The Real Food Rehab Holiday Gift Guide: Sally Schneider

Sally Schneider brings new meaning to the words, keeping it real. On her website, 'the improvised life,' she calls our attention to the beauty, wonder and richness of our daily lives and helps us to see it with fresh eyes. Finding her site was such a revelation and I'm indebted to her for inspiring me in numerous ways. In her site's manifesto, Sally explains why improvising is the perfect operating system in today's world. "Improvising," she says, "is an antidote to I can't." I am beyond delighted to have Sally and her authentic style on Real Food Rehab...




WHO Sally Schneider is the creator and writer of ‘the improvised life’, a website about improvising -- inventing, being resourceful, making-it-up-as-you-go-along – as a daily practice. She has worked as a journalist, editor, syndicated columnist, radio commentator, teacher, stylist, small-space consultant and professional chef; she once wrangled 600 live snails for an Irving Penn photograph. Her very improvisational work has been the laboratory for her posts on ‘the improvised life’, her column Home Cooking on The Atlantic Food blog, and consulting and speaking about creativity and home design. Please check out her award-winning cookbooks The Improvisational Cookand A New Way to Cook.
















THE GIFT Everyone I know has SO much, and does not need another object, so I’ve devised an alt-holiday gift strategy. I give a card saying I’ve given a donation in my friends name to a charity; this year it will be Maira Kalman’s beautiful angel.













I often bundle the card with a little something: like this swell $4 tasting spoon from Branch, which is the ideal shape for cooking; long and thin and slightly odd.

























Or, I’ll give them some food gift I’ve made a big batch of, like some easy-to-make exotically flavored chocolates, or Alt-Malted Milk Balls, or some Dried Apricots in Cardamom Syrup. I make these in big batches to package as gifts (often with found/re-use jars, boxes, tins or gift-wrap) or to use for my own impromtu parties. (photos courtesy of Ellen Silverman)

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? New York City





WHAT INSPIRES YOU? New York City inspires me endlessly: all you have to do is walk out on the street to discover something interesting, an anonymous creation, like the tiny grafitti written on a rusted door that said “know hope”.

But what inspires me most, way beyond the city, is the idea of improvising, which is all about possibility: unexpected answers and solutions to be found in what we have right now.













GO-TO DISH WHEN COOKING FOR YOURSELF?

My go-to survivalist dish when I’m alone and working flat-out is a fried egg on something with some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano in between. That something can be just about anything: spaghetti, steamed asparagus, crushed boiled new potatoes…The soft-yolk egg mixes with the cheese to become a sauce. For breakfast, I throw a fried egg on some greens like watercress or arugula.

Patricia Wells' Apricot Honey Tart

Those who know me would agree that I am a fan of the bold gesture. I would put this tart in that category. Like a good piece of statement jewelry. Like renting a villa in Italy and sending your closest friends first class tickets to join you. (Hasn't happened yet, but believe me, it's going to.)

First and foremost, this tart is a stunner. When you trot it out at the end of a meal or at brunch, people will inevitably ask if you really made it. It happened to me again last night. Not only does this tart look, smell and taste like summer, it's also good for the ol' self esteem. Quadroople bonus.

And believe it or not, it's truly easy - even if you've never made a crust before! You can substitute apricots with figs or plums - or any stone fruit. The only extra you'll need is a 12" round fluted tart pan.

This recipe is from the book, Patricia Wells at Home in Provence.

Ingredients:

The Crust
unsalted butter to grease tart pan
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. pure almond extract
1/8 tsp. pure vanilla extract
a pinch fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tbsp. unbleached all purpose flour
2 tbsp. finely ground raw almonds (I use my coffee grinder)

The Cream
1/2 cup heavy cream (buy organic!)
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp. raw honey
1 tbsp. superfine flour such as Wondra

about 1 1/2 pounds fresh apricots (hit your local farmers' market!), pitted and halved, do not peel (I slice mine into moons but for a heavier fruit-to-bite ratio, just halve them)


Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Butter bottom and sides of tart pan.
3. In large bowl, combine butter and sugar and, with a wooden spoon, stir to blend. Add the almond and vanilla extracts, salt, flour, and stir to form a soft, cookie-like dough. Do not let it form into a ball. (I find mine to be very crumbly and unable to hold into a ball even if it wanted to - it's still OK) Transfer dough into the center of buttered tart pan and using the tips of your fingers, evenly press the pastry onto the bottom and sides of the pan. The dough will be quite thin.
4. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake until the dough is slightly puffy and set about 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle the almonds on the crust. This will prevent it from becoming soggy.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the cream. In a medium-size bowl, combine cream, egg, both extracts and honey and whisk to blend. Then whisk in superfine flour.
6. Starting just inside the edge of the pre-baked pastry pan, neatly overlap the halved or half-moon slices of apricots, cut side up at a slight angle. Make 2 or 3 concentric circles working towards the center. (I ran out of apricots and added a sprinkling of blueberries to fill in the gaps as you can clearly see.)
7. Pour the cream evenly over the fruit. Place in center of oven and bake until the filling is firm and the pasty is deep golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes. The apricots will shrivel slightly. Allow to cool before slicing.
8. TASTES GREAT CHILLED THE NEXT DAY!