Cool Cooking

Those of you who read this column with any regularity know that I am an avid proponent of advanced planning when you cook. Planning is what makes cooking fun instead of just hard, repetitive work. It’s that, “Oh dear, it’s almost dinnertime and what shall we have?” or, “I am too tired and too hot to cook anything—maybe we’ll just pick up fast food,” that makes cooking seem like such a tedious chore.

It doesn’t have to take a lot of time to plan and with a plan in hand, everything from grocery shopping to the actual cooking is easier. Think cheaper and cooler as well.

A wonderful friend I met when I was in married housing on a college campus in Oklahoma was from New Orleans and a Creole woman. It was really hot where we were living and there was no air conditioning in those little apartments. She taught me how to cook—New Orleans style—in several ways; particularly making everything you could in the morning. From fried chicken to rice and beans, everything was started very early in the morning and either put on the back of the stove to simmer all day or completed right before dinnertime.

Now when the weather is too warm for really cooking, I make everything ahead that I can—that is cut up all the ingredients, fry or cook meat, cool, refrigerate and than reheat right before the meal. Salads can be prepared and then tossed with dressing at the last minute. Vegetables are prepped and ready to sauté or grill or simmer. All desserts can be made ahead in the cool of the evening or the pre-dawn.

Of course, the regular warm weather foods are always good choices and don’t require very much cooking, but one tires of salads, sandwiches, smoothies and out-of-hand foods and occasionally craves real cooked foods. With advanced planning, the slow cooker and pressure cooker, outdoor barbeque or indoor electric skillet can keep your kitchen cool as well. Here’s a great dinner to try:

New Orleans-style Red Beans and Rice
Refrigerator rolls
Green salad with grape tomatoes and avocado slices
Frosty lime pie with strawberries

New Orleans-style Red Beans and Rice in a slow cooker.

2 cups dry Pinto beans
Ham hocks or seasoned ham pieces or a meaty ham bone (about ½ pound)
Polish sausage (about ½ pound)
1 large onion, chopped
½ cup green bell pepper (chopped)
2 or 3 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
Bacon drippings
Hot cooked rice

Night before: Wash beans and soak in deep 4-qt. pot with enough water to cover beans. Let sit over night.
Morning: Fry ham in bacon drippings; set aside. Fry sliced sausage in same pan; set aside. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper to pan and sauté until medium brown. Add 1 cup water to this mixture and bring to a boil. Pour mixture into crock of slow cooker and add drained and rinsed beans. Add 2 quarts water. Cook on low setting for 8 hours. Add meats and set on high and cook 2 more hours. Season with salt and pepper and pour over hot rice. This is a very hearty dish and will serve at least 8 people.

Refrigerator Rolls

¼ cup butter
¼ cup 0 trans-fat vegetable shortening
¼ cup sugar
¾ tsp. salt
½ cup boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
1 pkg. active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 egg, beaten
2 ½ cups flour
1 egg
1 tsp. half and half

Combine butter, shortening, sugar and salt with boiling water and stir until shortenings melt; add rolled oats and let stand until mixture is lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in warm water; add with egg to oatmeal mixture. Add 1 cup flour and beat thoroughly in mixer. Add remaining flour gradually, blending well. Knead dough with dough hook for 8 minutes or until satiny. Cover with plastic wrap and then cover with tea towel. Let stand overnight in refrigerator. To bake, shape into rolls; place in sprayed pan, cover and let stand in warm place 1 ½ to 2 hours until doubled. Combine egg and water; brush over rolls and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in 450 degree oven 15 minutes. Makes 24 medium rolls or 30 small.

Mix a green salad by using a bag of mixed spring greens or make your own combination of lettuces (cheaper). Put into refrigerator ready to pour into salad bowl. Make a simple vinaigrette and refrigerate. At serving time, pour lettuce into large salad bowl. Slice avocados and pour in as many grape tomatoes as you like. Pour vinaigrette over and toss.

Frosty lime pie with strawberries (adapted from Cooking With Love by Florence K. Hirschfeld)

1 quart lime sherbet, softened
1 9-inch Graham Cracker Crust
1 pint strawberries, sliced thick

In morning: Pour sherbet into bowl of mixer and beat until fluffy and aerated. It should stand in peaks. Turn into prepared crust and place in freezer several hours to refreeze. To serve, border with overlapping sliced berries that have been sprinkled with sugar ahead of time. Serves 6 to 8.

Raspberries

Can you have too many fresh raspberries? No! Not at the Candlelight Inn B&B. But I came close one year for the first time when I bought 10 quarts of fresh raspberries from Vasa Gardens. They are so perishable that I hurried home with them (in this heat) and then stared at how many raspberries 10 quarts actually is. I really didn’t want to make jam or jelly, since they lose so much of the fresh flavor; but we certainly couldn’t eat that many fresh. Freezing is another way to preserve them and the one I opted for with those we couldn’t devour in a few days.

The beauty of freezing raspberries is that it is so simple. You don’t have to slice them, or sugar them or put them into syrup. All you do is wash them, drain them well and spread them on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Do not even wrap them; just put them into the freezer on the sheets and freeze them solid, about 4-6 hours. Then put them quickly into freezer bags (the zipper kind), label and return to freezer. They are ready to pour out and use for lots of wonderful dishes. Raspberries keep their shape and texture better than strawberries; although they will not be the same as fresh, of course. Nevertheless, you can successfully do most things with frozen, thawed raspberries that you can with fresh.

The raspberry is the queen of the berry family just as the rose is the queen of flowers-- and they belong to the same family. Raspberries are grown on bushes, both wild and cultivated. Whole, they make an elegant contribution to salads and desserts or garnishes or just eaten as is with cream. Pureed, and with the seeds sieved out, they make a ruby-red sauce. There are several colors: red, purple, black and amber. Although the other colors are beautiful too, the red raspberry is my favorite. The color is really spectacular, but the taste is amazing.

We ate at one of my favorite places last week, The Chickadee Cottage Cafe in Lake City and the famous (?) raspberry cream pie was on the menu. I couldn’t resist. It was even better than I remembered, so I came home, looked it up in the New Cottage Cook Book and there it was. A great idea for those raspberries! And it was really easy.

Raspberry Cream Pie

1 baked pie crust, 9 inch

Cream filling:
1 pkg. Dream Whip prepared to directions, using 1/3 cup milk
¾ cup powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Raspberry Glaze Topping:

1 pkg. raspberry junket, prepared according to directions using 1 ½ cups water*

With a mixer combine powdered sugar and cream cheese and mix until smooth. Prepare Dream Whip in a chilled bowl. Gently blend in to cream cheese mixture. Spoon into baked crust.

Cool junket in refrigerator until thick, about 1 hour. Using only ½ of the glaze mixture carefully fold in raspberries keeping the berries as whole as possible. Pile on top of cream filling and refrigerate.

*Raspberry Junket can be found at Koplin’s Market

Another favorite from The Silver Palate Cookbook

Raspberry Chicken

4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 Tbsp butter
¼ cup finely chopped onion
4 Tbsp raspberry vinegar
¼ cup chicken stock or canned chicken broth
¼ cup heavy cream or Crème Fraiche
1 Tbsp. canned crushed tomatoes
16 fresh raspberries

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Raise the heat; add the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes per side or until lightly colored. Remove from skillet and reserve. Add onion to the butter in the pan and cook, covered over low heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Add the vinegar, raise the heat and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally until vinegar is reduced to a syrupy spoonful. Whisk in the chicken stock, heavy cream or crème fraiche and crushed tomatoes and simmer for 1 minute. Return chicken to skillet and simmer gently in sauce, basting often, until just done about 5 minutes; do not overcook. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and arrange on a heated serving platter. Add the raspberries to the sauce in the skillet and cook over low heat for 1 minutes. Do not stir the berries with a spoon, merely swirl them in the sauce by shaking skillet. Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately. 4 portions.

Start early for a delightful Christmas taste of summer—best when steeped for 4 or 5 months.

Raspberry Cordial

2 cups sugar
2 pints ripe raspberries, picked over
1 quart vodka

Place sugar in a 3-quart glass jar with a lid. Add the raspberries and the vodka and cover. Place in a dark cool place. Each week for about 2 months open the jar and stir the cordial. Strain the finished cordial through a very fine sieve into a lovely decanter. Its color is vibrant. Makes 1 ½ quarts (Silver Palate Cookbook)

A Good Summer Supper

The farmer’s market is in full swing again and even more bountiful, I think, than last year. I love the idea of looking at all the offerings and then picking out the best for that night’s dinner. It seems like we have gone back to a simpler day when dinner went from the farm to the table with very little processing in between. And talk about fast and easy meals! Nothing goes together more quickly than a dinner based on fresh produce from the local farmer’s market.

One does have to take a little care, however. If you spot produce that is not even close to ripe in local gardens—for instance, cantaloupe in early summer—ask the vendor where it came from. He or she may be buying his wares from the same place your local supermarket buys theirs except the price at the farmer’s market is higher.

If you really want to be sure that you are buying locally grown produce, take a trip around the countryside. There are signs all along country roads calling out to you to buy their fresh strawberries, raspberries, corn, tomatoes, melons, eggs, cheese, maple syrup, pears, apples and baked goods—all at their appointed times. One time, Zig and I returned from an overnight get-away through Amish country and came back with strawberries that were so fresh we brought a woman with her picking pail from the field to sell them to us. Of course we were allowed to taste them and look them over to be sure they were sweet. The price was $1.50/quart less than at the market.

