Open Window

Rome

The art ......!

The Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Bernini in Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, Italy

Sent from my iPhone
Claudia Danforth Ward

Brave Souls

Spring is definitely here and some brave souls are even trying to rush summer! What a wonderful day at the beach - summer temps, a perfect picnic, and no crowds. Hope you all have been able to enjoy this weather.

Sent from my iPhone
Claudia Danforth Ward

Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus is a vegetable that I've always adored but getting my husband to eat it on any regular basis was a challenge. He'd eat it steamed but only with plenty of butter and maybe a squeeze of lemon, and truly he'd prefer it with a large dollop of hollandaise sauce. Well will wonders never cease, I've found a way to prepare it that he adores, and now the man who won't eat anything two days in a row is asking for "more asparagus please"!

How did I do it? Roasted asparagus. He likes it not only for it's roasted flavor but for the texture and those crispy tips. I love that it has NO butter, only olive oil, salt, and pepper, and a little grated Parmesan cheese ... if you must! If you haven't tried this way of cooking vegetables yet, do, I expect you'll be the next convert. Once again, thanks to Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa for the inspiration!

Roasted Asparagus
(6 servings) 

2½ pounds fresh asparagus (about 30 large)
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional) 
2 lemons cut in wedges, for serving 
=================================

• Preheat the oven to 400℉.
• If the stalks of asparagus are thick, peel the bottom half of each. 
• Lay them in a single layer on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil (roll asparagus around to coat with oil), sprinkle with salt and pepper, grate Parmesan Reggiano over the asparagus. 
• Roast for 20-25 minutes, until tender. (Length of time depends upon the thickness of the asparagus.)
• Serve with lemon wedges. 

Note: I shave the Parmesan over the asparagus before I cook it, mainly because I'll forget it later. Ina, adds it at the end, and then returns the cheese covered asparagus to the oven for another minute. It's a matter of convenience in  my opinion.

Now what do you think my chances are with the dreaded broccoli? Anyone taking bets? Stay tuned.

Ginger Snaps

Who doesn't like the gingery flavor of a good old-fashioned ginger snap? If you answered "I don't" you might as well move on for now. However, if you answered with a resounding "I do!", you will love this recipe.

We stumbled across an episode of Alton Brown's Good Eats that was all about ginger, and lo and behold he included a recipe for Ginger Snaps which included the use of fresh ginger! This, my friends, is what makes all the difference in this recipe - by making it truly gingery! Yes it still uses the ground variety too, but the true ginger flavor is provided by none other than true ginger!

Peter likes his cookies a bit chewy so we cooked these for only 12 minutes, but if your childhood memories are like mine and you recall the "snap" being crisp, then cook them slightly longer - say 15 minutes.

Now you'll notice something a little different in this recipe ... at least I did. Measurements are not by volume but rather are by weight. Everyone knows that precise measurements are not critical to most cooking .... with the exception of baking - this is a science. Wondering whether weight vs volume makes a real difference, I conducted a test and found that a cup of flour scooped out of the canister and leveled off with a dinner knife weighed 5⅛ ounces which is ⅞ of an ounce more than it should, according to King Arthur Flour. They have a fantastic Master Weight Chart converting the volume of common ingredients to weight, and they say a cup of all-purpose flour should convert to just 4¼ ounces. So if baking is a science and demands accuracy - weight trumps volume any day.

Ginger Snaps
(About 4 dozen)

9½ ounces all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons Baking soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon kosher salt
7 ounces dark brown sugar
5 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
3 ounces molasses, by weight
1 large egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
==================================

Preheat the oven to 350℉.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and salt.

Place the brown sugar and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and bear on low speed until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add the molasses, egg and fresh ginger and beat on medium for 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until well combined.

With a 2-teaspoon sized scoop, drop the dough onto a parchment lined half sheet pan approximately 2-inches apart. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 12 minutes for slightly chewy cookies and 15 minutes for more crisp cookies. Rotate the pan halfway through cooking.

Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to stay on the sheet pan for 30 seconds before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with all the dough. Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days. If desired you may scoop and freeze the cookie dough on a sheet pan and once frozen, place in a resealable bag to store. Bake directly from the freezer as above. 

P.S. Alton also stirs in 4 ounces of finely chopped candied ginger just before adding the dry ingredients. We don't particularly care for candied ginger so I've left it out here, but you can always add it if you have it on hand.

1 World Trade Center

Progress is finally being made on the World Trade Center and it looks like 1 World Trade will be elegant and stunning.

