Andrea Bocelli

Marc and I were fortunate enough to hear the great and lovely Andrea Bocelli at the O2 this week. Marc's friend, who also works in finance, got us seats in his company's box (thank you Richard!). Many of the big companies in this country (including my former law firm) have boxes at the O2, where so many great artists perform when they are in London. Those boxes are intended for client entertainment, and Marc's firm is a client of Richard's firm, so we lucked out.

Andrea was magnificent, as one would expect. He sang with an exceptional soprano and an amazing flutist. The programs were £15 so we didn't buy one and I can't tell you their names, sadly, but they are so talented. It was such a privilege to hear such a beautiful concert. The energy was incredible. The orchestra, the choir, the momentum!

If you can imagine it, we were in a plush box, behind which was a room with sofas where we could chat, leave our things and enjoy good food and champagne. We could look onto the whole 02 arena, the beautiful symmetry of the rows and rows below and above us. Our view was, naturally, unobscured. We felt on top of the world.

And it occurred to me that it's such a shame that the people who are able to enjoy the privilege of experiencing this were those who worked in finance, an area so devoid of soul, of creativity (at least in my experience). It saddened me that money alone could afford this experience, which seems to me far away from that soul-less world. I wish everybody could have the opportunity to feel enriched by the music we heard.

Just a thought. We will certainly treasure our memories of this evening with Andrea!

PS: for those Sesame Street fans out there, check out this clip of Andrea singing with Elmo. I assure you that your heart will melt! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BDVvB7Xx1w

L'Shana Tova!

I can't believe it's already been a week since Jewish New Year! Already the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is upon us (along with the prospect of a long fast. Oy!).

For Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) I baked a bunch of goodies - it was an interesting baking experience for me. I thought I'd use Dorie Greenspan's cookery book, because it had been gracing my shelf for quite some time without me cooking from it. I know she's a firm favourite with just about everyone but my personal opinions are mixed. For someone who does not eat milk and meat together, her book is not ideal because she seems to put cream cheese is so many things - things that, in my opinion, don't need it, like Date and Nut Loaf.

I made Date and Nut Loaf, Rugelach and Peanut Butter Cookies. A few disclaimers: I omitted the chopped peanuts from the peanut butter recipe. I made the Rugelach exactly as described in the book first time round but in all honesty I found the filling very disappointing - it just wasn't good. To be fair, Dorie does say that she expects cooks to modify this filling. So straight after I made a batch a la Dorie, I remade the whole thing with just a chocolate filling (praline and dark!). I also made mine HUGE, double the size Dorie recommends, because that's how we like them in my family, but I know that the smaller ones are more elegant. Ah, elegant shmelegant!

I gave the cookie platter to Marc's parents, who were meeting my Dad for the first time. I think it went down well!

Rugelach

4 oz. cold cream cheese, cut into 4 piece

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 cup raspberry jam, apricot jam or marmalade

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or almonds)

1/4 cup dried currants or chopped dried cherries

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or mini chocolate chips (or chopped regular chips)

1 large egg

1 tsp. cold water

2 Tbsp. sugar, preferably coarse

Make the dough: Put flour and salt in a food processor, and scatter the cream cheese and butter chunks overtop. Pulse the machine 6-10 times, then process, scraping down the sides as necessary. Stop when the dough forms large curds.

Turn the dough out, gather it into a ball, divide it in two, and refrigerate each half in plastic wrap for at least two hours and up to one day

Make the filling: heat the jam in a saucepan over low heat until it liquefies. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and set aside. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone

Shape the cookies: Pull one packet of dough from the refrigerator. If it's too easy to roll, leave it out for ten minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11-12 inch circle. Spoon a thin gloss of jam overtop, and sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar. Scatter over half of the chopped stuff (nuts etc), and use a piece of wax paper to press the ingredients into the dough. Set aside the paper for the second batch of dough.

Using a pizza wheel or sharp knife, slice the dough into quarters, and slice each of the quarters into four long, narrow triangles. Starting at the outside rim of each triangle (the base), roll each triangle up so that it becomes a little crescent. Make sure points are tucked under the cookie, and arrange on a baking sheet. Repeat with the second packet of dough. Refrigerate rugelach for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Position racks to divide oven into thirds, and preheat to 350 degrees. Stir the egg and water together, and brush a bit of this glaze over the rugelach. Sprinkle each with coarse sugar. (I didn't have any, so I used more cinnamon sugar.) Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back half way through. Jam will likely have leaked out, so it's best to scoop underneath each cookie within a minute of removing them from the oven, so that they don't stick to the tray.