None of us have time to roam the countryside every day, however, and the farmer’s market is the perfect place to find treasures and convenience. I know, for instance, that the tiny marble-sized potatoes I found last Saturday were from around here and so were the shell peas. Shell peas are like sweet corn—they turn starchy very quickly after they’re picked. But a hybrid has been developed for sweet corn that remains sweet for quite awhile under refrigeration and now, it appears, there is a similar hybrid shell pea. The ones I bought were fantastic.

Here is a dinner that I made from my gleanings last week. My mother would have called this a good “summer supper.”

Breaded pork cutlets
Creamed new potatoes and peas
Wilted lettuce
Strawberry shortcake

Breaded pork cutlets

2 boneless pork loin chops (about 6-8 ounces each)
1 egg
1 cup dry toasted bread crumbs, homemade preferred
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. butter or oil or combination

Pound pork chops until they are about 1/8 inch thick, or even thinner. Cut into four pieces. Heat butter and oil in large skillet until a haze forms above. Beat egg with a fork on a flat dinner-size plate. Pour bread crumbs in another plate and add salt and pepper to taste. Dip each cutlet into egg and then into seasoned bread crumbs. Carefully put into hot skillet. Fry for about 2 minutes on one side; turn and fry 1-2 minutes on other side. Remove to oven proof dish and keep warm.

Creamed New Potatoes and Peas

2 pounds uniformly small new potatoes—marble-sized to walnut-sized
2 cups shelled fresh peas
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper

Drop potatoes into boiling, salted water and lower temperature to slow boil. Cook until tender—from 10 minutes to 20 minutes, depending on size. Test tenderness with a fork.
Drain and keep warm.

Cook shelled peas in small amount of water (sweetened with 1 Tbsp. sugar) on top of stove for about 10 minutes—again, if peas are very young and small, decrease time. Taste after 8 minutes for sweetness and doneness. Don’t overcook. Drain and keep warm

Melt butter in small, heavy saucepan. Add flour and whisk smooth. When roux is bubbly, add milk gradually, continually whisking; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and add drained potatoes and peas to white sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Wilted Lettuce

Fresh leaf lettuce or combination of lettuces from the garden or farmer’s market
2 slices bacon
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp heavy cream

Fry bacon until very crisp, but not too brown. Drain on paper towel and reserve drippings. In pan with drippings, add vinegar and sugar. Boil, stirring and bringing up all browned bacon particles. Take off heat and add cream. Stir until smooth and pour over clean lettuce in bowl. Toss; add crumbled bacon.

Summer Fruit

The market is filling with the wonderful fruits of summer—first the strawberries, then the apricots, followed by melons, berries of all kinds, peaches, nectarines, plums—what have I left out? Fruit is healthful, beautiful and delicious—and relatively inexpensive, especially if you buy in season and locally, if possible.

Fruit has been so revered throughout history that painters and poets have immortalized it—perhaps none better than Andrew Marvell (1621-1678).

What wondrous life is this I lead!
Ripe apples drop about my head;
The luscious clusters of the vine
Upon my mouth do crush their wine;
The nectarine and curious peach
Into my hands themselves do reach;
Stumbling on melons, as I pass,
Ensnared with flowers, I fall on grass…


There are so many things you can do with fruit, it’s hard to know where to start—and certainly one of the best and easiest is to eat it fresh, out-of-hand. To show off fruit’s spectacular beauty, however, it is fun to display several kinds in a fruit bowl, plate or salad. You hardly need any further adornment—except perhaps a simple dressing served in a sauceboat on the side. Another attractive way to serve plain fruit is in the fruit itself. Pineapples and melons make their own bowls to hold a combination of summer fruits.

Here’s an attractive fruit salad from the past—still sounds, looks and tastes fantastic. This would make a good supper on a scorching day served with some delicious rolls or bread from the bakery. It even includes enough protein to satisfy the appetite.

Fruit Basket Salad (Better Homes & Gardens, July 1947)

2 avocados
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup chopped pecans or walnut meats
1 cup chopped ripe olives
1 tsp. minced parsley
½ tsp. salt
3 to 4 bananas
3 Tbsp lemon juice
Assorted melon balls
Strawberries, halved
Blueberries
Peach halves
Wedges or slices of fresh pineapple
Watercress

Pare avocados; halve. Fill halves with cottage cheese combined with nut meats, olives, parsley and salt. Press two halves together; sprinkle with lemon juice; wrap in waxed paper; twisting ends firmly. Chill thoroughly. Before serving, unwrap; slice crosswise. Cut bananas; sprinkle with lemon juice. Arrange fruits on water cress. Pass Fruit Dressing (recipe below).

Fruit Dressing:

½ cup sugar or light corn syrup
4 tsp. flour
½ cup vinegar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. onion, finely minced
2 tsp. celery seed
¾ cup salad oil

Combine sugar or syrup and flour; gradually add vinegar. Cook over low heat until smooth and thick, stirring constantly. Add salt, celery seed and mix. Pour salad oil into mixture very slowly, beating constantly with rotary beater. (Or use blender: after cooking, pour sugar mixture into blender container, take off middle section from cover and while motor is running, pour salad oil very slowly, but steadily into blender).

Another composed salad plate from the forties is this Salad plate sundae—really beautiful and refreshing:

A circle of cool green honeydew melon filled with a double dip of lime sherbet. Around the sundae are watermelon and cantaloupe balls, frosted grape clusters (you dip the grapes in egg white, then in granulated sugar and let dry on cake rack for 30 minutes), peach slices and watercress. Place a lime wedge on the side to squirt over the melon. Crescent rolls from a tube or crackers, ice tea and perhaps a cheese tray would round out the meal.

A more sophisticated and modern recipe for summer fruits comes from the June 1992 Bon Appetit.

Summer Fruit Compote with Bourbon and Mint (6-8 servings)

1 cup water
½ cup sugar
¾ cup chopped fresh mint
¼ cup bourbon
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ large honeydew melon, seeded (or you may use any variety or a mixture of melons)
8 ounces dark sweet cherries, pitted
3 nectarines, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint

Fresh mint sprigs

For syrup: Stir 1 cup water and sugar in heavy saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Add chopped fresh mint. Boil over medium heat 5 minutes. Cool completely. Strain into small bowl, pressing firmly on mint. Mix bourbon and lemon juice into syrup.
For compote: Scoop honeydew with melon baller. Combine melon balls, pitted cherries, sliced nectarines and sliced fresh mint in large bowl. Add syrup and toss thoroughly to combine. Refrigerate compote at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours. Garnish compote with mint sprigs.

Red, White and Blueberry Pie

Our family reunion ended when the last of the children and their families left on Monday after a whirlwind of parties and festivities. It started on Wednesday when #3 son from Florida, his wife and teenaged daughter arrived, followed by #2 son from St. Louis with his wife and three little ones; Will (5), Morgan (2 ½ ) and Olivia (9 months) followed by #1 son from Madison with his wife and Annika (6) and Jake (3). Our daughter had arrived the previous Saturday from Boston to hostess the St. James functions in lieu of the wedding reception she had cancelled.

Wednesday night’s activity was a Twins vs. Rockies game (Twins obligingly won). Thursday found many of us at a wine and cider tasting in Maiden Rock. Friday night we dined in the Port at the St. James. Saturday was the big blow-out dinner-dance in the Summit Room and Sunday we had two seatings of brunch in the Victorian Room. In between we had a great picnic at Colvill Park and a homemade pizza party on our porch.

It was wonderful, but I must admit it is a relief to be just the two of us again but I will have to get used to cooking for just two once more. After the absolutely delicious meals we had at the St. James in all their venues, I was craving something simple, fresh and non-fattening. The blueberries in the market are unusually good this year—seems early to me—but they’re already in and moderately priced. Plus, blueberries are one of the healthiest foods around.

Blueberries with some cream and sugar are delicious—or even sans sugar and cream. They are great in pancakes and topping simple pound cake or ice cream. They can star in green salads and fruit compotes and, of course, in pie. Since I usually do a pie-of-the-month about now, and since strawberries are usually June’s star—I decided to make a light and refreshing pie that wouldn’t break the calorie bank using both fruits. I found just the right one in the pages of the 12 Best Foods Cookbook by Dana Jacobi. This pie is beautiful and delicious as is but you could wait a week and serve it for the Fourth of July if you put whipped cream on it to make it red, white and blue. Another bonus of this pie is the fruit is uncooked which means it provides maximum health benefits.

Red, White and Blueberry Pie

1 cup wild blueberry fruit spread
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 ½ pints fresh blueberries
1 ½ tsp. grated lemon zest
1 9” prebaked pie shell
¼ cup strawberry fruit spread
6-8 large strawberries, sliced vertically
Sweetened whipped cream (optional)

Melt the blueberry spread with cinnamon over medium heat. Off heat, mix in the blueberries and lemon zest until the berries are coated. Spoon the berries into the crust. Melt strawberry spread over medium heat. Mix strawberries into the melted spread to coat. Arrange glazed strawberries in a ring on top of the blueberry filling, placing them with the wide end against the edge of the crust and the point inward. Form an 8-pointed star in the center, with 4 slices pointing outward and add 4 smaller ones arranged on top of them. Pipe rosettes of whipped cream (or dollops) over blueberries, making sure the berries peek through for the color. Serve within 1 hour of filling.

Lemons and blueberries are a match made in heaven. There is something about the juicy, tart blueberry and the citrusy-sweet tang of lemon that makes a perfect pair. I named this next light and airy dessert Cloud Nine.

