Marble Snob

So I have been called a cake snob for years by friends.  I've also been accused of raising cake snobs.  That is all part of the cake scraps story that I will tell someday.

But for today, I am here to confess that I am now a marble snob.  It's true.

My parents had a marble slab that my father bought for my mother years ago to assist with peanut brittle making.  Someday I will blog about making my mother's peanut brittle.  But while the marble slab was beautiful, my mother was used to pouring up the piping hot peanut brittle on her very well buttered counter top so she never fully adopted the marble slab idea.  And let's face it.  It is HEAVY, and my little ol' mama couldn't lift the thing.  And somehow, I ended up with it.  My brother and sister should both probably sue me for it, because it wasn't specifically called out in the will that I should inherit it, but so far mum's the word.

However I haven't used the marble slab but maybe once or twice.  Because let's face it.  It is HEAVY.  And my house had so many other things in it, and when I would make pastry I was usually in such a hurry, I didn't bother to locate it and bring it out.  (You can say it.  I may be somewhat like my mother.) 

But now that my house has been significantly decluttered due to the various remodeling activities, the marble slab is in an accessible, although not prominent, location.  Nice, huh?

But there is more to the story.  I am sure that I will mention Helen Fletcher a few times, or a few hundred times in the blog if I keep this up for any length of time.  Her cookbook, written 25 years ago called The New Pastry Cookbook, changed my life.  It's the only cookbook that I can say that about, but this one did.  I had the privelege of seeing her when the book first came out, so I have a signed copy.  And then I got to see her again just last week at The Kitchen Conservatory where she was making brioche, croissants and puff pastry.  And she was using a marble rolling pin.

Now I've seen marble rolling pins before and thought about them but never splurged on one.  But after seeing Helen use the one at class and praising it's superiority for rich doughs, and since I knew where my marble slab was, I busted the budget and bought one.

And oh my.  Wow.  I am one spoiled brat now.  I am having the family over tomorrow for dinner, and I'm all inspired to make pastry, so I'm making croissants, and some white chocolate pithiviers, and I just finished rolling out the croissant dough and I'm half way through the puff pastry dough, but the difference is really there between rolling on the counter with a wooden rolling pin and on the marble slab with a marble rolling pin.  I am not worn out.  The marble surfaces glide over the dough and it retains the cold temperature needed better.  I can honestly say that if given a choice, I will never go back.

Now having said that, I'm not dealing with devastation from an 8.9 earthquake or tsunami.  Or even the after math of a hurricane or a tornado, so I have the luxury today to be a marble snob.  That may not last.  This life is totally unpredictable, and I'm truly not in control.  But for today when I live in the relative lap of luxury as compared to 80% of the world's population, I am making pastry.  And I'm doing it on a marble slab with a marble rolling pin.

My name is Deb.  And I am a marble snob.