Vietnamese Market Day and the Beauty of Margins

: Photograph by Hien Lam Duc, from the exhibition Mékong, histoires d’Hommes

When fully ripe, the unopened jackfruit emits a strong disagreeable odor, resembling that of decayed onions, while the pulp of the opened fruit smells of pineapple and banana.

The Jackfruit

I am like a jackfruit on the tree.
To taste you must plug me quick, while fresh:
the skin rough, the pulp thick, yes,
but oh, I warn you against touching —
the rich juice will gush and stain your hands

Ho Xuan Huong, 1772 – 1822,

translated by Nguyen Ngoc Bich

Two acts of generosity led to a delightful day.

The St. Francis dining hall in Portland, Oregon serves dinners daily to “those in need in dignity and peace.” That turns out to be 300 meals per day. At their annual auction, it’s hard to say who is more big hearted: the donors or the recipients. As her auction contribution, Ho Mai Huong, a young accounting student, offered her services as tour guide and chef for a day of Vietnamese cooking. Margo Foeller was the winner and treated me and my friend Trish to a wonderful day.

Visiting the markets

Our first stop: the market Hong Phat where Mai identified and introduced us to a world of fantastic fruits, vegetables, herbs, fish and meats.

Fruits came first. The jackfruit (which can grow to over 80 pounds), banana flower (peel back the outer leaves and slice), four different kinds of mango, litchis, and ‘fragrant fruit’ were just a few. “In Vietnam, there are many more varieties,” explained Mai.

We moved on to a huge assortment of herbs, greens, and vegetables. Many herbs have medicinal applications such as dấp cá or fish mint, used to cure stomachaches, indigestion or, in paste form, for insect bites. The flavor and aroma are strongly fishy. Rau Dắng or bitter herb is used both cooked and fresh. When burned, the vapors are a very effective mosquito repellant.**

Spinach, mustard, and collard? Now these were familiar greens. But hold on! They are not what they seem. Mồng tơi, as an example, sometimes referred to as Ceylon or Malabar spinach, has spinach-like leaves but is a vine and cultivated on a trellis. And might lower your body temperature.

Bitter melon which looks a bit like a cucumber with a ridged dark green skin is used in soups, sautéed or stuffed. Its medicinal qualities are many, including a blood sugar lowering effect for type II diabetics. With each fruit, pod, green, root and fungus, an important therapeutic reason for its purchase was cited.

Will this help my baby grow? Will this cure his cough? Can this ease my pain?

Eat your Gac (gấc)! It is the greatest source of beta-carotene (vitamin A) of any fruit or vegetable. Gac (gấc) has ten times more of the stuff than carrots or sweet potatoes. Did you know that green papaya enhances breast milk production? And, it would appear, that if you have anything wrong at all, just eat a persimmon.

Gac (gấc)

Photograph by Jennifer J Maiser

Moving from vegetables to the grocery aisles, Mai discussed the cross over in cooking techniques and recipes between Asian countries and cultures and their subtle differences. Fish sauce, for dipping, is a good example. In Vietnam, chopped garlic and chilies are added to the sauce which is diluted not with water, but coconut juice, as coconuts are very plentiful in southern Vietnam.

On that same topic, Mai explained that Vietnam is divided culturally and economically into the North, Central, and Southern parts. The North has less fruit and vegetables and the food tends to be salty. The Central part of Vietnam is the poorest. It is subject to severe weather (especially flooding) and the soil is poor. The cuisine in this area is very salty and spicy which adds flavor to the food and warms the body. The abundance of fruits and vegetables are the hallmark of the southern Vietnamese cuisine. Fresh herbs, vegetables, and fruits are used in nearly every preparation in the South.

Pho, the hugely popular beef noodle soup is believed to have originated in the North, where it is made with fresh rice stick noodles (banh pho tuoi) and flavored with star anise in an oxtail broth. Typically, it is not served with garnishes. In the South, however, the soup is served with herb and bean sprout garnishes. Suffice it say, there are many regional varieties of this soup.

A package wrapped with a green leaf and tied with red string turned out to be cha lua or Vietnamese ham wrapped in a banana leaf.

“It’s just like spam. That’s what my mother says” a young customer offered.

Among the huge selection of meats (every possible cut of pork and beef) and fishes (including whole frozen fish and about 30 types of frozen shrimp), I was struck by the two types of chicken:

Walking chicken (not always tender but very flavorful) and
Black chicken (quite a small variety and good for fatigue, back pain and expectant mothers)

Beautiful and mysterious dishes that Mai alluded to:

Coconuts stuffed with Quail
Baby clam meat with Jackfruit

Slightly stomach churning:

Duck eggs with embryos
Pigs’ udders
Silkworm pupae (eaten fried with lime leaves)

Our market visit ended in the household products aisle. Mai showed us two types of brooms. One of coarser fiber for the yard; the other very fine and soft for the house. The market sold all types of cooking pots, pans, including a special crepe pan that looked very like a Swedish pancake skillet. I bought a coffee drip pot for making one serving of Vietnamese coffee which is brewed with sweetened condensed milk.

Our next stop was Bui Natural Tofu. Originally, fresh tofu was the only product of this family business which was conducted from their home. Now, the busy shop makes not only a great deal of fresh tofu but also fried tofu, tofu pudding, red sticky rice (its color comes from the aforementioned gac fruit), fermented rice (a digestive after a meal), sticky rice balls with a mulberry in the center, and much more.

Mai had ordered in advance so as we waited as all sorts of containers and packages appeared at the counter. We staggered out to the car.

Lunch at Mai’s Home

Now came the really fun part: Mai made us lunch at her home.

Step one: she quickly put together some snacks for us to sample.

Using her homemade fish sauce, we sampled the fresh tofu and the fried tofu which contained pieces of fried onion
The Red Sticky Rice with pieces of Vietnamese ham
The Tofu Pudding, served in small bowls over which she poured a sugar syrup with slivers of ginger and coconut milk
A spoonful each of Fermented Rice (the digestion aid)

We were happy to sit and munch but Mai was all business. The fresh spring (or salad) rolls had to be made.

She quickly gathered the ingredients together: lettuce, Thai basil, and mint from her garden, Chinese chives, and slices of the ham. She boiled the dry rice noodles and we helped peel the shrimp. Moistening the rice paper briefly, she showed us her technique for tightly rolling the cylinders with the shrimp with green Chinese chive visible through the wrapper. We each practiced the technique.

The dipping sauce, (which Mai believes is the whole point of eating the rolls) was a fragrant and delectable mixture of flavors: hoisin, peanut butter, and coconut soda. As a final flourish, Mai added fried shallots and a bit of pickled shredded carrot to the dipping sauce. Wow! Completely different from restaurant salad rolls.

As with any unforgettable meal, the food was only a part of the pleasure. As if each morsel stirred up an association, Mai spoke of her family, geography, gardens and poetry. In 1954, Mai’s Catholic family moved from the North to South Vietnam to avoid communism. While she has never been in North Vietnam, her parents and grandparents passed on their northern customs and habits.

“I was named for the 18^th century poet Ho Xuan Huong but my parents replaced Xuan with Mai so as not to shock my grandparents…”

Known for her independence, intellect, and subtle and sexy wit, this famous poet from Hanoi was also was very irreverent. Rather than classical Chinese, she wrote in Nôm, the Vietnamese language that has nearly disappeared. While more than a thousand years of Vietnamese cultural history was written in this language, less than 100 people can read Nôm today. The Vietnamese Nôm Preservation Foundation*** hopes to save the language.

Homegardens and Margins

Now, this got me to ruminating about the importance of the margins in culture. Home cooking, home gardens, minor languages, poetry..are these not elements of the margin not the mainstream? I don’t want to offend home cooks, gardeners, translators, and poets by using the word ‘margin’. But I’m not marginalizing anyone, simply acknowledging that certain highly important activities exist and thrive on society’s margins.

The reason I write about home cooking is that there’s a dearth.

There are two ways to look at marginal activity.

There’s strength in numbers: A custom or habit dies out when it’s not longer necessary. When an activity is marginal, it’s on its way out. (example: the shirt collar button)
We’re only as strong as our weakest link: When a custom or habit is replaced by a new behavior, the old habit might slip into the margin but will still persist. Sometimes people will attempt a rescue! (example: Nôm)

The second way of looking at this is, to my mind, the optimistic and true approach. Whenever I worry about the ‘branding’ of humanity or fear a dreary sameness leading to decline, I inevitably come across small, disorganized, whimsical powerhouses of marginality.

In Dr. Virginia Nazarea’s book Heirloom Seeds and Their Keepers,**** she speaks movingly about marginality and memory with regards to heirloom gardeners.

“If modernity is ‘forced amnesia’, then there is a need to reinforce the range of dreams and choices that triggers countermemory…Seedsavers pose a subdued but persistent challenge to what those around them take as given and help break the spell of ‘organized forgetting.’…From the margins, seedsavers deploy a message of worth rather than protest wherein the currency is joy instead of anger, the motivation hope instead of frustration.”

In her Germplasm project at the University of Georgia, Nazarea and her associates studied how Vietnamese immigrants arriving in the 1970s reproduced their native gardens with great success. Nhan Couch was a participant in the study and her homegarden below is a delightful example. I love the entire design of the garden, especially the “BBQ pit with pokeweed growing out of it.”

Outside her kitchen door, Mai has a small but robust garden filled with herbs and greens. I asked Mai about the diagram of Nhan’s garden. “This model of garden is very common in rural areas of Vietnam” she said, adding, “I think they do a very good job of organizing their gardens.”

Trying this at home

Back at home, I was all fired up to make a Vietnamese dinner.

With Mai’s instructions, I attempted the black chicken, so called because the skin is a deep purplish black. This fierce-looking little bird was to my surprise, very meaty. The other surprise was the flesh with its dark and light striations. Once cooked, the chicken looked a bit like bluefish and I believe, is an acquired taste.

To make this dish, I had purchased a packet of herbs, lotus nuts (which look something like dried hominy) and red dates. At Hong Mai, there was an entire shelf devoted to special herb packets each for different preparations. “Very practical!”

Black Chicken

I attempted to write down the recipe as I remembered it. Fortunately, Mai made some adjustments. Here goes:

Soak the lotus nuts overnight.
Wash the chicken, removing the head, feet, and innards.
Dip the chicken in a pan of boiling water and then rinse in cold water.
To cook the chicken:

Method #1: Put the chicken into the bowl. Put all of the herbs and lotus nuts around the chicken or stuff the chicken with the herbs, dates and lotus nuts. Personally, I prefer to put herbs and lotus nuts around the chicken. Pour 1 teaspoon of fish sauce into the chicken. And then put the bowl into a steam pot. Cook about 1 hour.

Method #2: You can use slow cooker to cook instead of steam pot. Put chicken into the cooker and spread out all of herbs and lotus nut around chicken. Pour 1 can of coconut soda and 1 teaspoon of fish sauce into the chicken. Cook slowly about 2 hours.)

Cut up and serve with steamed rice.

Mai Huong’s Salad Rolls

It takes a little practice to make these rolls but once you’ve got the hang of it, it goes quickly. If you do this a few times, you will begin to arrange and offset the ingredients so that the rolls will looks very pretty with the shrimp and some greenery showing through the wrapper.

I. For spring rolls: (about 8 to 10 rolls)

Ingredients:

Round rice paper wrappers (banh trang or ‘spring rolls skin’ – Mai used a package with a large red rose on it)
Rice noodle (Mai used a vacuum-packed fresh rice stick noodle -banh pho tuoi in a pink package from the Sincere Orient Food Co.)
Chinese chives
Lettuce, several leaves
Mint, basil, cilantro – small bunch of each
1/2 pound pork belly ( or thinly sliced roast pork)
12 – 15 shrimp (double if the shrimp are very small)

Boil rice noodle until it becomes al dente, drain and rinse with cold water. Boil pork belly until well done and slice thinly. Cook shrimp with salt in a dry pan until red and cooked through. Peel the shrimp and if large, slice into halves. Wash the lettuce and herbs.

How to wrap the spring roll:

Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the water just to moisten. (Do not soak)

Lay wrapper flat. In a row across the center, place 3 shrimp, 2 pieces of pork, a handful of rice noodle, the lettuce and herbs, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, and then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Set aside.

Continue with remaining ingredients until all the rolls are made.

II. Dipping Sauce:

Shallot, 2 cloves, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Hoisin sauce (1/2 cup)
Peanut butter (1/2 cup)
Coconut milk (1/2 cup)
Chicken stock or coconut soda (1/2 cup)
Sugar (1 teaspoon)
Chili sauce (optional if you like spicy)

Stir fry the shallots with oil about 2-3 minutes in the pan. Set aside. Mix hoisin, peanut butter, milk and coconut soda (or any broth such as chicken soup or pork broth that we have from boiling pork) in a bowl. Pour this mixture into the pan. Stir well until everything is a caramel colored blend. Pour some sugar into the sauce. Taste. Add some chili sauce if desired. Stir in the shallots.

A promising start to the year.

My experience with Mai led me down some new paths from jackfruit to poetry to heirloom gardens to a photograph on the Luxembourg garden gates to extraordinary humans. Ho Xuan Huong, Hiên Lam Duc and Virginia Nazarea.

Thank you Mai and Margo.

Almost a year ago exactly, I saw an extraordinary exhibit of photographs of the people of Mekong river. The beautiful photograph at the beginning of this piece is from that exhibit and the photographer, Hiên Lam Duc generously permitted me to display it. (Doubleclick to enlarge the image.) To see more of his work, go to http://www.lamduchien.com/

*This description of jackfruit (word for word) is repeated on at least 50 websites. So everyone agrees.