Cloud Nine

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 Tbsp water
1 cup sugar (or sugar substitute such as Splenda for cooking, if you prefer)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
3 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 ½ tsp. grated lemon peel
1 ½ 8-ounce containers plain nonfat yogurt
1 pint fresh blueberries

Sprinkle gelatin over 2 Tbsp. water in small saucepan and let stand 10 minutes to soften. Stir constantly over low heat until gelatin dissolves. Set aside. Combine sugar and lemon juice in another small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Clip candy thermometer onto side of saucepan. Increase heat and boil without stirring until thermometer registers 238 degrees, about 5minutes. Meanwhile, using electric mixer, beat egg whites and pinch of salt in bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually beat hot syrup into egg whites. Add gelatin mixture and lemon peel and beat until mixture is stiff, glossy, and cool, about 3 minutes. Mix in yogurt. Divide among 10 custard cups or ramekins. Refrigerate until set about 2 hours. Wash and sort blueberries. Top desserts with fresh, unsweetened blueberries.

Wild Foods

Last spring Zig and I suddenly caught the morel mushroom bug and started hunting them in earnest. We cajoled everyone we knew to give up their secret spots—but the hints we were given ended in disappointment—and we just knew those in the know were snickering behind our backs. After all, with the cost of morels and their great desirability who is going to tell you of his own mushroom sanctuary?

However, I did purchase a guidebook of sorts, “Abundantly Wild” by Teresa Marrone which deals with collecting and cooking wild edibles in the Upper Midwest. I had sort of forgotten about the book until we went driving last Sunday—going nowhere in particular—and I decided to take it along. Well, I was dumbstruck. There are free edible foods growing wild everywhere and I never knew it!

For instance, did you know that you can use almost all of the cattail for food? And those day lilies that grow everywhere this time of year—I was amazed that they are edible. In our area (the Upper Midwest), during summer months, the following common plants can be foraged and fixed into delicious dishes: (Well, I haven’t tried them all, but they sound delicious.)
Cattail flowering heads and pollen, chamomile flowers, chicken of the woods mushrooms, dandelion flowers and roots, day lily flowers, gooseberries, lamb’s quarters, mulberries, plantain, prickly pear pads and fruits, purslane, ramp bulbs, raspberries and black raspberries, red clover flowers, wild rose flowers, sheep sorrel, stinging nettle (tender new growth), strawberries, blueberries, cauliflower mushrooms, wild cherries and chokecherries, crabapples, currants, elderberry fruits, wild grapes, ground cherries, hazelnuts, huckleberries, maypops, nannyberries, oyster mushrooms, wild plums, puffballs, serviceberries and sumac berries.

In the guidelines for foraging, the following cautions are given: If you can’t positively identify it, don’t taste it, and certainly don’t eat it. Also remember that just because a plant has edible parts doesn’t mean that the whole plant is edible. Actually, I highly recommend that if you decide to try foraging for wild plant edibles, you take along a guidebook such as “Abundantly Wild.”

Cattails

Known as “nature’s grocery store,” the cattail provides a variety of foods throughout the year. Right now, the head is covered in golden pollen which can be used like flour and lends color and flavor to baked goods. To harvest the pollen, gently bend a stalk over a plastic bucket and knock the head against the inside walls of the bucket to dislodge the pollen. On average, you’ll need to harvest pollen from 40 cattails to get ½ cup. Don’t wait too long, as the pollen remains for only a few days and a good rain or wind could remove it. Not all plants in a cattail stand ripen at the same time, however, so the harvest can last a couple of weeks. On our drive, there were many cattails covered with pollen and others that will be soon. You can add sifted cattail pollen to muffins, quick breads, pancakes, etc. You may substitute cattail pollen for up to one-quarter of the measure of white flour in the recipe.

Summer Sunshine Muffins

12 regular muffins or 24 mini-muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sifted cattail pollen
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ cup sunflower nuts
1 cup milk
1 egg
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. honey

Heat oven to 425 deg. Spray muffin pans with nonstick spray; set aside. Sift flour, pollen, sugar, baking powder and salt together into mixing bowl. Add sunflower nuts; stir to combine. In smaller bowl, combine milk, egg and melted butter; beat with fork to mix well. Pour milk mixture, all at once, into flour mixture. Stir with wooden spoon until just barely mixed, about 15 strokes; batter should still be lumpy. Spoon into prepared muffin cups. Place on center rack of oven; immediately reduce heat to 375 deg. F. Bake for 15 minutes for regular-sized muffins, 10 minutes for minis; right at end of this baking period, heat honey in microwave to make it free flowing. Remove muffin pans from oven. Quickly brush muffin tops with honey. Return pans to oven, rotating position so that the part of the pan that was in the front of the oven is now in the back. Bake until toothpick comes out almost clean, with a few crumbs, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes then turn out onto cooling rack. Serve warm.

If you aren’t this adventurous, but would like to try some native, homegrown foods and also cull some of those pesky zucchinis from your garden—here’s a really fun recipe.

Squash Blossoms Rellenos

16 large squash blossoms
2 fresh or pickled jalapeno chilies
6 ounces mild white cheese, coarsely grated
2 Tbsp. pine nuts
16 small sprigs cilantro (optional)
3 eggs, separated
Pinch each of salt and cream of tartar
1 cup flour
2 cups oil

Open the squash blossoms and pinch out the stamens. Wash and gently pat dry with paper towel. Roast and peel the chili and cut into 16 slivers. Stuff each squash blossom with grated cheese, a few pine nuts, a sliver of chili and a sprig of cilantro. Prepare batter: Beat the egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Beat the yolks in small bowl. Whisk a quarter of the whites into the yolk mixture and gently fold back into the remaining whites. Heat the oil in a heavy pan to 375 degrees. Dip each stuffed squash blossom in flour, shake off the excess and dip it into the egg mixture. Fry the blossoms in hot oil until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Serve with salsa or vinaigrette.

Summer Weather

Early in the morning on one of these very hot, humid mornings we’re having, I came out of a restaurant with Zig and overheard two guys standing on the curb discussing the weather. “As soon as the sun comes up, this’ll burn off,” one of them said, referring to the cloud of heat and humidity all around us. I laughed inwardly at the perpetual fascination with weather that we all share in the Midwest.

It appears it has always been so. Weather seems to still be the unconquerable element in the physical world; now, as in the beginning of human life on earth. All the gods of the early people were based on the sun, the moon, stars, planets—things that appeared to control the fate of man. Most of the festivals and celebrations were based on the seasons and the movement of the sun. The very existence of early man depended on the weather—as it still does today to a lesser extent. It is no wonder, then, that many of our holidays and the foods we eat on those days, center on the season and the weather.

My Latvian husband concurs that one of the most popular pre-Christian festivals in Latvia is Jani, which is celebrated on June 24, the longest day of the year. It is a time when the worlds of men and of gods come together—a festival of nature calling upon the sprits of home, field and forest to bring forth a bountiful harvest and shield the crops and livestock from evil. Everyone goes to the countryside to celebrate Jani with singing, dancing and general tomfoolery. The most important part of the celebration is song. Songs accompany every activity of the Latvian culture. Zig recalls going to Indianapolis to a large gathering of Latvian immigrants to celebrate this day with an all night songfest and his mother ran into a long lost cousin from the old country.

The midsummer celebration begins on the evening of the 23rd which is called Ligo (day of grass) and continues until the sunrise on the 24th. A bonfire is lit for the celebration and everyone jumps over the fire to cleanse themselves for the new season. Jani is also the name day for everyone named John, anyone named John (Janis) is expected to jump several times for good luck. Just before midnight, the group leaves the bonfire and walks, singing, to the neighboring farms, carrying cheese and piragi for gifts and drinking beer. Cheese is eaten so that cows may thrive and beer is drunk for the horses. Revelers continue on until returning home right before the sunrise. One of the many Latvian folk songs for this occasion is as follows:

Janis came over the hillside
A bundle of grass on his back.
Come dear Janis down the hill
Give the grass to my heifers;
I shall give you a chunk of cheese
For feeding my heifers.

If you’re into authenticity, you can make the Latvian cheese at home—but in case you’re not that into it, here are two versions of cheesecake to celebrate the Summer solstice.

Jani Cheese

5 quarts milk
2 pounds farmer’s cheese or solid cottage cheese
1 tsp. caraway
½ cup clotted milk or yogurt
2 or 3 Tbsp butter
2 or 3 eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt

Bring milk to a boil. Process cheese and caraway in food processor. Set over low heat until cheese begins to separate. Add the clotted milk or yogurt. Remove from heat. Drain water. Remove cheese mass from the pan and place on cheese cloth. Press moisture from cheese. In a separate pan, melt butter. Add the cheese, beaten eggs and cook over medium heat until the mixture is yellow and thick. Place mixture on cheesecloth and press out moisture. Serve with honey and bread.

Rich Cheesecake

Crust:

1 cup sifted flour
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. lemon peel
½ cup butter
¼ tsp. vanilla
1 beaten egg yolk

Cut in butter, add egg yolk and vanilla. Pat 1/3 dough on bottom of 9” springform pan without sides. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool. Attach sides of pan and butter them. Pat the rest of the dough to sides 2-2 ½" high.

Filling:

5 8-oz pkgs. cream cheese
¼ tsp. vanilla
¾ tsp. grated lemon peel
1 ¾ Cup sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
½ tsp. salt
4-5 eggs (1 cup)
2 egg yolks
¼ cup whipping cream

Soften cream cheese by beating until soft and creamy. Add vanilla and lemon peel. Mix sugar, flour and salt; gradually blend into the cheese mixture. Add eggs and egg yolks. Beat just to blend. Gently stir in whipping cream. Turn into crust-lined pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake 55 minutes longer. Remove from oven and cool. Loosen sides with spatula. Wait ½ hour and remove. Cool two hours and glaze if you wish with fruit glazes such as pineapple glaze:
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup pineapple juice
¼ tsp. grated lemon peel

Heat and stir continually until thickened. Cool to room temperature and top cake.

