Morocco

Morocco’s claim to fame is the great classic movie Casablanca so we’re going to toast “Here’s looking at you, kid” at our grub club gathering. After finding out that the theme for our upcoming grub club is Moroccan food—I started to search. We rotate courses in our group and it seems that I often find myself bringing dessert for a cuisine that is not famous for its desserts. The people of Morocco love sweets but reserve them for special occasions. Well, I guess our grub club event is special enough.

The foods of Morocco have been influenced by the Spanish, the Mediterranean countries, the Moors and, most of all, the Arabs. Dates, figs, oranges, and almonds are plentiful. I found some recipes in the Foods of The World series (Time-Life) that looked delicious and not too challenging to make for the dessert course. Everything was wonderful!

Orange Sections with Orange-Blossom Water

(To serve 4)

4 medium-sized navel oranges, peeled, with all of the outside membranes removed and divided into sections (below)
1 tsp. orange-blossom water (may substitute an orange-flavored liqueur such as Triple Sec)
1 Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

Arrange the orange sections attractively in rows or concentric circles on a serving plate, overlapping them slightly. Sprinkle them with the orange-blossom water or liqueur, cover the plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled. Just before serving, sprinkle the oranges with the confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon.

Sectioning Oranges

Use a small, very sharp knife and cut deeply into the peel near the stem. Cut the peel and all of the white membrane away from the orange, using short sawing motions. Now cut along each side of each membrane division to the core of the orange. As each orange section is freed, carefully lift it out.

M’hannsha (Pastry coils filled with Almond paste—the “Snake”)

To make 12 small pastries

6 sheets filo pastry, each about 16 inches long and 12 inches wide, thoroughly defrosted if frozen
8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, melted, plus 4 to 8 tablespoons butter
1 recipe for almond-paste filling (see below)
2 to 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
¼ cup sugar mixed with ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, cut each filo sheet in half crosswise to make a dozen 8-by-12-inch rectangles. For each m’hannsha, brush the entire top of one filo rectangle lightly with melted butter, then fold the filo in half to make a two-layered rectangle 8 inches long and 6 inches wide. Brush again with melted butter. Spoon the almond paste into a pastry bag fitted with a ¼-inch plain tip and pipe the paste along the 8-inch side of the rectangle about ½ inch from the edge and to within about 1 inch of each end. Turn the edge of the filo over the almond paste and roll the rectangle into a tight cylinder, tucking in the ends as you proceed. Brush the cylinder with a little butter and shape it into a coil. When all of the m’hannsha have been filled and shaped, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy 10-to12-inch skillet. When the foam begins to subside, add 2 of the m’hannsha and brown them in the hot fat, turning them over gently with a wide metal spatula and regulating the heat so that they color richly and evenly without burning. Transfer the browned pastries to a plate and sprinkle them with a little of the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Brown the remaining ones in the same fashion, adding butter and oil to the skillet as needed. Serve the pastries warm or at room temperature.

Almond-Paste Filling

½ cup blanched slivered almonds
8-oz roll of almond paste, softened
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
3 Tbsp orange-blossom water or orange liqueur
½ cup confectioners’ sugar

Heat oven to 350. Spread the almonds out in a shallow baking pan and, turning them occasionally, toast them in the middle of the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Pulverize the almonds in a food processor; add almond paste, 4 tablespoons of butter, sugar, egg and 1 Tbsp of the orange-blossom water and continue to process until mixture is smooth.

Kab el Ghzal (Pastry Crescents filled with Almond Paste (“Gazelle Horns”)

½ pound butter, chilled and cut into bits
1 ½ cups flour
¼ tsp. salt
3 to 4 Tbsp ice water

In a large chilled bowl, combine the butter bits, flour and salt. With your fingertips, run the flour and butter together until like flakes of coarse meal. Pour ice water over the mixture all at once, toss together lightly and gather the dough into a ball. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat oven to 400. Roll out dough to less than 1/8 inch on lightly floured surface. Cut dough into 3” squares. Place 1 tsp. of almond-paste filling across one corner of a dough square about ½ inch from point and lift the point over the paste. Then, starting with folded edge, roll the dough up tightly, tucking in the ends as you proceed. Pinch the ends firmly together and gently shape the pastry roll into a crescent. Arrange about 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. While warm, sprinkle with orange-blossom water and roll in confectioners’ sugar. Let pastries cool to room temperature before serving.

Grapes

There are thousands of varieties of grapes and they are one of the oldest and most important fruits in history. There are varieties grown for wine making, juice, raisins and for the table. The European, or wine, grape (Vitis vinefera) is found in all temperate zones. The Egyptians grew them 6,000 years ago and thus began the ages of man and his favorite beverage, wine.

Other uses for grapes are important, too, and the types of grapes used for juices, raisins, and table are found in abundance at this time of year in any market. Around here, you can go pick your own at orchards and vineyards like Domaine Da Vine in Wisconsin. I have made juice, jelly, syrup, salads, fruit cups, warm compotes and eaten them out of hand—but I never made a pie from grapes. Nor had I ever tasted one until I decided to make a recipe for grape pie as a possible pie-of-the-month for this column. And so began a search for a recipe for a delicious grape pie.

Well, I didn’t have to go far to find one—and one that is so easy! I served it to guests at the Candlelight Inn Bed and Breakfast and they wanted the recipe—which is the best way to tell if people really like something. But while this pie is easy, gorgeous, delicious and inexpensive to make—my curiosity always gets the best of me. Now, I must try some other grape varieties and other recipes that I found. Since the apples are coming fast, I thought the Green Grape-Apple Pie would be good and I was right!

Streusel Red Grape Pie

Unbaked 9” pie shell
4 ½ cups seedless red grapes
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. salt
Streusel ( recipe follows)

Streusel: Combine ½ cup regular rolled oats, ½ cup brown sugar and ¼ cup flour. Cut in ¼ cup butter to distribute evenly.

Place grapes and ½ cup water into saucepan. Heat, crushing a few grapes lightly as they soften; leave most whole. When grapes begin to give up some juice, add sugar, tapioca, lemon juice and salt. Place mixture in pastry-lined pie pan. Sprinkle on Streusel. Bake in hot oven (425 F.) 35 to 40 minutes.

Green Grape-Apple Pie

Pastry for 2-crust pie
2 cups seedless green grapes
3 cups sliced peeled apples
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
¼ tsp. ground cardamom
¼ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter

Combine grapes, apples, sugar, tapioca, spices and salt. Turn into pastry-lined 9” pie pan. Dot with butter. Adjust top crust; flute edges and cut vents. Bake in hot oven (425 F.) 50 to 60 minutes.


You may have been reading about red wine as a health and even youth-enhancing food. It is the reservetrol in the red grape skins that makes red wine such a healthy choice. The red grapes in our first pie will do the same thing—so now we can add a lovely dessert to our list of healthy foods: red wine, dark chocolate and a pie!

Since the crust is so essential to the goodness of the pie, and since I am very opinionated about how to make good pie crust, I am including the best pie crust recipe that I’ve ever found:

Pastry for 2-crust pie

2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup + 2 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
5-7 Tbsp. ice water

Measure flour into wide-based bowl. Add salt. Measure vegetable shortening with the water displacement method: Measure 1 1/3 cups water into 2-cup measuring cup. Fill cup with shortening until water level reaches 2 cup mark. (Be sure that all shortening is beneath the water). Discard water and put shortening (2/3 cup) into bowl with flour and salt. Add 2 Tbsp. shortening. Cut into flour, using pastry blender or two knives until coarse crumbs form. Add water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, tossing lightly with a fork until dough just begins to hold together. Using your hand, gather dough into a ball. Refrigerate, wrapped until ready to roll out. Flour board liberally. Cut dough ball in half; shape half into flat disc. Roll out on floured board with rolling pin (preferably cloth-covered), using light strokes starting at center of circle and rolling to a 1/8” thickness. Draw a long-bladed, offset spatula under crust, carefully, until entire circle is free from board. Roll loosely around rolling pin. Center pin with crust on it over the pie pan and unroll the crust.

Tomatoes

This is the earliest I have ever had a large crop of ripe tomatoes. I think the weather, an early, warm Spring followed by hot and humid conditions must be responsible; but whatever caused it, we are gloriously inundated with big, plump, ripe tomatoes and I’ll bet a lot of you are too.

The tomatoes that we are enjoying now are not even remotely related to the vegetable by the same name that we buy at the supermarket in the winter. Although, I have to admit, there are a few varieties beginning to appear on the market that are closer to the real thing. No supermarket tomato that I have ever tried has been as good as the ones you grow in your own backyard—and especially in the Midwest. I have lived in California and coastal Washington State where a lot of tomatoes are grown, but they aren’t really good—they need hot nights.

Tomatoes come in 5 basic varieties: beefsteak, Holland, plum, cherry and grape. There are many variations on these basic five, but the main five denote mostly size and shape. Beefsteaks are large, meaty tomatoes that are especially great sliced. Hollands are the medium sized tomatoes that are all-purpose; many garden varieties are available. The plum tomatoes, sometimes referred to as Italian tomatoes, are less watery than other tomatoes and have fewer seeds; they’re used for sauces, stews and drying. They are one of the varieties that are available all year and taste relatively decent. Cherry tomatoes are usually about an inch in diameter, rather tart and are good in salads. And the newest member of the family, the grape tomato, is very sweet and makes a great snack for kids.

Personally, I don’t waste any garden space on the last three varieties, as they are all okay from the store, but the slicers are another story.