**For information on Vietnamese culinary and medicinal herbs, go to this website: http://vietherbs.com/

*** For more information on saving the Nôm language, go to http://nomfoundation.org/vnpf_new/index.php

****Dr. Virginia Nazarea’s Heirloom seeds and Their Keepers, Marginality and Memory in the Conservation of Biological Diversity , 2005, University of Arizona Press is available through Amazon and other sources.

Word of Mouth or How Recipes Find their Way

Aug10

“What would our lives be like without tradition? What terrible fatigue would overwhelm humanity if it only had to concern itself with the future?

Edouard de Pomiane

“Her last conversation in Sinhala … ended with her crying about missing egg rulang and curd with jaggery.”

from Anil’s Ghostby Michael Ondaatje

At Chronicle Books, Bill Le Blond publishes cookbooks known for their splendid photography. For those hoping to publish however, he has bad news: cookbooks are not the sellers they once were. While there are more writers than ever, readership has dwindled. These days, finding a recipe is just a click away.

For a while, everyone was reading cookbooks for fun. Salsas! Chocolate! Slow Cooking! The I-Can’t-Chew Cookbook! You name it, there’s a book all about it. But this hobby may have run its course. True collectors of cookbooks are a special and passionate group. A bit like stamp collectors. My friend Vikki says, “For me, going to eight or nine sources to answer a cooking question is pure pleasure. That these sources are on my bookshelf is icing on the cake.” For the majority of home cooks, however, one or two all-purpose cookbooks, newspaper clippings, and a couple of local compilations sufficed until recently.

I risk sounding disingenuous. After all, I myself have written a nifty little cookbook and am always thrilled when someone buys it. Nevertheless, just as Wikipedia and Google are today’s reference tools, Internet cooking sites are where you find recipes. And from TV chefs. Cooking shows have filled the gap for the entertainment minded cook just as Epicurious is there at day’s end when you’re standing in the kitchen wondering what to do with one onion and a package of chicken.

But is that the whole story? Have we simply abandoned the crusty old tomes for (equally) sticky keyboards and remotes? What about word of mouth?

Word of mouth is stronger than ever; its voice perpetuates food culture, memories, and practical know-how. Thinking over the past few weeks, I come up with at least six situations which could have been resolved through a book or other source but in fact, were imparted word of mouth. These include:

explaining why sometimes eggshells stick (a heartbreak when you’ve signed on to bring devilled eggs to a picnic)*
asking a friend for her really good soup recipe
passing on two simple things to do with fresh figs
learning that putting a mound of stiffish herbs, such as thyme and rosemary, under a piece on fish helps avoid sticking to the pan or grill

“How did you make that?” Dedicated cooks love that question and most will go out of the way to share. Even the pros. When I had doubts about a fish recipe from Happy in the Kitchen by Michel Richard, I called his restaurant, got the sous-chef and explained my concern. He reassured me the recipe would work. “10 minutes! Not more! Call anytime!” he said and I believed him. The fish turned out perfectly. A word of caution: if you are an adventurous cook and want to call a chef, remember the hours of service are frantic. Call only in the morning or late afternoon if you want to get some attention.

Asking how a dish is made is perfectly acceptable in a restaurant and, if your waiter is not run off his feet, the information is gladly given. You may not be able to replicate the dish but you will know the ingredients. Skill and imagination, not a recipe, make for glorious food. Which explains why recipes ( that is, the ingredients and measures) can not be copyrighted because you can’t claim ownership of a fact. Apple Pie and Beef Stew are public property. However, the language of recipes is considered original so you can not simply copy and publish someone else’s take on a recipe.

Those How do you make that? conversations are not just about cooking. My father would call regularly asking for the same two recipes: fried chicken and Hollandaise sauce. I remember thinking, “Why doesn’t he write it down?” but I came to love those requests. It reminded us both of my grandmother (a Hollandaise maker extraordinaire) and of the days when fried chicken was a once-a-week meal. Now, when my grown children request a recipe, I am equally touched.

During World War II, my friend Monna remembers the meager meals at her school outside Paris. “Once a week we’d have a treat of fresh bread from the local baker. With each bite, we’d pretend it was something we really loved. Roast chicken! Chocolate cake!” Longing for full stomachs, the girls dined on their food memories. Her experience brought to mind the poignant In Memory’s Kitchen: A Legacy from the Women of Terezin, an extraordinary collective memoir by starving prisoners at a Czechoslovakian ghetto/concentration camp. Written by a number of different hands, the original manuscript (now in the Holocaust museum in Washington, DC) contained remembered recipes from their former lives. Attempting to resurrect those lives, these women nourished and somehow sustained themselves through memory. The writing of this collection was no quiet activity either: arguments flared over the correct way to make a certain dish. “We never used eggs! There was much more sugar!” And thus time passed.

My folklorist friend Miriam first told me about interleavings. These are scraps of paper, ticket stubs, old envelopes, receipts, and all manner of jottings found in cookbooks. A treasure trove of information for anyone curious about a family, a community or an area. I knew immediately what she was talking about having gone through many old family cookbooks. In one old book belonging to my mother-in-law, there were letters between friends containing recipes but also plenty of news and gossip. Putting some pieces together, I realized these folks lived no farther than 30 miles apart but rarely used a telephone. Word of mouth via the pen.

Cookbook Interleaving: A French hotel bill with dried flowers

I found the interleaving pictured above in Leslie Forbes’ beautiful book A Table in Provence. I might not have remembered that my friend Rolf gave me the book if I hadn’t seen his hotel bill (and the dried flowers). A social scientist might find it interesting that in 1987, an American couple spent the night at the Hotel Beaurivage in Cros-de-Cagnes, had breakfast, and it cost less that $25.00.

Asking questions (Where do you shop? What about farmers’ markets? Where are the bargains?) eases you into a new neighborhood. If you’ve just moved, word of mouth information gives you a jump start in the process of feeling at home. For new parents, the world of baby food is much more compelling to talk about than to read about. Dieters, folks cooking for one, heart patients, party givers, in short, everyone benefits from direct talk about food.

So, don’t forget to ask your Aunt Tilly for that chocolate cake recipe before she gets any older.

Here are a few recipes I pass around frequently.

And happy cooking! xoxo, Mary

* Eggs shells will stick to very fresh eggs. After about a week, the interior of the egg and its membranes will shrink slightly, creating an air space. After hard boiling, the egg is plunged into ice water which slightly contracts the contents and when cracked, it’s shell slips off.

Zucchini salad

I really like zucchini raw and came up with this salad and it’s gotten a lot of raves. I do not add the dressing until just before serving – the salad should remain cool and crisp!

8 small zucchinis cut into a small dice
1 bunch cilantro, chopped without the stems
½ cup cashew nuts, coarsely chopped
1 small shallot, minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Pepper
Optional: 1 clove garlic minced

In a bowl, toss the zucchini, cilantro, nuts, and shallot.

Combine the remaining ingredients, whisk thoroughly, and mix into the salad.

Variation: Zucchini and Chard Salad

1 bunch Swiss chard
4 small zucchinis cut into a fine dice
¼ cup cashews, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons canola or other oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Strip the stalks from the Swiss chard leaves and cut them fairly finely. Put in a saucepan with a small amount of water. Cover and bring to a boil. In the meantime, cut the leaves into fine shreds and then crosswise (so that the shreds are not too long). Add these to the pot with the stems and cook a few minutes or until just tender. Drain and cool.

Toss the chard with the zucchini and nuts. Combine the remaining ingredients to make a vinaigrette and pour over the salad. Toss well.

Spicy Peanut Dip

I have been asked for this recipe more than any other. I got the recipe from my sister-in-law Debbie and changed it a little, using peanuts rather than peanut butter. That’s the secret!

1/4 cup tea, cooled
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cups salted peanuts
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chili paste (or more, to taste)

In a food processor, grind nuts until fine. Add everything else. The dip will become quite thick and can be thinned with water or tea.

Serving suggestions or Are you ready for this?

Snacks: spread it on celery sticks, apple slices, crackers and flatbreads

Appetizers:to accompany a raw vegetable platter

Wraps: spread on lettuce or rice paper wrappers with various fillings such as rice, chicken, shrimp, fish and bean sprouts

Sandwiches: the PB and J using a jam such as rhubarb, guava, or lime marmalade ; the PBB and J which is the same plus a little crispy bacon

Main dish: as a sauce with cold soba, udon, or rice noodles. Thin the spread with a little water or cold tea just to a pouring consistency. Garnish with chopped peanuts and mint. Also, as a dressing. Thin the spread with tea or water and add diced cooked chicken or turkey, chopped red peppers, carrots, and green onions. Serve on a bed of shredded napa cabbage.

Dessert: use a dollop on top of vanilla or coconut ice cream. Garnish with mint. Or spread a thin layer on ginger cookies and fill with ice cream for ice cream sandwiches.

My Fried Chicken

What I can tell you about fried chicken is that if you make it often, it becomes very easy. The problem is that virtually no one eats fried chicken every week so it’s a bit harder to get practice. I learned this method of frying chicken from Margaret Miles, now in her nineties. She has lived most of her life in Kentucky and her recipe is, I believe, as genuine as it gets for southern fried chicken. She always drained her chicken on newspaper and I still do that but you may prefer paper towels.

Serves 4 – (8 pieces)

Ingredients:

1 fryer
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or oregano and basil mixed
2 cups, approximately, oil for frying or Crisco (see note below)

Method:

Cut up the fryer into 8 pieces (2 breast halves, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 wings), reserving the wing tips, the back, and the giblets for another use. (Such as chicken stock)
In a paper bag, combine the flour and seasonings. Margaret only used salt, pepper and paprika but I like a bit of dried herb which I rub between my fingers as I add it.
In a large heavy skillet (cast iron is best), heat oil to a depth of about ½ inch. Heat up to nearly smoking.
As the oil heats, shake several pieces of chicken in the flour mixture. Carefully, slide a piece into the oil. If it immediately starts sizzling, the oil is hot enough and you can add the rest.
Cook about one or two minutes just to ‘seize up’ the chicken pieces and then turn them. Again, cook one to two minutes.
Turn again, lower the heat to very low, cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes.
In the middle of the cooking time, carefully turn the chicken (the coating will be soft and fragile).
After the cooking period, turn up the heat all the way, remove the cover and cook on each side until it is as browned and crispy as you like. This will take about a minute per side. Don’t walk away during this step.
Remove and drain on paper towels. Salt each piece and serve immediately. Also good cold.

Just a few caveats:

A fresh good quality chicken does make a difference in taste and is worth spending a little extra on.
In the US, the thinking now is don’t wash chicken – it just spreads bacteria around the sink. If you do wash it, it should be lightly patted dry (not bone dry!) before shaking with the flour.
Frying: Never drop food into hot oil – always slide it and take care turning it to avoid splashing. I use metal tongs so that the meat isn’t pierced when I turn it.
The oil: it must have a high smoke point such as peanut or canola. Margaret used Crisco and that’s what I use. Crisco is now trans-fat free.
Covering the chicken: leave the lid a bit askew so the steam can escape. Otherwise when you remove the lid and turn up the heat, you risk a lot of painful grease popping.
Cooking time: 15 minutes covered time is an approximation. Don’t overcook it or it will be dry. If I’m cooking a lot of chicken, I use two pans and cook the thighs and drumsticks separately from the breast as dark meat takes longer to cook.

Added bonus…..Cream Gravy

Also called milk gravy, this stuff puts you over the top in every way imaginable… it’s good on biscuits, mashed potatoes, or rice. You can also make this gravy using chicken stock (it just won’t be cream gravy).

Ingredients:

Crunch and dripping from the frying pan
¼ cup of the seasoned flour from frying the chicken
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper

Drain the oil out of the fried chicken pan reserving all the crunchy bits. Add the flour and stir over low heat for a few minutes to cook the flour.

Add the milk, stirring until thick with a whisk or wooden spoon, adding a little more if the gravy is too thick. Taste and season with salt and pepper

Home Cooking IV: Fire up the Stove!

Aug20

“Lack of time is not the issue. It’s a question of priorities. Look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Am I worth 30 minutes? Is my family worth 30 minutes?” That’s what it takes to make a good meal.”

Joyce Goldstein, author, teacher, chef, restauranteur, and home cook

“When I was raising my kids, cooking dinner was the worst part. The question, “What’s for dinner?” still makes me shudder.”

Becky Howe, weight lifter, teacher, and personal trainer

On those occasions when she’s home alone, Joyce Goldstein not only makes herself a tasty dinner, she’s written a book about it (Solo Suppers: Simple Delicious Meals to Cook for Yourself.)

Becky Howe’s idea of a fine solo dinner is a protein bar, a banana, and a good book.

Well, friends, there’s a middle road.

Jessica Glenn, who happens to be my daughter, cooks for a growing family on a daily basis and has this to say:

“With a tight budget, cooking at home is the only choice and I’ve found it gets easier with practice. I can come up with 30 minute meals and also, 15 and 20 minute ones. Everything in my refrigerator is spoken for because I buy only what I need. I think we eat well and lots of times, I get cheers from the crowd, which feels good. But many of my friends don’t cook and for them, the whole process seems horrible.”

Cooking does get easier with practice and easier still once it becomes a routine. If you’re ready to rattle the pots and pans, summer is a great time to get started. There’s a lot less cooking and more salad making. The fruits and vegetables available now make for quick suppers without a lot of kitchen time.