Light Cheesecake

½ cup butter
1 1/3 cups graham crackers

Melt butter and pour over graham crackers in food processor. Remove and press onto bottom and sides of springform pan, reserving ½ cup crumbs. Bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool.

1 3-oz. pkg. lemon gelatin
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 13-oz can evaporated milk, well chilled
1 cup boiling water
1 cup sugar

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water; chill until slightly thick. Cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Whip evaporated milk in chilled bowl with chilled beaters until stiff. Fold gelatin mixture into cream cheese mixture; then fold in whipped milk. Pour into springform pan over crust. Sprinkle with remaining graham cracker crumbs; chill until firm.

We have come along way with weather—we now have weathermen who are 90% correct on what actually occurred yesterday. Happy summer!

Jams and Jellies - Rose Petal Jam

The Candlelight Inn is a true Victorian Inn. Most of the furnishings are authentic to the period between when it was built—1877—and 1910 when the influence of Queen Victoria began to wane. We try to provide something of a Victorian experience for our guests, in their surroundings and the food.

In my cookbook collection, I have one of a set of books called “The Victorian Kitchen Book Collection” which is “a delightful series designed to evoke that bygone era when, as tradition has it, larders were bursting with jars of homemade preserves and pickles, tea tables were laden with delicious cakes and mouthwatering pastries, sideboards groaned under the weight of rich beefsteak puddings, and no dinner table was complete without a dessert of creams, iced puddings, fresh fruit, nuts and dainty bonbons.”

One of the stars of the Victorian culinary world was Isabella Beeton (1836-1865) who, with her publisher husband, Sam Beeton published the Book of Household Management in 1861. Many of the Victorian recipes originated with her, and her witticisms and advisements pepper the volume—such as “Frugality and Economy are home virtues without which no household can Prosper.” She died in childbirth at the tragically early age of 28.

My book, Jams and Jellies, opens as follows: Preserving fruit in jam or jelly began in the 18th century when glass technology and the availability of cheap, good quality sugar came together. Until the beginning of the 20th century, jam-making remained a home-based industry. The Victorians, in particular, made great use of seasonal fruits to make jams—for cakes and puddings as well as for the tea table—showing the sort of frugality and economy of which Mrs. Beeton would have approved.”

Actually, jelly and jam making is an art which can still be done at home with a minimum of equipment and a maximum of enjoyment and fulfillment as well as frugality and economy. Our present day Mrs. Beeton of sorts, Martha Stewart, has done a great piece in her Living magazine, July 2006, on this very topic. In true Martha style, she goes a little over the top with descriptions of Alsatian confitures and vintage French jelly jars, but all in all it captures the homey quality of this most domestic of all undertakings.

What you really need is very little and quite cheap. Mason jelly jars from the local stores with screw rings and flat lids, a large shallow heavy pot, a jelly bag (or cheesecloth) and a wide-mouthed funnel. Oh, and something to preserve. Of course this time of year we think of the wonderful and abundant fruits, but preserving with sugar can be done any time of year resulting in marrow squash jam, rose petal jam, genuine Scotch marmalade, orange marmalade, lemon curd, apple jelly, apple butter, wine jelly or herb jelly to name a few.

What is the difference between jams, jellies, preserves, confitures, curds, butters, or conserves? Jam is a mixture of fruit and sugar, boiled together until most of the moisture is gone. Jelly is a mixture of the juice from strained, boiled fruit, and sugar, boiled together until the mixture jells. A preserve is usually made with one kind of fruit only, bottled whole or cut in half in a soft sugar syrup. Conserves usually contain two or more fruits and are stiff but spreadable. Butters are fruit pulp cooked to a very thick consistency with sugar. Curds are thickened with egg yolks and have a lot of butter added to them. Confiture refers to the whole group—just another word for preserves.

I couldn’t resist trying the strawberry jam in the Victorian Kitchen book, especially since the home-grown strawberries are just so wonderful this year. And, my roses provided wherewithal to try an “artisanal” preserve, the rose petal jam. These should lend a Victorian touch to the inn’s breakfast table.

19 cups well-ripened strawberries
Juice of 2 lemons
13 and three-quarters cups sugar

Hull the strawberries, removing any that are too ripe and rinse the remainder. Cook in large, heavy pan with the lemon juice over low heat until juice begins to run from fruit. Take care not to break the strawberries up, as the beauty of a good strawberry jam is seeing and tasting the whole fruit. Add the sifted sugar and stir until it dissolves completely; simmer gently for 30 minutes. Remove any scum that rises to the top and stir occasionally to prevent burning. When setting point is reached, put the jam into sterilized jars and seal tightly.


Note: The setting point of jam is around 220 degrees. You can test with a thermometer or use the cold saucer method. Boil the jam for 20 minutes (unless otherwise indicated), then remove from heat. Drop a teaspoon onto a saucer that has been cooling in the refrigerator. Leave to cool for a few minutes. If it forms a skin that wrinkles when you push it with a finger, the jam is set.


Rose Petal Jam

4 cups petals taken from your favorite rosebush
2 and one-fourth cups sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup fresh water

Cut away the bottom of each petal as this part can make the jam taste bitter. Place the petals in a preserving pan and pour the water over them. Heat very gently for about 30 minutes to extract the color and fragrance and then remove the petals and put aside. Add the sugar and lemon juice to the pan and make sure all the sugar has dissolved. Boil the mixture rapidly, allowing most of the liquid to evaporate. When you are left with a very thick syrup, put the petals back in and stir through the mixture to distribute evenly. As only a small amount of this jam is used at any one time, it is better kept in small 4 oz. jars. Makes about one and one-third cups.

Cooking 101

I’ve written many times in this column about my early venturing into cooking and how much I enjoyed it. I think I even mentioned once that it was so much better than some other domestic pursuits, such as sewing or decorating because it always pleased loved ones so much. Well, I have made plenty of mistakes along the way.

I think perhaps everyone has to learn the hard way these days because basic cooking 101 isn’t a requirement in school anymore. I really think that’s a shame since, as the title of one of my books says, “Much Depends on Dinner.” People resort to eating out, fast food and highly-processed foods not only to save time, but many just don’t know the basics of how to cook.

I use to think that everyone who could read could cook—not so! It seems that because my mother had me cooking beside her at such a young age, I learned a lot of the basics without really realizing it. Then, as I mentioned already, schools required you to take at least one full year of foods. We didn’t just make Tater-tot Hotdish or the modern version, Taco Pie. We learned technique.

So what mistakes have I made that I learned from? Way too many to list, but here are a few that come to mind: fallen cakes, dry cakes, leaden bread, unset gelatins, burned bottoms—undone tops, inedible foods, tunnelly muffins, too much or too little spice (i.e. especially salt), too thin, too thick, unattractive, unset, ran over in the oven—shall I continue?

In order to become a good cook and—more importantly, I think—enjoy cooking, a number of hints and how-to’s can really help. Here are a few I think are the most important.

1. Mies en place—this French term means everything in place. First read the entire recipe through so you know that you have all the ingredients on hand and pick up any clues to the actual assembly process, such as “2 ½ cups flour, divided.” If you don’t do this step, you’re likely to put all the flour in the recipe at once. Next, take out some small custard cups or those cute little glass saucers that they always use on the Food Network to hold your measured ingredients. Measure everything and set it all out on the work counter. I know this dirties a lot of dishes and bowls, but it’s well worth it.

Measure very carefully. If the recipe says to sift; sift. If it says to dip and sweep; dip and sweep. Don’t tap measuring cups with flour in them to compress the flour—you’ll have too much. Use the right measuring device. There are liquid measuring cups and dry measuring cups. They measure slightly differently so use the correct one.

Don’t alter your recipe—at least not the first time you make it. Some foods interact differently with different ingredients so you will get a different result if you make substitutions. If you do make any changes in subsequent tries, write them down on the recipe.

Don’t double the recipe. Halving the recipe is not quite as tricky—but doubling doesn’t always work, especially with the chemical reactors such as salt, baking powder and soda.

Use the correct pan size. Modern recipes almost always give very precise pan sizes and weights (i. e., Use large, heavy saucepan). If the recipe calls for two 8” cake pans and you use 9” cake pans, you have to adjust the time and perhaps the temperature for baking.

Adjust the baking racks in your oven as the recipe directs and put pans or dishes on the correct rack. Do not try to put more than one pan or dish in the oven unless your recipe says to do so. If the recipe directs you to rotate two dishes from top rack to bottom half way through cooking, don’t fail to do so. Likewise a direction to turn dish by rotating back to front and vice versa.

Although gelatin dishes have gone out of favor to some extent, there are a few that are lovely to serve such as the following Vanilla Panna Cotta. There is probably no simpler, yet elegant dessert to make, but if you’re not sure about technique with gelatin, it can get messed up.

Vanilla Panna Cotta

¼ cup cold water
2 ½ tsp. (1 pkg.) unflavored gelatin
3 cups whipping cream
1 cup sugar, divided
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
4 ½ pint baskets of fresh berries, such as raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, or a mixture. (You can use almost any fresh soft fruit in season.)
1/3 cup sweet white wine such as Moscato

Pour ¼ cup cold water into custard cup; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand for 10 minutes. Bring 1” water to boil in small skillet. Place custard cup with gelatin in skillet until gelatin dissolves completely (is clear throughout)—about 2 minutes. Combine cream and 2/3 cup sugar in medium heavy saucepan. Stir over medium heat just until sugar dissolves. Do not boil. Remove from heat and mix in the vanilla and the gelatin. Divide into 8 dessert dishes. Cover and chill 6 hours to 1 day.

