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All throughout the world, we are living in stressful and uncertain times. It’s scary, and we have very limited human interaction to really help us through this. No high-fives, no birthday parties, no school, many of us aren’t working, and no hugs. Honestly, I miss hugs. They make you feel so warm and fuzzy, and I’m craving a tight, lingering bear hug right now.

As strange as it is, the only thing we’ve all really got is the Internet. So thank you intelligent humans who created this, as it’s almost our only source of connection to other humans and the outside world right now. But at least we’ve got the Internet…and Food and Drink.

Food is connection. Coming together and sharing food has always been part of the human story because the language of food and the power of a meal is universal. It is the most communal thing that brings people together in many parts of the world. Where do you gravitate whenever you have people over or you’re invited? Isn’t it usually the kitchen over some delicious bites and drinks? And many memories are often made around the dining table.

In lieu of working in restaurants, many chefs have pivoted (key word of the moment) by offering themselves into your kitchens, only it’s virtually right now since that’s what we have to do. Chefs are answering questions, giving cooking demos, and even giving tours of their homes; whatever they can do to replicate that magic in your own home since many of your favorite restaurants are closed. Some may be doing take-out (continue to support those), but many are completely closed. Without the community’s support, many may close for good. These virtual classes are a super cool and powerful way to limit personal contact but still support your favorite places in your own communities right now.

When The Tour Guy asked me to be one of the first to present on their series of virtual cooking demos, of course, I jumped at the chance to help! However, a little back fodder about me, I’ve never felt comfortable in front of the camera. I wanted to study film and video in college to be a producer and director — behind the scenes because being the only one to speak in front of a camera scares me. BUT, if you didn’t realize, with these virtual classes we want interaction! You’re an important part of the class, so ask questions, tell your stories. It’s also a fun time to share a drink — I’ll cheers with a delicious Maple Whiskey from Manatawny Stillworks.

Another way you can support the Philly community is through Save Philly Eats. So many of my amazing friends want to cook for you once quarantine is over!

Recipe and notes for the Clafoutis I made on The Tour Guy are below. I hope you try it! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or just want tell me about yourself. Also please share this post using the links below to spread the word to help all of our restaurant and chef friends and The Tour Guy.

While I don’t have the full line-up of the chefs series on The Tour Guy…for our Philly peeps, the incredible Ari Miller of Musi is up next kids! Get your ingredient list now!!

RECIPE NOTES:

You know what I find particularly satisfying? Successfully cooking a dish seemingly so complicated that you achieve legendary status in the minds of your dinner guests, yet it’s so deceptively simple. That’s a clafoutis. Whether it’s the fancy French name or its undeniably rustic beauty fresh from the oven. What’s also great is that you can serve it hot, lukewarm, or cold. Today, we’ll be making it with a Lemon Crumble and Manatawnay Maple Whiskey Ice Cream. Clafoutis originated in the Southern rural farming region of Limousin (LEE-MOO-ZAN), France. While the date of origin is unknown, clafoutis increased in popularity and rose to fame beyond the Limousin area in the 1900s. The name came from the Occitan (or Langue d’oc) verb “clafir”, meaning to fill. After arranging the fruit in the dish, clafoutis batter is poured to “fill” the pan.

1. Traditionally, clafoutis is made with cherries. Purists maintain that a clafoutis made with anything else is properly called a Flaugnaurde and assert that the cherries should be left unpitted, arguing that the stones enhance the dish’s flavor. But who would enjoy biting into a rich dessert laden with pits? So ixnay on that tradition.

2. I say use whatever fruit you have on hand! No need to make an extra trip to the store just because I’m using blackberries. Raspberries, blueberries, apples, bananas, peaches, nectarines, grapes, bananas, tomatoes… all would be delicious. We’re taking a cue from the French but are putting our own spin on it. Put whatever fruit you want in your cake pan and make the damn recipe.

3. Did I mention that this dessert is entirely gluten free? You absolutely do not have to make it gluten free if you don’t have buckwheat flour. Feel free to use whatever flour you have in your house – All Purpose, Bread, Corn, Brown Rice…I’ll talk about some simple pantry substitutions in a later post.

4. I use the metric system for my recipes (this is the scale I have at home) because it is more precise and consistent than the standard American units. I know a lot of you might not have or know how to use a scale, so I will also do an upcoming post explaining the benefits.

5. No ice cream machine? This is what I used, but you don’t need an ice cream machine at all! Just divide the recipe in half and make a creme anglaise sauce for the clafoutis!

6. No problem if you don’t have all of the ingredients to make the ice cream. They can easily be omitted at home; I just wanted to give you the base recipe that I use because I use the same recipes at home as I do at work.     

   Dried Milk Powder – absorbs excess water in milk to prevent ice crystals from forming and adds protein a smoother, creamier, more unctuous mouth feel and texture

   Dry Glucose Powder – while you can certainly use all simple sugar (sucrose), sweeteners all differ in their relative sweetness (to sucrose) and play a sexy game with water to add body, creaminess, and stability and to lower its freezing point. Dry glucose powder has 74% the sweetening power of sugar, so it helps provide bulk without added sweetness, and as the concentration of a sweetener is increased, ice crystals become smaller and ice cream becomes smoother.

   Stabilizer – is used to increase mix viscosity, the perception of creaminess, provide resistance to melting, and to retard the formation of large ice crystals during storage particularly during periods of temperature fluctuations by opening and closing the freezer often. You definitely don’t need to use stabilizer for home ice cream, but if you want super creamy ice cream, a little goes a long way. Other home substitutions that more likely might be found in your pantry would be to use a little xanthan gum, gelatin, pectin, or a splash of alcohol (which we are using in this recipe anyway). If you don’t want to use a stabilizer, just eat your ice cream a little quicker so it doesn’t sit in the freezer for too long!

7. Above all, just enjoy!!