When the first dog days of summer rolled around in Washington, D.C. (often in May), my sister-in-law Debbie Giese would announce, “That’s it! No more cooking for the summer.” Twenty years ago, what this meant was “I’m not going to use the oven.” Dinner still made it to the table on a nightly basis but there were salads rather than stews and we used the charcoal grill rather than the stove.

Even as recently as fifteen years ago, most people I knew made dinner every night and worked full-time. We used processed convenience foods but more often than not, they constituted a small part of the meal, such as bottled salad dressing or a can of soup. Slowly but surely, what was an insignificant part of a home-cooked meal began to take over and from there, it was a quick road to take-out or going out.

I mention all this not to wag my finger at the current state of dining culture but simply to point out that home cooking didn’t go into decline all that long ago and for thousands, it never went away at all.

In other words, the system is not broken or antiquated; it just needs a little dusting off.

So even though we all know that day’s end can be especially chaotic, let’s creep into the kitchen and cook dinner.

Consider the evening meal a set part of every day. Put another way, identify the after-work routine as the reverse of the morning routine. Does it take an hour to dress, have breakfast, and leave the house? Morning activity in most households is focused. In the same way, allow for focused time when you get home. Perhaps you need 15 to 20 minutes when you come in the door to do some or all of the following: check the mail, change clothes, listen to messages, supervise homework and baths, walk the dog, or water the garden.

After that, head for the kitchen. Here are 6 steps, 7 tips and A Week of Menus to ease your way. Bonus section: Equipment and 4 How-Tos.

A Weekly Menu circa 1980 with Shopping List and 5 year old daughter’s additions

Step 1: The Preliminaries. Write up a Week’s Menus and do your Shopping in advance.

When you get home after a long day, dinner can be quickly put together if you have your ingredients and know what you’re making. Son-in-law JB says:

“On Sundays, I write down menus and Rachael helps with the list. Since I’m the cook, I do the shopping. We usually have one take-out meal and one with leftovers and end up making a stop at the store once during the week.”

Not so different from my 1980 menu (see photo above) which is a little hard to read but Sunday is “Out” and Thursday is called “Potluck” (i.e. leftovers.) Hmm, that week we had roast chicken, steak, and hold on! Is that Ranch Dressing on my shopping list?

For inspiration, there are websites to help with the menu planning: At Epicurious.com, go to Articles and Guides and under that Everyday Food. Select ‘Weekly Dinner Planners.’ There’s a different seasonal menu every week plus a shopping list. At This Week For Dinner (www.thisweekfordinner.com) , the author of this blog posts a menu every Sunday and invites anyone to comment or post their own menus. The New York Times now has a cooking newsletter than shoots rapid encouraging recipes to your inbox a few times a week. They are usually quick to make and very tasty.

If you know in advance what’s for dinner, that question doesn’t seem so bad.

Step 2: In the Morning, check the Menu and locate the Ingredients. Defrost any food you will use later.

Run the dishwasher at night and empty it in the morning. That way, everything will be clean for the evening rush. If you have a delay button on your dishwasher, program it for after midnight (you’ll save $$ on energy bills.)

If you have even 5 minutes to spare in the morning, do one small job to make the dinner preparation go faster. This might be peeling some potatoes (leave them in a bowl of cold water), or hard-boiling a couple of eggs. Some advance preparation can be done days in advance such as washing and spin-drying the lettuce.

Step 3: When You Come in the Door, put a large pot of water onto boil and/or light the grill.

In other words, don’t waste time waiting for the grill to heat or water to boil. Start in right away and you’ll save time. If speed is your goal, the week-night meal is not the time to try a new recipe. In fact, don’t use a recipe at all. Use techniques such as grilling, boiling, steaming, chopping, sauteeing, and tossing. Season well, add a little butter or a dash of olive oil, and your food, while perhaps a bit plain, will taste very good.

Step 4: Set the Table (or enlist a member of your household to do this task every night.)

Put out everything you need including salt and pepper, water, plates, glasses, drinks, and condiments. This means that when dinner is ready, the table will be ready too, and the food won’t get cold.

Step 5: Triage or Who gets attention first?

If you have a screaming toddler, this question doesn’t need asking. But don’t be sidetracked. Throw your offspring a piece of fruit, a cracker, or a carrot, and carry on. Believe me, children are impressed by a show of fierce concentration. Likewise, once you begin the cooking, don’t answer the phone, do the laundry, or check your e-mail. We’re only talking about a half hour of concentration.

Step 6: Multi-tasking or How to Cook Everything at Once

It takes practice, but several operations can be done nearly simultaneously in the kitchen. If you’re having something grilled and a salad, get the cooking started first. For example, slap the chicken on the grill, dash back into the kitchen and put the lettuce in the salad bowl. Drizzle with oil and vinegar, salt and pepper, find the salad servers, and put it on the table. Turn the chicken. Slice some tomatoes, arrange on a plate and onto the table. Yell at everyone to come to dinner. (Time: 15 minutes, give or take a few.)

For a cold dinner of salads and cold meat or fish, do all the prep work first. Arrange everything on a platter or in bowls, putting the dressing on last. Vinaigrettes and dressings keep very well refrigerated. Make double portions and save the extra for the next meal.

Now to fine tune the process, here are 7 tips.

Tip 1

Don’t get discouraged. If nightly cooking seems like a terrible chore, keep in mind that repetition and practice will reward you.

Tip 2

Don’t get bogged down by recipes. Start with some dishes that you can cook without running back and forth to check what to do next. “if I use a cookbook, dinner takes 5 times as long.” again from Jessica.

Memorize how to cook rice, how to bake and boil potatoes and how to hardboil eggs. See below *.

Tip 3

Don’t buy too much food. You’ll use what you buy, your refrigerator won’t be bursting, and you’ll save money.

Tip 4

Clear the decks. Try to get some room on the counter to work. Get rid of the mail, your backpack, and anything else that is cluttering up that space.

Tip 5

Trust your own common sense. Don’t be a slave to timing instructions. Pasta is a good example: the box may instruct you to cook the pasta 9 minutes but don’t stand around waiting for it. At about that time, taste a strand. If it’s done, drain it. Otherwise, hold off a minute or two and taste again.

Tip 6

Learn to use high heat when you cook. It is one of the hardest things to convince newer cooks to do but turning up the heat on the stovetop will improve your cooking. Without a hot pan, you can’t sear, stir-fry, saute, or brown foods successfully. Foods will absorb less fat if sauteed in very hot oil.

Tip 7

Use salt and pepper. Plenty of it. Butter, olive oil, and herbs as well. Season your food and taste it before serving.

A Week’s Menus

Monday

Jessica says this dinner take 20 minutes tops! And no complaining from the young ‘uns either.

Pork Chops with Rosemary
Corn on the Cob
Tomato and Cucumber Salad
Cookies

Preheat oven to 400. Bring a big pot of water to a boil. Salt and pepper thin sliced pork chops (1 per person, maybe 2 for Dad), sprinkle with rosemary, and put in a baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes turning once.

Chop up a couple of tomatoes and a cucumber, season, and drizzle with olive oil and vinegar.

Meanwhile, shuck corn (1/person, maybe 2 for really hungry folks.) Cook in boiling water 2 minutes only. Have butter and salt on the table.

Tuesday

Salade Nicoise is a composed salad which means lettuce is the bed, the other ingredients are arranged on top in clumps, and the dressing goes on last.

Salade Nicoise for 4 or 5 people
French bread
Cherries

Ingredients: 1 head romaine lettuce, a can of tuna, 2 hardboiled eggs, a big handful of fresh string beans, 4-6 small potatoes, some cherry tomatoes, a can of anchovies, if you like them.

In the morning, boil the eggs and peel the potatoes.

As a first step, boil or steam the potatoes for about 6 minutes. Add the beans to the same pot and cook 5 more minutes. Check the potatoes for doneness. Drain, cool down, and cut the potatoes into halves or wedges. Quarter the eggs. Put the lettuce in a big bowl and strew all the ingredients over the top.

Make a vinaigrette with garlic, olive oil, and vinegar or lemon and drizzle over the salad.

Wednesday

Pasta with Pesto
Zucchini salad
Watermelon

For the salad, use raw zucchini, very thinly sliced or in little cubes. Drizzle with basalmic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Fast pesto: Can be made in advance! 2 packed cup of basil leaves, 3 tablespoons of pine nuts (or walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds – whatever you have on hand), 1/2 cup olive oil, pinch salt, a garlic clove, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoons butter. Puree all these ingredients in a blender or food processor. At serving time, stir in a few spoonfuls of the hot pasta cooking water.

This can also be frozen in small containers for super quick suppers!

Thursday

Use the grill or a hot oven to roast chicken. I like skin-on chicken with bones; it’s so tasty! It should take about 20 minutes. Mash a few tablespoons of butter with a minced garlic clove. Slice partway through a baguette and drop in some of the butter mixture. Wrap in foil and put to the side of the hot grill (or in the oven) until hot (about 10 minutes or so.)

Grilled Chicken
Green Salad
Garlic Bread
Blueberries with ice cream

Friday

You made it through the week! Don’t cook – just put this on a big plate and enjoy your dinner!

Hummus, olives, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, pita bread
Green yogurt with honey and walnuts

Fast hummus that’s cheap too: 1 can chickpeas, 2 tablespoons (or more if you like it) sesame tahini, 1 small garlic clove, salt, pepper, juice of 1 lemon, 2 – 4 tablespoons of water. In the food processor or blender, add all the ingredients and puree. Taste for seasoning. Put in a bowl and drizzle olive oil over the top.

Saturday

I’ll write the recipe below but this takes only a few minutes of concentration and the rest is nearly automatic. Relax! It’s the weekend.

Fish tacos
Mango floats

To make quick fish tacos: Make the slaw and dressing first. Cook fish right before serving.

Slaw: 1 small green cabbage, shredded finely; bunch of cilantro, chopped; a shredded carrot, and a bunch of radishes (optional), chopped. Mix this together, add salt and some squeezes of lime juice.

Sauce: Mix together juice of 1 lime, a couple of tablespoons each of yogurt (or sour cream) and mayonnaise. Pinch salt. Pinch sugar. Garlic clove minced. Hot sauce or a minced chipotle chile.

Fish: Cut 1 pound of white fish filets (I use frozen) in strips. Toss in a bowl containing 2 tablespoons flour and 4 tablespoons cornmeal, several big pinches of cumin, pepper, and salt. Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a frying pan and cook until light brown on both sides (about 5 minutes.)

Corn tortillas (flour is ok): Spread with dressing, top with slaw and fish. Put on plates or a big platter. Serve hot sauce on the side. 4 – 5 servings.

Mango (or peach) Floats: slice up the fruit, put in tall glasses with ice cream and club soda. Eat with a spoon.

Sunday

I knew a surgeon who used to save leftover salad, add some tomatoes and presto! he had gazpacho. I don’t often have leftover salad but I still think it’s an original idea.

Soup (from leftovers) – Gazpacho!

Crackers and cheese
Peaches

Fast gazpacho: use any leftover salad vegetables for this soup or gather up the ingredients in the recipe below.

6 ripe tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1 small onion
1 cucumber, peeled
1 green or red pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
salt, pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups water or tomato juice or V-8, approximately

In a blender or food processor, blend the vegetables until they are in small chunks. Add enough water or juice to thin slightly. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and vinegar. Add a few spoonfuls of olive oil. Let the soup sit a while to develop more flavor. Taste for seasoning before serving.

Knives and Chopping Board

Equipment:

Knives: Equip yourself with 3 good knives. In the photo above are the knives I use nearly exclusively. They are (from top to bottom) a small paring knife (serrated, in this case), an all-purpose chef’s knife, a bread knife (used for slicing meat and tomatoes too) and my new favorite a santoku knife. This last replaces my chef’s knife for most purposes and is a reasonable purchase (between $30 and $60). The serrated bread knife and paring knife are dirt cheap but when they get dull (and they will!), you must replace them. The key here is sharp. If you know how to sharpen knives, you are way ahead of the game. It’s easy to chop when you have a sharp knife. I can’t emphasize this enough.

Cutting Board: The knives in the photo are sitting on my cutting board which measures 15 by 20 inches and is made of rubber that is pleasant to chop on and easy to keep clean. No, I can’t fit it in my dishwasher but it is indispensable. Not easy to find in stores but restaurant supply stores have them. These stores are open to the public) and you can find sources on line.

When using a cutting board, anchor it to the counter by setting it on a damp towel or wet paper towel. Small boards that slip around as you chop are an invitation to the First Aid station.

The Everyday Useful Tools

Salad spinner, sieve, metal bowls, tongs, and box grater: I use these all the time. The bowls are very thin and light. I get them in several sizes at my local restaurant supplier for next to nothing. They are so much easier to use than heavy glass bowls and if one drops, so what?

A big pasta pot, a big heavy stew pot, a big frying pan and a medium-sized frying pan: I have assorted other pots and pans but the four mentioned are the ones I use all the time. I’m not too crazy about non-stick or otherwise coated pans but I do have a big one that comes in handy now and then. I like heavy duty stainless steel frying pans because you can really heat them up without damaging them.

2 baking sheets with rims, a roasting pan and a couple of baking dishes:Baking sheets (cookie sheets) can be used for all sorts of baking and lined with non-stick paper, they are a snap to clean. An 8 inch square and a 9 x 13 inch glass pan is a kitchen standard. A heavy duty ceramic or enamelled cast iron baking dish is very useful for roast chicken, potatoes au gratin, and all kinds of baked dishes from leftovers.

