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Three Days of Tea: Five Questions with Lisë Stern

December 6th, 2010

I have many “latest projects,” as I edit two magazines (Hannaford fresh and Taste of the Seacoast), so am always working on those. And I have a few book proposals in the works. Right now I’m excited about a new venture happening at the end of April, 2011: I’ll be directing the staged reading of a screenplay I wrote, “The Bakery,” inspired by a long-time bakery in Somerville, Mass. Theatre@First, a community theatre group also in Somerville, will be producing it.

2) What is the one food or beverage ingredient that you cannot live without?

I’m never very good at narrowing things down to just one option. But in choosing tea, I get to have both food and beverage. If I had to narrow that down further, I’d probably say black, because it’s good with and without milk (though I am very fond of pu-erh and oolong!). Tea is one item I’m either drinking or cooking with every single day.

3) Who is your mentor, professionally or personally?

My grandmother Leontina “Omi” Stern, I’d call my inspiration, maybe more than a mentor, though she was always very supportive of my endeavors. She was a great story teller, a survivor, a go-getter. She had a degree in dentistry from Germany, and she ran my grandfather’s medical practice in upstate New York, where they escaped to during World War II. She insisted, when my brother and I would visit summers when we were kids, that we cook a meal. That’s when I learned to cook Chicken Velvet. Her own cooking was a mixed bag, but I loved her salad dressing, and she always made us Rice Krispy Treats.

4) What is your favorite food memory from childhood?

Believe it or not, tea parties. Dessert is my favorite course, and I liked preparing the sweets to go with tea. I remember when we lived on Capitol Hill in DC, sitting in my room and pouring my mother weak tea from a miniature white plastic teapot decorated with flowers into the matching teacups. Cinnamon toast was, for some reason, the treat of choice I chose most often. I’d cut the sugary toast into crustless bite-sized pieces to fit on the little plates. I was probably 5 or 6 at the time. I think I was on a quest to perfect the recipe, and I experimented: buttering and sprinkling on the cinnamon sugar before toasting, after toasting, making a blend of the butter and cinnamon sugar and trying that both before and after toasting. The best was bread spread with softened butter, then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, then toasted till it got all bubbly. I guess that was my earliest experimentation with recipe development!

A grown up tea party from Culinary Tea: White Port infused with black tea, lavender and rose petals. Photo by Julian Landa.

5) What would be your ultimate meal?

My ultimate meal would be a tasting menu, with small portions so I wouldn’t feel totally stuffed. Think sake cups or dainty teacups for soups, dessert plates for salads, salad plates for entrees, entrée plates for desserts… (yes, I love desserts!). Not surprisingly, since I’ve been so immersed in tea, recipes from our book figure in the menu! And naturally, steeped tea would accompany the courses.

* Chilled Moroccan Tomato Soup, like my boyfriend makes – there’s some elusive flavor from herbs and spices that makes me want more and more. In fact, I could actually make a meal of this and a good loaf of chewy walnut bread.

* A warm soup – right now, my current favorite is the Mexican Black Bean Soup from Culinary Tea, made with Lapsang Souchong (love the smoky flavor that tea imparts)

* Salad with Green Tea-Roasted Peaches and Blue Cheese, garnished with Tea-Spiced Pecans. Yes, all from the book. I love peaches in a salad, and blue cheese, and nuts.

* Halibut, pan seared, with melted leeks, mushroom ragout, and smoked fresh corn (had at the West Side Lounge in Cambridge five years ago; best halibut ever)

* Peach-Oolong Granita, to cleanse the palate!

* Classic Tea-Smoked Duck. I love duck, and it would be great to have someone make this for me!

* German Chocolate Cake, made by my Aunt Raya

* A plate of Tea “Petit Fours,” the plate of bite-sized sweets brought after dessert: Chai Chocolate Wafers, Earl Grey Truffles, White Peony Financiers, Tea Toffee with Tea-Smoked Salt

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