about Cynthia & cheese-onion pie

My ex-boyfriend’s mom Cynthia is really important to me. She is the first person outside of my family who i felt comfortable in the kitchen with. She noticed it too, she brought it up while inadvertently teaching me something else. That cuts and burns in the kitchen are a sign of a lack of attention, your carelessness ends up on your hands and arms. As a mother her intensity in the kitchen comes from wanting the people who eat her food to feel deeply cared for. I am often reminded of this emphasis on intentional gesture, at a different job I once ate a soup that had been aggressively oversalted. My coworker was mad a lot around that time and it made me think of his frustration, it tasted kind of angry. I asked (someone else) if he had made it. and yes he had. One's mind being preoccupied with something else, an intense feeling, worry about the future, necessarily takes away from the task at hand. Anyway, this is just to illustrate that Cynthia subscribed to the pretty common belief that food carries feelings and she wanted the food from her kitchen to be lavish in attention. also worth noting (to me) is that she was mostly vegan/vegetarian, sometimes a raw vegan but would cook anything for her kids and guests. Once we made an entire Easter dinner party centered around lamb based on a single article. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t going to eat the entree. I also learned to like red peppers that day, another lesson.

We got along really well, once we when we were talking she told me about how she always wanted to open a bakery but felt that the only creative expression available to her was to be a mom. It wasn’t in a regretful way, but we all have lives we could have lived. anyway i think about this a lot as I move through hospitality jobs, that I am trying to bring her lessons with me and share her creative spirit with the world even though she’s not doing it directly.

So here is a cheese onion pie recipe from her kitchen, it happens to be the first thing that I considered drinking food. I wanted to have a small bar at the time (hm) and I thought that a slice of this would be perfect with a small green salad and crisp beer. I still think that, it has been mentioned but cub and i often consider vegetarian drinking food. Drinking food as an idea, expressed in an entirely unsensual way is something fatty for the impact of alcohol on your stomach. I think I realized this both after reflecting upon certain dinner parties as well as choosing food for drinkers during the BASSET test. This quality is that which also makes it comfort food, especially encased in the pastry crust. One of the benefits of this being a blog for mostly chicagoans is that I can say it is rainy and the weather calls for this and you will know what I mean. I don’t drink as much beer as I used to and not as often with meals so I’d probably have a glass of wine instead. Since the cheese used is a little sharp, I would have a wine that is a bit softer that balances. Probably white wine like Blan 5.7 from Jordi Llorens, the ChMac Blanquet from Casa Pardet, or a gentler red wine if you prefer like On Verra la Mer from Les Cigales.

Cheese and onion pie from Mark Bittman, serves 4-6 but makes good leftovers

This recipe calls for lard which I replaced with butter last time I made it. Different but totally fine, so you can do that too. The sub also makes it suitable for vegetarians as mentioned. It also calls for Lancashire cheese but you can use an aged cheddar, ideally like the bandaged cheddar from Jasper Hill and Cabot but if it bums you out to cook with expensive cheese I get it and you again, don’t have to. Could just be something sharp.

 

1 1/2 c flour

6 tbsp butter divided, plus some for the baking dish

4 tbsp lard

3 tbsp ice water and a little extra just in case

3 medium onions

1 c boiling water

1/2 lb of Lancashire cheese or other

Enough milk to seal and glaze

Salt

1. Thinly slice the onions and set aside.
2. Grate the cheese and set aside.
3. Combine the flour and some salt in a large bowl and add 4 tbsp butter and the lard. Rub the fat into the flour until is feels like breadcrumbs.
4. Mix in enough ice water to just bind the dough and knead until smooth. Make a bowl of the dough, wrap it and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350.
6. Melt the other 2 tbsp of butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and a bit of salt. Cook for about 10 minutes try not to brown the onions.
7. Turn the heat up to medium and add the boiling water. Cook for 10 more minutes, or until they are soft and the water has cooked off.
8. Put the onions aside or in the fridge and grease a 9” pie dish or actually I used a cast iron skillet. 
9. Take out the dough. Divide it into two balls, one twice as big as the other. Roll both out on a floured surface. When the larger ball is about 10” diameter put it into the baking dish so it fits snugly on the bottom and sides. Prick the dough with a fork
10. Layer the onions and cheese on top of the dough in the pan. Then use the other piece you rolled out to cover it, pressing the edges together.
11. Brush the top with milk and cut 3 incisions in the top so steam can escape.
12. This is an optional step where I put this in the fridge so the butter doesn’t leak. If you are nervous about the dough temperature I recommend this.
13. Put this on a baking sheet (in case the cheese bubbles over) and bake for about 45 until the crust is nicely GBD, golden brown delicious. Let cool before serving.

Some shop notes: so many new things even since last week. Arrivals from California and France mostly. New wines from Stagiaire and Slow Dance, new vintage from Bruno Duchêne, mags from Babass, and cinsault from Les Cigales dans la Fourmilière that I keep thinking about.

ALSO: Cub and I are offering some discounted bottles to go this Sunday, October 31st from 1-4 PM. We’ll also have some things open for by the glass and some snacks if you want to hang out.