2-BSide
2B — Thursday, November 17, 2016
the b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
My pie odyssey began last
Wednesday at a pie dough class
taught in the basement of the
downtown branch of the Ann
Arbor District Library. I had a hard
time dragging my heavy heart the
few blocks from my apartment — it
was Nov. 9 after all.
I can’t bake. I can’t even cook.
I really like microwaving frozen
meatballs and eating cereal. I love
takeout and those pink frosted
cookies from Meijer. But a week ago
I made an oath to a beautiful Senior
Arts Editor that I would bake a pie
for the B-side.
That’s how I found myself
squishing a chunk of butter in my
bare hands in the basement of the
library on the worst day of the year.
And I am so glad I did.
Before I dive into the details of
flaky crust and cheesy pie toppings,
I want to express my gratitude for
the other people who attended
the event with me. Nothing could
have reaffirmed my beliefs about
the innate goodness of people
more than baking pie dough in a
basement with 12 strangers — most
of whom were women and not
native English speakers.
The
woman
sitting
across
from me asked me what I do for
Thanksgiving. She was new to the
class, and she was trying to master
an apple pie before the holiday. She
scrolled through photos on her
iPhone to show me pies — pies with
sunken crusts, pies that were burnt
and pies that looked beautiful but
were (she assured me) not good at
all. It felt good to know that in the
midst of so much division, strangers
still want to show you pictures of
food on their phones. People still
want to connect with each other.
“I started when I was about
six at my grandma’s knee making
chocolate
chip
cookies,”
said
Keegan Rodgers, head baker and
bakery manager at the People’s
Food Co-op, as well as the class’s
teacher. “That started my love.”
Rodgers has been teaching
baking classes through the co-op
for five years. He began last
week’s class by going over the
dissimilarities between various
types of dough.
“These are the greatest baking
instruments you’ll ever need,” he
said, lifting two butter-covered
hands into the air.
We mushed the blocks of butter
and began to mix them into the
flour. Rodgers teaches a technique
from this mixing called frisage.
“Fan money with your fingers,”
he instructs us. The process
involves coming up from under
and pressing the butter through
the flour and salt until the mixture
is the consistency of cornmeal.
The process of encapsulating
the flour in the butter is what
creates flakes. It’s also a reason
to use additional flour sparingly
when rolling out the crust. Flour
that does not get encapsulated in
butter is what makes the dough
dry or hard.
The next step is to add the water.
Rodgers suggests adding a tiny
bit of vinegar to the water before
adding the liquid to the dough,
then just dumping it in. None of
the sprinkle and mix method that
many food writers promote.
And then you just mush around
the dough, folding it in on itself
over and over, until the dough
no longer sticks to your fingers.
That’s when you know it’s done —
when your hands aren’t covered in
dough any more.
And that’s it. The first half of my
journey was complete without any
injury or tragedy. Maybe baking
pies can be easy — a sentiment
Rodger agreed with. For students
trying to bake in smaller kitchens,
he recommends sticking with the
Thanksgiving staple.
“Pies really are the way to go,”
he said. “They’re so versatile.”
His personal favorite is a lemon
meringue, but more traditional
fruit pies are often easier for
amateur bakers (like myself).
Now I had the dough, but I
didn’t know what to fill it with. So,
I called the best chef I know — my
dad. He passed on a recipe for an
apple pie, an American classic.
I knew the recipe he sent would
make a very good, very normal
apple pie. But, I tried something
a little different for my pie. The
first adaption was pretty tame
— my dad likes to use half apples
and half pears when he is making
his pies. The risk level for this
culinary swap was low. Apples and
pears are basically the same thing,
right?
The second change was a little
more dramatic. My grandfather
used to eat his apple pie with a
big slice of cheddar cheese. When
my dad passed that mental image
down to me during our phone call,
I was disgusted. Dairy in general
is something I don’t like to think
about too much — people who
can drink plain milk are the worst
kind of mythical creature.
But I
tried it. What is Thanksgiving all
about if not familial oddities?
The recipe my dad passed
along included instructions for
making a cheese topping for the
pie, so I decided to try that. I had
to trek across town to get a cheese
grater. I was originally going to
use my pre-shredded Mexican-
blend cheese mix from Trader
Joe’s, but a quick Google search
told me that would be “completely
gross.”
When I sat down to actually
make the pie, I realized I didn’t
have a pie tin. I almost had a pie
tin, but I accidentally broke the
ceramic one I was going to buy
in the checkout line at Meijer and
was too embarrassed to go back
for another one. Alas, I went to
CVS and found a cake pan that
seemed sufficient.
Back home, I peeled and cut
my apples and pears. I mixed
my sugar and spices and coated
the sliced fruit, but when I got
out my dough I realized — yet
again — how grossly unprepared
I was for this adventure. I didn’t
have a rolling pin. So I used a
combination of a wooden spoon,
a potato and my hands to roll/
smash the dough into sort of a
circle.
