I do not normally heed the sweet siren song of desserts, but over Labor Day Weekend I indulged myself mightily. I did share, but that is the only saving grace I exhibited. I am not sure that I shared from within my heart of hearts – a snarling, selfish, teeth-baring beast lurks there, but I do not have the time or the inclination to analyze my true feelings. I mean, would you portion your cannoli out to your family if you didn’t have to? If no one was looking, would you angelically slice your delish mille fleuille into four pieces so the numbnuts at your table who hadn’t ordered the most exquisite dessert on the menu could enjoy your passion for cream pat? But what I will do now, to assuage my 20-20 hindsight shameful guilt, is pass on a recipe with you for a mind-bending pie, that will keep the glow of summer shining on your fair countenance.
We went to Atlanta for the Labor Day weekend, expecting to visit our son and his bride. We hadn’t planned on eating quite so much delicious food as was humanly possible, which is why Luke the wonder dog and I are back to walking our 12,000 steps a day, otherwise I will soon morph into a Weeble People. Heavens, everything was tasty!
Friday night we gussied up a little bit before venturing out to the completely sublime Kimball House in Decatur. All of the male servers were mustachtioed and charming, with vaguely British accents. They also had a deep and intimate knowledge of the many geographic permutations of the oyster, the subtleties of the cocktail list, and a deft hand pouring French 75s. Heavens to Betsy! What followed: a dozen oysters, kale, a true Caesar salad, steaks, grilled sweet peppers, snow crab bisque, ricotta mezzaluna, and Szechuan sausages. Their menu changes daily, but here is a link to their website: https://www.kimball-house.com/menu/. You’ll get an idea of how carefully sourced and curated our meal was.
My dining companions chose to finish with Chocolate Opera Torte, which was delicious in its own obvious way. I ordered the Mille Feuille, which as any cardholding, tote bag toting, PBS member understands, is the only dessert one could possibly order. Would Mary Berry expect anything less of me? Would she judge it a favorably as the Mille Feuilles baked on The Great British Bake Off? I think she would have been ecstatic. It was perfectly baked, piped and served with a flourish. But then I had to share it. Alack. Virtue is not its own reward. You should wander into Kimball House (call first!) – I have added it to my list a favorite restaurants, along with Rule’s, Daphne’s and Pellicci’s. Here is a recipe for Mille Feuille: https://omgfood.com/mille-feuille/
We walked to the neighborhood pizza place, Vero Pizzeria, in Brookhaven another night and masterfully devoured two pizzas: a Number 4: tomato, fennel sausage, rapini, pesto and Calabrian chili, and a Number 9: Valenza meatball, grape tomato, mozzarella and ricotta. Since it was Saturday night we had to wash it all down with a divine Prosecco. Amiable adventurers all, we ordered all three desserts on the menu: tiramisu, cannoli and panna cotta. We cannot convey enough gratitude to the chef, even after almost a week. Yumsters! https://vero-pizzeria.com/
We intruded upon the newlyweds for a traditional Labor Day meal of brats and beer and watermelon and all one could expect of another major feast day in America. Courtnei was good enough to bake this pie for us, and to share her source material. I extend her generous gesture. https://gardenandgun.com/article/summer-slices-sour-orange-pie She added another tablespoon of orange juice to her pie, or you can add some orange zest, to boost the orange flavor a little bit. Florida missed out when it did not choose this as its state dessert. Key Lime Pie is amazing, too, but this is a taste of Florida sunshine, without the Dave Barry nutcases. https://www.wsj.com/articles/florida-the-punchline-state-1472845591
I will waddle off with Luke for another walk, now. Have a deelightful weekend! I see that Mark Bittman has a new book coming out soon How to Bake Everything. Just in time for the holidays! https://markbittman.com/now-bake-everything/
“Pie, pie, me oh my,
Nothing tastes better, wet, salty and dry,
all at once – oh, well it’s pie.
Apple and pumpkin and mince and black bottom,
I’ll come to your place every day if you’ve got ’em.
Pie, me oh my, I love pie.”
-Andie McDowell
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