christina Ritter, Christopher Roche, and Kal Poole. This weekend they are finishing the run of an original play titled North, about the interaction between Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and Charles Lindbergh. The play was produced under the auspices of Christina and Jen's For/Word Company.

They originally produced the play twice at Ohio State, with myself (Nick) playing Lindbergh in one of the productions. This latest run is the biggest yet, in residence at the American Theater Company in Chicago. It ran since the first weekend in June, and both the Chicago Tribune and Time Out Chicago gave it great reviews (as if we had any doubts!).

It's a fascinating play about these three also-fascinating historic characters, based on their actual writings. We can't wait to see where it goes next! You can see photos of the production on the For/Word website, or a trailer here on YouTube.

Moot Knacks!

There's only one way to find out how they got that name......

Thursday, June 19th @ 8pm, Shanahan Dance Studio--3041 Indianola Ave, Columbus, OH.

Jeni's Ice Cream gets Goosed!

Mark on your calendars, everyone! July Too Many Cooks on July 6th at 3 PM in the North Market Kitchen, 2nd Floor...because it's ICE CREAM TIME with JENI!

The summer is heating up and the only cure is ICE CREAM! For July's Too Many Cooks! we are delighted to host Jeni Britton of Jeni's Ice Creams! A Columbus favorite, Jeni's unique creations have been featured on the Food Network, Food and Wine Magazine and have gained national recognition as some of the best artisan ice cream in the land.
Join us in the North Market Kitchen as Jeni wows us with her culinary expertise: teaching us to make homemade ice cream, enchanting us with a tasting of her artistic flavors (including innovative offerings like Salty Carmel, Thai Chili, Pear Riesling and more!), and fielding a multitude of questions about food, art, and what it's like to have the best three (soon to be four) ice creams shops in Columbus. Don't miss it!

Strawberries & Chocolate!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for Too Many Cooks! last week and thanks again to Libby Glover our Strawberry and Chocolate culinary master. The night was chock full of delicious things as Libby taught us about the many decadent paring of these two delicious treats including some incredible chocolate and strawberry tarts and some beautiful strawberry Napoleons.

To celebrate all the fun we had we thought we'd post some pictures of the event as well as the different recipes we tried so you can enjoy some gourmet goodness in the comforts of your own kitchen!

Make sure to join us for next months Too Many Cooks! where we'll be featuring local ice cream superstar Jeni Britton of Jeni's Ice Cream! Stay tuned to our website for all the details--we hope to see you there!

Strawberry and Chocolate Tarts

Sweet Pastry
Ingredients:

• ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
• pinch of salt
• 6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and sliced
• 1 egg yolks beaten with 2 tbsp iced water

Directions:

• Mix the flour, almond flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter and rub between your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stirring with a large fork, add just enough of the yolk water to evenly moisten the mixture- it should hold together when pressed between your finger and thumb. You may need a bit more water. Gather up the dough and press into a thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 and up to 12 hours.
• Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and rap all over with a rolling pin until malleable. Dust the top of the dough with flour and roll into a 1/8-inch thick round. Fit the dough into a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom, making sure it is snug at the corners. Roll the pin over the pan to cut off the excess dough. Prick the pastry all over with a fork. Refrigerate or freeze the dough lined pan for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Line the pan with a round of baking parchment. Fill the parchment with baking weights or dried beans. Bake 10- 12 minutes until the dough is set. Lift off the paper with the weights and set aside. Continue baking until the crust is golden brown, about 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache filling
Ingredients:

• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, thinly sliced and chilled

Directions:

• Place chocolate in heatproof bowl. Heat cream.
• Pour over chocolate. Whisk chocolate.
• When chocolate has melted, add butter piece by piece until melted. Spread over cooled pastry base, layer with fresh strawberries and refrigerate until tart begins to set.

Strawberry Chocolate Napoleons
(Makes 6)

Tuile (a thin, crisp cookie)
Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 4 egg whites
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup cake flour
• 5 tbsp cocoa powder

Directions:

• In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together on medium high speed. Beat in the egg whites, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla.
• Lower the speed, and add the flour and cocoa powder until just combined. Do not overmix. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Spoon the mix onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread it to make a small flat circle.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven. Allow to sit a few minutes to harden and cool. Store in an airtight container.