Instead of covering my pie with
a second crust, I baked it open
like a tart (but, very different
from a tart!) at 450 degrees
Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Then
I grated my sharp cheddar over
the top. The recipe told me then
to put the pie in a broiler. “What
is a broiler?” you might ask. I’m
still not sure, but it sounds like a
mixture of baker and boiler. My
oven (miraculously) has a broil
feature so I set out to use that. I left
my cheese-coated pie in the oven
on broil for about five minutes.
When I took it out, it looked — and
smelled — surprisingly delicious.
Then I went to cut myself a
piece. I wanted so badly for my pie
to be a success. It looked beautiful,
and it smelled beautiful. I sunk
the knife in expecting to hit the
crisp lower crust but I got nothing.
Nothing. The pie was liquid
goo all the way through. I still
dolloped a mound of apple/pear
mush with cheese onto my plate.
It was good, it was really good, but
it wasn’t a pie. The dough on the
bottom hadn’t hardened like I had
expected it to; it had absorbed the
moisture of the apples and pears
and turned into mush.
I was so close. I had the perfect
dough and a great recipe. I was
going to make the kind of pie my
dad would make, the kind of pie
my grandfather would’ve eaten.
But
somewhere
between
my
ancient oven, hand-rolled dough,
cake pan and “broiled” cheese
topper,
something
had
gone
horribly wrong.
Since eating the sad (but
delicious) lumps of cheesy, sugary
fruit with my roommate, I’ve
called my dad. He assured me
that anyone with a better kitchen
and real baking tools could have
tremendous success. So, never
fear, reader! A cheese-covered pie
and a slice of my weirdo family is
within reach.
Recipe:
Crust:
· 5 cups all-purpose flour
· 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
· 1 pound unsalted butter,
room temperature
· 1 cup cold water
· 1 tablespoon vinegar (mixed
into water)
Combine flour and salt in a
bowl. Work butter between hands
until it is malleable but not melted.
Mix the butter into the flour using
the frisage technique mentioned
earlier. Once the mix is the
consistency of cornmeal, add the
water and vinegar mixture. Knead
dough until it no longer sticks to
your hands or your work surface.
Refrigerate for up to a week or
freeze for as long as food products
can usually be frozen — I do not
know how long that is.
Filling:
· 5-6 cups apples, peeled,
cored and cut very thin (I used
half apples and half pears)
· 1/2 cup white or brown
sugar (tart apples like Granny
Smith might need 2/3 cup; I used
Honeycrisps with 1/2 cup brown
sugar)
· 1/8 teaspoon salt
· 1 tablespoon cornstarch
· 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
· 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
· 1 1/2 tablespoon butter
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine sugar, salt, cornstarch,
cinnamon and nutmeg. Sift over
the apples and pears. Place them
in layers in the crust. Dot with
butter. Add vanilla on top.
For no cheese: Cover the pie
with the second crust and prick
the center. Bake for 10 minutes
at 450 degrees. Reduce the heat
to 350 degrees, bake for another
45-60 minutes.
For cheese: Bake pie for 20
minutes at 450 degrees without a
top crust. Take pie out and grate
cheese — sharp cheddar works
well — over the top. Broil until
cheese is melted. As the pie cools,
FOOD COLUMN
T
his past weekend, my
friends and I made
the straining seven-
hour drive to Iowa and back
for the football game only to
return disappointed, heartbro-
ken and hungry.
As we desperately sped past
The Largest Truck Stop in the
World, the Mississippi River
and the Indiana border, eager
to return home to Ann Arbor,
our conversation shifted to the
dense smattering of billboards
advertising fast food. Signs
indicating exits to McDonald’s
and Arby’s popped up over a
dozen times, each time beck-
oning us to stray off our path
and satisfy our hunger with
greasy, salty food. Cracker
Barrel called out to us with its
“Country Fried Comfort.” It
sounded better and better the
more signs we passed.
I recall being pretty much
infatuated with McDonald’s
from an early age. I was always
excited by the prospect of eat-
ing there, especially since it
was a rare (once or twice a
year) occurrence. The nov-
elty of eating at McDonald’s
made it seem like a treat to be
awaited, and any family mem-
ber or friend who took me there
instantly won brownie points.
The crispy fries and mystery
toy prize triggered some part of
my brain that made me yearn to
go back again each time I went.
I couldn’t understand why
my mom wouldn’t allow me
my coveted Happy Meal more
often. If it was so good, why did
she act like it was something to
be avoided or limited to infre-
quent indulgences?
This memory crossed my
mind as my friend and I began
discussing how totally and
completely
disgusting
the
poor excuse for real food the
grease-soaked,
sodium-laden
combination of chemicals is
that these establishments serve
their customers. I mean, who
do they think they’re fooling
into thinking that it’s real food?
