About Arthur: The New York Times Magazine called Arthur Schwartz “a walking Google of food and restaurant knowledge.” As the restaurant critic and executive food editor of the New York Daily News, which he was for 18 years, he was called The Schwartz Who Ate New York. Nowadays, he is best known as The Food Maven, the name of his website. Whatever the sobriquet, he is acknowledged as one of the country’s foremost experts on food, cooking, culinary history, restaurants, and restaurant history.
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15% off Extra virgin olive oil handcrafted from Villa Cappelli in Puglia, Italy. Experts say that the olive oil from Puglia is some of the most palatable in the world, characterized by its digestibility and high vitamin content.
1/2 Liter~16.9 ounces, regularly
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Just released. Arthur Schwartz's Newest Cookbook. Available at Amazon and major booksellers everywhere.
Summer Pudding
Summer Pudding is an English idea: a mold of white bread and sweetened, stewed berries. The berry juice soaks into the bread that incases the fruit. In the end, you can unmold it, like a filled pastry. It's impressive, even though almost no work at all. In England, black currants are one of the usual berries, but even an English traditionalist would admit that any berry will do. I use what I can get, which generally does not include currants. This week it was strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, which aren't as juicy as other berries. So our Summer Pudding didn't have quite enough juice to soak and stain all the bread evenly. It didn't matter. It was fabulous anyway. I served it with some lightly whipped, unsweetened cream. You couldn't even see that there were white spots on the bread. It's great topped with vanilla ice cream, too – as you can imagine.
Summer Pudding
1 loaf sliced white bread, crusts removed
1 quart strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 pint blueberries, washed and drained
1/2 pint raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
A few hours before you make the pudding, place the bread on a cake or oven rack to dry out a bit. (Even several-day old white bread is usually too soft.)
Take an 8-inch square baking dish, about 2 inches deep, or any pan of similar volume. Line the bottom and sides with the slices of bread in an attractive fashion, cutting the bread to fit. Since the pudding will be unmolded, the bottom and sides will show. (There is no need to butter or grease the pan.) Be sure that there are no spaces between the pieces of bread.
In a medium saucepan, combine the berries and sugar. Bring to a boil, covered, over medium heat, stirring once or twice, then let cool completely. The fruit should be soft.
With a slotted spoon, place the fruit in the prepared dish. Cover the fruit with a final layer of snugly fitted slices of bread.
Drizzle the remaining fruit juices over the top layer of bread and especially around the bread that lines the sides.
Cover with waxed paper and place a weight on top, something that fits the pan, such as another pan, or a small board. A good weight is a can of tomatoes.
Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or up to several days.
To unmold, run a sharp knife around the sides of the pan. Place a serving plate over the pan with the pudding, turn it upside down and jerk the pudding sharply so it will fall onto the plate.