Chocolate cream filling:
Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 5 oz bittersweet chocolate
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 30 fresh whole strawberries

Directions:

• While the tuiles are cooling, bring 2 cups of cream to a boil over medium flame.
  
• Place the chocolate in a large bowl and pour the boiling cream over it to melt the chocolate. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and uniform.
• Whip the remaining cream with the sugar using an electric mixer until is forms stiff peaks. Fold the chocolate unto the whipped cream using a rubber spatula. Transfer the chocolate cream to the pastry bag with the ¼ inch tip.
• To assemble the napoleons, place one tuile pastry on a plate, pipe a generous layer of cream in the center, and arrange strawberries around the sides. Place another tuile pastry on top at a 45-degree angle. Serve immediately.

StrawChocolatey Goodness

Hello everyone!

Just a reminder that this Sunday is our June Too Many Cooks! with Libby Glover!

Join us at 7:00pm on the 1st as we explore the love affair between two indulgent, summer favorites: chocolate and strawberries. Prepare your taste buds for Libby's lesson in the art of mingling, marrying and melding this delectable duo.

We hope to see you all there! Check out our website,
www.wildgoosecreative.com, for more details!

Third Thursdays Reminder!

Come join us this Thursday, May 15th, 2008 for the next installment of our monthly event, Third Thursdays. Last month we listened to and discussed a couple songs with music critic, Andy Whitman, and this month we'll enjoy the musical giftings of Pennsylvania native, Kate Meyer. Kate, an opera singer and jazz chanteuse extraordinaire, will share an evening of some of her favorite songs ranging from exquisite arias to swingin' jazz standards.

The fun takes place this Thursday, beginning at 8 p.m. Join us at a new location, Shanahan's Dance studio, located at 3041 Indianola Avenue in Columbus.

Hope to see you there!

Too Many Cooks! Mustard edition.

This past Sunday we explored the art of the world most popular condiment at our mustard-centric Too Many Cooks! It was an exciting evening featuring mustard themed slam poetry, improvised scenes from mustard history, and a mustard infused Shakespeare performance. If that wasn't enough mustard fun we also hosted a delicious mustard tasting and offered a hands on workshop for creating homemade mustard masterpieces!

Needless to say good times were had.

A few random mustard facts from the evening for those of you who couldn't make it:

• Canada produces about 90 percent of the world's supply of mustard seed
• The Mustard Club was formed in England in 1926 to tout the spice's healing qualities through consuming and bathing.
• In one year at New York's Yankee Stadium more than 1,600 gallons plus 2,000,000 individual packets of mustard are consumed.
• Pope John XXII of Avignon (1249-1334) loved mustard so much that he created the post of “Grand Moutardier du Pape” (Mustard-Maker to the Pope), and gave the job to an idle nephew who lived near Dijon.

Next time you're at a get together and they happen to be serving mustard just casually toss out one of those gems. You'll be the highlight of the party. Guaranteed.

Also in case you're wondering how in the heck we taught people to make mustard in the comfort of their own homes here's a simple recipe that will get you started on the road to mustard success.

Ingredients
2tsp mustard flour
2 tsp cool water
1/8 cup mustard seeds (yellow, brown or a delightful mix)
¼ c vinegar (white, apple cider, red wine, balsamic, etc.)
¼ c additional liquid ingredient (wine, beer, water, cranberry juice, etc.)
1tsp salt
Various spices, herbs, extra ingredients (honey, brown sugar, wasabi, Tabasco, etc. Be creative!)

• In a medium sized dish (avoid using aluminum containers as they will react oddly with the mustard) mix mustard flour and water.

• Add mustard seeds, vinegar, other liquids, salt and spices and additional ingredients. Mix well. At this point your mixture will not resemble mustard just yet, it will look very much like seeds floating in liquid. Do not be alarmed, your mustard simple needs time.

• Let sit in an air tight container at room temperature for 5-10 days. The flavors in your mustard will mellow over time. Refrigeration will halt the mellowing process. Mustards containing perishable ingredients should be left un-refrigerated for a shorter amount of time.

• Since mustard’s pungency is caused by a chemical reaction do not be tempted to speed up the process by cooking. Heating your mustard will cause it to lose flavor.

• Once your mustard has achieved the flavor you desire, blend using food processor to reach optimal consistency (a blender works just fine).

• Homemade mustards can be refrigerated up to two months.

Happy mustard making and thanks again to everyone who helped make this event a success!