Peanut Butter Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped salted peanuts
1/2 cup chopped milk chocolate
Raw sugar

Stir dry ingredients. Cream butter and peanut butter. Add sugar. Then eggs one at a time. Combine with dry ingredients. Fold in peanuts and chocolate.
Bake on lightly greased cookie sheets, roll cookies in raw sugar, press down with fingers or fork.
Bake for 12 minutes, cool on rack.

L'Shana Tova!

I can't believe it's already been a week since Jewish New Year! Already the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is upon us (along with the prospect of a long fast. Oy!).

For Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) I baked a bunch of goodies - it was an interesting baking experience for me. I thought I'd use Dorie Greenspan's cookery book, because it had been gracing my shelf for quite some time without me cooking from it. I know she's a firm favourite with just about everyone but my personal opinions are mixed. For someone who does not eat milk and meat together, her book is not ideal because she seems to put cream cheese is so many things - things that, in my opinion, don't need it, like Date and Nut Loaf.

I made Date and Nut Loaf, Rugelach and Peanut Butter Cookies. A few disclaimers: I omitted the chopped peanuts from the peanut butter recipe. I made the Rugelach exactly as described in the book first time round but in all honesty I found the filling very disappointing - it just wasn't good. To be fair, Dorie does say that she expects cooks to modify this filling. So straight after I made a batch a la Dorie, I remade the whole thing with just a chocolate filling (praline and dark!). I also made mine HUGE, double the size Dorie recommends, because that's how we like them in my family, but I know that the smaller ones are more elegant. Ah, elegant shmelegant!

I gave the cookie platter to Marc's parents, who were meeting my Dad for the first time. I think it went down well!

Rugelach

4 oz. cold cream cheese, cut into 4 piece

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 cup raspberry jam, apricot jam or marmalade

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or almonds)

1/4 cup dried currants or chopped dried cherries

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or mini chocolate chips (or chopped regular chips)

1 large egg

1 tsp. cold water

2 Tbsp. sugar, preferably coarse

Make the dough: Put flour and salt in a food processor, and scatter the cream cheese and butter chunks overtop. Pulse the machine 6-10 times, then process, scraping down the sides as necessary. Stop when the dough forms large curds.

Turn the dough out, gather it into a ball, divide it in two, and refrigerate each half in plastic wrap for at least two hours and up to one day

Make the filling: heat the jam in a saucepan over low heat until it liquefies. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and set aside. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone

Shape the cookies: Pull one packet of dough from the refrigerator. If it's too easy to roll, leave it out for ten minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11-12 inch circle. Spoon a thin gloss of jam overtop, and sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar. Scatter over half of the chopped stuff (nuts etc), and use a piece of wax paper to press the ingredients into the dough. Set aside the paper for the second batch of dough.

Using a pizza wheel or sharp knife, slice the dough into quarters, and slice each of the quarters into four long, narrow triangles. Starting at the outside rim of each triangle (the base), roll each triangle up so that it becomes a little crescent. Make sure points are tucked under the cookie, and arrange on a baking sheet. Repeat with the second packet of dough. Refrigerate rugelach for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Position racks to divide oven into thirds, and preheat to 350 degrees. Stir the egg and water together, and brush a bit of this glaze over the rugelach. Sprinkle each with coarse sugar. (I didn't have any, so I used more cinnamon sugar.) Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back half way through. Jam will likely have leaked out, so it's best to scoop underneath each cookie within a minute of removing them from the oven, so that they don't stick to the tray.

Peanut Butter Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped salted peanuts
1/2 cup chopped milk chocolate
Raw sugar

Stir dry ingredients. Cream butter and peanut butter. Add sugar. Then eggs one at a time. Combine with dry ingredients. Fold in peanuts and chocolate.
Bake on lightly greased cookie sheets, roll cookies in raw sugar, press down with fingers or fork.
Bake for 12 minutes, cool on rack.

What I thought of Julie and Julia

What can I say? I LOVED it! Not least because I lived in the same area as Julia Child, and that it brought me back to my own life in Paris, when I was 20 and 25. I miss Paris so!

I know you don't need me to introduce the film: you've probably all seen it by now or know that it's about the legendary Julia Child and a young woman who blogs about her attempt to make all 524 recipes in 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' in a year.

Meryl Streep, who plays Julia, is sublime: so vivid, so witty, so brimming with joie de vivre. So beautiful! I loved the parallels between the women's lives. I loved the subtlety with which the delicate issue of pregnancy was handled. I loved the costumes, the food, the portrayal of honest relationships between women - not always perfect, sometimes jealous, sometimes competitive, yet often tender.

