I am still startled and humbled when strangers approach me on the street and say, “I really like your columns.” I return the compliment with a “thank-you” and move on, thinking about how much of my life they know through my stories. But that’s not the whole picture. Here are a few, maybe surprising, things about me I’d like to share.
1. On my car radio, the buttons go from IPR News, NMC radio, Z93, to IPR Classical. Wait, what?! Z93 is a local pop rock station. Given my age, that choice might seem unusual, but listening to pop music feels like a secret pleasure. The music connects me to young people, remembering the joy and heartbreak of love, an important adolescent journey. The music is also fun! I bop my head to the beat, learn the lyrics, and smile. I turn up the volume on my way to pickleball.
2. Yes, I play pickleball. I may be obsessed. Never an athlete, this sport finally makes me feel a little like one. I play three times a week and I love spending time with my Tuesday pickleball women pod. An eclectic, caring group. We have great potlucks, too.
3. Back to music: I also love cranking up the volume in the kitchen when I am in the throes of a marathon cooking session. I listen to all sorts of genres, depending on my mood, the food I am making, or listening to a new artist I heard interviewed on the radio. I have an affinity for opera, which, weirdly perhaps, is what I play when I am cleaning. I sing along even though I can’t (really can’t) carry a tune.
4. I also love, love, love to dance. While I might not sing in front of others, I have no inhibitions about dancing in front of anyone. Especially if there is live music.
5. I do eat some junk food, particularly “Combos.” Introduced by my husband, we are loyal to the cheddar cheese-filled cracker type. (Not pretzel.) I love them. We would seriously overindulge regularly, so we place them in the “special treat” category, reserving them for road trips. I also like Splitz brand pretzels, tortilla chips from TC Latino, and Great Lakes potato chips. We keep these around for “company”, but someone has to finish the bag before they go stale, right? My friend Barb introduced me to homemade onion dip which was revelatory. I have to be careful with the ratio; it’s easy to lean more dip than chip!
6. I can’t start the day without coffee. Period. This has proved to be a challenge when remote camping or traveling. I make sure we pack a percolator, coffee grounds, half and half, and matches to start a fire when we go camping. When traveling, I arrive at a hotel room and immediately look for the in-room coffee options. Failing that, I check on the lobby café opening hours. I am very disappointed if I have to dress first to go out for coffee.
7. I am a salt hound; happy that the popularity of sea salt rose in my lifetime (I would have been an “influencer” if I knew how!) I have three different salts in my cupboard: coarse kosher salt, table salt and flaky Maldon salt. In the pantry are various gifted sea salts: pink Himalayan, black, rosemary flavored and more. I make regular trips to 9 Bean Rows for their Sea Salt Fennel bread, perfect with everything. In my kitchen, anchovies sneak their way into a lot of sauces, pizza, and pasta. At the table, I’ll offer a side plate of extra anchovies when serving Caesar salad. I feel lucky to be part of an era of salt-topped sweets: sea salt caramels, salt sprinkled on ice cream and chocolate chip cookies. I have low blood pressure so haven’t gotten the medical frown (yet) on the amount of salt I eat. Whew.
8. I am an over-packer when I travel. As with my pantry, I want to be sure to have something “just in case.” Next month, I will be forced to pack lightly as I must carry all of my stuff in a small backpack for a long three-week walking trip. Will this change my ways? We’ll see. I won’t be able to bring any coffee-making supplies, which worries me a lot.
9. I performed with the Riverside Shakespeare Company for a few years. I wore a fat suit to play Nell, the kitchen wench, in “Comedy of Errors” (“…no longer from head to foot than from hip to hip: she is spherical, like a globe, I could find countries in her.”) I was terrible at sword fighting in “Henry V” (but loved it.) Decent as the Chorus in “Romeo and Juliet,” my favorite role, perhaps because I got to be the narrator/storyteller.
10. I ate ice cream with Paul Newman at his house. He opened the door in his bathrobe. “Hi, come on in. Just made ice cream. Want some?” Ask me about it sometime.