Photo © 2012 Peter Tooker iPhone

Sent from my iPhone
Claudia Danforth Ward

Ham - It's What's for Dinner

This time of year, we love to cook meals "that keep on giving" - like a ham. We like the shank half because it's slightly sweeter than the butt half, has less fat and only one bone, making it easier to carve. A dear friend of mine shared her recipe for glazed ham years ago and I've been making it the same way ever since. The flavor of her glaze is what makes me come back to this recipe time after time. Brown sugar, orange juice, dry mustard, ground cloves and ginger, are spiked with a touch of cognac or brandy - tell me that doesn't sound delicious. The recipe is easy. The first and second meals are great: sliced ham served with a tablespoon or two of that wonderful glaze, accompanied by sweet potato fries and green beans, or some variation thereof. Then the leftovers are diverse and wonderful ... Stuffed Green Peppers perhaps, and/or Split Pea and Ham Soup. We don't have ham very often, but when we do we never let anything go to waste.

Carol's Glazed Ham

10 pound smoked ham (Cook's), Shank-end - (NOT an un-smoked Picnic Ham)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 small can frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup cognac/brandy
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Shake of cinnamon
==================================
 

Glaze Sauce

• Combine the brown sugar, defrosted oj concentrate, cognac/brandy, mustard, ground cloves, ground ginger, and cinnamon in a medium-size bowl or a 16-ounce measuring cup.

Ham

• Place ham in a large dutch oven or stock pot, broad side down. Fill with water, covering the ham as much as possible (¾) without risking boiling over. Cover pot, canted, if possible. Boil ham about 2½ hours. If you cannot cover the pot, add water during the 2½ hours as it evaporates.
• Preheat oven to 350℉
• Place ham in roasting pan with a little water, and put in preheated oven.
• Baste ham with glaze/sauce every 15 minutes. Cook 30-60 minutes.
• Allow ham to rest, carve and serve pouring some of the extra glaze over each portion.

 

Open Window's Second Year

It's official, Open-Window is now two years old. I can hardly believe I began this blog on a cold January day, sitting at the island in my kitchen, 730 days ago. In the past two years, Open-Window has focused my days on creating stories, snippits, and photographs that I hoped you would find entertaining, sometimes informative, and maybe even amusing. We've covered a lot of ground and many diverse topics over this time ranging from Hawaii to Paris, Hamburger Relish to Caviar, Horse Racing to Airshow Acrobatics. As time has passed, we increasingly focused on the images and slide shows that would accompany a post, and have worked diligently to improve the quality of all that we delivered. Peter has continued to emphasize wide-angle HDR (high dynamic range) photography whether on his DSLR (digital single lens reflex-camera) or his, ever-handy, iPhone, and I have continued with my love of all-things-macro, although we each dabbled in the other's specialty just to keep it interesting.

Mexican Train Tiles and Turtles
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward 

Over the past twenty four months, we've made 388 postings to Open-Window which is an average of almost 4 per week, nearly every one containing at least one photograph and 60 of which included a slide show with music. When we embarked on this endeavor, we expected to focus on travel, food and photography. As it's turned out, the focus has been just that ... but in reverse - photography, food and travel. See, we'll photograph nearly anything - food that we eat, games that we play, children at the beach, machines of any sort, flowers and their residents, landmarks and landscapes, moon-rises and sunsets, and even light itself. 

The Outer Banks of North Caroline
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward taken with the iPhone using the Pro HDR App

This year has been quite a journey photographically as well as geographically. Peter and I traveled over 14, 500 miles. We drove the entire east coast from the east end of Long Island to Orlando, Florida, traversing Florida, and turning north to reach Memphis Tennessee. We crossed the states of Tennessee and North Carolina end-to-end (west to east), photographing some of this country's most beautiful scenery in the Great Smoky Mountains. When we reached the Atlantic Ocean, it felt like we'd returned home, for tidal waters are in our veins, and the days on the Outer Banks are now cherished memories. Early morning sunrises over the ocean, wild horses on the beaches, hang gliding from the dunes, and fish tacos are just a few of the things we captured in-frame. With tornadoes nipping at our heels from western Florida, to Memphis and eventually to eastern North Carolina, we headed home just hours before their destruction hit the locales we'd come to know and love. Atlantic City was our refuge from the storms, before returning to the calm, untouched East End.

Spanish Mustang on the Outer Banks
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward

Thirty days and thirty nights, and 4,000 miles on the road gave us a tremendous, renewed appreciation for the beauty and diversity of this country we live in. A couple of hundred more miles were covered seeking out horses at Saratoga Springs in August. For one who isn't known as an animal lover, I do love photographing them. Whether in their stance or stride, they speak volumes to me and hopefully that is being captured by the lens. Finally, the balance of those miles (nearly 10,000) were accomplished by a trip to The Big Island of Hawaii, where we were able to photograph the incredible diversity of this island's landscape and all of its beauty from a helicopter. 