Of course, at this point, we are truly enjoying sliced tomatoes (we eat ours with sugar on them), and salads and BLTs and the usual fare with these great Minnesota tomatoes. But, before long, something else is going to have to be done with the bounty. Making lots of sauce, homemade salsa and catsup is easy, but if you’re really a domestic diva canning is the best way to preserve the harvest. Freezing tomatoes is not satisfactory because the tomatoes get too watery and any dish you make with them will take hours of cooking to get rid of the water.

Catsup? Yep—it’s totally delicious, but it takes a heap of tomatoes and long slow cooking, and if you’re saying to yourself who would bother making their own catsup when you can buy it so cheaply in the store, you’ve never tasted my mom’s homemade catsup.

Mom’s Ripe Tomato Catsup

1 bushel ripe tomatoes
5 cups sugar
3 cups cider vinegar
10 medium sized onions
4 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. ground allspice
2 tsp cloves
2 tsp. mustard
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp whole black peppercorns, tied in cheesecloth

Wash and cut into pieces the tomatoes and onions.
Cook tomatoes and onions together until soft; press thru a sieve. Let stand overnight; pour off the clear liquid that comes to the top. This juice may be canned to drink. Place the remaining tomato pulp in large kettle and add sugar, vinegar and spices. Boil slowly 4 hours or until thick, stirring occasionally. Remove peppercorns and seal catsup in hot, sterilized bottles. (Makes 15 pints).

Be prepared to hoard this catsup since once your family has tasted it, they will not want store-bought again.

A really good and different and easy salad for a hot August night is this warm tomato pasta salad

Warm Tomato Pasta Salad

1 Pound pasta shells
5 cups diced tomatoes (2 pounds)
2 cups diced fresh mozzarella,
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
One-fourth cup olive oil
One-fourth cup chopped parsley
1 minced garlic clove.

Cook shells per package directions; drain. In a large bowl, toss pasta with tomatoes, cheese, onion, olive oil, parsley and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

The next recipe is only for those of you who are really tired of sliced tomatoes, tomatoes in salads, tomato sauce, etc. and are looking for something really different to do with your tomatoes. Actually you can use either red or green tomatoes for this recipe. They will taste different, but are equally good.

Fried Tomatoes with Ginger-Parsley Crust

(Adapted from Country Living, September, 2003)

Two-thirds cup flour
One and one-half tsps. sugar
1 tsp. salt
Three-fourths tsp. cayenne pepper
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. milk
3 cups bread crumbs (panko if available)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2 tsp. grated fresh garlic
1 and one-half pounds large, firm tomatoes (about 3), cut into 1-inch wedges
4 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp vegetable oil

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and set aside. Combine flour, sugar, salt and cayenne in a shallow bowl and set aside. Whisk eggs and milk together in a small bowl and set aside. Combine bread crumbs, parsley, ginger and garlic in a shallow bowl and set aside. Dredge a tomato wedge in the flour mixture and shake off excess. Dip in the egg and roll in bread-crumb mixture to coat. Transfer coated wedges to the baking sheet and continue until all wedges are coated. Heat 1 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the mixture begins to foam. Fry tomatoes in small batches until golden—about 3 minutes per side. Continue with the remaining tomatoes adding more butter and oil as needed. Transfer fried tomatoes to a baking sheet and keep warm until all tomatoes are fried. Serve hot. (Optional): serve with a sauce made of one-half cup fresh orange juice with 2 Tbsp. each of brown sugar and soy sauce. Add a pinch of red pepper.

Local Harvest

The local harvest is in full swing; the farmers’ markets are abounding with sweet corn that has corn milk in the cob as sweet as honey, peppers, tomatoes, cukes, potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, green beans, cabbage, melons and more. Let’s face it, nothing tastes as good as fresh, in-season fruits and vegetables locally grown and prepared soon after harvest.

More and more restaurants have joined the home cooks who use ingredients that are grown, raised or produced near where they will be served. But where do you find these ingredients? The farmers’ markets are well-known and very popular, but other locally grown food is available at the source and distributing stores too; it’s just a little harder to ferret out.

Marie Mikel, who owned Oar D’oeuvre Restaurant, led me to a wonderful farm, Vasa Gardens, owned by Clarence Bischoff and Agi Trifontaine, right outside of Vasa on the way to Welch. Clarence was kind enough to give us a short tour of the farm divided into 50 foot garden plots where he and Agi grow grapes, apples, pears, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries, along with the more standard vegetables and a few rarer ones. A large herb garden is Agi’s delight. Some of their stock is really old and some is just beginning, but all is tended with no chemical pesticides and the natural pollination and pest reduction of bees and butterflies. They are not a large operation; and one or two markets, as well as three Red Wing restaurants are what they are currently supplying. Of course you’re welcome to drop in and pick berries during the berry season, or see what is on their kitchen table on any given day till the frost. Preserves, jams and jellies are a new enterprise coming in the near future. I can hardly wait to serve them at the Candlelight Inn Bed abd Breakfast.

Meanwhile, back at the farmer’s market in Red Wing, other local farmers and producers of food are busy selling their wares to a record crowd. Not only is our local market popular, but farmers’ markets all over the country have grown in number at an astonishing rate. According to USDA spokesperson, Joan Shaffer, there are more than 3,700 farmers’ markets operating in the US, which is over twice as many as when the agency began tracking them in 1994.

The festive atmosphere here in Red Wing is drawing crowds, aided by local musicians who perform on Saturdays from 10am to noon. And weekends at this market will offer you other foods beside the great variety of produce. Baked goods, made by the local Jenny Lind Bakery, preserves, jellies, specialty goods and flowers are among the selections.

Alas, I had to tour the market for this column on a weekday, but I picked up a gargantuan Saticoy muskmelon, a small, but seeded Crimson Sweet watermelon (they’re the ones with flavor, the salesperson said), the last of the green beans, baby beets, an eggplant, onions and peppers (mostly green available now). Oh yes, and of course the “Peaches and Cream” variety of sweet corn, so popular around here. My salesperson urged me to take a bite of the raw corn to see for myself that it was sweet and tender. It was. For supper, we had vegetables and fruit—it was wonderful—I added our own home-grown tomatoes and it was truly a feast.

My favorite recipe for using the late summer—early autumn produce is this version of the famous French ratatouille: a less complex but equally delicious version of Julia Child’s in Volume I of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

1 large eggplant
4 ripe tomatoes
2 large sweet onions
3 green peppers
3 medium zucchini
2 cloves minced garlic
One-half cup olive oil
One-fourth cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cut eggplant into 1” cubes. Brown in 4 Tbsp. olive oil until lightly brown. Remove to a platter. Add more oil if necessary and cut the unpeeled zucchini into similar size slices and brown lightly in skillet. Remove to platter with eggplant. In same skillet, with additional olive oil, cook the onions and peppers, sliced, for about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, basil, and salt and pepper to taste.
Peel the tomatoes, cut into wedges and place them in skillet with onions and peppers. Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tomatoes have begun to render their juice. Uncover and add the other vegetables. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. If you wish to have a thick stew, uncover, raise heat slightly and cook for 15 minutes more. If you wish to have a more liquid, soup-like dish, take off heat and cool. To serve the soup: put into individual oven-proof soup bowls while hot (or reheat) and cover with mozzarella cheese. Put under broiler until cheese is melted, slightly brown and bubbly. The stew-like style lends itself well to an accompaniment to beef or chicken. Equally good hot or cold, it also makes a fine accompaniment to cold meats or may be served as a cold hors d’oeuvre. This very versatile dish can be frozen successfully for up to 6 months, thus allowing you to enjoy the summer flavors well into the winter.

Small farms and producers and stores are making or stocking many kinds of foods, including maple syrup, cheese, meats (raised without hormones), specialty dairy products, bakery items, salsas and preserves. Listed below are a few in our vicinity. Other sources via internet are LocalHarvest.org and Minnesotagrown.com.

Simple Abundance
318 Bush St.
Red Wing, MN 55066
651-388-0333

Falconer Vineyards & Nursery
3572 Old Tyler Rd.
Red Wing, MN 55066
651-388-8849

Busy Bee Honey Farm
Hwy 52 South,
Mile marker 93, south of Cannon Falls.
507 263-7952

Flower Valley Orchards
5 miles south of Red Wing on Hwy 61
Turn right on Flower Valley Road (Cty 21),
Follow signs to orchard
651-380-3022

Fredrickson Elk Farm
Welch
651-258-4057

River City Days Porch Party

Every year since we took over the Candlelight Inn Bed and Breakfast in 1999, we have held a porch party while watching the River City Days Parade from our front porch on Third Street. One year the menu included a wonderful brick-pressed sandwich which I had taken from Martha Stewart Living magazine. It was novel and fun to make, relatively easy, make-ahead and tasted great. What more can you ask?

I hunted around to find some good stuff to go with this sandwich and present a great menu for any party you are hosting during our great celebration.

River City Days Porch Party

Homemade tortilla chips with guacamole
Brick-pressed Sandwiches
Cole slaw
Ice cream cake

Tortilla chips may seem mundane since they have been around forever. I am not crazy about most of the packaged flavored varieties which are very high in salt and overly seasoned. Likewise, I don’t care for the baked tortilla chips which give up the tender crispiness that makes the best of the fried ones delicious. But I believe my bias is most influenced by having eaten home-made tortilla chips making all others pale in comparison. They are ridiculously easy. You don’t need a deep-fryer, just a heavy frying pan will do. Slice your favorite tortillas (I prefer flour) into triangular shapes, whatever size you like. Slide them into a deep fryer or a skillet with inch-deep hot oil. Fry until crisp and lightly browned. Drain on a paper towel. Season with salt to taste and chili powder if you like extra seasoning. Served with a salsa or guacamole, they really don’t need it.