Food Processor: In the world of small electronic gadgets, a heavy duty food processor is my favorite. Small one or two cup processors are a waste of money, in my opinion, because they are usually not sturdy and don’t chop well. If you hate chopping onions, this will be a godsend. Likewise, if you have a lots of chopping, slicing, or grating to do (coleslaw, as an example), it will take seconds using a food processor. It’s great for soups sauces; fantastic for pie crusts and currently, I use it to make ground beef. I’ve used a Cusinart model with a lot of success. Ask for one for Christmas. It is so much better than a blender.

*HOW TO….

Bake potatoes: Scrub a russet or other baking potato (yes, there’s a difference! Ask your vegetable person at the store). Bake at 425 (you don’t need to preheat the oven) for an hour. For extra crispy skin, take out the potatoes after about 50 minutes of baking and let them sit a few minutes until the skins are soft and wrinkly). Put them back in the oven for an additional 5- 10 minutes.

Boil potatoes:Scrub boiling potatoes. Peel if desired and cut in halves, quarters, or leave whole. Put in a pan with cold water to cover and a spoonful of salt. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until done – which will take about 15 minutes or so depending on how many potatoes you have. Test for doneness by plunging a knife into the side. Drain.

Make rice: Here it depends on the rice. Again, don’t be a slave to the timing – check your rice and taste a grain or two; when the water is absorbed, it’s done.

For long grain: 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, 1 tsp. salt. Bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the rice, stir once, cover and cook at low heat for 20 minutes.

For basmati, jasmine or Thai: 1 cup rice, 1 1/2 cups water, 1 tsp. salt. Rinse off the rice thoroughly in a strainer. Cook as for long grain but only about 10 minutes.

Hardboil eggs: Put eggs in a pan with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook for about 8 minutes. Drain and cover with cold water (I use ice cubes too sometimes). If an egg cracks during the boiling process, add salt – it will seal the crack.

Have fun in the kitchen!!

xoxo, Mary

Weighty Matters

Feb26

Recently, I had an annual doctor’s visit. Everything seemed to be going smoothly as Dr. Linda Peel listened, poked, and prodded. She asked me a few questions and I thought we were finished until she handed me a prescription for… Weight Watchers!

“You need to take off a few pounds,” she explained. “Once you get 10% over a healthy weight, problems start to arise. Maybe it’s just your knees or your joints but things can get out of hand.”

As horrified as I was with this news, I had to agree: 10 pounds (or so) ago, I was more energetic and not feeling the aches and pains. The doctor’s advice came right on the heels of reading Michael Pollan’s book: In Defense of Food with the subtitle: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. This latest book carries continues the message of his earlier books but is more focused on what we Americans tend to eat and how it’s affecting us.

One question Dr. Peel asked me was this: “How would you describe your diet?” Without hesitation, I answered, “Superb.” As an enthusiastic home cook who eschews fast and processed foods, I felt more than confident. Gently, she suggested that as wonderful as my meals might be, I might be better off eating a bit less. Which is just what Michael Pollan says and what most of my French neighbors practice on a daily basis.

From all the disturbing news of obesity in the United States, it is easy to place blame at the doorstep of the processed food industry and the fast food vendors. But those of us who eat ‘well’ can eat too much and cutting back on portions of meat, fat, sweets, and starches is a sensible start. There is also the French way: three meals a day, no seconds, and no snacking. This might sound tough but the French don’t seem deprived to me.

I signed up for Weight Watchers online and so far, it’s okay. I can’t pretend I’m thrilled but I am becoming more aware of what I buy and what I cook. I’m buying more produce and fruit and less meat, fish, and dairy but all of good quality and I’m saving some money. The downfalls come with entertaining: I don’t want to put everyone on a diet! And yet, using fresh ingredients and taking the time to cook a meal is a good and generous thing. A well-balanced menu ought to be both delicious and digestible and guests can decide for themselves how much to eat.

I’ve always hated measuring and weighing (except for baking) and again, it’s a ‘confidence’ thing. I gaily toss in the salt, go glug, glug, glug with the olive oil and cream and care mostly about how the dish turns out. To restrain myself, I’ve installed one of those pourers on my olive oil bottle, which causes the oil to flow more as a thread than a gush. I keep my butter in the freezer (this is always a good idea if you want to keep it fresh) and have stopped putting cream on my weekly list.

All of us know our own particular weaknesses and mine tend to cluster around salt, fats, and wine. So far, the awareness is helping. That and some friends I can moan to who are going through the same thing!

Here are some daily recipes that seem to fit my own regime change, so to speak. Spring vegetables are still a few weeks away so I’m still buying greens, leeks, cabbages, and root vegetables. Wish me luck and write with your favorites!

xoxo, Mary

Fast! The Tofu and Heart of Palm Lunch

Okay, this is not for everyone: the uni-color meal. But if I like something, I’ll eat it. Knowing that, I’m looking for things for lunch that are hard-core low calorie. Ta Dah! The above ‘meal’. I add soy sauce or hot sauce to the tofu (which I cut in chunks), eat the heart of palm with my fingers, and have cherry tomatoes on the side (dash of color!). And half a banana.

If you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, they sell hearts of palm at a reasonable price and they’re organic so you can feel a little better about the Brazilian jungles. For the slim yet robust members of your family (i.e. children), this is a great snack and really much, much better than string cheese. Same goes for tofu – maybe your 4 year old will rebel but toddlers love it!

The Green Lunch

My friend Katy makes a green mélange on Sunday afternoons and eats it for lunch for a few days running.

“I can’t eat just greens. I have to add other things.”

First, she takes a bunch of greens such as chard, collards, or kale and steams them whole. When they are just cooked, she chops them finely. Then, she chops up an onion and 2 or 3 cloves garlic and sautés them in a little olive oil. To this, she adds a sliced or chopped Portobello mushroom and cooks that a few minutes before adding the greens, salt, and pepper. Depending on her mood, she might also add tamari, hot sauce, or herbs. She cools down this mixture and then has it for lunch with an egg or rolled up in a whole wheat tortilla or as is with a splash of vinegar.

Dinner rolls around… my favorite meal so I’m looking for something tasty. And comforting. I recommend the following:

Turkey Tenderloin Two Ways

Crispy Mustard Potatoes

Endive and Spinach Salad

Sliced Pineapple and a meringue cookie

Spicy Turkey Tenderloin

Turkey tenderloins are easy to roast. They generally come two to a package, weighing a bit over a pound. Just cover with salt, pepper, chile powder, cumin, dried herbs, or a commercial mixture that you like. Be sure to cover the meat completely. This will help to seal it up. Now roast it in a 350 oven, covered with foil, for about 30 minutes or until the center is no longer pink. Remove from the oven and let sit about 10 minutes before slicing. Can be made in advance and served room temperature or warmed up (briefly).

2 tenderloins yields 4 to 5 servings.

French Turkey à la Cocotte

Cooking in a ‘cocotte’, which is a covered dish, is a typical French method of cooking – especially in the home. The dish itself can be anything from a heavy enameled pot to a glass baking dish. The ingredients are place in the pot, covered, and baked. It is a perfect method for cooking lighter, smaller meals. French butchers sell very small roasts (4 ounces is one serving) and the cocotte method insures a moist result.

2 turkey tenderloins or a boneless turkey breast
2 or 3 sprigs of thyme
3 or 4 shallots
1 chicken bouillon cube (or 1 cup of homemade stock)
Salt

Put the turkey in a baking dish. Peel the shallots, cut into pieces, and scatter them around the turkey. Add the sprigs of thyme. Cover the pan with foil or use a baking pan that has a lid.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Add the bouillon cube diluted in a cup of hot water and sprinkle the turkey with salt. Continue to cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. For a two-pound turkey breast, adjust the timing: it will take about an hour to cook.

More Cocotte Thoughts

Layering your baking dish with a bed of chopped vegetables (spinach, zucchini, leeks, and red cabbage are a few possibilities) and topping it off with chicken breast or a piece of fish is another easy to cook “à la cocotte”. Season well and drizzle with a little olive oil and lemon juice, if you wish, and cover. Cook at moderate heat (350 to 375) and check after 20 minutes. Enjoy a savory little meal!

Crispy Mustard Potatoes

Here is a no-fat potato recipe that is scrumptious. This is from a recipe by Waldy Malouf in the New York Times. I’ve cut down the quantities a bit. Use Dijon mustard that is truly just mustard. Many prepared mustards have lots of other ingredients and tend to be sweet.

Makes 4 servings

2 large baking potatoes, scrubbed
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons olive oil
Pinch or two of dried thyme
Salt (coarse or sea salt) and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 and bake the potatoes about 40 minutes. They should be almost but not quite cooked. You want to be able to slice them later without falling apart.
Combine the mustard, oil, and seasonings. Turn up the oven to 500.
Cut each potato into 4 lengthwise wedges and coat each piece in the mustard mixture.
Place the potato wedges cut side down on a baking sheet.
Bake 10 minutes and carefully, turn the pieces to the other cut side and continue to bake for 10 minutes more. Because the baking sheet is ungreased, the potatoes will tend to stick so be sure to slide your spatula under the crust carefully. The pan will be a little crusty but the clean up is not bad at all.

Crispy Roots: A Variation

Katy weighs in with this one! Substitute parsnips and rutabagas for the potato and proceed with the above recipe. The initial baking time might vary depending on the size of the root vegetable but otherwise the recipe is the same.

Endive and Spinach Salad

The vinaigrette for this salad contains some juice, which cuts down on the olive oil.

4 endives
2 – 3 cups fresh spinach, washed
3 tablespoons orange juice (about 1/2 orange)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper

Makes 4 servings

Cut the endives crosswise into chunks. Toss in a large bowl with the spinach. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a jar or small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Remove the garlic. Add this vinaigrette to the endive and spinach and toss.

Sandwiches and Potato Chips: Feeding our Elderly

Jan5

After a bad fall, my 92-year old mother, Lois Bartlett, is convalescing at a hospital in her hometown, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Despite her many ills, she is sharp mentally and interested in getting better. It’s her appetite that’s gone.

A slim and tall woman (she seemed like a tree when I was little), she has always eaten just about everything enthusiastically and until now, has done her own cooking and shopping.

“The food is awful here!” she wailed. I had to agree that the overdone purees and tough slabs of meat were nearly inedible.

“Just give it a good try.” I advised. She had a better idea.

A few days later, she explained, “Christina is bringing me food.” Christina Minielly has known my mother for over 30 years and most recently, has been a caregiver and lunch provider.

“What is she bringing you?” I asked, thinking about some nutritious soup or perhaps some vegetables or fish.

“Sandwiches and potato chips!” she chirped. “And usually, there’s enough for my dinner too!”

Your ten-year old probably shouldn’t have a steady diet of sandwiches and potato chips but at 92? I think it’s great. She’s back to eating and in fact, that sandwich probably has everything she needs, as least for now.

About 20 years ago, my father was dying of lung cancer. I was appalled by his diet of canned soups and frozen food and wanted to make sure that he was eating ‘correctly’. Who knows? Maybe I thought I could cure him. I tried to tempt him by cooking various dishes with delicate sauces and special vegetables. Sometimes, he’d say, “Don’t bother too much with lunch. Isn’t there some Campbell’s soup on the shelf?”

Ha! I’d think. Nothing like that for my dad! No sirree. Everything from scratch.

On another occasion, he was more forthright. “I’d really like some Stouffer’s Turkey Tetrazzini”. Suddenly, I was caught short. Why wasn’t I feeding him what he wanted? His life was really down to weeks at that point. Shopping and cooking was eating into some nice time we could spend together, sitting and reading or reminiscing.

So, I learned a lesson. Throughout your life, eating well is important for many reasons and health is only one of them. But at the end of life, all the constraints of keeping yourself alive are not so important. If my mother wants potato chips, she should have them. When she’s stronger, maybe she’ll go for that nutritious soup I’d like to make her but I can wait.

If you have an elderly relative or friend who you’d like to cook for, it is a wonderful act of kindness. My mother’s young artist friend Rhonda Davis often brings her tasty treats. “You know this stuff, hummous, is really good!”, my mother commented one day, fishing around for more pita bread. Bear in mind, that your older friend won’t eat much and heavy pots or bowls will be hard for a frail person to handle easily. A pint of soup, a small container of stew, or a slice of pie will be just right.

If you’re cooking for a sick friend, bear in mind that lots of food that smells and tastes so good when you’re well has the opposite effect when you’re sick. Spicy or rich foods, dairy (especially cheese and cream), strong tasting fish or meat are the culprits here. Also, the texture of certain foods, such as steak, can be hard to handle. Salads and salad dressing can taste much more acidic when you’re not feeling up to par.

So what’s left? Soup is a good bet with clear broth and some good vegetables, a bit of rice, and a little chicken. Some folks like rice pudding or applesauce. Using a mild cheese, a warm grilled cheese sandwich can be tempting.

My husband’s mother, Mary Allman, also had a poor appetite in her last weeks. One day, I made her a simple egg custard. It was plain and digestible and she ate some of it. It sparked some memories of her childhood which she recounted with quiet pleasure. I enjoyed the stories and was glad that the custard coaxed them out and had given her a little energy.

This dark time of year certainly brings out wonderful generosity and kindness. I am grateful to Christina and my mother’s neighbors who have taken time to bring a very old lady things that she likes to eat.

xoxo, Mary

Here are a few recipes for our older friends.

Egg Custard Also called cup custard or baked custard, this makes a simple dessert for any age and is especially good topped with fruit.

