Danishes, Part 3

I suppose I've drawn this out long enough. Although this'll be one heckuva post. I told you that sweet treats like these are not easy. And they shouldn't be.

Or as I learned to say for all those years I lived in New York City: "Nor should they be." What's with the floating nor? Nor should you worry. Doesn't there have to be a neither?

Anyway, here's the conclusion of our danish saga. (As our hero, Svend, son of Mogens, son of Mikkel, finally returns from his years before the mast, his sturdy wife is pleased to meet him. In her ecstatic joy, she almost smiles; but still she refuses to kiss him. It would be too demonstrative. She shakes his hand. He tells her his tale: of finding a city with deep canyons between tall buildings full of people working, eating bagels. He was not able to conquer them. But he learned to fit in. "Have you lessons for the children?" his sturdy wife asks. "Nor should I do that again," he says.) 

We're now going to make a modified, yeast-raised puff pastry dough. This is serious baking. You're not an amateur if you try this.

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Danishes, Part 2

A funny thing happened on the way to these danishes. Things changed. You can tell by the changed title of the post. It's not "cheese danishes" but just "danishes."

I'm telling you: you're seeing this stuff in real time. Real food in real time.

I've clearly lost my mind.

Anyway, here's the story: I didn't like the photos I had from this past weekend's danish-making fest. I didn't think they portrayed the way the danishes have to be shaped on the counter. So I coerced Bruce into starting again last night. Sometime around 9:00 p.m. When we were both dead tired from a full day of writing our new book. And each had had a couple glasses of wine.

Poor Bruce. He lives with a crazed writer who believes more in the what might be than the what is (chalk it up to that life-of-the-imagination thing), who believes everything can be edited, revised, and remade. Endlessly.

Anyway, I set us down the path of making more last night. But that path turned out to lead to different danishes. Did I mention I live with a chef? In other words, a guy who can never make the same recipe twice. Poor Mark. (Although I don't know that I'll get much sympathy from many of you on that count.)

He didn't want to make a cheese filling. God forbid! He wanted almond. So he made it. Sure, I got shots like this one:

But really, I need some consistency. (I am crying about this. You realize the irony here, right? But boy, will those shots come in handy in the next post, tomorrow, when we finish this thing off.)

OK, so you've now got the possibility of two fillings. Here they are:

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Danishes, Part 1

Well, really. Have you ever seen anything so gorgeous? Lightly browned, flaky, with creamy cheese centers. And completely from scratch. Nothing fake about it. All real food.

Now hold on there, you might say. I thought you guys said something about losing weight if I eat real food.

Well, we did. And we meant it.

One of the things we talk about endlessly in REAL FOOD HAS CURVES, our seven-step plan to get off processed food is making sure you occasionally treat yourself. You should eat dessert. (Right before I sat down to type this entry, I had a snickerdoodle and a glass of iced tea while sitting on the back deck, listening to the birds. I should shoot you guys a video of it. We live in a symphony here in the New England woods. And I should also add that that snickerdoodle was made with lard. Bruce's own. Rendered right here at home. And here.)

So OK, let's talk about treats. First off, they should be just that: treats. I would suggest if you're having more than one a day, there may be another problem you want to address.

Second, they should NEVER be eaten on the run. If you're going to have a treat, sit down and have it. Enjoy it. Every bite. It's worth it. I did it with my cookie on the deck. And I did it with these cheese danishes the other morning.

Finally, keep this in mind: all treats are empty calories. So they should be hard to make. That's right: should be. Part of the root of the American weight gain--and now indeed the global weight gain--is that the emptiest calories are available with ridiculous ease. There aren't lovely broiled fish stands lining our roads. Instead, there are fried chicken joints. And bakeries with pastries. And ice cream stands. And even cheesecake parlors.

In other words, all the stuff that's hard to make. And it's hard for a reason. Because you're not supposed to eat it every day. (Well, it's hard for other reasons, but you know what I mean.)

So cheese danishes. They're hard to make. It'll take us three days on this blog to get through Bruce's recipe. Bear with me. We'll have fun. And it's a crazy thing to do: make your own sweet rolls. But they freeze perfectly. (So you can have one, save one back for breakfast the next day, and squirrel the rest away for company visits this summer.) And they're a great way to have a fun weekend project, something to push your boundaries a bit. And it doesn't get much more human--or real--than learning new things and having a treat at the end!

So let's get to it.

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