Brick-Pressed Sandwich

Begin with a ciabatta loaf or some other rustic Italian bread. Remove and discard the center of bread. Spread olive paste on the bottom half. Lay on roasted red bell peppers, fresh goat cheese and marinated artichokes. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Lay on prosciutto and salami, and drizzle again with balsamic vinegar. Top with fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, and parsley) and top half of bread. Double wrap in parchment or plastic wrap. Secure wrapped sandwich to wood cutting board with twine. Place a brick or a cast-iron skillet on top of sandwich for at least 1 hour to flatten. Taking care not to cut paper, slide a serrated knife between sandwich and cutting board. Slice into 8-12 slices (depending on size of loaf). Can be made 1 day in advance without dressing; add dressing at least 1 hour ahead.

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart also—a great source of interesting and delicious recipes.

Strawberry and Pistachio Ice-Cream Cake

Serves 8
Berry Syrup (recipe follows)
Duncan Hines brand classic yellow cake mix prepared as package directs in 12”x17” pan. (use parchment paper to line pan for easy removal)
1 pint pistachio ice cream, softened 1 hour in refrigerator
1 pint strawberry ice cream, softened 1 hour in refrigerator
One-half cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. sugar
One-half tsp. pure vanilla extract

Line a 9 and one-half-by 5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang on each side. Line plastic with parchment paper, leaving a 3-inch overhang on each long side. Set aside.

Pour syrup into a large, shallow dish. Cut cake into three strips: two 9 and one-half-by 4 and one-fourth-inches, one 9 and three-fourths-by 4 and three-fourths-inches; discard scraps. Soak one smaller strip in syrup 1 minute. Turn; soak 40 seconds more. Using two spatulas, carefully transfer cake to pan; gently press into bottom. Brush with about 3 Tbsp. syrup.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the strawberry ice cream on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. With a small offset spatula, spread in a smooth layer to cover cake layer. Repeat soaking process with other small piece of cake; place on top of strawberry ice cream, gently pressing down to level layer. Brush with syrup. Freeze about 30 minutes.

Remove pan from freezer. Repeat process to make a layer of pistachio ice cream and final layer of cake. Cover; place in freezer to harden completely, at least 3 hours or overnight.

Just before serving, whip heavy cream, sugar and vanilla to soft peaks in a medium bowl. Invert pan onto a serving platter and pull on plastic wrap to release cake from pan. Peel off plastic and parchment. Mound whipped cream on top, and spread with a rubber spatula. Cut into slices and serve immediately

Berry Syrup

2 six-ounce containers fresh raspberries
2 six-ounce containers fresh blueberries
1 cup sugar
One-half cup water
One-half cup Chambord or other berry liqueur, or water

Bring berries, sugar and the water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat; boil 1 minute. Strain through a fine sieve into a small bowl, pressing to extract liquid; discard pulp. Stir in liqueur, if using. Let cool completely.

Honey

Recently I was served some delicious, moist, flavorful bars at a friend’s house. When I asked her what the secret of unusually moist bars was, she answered, “honey”. When I got home, I decided to try her recipe and also to do some research and testing of foods made with honey. It yielded delightful results.

Honey is a healthy sweetener but that is only one of its many attributes. Honey has a magical ability to absorb and retain moisture. All baked goods using honey dry out slowly and may even improve upon standing which makes it a great alternative to sugar for do-ahead baking (and sending food gift packages).

Honey also lends a rich taste to many foods and it is a very safe food as its high concentration of sugar makes it impossible for bacteria to live. The one exception is for infants under 1 year; a special form of botulism to which infants are not immune can be present.

It is true that honey has more calories than sugar--one tablespoon of sugar is 46 and 1 tablespoon of honey is 64; however the weight of honey is greater and its sweetening power greater, so less can be used. It has the added benefit of being unprocessed (except by the bees) and so a very natural, easily assimilated food. And it actually can boast nutritional benefits: vitamins B and C (though negligible) and protein.

The history of honey is, of course, as old as the history of man. Ancient carvings on cave walls near Valencia, Spain circa 7000 B. C., show men gathering honey from a hole with bees flying around him. Other carvings in Egypt and Turkey also depict gathering honey for food. Honey was used also as a religious symbol and as a medication. It was part of man’s ancient rituals of birth, marriage and death and also a prominent sacrifice to the pagan gods.

It seems odd to me, as delicious and available as honey is that American moderns don’t use it more often. I, for one, have decided to do just that and I am including some recipes to try, starting with the bar recipe that piqued my interest.

Here are some tips for buying and using honey: Keep honey in a dry place. Since it absorbs moisture, do not put it in the refrigerator but on a cupboard shelf. Freezing does not alter color or flavor but may hasten granulation; but if honey has granulated or solidified, simply place the container in a bowl of warm, not hot, water until the crystals are melted. To measure, use the same measuring cup in which you have first measured shortening. It makes the honey pour out completely. To replace sugar with honey: In cake or cookie recipes calling for sugar, use the same amount of honey but reduce liquid by ¼ cup for each cup of honey used.

Honey Date Bars

¾ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup sifted flour
1 cup chopped dates
½ cup chopped nuts
2 eggs, well beaten
3 Tbsp melted shortening
¾ cup honey

Sift together baking powder, salt and flour. Mix with chopped dates and nuts. Blend together beaten eggs, melted shortening and honey. Add this mixture to dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined. Pour into well-greased 8” square pan. Bake in moderate (350) oven about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into bars 2” x 2 ½”. Dip ends in confectioners’ sugar if desired. Makes about 24 bars.

Honey Spice Chiffon Cake

2 cups sifted flour
3 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp soda
1 cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp cloves
¼ tsp orange peel
½ cup Canola oil
7 egg yolks
½ cup honey
2/3 cup water
½ tsp cream of tartar
1 cup egg whites

Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, ½ cup sugar, salt, spices; add peel. Make a well in center; add oil, yolks, honey and water. Beat at low speed until smooth. Add cream of tartar to egg whites and in separate clean bowl beat to soft peaks; add remaining sugar gradually and beat until very stiff. Pour egg yolk mixture gradually over whites, blending carefully by folding with rubber spatula just until blended. Pour into 10” tube pan and bake at 325 60 to 70 minutes or until done. Invert and leave until cold. Loosen gently with spatula to remove. Frost with Honeyscotch Topping.

Honeyscotch Topping

¼ cup sugar
¾ cup honey
¼ cup butter
¼ tsp salt
2/3 cup evaporated milk

Combine sugar, honey, butter, salt and 1/3 cup of the milk in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally to soft ball stage (234deg). Stir in remaining 1/3 cup milk and cook until thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Makes 1 ½ cups.

Here’s a simple and quick way to serve chicken.

Honey Glazed Chicken

1 broiler-fryer about 3-3 ½ pounds, cut up
1/3 cup butter, melted
½ cup honey
¼ cup lemon juice

Brown chicken on all sides in large skillet, using butter or oil. While chicken is browning, combine the melted butter, honey and lemon juice. Pour over chicken, cover and cook over low heat for 30 to 35 minutes, basting it occasionally.

And here’s a way to fix lima beans that maybe your family will like; we did!

Easy Lima Beans

½ pound sliced bacon or ham
1 cup sliced onion
2 (1 pound 4 ounces) cans butter beans or lima beans
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/3 cup liquid from beans
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut bacon or ham into pieces, fry till crisp in large skillet; drain, reserving 3 Tbsp fat. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes. Add beans and all remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered 20 to 30 minutes or until most of liquid has been absorbed. Serves 6/

Rainier Cherries

We just took delivery of 15 pounds of Rainier cherries and are they ever delicious! For those of you who may not be familiar with Rainiers, they are the yellow and red cherries that cost a mint. Although they are very, very good, so are Bings and I have never understood why the Rainier cherries were so much more costly. Then I came across this information on the internet:

“In the past decade, the Rainier has grown from niche fruit in the Pacific Northwest to one of the most popular and priciest cherries in the world. Since Washington State University scientist Harold Fogle first crossed two sweet, red varieties, the Bing and the Van, in 1952, the resulting soft, sweet blush of the Rainier—which gets its name from the monarch mountain of the Cascade Range—has become popular as far afield as Britain, Europe, Australia and Japan.”

When reading about the Rainier cherries growing habits and their need for a great deal of TLC, one begins to understand the high price they command—and then when eating them, one truly appreciates this outstanding fruit. Rainiers are very susceptible to temperature, rain, wind and, in particular, birds. “The odds change daily, even hourly, with every shift in temperature, gust of wind or downpour of rain. If the temperature reaches 90, the cherry loses a day of life. If the wind blows too hard, the cherry bruises from rubbing against another cherry. If it rains more than a day, the cherry bursts its skin. This is not to mention the quarter to a third of a crop that goes to the birds, which leave clusters of pits hanging on stems.”

Cherries of all kinds are very high in vitamins A and C and antioxidants. They contain the same amount of antioxidants as blueberries and another powerful antioxidant not found in blueberries called anthocyanins that are thought to possess anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties.