2 cups milk 3 tablespoons sugar pinch salt 4 yolks (or 2 whole eggs) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the milk, sugar and eggs. Beat well. Add flavoring.

Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Pour the custard into 5 or 6 individual ramekins or small Pyrex cups and set them in a baking pan. Pour about an inch of hot water into the baking pan and bake about 45 minutes.

Test for doneness by sticking a knife in the custard. If it comes out clean, the custard is done. Don’t overbake as it will get tough.

Green Soup For when you’re feeling a bit low. Homemade broth makes a big difference here, especially if well-skimmed of fat and not too salty. You may leave out the egg but it adds some protein.

2 cups broth (chicken, beef. or vegetable)

1 cup spinach or chard, chopped or shredded finely

1 egg, slightly beaten

Heat the broth to the boiling point and stir in the greens. Cook over low heat a few minutes until the greens are wilted and tender. Stir in the egg.

Serve with plain toast or crackers.

Makes 2 small servings.

Baked Chicken

Breast of chicken can be pleasant enough for a sick person but it can easily be tough or too bland. A little lemon juice helps to keep the chicken tender.

1 boneless chicken breast

½ lemon

1 teaspoon dried dill or tarragon

Butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the chicken in a very small baking dish and squeeze some lemon juice over it. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with dill or tarragon. You can also use fresh parsley, if you prefer. Dot with a little butter and cover the dish tightly with foil.

Bake for 20 minutes and check for doneness. Cook a few more minutes if necessary.

Makes one serving.

Milk Toast

I read M.F.K. Fisher’s glowing words about milk toast a few years ago and at the time, thought they were a bit ridiculous. But then I came across this pencilled notation in an old cookbook of my mother’s next to the recipe for milk toast:

“Mama likes this.”

No doubt she was referring to her own very elderly mom. Milk toast is a lovely soother for anyone who is ailing but especially nice for babies, young children and the elderly.

1 cup milk

2 slices bread

Butter

Heat the milk until it is simmering but not boiling. Toast the bread and butter it (sparingly or generously depending on the condition of the sick one). Pour the hot milk in a large bowl, break up the toast into pieces and serve at once with a spoon.

There are versions where cinnamon and raisins and a little sugar are added.

Orts and Leavings and Remembering Peg Bracken

Oct27

If you do crossword puzzles, the word ort, like erne or oast, is familiar. To the question, “What’s for dinner?” my response was frequently, “Orts and leavings.” Which is to say, scraps. And scraps can be the basis of awfully good food. I enjoy a meal of orts. It forces me to clean out my refrigerator, makes me feel a little smug about saving money, and keeps me from making a trip to the store.

I also feel I’ve paid respect to the food huddled on the refrigerator shelves. I like to think those withered lettuce leaves and leathery squash enjoy this treatment. “No trash can for you, my pretties!”

Let’s explore this path. To begin, examine the terrain. What happens to be in my refrigerator right now is the following: a handful of celery leaves, a wilting head of lettuce, a piece of cooked chicken, 2 strips of bacon, 2 leeks, a half dozen eggs, a cupful of rice, and some very smelly cheese. These orts shall start with salad.

My Salad of Orts

For 2 or 3 servings. Can be easily doubled.

Wilted lettuce can be revived by pulling off and discarding the outer leaves and then soaking the whole head in a sinkful of cold water for 20 or 30 minutes. The sand and dirt will drop to the bottom. Separate the leaves and then lift them out and dry them in a salad spinner. Refrigerate about a half hour and the lettuce should be crisp and fresh.

In a salad bowl, combine lettuce and other greens you may have hanging around such as, several sprigs of parsley, mint, basil, celery leaves.
Shred the cooked chicken breast. Fry the bacon slices and crumble.
Hard-boil 2 eggs. Cut in halves.
Prepare a vinaigrette. I use some Dijon mustard, one part red wine vinegar and 2-3 parts olive oil. Toss the greens with the vinaigrette, saving a few spoonfuls.
Toss the chicken with the remaining vinaigrette and some salt and pepper. This seasons the chicken, which may have become dry.
Divide the greens between 2 plates and put the chicken, crumbled bacon and egg on top.

Your Salad of Orts

Composed salads, as the cookbooks are fond of calling them, can be custom fit to your orts and provide you with a meal in one dish. The basic components are:

protein, crunch, and greens.

The protein: nearly any bit of cooked meat, fish, ham, cheese, or tofu cut in strips, cubes, or shredded is useful in salads. Plan on about ¼ cup per serving. I added the hardboiled eggs because I didn’t have quite enough shredded chicken.

Crunch in my salad comes from the bacon but you could use chopped nuts or croutons instead. About a tablespoon per serving. The fat in the crunch adds flavor but to keep a salad lean, you might choose chopped celery, carrots, or sprouts.

Adding a few leaves of herbs such as basil, mint, or parsley makes for very interesting and tasty salads. Just try to balance bitter or tough greens with enough lettuce so that eating the salad doesn’t sound like dinner in the horse barn.

Serve your salad with French bread, pita, whole-wheat toast, Swedish crispbread or whatever you have on hand.

Just how smelly is that cheese?

Leftover cheese can be the basis for many a meal of orts and leavings. A good way to deal with it, especially if you have several small pieces of different types, is to make a quiche. For interesting reading about quiches, what they are and where they come from, read Julia Child’s discussion about them in the Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I. She has a nifty method for the basic custard mixture to which she adds all sorts of ingredients.

Quiche de Fromage Scraps

About 8 slices

If you like so doing so, make your own pie dough, otherwise buy a rolled out commercial one.

1 sheet of pie dough
3 eggs
1 cup milk or cream
pepper, nutmeg
2 cups shredded or crumbled mixed cheeses
Optional: 2 slices bacon, fried and crumbled or ¼ cup chopped ham

Press the dough in a pie pan and pre-bake the shell according to package instructions. Set the oven to 375 degrees.In a bowl, whisk the eggs, milk or cream, several grindings of pepper and a few dashes of nutmeg until light. Put the optional ham or bacon in the bottom of the pie shell and cover with the shredded cheeses. Pour the egg mixture over top.Bake for about 30 minutes. It should be puffed and browned on top.

Your Quiche de Scraps

About 8 slices

The orts in the recipe above were cheese and bacon. Root through your refrigerator to see what you have. Quiche does not need to contain cheese. The custard is the important part to which many other ingredients may be added. A cup of chopped cooked vegetables (such as spinach, onions, red peppers, asparagus, zucchini, or a mixture), or cooked chopped chicken, salmon, or shrimp make fine quiches.

1 – 1 ½ cups cooked chopped vegetables and/or meats or fish
3 eggs
1 cup milk or cream
pepper and nutmeg
1 cup shredded, grated or crumbled cheese (optional)

Following the above method, pre-bake the pie shell and prepare the egg and milk (or cream) custard. Spread the cooked and chopped vegetable or meat mixture in the pie shell and pour the egg mixture over the top.Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes.Serve quiche hot or cold.

Remembering Peg

Last week, Peg Bracken, author of the I Hate to Cookbook died at her home in Portland, Oregon at the age of 89. In the 1950s and early 60s, a full-time working mother was not the norm. ‘Participating’ dads were not either so after a day’s work, women had to get something on the table. The way Peg tells it, she and her friends pooled recipes that were fast, easy, and edible. This was the basis of her book and it was an instant success. Published in 1960, it sold 3 million copies.Here’s how it starts:

Some women, it is said, like to cook.

This book is not for them.

This book is for those of us who hate to, who have learned, through hard experience, that some activities become no less painful through repetition: childbearing, paying taxes, cooking. This book is for those of us who want to fold our big dishwater hands around a dry Martini instead of a wet flounder, come the end of a long day.

Peg has been one of my all-time heroes (and I love to cook.). What appealed to me was her humor, lack of pretension, and love of life. Read a book! Have a cocktail! See friends! Eat something tasty! She didn’t hate food and she didn’t mind cooking. She just hated being thrust into a role where daily cooking was somehow sacred. That thinking became obsolete but Peg was ahead of her time.

From my perspective (as a fierce advocate of home cooking), I think Peg was onto something. You don’t need to adore cooking to get a good meal on the table.

When I first moved to Portland, I found out that Peg lived there. Through her stepson, Jack Ohmans (the cartoonist for the Oregonian), I got in touch with her. She invited me to her home and the minute I got there, she offered me a spice cookie.

“Elevator Lady Spice Cookies!” I nearly shouted.

“Nope, but those were really good too.” she replied.

We had a great afternoon. She was as candid, funny, and warmhearted as I figured she would be. Her books are still around, canned soups and all. Peg loved what passed for convenience foods in the ‘60s but don’t be put off. She had some terrific recipes and that’s why my copies are falling apart. She wrote many books but my favorite is The I Hate to Housekeep Book (which tells you something).

Here’s one of Peg Bracken’s recipes that uses up the final ort in my refrigerator: the cupful of rice. It’s a large recipe but can be divided easily and is a meal in itself.

Hellzapoppin’ Cheese Rice

4 cups cooked rice
4 eggs
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1 pound grated sharp Cheddar
small pinch each of thyme and marjoram
1 package chopped frozen spinach
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons melted butter

This is copied verbatim from Bracken’s book. She is referring to Sugar Belle, (possibly a fictional character) who gave her the recipe.

She beats the eggs till they’re light. Then she adds the milk and all the seasonings. Finally, she folds in the cheese, spinach and rice and pours the whole works into a greased casserole. After she pours the melted butter over it, she sets it in a 375 degree oven to bake for thirty-five minutes and she takes off her apron.

That’s all, friends!

xoxo, Mary

HOME COOKING II: Okay, I’ll Cook! Now what?

Feb24

So let’s say you’ve decided that home cooking is a sweet deal after all and you’re giving those clam shells and pizza boxes a quiet funeral out in the back yard. But now what? How to make the switch from someone else (or hundreds of someones) feeding you to your own efforts?

Start by making dinner for a week – or let’s say, six out of seven days. To achieve this, you need some food in the house and a plan. What happens if you’re invited out during this home-cooking week? This isn’t a problem: of course, go out! The goal here is to make home cooking a desirable habit not a condition of house arrest.

This is a 5 step plan.

The Master List.
A Week’s Menu.
A Shopping List
Shopping
Cooking

The Master List (you only do this part once)

The Master List contains everything you always want to have on hand. Whether it’s diapers, bird seed or aspirin, what you need in the house should be on your list. When it’s time to shop, consulting the master list will remind you what you’re out of. It will also remind you what not to buy. For example, by consulting the Master List, you will recall that you already have 3 different kinds of cheese in your refrigerator and the Frugal You will determine to use those up before buying more. Tape the list to the inside of one of your cabinets.

Here’s a brief example. Your list can be as extensive as you wish – but remember it’s not really a shopping list. It’s an inventory.

Dairy
Milk
Butter
Eggs
Yoghurt
Vegetables/Fruits
Onions, garlic
Lettuce
Lemons
Bananas
Apples
Staples
Coffee
Olive oil
Cereal

Household
Paper towels
Toilet paper
Cleaning supplies
Misc.
Tuna fish
Peanut butter
Spices, salt, pepper

The Menu

The key here is keeping your menu very, very simple. Don’t stress over recipes, cookbooks or whether you think you’ll really want eggplant on Wednesday. Just write down some basic meals. In the following example, the menus may look slightly skeletal in their simplicity. This is on purpose.

If you find yourself toiling away composing menus, you won’t get to Tuesday in your home cooking plan. So just ponder briefly: Do I want fish twice this week? What about beets? Chicken? Okay. Plug some of these general choices into your menu. Just don’t repeat meals. A couple of salads are great but don’t count on eating the same vegetable every night. You’ll feel a lot more excited seeing a range of possibilities in the crisper than of 5 pounds of limp carrots.

A good tip: Keep a small notebook. Write the week’s menus on one page and the shopping list on the other.

Monday: Chicken, rice, salad

Tuesday: Turkey tacos, broccoli

Wednesday: Fish, red peppers, slaw

Thursday: Pasta with sausage, string beans

Friday: Pork chops, potatoes, spinach

Saturday: White pizza with artichokes, salad or… Something A Lot More Exciting

Sunday: Soup, grilled cheese sandwiches

Desserts for the week: Yogurt, fruit, ice cream, cookies

On to your Shopping List

Organize your shopping list by category following your Master List . This will save a lot of time in the grocery. Here’s a short sample list using the master list and the bare bones menu.

Dairy: Milk, yogurt, cheddar, Parmesan

Vegetables/Fruits: Onions, garlic, lettuce, cabbage, red peppers, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, potatoes, pears, bananas

Meat: Turkey, chicken breasts, pork chops, fish, sausage

Staples: Salt, cereal, peppercorns

Household: Paper towels, soap

Misc: Bread, tortillas, canned artichokes (in water)

The Actual Shopping

Here’s where things get a bit more creative. You’re in the store with your list but friends, you don’t need to be a slave to the list. Choose what looks good to you: you’ll be much more likely to cook it. You might think you want salmon but if the halibut is more appealing, that’s what you should get.

In other words, the list serves to remind you that you need food in the house. What’s available at your store really determines your choice. And be choosy: don’t buy produce that doesn’t look fresh. Don’t hesitate to make the guy in produce your friend. He will be more than happy to open a new case of string beans or (those magic words) ‘look in the back’ for more spinach.

Where to shop? If you want to get a jump on the week and cross a lot off your list, by all means, do a ‘big’ shopping trip. But once the basics are covered, you might make short trips to stores with high quality vegetables and meats. Stores like Whole Foods have quality meat, produce and fish but the prices are unreasonable and unfortunately, they’re looking more like cafeterias these days with all the troughs of prepared foods. Still, there are fewer aisles than the supermarkets. Bottom line: wherever you shop, hug the perimeter.