Combine berries, remaining sugar and crush the berries lightly. Mix in wine. Let stand at least 1 hour. Spoon fruit over puddings. Serve.

The Cruise Diet

I might be the only person who can say that I actually lost weight on both the week-long cruises that I have taken. That’s especially surprising because I don’t get seasick and I’m not naturally thin with a great metabolism. Actually, like most other people I know, I usually gain weight when out on the town or on regular vacations or anywhere where the food is wonderful. No, the cruise ships I was on didn’t have bad food. No, I didn’t work out in their gym or run laps on deck. I went from eating place to eating place just like most of the other passengers. What’s more, I ordered every course available (sometimes 5 or 6 courses). What was the secret?

Well, I am busy right now recovering from a family reunion here in Red Wing. We did not go on a cruise, but there will be plenty of great opportunities for great food on while dining out in local restaurants. Many of the meals were at the St James Hotel.

The first thing I remember was that I didn’t have the deprivation mentality. You know how it goes, “I have been on my interminable diet forever, now I’m on vacation, when I get home I will not be able to eat any of these yummy foods--probably ever again--so I am really going to pig out now.” That leads to taking down all the barriers, barreling ahead at full steam and tossing caution to the wind, to use a few clichés. Instead, I ordered every course, sampled every offering and only ate a bite or two of anything less than fantastic, and only a few more of things that were because, well I couldn’t hold that much and also who cared? There was another buffet or grill or bar with hors d’oeuvres right around the corner any time day or night. Add to that general excitement and lots of walking in the ports-of-call and dancing at night and you get two pounds gone at the end of the week instead of two added. All while having a fabulous fun time, even for a foodie, I might add.

I’ve decided to call this the Cruise Diet and the first rule is to ditch the deprivation mentality. Give yourself permission to eat anything you want to—vow to eat only a little of it. Compare that to the usual advice of chowing down on the veggies and low-cal dip, drinking seltzer watered-down drinks, standing far away from the buffet table and gritting your teeth. (I’ve even read that if you chew gum you’re less likely to eat too much. Are you kidding?) The Cruise diet really does work because you don’t obsess about the food and feel so guilty about eating.

The second rule of the diet is to eat consciously. That means, eat each bite savoring the taste, the texture, the ambiance and the company. Put your fork down between bites and talk to somebody. If you are eating alone, consciously give yourself a time for eating and make sure your meal or snack takes that much time. I don’t buy the advice that you shouldn’t read or watch TV while eating, but if you do—stop between bites and pause. You will get into the habit of doing this very quickly and wonder how you could have devoured so much food so fast before. Drinking water or other beverages between bites is a good way to slow down and eat consciously. It gives you time to ask yourself if you’ve actually had enough. When at a restaurant, just nudge you plate over to the side a little when you think it’s time to quit. You’d be surprised at how self-conscious you would be to start eating from that plate again.

The last rule is to enjoy eating—really enjoy it. Treat yourself as special as you treat company. Put some flowers on the table, set a place, even if only for one. I heard a story from a friend who went back to her hometown and the only person she wanted to see was her first grade teacher. The teacher was living in a retirement apartment and was quite elderly. The friend found her, went to her apartment and knocked on the door, hoping to surprise her. When the door opened and the two were joyfully reunited, the teacher invited my friend in. Looking past the teacher’s shoulder, my friend saw a lovely table, set with china and crystal and a flower centerpiece. She regretfully said, “Oh, I see you are expecting company for dinner, I don’t want to intrude”. The teacher looked surprised and said, “No, I was going to sit down to dinner alone in awhile.” It turned out that this elderly lady always dined in style, whether she had company or not. Well, why not? Maybe that mentality is what makes the Cruise Diet work.

I did just fine during the reunion and look forward to resuming my normal life until the next reunion.

First Day of Summer

What is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days…

Tomorrow is the longest day of the year—the first day of summer and the day of many ethnic celebrations of Midsummer’s Day. But my idea of a great celebration is to take a picnic supper out to one of the many wayside rests and picnic areas along Lake Pepin on the Wisconsin side. With a mild breeze off the lake and the still-strong sun to warm the air, pests are at a minimum and the true beauty of the summer evening is evident.

I prefer to just lay out a cloth and unpack the hamper and leave the actual cooking at home. I came across what seems like a perfectly delightful picnic—easy to prepare, low in calories and elegantly delicious. And since it’s infinitely more fun to share good food and a beautiful evening with friends, the recipes are for six. (Adapted from Bon Appetit, June, 1996)

Chilled Beet Soup with Chives
Chicken, Arugula and Red Bell Pepper Sandwiches
Broccoli and Cherry Tomato Salad
White Wine Spritzers
Fruit in Spiced White Wine
Low-Fat Almond-Cinnamon Biscotti

Chilled Beet Soup with Chives

1 ½ tsp. olive oil
3 medium carrots, peeled, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 ½ Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 15-oz cans sliced beets with liquid
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups buttermilk
Chopped fresh chives

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over low heat. Add carrots and onion. Cover; cook until vegetables are just tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, cover and cook until vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes longer. Using inverted blender, puree beets with liquid, sugar and carrot mixture. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in buttermilk. Season with salt and pepper. Chill until cold, about 3 hours (Can be made 2 days ahead.) Put into a thermos. Serve in mugs and top with chives.
Per serving: 116 calories

Chicken, Arugula and Red Bell Pepper Sandwiches

3 Tbsp. low-fat mayonnaise
3 Tbsp. nonfat plain yogurt
4 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ cup chopped fresh arugula
2 large red bell peppers
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (each about 4 ounces)
1 tsp. olive oil
6 5-to-6-inch-long French bread baguette pieces, halved lengthwise
2 large bunches fresh arugula

Mix first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Mix in chopped arugula. Season arugula mayonnaise generously with ground pepper. Char peppers over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Place in bag; let stand 10 minutes. Peel and seed bell peppers. Cut into ½-inch-wide strips. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brush skillet with 1 tsp. oil. Add chicken; sauté until just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate; cool. Cut into diagonal slices. Spread generous 2 tsp. arugula mayonnaise on each cut side of bread. Cover bottom of bread pieces generously with arugula. Top with sliced chicken, dividing equally. Top with bell pepper strips and generous amount of arugula. Cover with bread tops.
Per serving: 290 calories

Broccoli and Cherry tomato Salad

4 cups broccoli florets
1 1-pint basket cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 2 tsp. dried

Steam broccoli until just crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and cool. Add tomatoes. Place mustard in small bowl. Gradually whisk in vinegar, then oil. Mix in oregano. Add to salad and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
Per serving: 53 calories

Fruit in Spiced White Wine

2 cups dry white wine
4 1/3-inch-thick orange slices (unpeeled), quartered
¼ cup honey 1 cinnamon stick
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 apricots, pitted, sliced
1 ½ pounds fresh cherries, pitted or one 16-oz bag frozen unsweetened pitted sweet dark cherries, thawed and well drained

Combine first 4 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium low; simmer 30 minutes to blend flavors. Combine apricots and cherries in large bowl. Pour hot wine mixture over. Cool to room temperature. Cover and chill.
Per serving: 133 calories

Low-Fat Almond-Cinnamon Biscotti

3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ tsp. almond extract
3 cups flour
½ cup chopped toasted almonds
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¾ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Grease baking sheet. Combine first 4 ingredients in bowl of heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat until well blended. Mix flour, almonds, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Gradually add to egg mixture, beating until blended (dough will be soft). Turn dough out onto floured surface and gather together. Roll dough between palms and work surface into 16-inch-long log. Transfer to prepared sheet. Flatten log to 1-inch thickness. Bake until light brown and cracked on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer sheet to rack; cool log 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325. Transfer warm log to work surface. Using serrated knife, cut log on sharp diagonal into ¼-to1/3-inch-thick slices. Arrange on baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes per side. Transfer to racks and cool (biscotti will harden while cooling).
Per cookie: 78 calories

Ultimate Fast Food

What is the ultimate fast food, which is low in cost, low in calories, extremely versatile, easily prepared and loved by almost everyone? If you guessed skinless and boneless chicken breasts—you are right!

I can remember the days before these jewels of the poultry world were skinned and boned before being sold in the supermarket and I often passed by using them because of the fussy work de-boning them can be. Now, of course, you can buy them flash frozen, very economically; or, if you are a purist and enjoy handling your own victuals, you can buy them split, but on the bone and with the skin (a good way to get a little more flavor if you cook them that way) or on a whole chicken—to be cut up for other parts as well—and is a great savings.

Very few foods cook up as fast as chicken breasts. Julia Child in her Mastering the Art of French Cooking introduced many Americans to Supremes de Volaille which she describes thus: “Breast of chicken when it is removed raw from one side of the bird in a skinless, boneless piece is called a supreme…As a supreme cooks in only 6 to 8 minutes and may be served very simply, it can make an exquisite quick meal.” My reaction at the time was—in 6 to 8 minutes! So I gave her master recipe, Supremes De Volaille A Blanc, a try and it was fabulous. Her suggestions for go-withs make a quick and delightful meal.

Supremes De Volaille A Blanc (Breast of Chicken with Cream) Serve with asparagus tips, a good pilaf or risotto and a bottle of chilled white Burgundy or Traminer. For 4 people.