Six-year-old me, that’s who.
Though from an early age
we’re told to eat our vegetables
and restricted from choosing
any of the highly appealing
sugary items in the grocery
store cereal aisle by our par-
ents, there’s a basic instinct
we all share — the desire to eat
what tastes good. That desire
has been tapped into and com-
modified by the vast majority
of the American food indus-
try and the corporations that
oversee fast food chains like
McDonald’s.
Advertisements
and packaging designed to
appeal to our desires permeate
the food landscape, infiltrating
our homes and our newsfeeds
and littering the margins of our
highways.
These monstrous fast food
chains
market
to
increase
consumption and reduce con-
sciousness. Their ultimate goal
is to profit. And if people are
willing to subsidize places like
these in return for a cost-effec-
tive, gratifying meal, no matter
the form in which it’s present-
ed to them, these companies
don’t have much of an incen-
tive to do otherwise. They sure
do know their audience. Can
you think of anyone else who’s
made the news recently that
does as well? (Hint: the new
president-elect of our country,
Donald Trump).
While we scrutinized the
phenomenon that is the fast
food industry for several miles,
it hit me — the political sphere
has become a lot like consum-
erism, selling us platforms that
we’re believed to want, not
necessarily the less shiny, less
enticing policies and candi-
dates we actually need.
In a sense, Trump’s cam-
paign platform offered up a
heavy serving of political fast
food — promising to boost the
economy and reinforce nation-
al security. The simple tag line,
“Make America Great Again,”
repeated over and over again
and stamped across bright red
hats acted as a fast food mar-
keting slogan, extending the
promise of comfort and sat-
isfaction through superficial
means.
I’m by no means a political
expert and don’t claim to know
the many reasons prompting
individual voters to support
Trump, but I can attempt to
assess the mass appeal of the
most prevalent ideas purport-
ed by him and his campaign.
Within the framework of the
fast food industry, Trump is
a Big Mac. He appeals to hun-
gry voters (white middle-class
individuals who feel disenfran-
chised and disillusioned with
their system of government)
with a simple, yet resounding
promise of satisfying them.
The frequency and repetition
of his campaign slogan and
auspicious rhetoric strategical-
ly made him appear favorable
to an audience craving a seem-
ingly easy, quick fix (like a
cheap, readily available meal).
Surely by now, everyone’s
sick and tired of hearing about
the election and about Trump
(especially in the form of
online rhetoric), but it’s diffi-
cult to push the events of the
past two weeks out of my mind
as I think about the role food
plays in our society and every-
day lives, because the media
and our political system inex-
tricably play a similar role.
In the past few years, the
media
(particularly
social
media) surrounding the elec-
tion has been inescapable, and
its content has grown more
sensationalized, more disrup-
tive and more nonsensical than
has ever been before. Rather
than working to the detriment
of a candidate who utilized
this absurdity to its extreme, it
worked to his benefit. And that
says more about what charac-
terizes our country culturally
and socially than it does about
the candidate himself.
It’s
easy
to
disseminate
information and ideas through
simple means, just as it is to
mass produce frozen burg-
ers and sell them to consum-
ers. Now that we’ve become
consumers of mass media and
social media, it’s more impor-
tant than ever to selectively
choose what we consume and
how we consume it — just as we
do with food.
At the end of the day, people
are being sold a facsimile of
what they want — whether it’s
a flashy new vision of America
that may be unrealistic or det-
rimental to its people, or a bev-
erage containing enough sugar
to knock out a small child for
an hour — regardless of wheth-
er it’s really what they need.
So, to six-year-old me, the
golden arches and red boxes
promising an exciting new toy
may have fooled me into want-
ing McDonald’s, but I know
better now. As a country, we
should know better by now too.
If Trump is a Big Mac,
Avinadav is a filet mignon. To
apply for a Michelin Star rating,
email savinad@umich.eduw
American fast food: Selling us
what we want, not what we need
In a mirror to our political landscape, McDonald’s is a quick fix to hunger
This playlist is for those who
might be feeling alienated,
rejected,
disheartened
or
scared; your validity is not
lessened by your race, gender,
religion, or sexuality. You are
loved and you belong here.
“Undefeatable” — Young
Rising Sons
We’ll start out with a pump
up song: rousing beats, a catchy
melodic
line
and
fiercely
empowering
lyrics
come
together to form Young Rising
Son’s
“Undefeatable.”
Lead
singer Andy Tongren’s voice is
emphatic and motivational as
he sings “We are the stars and
the sun / The unforgettable
ones.”
“Famous Last Words” —
My Chemical Romance
“Famous Last Words” holds
a special place in my heart
because it was my preferred
rainy
day
song
of
choice
throughout all four years of
high school. Whenever I feel
especially down, I can count
on this song to invigorate me
again.
