Chef In Residence, Didi Davis
Deirdre (Didi) Davis is a chef, food writer, cooking school teacher and editor. She began her training in 1972 with world-renowned chef, instructor and food writer Madeleine Kamman, and worked for Ms. Kamman for ten years, teaching in her non-professional and professional cooking school, managing her restaurant in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, and later, working at her cooking school in Annecy, France.
In 1982, Didi and partner Linda Marino opened their own cooking school, Cooking at The French Library, in Boston, Massachusetts. Their school was given a Best of Boston award by Boston Magazine, 1982, and was featured in Bon Appetit magazine.
After starting a family, Didi shifted her focus to writing cookbooks. She authored A Fresh Look at Saucing Foods (nominated for a Julia Child Award), and Side Dishes Creative and Simple. She has also developed and tested recipes, and edited for several cookbooks, including the 1997 revision of Joy of Cooking, the award-winning Zuni Café Cookbook, and the recently published All About Braising.
Didi opened The Payne Street Cooking School in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 2003. Along with the school, she operates Payne Street Provisions, a small collection of artisanal specialty food products.
With a background like this, it's an understatement to say that Didi has a good grasp of how flavors enhance food. Her comments about vanilla certainly exemplify her talent as both chef and instructor. Didi says:
"Vanilla is one of my staples. I love its lingering floral and fruity flavors and its ability to enhance sweet and savory dishes. I am particularly attracted to the depth that vanilla brings to so many foods. Often, you may not know that it is there, but it will smooth flavors, create layers in a dish, and give complexity that is mysterious and full. It is that complexity of depth, taste and aroma that makes cooking with vanilla inspiring (and eating it joyous!)."
FRANCO-AMERICAN MACAROONS
Courtesy of Chef Didi Davis
These cookies are a combination of the French style macaroon, made with ground almonds, and the American style macaroon, made with coconut. I've changed the nut to pecans, which are a dreamy combination with vanilla and coconut. The flavors grow in your mouth and linger pleasingly for a long time. These are small, freeform cookies. If you want to make larger macaroons, use larger spoons and increase the cooking time. If you want more uniform macaroons, use a small ice cream scoop. Store these cookies (if there are any left!) in parchment or wax paper-lined tins. And yes, you may make these with almonds.
Ingredients
2 cups (about 7 ounces) pecans
1/2 cup sugar, preferably vanilla sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup shredded coconut
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet with sides and bake, stirring halfway through, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are toasted and very fragrant. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
Raise the oven temperature to 400°F. Butter a cookie sheet and line with parchment paper.
After a few minutes of cooling time, transfer the pecans to a food processor and process until ground to a fine powder. Add the sugar and salt and pulse to mix. Add the egg whites and vanilla extract and process until smooth. Transfer the dough to a bowl, scraping well with a rubber spatula. Add the coconut to the dough and mix until the coconut is distributed evenly.
Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet, about one inch apart. Bake the macaroons for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are dry, but still soft inside. Let the macaroons cool for 10 minutes then remove the cookies to a cake rack to cool completely. Repeat baking macaroons with the remaining dough.
Makes about 30 small macaroons
CRANBERRY AND VANILLA SYRUP TART
Courtesy of Chef Didi Davis
The provocative aroma of the vanilla envelops the cranberries in this tart-sweet combination. You may serve the tart with a dollop of whipped cream flavored with vanilla and confectioner's sugar or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. For the pastry, if you do not have cake flour in your cupboard, use one cup of all-purpose flour instead. For the filling, if you cannot find fresh cranberries, use one bag (12 ounces) of frozen berries straight from the freezer. In fact, buy several bags of cranberries when in season and freeze them for use throughout the winter months.
Ingredients
Pastry Crust
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons sugar, preferably vanilla sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
2 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons ice water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vanilla Syrup Tart
1 cup water
1 cup sugar, preferably vanilla sugar
A few drops lemon juice
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
A pinch of salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 bag (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
Vanilla whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving, optional
Instructions
To make the pastry crust, place the flour, cake flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut the butter into pieces the size of a tablespoon and add to the bowl. Toss to coat the butter with the flour and work the mixture to a coarse meal using a fork, pastry blender, or your fingers. Add the ice water and vanilla extract and work to form a loose ball. Flatten the dough into a cake, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. The dough may look a little ragged, but it will come together when rolled out.
While the pastry chills, make the vanilla syrup. Place the water, sugar, and lemon juice in a 2-quart saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add to the pan along with the bean. Bring to a boil over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally. Do not stir the syrup while it is cooking or the sugar may re-crystalize, but you may swirl it in the pan. Once the syrup has boiled, lower the heat and simmer the syrup for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Add the salt and vanilla extract and swirl in. The syrup may sputter a little. Add the cranberries and stir to coat the berries with the syrup. Once you have added the cranberries, it is fine to stir the syrup. If you are using frozen cranberries and they harden in the syrup, don't worry, they will loosen up as they wait for the pastry to be rolled out. Set the pan aside.