So back to my 15 pounds of Rainiers—knowing now that I have a small gold mine I was worried about how to preserve them. Of course, we ate a lot of them in the first couple of days, just as they are, fresh and sweet. But I am very pleased that they are imminently freezable and don’t take too much work to prep for freezing. Pitting is about all you need to do and then pack them in freezer bags. You certainly can prepare a simple syrup to put them in, but it isn’t necessary. One caveat: be sure the pitted cherries are completely dry before packing them in bags. Once frozen, they are extremely useful in a great many recipes and also delicious as a snack—just slightly thawed. Here are a few ways to try them. (Bing cherries will work just fine in any of these recipes).

Fresh Cherry Lemonade (makes 2 quarts)

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 pound fresh or frozen and thawed sweet cherries, washed and pitted (about 2 cups)
1 cup fresh lemon juice
6 cups cold water

Heat sugar and 1 cup water in a small pot until sugar dissolves. Add 1 cup cherries, bring to a boil and boil until the cherries begin to soften, about two to three minutes. Set aside to cool. Strain cooled cherry syrup into a large pitcher, pressing on the cherries to release their juices. Add lemon juice and cold water. Stir in all remaining cherries. Pour over ice and garnish with fresh mint.

Rainier Cherry Thumbprint Cookies

Cherry Jam
1 pound fresh Rainier (or Bing can be substituted) cherries, washed and pitted (about 2 cups)
1/8 cup water
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 cup sugar

Cookie Dough
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make Jam: Combine cherries and water in a small pot and simmer over low heat until fruit is tender, about 10 minutes. Add lemon juice, zest and sugar and stir gently until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and syrupy. Pour into a shallow bowl and cool (or, alternately, refrigerate) until jam is set. This can be made a day ahead.

For cookies: Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla or almond extract. Add flour and mix until just combined. Form dough into 1-inch balls and arrange on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using your thumb, make an impression in the center of each ball. Fill each cookie with cherry jam making sure each has a cherry in the center. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the dough is set and lightly browned on bottom. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Makes two to three dozen cookies.
Note: For more uniform cookies, refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes before forming into balls.

Pie of the Month: Lemon Chiffon Pie

My friend and I were sitting in a garden bistro finishing our lunch on one of the very warm summer days we’ve been having. After our virtuous salad and iced tea lunches, we eagerly eyed the dessert menu. Everything sounded decadent, but somehow too heavy for this time of year: the French silk pie, the cheese cake, even the dense flourless chocolate cake didn’t hit the right note. Then we almost said in unison—“Oh, that lemon chiffon pie sounds perfect, that’s what I’m having!” Since we both wanted the same thing, we decided to split one. After finishing every crumb of my half and licking the fork clean, I wished we hadn’t.

Chiffon pie uses two of the major workhorses of the summer kitchen: lemon and gelatin. I’ve written flowery tributes to the lemon before, but it’s hard to over-do it. The lowly lemon has so many uses it would take a two-page list to describe them all—but as a summer flavor-booster, it can’t be beat. Plus, in the season of plentiful fruits, it has the ability to bring out the best taste of other fruits.

Think lemon wedges in your iced tea or soda, lemon on your grilled fish, lemon in your salad dressing, lemon ice (Culver’s has one to die for), and of course, lemonade. Lemon can spike up marinades and even freshen up your kitchen. But nowhere is it more beautifully paired than with gelatin.

Gelatin has gotten a bad rap in recent years. All the “Jell-o” salads and desserts that our mothers and grandmothers made just went out of fashion and became somewhat laughable in sophisticated food circles. That’s too bad in a way, because Jell-o salads are easy to make, easy to transport, and make a hit at pot-lucks (probably because everyone still likes them)—plus they’re a great vehicle for getting children to eat lots of fruits and vegetables.

Unflavored gelatin used in cooking is still popular, however, and there are many uses for gelatin that many people don’t know. Around our inn, for instance, we make a lot of whipped cream for our dessert course. I like to use real cream but, as you may know, leftover whipped cream doesn’t store well. Additionally, I have a wonderful tool with a plunger, a plastic cylindrical holder and decorator tips in which you can store whipped cream or frosting and cover the leftover with a cap so you can refrigerate it and it will be at the ready. Except, whipped cream separates and gets watery. Gelatin to the rescue. The first time I read this tip and tried it, I was afraid that the whipped cream would seem “jello-y” and perhaps lumpy, since you don’t have to soften the gelatin first. Nope! It was perfect. Just sprinkle about ¼ tsp. per cup of whipping cream over the cream and whip as usual.

The pie at the restaurant my friend and I ate was light and airy, even billowy (think chiffon) and refreshingly tart while still satisfying the sweet tooth urge at the end of the meal. This pie-of-the-month for July is the perfect ending to any meal.

If you’ve never made a chiffon pie before, here are some tips for the technique that will ensure a perfect pie.

The first step is to soften the gelatin in cold water by sprinkling it over the water and letting it sit for about 10 minutes. This mixture can be added to any hot liquid in your recipe and thoroughly dissolved. Then the mixture needs to be chilled until it mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. Test frequently. Then beat egg whites until they form glistening, stiff peaks and fold them into the gelatinizied filling. If this mixture mounds, spoon it into the crust; if it doesn’t, chill it briefly to the mounding stage. The secret to a perfect, light and fluffy chiffon pie is not to let the gelatin mixture get too firm before folding in egg whites and whipped cream, if used. Chill pie until firm before cutting.


Lemon Chiffon Pie

Baked 9” pie shell
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
¼ cup cold water
4 eggs, separated
½ cup lemon juice
3 Tbsp. orange juice
¾ cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream

Soften gelatin in water. In top of double boiler, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored. Add juices and mix well. Stir in sugar and salt. Cook over hot (not boiling) water until slightly thickened (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in lemon peel and gelatin. Chill until mixture begins to set (about 1 hour—but be careful, read directions above). Beat until smooth. Beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually add 2/3 cup sugar, beating until glossy peaks are formed. Whip cream and fold into egg whites. Fold into thickened lemon mixture. Spoon into cool pie shell. Refrigerate several hours before serving.

Pie Crust

A lot of us have been making pie crusts for years and wouldn’t dream of changing our tried and true method. The filling is important, of course, but what really distinguishes the wonderful pies that Aunt Connie brings from (I hope she wasn’t asked to bring the pie) Aunt Barb’s is the crust.

The women in my family have been famous for pie crust as far back as my great grandmothers. I was carefully taught to bake pie crust as a child and even won a second place ribbon at the Minnesota State Fair when I was 20. It really is as easy as pie, but you just have to know the tricks and also have the right recipe.

I have come across many recipes for pie crust and always wondered how they would stack up against my tried-and-true family recipe. This week I decided to find out. I made 6 pie crusts from 6 different recipes; baked a small portion sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, carefully labeled them on the baking sheet, poured Zig and myself cups of hot fresh coffee and we set out to rate the crusts. Here are the results, followed by step-by-step instructions on technique and a great recipe for the sour cream raisin pie.

The six crusts were 1) Barley-flour butter crust 2) Oil pastry 3) Half butter, half Crisco 4) Vinegar-egg crust 5) Standard pastry using lard 6) Standard recipe using Crisco (my recipe). The technique I used was the same for all—using different techniques (i.e. food processor) could be a test for another day.


Standard Technique:

Whisk together flour and salt in large bowl. Add shortening and cut it in with a pastry blender. Add ice water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, tossing lightly with a fork after each addition. When mixture is barely starting to hold together, finish pulling it together with your hand, but very gently. Do not do any pressing or anything like kneading. Just gather gently. Form into a ball. Cut in two equal pieces. Form each half into a disc about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and put into refrigerator for at least 2 hours. When ready to roll, flour a board or use a cloth-covered board and roll carefully from the center out. Do not roll more than once. Using a large offset spatula, run it under crust to lift from board. Roll it around the pin or fold carefully into quarters. Lift to pie plate and trim. Fill; repeat with other disc and cover the filling. Flute edges and vent top crust. Bake according to directions in recipe.

1. Barley-flour butter crust

¾ cup whole barley flour
¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
Heaping ¼ tsp. salt
½ cup cold unsalted butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 to 2 tsp. cold cream or milk

Use standard technique, with egg and light cream as liquid.

2. Oil Pastry

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ cup salad oil
4 to 5 Tbsp. cold water

Use standard technique but instead of cutting in shortening, pour oil and cold water into flour-salt mixture all at once. Stir lightly with fork.

3. Standard Pastry (my old stand-by)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. 0-transfat Crisco
1 tsp. salt
5-7 Tbsp. ice water

Use standard technique

4. Standard recipe using lard in place of Crisco

5. Standard recipe using half butter and half Crisco

6. Vinegar-egg pie crust

This crust recipe was given to me by an aunt who was famous in Moville, Iowa for her pie crust. Believe it or not, I have had the recipe for 30 years and this is the first time I have made it.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar

¾ cup Crisco
¼ cup water
2 tsp. vinegar
1/8 cup egg (half of standard large egg, mixed with fork; use remainder to brush on crust)


Use standard technique, adding water, vinegar and egg mixed together as liquid.

Now for the ratings: we tasted each one and when we had tasted all six, we went back and tried them each again. Amazingly, Zig and I agreed completely on the results.