4 boned (skin-on) chicken breasts
½ tsp. lemon juice
¼ tsp. salt
Big pinch white pepper
4 Tb butter

Sauce:

¼ cup canned beef bouillon
¼ cup port, Madeira or dry white vermouth
1 cup whipping cream
Salt and pepper
Lemon juice as needed
1 Tbs fresh minced parsley

Rub the Supremes with drops of lemon juice and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a heavy, covered, fireproof casserole about 10 inches in diameter until it is foaming. Quickly roll the Supremes in the butter, lay a round of waxed paper cut to fit skillet and buttered on one side over them, cover casserole and place in 400 degree oven. After 6 minutes, press top of Supremes with your finger. If still soft, return to oven for a moment or two. When the meat is springy to the touch it is done. Remove the Supremes to a warm platter and cover while making the sauce (2-3 minutes).

Sauce: Pour the bouillon and wine into the casserole with the cooking butter and boil down quickly over high heat until liquid is syrupy. Stir in the cream and boil down again over high heat until cream has thickened slightly. Off heat, taste carefully for seasoning and add drops of lemon juice to taste. Pour the sauce over the Supremes, sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.

Here is one of Pierre Franey’s many quick chicken breast recipes that cooks either on the grill or in your broiler.

Lime-Marinated Grilled Chicken Breasts

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. turmeric
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. dry rosemary, ground fine
1 tsp. finely minced garlic
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. hot melted butter

Preheat a charcoal grill or broiler. Cut the breasts lengthwise down the center. Cut away and discard any fat and membranes. Put the oil in a mixing bowl with the lime juice, chili powder, turmeric, cumin, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to blend well and add the chicken pieces. Turn them in the marinade to coat well. Cover and set aside until ready to cook. If they are to be marinated for a long period, refrigerate them. Place the chicken pieces on the grill or on a rack under the broiler. Cover the grill or close the door to the broiler. Cook about 2 to 3 minutes and turn the pieces. Continue cooking until done, about 2 to 3 minutes on the grill, possibly a little longer under the broiler. Remove the pieces and brush the tops with the melted butter. 4-6 servings.

Now, if you’re into a quick to prepare but longer to cook absolutely elegant and delicious company dish—here’s my contribution:

Party Chicken

8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
8 slices bacon
8-oz pkg. Buddig brand smoked beef slices
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pint sour cream

Wrap one slice bacon around each filet. In a greased 9x13 baking dish, lay 8 oz package of beef, covering bottom evenly. Lay filets on top. Mix together soup and sour cream and pour mixture over chicken. Bake for 2 hours at 275 degrees, covered with foil. Uncover chicken and bake one more hour. Serve with rice pilaf.

Dad's Day

“It’s true that men are much maligned, and at times rightfully so, as thoughtless, feckless creatures. But perhaps the reason that we have considered them thoughtless is that we’ve been putting the emphasis on the wrong things. Men just don’t notice if you make a ditty bag out of old napkins in which you can store unused jar rings. Honestly. What he does care about is what goes into his stomach…”—The How To Keep Him (After you’ve Caught Him) Cookbook by Jinx Kragen and Judy Perry (1968)

Much has changed since 1968 but, thankfully the “way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” concept hasn’t. So for Dad’s Day, it’s the food the men like best.

I started with my Dad, asking him to help me out; after some consideration and questioning of his cronies he concluded that most men like things to stay the same in the food department, just like they prefer their wives to keep the hairdos they had when they met. My dad was born in 1918—what, I asked, did his mother make that he loved? Oddly the things he mentioned were things we had at home when I was young. Score one for my mother who obviously figured out the stomach thing early. Did they have cookouts or eat outside? Large family gatherings and small campfire picnics were the style of the day and the foods on the menu: fried chicken, potato salad, homemade biscuits, real lemonade and home-made ice cream.

For the large family gatherings, boards were laid across saw horses and oilcloth tablecloths spread over them for tables. Church variety folding chairs were brought by everyone and the banquet put atop—a true groaning board. Other frequent delectables included deviled eggs, sliced cucumbers in vinegar and sugar, green onions and radishes from the garden, plain Jell-O and lots of pies and cakes. Small campfire picnics were usually wieners roasted over an open fire on whittled willow sticks.

Here are a few of the recipes that have pleased the men in my family (including my dad).

Zig’s Special Egg Sandwiches

2 eggs per sandwich
1 Tbsp. water for each egg
½ cup chopped pepperoni sausage
½ cup diced processed American cheese
1/8 tsp. salt per 2 eggs
Freshly ground pepper
Onion rolls, split and buttered

Beat the eggs until well blended; stir in the water, pepperoni, cheese and salt and pepper. Toast the buttered and split onion buns on a hot griddle, watching carefully so they don’t burn. Keep the buns warm in a 225 degree oven until ready to use. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter for each 2 eggs in skillet on medium heat until foam subsides. Pour egg mixture into skillet and scramble. Fill toasted warm buns with egg mixture and serve. Pass catsup if you wish.

Old Glory Sandwiches

12 onion rolls, split and buttered
3 cups sharp Cheddar cheese spread
3 cups chopped red onion
5 cube steaks, tenderized
5 Tbsp Lawry’s seasoned pepper

Heat the rolls 5-7 minutes. Smear about ¼ cup of cheese spread on the top half of the buns and sprinkle with ¼ cup of chopped red onion. Sprinkle the cube steaks with seasoned pepper and rub in with the heel of you palm. Throw them on the grill for about 2 minutes on each side or until done as you like them. Place on the bottom half of each bun. Replace the top of the bun to make 12 juicy sandwiches.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (Old fashioned crank-type freezer)

½ cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 cups whipping cream

In a saucepan mix sugar, salt, milk and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until bubbles appear around edge of mixture. Cool. Stir in vanilla and whipping cream. Place mixture in freezer can; put dasher in place. Cover can and adjust crank. Place can in freezer tub. Fill freezer tub 1/3 full of ice; add remaining ice alternately with layers of rock salt (6 parts ice to 1 part rock salt). Turn crank until it turns with difficulty. Draw off water. Remove lid; take out dasher. Pack mixture down. Repack in ice and rock salt. Let ripen several hours. Makes 1 quart.

Blueberry Pie

Pastry for double-crust 10” pie
6 cups blueberries (wild, if possible)
1/3 cup minute tapioca
1 ½ cups sugar (more if berries are very tart)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. butter

Mix blueberries, tapioca, sugar and lemon juice in bowl. Let stand for 15 minutes. Line 10-inch pie pan with pie crust. Fill with blueberry mixture. Dot with 1 Tbsp. butter. Cover with top crust; seal and flute edge. Cut several slits in crust. Cover edges of crust with foil to prevent over browning. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 50 minutes, removing foil for last 15 minutes.

In last week’s column the recipe for the Kona Chicken salad dressing was left out. Here it is:

Kona Chicken Salad Dressing

2 cups sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise 2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp Triple Sec or Cointreau or milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix well, blending until smooth

Father's Day

William Jackson Smart was a Civil War veteran and widower who singlehandedly raised his six children. His daughter, Sonora Louise, heard a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909 and decided that fathers deserved their own day as well. She was successful in getting folks to observe such a day on the third Sunday in June. It’s also usually the best weather of the year making it a natural for a cook-out celebration.

If the dads in your life would like to tend the barbeque—by all means let them—but get all the side dishes prepared so he can be the master of the fire and still enjoy the festivities and relaxation. I don’t think you can go wrong with some rib-eye steaks.

Rib-eye for 6

6 rib-eye steaks, cut 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick (about 12 ounces each)
Coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Heat grill to high. Sprinkle the steaks with pepper on both sides, pressing it into the meat. Grill the steaks over high heat, about 3 to 4 minutes per side for rare, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare and 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium. Let the steaks rest for 3 minutes before serving.

If you have sea-food lovers in your crowd, here are two dishes sure to please—both from Paula Deen.

Low-Country Boil

¼ pound fully cooked smoked sausage per person, cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ cup Old Bay seasoning, or more to taste
2 small new potatoes per person
1 ear fresh corn per person, shucked, silked and broken in half
½ pound large fresh shrimp per person (16 to 20 count size)-shell on
Tartar Sauce (below)
Cocktail Sauce (below)
Potato Sauce (below)

Fill a large pot with enough water to cover all of the ingredients. Add the sausage and Old Bay seasoning and allow to boil for about 20 minutes so that the sausage can flavor the water. Taste and add more Old Bay if you think you need more. Add the potatoes and boil for about 15 minutes. Add the corn and boil about 10 minutes more. Finally, add the shrimp and allow to cook for 3 minutes. Taste a shrimp and if it is cooked through, drain immediately and serve on an oversize platter or table covered with newspaper. Serve with the three sauces.

Tartar Sauce

½ cup chopped green onion
½ cup chopped dill pickle
1 ½ cups mayonnaise
½ tsp. Paula’s House Seasoning (recipe below)
1 tsp dried dill weed
In a glass dish, stir together all of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Cocktail Sauce

2 cups ketchup
1 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

In a glass dish, stir together all of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving time

Potato Sauce

¾ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
Salt and pepper

In a glass dish, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream and onion. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until serving time. Serve with buttered new potatoes.


Paula Deen’s House Seasoning

1 cup table salt
¼ cup pepper
¼ cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an air-tight container for up to 6 months.

There are many versions of a flag cake, including one I wrote in this column last year—but here’s one that’s a bit different from Paula that should be just right for Flag Day and Dad!