Aren’t we full of surprises!
Onion Dip
I love homemade onion dip! You may need to play around with the onion/garlic powder amounts to hit the right note, if you like the taste of dip made with an onion soup mix.
Makes 1 ¼ cup
1 T. canola oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 C. sour cream
1 t. onion powder (opt)
1 t. garlic powder (opt)
1 T. minced dried onion (opt)
Salt to taste
Heat oil in a heavy skillet. Turn heat to medium low, add onion and stirring regularly, cook onion until soft and light brown. Remove onion to a bowl, then sauté the shallot in the same way. Let onions and shallots cool, then add sour cream and optional powdered onion and garlic. Taste and add salt (remember your potato chips will be salty too.)
— Rose Hollander, becauseof Barb Olson
Brined Focaccia
It felt weird to pour brine over the dough, but this really makes a very nice salty focaccia. You can add fresh rosemary, roasted garlic cloves, or other toppings before baking if you’d like. Freezes well!
For the dough:
2½ C. lukewarm water
½ t. active dry yeast
2½ t. honey
5 1/3 C. all-purpose flour
2 T. kosher salt
¼ C. olive oil, plus more for pan and finishing
Flaky salt for finishing
For the brine: 1 t. kosher salt and 1/3 cup lukewarm water
In a medium bowl, stir together water, yeast, and honey to dissolve. In a very large bowl, whisk flour and salt together to combine and then add yeast mixture and olive oil. Stir until just incorporated, then scrape the sides of the bowl clean and cover with plastic wrap. Leave bowl at room temperature for 12 to 14 hours until dough is doubled in volume.
Spread 3 tablespoons oil evenly onto an 18” X 13” inch rimmed baking sheet. When dough is ready, use a spatula to release it from the sides of the bowl and pour out onto pan. Pour an additional 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the dough and spread across. Gently stretch the dough to the edge of the sheet by placing your hands underneath and pulling outward. Rest the dough for 30 minutes but repeat stretching once or twice during that time.
Dimple the dough all over by pressing your fingers in at an angle. Stir the water and salt until salt is dissolved, then pour over the dough. Proof focaccia in the pan for 45 minutes until the dough is light and bubbly.
Adjust rack to center position and preheat oven to 450°F while dough is proofing. If you have a baking stone, place it on rack (or invert another baking sheet on rack) while oven is preheating. You can bake without the stone or extra sheet, but it may take more time to get browned.
Sprinkle focaccia with flaky salt. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes directly on top of stone or an inverted pan until bottom crust is crisp and golden brown (lift with a metal spatula to look underneath.)
Remove from oven and brush 2 tablespoons olive oil over the whole surface. Let cool for 5 minutes, then release focaccia from pan with metal spatula and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.
— Rose Hollander, adapted from “Salt Fat Acid Heat”
Affogato (Vanilla Ice Cream and Espresso)
This combines two of my favorite things! I love finding it in some of the coffee shops around Traverse City now.
“Affogato” means “drowned” in Italian. Place one or two scoops of vanilla ice cream into a heat proof glass or cup and pour a shot of espresso or strong hot coffee over the ice cream. Enjoy the ice cream first, then drink the remaining coffee. Yummy!
Paul Newman served vanilla ice cream that night. Just saying.
Vanilla Ice Cream
Makes 1-plus quart
3 C. half and half
1 vanilla bean or 1 t. vanilla paste
¾ C. sugar
6 egg yolks
Place half and half in a medium, heavy saucepan. Scrape the seeds from a vanilla pod and add to the cream. Heat until simmering, then turn off heat and let steep in the pot about 30 minutes. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl. Heat cream again, then slowly add to the egg mixture, whisking as you add. Put mixture back in the saucepan, and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring continuously, until custard thickens and a finger run across the spoon leaves a path, about 5 minutes. Do not allow mixture to boil. Pour through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Refrigerate until cold, then process custard in an ice cream maker. Freeze until firm.
— Rose Hollander