50 Women Game-Changers (in Food): #18 Clotilde Dusoulier - Olive Oil & Seed Crackers

In May '11, Gourmet posted a list of 50 Women Game-Changers (in Food) that runs the gamut from food writers to cookbook authors to television personalities to restauranteurs to chefs to food bloggers.  Some are a given.  Some are controversial.  Speaking the names of some brings fond childhood memories.  Speaking the names of others will make some readers cringe.  And of course, some of our favorites were not even included.  We food-lovers are a passionate bunch of people and whether we agree or disagree, every woman on this list has earned her place for a reason.  Being a woman who is passionate about food (cooking, eating, talking about, writing about, photographing), when I caught wind of Mary from One Perfect Bite's idea of cooking/blogging her way through each of these 50 women...one per week...I knew I wanted to join her.  Many of these women paved the way for us in culinary school, in the kitchen, in cookbooks, in food writing, and on television and I think it is a fabulous way to pay tribute to their efforts.  Some of the women on the list have been tops with me for years.  Some I have heard of (perhaps even seen, read, or cooked from) before.  And there are even a handful that I am not familiar with at all.  I excited to educate myself on each of these women game-changers and hope you look forward to reading along.  We are going in order from 1 to 50.

the "Gourmet" prompt...

18. Clotilde Dusoulier- Dusoulier’s 2003–vintage blog Chocolate & Zucchini is the Francophile’s dream. She posts from Montmartre about cheese and brioche—but also, to be fair, mochi and muffins. Her fifth book—her translation and adaptation of the 1932 French equivalent of Joy of Cooking, Ginette Mathiot’s Je Sais Cuisiner (“I Know How to Cook”),—is already iconic.

Dusoulier is a Parisian girl who went to college for Computer Science.  She worked as a Computer Engineer in both California and France for five years.  She started her blog, Chocolate & Zucchini in 2003 as a place to record food she had eaten or cooked or bought or heard of.  Fueled by some media attention, published food articles, and a new cookbook, she exchangedher life as a computer engineer for the life of a food writer.  Along with Smitten Kitchen, Chocolate & Zucchini is one of the first food blogs that I ever stumbled upon (not StumbleUpon, just stumbled upon...).  I do enjoy reading the blog, however, I have never happened upon a copy of either of Dusoulier's books.  I'll make it a mission.  To find out more about Clotilde Dusoulier, check out the about page at Chocolate & Zucchini.

Olive Oil and Seed Crackers

slightly adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini 

makes 50-200 (depends on how you score them)

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150 grams (5 ⅓  oz.) all-purpose flour

150 grams (5 ⅓  oz.) fine semolina flour

3 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds

2 Tbs. poppy seeds

1 ½ tsp. fine sea salt

3 Tbs. olive oil

½ c. (120 ml) water

Combine flours, seeds and salt in a mixing bowl.  Stir the olive oil in with a fork, and then mix in the water.  When the water is absorbed, turn the mixture out on a clean work surface and knead the dough gently. Add a touch more water if the dough feels too dry to come together.  You are looking for a smooth ball of dough that is not sticky or tacky.

Divide the dough into 8 equal (basically) pieces, and cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap, so that it doesn't dry out.  Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).  Line sheet pans with parchment or a silpat.

Roll one piece of dough at a time, as thinly as you can.  You should wind up with long, rectangular-ish pieces.  I rolled mine right on a marble slab with a rolling pin.  If you use a wooden (or other) surface, you may have to dust it with flour first.  Alternately, use a pasta roller.  But really, this dough is supple and cooperative.  Place on prepared baking sheets and score, if you wish (makes for easier separation after baking...I used my bench scraper).

Slide sheet trays into preheated oven and bake for 7-10 minutes, or until golden.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Continue with remaining dough.

These crackers will keep for a couple of weeks if stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Who is cooking along with these 50 Women Game-Changers?

Mary- One Perfect Bite, Val- More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne- Eats Well With Others, Taryn- Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan- The Spice Garden, Heather- girlichef, Miranda- Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette- Jeanette's Healthy Living, Katie- Making Michael Pollan Proud, Kathy- Bakeaway with Me, Sue- The View from Great Island, Amy- Beloved Green, Barbara- Moveable Feasts, Linda- There and Back Again, Kathleen- Gonna Want Seconds, Martha- Lines from Linderhof, Nancy- Picadillo

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