Flag Cake

1 6-oz. pkg. cherry-flavored gelatin
1 1-pound loaf pound cake, any brand (or homemade)
2 8-oz pkgs cream cheese, softened
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
2 cups whipping cream, whipped
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 pint fresh blueberries

Boil 1 ½ cups water. In a glass dish, stir the water into the gelatin, stirring about 2 minutes, until all of the gelatin is thoroughly dissolved. Add 2 cups cold water and stir. Refrigerate this mixture for about 15 minutes until it has begun to thicken but is still loose enough to spread. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. Cut the pound cake into thin slices and lay them evenly over the bottom of the pan. Spread the partially gelled gelatin evenly over the cake. Refrigerate for several hours, until the gelatin has set and formed a firm layer over the cake. Beat together the cream cheese and sugar until very fluffy. Fold in the whipped cream. Spread this evenly over the gelatin layer. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Not more than 30 minutes before serving, slice the strawberries in half. Decorate the top of the cake in a flag pattern, using the strawberries for the “bars” and the blueberries for the “stars.”

Cookies

If you’re looking for a nice treat that is healthy and doesn’t have a million calories, bake a batch of cookies. I’ve been trying not to eat a lot of desserts and sweets which is really a challenge around the Candlelight Inn B&B where I am baking and fixing desserts for guests a lot, but I just get hungry for something a little sweet. If I have a cookie nearby, it fills the bill and I can leave the rich and creamy stuff alone (well, mostly).

Everybody loves cookies. Kids will eat almost any kind as long as it doesn’t have the ingredients they don’t like, typically nuts. Some kids don’t like raisins, either, but there aren’t very many that don’t eat chocolate chips or peanut butter. And that’s the beauty of most cookie recipes; you can put in or take out most of the add-ins without ruining a good thing.

For years I had only one recipe that I wouldn’t share with anyone. It is an original peanut butter cookie that we serve here at the inn and I have gotten so many requests for it over the years that I felt sort of guilty—especially since it’s a cinch to make. But people told me that it was so good that I should enter it in Pillsbury’s Bake Off; so I decided to do just that. Meantime, I couldn’t give out the recipe because then it wouldn’t qualify as an original recipe.

Last year I did it. I sent in my recipe, albeit I had to add an ingredient I don’t usually use (Golden Grahams Cereal) to qualify for that year’s contest. Well, the recipe didn’t win anything; it didn’t even get past the first cut—so now I am giving it out to anyone who wants it. My new Candlelight Inn cookbook is at the printer’s and will be available soon and it’s in there, but here it is today as well:

Lynette’s Doubly Delicious Peanut Butter Cookies

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
1 cup smooth peanut butter (Peter Pan is our choice)
½ cup light corn syrup
½ cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chocolate chips
¼ cup creamy peanut butter

Combine flour, sugar, soda and salt in mixing bowl of stand mixer. Cut in butter and peanut butter until particles are fine, using low speed. Blend in corn syrup. Shape into 2-2” diameter rolls. Wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap. Chill or freeze until solid. Slice 1/8” thick with sharp thin knife. Place half the slices on ungreased cookie sheet. Place ½ tsp. peanut butter and 7 chocolate chips on each. Top with remaining slices. Seal edges with fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Here are two more cookie recipes we love and serve at the inn—they are chock full of healthy ingredients that aren’t too counterbalanced by the large amounts of butter and sugar. It is a good way to get your whole grains and fruit.

Cherry Chocolate Cookies

1 cup dried cherries (sweet or tart)
1 cup boiling water
1 stick soft butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup (packed) brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla
¾ cup white flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup milk chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans.

Place dried cherries in a small bowl. Cover with boiling water. Let stand 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. In mixer, combine butter and sugars. Mix for 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; beat. Beat in flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in cherries, chocolate chips and pecans. Drop onto sheets by scoops about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Leave 3 inches between cookies. Bake 13-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chocolate Chip Cookies are a favorite with everybody, and the addition of oatmeal only makes them better, I think—as well as adding nutrition to a treat.

1 ¾ cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup soft butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. water
2 eggs
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 12-oz pkg. chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Put dry ingredients, except sugar, in medium bowl. Blend with whisk. Blend butter, sugar, vanilla and water in large bowl of stand-mixer. Beat in eggs. Add flour mixture and blend well. Add oats, chocolate chips and nuts. Drop onto ungreased cookies sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool on racks.

The Love of Cooking

“Don’t you just love to cook, Grandma?” My 8-year old granddaughter looked up from the other side of our work table where she was standing on a stool, apron tied around her waist, chopping vegetables with sparkling eyes and a big smile. “Yes, I do”, I answered. She’s here again this summer—now fifteen—and she still loves to cook.

But cooking is only part of this great passion—it begins with picking strawberries at Vasa Garden farm (in spite of a fresh wasp sting) and choosing the antique jelly jars—or going to the farmer’s market and hoisting the cantaloupes or thumping the watermelons. The appearance, the source, the aroma, the process of cooking--as well as the taste--are what make cooking such a joy.

Not to be preachy, but what is happening to this love of cooking? Or cooking at all, for that matter. The food channel is extremely popular, so people are watching other people cook; yet the number of young people who have never cooked or whose mothers never cooked is staggering (at least among the ones I talk to). The men and boys seem to be doing better, but it still seems that special occasion cooking is their specialty, not the day in, day out, grind of meals. Restaurants are doing a thriving business as are businesses like Let’s Dish where you can put together entire meals of already prepared food for your freezer.

I don’t think anyone would advocate going back to slaving over a wood-burning stove and growing all your own food—but there must be a way to preserve the culture of traditions and food without forsaking our high-tech life. Jean Zimmerman states it well in her book, “Made From Scratch”, when she says, “We must discover how to progress without abandoning the richness of our domestic past.”

I think the answer lies in the parent-child bonding around the cooking for the family table. Yes, it takes more time, but what a rewarding undertaking. First, you are teaching your child or grandchild how to do something useful, something that links you to the past, the future and to each other; second, you have a delicious (we hope) meal when you are done that you can share with the rest of the family. “Nothin’ says lovin’ like something from the oven” is true even if it is an ad for a processed, convenience food.

Florence Kerr Hirschfeld sums up my feelings about cooking in her “Cooking with Love”

When I learned to cook, my second-best love affair began—second only to that with my loving and long-suffering spouse…Cooking involves every facet of culture and history, the development of our six senses, plus the seventh of fine discernment. Like cup and saucer, foods mate with encounter, be it tête-à-tête or gala spectacular. With cooking as an interest, the pot of gold at rainbow’s end fills with all the satisfying ingredients of accomplishment. It has brought me study, travel, history, companionship, therapy and pure enjoyment… Turn about is fair play, so in gratitude, I offer a toast: To cooking—with love.”

Here’s a family-friendly recipe from her cookbook—“Cooking with Love” to try.

Streeterville Franks and ‘Taters

4 cups sliced cooked potatoes (about 6 medium)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 pound frankfurters, sliced diagonally in 1-inch pieces
1 package (1 5/8-ounce) dry onion soup mix
1 Tbsp. flour
1 cup water
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp. white pepper
¼ cup dairy sour cream
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
½ tsp celery seed

Pare potatoes and cook whole; slice while m and set aside. Heat butter in saucepan; add frankfurters and sauté until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; blend in soup mix and flour. Add water gradually; stir in vinegar, brown sugar and pepper. Return to heat; bring to a boil, stir until thickened. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook 10 minutes. Blend in sour cream, parsley and celery seed, then fold in potatoes lightly. Heat to serve. Serves 4 to 6.


Let the kids make the dessert ahead—they’ll love it, it looks pretty and gives the whole family something to look forward to.

Icy Lime Pie
1 quart lime sherbet, softened
1 9-inch Graham Cracker crust
1 pint strawberries, sliced thick

Pour sherbet into bowl of mixer and beat until fluffy and aerated. It should stand in peaks. Turn into prepared crust and place in freezer several hours to refreeze. To serve, border with overlapping sliced berries. The cool combination of colors is garnish enough. Serves 6 to 8.

Microwave Cooking

Remember the 80’s when microwaves were all the rage? Everyone was taking classes at community education in using a microwave. It was really the first new thing to come along in the cooking world for a long time. Everyone was trying to roast a turkey or bake a pie in the microwave—and a hot dog went from package to plate in just over a minute. It gave us lots of snacking possibilities with the ultimate abbreviated cooking.

I have an entire shelf in my cookbook room of titles like “Favorite Recipes from the Microwave Times” (a now-defunct newsletter), “The Joy of Microwaving”, “Microwave Fruits and Vegetables”, “Microwave Baking & Desserts”, “Microwave Miracles” and that’s just a beginning.

What happened? Microwave ovens are still extremely popular, but the serious cook has learned that some foods just don’t do well in the microwave for tenderness, color and texture. Thus, for some households, the microwave oven has been relegated to popping corn and re-heating leftovers. That’s too bad because this appliance is really useful for hundreds of things if you just know what they are.

Microwaves have improved, too, since the early models. They have more or less power, depending on the size. They usually have revolving trays to insure even cooking; they have lots of automatic and useful settings, a far cry from the first microwave I owned in 1977 that had a timer dial and two speeds. (That oven did yeoman service, however, for at least 15 years).

I decided to scour my books, manuals and articles and then do some experimenting. I have always used my microwave for preparing certain ingredients—heating lemons before juicing, warming eggs for use in recipes, melting chocolate—to name a few. But I rarely use it for main dishes, desserts or other full courses.

Here is a list of useful things that the microwave oven can do:
Soften cream cheese from the refrigerator for easy spreading or using in recipes. Remove foil wrapper and heat uncovered in bowl on 50% (medium) for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes for 8 ounces.

Plump raisins quickly. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tsp. water over raisins. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high 30-60 seconds.

