Lottie (+ Graham Crackers)
Friday, June 12, 2009
I missed a very important occasion: my 100th post. It is hard to believe it’s been that long already and even harder to believe that you all found me! The internet is such a vast space full of people with things to share, and I am always grateful that some of you keep coming back to see what I have been up to in the kitchen. It is also satisfying for me to look back at the past 100 recipes and see a record of what I have been eating for the past few months. It is like a living cookbook. One of the most common questions I get from readers is about the name of this site: Lottie + Doof. I think it is about time I talk a little about Lottie.
Lottie was my grandma and, unlike me, she hated cooking and saw it as a chore. As a woman who came of age before the woman’s rights movement, cooking was a requirement of her role as wife and mother. She was feisty (her relationship advice to me was to make sure I lived with the person before I married them because “marriage is bullshit”) and critical of the status quo (two qualities I inherited from her). She also had an amazing sense of humor which is what I enjoyed most about her—she and I would laugh so hard we would both be crying and trying hard to catch our breath.
As she got older she got even more ornery and rebellious. I will always remember the Thanksgiving we all showed up at my grandparent’s house to be presented with take-out menus from local restaurants that happened to be open on the holiday. She excitedly told us that we could order anything we wanted from the restaurant of our choice. She was clearly very excited that she didn’t have to bother with preparing a meal for us. As we sat around the dining room table eating an odd combination of pizza, Chinese food, and Italian beef sandwiches, I thought about the differences between her life and mine. I could make choices about the food I ate and my role in the preparation of it. My embracing of home cooking was simply another choice, never a requirement. I sometimes wonder how she would have felt about cooking if it had been a choice for her. I think about her life a lot and she has played a big role in my work as an artist. There was never a question for me that this blog would be named after and dedicated to her. So, that is Lottie.
Once of Lottie’s favorite things to eat was graham crackers. There was always a box of Honey Maid Grahams in her pantry and I associate the sweet crackers with her. I have been considering graham cracker recipes for a couple of years and following other bloggers in their experiments. I can’t imagine a better recipe than this Nancy Silverman recipe that I initially read about on 101 Cookbooks and then more recently on Smitten Kitchen. These are perfection. They taste like the graham crackers of your childhood. I have made them twice in the last few weeks and each time Bryan and I stand around the kitchen saying “mmmmm”. You will be so impressed with yourself for making these, I promise. You can use them to make smores, spread them with some cream cheese frosting, turn them into a crust for a cheesecake or pie, or simply enjoy them on their own.
Happy 100 everyone! Thanks for all of your support over the last few months and I look forward to the next 100.
Graham Crackers (recipe by Nancy Silverman)
- 2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
- 1/3 cup mild-flavored honey, such as clover
- 5 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
For Topping:
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
To prepare the topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon, and set aside.
Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be sticky, so flour as necessary. Trim the edges of the rectangle to 4 inches wide. Working with the shorter side of the rectangle parallel to the work surface, cut the strip every 4 1/2 inches to make 4 crackers, or cut into whatever size/shape you prefer. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place the crackers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets and sprinkle with the topping. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350° F.
Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and re-roll. Dust the surface with more flour and roll out the dough to get two or three more crackers.
Mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker, being careful not to cut through the dough. Using a wooden skewer, prick the dough to form two dotted rows about 1/2 inch for each side of the dividing line.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the tough, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.
June 12th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
That made me cry! What is “Doof” Tim?
June 12th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
What a beautiful story! You ask an intriguing question, though, whether or not your grandmother would have enjoyed cooking if it were not foisted on her as a mandate, but was more of a choice. She seems to have had a great sense of humor, though, judging from your Thanksgiving take-out memory. :)
I love graham crackers, so I’m adding this to my recipe list!
June 12th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
you are spectacular
June 13th, 2009 at 5:01 am
Thanks for sharing such a beautiful story about your Lottie. I love the emotional connection we have to food and special recipes. Now I’m left wondering about the Doof….. More to come?
June 13th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Congrats on your 100th! These graham crackers are SO tempting…
June 13th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Congratulations, Tim! I’m looking forward to your next 100 too.
June 13th, 2009 at 8:33 am
what a wonderful story about your Lottie! I’m glad that I can view my time in the kitchen as a pleasure rather than a chore.
These Graham Crackers look so amazing. I’ve wanting to make some ever since they popped up on SK.
June 13th, 2009 at 8:52 am
so this begs the question…are you the doof? :)
June 13th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Oh so yummy looking. I’ve never thought to make my own!