Butter a 9- or 10-inch quiche or pie pan. Roll out the chilled dough into a circle about one inch larger than the pie pan. Fold the dough into quarters, transfer to the pie pan, unfold the dough, and fit it into the pie pan using the back of your hands and press the dough into the corners with the back of your index finger. Press the dough into the sides of the pan and trim the edges. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes to rest the dough.
While the dough rests, preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the pastry shell from the refrigerator. Stir the reserved cranberry-vanilla mixture, including the vanilla beans, and pour into the pastry shell, scraping all the syrup out with a rubber spatula. Bake the tart on the center rack in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is soft and juicy. Transfer to a rack, remove and discard the vanilla beans, and cool the tart to room temperature. Serve in wedges either alone or with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream or ice cream.
Serves 6 to 8
Variations
*In the spring and summer months, make this tart with rhubarb, nectarines, or tart plums.
*Add 6 ounces of milk chocolate, broken into small squares, to the tart before baking.
VANILLA-SCENTED PEAR AND RASPBERRY RELISH
Courtesy of Chef Didi Davis
This relish is a remarkable union of chunky pears, whole raspberries and fragrant vanilla. The vanilla adds a deep layer of flavor, while it bridges and connects the pears and raspberries. The raspberries are added after the pears have cooked and cooled a bit so they maintain their shape, yet the warmth of the relish is just enough to extract some of their juice to give the dish a lovely rose hue. The raspberry vinegar adds a welcome note of tartness. Bosc pears are best because they hold their shape when cooked. If not available, try Forelle or Anjou, but make sure they are under-ripe. Serve with all types of pork dishes, chicken, duck, hamburgers or turkey burgers. Try it with a rich fish such as salmon or bluefish. It makes a refreshing side dish with meat or poultry sandwiches and it's delicious on yogurt. The relish keeps well for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
2 medium to large Bosc pears, slightly under ripe, quartered, peeled and cored, and irregularly chopped
1/3 cup sugar, preferably vanilla sugar
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pint fresh raspberries (about 1-1/4 cups)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Place the pears, sugar, vinegar, water, and salt in a heavy, 2-quart, non-reactive saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until the relish thickens, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes depending on the amount of juice and the ripeness of the pears.
Transfer the relish to a medium bowl and cool to lukewarm. Add the raspberries and vanilla and stir to mix well. Allow the relish to cool to room temperature, gently stirring occasionally. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serve cold.
Makes 3 to 4 cups
VANILLA FLAVORED BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE WITH FRESH PINEAPPLE
Courtesy of Chef Didi Davis
Classic butterscotch candy is made with butter, brown sugar, and flavored with lemon juice. Butterscotch sauce is an American dessert topping with the flavors of butterscotch candy. Vanilla and brown sugar are a knockout combination, so I have reduced the lemon flavoring and replaced it with vanilla for a richly flavored sauce. Butterscotch sauce, while delicious on pineapple, is tremendously flexible. Serve it on other fruits, such as sliced oranges, bananas, papaya, grapes, peaches, nectarines, or mix the fruits in any combination you like. Try the sauce on baked apples, crepes filled with fruit or ice cream, chocolate-nut tart, pear or apple tart, bread pudding, ice cream or yogurt. It is also wonderful on cakes, such as pound, sponge, or angel food cake. This sauce will keep for a week or two in the refrigerator. Gently heat the sauce to the temperature you desire (room temperature, warm, hot) when you are ready to serve.
Ingredients
1 large pineapple, top and bottom trimmed, body peeled, eyes removed, quartered lengthwise, core removed lengthwise
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Cut the pineapple quarters crosswise into roughly ¼- to ½-inch-thick slices. Pile the slices into a bowl, cover it, and set aside. The fruit is at its best when served at room temperature. If you prepare it ahead and need to refrigerate it, take it out about 30 minutes to one hour before serving so that it may warm up.
To make the sauce, melt the butter in a 1-quart, non-reactive saucepan. Add the water and lemon juice and stir to mix. Add the brown sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Scrape the vanilla bean halves to remove the tiny seeds. Add the seeds and bean halves to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, lower the heat, and boil gently until thickened, about 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for a couple of minutes until the syrup has stopped boiling. Whisk in the cream until the mixture is smooth. Add the remaining tablespoon vanilla extract to taste, adding 1 teaspoon at a time, mixing well, tasting, and adding more as you like. Remove the vanilla bean halves, scraping off the sauce, and set aside. (Rinse and dry the pods and save for another use.) Pour the sauce into a bowl or pitcher. At this point, you may serve the sauce warm, or cool to room temperature.
When ready to serve, place the pineapple slices in individual bowls and pour the sauce over the fruit.
Serves 6 to 8
Sauce makes approximately 1-1/4 cups
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