As Zen as Possible

An update, two recipes and some gifts.

I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. I’m in the thick of cookbook writing, which is both easier and harder than the last time around. It’s easier because testing the recipes is easier, you can adjust as you go rather than having to start from scratch each time a batch of cookies comes out wrong; it’s harder (or lonelier, perhaps) because I’m doing it on my own without Maja, who became so integral to the writing of Classic German Baking, and who now is happily employed by my friend Joe at his peerless Berlin kitchen shop Kochtail and therefore has no time for me and my potato dumplings.

It’s also harder because while I work on the cookbook, I’m also trying to write the second draft of my novel, the one I started in 2019. I keep meaning to write about my return to this work, but writing about it feels like sticking needles in my eye, so every time I sit down to tell you about it, I end up deleting everything I’ve written and go silent again.

For a while, I thought I could do both at once. Mornings for the novel, afternoons for the cookbook. And maybe I could if the kids were older, if my husband’s job were more flexible, if I had a different kind of brain, if I was younger, if I was smarter (if I was a real writer, shhh). But it turns out that when I am working on the novel, all I want to do is, well, work on the novel. Shifting gears feels nigh on impossible. I don’t want to also then be a mother and a wife and a person with another job. I want to work on the book to the exclusion of everything else, I want to live in the world that I created and that, when I cannot write in it, feels like an obsession. Since I have two small children, a contract for the cookbook, and, cough, have never even shown the manuscript to my agent, let alone anyone else, that is out of the question at the moment.

So instead I am muddling along in all areas. Though I want to say that, although it might seem otherwise, I am mostly in a good place as I muddle? The testing is going well, after all, the novel is fully conceived and mapped out, I can see it all before me like a glittering city, and the children seem to be growing more and more capable of the details of quotidian life without my hands meddling at every turn. Amidst all the turmoil of my writing life, I am trying to be as zen as possible.

A few things I’d like to discuss:

Thanksgiving!
After more than a decade in Berlin, I have many, many thoughts on expat Thanksgiving. But seeing as I am attempting to live the aforementioned zen lifestyle these days, and the fact that Thanksgiving basically lands three days before the first Advent, I will be using my prerogative as an American abroad to fold the holiday into what is a regular weeknight for us. I had the pleasure of being invited to a Thanksgiving party at a friend’s this weekend, which scratched the itch of needing to be at a table with people I don’t know very well all digging into the familiar elements of Thanksgiving dinner and allowed me to indulge in pie baking (my beloved pumpkin pie and, for the first time, a vegan apple pie, because some of the guests had requested a vegan option and I was happy for the challenge).

With that out of the way, for our Thanksgiving, I’ll probably just be roasting a turkey breast (the recipe below is excellent and perfect for a small Thanksgiving). There will, of course, be Brussels sprouts of some kind, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and gravy. Who knows, maybe at the last minute I will go nuts and include green beans! And because, in an uncharacteristic moment of advance preparation, I made an extra batch of pie dough last weekend, I will also make an apple pie for my family, who were very sad to see the glorious vegan one depart with nary a bite for them. (The vegan apple pie is from The Loopy Whisk and was a triumph - every bit as delicious as a regular apple pie. I made the flaky pie pastry in the food processor, not by hand, but otherwise followed every instruction exactly as written and the pie came out beautifully.)

Food & Wine’s Turkey Breast with Sage and Mustard Breadcrumbs
Serves 4
1/2 cup (50 grams) dry bread crumbs
1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1/4 cup (15 grams) chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons (45 grams) melted butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 2-pound (900 grams) boneless, skinless turkey breast
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1. Heat the oven to 450°F/230°C. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, sage, parsley, butter, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.

2. Season the turkey breast with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Set the turkey breast in a roasting pan and then brush the top and the sides of the breast with the mustard. Pat the seasoned bread crumbs onto the mustard.

3. Roast the turkey for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F/190°C and continue to roast the turkey breast until just done, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Transfer the turkey to a carving board and leave to rest in a warm spot for about 10 minutes. Cut the turkey into slices.

As a dyed in the wool traditionalist, I believe Thanksgiving must include the two elders of piedom - apple pie and pumpkin pie. But if I had to choose between apple and pumpkin on Thanksgiving, my choice would always be pumpkin pie. Only this pumpkin pie, though, which is the one to end all pumpkin pies, the one that converts pumpkin pie loathers, even Europeans to the glory of pumpkin pie. I don’t believe people who say pumpkin pie isn’t any good. You’ve just never had this one.

The Only Pumpkin Pie You’ll Ever Need
Makes one 9-inch (23-cm) pie

For the crust:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour (150 grams)
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
10 tablespoons (140 grams) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, as needed

For the filling:
2 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup (100 grams) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups (350 grams) roasted squash purée (see below)
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) heavy cream, plus more for serving

1. For the crust: Combine flour and salt in large bowl. Scatter the butter cubes over the flower and, using your fingers and working quickly, work the butter into the flour until lima-bean-sized pieces emerge. You can also do this in a food processor. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough just comes together. Remove the dough from the bowl or food processor and knead briefly into a ball. The butter pieces should be visible in the dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or two.

2. Roll the dough out to a 15-inch (38-cm) round on a lightly floured surface, then fit it into a 9-inch (23-cm) pie plate. Trim and crimp the edges, then refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C.

3. Line the chilled pie pan with aluminum foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The crust should look pale and dry-ish. Remove the foil and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes. Lower the heat to 325°F/160°C.