June 13th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
beans…even i know what doof is…
June 13th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
…’food’ spelled backwards?…
June 13th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
That’s so lovely. :) She sounds awesome! i’ve been meaning to try these crackers since seeing them on SK. Now I’m gonna HAVE to do them…plus marshmallows!
Happy 100th!
June 14th, 2009 at 8:06 am
mmMmmm, i bet these would be so good dipped in maple whip cream. congrats!
June 14th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Yeah, the “Doof” is less interesting. When I was trying to figure out what I would call this, my friend Katie suggested Doof, because it was food spelled backwards. We called it that as a joke for a while and I grew to like the sound of it. Maybe I am Doof.
Thanks for all of the good comments, friends!
June 14th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
It was The Doof Network. And it really has become a network! Congratulations on your 100th post, Senor Doof. Lottie would be proud.
June 15th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Congratulations on your 100th post. I enjoy your blog enormously– the photos and writing are inspiring. Have adopted the Proseco and Aperol summer drink! And, thank you for the thoughtful post about your grandmother.
June 15th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Congrats!!
Thanks for sharing this special tribute.
June 15th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Aaaah! We finalllyy know the reason behind the name! Congratulations on your 100, TIm. Gorgeous graham crackers.
June 15th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Great story. Really sweet.
June 15th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Thanks for the good wishes, all!
June 16th, 2009 at 3:13 am
I am awake in the wee hours of the morning, missing one of my sons, who’s favorite cookie are graham crackers. Thanks for the recipe ad the beautiful pictures. Congrats on the 100th post.
June 16th, 2009 at 6:04 am
Congratulations! Great post! (And I think those grahams would make a great s’more…)
June 16th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Lottie sounds like some trip! If you went to Mt. Holyoke College you would never eat another graham cracker…and I haven’t! (But they do look good!)
June 16th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Ha! The doof/food explanation is great – I never caught that. Thanks for introducing us to Lottie – she sounds like a neat lady, and I’d been thinking of asking you about who/what Lottie was. I really like the name Lottie + Doof – just saying it is fun. When I first saw it mentioned somewhere (the kitchn, maybe?) the Lottie part caught my eye because of my own sweet Lottie who is still dearly missed around the farm.
Thanks for the reminder that I haven’t made homemade graham crackers in years. They’re so good, and yours look wonderful. And congratulations on making this milestone! Looking forward to reading your 1,000th post! :)
June 16th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Congrats on the 100th post, it was a really nice tribute. I love the old photos. Thanks for sharing Tim, I hope the next 100 are just as successful!
June 17th, 2009 at 6:00 am
Thanks for sharing that post, Susan. Your Lottie was sweet!
June 17th, 2009 at 6:10 am
Doof is Food spelled backwards. Just a guess ??
June 17th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Lovely story, Tim! And that photograph of Lottie is just amazing… such a nice tribute to a wonderful lady.
June 17th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Congrats on your 100th post! I love this site and look forward to more of your “Doof” adventures!
June 21st, 2009 at 12:11 am
You should call them Gram crackers. Congrats on your centennial. For your 100th anniversary, I hear you are supposed to give hershey bars and marshmallows.
June 30th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Thank you for sharing. Your Grandma sounds like quite the lady! :)
~ingrid
June 30th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Ooops, forgot to tell you Happy 100!
~ingrid
July 1st, 2009 at 9:01 am
Thanks, Ingrid!
July 6th, 2009 at 8:30 am
love those top 2 photos together, and hearing about lottie. happy 100th!! xoxo
July 17th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
the name “doof” is very funny for germans! in german “doof” means “stupid” :-)
July 17th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Hello- i just found your blog through design sponge and im so happy I did. love your post about lottie…she actually reminds me of my fiesty grandma (who passed a few years ago) great picture of her too!
felicidades on your 100th!
July 31st, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Finally had time to return to your website. Belated congrats on your 100th! Such a touching story about your gran. I like the idea of calling them; Tim’s Gran’s Crackers. I think your gran would appreciate the simple humor in “doof”. A laugh is a laugh.
August 18th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I like this entry a lot. And you!
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Great story! My Hebrew name comes from my great grandmother Lottie (Americanized from Zlata once she emigrated from Lithuania). While I never had the privilege to know her, I think about what it was like for her to leave her home forever and move to Chicago, where she had eight kids to feed. Oy. I wish I could sit down with her for just one meal.