Number 6 was the oil pastry. We both thought it was too salty and tough. It also had an oily texture. Not a great crust.
Number 5 was the barley flour-butter pastry. It was actually quite good, but as you might expect, very crunchy and sturdy. It would work well for a fruit tart crust such as a pear tart, where the crunch would add to the finished product but not useful for a standard pie crust.
Number 4 was the all lard standard pastry. It had the taste of lard which we moderns aren’t really used to and it was not as tender as the others.
Number 3 was the half-butter, half Crisco. Along with the barley flour crust, this had the advantage of a nice buttery flavor, but it wasn’t as flaky or quite as tender as the all Crisco crust.
Number 2 was the vinegar egg pastry. I now know why Aunt Virginia was famous for her crust—it was delicious—flaky, light, crisp and tender. Not quite as melty as number one, however.
Number 1—you guessed it—my standard recipe. All Crisco. Now that they have come out with a 0 transfat version, I feel better about using it; although it is a stretch to consider pie crust healthy—heck it’s Thanksgiving!

Sour Cream Raisin Pie

1 cup sour cream
1 cup raisins
1 egg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 cup white sugar

Mix all ingredients together and bake in an 8” or 9” pie pan with 2 crusts at 400 degrees for 10 minutes and 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Delicious.

Muffins

Americans love muffins—they seemed to become de rigueur in the 80’s and then dropped back in popularity. But they’ve made a comeback—and fortunately, they’re much healthier and lower in calories and fat then previously. You see, muffins really don’t need a lot of fat to be tender, moist, and flavorful. Substituting fruit purees and other liquid ingredients like low-fat buttermilk and liquid sweeteners such as honey or molasses add the needed tenderness and moisture.

At the Candlelight Inn B&B, we fill our early morning coffee baskets with miniature muffins. These were popular in the late 19thand early 20th centuries and were known as gems. Even the baking pans were called gem pans. Then in mid 20th century, the standardized muffin pan came into being—larger than gems but smaller than the mammoth muffins we find served in many restaurants and bakeries today. Calorie count aside, the smaller size muffins are just the right amount for meals and snacks.

Muffins are ridiculously easy to make but there are a few rules to follow to insure great results every time. Sift the dry ingredients together; set aside. Combine liquid ingredients and add all at once to the dry. Stir only enough to moisten the dry ingredients. Extra mixing will result in tough, tunnel-filled muffins. Fill muffin cups about three-quarters full and bake at a relatively high temperature—usually 375-425.
Be sure to watch the time and err on the shorter time as over-baking muffins with less fat results in dry muffins.

A few muffins are made by the cake method, which is to cream the shortening and sugar, adding eggs; then dry ingredients alternately with liquid. The bran muffin recipe that follows uses this method.

I always line metal muffin tins with paper liners, lightly sprayed with Pam. I do own a stoneware muffin pan that does not need to be lined, and is especially good for baking savory muffins with a browned, crispy crust such as corn muffins.

The muffin I make most often for the coffee baskets is well known to many of you—it is a bran muffin that can be mixed and stored in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks, thereby allowing us to bake the muffins fresh every morning without having to start from scratch. Guests request this recipe all the time—I think it is the best of the bran muffins that I have tried and it really doesn’t have much fat at all.

Candlelight Inn Buttermilk Bran Muffins

2 cups All-Bran cereal
1 cup boiling water
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup shortening (Crisco-0 Trans-fat)
2 eggs
1 cup raisins
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
2 ½ cups flour
2 ½ tsps. baking soda
½ tsp. salt

Pour boiling water over bran cereal. In electric mixer bowl, cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs and beat well. Mix in sifted flour, soda and salt, adding alternately with buttermilk. Add raisins and bran cereal. Mix on low speed, just until mixture is blended. Spoon (I use a small spring-style scoop) into well-greased or paper-lined and sprayed muffin tins ¾ full. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. If you are making mini muffins, bake 13 minutes.

Muffins are almost a perfect breakfast food; they’re portable for when you’re dashing out the door and they usually contain the basics: whole grains, fruit, protein, and some fat.
Here’s a muffin that the kids will love, but so will the grown-ups. I made it for our family and since we were all delighted with them, tried them on our guests. They raved and we now have a keeper.


Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins (adapted from Cooking Light Nov. 07)

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour (I use white whole wheat made by both King Arthur and Bob’s Mill)
¼ cup granulated sugar (can use raw)
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ cup fat-free milk
¾ cup low-fat buttermilk
1/3 cup peanut butter (not natural style)
1 egg or ¼ cup egg substitute
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Cooking spray
¼ cup strawberry jam (or the jelly or jam of your choice)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, sugars, baking powder, soda and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (through vanilla); add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray (or paper liners sprayed with cooking spray). Fill each cup ½ full with batter. Spoon 1 tsp. jam into each cup. Spoon remaining batter on top to cover jam. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool on a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen (serving size: 1 muffin)
Calories 185 (28% from fat); Fat 5.8g (sat 2g, mono2.3g, poly 1.2g); Protein 5.2g; Carb 29.4 g; Fiber 1.6 g; Chol 5.6 mg; Iron 1.2 mg; Sodium 288mg; Calc 113mg.

Hotdish Heaven

Hot Dish (Food): casserole-like food common in the Midwest; normally consists of a starch, a meat, and a vegetable mixed together with a sauce, often canned soup.—From Dictionary of American Regional English.

Anne Burckhardt was in town a few years ago as a guest of Friends of the Library, signing and promoting her new cookbook, Hot Dish Heaven. I was unable to attend but Ann Seymour was there and graciously brought me up to date.

Ann Burckhardt and I have a lot in common which makes it all the more unbelievable that I didn’t own either of her latest two cookbooks. Burckhardt is the former editor for the Taste section of the Star Tribune and has written or edited over twenty-five books on food. And on top of that she is the former innkeeper of a Bed and Breakfast in St. Peter, Minnesota. I immediately added “A Cook’s Tour of Minnesota” and “Hot Dish Heaven” to my cookbook collection.

Hot Dish Heaven does not include a recipe for Asian Chicken with Brussels Sprouts or Basil Chicken with Tomatoes, Squash and Barley, but in the author’s words, “What follows is a celebration of the hot dishes of the Midwest heartland: Iowa, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. I feature some of the best casseroles served up in Midwestern homes of the fifties, sixties, and seventies. These over seventy recipes, updated and kitchen tested, fill chapters on classics, potlucks, comfort food, side dishes, breakfast and desserts…This book is dedicated to the cooks who stayed true to their hot dish favorites, such as scalloped potatoes with ham, corn pudding and rice custard, even when the rest of the country turned to more complicated recipes and flavors…and eating more than half their meals at restaurants or ordered take-out. So…welcome to Hot Dish Heaven. It’s a pleasant place to be.”

Paging through the first chapter, Casserole Classics, I came across so many old friends that I eagerly decided to cook my way from page one to the end. I pre-warned Zig (who was delighted at the prospect of old standby comfort foods instead of my constant experiments or perpetually health-conscious dishes) and began at the beginning, “Old Standby Hamburger and Rice Bake, an oldie that I have known as Texas Hash. My 92-year-old Dad, who lived in Minneapolis, was the recipient of all extras, frozen into individual casseroles for his meals. He was delighted as well. Here are the first recipes we tried and a few that are coming up as a sampling:

Old Standby Hamburger and Rice Bake

2 cups sliced onions
1 cup chopped green or red pepper or frozen pepper stir-fry, thawed
2 Tbsp butter or vegetable oil
¾ to 1 pound regular or lean ground beef
15-oz. can diced tomatoes or stewed tomatoes, chopped
4-oz. can chopped olives, drained (optional)
½ cup uncooked white rice
1 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Heat oven to 350. Stir-fry onion and green pepper in butter until onions are yellow. Add meat and fry until meat is crumbled. Stir in tomatoes, olives, rice, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Turn mixture into sprayed or greased 2-quart casserole. Cover and bake 45 minutes; remove cover and return hash to oven for another 15 minutes.

Ladies-Who-Lunch Hot Salad (also known as Hot Chicken Salad)

Makes 5 or 6 servings

1 cup real mayonnaise (not salad dressing)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp salt
2 cups chopped cooked turkey or chicken
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup toasted bread cubes *
½ cup sliced water chestnuts (optional)
½ cup slivered almonds
¼ cup diced onion
Crushed Wheaties or corn flakes for topping

*Cut crusts from two slices of white or wheat bread; cut bread into cubes and place on large baking sheet. With oven at 350, toast cubes until crisp.

Heat oven to 350. In small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, and salt; mix well. Combine the chicken, celery, bread cubes, water chestnuts, almonds and onion in a large mixing bowl; add mayonnaise mixture and toss well. Put the mixture in a buttered casserole dish. Finish by sprinkling crushed cereal around the periphery of the dish. Bake uncovered about 40 minutes or until hot throughout.

Variation: Hot Salad with Cheddar: Omit Parmesan cheese from mayonnaise mixture; sprinkle 2/3 cup grated Cheddar over salad before adding crushed cereal.

Here is one of my mother’s favorites. She made this often and it really brings back childhood memories:

Farmers’ Market Corn Pudding
Makes 4 to 6 Servings

3 eggs
½ cup milk
½ cup half-and-half or 5-ounce can fat-free evaporated milk
2 cups drained whole kernel corn
1 Tbsp grated onion or 2 Tbsp sliced green onion
½ tsp. salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Tbsp fine cracker crumbs (optional)

Heat oven to 350 (325 for a glass dish). Select a 1 quart dish and a slightly larger pan that can hold the dish and about one inch of water. In medium bowl, beat together eggs, milk, and half-and-half. Stir in drained corn, onion, salt and pepper. Pour into 1-quart baking dish. Sprinkle crumbs on top.

To bake pudding in water bath, place baking dish in the large pan. Using both hands, carefully lift both pans and place in the oven. Pour hot tap water into large pan, about 1 inch deep. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean.

