The Jersey Shore: Mandolettes and Mandelbrot

Like many people, we're taking an end of summer trip. This time of year makes us appreciate those things that fill us with joy. Spending time with friends and family, having leisurely meals, taking long walks on the beach, and, special to this summer, watching the Olympics and following the political campaigns.

More than usual, the fall will bring big changes to our household because our son, Michael, is preparing to leave for his freshman year at college. So it was important to find time to take a trip to New Jersey to visit with Michelle's parents.

With few exceptions, Michelle's extended family has stayed on the East Coast. A few years ago they had a family reunion at a nearby resort and 75 aunts, uncles, and cousins came for the weekend. Sunday at Helen and Warren's means brunch for 20, setting up a table in the living room, bringing out the folding chairs, and sharing platters of bagels, lox, coffee cake, cold cuts, cheese, egg salad, tuna salad, fresh fruit, and lots of Helen's special iced coffee.

This trip Helen and Warren taught Michael how to play bridge because bridge is one of the intramural activities at UC Davis and Michelle's parents are bridge mavens. We ate lobsters, a rare treat, because StopRite, the local mega-supermarket had them on sale for $5.99/pound. And Helen made us mandolettes and mandelbrot from a family recipe.

During the year we're the happy recipients of Helen's cookies, but this time we enjoyed being in the kitchen while she made them for us. Luckily there were enough left over so we could take some with us, although not many survived the plane trip home. They are so delicious.

Mandolettes

Yield: about 2 dozen
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
Grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots or dates
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a cookie sheet. Mix the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until thick. Using a spoon mix in the flour, lemon rind, and cinnamon, then add in the dried fruit, nuts, and chocolate chips. Mix well.

Put the batter on the cookie sheet, making 2 strips 2" wide.

Bake 16-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Slice into 1/2" cookies while still warm. Transfer to a rack and let cool. Store the cookies in an air-tight container and refrigerate. They can be frozen.

Mandelbrot

Yield: about 2 dozen
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 pound walnuts (roughly chopped)
3 cups flour

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, salt, and vanilla until the mixture is smooth and custard colored. Add the baking powder and flour and mix well, then fold in the chopped walnuts. Form the dough into three logs about 2" wide and a foot long. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. While still warm, slice into 1/2" wide cookies. Place the individual cookies back on the cookie sheet and return to the oven for another 5 minutes and brown on both sides. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

Keep the mandelbrot in an air-tight container. They can be frozen.

A Custard Easier to Make Than Creme Brulee

One of the delights of living in the Pacific Palisades is being able to take daily walks along the beach. The walks are great for exercise but also to enjoy the way the beach, ocean, and sky look in the early morning. I have to admit that I would never have discovered the pleasures of walking on the beach had it not been for my wife. For Michelle taking a walk is as necessary as breathing. I think she learned the benefits of walking from her mom, Helen. Whenever we visit her parents in New Jersey, she and her mom head to the boardwalk to take a long walk. This is their way of catching up and clearing their minds before the day begins.

This morning we walked with our friends Janet, Kelly, and Annette. We hadn't seen Kelly for a month because she and her family had been in Europe. She told us that one of the high points of the trip was a crème brûlée she'd eaten in Paris. That dessert was so delicious she couldn't stop thinking about its perfect crust and flavorful custard.

The walk was a short one because we had early meetings but there was enough time to catch up about kids going off to college in the fall (UC Davis and Cooper's Union) and trips everyone had taken (Japan, Europe, and Sundance). Before we left the beach to head back to our cars, Kelly wanted me to tell her how to make crème brûlée.

I told her that, personally I thought that a traditional crème brûlée takes too much work and uses too many egg yolks. If she wanted a good recipe she could find one by googling it. I offered her my custard recipe that is easier to make and less artery-clogging.

Custard with Baked Plums

Any stone fruit--peaches, nectarines, cherries, apricots--will work as well as plums. Cherries would be pitted and halved. Peaches and nectarines cut into eighths.

Yield 4-6 servings
Time 90 minutes

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
4 ripe plums (washed, pitted, quartered)
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1 teaspoon sweet butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the plum quarters on a Silpat sheet or piece of tin foil on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the tops with raw sugar, then bake 30 minutes. Remove and let cool. Spatula up any liquid that accumulated on the Silpat and reserve to drizzle over the finished custard.

Beat together the eggs and 1/2 cup white sugar. Add the cream and (optional) vanilla and stir well. Butter a large 8" round oven-proof baking dish or 6 porcelain ramekins. Pour in the custard and put in the baked plum quarters. Add 1" of water to a large roasting pan. Put the custard into the water bath and bake for 30-60 minutes. Every 15 minutes rotate the baking dish and ramekins so they cook evenly. If the custard is browning too quickly, lay a piece of tin foil over the top The custard is done when it doesn't jiggle when lightly shaken.

Remove to cool on a wire rack. Drizzle with plum liquid. Refrigerate until just before serving. To make the sugar crust, dust with the tablespoon of white sugar, then heat with a kitchen torch until lightly browned. Serve immediately.