 

I loved what it said about marriage and partnership, about romance and appreciation of one another. It is so rare to see a film that celebrates the positive rather than looking for points of tension. A film in which tension in the conventional sense doesn't even exist. It wasn't a saccharine film though. Neither woman's marriage or life was perfect. But the film showed how real people can make the best of situations rather than walk away from them.

I want to see it again! Tonight wouldn't be too soon.

 

Ahhh, I _love_ that feeling - all too rare - of seeing something that you adore and that inspires you. I wish I had the guts to go to the Cordon Bleu, whose courses I always look at! I wish I had the tenacity that these women have!

If you haven't seen this film you MUST go and see it. And if you have please tell me what you thought! I'd love to know!

PS: Who didn't relate to the scenes about getting comments from readers? So so true! 

Hairpiece

By Leigh-Anne McCague, a British designer. I love it!

Here are some photos of it with the fabric of my dress as a background. I am also playing around with it - wet hair is not a good look! Hopefully my hairstylist will think of a creative way to use it! Now I need to pick a veil...

Attire + which shoes?

When I was in Israel for a week after the engagement, I looked for and found my wedding dress. I like lots of dresses online, but I wanted something simple, not poofy, and with lace.

I went on my own. I think I wanted my mind to be uncluttered, unfettered with other people's opinions. I knew that upon my return to London I would go shopping with my girlfriends (which was the best day ever), but I decided to look in Israel anyway. And I'm pleased I did, because I found my dress and discovered that the bridal market there is markedly different from that here. All the brands that are available in England and America are hardly sold in Israel. The market is dominated by Israeli designers who make the dresses on-site. The dresses are made to measure, rather than being ordered in the closest size and then altered. So any changes can be accommodated. The handiwork is amazing. It is also possible to rent dresses, and these are completely altered to fit the bride, too. When you order the dress, you choose to rent or keep it. To keep the dress you pay 10% on top of the rental price. Most people don't bother, but I will. Since my dress isn't poofy, it won't take much space, and I would like to own it. If I had chosen a bigger dress I wouldn't do that, though.

I would describe my dress as: slim fitting, sweet, elegant, simple, lacy. I can't post it here because Marc reads this blog.

The price includes 4 fittings: I will have 2 in February and 2 right before the wedding. Can't wait to see it again!

Here are the two pairs of shoes I have my eye on, designed by Diane Hassall. They are made to order and they are pricey, far too pricey than is reasonable for something that can only be worn once. But I love them! They also come with a clutch... which pair do you prefer?

PS: that thing people always say, that you never see a bride's shoes - not true in my experience! I hate it when a lovely outfit is let down by disappointing shoes.

Save the Dates

We have a date! 30 May 2010. A bank holiday weekend. I like the sound of it! And the countdown begins!

Without much time for baking cake with all this wedding planning, the pen and paper aspect of this blog will come out more. That is, if I continue to post wedding things on this blog. I'm not entirely sure what to do. This stuff probably isn't interesting to any of you (to be frank, even I'm getting bored of it), but I would like to record my planning somewhere. I have set up another blog but am not sure whether to use it. Opinions appreciated. For now though, let me post our Save the Dates. These will only be going out to guests in England and abroad, but not to anyone in Israel (since presumably they won't need much prior notice). I intend to include an insert with hotel info and flight info. Or mayble I'll attach a sticker to the back with that info. That is for the weekend. For now, here's the finished product. I think they will match our outdoor venue, and our colour scheme is dark brown and ivory. See, I already sound like those people. A colour scheme, honestly!

Save the Dates

We have a date! 30 May 2010. A bank holiday weekend. I like the sound of it! And the countdown begins!

Without much time for baking cake with all this wedding planning, the pen and paper aspect of this blog will come out more. That is, if I continue to post wedding things on this blog. I'm not entirely sure what to do. This stuff probably isn't interesting to any of you (to be frank, even I'm getting bored of it), but I would like to record my planning somewhere. I have set up another blog but am not sure whether to use it. Opinions appreciated. For now though, let me post our Save the Dates. These will only be going out to guests in England and abroad, but not to anyone in Israel (since presumably they won't need much prior notice). I intend to include an insert with hotel info and flight info. Or mayble I'll attach a sticker to the back with that info. That is for the weekend. For now, here's the finished product. I think they will match our outdoor venue, and our colour scheme is dark brown and ivory. See, I already sound like those people. A colour scheme, honestly!

Headpiece