4. While the crust bakes, prepare the filling: combine eggs, vanilla, sugars, salt and spices in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the squash purée and process until smooth. With the machine running, pour in the heavy cream and process to combine. Scrape the filling into the hot prebaked shell and place the pie back the oven. (If you have any leftover filling, pour it into a ramekin or two and bake it alongside the pie - cook’s treat.) Bake until the filling is set 2/3 in from perimeter of the pie and the center still jiggles, about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on a rack. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Squash Purée
Yields 3 cups
1 3-pound butternut squash, scrubbed

1. Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Line a rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil. Trim off the stem end of the squash, then cut through the squash lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Place the halves skin-side-down on the aluminum foil.

2. Bake until the squash is tender and beginning to caramelize, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool slightly, peel off the skin and purée the flesh in a food processor. Use 1 1/2 cups immediately in the pie; refrigerate or freeze the leftovers for future use.

Cookies!
One of my favorite things to do this time of year is daydream about the selection of cookies I will be including in the bags I hand out as gifts at Christmas and pore endlessly over other people’s baking plans. Because I’ll be making Pfeffernüsse, Austrian fruit bread (class already sold out, unfortunately) and Bethmännchen (with Molly! Sign up here!) anyway, those are a given. Right now, I’m toying with also making Dorie’s Iced Spiced Hermits, Eric Kim’s impossibly cheerful almond-cranberry cookies, Susan’s Stamped Citrus Shortbread and these iconic Martha Stewart ones to add a bit of chocolate to the mix. What about you? Which cookies will make it onto your list to make and gift this year? I’d love to know.

Gifts!
I have what I consider complicated (“complicated”) feelings about the ubiquity of internet gift guides. I find them both helpful and annoying. They can be boring, repetitive and uninteresting. Some are unhinged in their extravagance. Mostly I flee to my favorite bookstore in Berlin and buy books for everyone on my list. And yet! Gift guides are also like catnip? I can’t help but read nearly all of them and I love the guides that I love. I look forward to them all year long. Tim’s, of course, which is basically iconic, but also Catherine Newman’s, which is just so good and heart-warming. Please forgive me for adding my voice to the gift guide chorus, but despite my Scroogey attitude, it turns out that I do have a few things to tell you about that I think are wonderful, useful or delicious. Maybe they’ll be of some help. (None of these are affiliate links or sponsored, though I did receive a copy of Tava from the publisher.)

• Feeling like Mariage Frères is a little played out? Spend your cash at Lisbon’s atmospheric Companhia Portugueza Do Chá instead - they finally have an online shop (hooray), their design is playful and elegant and their tea is wonderful. Their Earl Grey is my favorite of any Earl Grey I’ve tried, but all of their tea is worth trying. A gorgeous little stocking stuffer, a new blend for the green tea lover in your life, rare teas for the person who has everything…

• Katarina Cermelj is a food scientist and food blogger at The Loopy Whisk. Her gluten-free baking book, Baked to Perfection, is a must-have for any gluten-free friend who likes to bake. From bagels to flatbreads, she demystifies the food science behind the mastery of gluten-free baking and her recipes work.

• Irina Georgescu’s Tava is a beautifully made, extremely interesting overview of the baking traditions of six cultural communities in Romania. I learned so much reading it and think it would make the nicest gift for the baker in your life. Not only are the recipes for variations on many classics you know from Central and Eastern European baking enticing, but Georgescu does a great job of exploring Romania’s fascinating history. Package this with a copy of Black Sea by Caroline Eden for an extra-special gift that combines food and travel and writing in a part of the world that is often overlooked.

• I am an absolute nut for nice pajamas. Spending a bit of money on good fabrics and well-cut pieces makes going to bed a joyous little treat. Winter in Berlin has roared in with a vengeance, but the only pajamas I own that are up to the task of keeping me warm and cozy in bed are a fleece set my stepmother gave me when I was an undergraduate. So this year, I’ve got my eye on the excellent pajamas at Novila, a German nightwear company that sustainably produce very chic sets with really high-quality fabric. I gave Max a pair of the men’s flannel pajamas a few years ago and they are by far the warmest, most elegant men’s pajamas I’ve ever seen. Here are the women’s versions. (Europe only.)

• The novel I’m most anxious to get my hands on this season is Catherine Newman’s We All Want Impossible Things. The short story collection I can’t wait to read is Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King. My guiltiest pleasure read this year was The Palace Papers by Tina Brown. The translation I’m most excited for is Emily Wilson’s Odyssey.

• Would you give someone you loved a hot water bottle for Christmas? Possibly, if they were as well-designed and clever as Yu-Yu Bottles! Personally, I’d be thrilled to get one of these. (Bonus points if you spring for the particularly luxurious cashmere version.)

• One of the loveliest little gifts I’ve ever received is the potpourri from Santa Maria Novella in Florence. The scent, which is perfect, not floral or cloying, but earthy and woodsy and musky, lasts an unbelievably long time (years?) and is packaged so beautifully. We have a dish of it in our hallway and periodically fluff it up to release a new cloud of fragrance and it is one of those little luxuries that legitimately improve our daily existence. I’ve got my eyes on the wax tablets for one or two people on my list and I like to fantasize about a life in which a container of Melograno bath salts is perched elegantly on a shelf in a beautifully appointed bathroom that I inhabit alone.

• Planted squarely in the very pricey category, but an investment for life, if you need to justify it, are the handmade eiderdowns made by Anouska Cave. They’re stunning, ethically made and can be ordered bespoke.

• Finally, if you are planning on giving the gift of either of my books this year (thank you!) and would like to personalize them, I will send signed (and/or personalized) bookplates anywhere in the world. Just drop me an email at luisa@luisaweiss.com.