Happiness

There is an interview in tomorrow's paper, with Charles Simic, the poet laureate of the United States (yes, we DO have a poet laureate. People don't know about it because they don't read poetry, myself included. I knew we had one, but if you had asked me to identify who it was, I couldn't). The last question that the interviewer asked him was:

"What advice would you give to people who are looking to be happy?"

Simic's answer was:

"For starters, learn how to cook."

Hmmmmm. I have been unhappy today, the results of a very stressful week, culminating in what could fairly be described, at best, as a very strong disagreement with one of my best friends, my sorority sister Dave, and what could also be described as an out and out yelling match. Yes, we'll make up, and we'll make up soon, but does that make it any better? Of course not. And while I can't say for certain that Dave is feeling as bad as I am, it's a good guess that he is. That, on top of a discussion with my bright eyed "adopted" little brother, who is SO not happy, and SO confused about how to go about fixing it, has left me somewhat "off center."

Well, I know how to cook. So I cooked. Did it make me happy? Not really. Of course, working with raw materials, seeing them turn into something delicious, and knowing that the finished product is going to be shared, are all reasons for being happy, and they're good ones. But at some point, I have to come out of the kitchen. And the beasts are there, waiting.

So what does one do? I wish I knew. As my friend Andrew would say "sigh."

So I learned how to cook something new, something I've always wanted to make. Italians have this wonderful savory cookie, a "wine biscuit." You can buy them, and they're usually awful, and you wonder why something with such promise turns out so bad. I wanted to make them for an up and coming fete, where Andrew will be doing one of the things he does best: hosting and helping (well, those are two things, aren't they?). I'm going to help by providing some food. I had this in mind for the event, but I had to learn how to do it. Know what? Like most really good tasting things, it's a snap. You should make them. You should make them often. Here it comes.

You'll need four cups of white flour , a cup of sugar, a tablespoon plus a teaspoon of baking powder, a teaspoon of salt,a cup of wine, and 3/4 cup of vegetable oil (I guess you COULD use butter, but I wanted to make these vegan for the baroness. I would NOT use olive oil. It will mask the wine flavor, even though the alcohol moves off in the baking). Preheat the oven to 375, and then mix the dry ingredients. Then stir in the wet ones.

Not too tough, huh? So, now you line three baking sheets with parchment paper, and flour your hands. Start taking small pieces of the dough, and roll small logs of dough, and pinch them into circles. You're going to get somewhere between 50 and 70 depending on how big you make them. Bake them, one sheet at a time, for twelve minutes. They'll get a bit brown on the bottom, but that's what you want.

Let them cool completely. Flour with oil, and no other fat or other ingredient, dries to a very crispy, dry biscuit, and that's what you want. You don't eat these with dessert. You eat them with cheese, or with a glass of wine, or something like that. They store beautifully, in a metal can.

I need these in about three weeks. I'm not sure if they'll last that long, but if they don't, well, this was so easy, I'll make another batch.

You could put pepper into these, or fennel seeds, or other savory spices, but I like them just plain so that I can get that winy flavor when I bite into them. But play with this the way you like.

Will Annalena and Dave kiss and make up? Will Keith ever be happy? Will Andrew's event go off well? I know, it could sound like a soap opera or serial plot, but I'm really serious about this. If I could make all of this happen in an instant, I'd be on my broom and bringing cookies from Upper Manhattan, to Brooklyn, and then to Queens, to make everyone happy. But good thoughts will have to do for now guys