Antique Hood Ornament
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward 

More locally, we visited Belmont Park just a week before the Stakes were run and attended the Hampton Classic Horse Show every single day it was held over Labor Day weekend. There were at least three Antique Auto Shows, one Road Rallye and a Mini Cooper Scavenger Hunt that we shot as well. Our beaches on the east end of Long Island are some of the most breathtaking in the country (right up there with North Carolina's) and we spent many happy hours either hip deep in snow in January or ankle deep in sand in August, capturing the undulating shapes of their dunes draped in snow or the power of their seas after a storm.

Light Painting for New Year's
Photo © 2011 Peter Tooker 

The holidays that dot our calendars were also not ignored. Memorial Day is always an homage to the "Opening" of the Hamptons season. Flag Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season were all duly noted and celebrated with photographs too.   

Meaty Tomato painted by Barbara Andolsek

Let me also add, ever so humbly, that I have once again been thrilled that Barbara Andolsek continues to make paintings based on some of my photographs. Barbara and I have yet to meet but feel a friendship beyond pen-pals. Nearly 3,000 miles apart but with a shared appreciation for the beauty of the world around us, Barbara and I have forged a friendship that could only occur in this wonderful 21st century. It still astounds me at how incredibly open and selfless so many people are using the internet to connect, communicate, and share. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to be a part of it.

The word "blog" is derived from the expression "web log", which originally was an online journal of sorts and has morphed, over time, into a platform for communicating and exchanging information and ideas. I want to thank you all for your enthusiasm and support over the last two years but more importantly for your participation - "communication and exchange" are exactly what has occurred when you've left comments for us, and you've made it just that much more fun and interesting.

So here is a slide show which represents a snapshot of Open-Window's second year. It's shorter than last year's and yet still longer than most at just under 10 minutes. Perhaps you can set aside a little time next Sunday morning. We've made this for you, to enjoy and remember a year that we shared, and for that I want to say with great sincerity "Thanks for the memories". 

  

Photos & Slide Show by Claudia Ward & Peter Tooker © 2011
Music: Concerto in E-flat Major for Trumpet & Orchestra: 1. Allegro Con Spirito by Wynton Marsalis, National Philharmonic Orchestra & Raymond Leppard 

 

P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you thought of year two and if there is something you'd like to see more of in the coming months.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Sent from my iPhone

Yorkshire Pudding

iPhone photo by Peter Tooker

As the holidays approach, it seems everyone is practicing for the family holiday. The question is whether to cook traditional turkey or to do something different like a ham or perhaps a roast of beef. Being no different, we've been practicing too, this week with an Herb Roasted Turkey Breast (more on that later) and last week a roast of beef. The true benefit of the latter in my estimation is the ability to make Yorkshire Pudding from the drippings. 

Yorkshire Pudding, a crisp, light, roasted bread laced with the flavor of the roasted beef. My mouth is watering just writing about it. Generally, Yorkshire Pudding is made with the drippings of beef, but Peter and I have even been known to make it with the drippings from a roast leg of lamb ... yum! Many will make individual puddings, in muffin tins, but I've always made one large pudding in a roasting pan and then sliced it in to large squares. It's indescribably delicious either way.

Old Fashioned Yorkshire Pudding
(6 servings)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cold water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons melted roast beef drippings
==================================

• Preheat oven to 500℉.
• Mix flour and salt in a small bowl, add milk, a little at a time, beating with an electric mixer until smooth. Add water and eggs and beat until bubbly. Cover loosely and let stand in a cool place (not the refrigerator) about 1/2 an hour.
• Pour 3 tablespoons of melted roast been drippings into a 13" x 9" x 2" roasting pan and heat in the oven 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile beat batter until bubbles appear.
• Pour batter into the pan and bake 10 minutes, reduce heat to 450℉, and bake 12-15 minutes longer until well browned and crisp.
• Cut unto large squares and serve immediately.

 

Tarragon-Sherried Mushrooms on Toast Points

Tarragon-Sherried Mushroom on Toast Points
iPhone photo by Peter Tooker

I've never met a mushroom I didn't like and we love using them in salads, as salads, in dressings, as a vegetable, as an appetizer, and for the main course for lunch. Years ago, I cut this recipe out of some magazine and just recently stumbled upon it once again. I bought a huge package of cremini mushrooms at Costco and we've just had to use them up some how. Alas, we've had these delicious, creamy tarragon-sherried mushrooms on toast points twice this week. The good news and the bad news? The mushrooms are now gone.