Gerard
Way’s
voice
is candidly passionate as he
proclaims “I am not afraid
to keep on living / I am not
afraid to walk this world
alone,” an inspiring message
that is especially important in
the tumultuous days after the
election.
“Kill V. Maim” — Grimes
Grimes
delivers
an
energetically
fast
paced
anthem that urges listeners
to go against the grain. The
song glorifies rebellion, and
is
noticeably
brighter
in
comparison to many of the
other songs in this playlist,
due in part to the breathy,
sometimes
piercing
quality
of
Grimes’s
voice.
Grimes
champions the weird; most of
her music videos are downright
bizarre, yet she always exudes a
creativity and confidence that
we all hope to emulate.
“My House” — PVRIS
A
playlist
without
my
favorite band? PSYCH! YOU
THOUGHT! All jokes aside, “My
House” is about reclaiming one’s
personal space and standing
up to someone that previously
seemed unchallengeable. This
isn’t
PVRIS’s
most
famous
single for no reason; vocalist
Lynn Gunn’s voice is vibrant,
strong and effortlessly smooth.
“Shut Up!” — Simple Plan
When a situation gets to
be damaging, frustrating or
disheartening, it can be good
to take a moment to step out,
take a deep breath and reaffirm
yourself. This song perfectly
captures how one feels when it
all gets to be too much, while
simultaneously
encouraging
listeners to embrace the unique
parts of their individuality.
“You’re Going Down” —
Sick Puppies
“You’re Going Down” is a
violently intense piece filled
with ominous, heavy guitar
and
seething,
angry
lyrics.
Lead singer Shimon Moore’s
voice oozes a rich vengefulness
that comes across in his lyrical
delivery, especially at the crux
of the song, when he sings “One
of us is going / One of us is going
down” and “You’re the one
that’s going down.”
“begin again” — Purity
Ring
Purity Ring is unique for its
elegantly poetic lyrics, many
of which come from vocalist
Megan
James’s
personal
works that were originally
not intended to be published.
“Begin Again” is a captivating
piece from start to finish, with
a beautiful and distinctive
underlying bass buildup that
brings out the delicacy of
James’s voice. The song is filled
with references to rebirth and
renewal, a reminder that there
will always be good things to
come, no matter how dark the
world seems at the moment.
SAMANTHA LU
Daily Arts Writer
You are loved and you belong here
A playlist to help you search for validation in the post-election wake
The xx are known for mel-
low, chilled-out indie music
that is beloved by hipsters and
the mainstream alike. A band
hailing from London, it’s been
a few years since we’ve heard
anything new from them, with
their last real release in 2012.
“On Hold” is the lead single
from their upcoming new
album, I See You, and the band
have spent a while apart. With
Jamie xx having produced
one of the most accomplished
albums of 2015 as a solo proj-
ect, there is a lot of expecta-
tion for this new album to
meet the same standard.
Something that Jamie’s solo
album missed however, was
the joint vocals of both Romy
Croft and Oliver Sim, a trait of
The xx that has always made
them stand out. Throughout
“On Hold,” the trio swap
between taking the lead, and
the lyrics, talking about lost
love, wouldn’t work without
the other two singers and
Jamie brings his top level pro-
duction to the
table, almost
as a third
singer.
The song
itself is slow,
with calm-
ing lyrics and
delivery, which is nothing
groundbreaking. However it’s
the build up and the overall
sound that is unique to The
xx. When the song gets going,
there’s an unusually fast beat,
but it doesn’t detract from the
haunting guitars and synths
that frolic in the background
of the vocals. This is definitely
a song that is better listened to
through headphones.
It’s also a lot more honest
and upfront than anything this
band has produced before. The
lyrics are bolder, and Jamie
xx’s production is second to
none. The sample of the 1981
hit “I Can’t Go For That (No
Can Do)” by Hall & Oates
exemplifies the new areas
this band is exploring, being
only the second
sample the band
has ever used,
and the only one
to really take the
forefront. The
sound may be
more poppy than
before, but this diminishes
none of the band’s original
charm that made them so
highly acclaimed.
This band has been away
for quite some time, and this
upcoming album has been “in-
the-works” for the better part
of two years. But this song cer-
tainly presents an intriguing
insight into what the album
could entail; a perfect com-
bination of The xx’s patented
ethereal vocals and slow pace,
working perfectly in conjunc-
tion with Jamie xx’s beats and
pop-tinged style that proved so
successful on In Colour. Let’s
hope this album is as good as
this first single.
- MEGAN WILLIAMS
SINGLE REVIEW
A
“Hold On”
The xx
UOFMIXTAPE
SHIR AVINADAV
Daily Food Columnist
PIES
From Page 1B