Soften brown sugar. Close plastic bag with string or plastic strip or place brown sugar in a microwave-safe dish and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 20-30 seconds. If you put an apple slice in the bag or dish, lumps will soften in 10 or 15 seconds.

Warm syrup for pancakes in the serving pitcher or uncapped bottle.

Get bonus juice from lemons, limes and oranges. Take from refrigerator; microwave on high for 25-30 seconds before cutting and squeezing.

Shell nuts. Retrieve whole nuts, not broken pieces by microwaving 8 ounces of nuts in 1 cup water 4 to 5 minutes on high.

Blanch almonds quickly. Microwave 1 cup water until boiling. Add almonds. Microwave 30 seconds on high. Drain and skin.

Soften butter. Heat a stick in its own wrapper (unless it’s wrapped in foil) for 10 seconds. Check for softness after 7 or 8 seconds. Place wrapped butter on a plate first in case you go a little too far.

Make corn starch puddings and pudding mixes in one bowl. Just stir every 2 minutes until pudding thickens. No scorching or lumping—and just one bowl.

Some may disagree with me on the quality of microwave defrosting. Most meats and casseroles defrost very successfully IF you are very careful about the timing. Fish is an exception—it is really hard to defrost fish completely without cooking some parts which renders a very dry fish—ugh! But for the most part, gone are the days when you come home from work having forgotten to take out meat for dinner and exasperatingly try to figure out what to have. Ground beef always defrosts well in the microwave, as do chops and chicken.

One of the most successful meals I have made in the microwave is meatloaf and baked potatoes. During the heat of the summer, we rarely have oven meals—and occasionally I get tired of the typical summer foods of salads and grilled food—so here’s a way to have a good, old-fashioned comfort food meal without heating up your kitchen:

Meatloaf

¾ cup ketchup
¼ cup brown sugar (packed)
¾ tsp. dry mustard
¼ tsp. allspice
1 ½ lbs. ground chuck
3 slices day-old bread, saturated in milk and then squeezed dry
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup lemon juice
¼ cup chopped onion
2 tsp. seasoned salt
6 very thin lemon slices

Mix first 4 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In large bowl, using hands, mix egg, bread, lemon juice, onion and salt. Don’t over mix or meatloaf will be tough. Mold into a rounded flat loaf in 9-inch pie plate. Spread half of sauce over meat and arrange lemon slices on top. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; prick wrap with a fork four places to vent. Microwave on high approximately 15 -20 minutes. Remove meatloaf from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Spread remaining sauce over loaf before serving.

A Summer Lunch

It was one of those beautiful soft summer days we’ve been enjoying this year and I was up in the “Cities” visiting a dear, old friend. Mary Anne and I go back to pre-kindergarten when we discovered each other in our St. Louis Park neighborhood. In spite of many moves, marriages and various and sundry life changes, our friendship has never skipped a beat.

I was sitting at her kitchen table watching her put the final touches on our lunch which would be eaten on her porch. When she composed a salad that included grape tomatoes and cantaloupe, my curiosity was piqued—certainly an unusual combination. I could hardly wait to taste this colorful and interesting dish.

We sat on the screen porch with the summer-dressed trees, flowers and temperatures in the mid seventies and ate the wonderful salad, a magnificent frittata (recipe from Lucia’s Restaurant in Minneapolis) a lovely crisp white wine and enjoyed catching up on our lives. A perfect alliance of weather, good food and magnificent company.

Since many people eat melon with salt, the sweet and savory pairing in the salad really is a natural after all. It would be equally good served on a bed of prosciutto or other thinly sliced smoked ham.

Summer Melon Salad with Feta and Mint

4 cups cubed cantaloupe (about ½” cubes)
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese (about ½ cup)
1 bunch watercress, stems removed, washed and drained (about 2 cups)
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Using individual plates, or one large platter, arrange the melon and tomatoes. Sprinkle cheese over all and arrange watercress sprigs on top of that. (Or, alternatively, lay watercress on bottom and build upon it.) Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar; sprinkle with mint. Season with salt and pepper.

The frittata is more like a crustless quiche or tart, but whatever you call it, it was one of the creamiest, tastiest dishes I have tried. It is definitely going on my menu here at the inn.

Basil Frittata with Parmesan and Goat Cheese

Serves 6

2 Tbsp. butter
5 eggs
3 cups heavy cream
Splash hot-pepper sauce
½ cup grated Parmesan
½ cup goat cheese, crumbled
4 or 5 oil-cured dry tomatoes (can use ½ cup peeled, seeded and diced fresh tomato)
2 heaping Tbsp. rough-chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter an 8-inch skillet. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, cream and hot-pepper sauce. In a medium bowl, combine Parmesan, goat cheese, basil, tomato and salt and pepper (do not season egg-cream mixture). Pour half of eggs into prepared pan, sprinkle cheese mixture over eggs then cover with remaining eggs. Bake until set, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let sit for 15 minutes to set filling. Slice and serve.

You didn’t think I forgot dessert, did you? When women get together for such a sumptuous meal, I think that chocolate is in order. Something very rich, but very small.

Here’s a recipe that fits the bill perfectly.

French Chocolate Cake

16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 tsp. water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
2/3 cup butter, softened
4 eggs, separated

Melt chocolate with water in microwave proof pan, 30 seconds at a time until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Add sugar, flour and butter; mix well. Beat egg yolks vigorously. Blend into chocolate mixture gradually. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold gently into chocolate mixture. Spoon into 9-inch round cake pan lined with waxed paper. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Cake will be soft but will stiffen when cool to consistency of cheesecake. Cool completely in pan. 6-8 generous servings.
(I like to serve sweetened raspberries and a little whipped cream on the side.)
If that is too much trouble, a small dish of Hagen-Daz ice cream and some wafer-thin cookies can do the trick.

Peanut Butter Cake With Chocolate-Peanut Butter Icing

Our daughter's wedding day was supposed to be Saturday, June 19, 2010. Three weeks ago she cancelled it. This is a difficult and momentous decision, especially since everything for the St. James Hotel reception was paid for already and the cancellation date long past. But—as the saying goes—better late than never.

Kindly close the curtain for a time as she copes with the inevitable mixed emotions and practical considerations. Finally she decided that since it was so late in the game and many people were coming from afar—some with tickets and reservations in place—she would throw a wonderful family/friends/reunion party. What a fabulous way to make lemonade from the lemons.

Do I have my hands full? Our part of the bed and breakfast we run (the back third of the house, upstairs and down) is being completely refurbished and the workers are running behind schedule (imagine!) We will have all our children and grandchildren in town for five days, as well as many other relatives and friends. There are several events planned for the week including a Twins game, a wine-tasting, a no-groom’s dinner, the dinner-dance on Saturday night and a two-seating brunch on Sunday. There will be 5 children under 6 and a lot of meals to figure out.

Since I am known for loving to cook, there’s no easy way out of this—I’m going to have to do some serious cooking. Things that can be made ahead are already snug in my freezer—dozens of cookies (aren’t Grandmas known for the perpetual cookie jar?), a few casseroles, hamburger patties, hot dogs, buns, and frozen lemonade concentrate. I am thinking picnics in our wonderful Red Wing parks where the children can run and play on the playground equipment.

Another thing moms and grandmas are known for are the family’s favorites. Since my children all live a long way away, they are not home often—so I always try to make each one’s favorite when they arrive. I have come up with a lot of favorites, but I still will make the wonderful Peanut Butter/Chocolate cake made famous by Marie Michel owner of the former Oar d’oeuvre restaurant (now the Brickhouse). I want to put some “brunch-y” dishes in the freezer, too—as times for these meals must be flexible and I like to make things that work for breakfast, lunch or supper.

Here is the cake recipe which I found in an old Bon Appetit magazine (1991) but I think is the same as Marie’s. Also a delicious quiche which will fit in any of the above times or even as a snack.

Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Icing

1 18.25-ounce package yellow cake mix (I use Duncan Hines classic yellow cake)
2 ½ cups creamy peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned or freshly ground)
¾ cup chocolate syrup
8 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 cup powdered sugar
¼ cup milk
Chopped peanuts

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Grease and flour (or spray with vegetable spray) 2 nine-inch cake pans. Prepare cake according to package directions, beating in ½ cup peanut butter. Divide between prepared pans. Bake until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely.

Combine chocolate syrup and semisweet chocolate in heavy small saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Transfer chocolate mixture to large bowl. Stir in remaining 2 cups peanut butter, then powdered sugar, then milk. Continue stirring until smooth. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread top with 1 ½ cups icing. Top with second cake layer. Spread top and sides of cake evenly with remaining icing. Garnish with chopped peanuts.

Speedy Spinach Quiche

1 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, chopped
½ of a 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained well
1 9-inch refrigerated ready piecrust (1/2 box)
1 tsp. flour
½ cup (2 ounces) grated Monterey Jack cheese
½ cup (2 ounces) grated Pecorino-Romano cheese (can use Parmesan)
4 eggs
½ cup lowfat cottage cheese
¾ cup half and half
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. dried dillweed

Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add spinach and stir until spinach is dry, about 3 minutes. Cool slightly. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dust 1 side of crust with flour. Transfer to 9-inch pie pan, floured side down. Press into pan, sealing any cracks. Flute edges. Sprinkle both hard cheeses over bottom of crust. Top with spinach mixture. Beat eggs, cottage cheese, half and half, salt, pepper, nutmeg and dillweed in large bowl to blend. Pour over spinach. Bake until filling is set, about 50 minutes. Cool slightly. Cut into wedges and serve.