These are a wonderful, easy appetizer for a dinner party - everyone thinks you worked so hard, and they're a perfect fall lunch accompanied by a salad of tossed greens with a light vinaigrette.

Sherried Mushrooms
(Makes two servings)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ pound mushrooms, sliced (white and/or cremini are what I use)
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons medium dry sherry or Madeira, to taste
½ teaspoon dried tarragon, crumbled
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
Four pieces of thin-sliced bread, lightly toasted

==================================

• In a medium skillet, heat the butter and oil over moderately high heat until foam begins to subside.
• In fat, sauté the mushrooms and shallot stirring until mushrooms begin to give off their juice.
• Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and cook mixture, stirring for one minute.
• Stir in the broth, sherry, tarragon, parsley, and salt and papper to taste. Bring liquid to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened.
• Stir in yogurt, arrange toast points on 2 plates. Spoon mixture over toast points. 

iPhone Photos from 10,000 Feet Plus

iPhone Photo from 10,000 feet - Mauna Kea on Hawaii

The iPhone 4 has an incredible camera in it. I dismissed it for the longest time as a toy until we went on a 30 day road trip last spring and then it became a working participant in my small arsenal of cameras. Recently, Peter and I flew nearly the entire breadth of the United States, from New York City to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, stopping in Seattle each way. These are long flights and what do you do on airplanes these days, when everything on board is mediocre and expensive? Answer: Look out the window. Just look at what I saw Flying High Above the Clouds.

 iPhone photos & slide show ©2011 Claudia Ward
Music: "Le Matelot Club" from the soundtrack of Victor/Victoria

The apps I used to take these images included the Camera app that came with the iPhone 4, Camera+, and HDR Pro, however, few of the images taken with the latter app survived because it still detected and showed movement. I'm thrilled with the quality of the images from the other two apps which were only straightened and sharpened in Adobe Photoshop Elements later. You'll see that I've included some images in the slide show that I might not show standing on their own because of the graininess, but they help advance the story of a setting or rising sun, so they're here. There are points at dusk and dawn when the light is not sufficient enough to overcome the graininess ... but, usually in those circumstances I'd have my DSLR on a tripod, just not this time at 34,000 feet in a 767.

Remember, to see the best quality slide show, click on the HD and then the words highlighted in blue "watch this video in High Definition". You'll be taken to Vimeo, where this slide show resides, click on the play arrow, and enjoy. Thanks.

34,000 Feet Over the Pacific

On our way to Hawaii.

Sent from my iPhone

Girls in the Window

I love this photograph taken in HDR on my iPhone in Memphis, but .... what's wrong with this picture?

Sent from my iPhone

Beach Feet

Greetings from Cape Cod!

Peter and I left town for the Cape and Islands right after I was laid off from a Wall Street bank two years ago. Well it's becoming an annual event as here we are again, visiting friends and family, eating lobster by the pound, and getting sand in our toes.

iPhone photo ©2011 Claudia Ward

Here's to all of you worker bees ... We wish for you all sand in your toes, sun on your back, and sea breezes in your hair.

Belmont Park

The Belmont Stakes is the next and final race in the Triple Crown and takes place at Belmont Park in Elmont, NY. The Belmont is the oldest of the triple crown races, having first been held in 1866, and is considered by some the most demanding, not only because it's the longest race at 1½ miles on a dirt track but because of the schedule. The Belmont is run three weeks after the Preakness and only five weeks after the Kentucky Derby - this year on Saturday the 11th of June. This is the 143rd running of the Belmont Stakes and if you "do the math" you may be wondering what happened to two years. Well, the race has been held annually except for in 1911 and 1912, when racing was outlawed in New York State - bet you didn't know that!

If you watched the Preakness last week, you know that there will be no triple crown winner this year. Animal Kingdom won the Derby and came in second at the Preakness behind Shackleford. The Belmont Stakes will be an exciting race, in a beautiful park. When Peter and I went there last week, the park was nearly empty, allowing us to appreciate the perspective onlookers will have from every level, from the Trackside Apron to the third floor of the Grand Stand. One thing struck us though - Belmont feels small, and if it feels small when it's this empty, what will it feel like on race day with 100,000 spectators.

  Photos and Slide Show @Claudia Ward
All photos taken with the iPhone and processed with HDR Pro
Music: Ashes by Thomas Newman - Soundtrack of Little Women