Shoofly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy

What’s in a name? As Shakespeare says, a rose by any other would smell as sweet. Yet, food names evoke anticipation of the taste and therefore do matter. Take, for instance, fried mush—actually a pretty good dish of cornmeal; cooked with water, chilled, sliced, breaded and fried. Rather like the Italian dish, polenta, but it doesn’t sound nearly as appetizing.

Our British friends have the most interesting names for their dishes—not necessarily appetizing to the American ear, but nonetheless descriptive—especially as to the sounds they make while cooking: bangers and mash (mashed potatoes and sausages), bubble and squeak (sausages), to name two.

Americans, too, have their interesting food names. A few that caught my eye were Shepherd’s pie, Lady Baltimore cake, Georgia Country Captain, Dagwood sandwich, Apple Pandowdy, Apple Brown Betty, Brunswick stew, Hoppin’ John and Red-eye gravy. And then there are Hush Puppies, Commercial sandwiches, Po-Boys, Shoo-Fly Pie and Waldorf Salad.

“American Home Cooking” by the Jamisons says about Georgia Country Captain, “Eliza Leslie provides the usual explanation for the origin and name of this wonderful dish in her Miss Leslie’s New Cookery Book of 1857. She suggests that a British officer of native (i.e., “country”) troops in India brought the dish to the West. Some Savannah, Georgia residents dispute the story, claiming the idea came from a ship captain involved in the spice trade, a major link at the time between southern ports and the rest of the world. However the dish arrived, it developed a strong association with Georgia and became the most popular and refined of the various curried-chicken preparations found in southern cooking by the early nineteenth century. Serve country captain with fluffy white rice and a good ale.

One-third cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp salt or more to taste
Pinch of ground allspice
4 to 4 and one-half-pound chicken, preferably a roaster, cut into 8 bone-in serving pieces
2 Tbsp peanut oil
2 thick bacon slices, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 and one-half Tbsp curry powder
28-ounce can tomatoes, chopped and the juice reserved
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 Tbsp mango chutney or other chutney
One-half cup slivered almonds
One-third cup dried currants

Combine the flour, paprika, 1 tsp. salt and allspice on a plate. Dredge the chicken pieces lightly in the seasoned flour.

In a Dutch oven or other large heavy ovenproof pot, combine the peanut oil and bacon and fry over medium heat until the bacon is brown and crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve it. Add a few pieces of the chicken to the drippings and brown over medium heat on all sides. Remove the chicken, then repeat with the rest. Stir in the onions, bell pepper, and garlic, cover and sweat for 5 minutes until soft. Stir in the curry powder and cook an additional minute. Return the chicken to the pot, then add in the tomatoes and juice, stock and chutney. Bring the mixture to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Mix in the almonds, currants, reserved bacon and, if you wish, more salt. Stir up from the bottom once or twice. Cook, uncovered, for about 10 additional minutes to meld the flavors. Serve hot.

“Shoofly pie and apple pandowdy
Makes your eyes light up; your tummy say “howdy’

Dinah Shore made these two dishes famous in her song from the Fifties. If you’ve never tried them—they make a good start for the first days of fall (starts tonight).

Shoofly Pie
Named because one had to “shoo away the flies” from this sweet dessert. It is of Pennsylvania-Dutch origin, but not mentioned in print until 1926. Pie can be made with either a “wet bottom” (soft filling and crumb topping) or “dry bottom” (crumb topping, mixed into the filling) and was commonly served for breakfast.

Line a pie plate with a pastry crust. Combine one and one-fourth cup sifted flour, one-half cup brown sugar, one-fourth tsp. salt and one-half cup cold butter to make a crumbly blend. Dissolve one-half tsp. baking soda in three-fourths cup molasses mixed with three-fourths cup water. Pour into lined pie pan, top with the crumbs and bake in a 400 deg. oven for about 15 minutes; lower heat to 350 and bake until firm (about 30 minutes more).

Apple pandowdy
A dish of sliced apples covered with a crust, sometimes referred to as “apple grunt” or “apple Jonathan” in the Northeast. First mentioned in print in 1805, apple pandowdy seems to be specifically American by name and Nathaniel Hawthorne mentions the dish in his “Blithedale Romance” (1852). The names’ origins are obscure, but perhaps its homely simplicity connotes a “dowdy,” i.e., unstylish, appearance.

Core, peel and slice 6 apples and place in a buttered dish. Pour one-half cup cider mixed with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice over them; sprinkle with one-half tsp. cinnamon, one-eighth tsp. ground cloves, one-eighth tsp. nutmeg, three-fourths cup light brown sugar, one-fourth cup maple syrup and dot with 2 Tbsp.butter. Cover with Shortcake Topping about one-half-inch thick, then slit the top to allow for the escape of steam. Bake in 350 oven until apples are tender. Serve with cream.

Shortcake Topping

2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
One-half tsp. salt
1 stick butter
Two-thirds cup milk

Cut butter into dry ingredients. Stir in milk. Knead 20 seconds on lightly floured surface. Roll one-half inch thick and cut to fit pan.

Minnesota Hot Dish

Casserole, One Dish Meal, Hot Dish—whatever you call it, there is nothing more wonderful for the busy cook than a delicious dinner that cooks all in one pan and provides all the components of a good meal.

Casserole actually refers to a specialized baking dish, round or oval in shape. It is usually deeper than what is referred to as a baking dish or pan, which is usually shallower. However, it has become a term meaning a one-dish meal. A one-dish meal can be cooked in a variety of pans: skillets, Dutch ovens, casseroles, slow cookers or woks.

A casserole is great for the family meal or for a party. Especially for a party, actually, as it is one of the easiest ways to entertain a crowd. It lends itself to international cooking as well as down-home American. Casseroles are usually quick, often economical and really good.

A hot dish is a colloquial term for any one-dish meal. In Minnesota and generally the Midwest, hot dish and casserole are interchangeable.

But doesn’t hot dish conjure up great memories of delicious family dinners, pot luck suppers at church, picnics and family gatherings? It does for me. It seems the old-fashioned hot dish has gone out of style; certainly the word has. Casserole sounds more sophisticated and up-to-date, but I like hot dish—it’s comfort food personified.

I scanned my cookbook collection to come up with some great sounding hot dishes. I have several that are dedicated to the subject and then of course, there are church cookbooks and other organization’s cookbooks. These are the tried and true old-fashioned recipes for hot dish that many of us had in our childhood. They often contain such prosaic ingredients as tater tots and canned soups. Still, they aren’t a lot worse than a great many of the highly processed dinners that we all eat from time to time and kids seem to like them—especially if they include pasta and tomato sauce. Since vegetables are almost always included, it’s a good way to get the kids to eat them. One that has been popular for years is Spaghetti Pie:

Spaghetti Pie

6 ounces spaghetti
2 Tbsp butter
2 beaten eggs
One-third cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup cream-style cottage cheese
1 pound ground beef
½ cup chopped onion
One-fourth cup chopped green pepper
1 8-ounce can tomatoes, diced
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. garlic salt
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (2 ounces)

Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain (should have about 3 cups). Stir butter into hot spaghetti; stir in beaten eggs and Parmesan cheese. Form spaghetti mixture into a “crust” in a greased 10-inch pie plate. Spread with cottage cheese.
In skillet cook ground meat, onion, and green pepper till meat is brown and vegetables are tender. Drain off fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano and garlic salt; heat through.
Turn meat mixture into spaghetti crust. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese; bake till melted, about 5 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

My vote for an international Casserole (this is definitely not a hot dish) is Spanish Paella. Although not particularly economical, it is a really colorful and delicious dish to set before guests. As there are dozens of recipes for Paella, I chose one that doesn’t take a great many hard-to-find ingredients. A special Paella pan would really set this off, but a large, shallow casserole or electric skillet will work.

Paella Casserole
½ pound chorizo sausage, sliced
1 2-1/2 to 3-pound chicken, cut up
1 medium onion chopped (1/2 cup)
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ cups regular rice
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tsp. salt
One-fourth tsp. saffron, crushed
4 cups boiling water
1 pound fresh or frozen shelled and cleaned shrimp
10 small clams in shells
1 10-ounce package frozen peas

In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until done. Drain sausage, reserving drippings in skillet; set aside.
Season chicken pieces with a little salt and pepper. Brown chicken in reserved drippings; remove chicken, reserving drippings in skillet.
Add chopped onion, red pepper, green pepper, and garlic into reserved drippings; cook till onion is tender but not brown. Stir in uncooked rice, chopped tomatoes, salt and saffron. Stir in boiling water; bring mixture to boiling. Stir in cooked sausage.
Turn rice mixture into a paella pan or a 4-quart casserole or a Dutch oven; arrange chicken pieces atop mixture. Bake, covered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, thaw frozen shrimp. Thoroughly scrub clams. Place clams in a saucepan with ½ inch of boiling water; cover and cook till shells open, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain; discard any clams that do not open.
Place peas in a colander or strainer; rinse with hot water to thaw. Arrange peas, clams and shrimp atop rice mixture. Bake, covered, till chicken and rice are done, 25 to 20 minutes longer. Garnish with lemon slices, if desired. Serves 8.

The Cooking Gene

I believe there is a cooking gene. There are lots of people who do a creditable job of cooking but hate it nonetheless. And there are lots of people who just tolerate it. That’s the way I feel about cleaning; yet I know people who actually enjoy that!

When I was keeping house and raising children, I was a stay-at-home Mom for quite awhile and I kept a pretty mean house. I always saved the cooking for last, because it was so much fun I actually felt guilty about doing it. (That’s a topic for the psychologist’s couch, I think).

