I’ve been on Maui since last Tuesday, taking myself to random podiatry appointments (gotta love going to a doctor who’s known you since you were half the size you are now), cooking impromptu Thanksgiving dinners (I hadn’t planned to do much of anything, since my dad and Susan were in a meditation retreat), and immersing myself in as much salt water as humanly possible.
I’ve also been hiding as effectively as possible from my very, very, VERY last book deadline. The big one. The one I thought had already come and gone, but nope—there was one more, where you get to make triple-quadruple sure that everything is just right. So far I have thirty notes to send back to the publisher, so I suppose it’s a good thing they gave me one last peep. I’m also incredibly grateful I’ve had some guiding lights in the process, particularly my dear friends Molly and Adrianna, who’ve both endured their fair share of late night book-related rants from me.They both know the stress of the publishing process, and the joy that lies just on the other side—most recently in the form of Adrianna’s deeply therapeutic A Cozy Coloring Cookbook.
Here is something I’ve learned over the past month: Coloring is deeply therapeutic. My favorite weekend mornings have all begun with picking up my package of colored pencils and letting myself drop into the meditative state of shading, tracing, and drawing with abandon. I had no idea that right-brained part of myself was craving liberation, but the moment I got the Cozy Coloring Cookbook, I realized the book was the greatest gift anyone could give themselves at this moment in time.
For every piece of terrible news, every political disappointment, every anxiety, every fear, there is a moment of respite in pencil hitting paper. The singular concentration it takes to bring a hibiscus strawberry jam to life is healing balm for the frenzied mind. Who knew? I just need a little coloring to calm down.
I’m planning on buying copies of the book for everyone I know over the holidays, not only because Adrianna is a gem of a human being and a brilliant recipe generator, but because I know this book will considerably improve the collective mood. Not to mention it has recipes like this grape-ricotta crostata, which is both incredibly fun to say and absolutely delicious.
Most of you know how I feel about galettes—freeform pies. I love them. Love their ease and beauty, how quickly they come together. A crostata is just an Italian way of saying galette, and is just as easy to make.
I’ve never baked with grapes before, and my inaugural adventure was a grand success. In the oven, juicy and bursting, these grapes take on a sweetness akin to blueberries, with a unique roundness and complexity to their sugar. Paired with the subtle tang of ricotta, honey, and a touch of brown sugar, it’s pretty divine.
I can’t wait to make this one throughout the winter. Not to mention that a repeat performance will give me the chance to do some more work on coloring those grape vines! (Mad props to my incredible assistant Shelby for her coloring skills on the pages you see here.)
GRAPE-RICOTTA CROSTATA FROM A COZY COLORING COOKBOOK.
Ingredients
pastry dough
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 ice cubes
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons salted butter (1 stick) chilled
crostata filling
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 pound red or black seedless grapes
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- splash of vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon large egg + 1 water for egg wash
Instructions
Make the dough (my own recipe, not from A Cozy Coloring Cookbook).
- In a small bowl, mix together the water, apple cider vinegar, and ice cubes. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and sugar. Add chilled butter cubes and cut into the dry mixture using a pastry cutter until the butter is in pea-sized and slightly smaller pieces. Add 2 tablespoons of the ice water-apple cider vinegar mixture, and continue to blend using pastry cutter until dough begins to come together. Use hands to knead dough gently into a uniform ball. If it’s too sticky, add a sprinkle or two of flour, until pliable but smooth. Shape dough into a disk and flatten into a 1-inch thick circle. Wrap in plastic and chill in refrigerator at least one hour.
Make the crostata.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºLine a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ricotta, honey, and salt. In a medium bowl, toss the grapes with the cornstarch, sugar, and vanilla.
- Roll out the pie crust into a 13" circle and transfer to the baking sheet. Spread the ricotta mixture over the crust, leaving a 2 ½" border. Arrange the grapes on top. Fold over the sides of the crust. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and water. Brush the crust with the egg wash. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown.