If you are fortunate enough to live in an area with farmers’ markets, CSAs*, food co-ops, or other stores that carry local products, your shopping may involve a few trips in order to complete your list.

How much should you buy? Not much but a lot of variety. For meat and fish, plan on 4 to 6 ounces per person. That means for a family of four, buy about 1 1/4 pounds of boneless chicken or one 3 1/2 pound roasting chicken. Pork chops? One each (not huge ones). When it comes to vegetables: indulge. Your salads can have 2 or 3 kinds of lettuce, some sliced fennel, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Buy lots of greens. One bunch of chard or kale will serve two generously.

What about your budget? If you cook at home for a week and limit your purchases to mostly fresh food, you’ll save money. And here’s an important part of the plan: spend more for your food but buy less of it. Anyone who has grown a tomato or eaten a fresh caught fish knows that quality counts.

Cooking

Knuckle-cracking time! There’s food in the fridge but still, dinner seems hazy. If you’re really stuck for ideas, now is the time to get out a cookbook or go to a website like Epicurious. It’s amazing how quickly you can come up with something just by typing in an ingredient. If the recipe looks good, read a few of the reviews. Some are definitely wacky but you’ll get some ideas all the same. It’s 21st century back fence neighbor talk. If the dish turns out well, save a copy – it may become a favorite and of course, easier to make each time.

Say the idea of ground turkey tacos isn’t that thrilling. A few minutes of research later… Spicy turkey burgers! (See the recipe below) Sounds promising and the broccoli is good with that too.

But maybe, plain old broccoli is beginning to pall and this is where you pull out your stash of ‘accompaniments’. Toss it with some toasted pine nuts you keep in the freezer or make a little dressing with soy sauce, lemon juice and sesame oil. Even a generous squeeze of lemon juice, a small clove of chopped garlic and a spoonful of olive oil can make a big difference.

For our hypothetical week, I have purposely kept the menu, well, nearly generic. Depending on your time and how you feel, the ‘chicken-rice-salad’ might appear on the table as a zesty stir-fry or a cozy baked dish with salad on the side. Sundays are good nights for soup and a sandwich or – as they did in my family- breakfast for dinner: waffles or pancakes. After a long weekend and looking ahead to work and school, a simple homely supper is just right.

But hang on! What about Saturday night? Why not make things a little more exciting? If you have kids, feed them the pizza (see how below) and put them to bed. Shed the sweat pants and make yourselves oysters Rockefeller!

Did I mention dessert? It’s a good idea. If you’re eating meals with less meat and more vegetables and sticking to one helping, dessert makes a satisfying finish. If there are children in your house, the thought of dessert really does help that broccoli disappear. Plain yogurt with a spoonful of jam, honey, maple syrup or cinnamon sugar along with a couple of cookies (not huge) makes a good simple dessert. I’ve included a cookie recipe below. A dollop of ice cream on cooked or fresh fruit is another sweet idea.

Final Thoughts

Home cooking means real food, un-processed and cooked by you. Heating up the fancy deli’s lasagna doesn’t count. Neither does adding water to the Tandoori Rice Bowl.

Just to be clear: I’m not battling oatmeal, smoked salmon, olive oil or dried apricots. These are, of course, processed foods. What I’m talking about is what Michael Pollan, in an article in the Sunday New York Times magazine (January 28, 2007) “Unhappy Meals” describes:

“Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. (Sorry, but at this point Moms are as confused as the rest of us, which is why we have to go back a couple of generations, to a time before the advent of modern food products.) There are a great many foodlike items in the supermarket your ancestors wouldn’t recognize as food (Go-Gurt? Breakfast-cereal bars? Nondairy creamer?); stay away from these.”

Good luck with your cooking, I hope my suggestions help and that your week of home cooking turns into a second and then a third week. This is a challenging time of year to make a big change since we’re all beginning to get a little weary of winter. But take heart! Spring is just around the corner and in many areas, that means the farmers markets will be starting up and you may be planting your own garden. Soon there will be strawberries and asparagus and mushrooms… but for now, enjoy some soups and stews and the last of the season’s juicy grapefruits. Bon appetit!

*CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Customers buy a subscription or a ‘share’ of locally grown produce. Subscribers receive a weekly box of high quality, super fresh food directly from the farms which are, in turn, supported financially by the shareholders.

Here’s a good website to learn more:http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Spicy Turkey Burgers

One kitchen gadget I have used constantly is the food processor. Grinding meat is one of the easiest things to do with this handy machine and you instantly have the best, freshest hamburger anywhere. Try this with turkey.

For 4

1 1/4 pounds turkey filets or ground turkey
2 plum (Roma) tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1 bunch cilantro, washed and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon hot sauce (or to taste)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil

Chop up the tomatoes, onion, garlic and half the cilantro to make a salsa. Use a food processor for this step if you have one but don’t make the mixture too smooth. Add the olive oil and seasonings and taste, adding more seasoning if necessary. Set aside.

If you’re using fresh turkey, cut it in a few pieces, put it into the food processor and pulse until ground but not minced. Combine the turkey and the salsa and shape into 4 burgers.

Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the burgers for about 3 minutes per side. Serve with lettuce and the extra cilantro and pass the hot sauce.

String Beans with ‘Accompaniments’

It’s the middle of July. You’ve just come in from your garden, your hair flowing in the breeze, a slight flush on your cheeks. In your arms, there are green beans. Minutes later, you and your loved ones are swooning over these perfect beans which are unclothed save for a dab of butter and a little salt and pepper.

Wait a minute! Stop the cameras! It’s February: add some flavoring and texture to fully clothe your beans and help everyone have a good meal. Keep a stash of various nuts, spices, and exotic things like lime or lemon oil (a tiny bottle lasts for ages). Fresh ginger, by the way, keeps a long time in the fridge if you wrap it in paper towel and then in a small closeable plastic bag.

for 4

1 pound green beans
1/4 cup walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1 small piece of ginger, peeled and grated
A few drops of lemon oil
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Bring a big pot of water to a boil. In the meantime, wash the beans and snap off the ends. Cook the beans for 5 to 8 minutes or until just tender. (Check by fishing one out and tasting it) Drain the beans and put them back in the pot.

Toss with the remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning. Can be served hot or room temperature.

Super Fast Pizza for the Kids

Grown-ups like this too!

for 2 servings

1 -2 small whole wheat pitas
1 can artichokes (you’ll only need 1/2 can)
1 slice ham or prosciutto, diced (optional)
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan or shredded mozzarella
Olive oil

Heat the oven to 325. Split the pita into two halves, brush with a little olive oil and warm it up a few minutes on a cookie sheet. If you have trouble separating the pita or if it’s very thin, use two. Drain and chop up about half of artichokes. Divide them between the 2 pita halves, add the optional ham or prosciutto and top with the cheese. Bake about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with a few cherry tomatoes on the side.

p.s. the extra artichokes? Halve them and wrap in a slice of prosciutto, ham or cheese. This can be your hors d’oeuvre while you make the oysters….

Oysters Rockefeller

This Saturday night special serves two but you can easily double it or make a lot for a party. Buy your oysters the same day you cook them. My take on this classic involves a lot of spinach. Serve with champagne.

For 2

6 to 8 large fresh oysters
2 slices bacon
1 bunch spinach
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons Pernod or Herbsaint liqueur
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup panko or fresh bread crumbs

Fry the bacon until it is about halfway done. Drain on a paper towel.

Wash the spinach thoroughly, cut off the stems and chop roughly. Saute the shallot in the butter until soft and add the spinach stirring until it is wilted. In a strainer, drain and squeeze out the water with the back of a spoon. Put the spinach back in the pan, warm it, stirring and add the Pernod, cooking a minute or two to evaporate the alcohol. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Turn the oven on to broil. Arrange the oysters, rounded side down, on a baking sheet. Broil just until the shells ‘pop’ or look open. Remove from the oven, loosen the oysters with a knife, taking care not to spill the juice and discard the upper flat shell.

Place a mound of spinach on each oyster, a spoonful of the crumbs and top with a square of bacon. Broil the oysters (not too close to the heat) just until the bacon is crisp. Watch it like a hawk!!

Pop the champagne cork, tuck a white napkin into your pearls and dive in!

My friend Valerie’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Valerie Hill was the pastry chef at the Morrison Clark Inn in Washington, DC when I worked there. This is her incredibly good recipe, and you’ll find it makes several rolls which store well in the freezer. These are buttery but not overly sweet little cookies that melt in your mouth.

1 1/2 pounds butter, unsalted, softened
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
5 cups (1 1/4 lbs) cake flour, sifted
4 3/4 (15 oz) cups oats
2 1/4 cups (12 oz) golden raisins

Cream butter and sugar. Sift baking soda over mixture and blend thorougly. Mix in the remaining ingredients. I use a mixer for this. Shape into long rolls and wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper and refrigerate until firm. Slice into about 1/4 inch rounds and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. I bake cookies on parchment paper so I don’t have to grease the cookie sheet.

The rolls can be frozen and baked as needed.

Cheers and xoxo, Mary

HOME COOKING I: A Hard Sell or a Sweet Deal?

Jan18

Much as I like to cook, I’ve got to admit home cooking today is a hard sell. With so many restaurants and take-out options, rattling those pots and pans in your own kitchen is way down on the list of options. And did I mention clean up? Despite all kinds of gloomy news about diet, health, and mass-produced foods, home cooking will not seem like a sweet deal unless it feels convenient and easy.

So here are some Persuasive Tips:

Enjoy being the Boss of your table. Cooking at home means you control the taste, the portions and the ingredients. Even if you aren’t in love with your own cooking now, you know what you like to eat and with a little practice, that will translate into tasty meals.

Overheard: “I love pear, spinach and gorgonzola salad but I hate the candied pecans and cranberries”. The Home Cook thinks: “Hmmm, make it at home with salty pecans, no cranberries and save about 6 bucks.”

Avoid huge weekly shopping trips. Buy less and you’ll have less to haul in the house, put away and feel guilty about when you throw it away 10 days later. A young professional woman I know told me this:

“Almost by accident, I started picking up a few things for dinner on my way home from work. It has become a habit because I found that I could put a meal together quickly and everything was so fresh. And here’s a bonus: I do very little impulse shopping when I’m in a hurry to get home!”

Keep some ingredients on hand and have a couple of ‘pantry’ recipes so you’re never stuck without something for a meal. What should be ‘on hand’? One or two types of pasta, some rice, canned beans, tomatoes, tuna fish, some frozen vegetables – those are staples. Also have a small stash of the slightly exotic (you know what you like) such as: hearts of palm, olives, capers, pine nuts and Parmesan (these last two can be frozen).

Instead of no time … more time. While you’re stirring the pot, the kids can do homework, set the table or take the dog for a walk. The thirty minutes your meal is in the oven is time for you to read the mail, call a friend or watch the news. All of which beats sitting at a table, waiting for the pizza to arrive.

“Alex hates eating out!” my daughter-in-law told me about her 12 year old. Not all children feel that way but for many people, regular meals at restaurants are time-consuming, stressful and so, public.

Save $…. for a really nice restaurant (or a vacation or lots of other stuff) rather than twenty trips to the ‘family friendly’ joint down the street. Bottom line: it’s cheaper to eat at home.

So, strap on an apron and try these fast ‘n easy menus.

The Roast Chicken Meal

The Pantry Pasta Meal

The Cozy Casserole Meal

The Roast Chicken Meal

Roasting a cut-up chicken takes half the time of a whole chicken and is just as juicy and crisp. Omit the mustard to make things even simpler. Serve this with French bread (you can keep some in the freezer), a green salad or the following green bean salad. A simple dessert: baked bananas.

Roasted Chicken

Serves 4, generously

4 chicken leg quarters or 1 cut-up chicken

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the over to 450 degrees.

Place the chicken in a baking dish or roasting pan and smear each piece with a little mustard. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Roast for 30 minutes. The chicken skin will be well browned and crackly. Lightly salt the chicken, remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes.

Green Bean salad with Walnuts and Red Onion

When I cook vegetables like green beans or broccoli, I think it’s very important to test them as they cook rather than rely on specific timing. I like beans well cooked but a lot of people like them crunchy. Suit yourself!

1 pound green beans, fresh or frozen

2 tablespoons walnuts, broken up

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced (or 2 Tablespoons minced shallot or regular onion)

Vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

If using fresh green beans, wash them and snip off the tips. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the beans for about 6 minutes. Fish one out and check for doneness. When done, drain the beans in a colander and run cold water over them. If using frozen beans, follow package instructions cooking for the least recommended time and let cool a few minutes.

Toast the walnuts quickly in the microwave for about 40 seconds.

In a bowl large enough for the beans, make the vinaigrette by stirring the olive oil into the vinegar in a thin stream. Add a couple of good sized pinches of salt and pepper. Add the beans, walnuts and onion and toss to coat. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if necessary.

Baked Bananas

for each serving: (children and light eaters will eat 1/2 a banana)

1 banana

Brown sugar

Butter

Preheat oven to 375. Slice the bananas lengthwise and then cut each half crossways into one inch sections without going through the peel. Arrange in a baking dish, sprinkle a little brown sugar (about 1 teaspoon) on each half and dot with a little butter. Bake about 15 minutes or until the surfaces are bubbling. The peel will turn black.   Serve the bananas in their peel with a spoon, pouring over any of the accumulated syrup.