I have a granddaughter who, at the age of eight, was standing at my butcher block, chef’s knife in hand (I was right next to her) and chopping and mincing for at least thirty minutes without speaking until she finally looked up with a huge smile and said, “Grammy, I just love cooking, don’t you?” That’s the cooking gene.

Now, I have three grown sons who never showed a single bit of interest in cooking while they were living at home. Maybe once or twice they made macaroni and cheese from a box or put together a hot dog or heated a frozen pizza when I wasn’t available to make a home-cooked meal, but nobody ever said, ”Mom, could I cook a whole dinner?” or, “Could I bake a cake?” Yet, on one trip to Madison to visit my oldest son’s family we were treated to a wonderful dinner—the main dish and dessert cooked by my son.

I’ve known for some time now that he was interested in cooking—but it began with grilling and then smoking meat—and has developed into a real innovative repertoire to which he adds his own creations. He has mastered some difficult techniques without attending any cooking classes or prestigious culinary schools. I wouldn’t have guessed in his growing-up years that he would be the one—if indeed there was to be one—but he has the cooking gene. Although he has spent most of his adult life as a CPA, he recently purchased two Buck's Pizza restaurants in Madison.

Here is the delicious lamb dish Jed (my son) made for us:

Adapted from Executive Chef James Babian, the Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii
Serves 4

Marinade:

4 ounces olive oil
3 ounces good red wine
2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves, plus more for inserting in meat
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
3 Tbsp. pineapple juice
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ cup orange juice
4 ounces sliced onion
1 Tbsp. cracked black pepper
2 pounds boneless leg of lamb, trimmed
Garlic cloves, peeled
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Mix all marinade ingredients together and pour over lamb. Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Remove lamb from marinade. Stud with garlic cloves and rosemary leaves. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Grill to medium rare over Hickory or mesquite wood coals. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Mango Mint Sauce:

2 ounces rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 ounces good dry white wine
3 ounces mango puree
1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
2 ounces beef stock
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped mint leaves
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In small saucepot add the vinegar and sugar. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and begins to turn light brown. Add wine and cook down, reducing by half. Add the remaining ingredients and half the mint. Simmer 10 minutes to let flavors marry. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Stir in remaining mint just before serving.

Slice lamb across the grain in thin slices and serve with Mango Mint Sauce.

Evidently Jed has been experimenting with lamb because he also sent me a recipe he created with leftover lamb. The directions and amounts are his—but it really does work out very well.

Lamb Stew

¾ onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs. cooked lamb in bite-sized cubes
Chopped carrots—2 handfuls
Peas—2 handfuls
2 Roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
5 cups beef broth
1 cup good red wine
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 large sprigs of rosemary
4-8 sprigs of thyme
1 Tbsp dried oregano
Orzo pasta—1-2 handfuls
1 handful chopped Shitake mushrooms
Salt and pepper

Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until tender. Add the cooked lamb, carrots, peas, red peppers, rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Add beef broth and wine. Bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with a couple of tablespoons of cold water, then add to stew. Add pasta. Allow to simmer until the pasta is tender, stirring regularly. Change stove temp to low and allow stew to stop simmering. If it is not as thick as you’d like it, add more cornstarch (mixed with cold water) and simmer some more. Taste stew and add more salt and pepper if needed. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are tender. Pull out the thyme and rosemary sprigs. Eat with delicious bread.

Luncheon Menu for a Hot Summer Day

It’s my turn to entertain my bridge group next Monday. This group has been together for 30 years and we are just beginning to age a little. We’ve been through the years when our children were running around and driving us up a wall—and we couldn’t get a hand played without an interruption. We’ve gone through the years when they were teenagers and we were worried about where they were. Then we went through the graduation parties, the weddings and the proud displaying of pictures of our first darling grandchildren. Now some of those grandchildren are starting to grow up.

We’ve also gotten to be a lot of women who cook and cook well. Our basic lunch is supposed to be soup, salad, bread and dessert, but it’s surprising how many variations there are on this basic plan and it seems we’ve used all of them at some time in the last thirty years. What, then, am I going to serve that is a little different? I decided to go back to the “olden days” since, as I stated above, we are starting to get a little “olden” ourselves.

Here is a really old-fashioned ladies’ luncheon menu that should be just right for a group of eight old friends playing cards on a hot summer day.

Vichyssoise
Chicken Salad Supreme
Danish Cinnamon Twists
Lemon Cake Roll

Vichyssoise
This is really delicious but it is very important that you really deep-chill it and serve it ice cold.

4 Tbsp. butter
6 onions, sliced
4 leeks (no green), sliced
6 cups chicken broth
5 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 quart milk (can use 1 or 2% )
1 pint half and half
1 pint heavy cream

Beat butter in large saucepan; add onions and leeks, cover and simmer until soft. Do not brown. Pour in chicken broth and add potatoes; cover and simmer 45 minutes. Sieve through food mill or strainer. Return to saucepan, add milk and half and half; bring to a boil. Strain again; cool and add heavy cream. Refrigerate overnight. Makes 4 quarts. Serve with a dollop of crème fraiche and a sprinkling of snipped chives.

Chicken Salad Supreme
It’s important that you present this salad as directed, since this luncheon is rather colorless if you don’t include the fruit for the presentation.


6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 4 oz each)
Chicken broth to barely cover chicken
1 stalk celery, with leaves
2 or 3 parsley sprigs
½ medium onion
½ tsp. salt

Place breasts in a large skillet and cover with broth. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a gentle boil, cover and lower heat. Simmer for 10-20 minutes or until barely tender. Remove to platter, drain and cool. Refrigerate. Strain broth into bowl, cool and refrigerate. It will congeal and makes a delicious cold consommé or stock for sauces.

Chicken (as above), cut in ¾-inch cubes
1 cup Mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
2 tsp. honey
1 4-ounce can water chestnuts, sliced
¼ cup coarsely chopped pecans
Leaf lettuce
Strawberries
8 melon rings, ½-inch thick
1 heads Bibb lettuce or red leaf lettuce
Frosted grapes (optional)

Toss chicken with ¾ cup dressing; let stand 1 hour. Combine remaining ¼ cup dressing with sour cream and honey; add to chicken and mix well. Mix in water chestnuts and pecans. Make individual plates lined with Bibb and leaf lettuces. Place melon rings on lettuce; fill centers with chicken salad. Garnish with whole strawberries and frosted grapes, if desired.

Danish Cinnamon Twists

1 pkg. active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
4 egg yolks
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. grated orange rind
1 cup sugar
1 egg white, slightly beaten
Cinnamon sugar


Sprinkle yeast on warm water; set aside. Put flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and add butter; cut in until consistency of cornmeal. Beat yolks until thick and add to flour mixture with sour cream, vanilla, orange rind, and yeast; mix well. Cover and place in refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours; dough may stand overnight. Sprinkle pastry board with 2 Tbsp sugar, place dough on sugar and roll to a 12-inch square. Fold dough in thirds to a rectangle, 12” x 4” then fold in opposite direction to make a 4-inch square. There will be 9 layers of dough. Roll out to a 12-inch rectangle again, sprinkle with 2 Tbsp sugar and repeat 2 more times. If dough becomes too warm, refrigerate for 15 minutes, then continue. For last rolling, make rectangle 9” x 16”, brush with egg white and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Cut dough from 9-inch side into three 3-inch strips, then cut each length into sixteen 1-inch strips; the dough will have a layered look. Twist each strip 3 times and place on well-buttered baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake in 375 deg. oven 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove at once, as sugar sticks, and dust while hot with cinnamon sugar. Makes 48 twists.

Bake-off Recipes

Some things get better as time goes by and some things definitely do not. This is true in the food field just as it is in other areas of life. If you ask me, the Pillsbury Grand National Bake-off contest is one that hasn’t improved.

The first grand prize of $50,000 was awarded in 1950 to Mrs. Ralph E. Smafield of Detroit, Michigan for her No-Knead Water-Rising Twists. Other winners were awarded cash prizes to total $100,000. Today’s contest is not held every year and the first place winner is awarded $1,000,000! But the recipes must use several products, wherein the first contests required only the use of Pillsbury’s Best Flour. Now there are categories in main dishes and snacks and sandwiches—which hardly seems like a bake-off. Worst of all, the use of mixes and convenience foods is actually encouraged in the contest. I’m hopelessly old-fashioned, I guess.

I do have the first 25 Bake-Off cookbooks in my collection and several of the rest of them as well—although the later books don’t include the names of the winners and the recipes have been altered somewhat. Going through my collection gave me the urge to bake some of the early recipes and see how the results stack up with more modern day recipes. I was happily surprised to find some well-known and loved recipes among the winners such as Orange Kiss-Me cake, Tunnel of Fudge Bundt Cake and French Silk Pie. Cherry Winks originated here as did Dilly Casserole Bread.

I finally decided on Walnut Glory Cake form the 15th Bake-Off in 1965. It was submitted by Umejiro F. Kuritsu of Oakland, California, one of only two men in the contest that year. It gained him $1,000 Best of Class Cake award. I chose it because the picture of it was scrumptious and I had all the ingredients in the house. It is very easy and absolutely delicious.