The Pasta Pantry Meal

The challenge? A meal in 30 minutes with what you’ve got on hand. Guess what? It’s no sweat! The menu: Pasta with tomato sauce, spinach and dried fruit compote.

Pasta with Tomato Herb Sauce

This is about as simple as it gets but you end up with a tasty sauce. Adding the extra olive oil at the end is very important for the flavor.   If you have an onion, sauté it for a few minutes before adding the tomatoes. If you can unearth some Parmesan cheese, by all means, pass that around.

1 pound pasta (whatever you’ve got but spaghetti or linguine is a good choice)

Olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed or ½ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)

1 can tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried herbs: oregano, basil, rosemary or marjoram (or a few pinches of each)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In the meantime, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and if using fresh garlic, sauté it for a minute and then add the tomatoes and their juice, breaking them up with a spoon. Add the dried herbs of your choice and garlic powder if desired. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook the pasta according to package directions but be sure to taste it for doneness rather than rely slavishly on the instruction time. Drain and put in a large bowl or on individual plates.

Add 2 additional tablespoons of olive oil to the sauce, stir and pour over the pasta.

Spinach

For a pantry meal, I always try to have some kind of frozen vegetable on hand and spinach is a favorite. I cook it as little as possible, drain it and serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a dash of vinegar and a pinch of dry red pepper flakes.

Dried Fruit Compote

This can simmer alongside your tomato sauce and be ready in time for dessert.

2 cups dried fruits: apricots, apples, pears, prunes

1 fresh apple or pear (optional), peeled, cored and chopped

2 tablespoons chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans

A piece of cinnamon stick, orange peel or vanilla bean

Juice, wine or water

Put the fruits (a mix of your choice), the optional fresh fruit and flavorings in a saucepan. Cover barely with water, juice (diluted by half with water) or wine. Simmer gently until softened. Serve warm or cold. A dollop of ice cream or yogurt is good on top.

The Cozy Casserole Meal

It takes several minutes of sauteeing to put this together, but it’s still a speedy dinner. Serve with a green salad and chocolate pudding.

Sausage Gratin*

A cozy winter or autumn meal. This is another recipe can be adapted for what you have on hand. The mushrooms, leeks and apples give the dish a very smooth texture and good taste but you can substitute 2 onions for the leeks and omit the mushrooms if you wish.

Serves 4

1 pound Italian sausages (pork or turkey)

¼ pound mushrooms, quartered

4 medium leeks

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped roughly

½ cup grated cheese (Gruyère or Swiss are good choices)

In a skillet, brown the sausages briefly and set aside. Sauté mushrooms lightly in the same pan, adding a little olive oil if necessary. Set aside.

Wash off the leeks, cut off the green ends and slice the white and pale green parts into thin rounds. Put the sliced leeks in a big bowl of water and stir them around with your hands. Let soak a minute or two so that any remaining sand will fall to the bottom of the bowl.  Scoop the leeks up and out of the water.

Using the same pan as for the mushrooms and sausages, heat the olive oil and cook the leeks covered on low/medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

In a baking or gratin dish, place a layer of cooked leeks followed by the sautéed mushrooms, the chopped apple, the sausages and the cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbling.

* French Lesson! ‘Gratin’ in French means crust. A dish that is ‘au gratin’ often has melted cheese or breadcrumbs on top. In English, we have an expression ‘the upper crust’ for rich people. In French, it is similar: high society folks are referred to as the ‘gratin’.

Chocolate Pudding: Homemade and Speedy The famous chef, Michel Richard, has a recipe called ‘Happy Kid Pudding’ in his recent book Happy in the Kitchen and my recipe closely follows his. It is simple and delicious.Serves 4

2 cups milk

4 egg yolks

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup honey

4 ounces dark chocolate, cut in small pieces

In a big bowl (microwaveable), mix the milk, egg yolks, cornstarch and honey together, stirring with a whisk until well-blended. Add the chocolate and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Whisk up the mixture and microwave again for 2 minutes. Stir again well and by now, the chocolate should be melted. Microwave again for 2 minutes.

At this point, the mixture should be boiling and thick but if not, microwave again for about a minute. Cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Enjoy your home-cooking and write with any questions!

Cheers, and xoxo, Mary

Hashing over the Holidays with some Festive Recipes

Jan2

Okay, the holidays are over but I am still relishing the memories. And the leftovers.

My friend Bonny Wolf’s book Talking With My Mouth Full was about my favorite gift and it’s great reading. Here’s a quote:

“We cook and eat for comfort, nurture and companionship. We cook and eat to mark the seasons and celebrate important events. We cook and eat to connect with family and friends and with ancestors we never knew. And through this baking and breaking bread together, we come to know who we are and where we came from.”

My son-in-law JB’s sauerkraut balls, daughter Jessie’s walnut spread, the cut-out Christmas cookies produced by grandchildren aged 4 to 12 and my friend Katy’s Nuts and Bolts all played a part in celebrating and connecting with our family and friends. These recipes are not about healthy eating or fashion. They are all about familiarity.

Today, New Year’s Day, my husband Paul is making his father’s stew. The house smells wonderful and we expect to have a fine time this afternoon with friends and family drifting in for a bowl of stew and a glass of wine. Across town, my daughter Jessica is putting together her New Year’s black-eyed pea casserole. Maybe tomorrow we’ll exchange leftovers.

Happy New Year!

xoxo, Mary

JB’s Sauerkraut Balls

“Marrying a man who owns his own deep fat fryer is a leap of faith” said daughter Rachael recently as JB was preparing his famed sauerkraut balls. A deep fat fryer does say something. Something about commitment to the glory of crunch. You can fry these babies up in a heavy skillet as well. Just be sure to have enough oil, heat it up hot and don’t crowd the pan.

1/2 pound mild Italian sausage

1/4 cup onion, minced

16 oz sauerkraut, well drained

3 oz cream cheese (not low fat)

1 tablespoon parsley, minced

2 tablespoons bread crumbs

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup flour

2 cups breadcrumbs (panko Japanese crumbs are good)

Saute the sausage with the minced onion, breaking up the sausage so that there are no large lumps. Drain.

Chop the well-drained sauerkraut finely and mix with the sausage, cream cheese, parsley, crumbs, mustard and garlic salt. Chill for at least one hour or overnight.

Roll into small balls (a melon baller works well for this). Dip each ball sucessively into the flour, the beaten egg and finally the bread crumbs.

Heat oil in a deep fat fryer or a heavy skillet and fry the sauerkraut balls for about 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Drain and eat right away. They can be made in advance and reheated at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Serve with a dipping sauce of half mayonnaise and half mustard.

Makes about 2 dozen balls.

Jessie’s Walnut Spread (“Real Sweet Totally Nuts!”)

“I got a huge amount of walnuts from my brother’s tree, cracked them, ground them and made this spread. It was a fun project to do with the kids; cost pennies and made great gifts.”

Shell and grind walnuts either by chopping or in a food processor. Add honey (that’s runny) to cover. Pack into small jars.

Note: one pound of walnuts in the shell equals about 2 cups of nuts.

Katy’s (and Margaret’s) Nuts and Bolts

Talk about an old chesnut! Back in the glory days of the cocktail hour, Nuts and Bolts was a favorite nibble alongside that icy Martini. My friend Katy Bayless tells me she makes it every Christmas for her neighbors. Her recipe is exactly like my grandmother’s friend Margaret Edmonds from Columbus, Ohio.

1 cup Rice Chex

1 cup Wheat Chex

1 cup Cheerios

1 cup pretzel sticks

1 cups mixed nuts

1/2 pound butter

To taste: garlic or onion salt*, dash of Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and salt.

Melt butter in a large pan (an iron frying pan is good) and add the cereals, nuts and seasonings. Mix thoroughly.

Put in a 250 degree oven and stir every 15 minutes for 1 hour. Cool down and store in air tight containers or plastic close-able bags.

*Katy omits the garlic and onion salts but adds several dashes of Worchestershire. She also doubles the cheerios because her husband is crazy about them. Suit yourself.

Grandfather Leo Allman’s Beef Stew

More of a soup than a stew, this recipe is homespun comfort itself. It is one of those hand-me-down family recipes that instantly takes you back to a wintry day at home watching a good movie, that party with your best pals, or a night at the kitchen table with your grandparents.

2 pounds stewing beef, cut in cubes

2 tablespoons oil

Beef stock or bouillon cubes in hot water – about 2 cups liquid

2 large cans whole tomatoes (or stewed tomatoes)

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

5 potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 stalks celery, peeled and sliced

3 cabbage leaves, whole

3 bay leaves

Salt, pepper, miscellaneous seasonings*

Pat dry the beef cubes with paper towels. In a big stew pot, heat the oil and sear the meat a few pieces at a time. As each batch lightly browns, remove to a plate.* Put all the meat back in the pot and cover by about 2 inches with beef broth or hot water with beef bouillon cubes dissolved in it. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add everything else and simmer very slowly for about 2 or 3 hours. For seasoning, add about 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of sage or thyme and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Check for salt before serving.

Serve in bowls with french bread.

Serves 4 to 6

* A word about searing. This process is intended to quickly brown meat without cooking it through. If the meat is wet, or the oil is not hot enough or too much is put into the pan, the result will be a lot of gray meat with a lot of juice pouring out. It will still be good in the stew but it won’t be seared. So: Dry meat. Hot pan with some hot oil. No crowding.

Jessie’s Lucky New Year’s Casserole

In her own words…

You cook greens (collard, mustard, chard, etc.) in a pan with bacon and jalapenos and water and apple cider vinegar. Cook rice with jalapenos and bacon (sounding like a theme?) and cook black-eyed peas with anything hot you can find (pepper flakes, jalapenos, etc.) plus garlic and …Bacon! Layer: rice on the bottom, then greens, then black-eyed peas. Top generously with pepper jack cheese. I like a little extra vinegar on top.

It’s Lucky!!

Here are a few more details:

1 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked the night before (or 2 cans black-eyed peas)

1 bunch (about 1 pound) fresh greens, washed and chopped

1/2 pound bacon

1 cup rice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup (or more) apple cider vinegar

Jalapenos – fresh or pickled to taste

1 cup shredded jack cheese

If using dried peas, drain after soaking and cook in a large pan with about 2 inches of water to cover. Add one jalapeno or 1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes, the chopped garlic and 2 slices of bacon, chopped. Cook until peas are tender. For canned peas, add the seasonings and a little water and simmer about 15 minutes.

Saute a few slices of bacon in a pan, drain some of the fat and add the chopped greens, jalapeno, a little water and about 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Cook until tender.

Saute another slice or two of bacon in a pot and drain off some of the fat. Add the rice, stir to coat and add 1 1/2 cups of water (for jasmine or basmati rice or 2 cups for long grain). Add some jalapeno, lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook rice for 15 to 20 minutes until done.

In a large casserole dish, make layers starting with the rice, the greens, the peas and finally the cheese. Sprinkle with a tablespoon or two of the vinegar.

Heat thoroughly in a 325 oven until bubbly.

Serves 6

The Cut-Out Sugar Cookie

Christmas is over but Valentine’s Day, President’s weekend, and spring break are on the horizon which means, for some of you, a few days at home with the kids in not-so-great weather without a plan. A seasonal and cozy activity might just help.

Here’s the challenge: the cut-out sugar cookie. Children really like making cookies with cutters but they always seem like such a pain. How do you make dough that’s not a sticky mess? How do they get onto the cookie sheet and still sort of resemble what was cut out? Making cookies once a year or once every two years, I always forgot just how awful that whole process was. But finally, I’ve figured out how to do it without a lot of teeth gnashing.

Make the dough the night before. Have the kids help with the stirring and measuring if you must but remember, what they really like is the decorating so I suggest you start them out fresh the following day with the dough all ready to go.
Roll the dough out on lightly floured wax paper. Be sure your rolling pin is floured and the surface of the dough is floured. Don’t use a lot of flour but keep adding just a little to keep things smooth. Don’t dawdle with the rolling.
Cut out the cookies with the cutters and then put the whole sheet of paper in the freezer for about 5 or ten minutes. Once they’ve firmed up, it’s a snap to peel them off the paper and onto the cookie sheet.
Line the cookie sheet. Parchment or non-stick baking paper is the best thing to have happened to home bakers that I can think of. You can use your sheet pans over and over without washing in between and there’s no more prying the cookies off the sheet. Don’t even consider baking without this marvellous stuff.
Set up a decorating station. I use my dining room table, covered with a sheet. For unbaked cookies: Put various colored sugars in small bowls (the shaker tops are just frustrating). For baked and cooled cookies: Make colored icing (kids 5 and up can do this) using confectioners sugar, food coloring and a few drops of water to a spreadable consistency. Have toothpicks or small brushes for painting. Each child needs a little elbow room for their creations and to cut down on the squabbling.

Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

This recipe can easily be doubled. Once the first batch is started, you can get a kind of assembly line going and have the kids alternate cutting out cookies and decorating. About decorating: colored sugar needs to be sprinkled on before baking. Use icing after the cookies are baked and cooled.

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 2/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Wax paper

Various cutters

Sprinkles, colored sugar, silver balls

For colored icings: small bowls of confectioners’ sugar mixed with a tiny bit of water. Add food coloring.

Toothpicks or small kid’s brushes

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar using an electric mixer until fluffy (this takes a few minutes). Add the egg and vanilla and continue to beat. Sift the flour with the baking powder, salt and nutmeg and stir into the butter mixture.

Shape the dough into a large (1/2 inch) square and cut into 4 equal pieces. Wrap each piece in plastic and refrigerate overnight (or at least 3 hours). Let soften about 10 minutes before rolling.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using once piece at a time, roll the dough on a floured piece of wax paper to about a 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out cookies with the cutters (if they stick, dip them in flour) and put the whole sheet of paper in the refrigerator to firm up.

Pull away the dough surrounding the cookies. Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and space them about 1 inch apart. Put the scraps together and refrigerate them to reroll later. At this point, the cookies can be decorated with sprinkles and colored sugar.

Bake until light brown, about 10-12 minutes. Cool. Plain cookies can now be decorated with confectioners’ sugar icing using toothpicks or small brushes.

Continue rolling and baking the remaining dough. Store the cookies in large tins or other airtight container.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Thanksgiving – Yikes!

Nov20

It’s just a few days away and you’ve been asked to bring ‘something’… I suggest my friend Pat Devine’s potato dish. One of the least exciting elements of getting the feast to table is how to keep things hot. On Thursday, in thousands of households, there will be nail biting over last minute mashed potatoes. But hold on there, pilgrims!

Pat’s potatoes can actually be made in advance and while you’re sawing through that turkey, her ‘souffle’ can be quietly heating up. Try it!

I’m also including my sister Claudia’s turkey roasting method in case you misplaced it. It does require that you stick around the house but that’s part of the holiday, right?

Careful readers will immediately scream “Retreads!” at these recipes but be charitable:

Right now, I’m in Paris and cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 100 people who come to Jim Haynes’ house. Jim has dinners every Sunday night for about 100 people and has been doing it for the past 30 years. The cooks are volunteers and anyone can come for a modest contribution. Thanksgiving is a lot of fun with a huge crowd of American, French, English and assorted other nationalities who either are homesick, hungry, curious or a mixture of all three.

Jim admits he’s no cook but at Thanksgiving, he does have a favorite and this will appeal to the Southerner in all of you… If you’re having a hundred folks in your cozy living room, this should feed them nicely. (But I’ll cut down the recipe just to be fair.)

Following are the recipes. Gotta go and find some cranberries in this town! Happy Thanksgiving!

Mary

MASHED POTATO SOUFFLE

I got this originally from Pat Devine, my neighborhood friend. It isn’t really a souffle but I call it that because it does puff up and get nice and brown on top. It’s unusual to find a hot potato dish that can be made in advance and actually be reheated. In fact, Pat used to freeze this. A great dish if you have to bring something for Thanksgiving dinner. Don’t overdo the garlic.

10 (about 2 ½ lbs) medium red potatoes
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
Garlic – 1 clove, minced
Chives (optional) – 1 – 2 teaspoons minced
1 teaspoon baking powder
Butter

Cook and mash potatoes. Mix the cream cheese and sour cream and add to the hot potatoes. Add the garlic,chives and baking powder and put the mixture into a greased 8 inch baking dish or round souffle pan. Dot with butter. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. This can be made in advance.Serves 4 – 6

LARGE RECIPE

To make the peeling simpler, I sometimes use russets instead of the smaller red potatoes.

12 large baking potatoes or 5 pounds of medium red potatoes
1 lb. cream cheese
1 lb. sour cream
Garlic – 1 large clove, minced
Chives (optional) – 1 heaping tablespoon, minced
2 teaspoons baking powder
Butter

Proceed as above using two pans or one large oblong baking dish (13 x 9).

This will serve at least a dozen people. It’s rich so just a spoonful will do if there are other vegetables.

CLAUDIA BUSHEE’S MOST DELICIOUS ROAST TURKEY

(Also, gravy)

Claudia’s method – which was her father, Derak Ward’s method first – is suitable for any size turkey. It produces a beautifully browned bird that is perfectly moist. A package of Cheesecloth is an essential purchase.

In her own words…

Clean and stuff bird. Fold a large piece of cheese cloth so that it completely covers the turkey. If the cloth is triple, that is fine. Remove cheesecloth but keep it in its form.You are going to need at least a pound of butter, if not more. Melt ½ pound in a little bowl. Spread some on the naked uncooked bird. Then immerse the cloth in the bowl o’ butter. Slap the cheesecloth on the bird.

Every half hour, you must do some thing. At the first half hour check, baste with butter on top of the cheesecloth. Don’t be stingy with the butter. The next half hour interval (so the bird has been in an hour), remove the cheesecloth. Dip in water. Get fairly wet but don’t wash all the butter out of the cloth. Pour more butter over the cheesecloth once the cloth has been draped over the bird again.Alternate between just basting and pulling the whole thing off on the half hour. Remove the cloth the last half hour to allow turkey to brown.

I follow the New York Times cookbook low temp roasting method to know how long to cook.

Mary’s note: The low temp method is 325 degrees throughout; length of time depends on whether your turkey is stuffed or not (stuffed is usually an extra ½ hour cooking) and its weight.

Turkey Stock

Plan to make this stock the day before Thanksgiving so that you can use it for the gravy.

Neck, giblets, liver of the turkey

2 large onions, peeled and chopped in a rough dice

2carrots, peeled and chopped in a rough dice

3 stalks celery, chopped in a rough dice

Handful of celery leaves

A few garlic cloves

2 bay leaves

3 sprigs fresh thyme

5 sprigs fresh parsley

4 or 5 pepper corns

Place all ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Bring just to a boil and skim the accumulated foam from the surface. Reduce heat and simmer very slowly for two hours. The broth should have a robust taste but will be somewhat insipid due to lack of salt. Strain and discard the meat and vegetables. Stir in several spoons of salt or to taste. Cool and refrigerate. When cold, skim off the fat.

Turkey Gravy

Turkey stock (see preceding recipe) – about 6-8 Cups

Pan drippings

¾ to 1 Cup flour

Salt and pepper

Bring the turkey stock to a simmer in a large pot and keep warm. Combine the accumulated pan drippings from the turkeys into one roasting pan, warm the pan over medium heat and add the flour (shaking it in through a sieve to remove lumps) whisking continuously. Cook this mixture – the roux – until the flour is cooked (about 8 to 10 minutes, approximately). Add the heated broth several cups at a time stirring with each addition. When the gravy reaches the desired thickness, lower the heat and simmer several minutes. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary. Let cool and reheat for serving.

Jim’s Glazed Carrots

This is less of a recipe and more of an engineering marvel. Jim Haynes somehow perfected a method of packing a large pot with row after row of carrots, standing on top of each other end to end. Once that’s done, the rest is easy.

For 100 servings For 25 servings

22 lbs carrots 5 ½ lbs carrots

2 lbs light brown sugar ½ lb light brown sugar

1 lb butter, unsalted 4 oz butter, unsalted

5 cinnamon sticks 1-2 cinnamon sticks

Salt and pepper Salt and pepper

Water Water

Wash and peel the carrots. Slice into julienne strips about 3 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. (Another general way to think of it is: cut the carrots in half, then each half in eighths) They will not all be the same but take care not to cut the carrots too thinly or they will be too soft when cooked.

Now, the engineering part. In the large pot, (we use a very tall-sided pot, but a fat will one do as well), stack the carrots in bunches on end. Continue until the bottom of the pot is covered with a tight row of carrots. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat with a second row on top of the first. Continue in this manner until all the carrots are tightly pack in the pot. There should be about 2 to 3 inches remaining at the top.Add water to the pot just to the top of the carrots. Strew on top of this: the butter, sugar, cinnamon sticks, and a generous amount of salt and pepper.Bring the contents to a boil. (This will take quite some time) Immediately turn off the heat. Keep the pot covered, leaving the carrots to cook as they cool down. They can simply sit there stewing in their juices for a couple of hours. Reheat before serving if necessary but they stay hot quite a long time.

Sunday Brunch

Nov5

Awake, hungry and convivial. It’s the weekend and I want brunch.

Brunches are a wonderful way to entertain because they’re relatively inexpensive, don’t take all day to prepare and there’s still daylight afterwards. Since most brunches start at 11 or even noon, you don’t have to arise at dawn to cook.

Serving buffet style makes for a comfortable casual occasion. When planning the menu, I try not to have too many items, which crowd the plate. I also try to balance the ‘good’ (fresh fruit) with the ‘yummy’ (bacon). Count out the platters, plates and flatware in advance to get an idea of how to set up the table. When the brunch is ready, you won’t have to go searching for the right plate. My daughter-in-law Trina Giese always has something ready when children arrive with cups and paper plates in easy reach. This frees up space for adults and makes things a little more relaxed.

Make plenty of coffee and have tea as well but make it just as guests arrive so that it’s fresh. Mimosas and bloody Marys are always popular at a brunch. Mimosas are simpler since you can provide a pitcher of orange juice and then your guests can add their own champagne or sparkling wine.

Here are some uncomplicated menu and recipe suggestions for a Sunday brunch.

#1 American!

The French toast is put together the night before leaving just the fruit to cut up and the bacon and sausage to cook.

Fruit Salad

Baked Blueberry Pecan French Toast with Blueberry Syrup

Bacon and Vegetarian sausage

#2 Slightly Italian

The frittata can be cooked in advance so you can spend your time arranging all that salami…

Sudi’s Artichoke Frittata

Salami, Parma ham and Proscuitto

Sliced tomatoes and cucumbers

Basket of breads: (include something sweet here)

#3 Deli Special

If you make the muffins a day ahead, you can read the newspaper before your guests arrive! It’s that easy!

A smoked fish platter

(salmon, trout, herring, etc.)

Bagels, cream cheese and sliced red onions

Sliced oranges (or other seasonal fruit)

Pear Ginger Muffins

Baked Blueberry-Pecan French toast with Blueberry Syrup

This is a great recipe to make for a crowd and also to travel with – I’ve made it twice at a rented beach house and found the ingredients easy to pack and put together once you arrive. You can use frozen blueberries in the winter months. The syrup only take a few minutes to make but plain maple syrup is fine on its own.

1 baguette
6 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup pecans, (3 oz)*
¼ cup butter
2 cups blueberries (about 12 oz)

For the syrup:

1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preparation:

Butter a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Cut 20 – 24 slices (1″) from the baguette and arrange them in the dish in one layer.

Whisk together eggs, milk, nutmeg, vanilla and 1/4 C brown sugar and pour evenly over bread. Chill mixture covered at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. Flip all the pieces of bread in the pan once so all the liquid is evenly absorbed.

Toast pecans in a dry pan or microwave (about 30 seconds), checking constantly to avoid burning.

Pre-heat oven to 400.

Sprinkle pecans and blueberries evenly over bread mixture. Heat the butter with remaining brown sugar, stirring until butter is melted. Drizzle butter mixture over bread and bake 30 to 40 minutes or until any liquid from blueberries is bubbling.

Syrup: Cook blueberries and maple syrup over moderate heat until berries have burst- about 3 minutes. Pour syrup through a sieve pressing on solids. Stir in lemon juice.

Serve French toast with warm syrup. About 10 servings.

*Nut tip: Store all nuts in the freezer well wrapped. They go rancid fairly quickly on the shelf.

Sudi’s Artichoke Frittata

This recipe comes from my good friend Sudi Press, a natural and welcoming party giver par excellence. She called these simply ‘artichoke squares’ and served them, cut small, for cocktail hors d’oeuvres. They are so good I’ve given the dish a fancier name and serve it in larger squares for brunch.

4 (6-oz) jars marinated artichoke hearts
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup olive oil
8 eggs
½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon hot pepper
1 pound shredded cheese (Swiss or cheddar)
¼ cup parsley, chopped

Drain marinade from 2 jars only of the artichoke hearts and discard. Drain the marinade from the remaining jars and combine this liquid with the olive oil in a pan. Heat and add the onion and garlic, cooking until soft.

Combine eggs, crumbs, and seasonings. Fold in cheese and parsley. Chop artichokes and add them and the onions and garlic to the mixture. Blend well.

Pour into a greased large glass pan (13 by 9 inches).Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes. The top will be browned and puffed slightly. Cool a little before cutting into squares.

Can be served hot or cold; can be prepared ahead and reheated 10 to 12 minutes.

Pear Ginger Muffins

These very rich sweet muffins were baked at the Morrison Clark Inn in Washington, DC when I worked there.

12 tablespoons (6 oz) butter, melted
¾ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
Big pinch salt
1 heaping tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
2 firm pears, peeled and chopped in small chunks (about 1 cup)

Combine sugars, flour, baking powder and soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla and butter and stir just to combine. Should not be smooth.Add gingers and pears.

Bake in greased muffin tins (or use paper liners) at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes.

Makes about 1 dozen muffins.

Have a great brunch!

Mary

Cooking with Mary Bartlett

in your very own kitchen

Tag Archives: Recipes

Vietnamese Market Day and the Beauty of Margins

Ho Xuan Huong, 1772 – 1822,

translated by Nguyen Ngoc Bich

Visiting the markets

Lunch at Mai’s Home

Homegardens and Margins

Trying this at home

Black Chicken

Mai Huong’s Salad Rolls

I. For spring rolls: (about 8 to 10 rolls)

Ingredients:

How to wrap the spring roll:

II. Dipping Sauce:

A promising start to the year.

Thank you Mai and Margo.

Word of Mouth or How Recipes Find their Way

Home Cooking IV: Fire up the Stove!

Weighty Matters

Sandwiches and Potato Chips: Feeding our Elderly

Orts and Leavings and Remembering Peg Bracken

HOME COOKING II: Okay, I’ll Cook! Now what?

HOME COOKING I: A Hard Sell or a Sweet Deal?

Hashing over the Holidays with some Festive Recipes

Thanksgiving – Yikes!

Sunday Brunch