Walnut Glory Cake

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 65 minutes
Makes 1 10-inch tube cake

Combine:
¾ cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
Beat:
9 egg whites (1 ¼ cups) in large mixing bowl until soft mounds form. Gradually add ¾ cup sugar. Continue beating until very stiff, straight peaks form. Do not under beat.
Combine:
9 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla and
¾ cup sugar in small mixing bowl. Beat until thick and lemon colored. Stir in
Dry ingredients.
Fold:
Batter gently but thoroughly into egg whites using a wire whip or rubber spatula.
Fold in
2 cups finely chopped walnuts
Turn:
Into ungreased 10-inch tube pan
Bake:
At 350 deg. For 55 to 65 minutes. Invert immediately. Cool completely before
removing from pan. Serve with warm caramel sauce and plenty of whipped cream.


The delicious smell of cinnamon wafting through my kitchen and the chilly air of these first really cool days inspired me to make a good old-fashioned beef stew as well as the chiffon cake. I checked with my latest version of Better Home and Garden’s Standard cookbook and to my absolute amazement there isn’t a recipe for beef stew. Could this old stand-by really be outdated? I think not in the kitchens across America, even if it is with America’s #1 cookbook.

Here is my version :

1 ½ pounds beef chuck, cut in 1” cubes
Flour to dredge beef
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 large onions
1 clove garlic
5 cups water
Salt and Pepper
½ tsp. Thyme
½ tsp. Basil
½ tsp. Savory
1 bay leaf (optional)
2 pounds new potatoes, peeled
5 large carrots, peeled
2 cups Butternut Squash peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp. Maggi Seasoning
Slurry made of ¼ cup flour and ½ cup water, shaken in a covered jar until well mixed.

Heat oil in Dutch oven until haze forms. Dredge Beef cubes and put into pot to brown. Brown slowly for about 10 minutes, turning often. Add onions, cut into wedges (8 per onion.) Add peeled garlic clove stuck on toothpick. Brown for 5 minutes more, stirring to keep garlic and onion from burning. Add water, salt and pepper, Thyme, Basil Savory and bay leaf; cover. Simmer for 2 hours. Remove garlic and add new potatoes, quartered, carrots, cut into 1” cubes, and squash. Cover and cook 30 minutes more or until tender. Add tomato paste, Worcestershire Sauce and Maggi seasoning. Bring to a boil. Add slurry, pouring through a strainer and stirring all the while. When stew has thickened, correct seasoning and serve.

Just Desserts

For elegance and ease in entertaining there is nothing that equals a dessert party. “Come for dessert.” It could be a casual gathering of a few friends on a weeknight, thereby making it an early evening and featuring some hearty desserts like bread pudding or a substantial pie. Or you could pull out all the stops with a more formal, elegant gathering and set your table with beautiful linens, crystal, silver and china and a buffet for sampling bite-size sweets that dazzle both the eye and the palate.

Just desserts is not only versatile but can be very easy on the cook or allow him/her to do some elaborate dishes seldom bothered with for family or self. Since we serve dessert at the Candlelight Inn B&B for breakfast and sometimes in the evening, I am always looking for wonderful new recipes to fit the season—they are really fun to make—and eat!

For that casual gathering, here’s a bread pudding sure to please and a little heavy on the calories, so you might warn your guests to eat a light supper before coming and make dessert the main course.

Bread Pudding with Praline Sauce

1 1-pound loaf challah or Hawaiian bread (or other slightly sweet, eggy bread), crusts removed and cut into 1-1/2 inch cubes (about 12 or 13 cups).
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 oz.)
1 cup chopped pecans (4 oz.)
4 cups whole milk
1 ½ cups sugar
6 large eggs
½ cup (1 stick) melted butter, cooled

Sauce:

½ cup (packed) brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. brandy
2 cinnamon sticks
1 Tbsp. rum
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/3 cup chopped pecans

For pudding: Preheat oven to 350. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Spread bread cubes in dish. Sprinkle chocolate chips and pecans over. Whisk milk, sugar, and eggs in large bowl to blend. Whisk in melted butter. Pour custard over bread mixture in dish. Let stand at room temperature about 1 hour. Bake pudding until top puffs—about 1 hour and 10-15 minutes. (Watch carefully, if pudding starts to get too brown remove from oven). Cool at least 15 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream and warm praline sauce.

Praline Sauce;

Combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, brandy, cinnamon sticks, rum, vanilla and nutmeg in heavy small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until brown sugar dissolves. Boil 1 minute. Mix in pecans.

The new (Nov/Dec ’07) Victoria magazine (a former wonderful magazine that stopped publication and has now started again) has a lovely, Victorian small-dessert buffet that caught my attention—beautiful! They suggest that you serve a chilled Champagne and perhaps espresso and coffee to accompany these delicacies. Here is one that looked wonderful:

Cranberry-Cherry Linzertortes

1 (2.25-ounce) pkg. chopped hazelnuts, toasted
1 (2.25-ounce) pkg. slivered almonds, toasted
2 1/3 cups flour, divided
¾ cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup chilled butter, cubed
3 large egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. butter extract
½ cup cranberry preserves
½ cherry preserves

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray 14 (4-inch) barquette or round tart pans with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. Combine hazelnuts, almonds, and 1/3 cup flour in a food processor. Pulse until nuts are finely chopped. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add remaining 2 cups flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk to blend. Add butter and using an electric mixer at low speed blend ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolks, vanilla and butter extract; beat just until combined. Gather dough into two balls. Wrap one ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Using remaining dough, divide into 14 balls and evenly press into bottoms and up sides of prepared tart pans. In small bowl combine cranberry and cherry preserves. Evenly divide cranberry mixture among tarts. Place remaining dough between two sheets of parchment paper; roll into a rectangle approximately 18 x 7 inches and ¼ inch thick. Freeze rectangle approximately 5 minutes to firm. Cut 14 ½-inch-wide strips lengthwise from rectangle. Cut strips into thirds horizontally. Cut each third in half. Arrange 3 3-inch strips diagonally across tarts in opposite direction, forming lattice. Seal ends of strips to dough edge, trimming excess. Once cooled, gently squeeze tart pans to remove. Tarts can be made up to 2 days ahead, covered tightly and stored at room temperature.

Lemon Desserts

Last year I used every spare minute (and some I shouldn’t have) to organize and catalog all my cookbooks. I have a large collection and it had become unwieldy with duplicates that I needed to cull. Trying to kill two birds with one stone, I was also hunting for a recipe for a dessert to take to our grub club last July. The theme was cool cooking—an idea that took shape when the hosts probably thought we’d be ready to cool off by the end of July.

Well, I’m afraid I outsmarted myself. I found a recipe that I was pleased about and put a post-it on the page. I even read it to Zig, who thought it was great. Now I can’t remember what cookbook it was in or even exactly what the recipe was except it was a lemon mousse or soufflé with berries. Not being able to remember something or find something drives me crazy and as I grow older it seems to be an increasing problem.

After spending a great deal of time looking for the recipe, I found some that I thought would suffice in case I never found the original. I came up with three that I like but never the one that I started with. Now the only problem was—which one should I take?

Lemon Soufflé with raspberry sauce

6 egg whites
4 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp flour
¾ cup milk, hot
Juice of 2 large lemons
½ cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. grated lemon rind
Pinch of salt
Powdered sugar
2 cups raspberry sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Butter a six-cup soufflé mod and sprinkle it with sugar, shaking out the excess. Set it aside. Bring the egg whites to room temperature and set aside. In large saucepan, heat butter over low heat. Add flour and whisk the mixture until well blended. Add hot milk all at once and beat the mixture until very thick and smooth. Add lemon juice and sugar. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and lemon rind. Return to stove and reheat over very low heat until it begins to steam. Set pan aside off heat.

Beat egg whites and a pinch of salt in mixer with balloon attachment or by hand with a wire whisk until mixture forms soft peaks. Add a little of the beaten egg whites to the soufflé base and gently fold them in. Pour this mixture into the egg whites, using your hands to fold it in. Pour mixture into the prepared mold and set in the middle of the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Serve immediately sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with cold raspberry sauce.

Raspberry sauce

4 cups fresh raspberries
¾ cup sugar
½ cup currant jelly
2 Tbsp. orange liqueur
¼ cup kirsch
Juice of 1 lemon

Wash raspberries, reserving 1 cup of the best. Place remaining berries in a blender with the sugar and blend at high speed for 3 minutes. Pass mixture through a fine sieve and reserve. Combine currant jelly with liqueurs in small pan and heat until the jelly is dissolved. Beat the mixture into the raspberry puree. Sprinkle soufflé with reserved fresh raspberries.

Blueberries in Lemon Mousse

1 quart blueberries
1 cup sugar, divided
5 eggs, separated
Juice of 2 large lemons
1 cup whipped cream
2 tsp. grated lemon rind

Wash blueberries and remove their stems. Pour them into glass serving bowl and sprinkle with ¼ cup sugar. In the top of a non-corrosive double boiler, beat the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar until the mixture becomes a light lemon color. Add lemon juice and cook over simmering water, whisking constantly until it heavily coast a spoon. Do not boil. Remove from heat and cool. Beat egg whites until they are stiff and fold them gently into the lemon mixture. Fold in the whipped cream and lemon rind. Mix well until very smooth. Chill and just before serving, cover the berries with the mousse.


Chocolate-Raspberry Ice Cream Pie (adapted from Woman’s Day)

12-15 whole chocolate graham crackers
5 Tbsp butter, softened
¼ cup sugar
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 pint raspberry sorbet
1 pint chocolate ice cream (premium)
1 pint red raspberries
1 cup whipped cream or topping

Coat 9-in. pie plate with cooking spray. Pulse cracker in food processor until fine crumbs. Add butter and sugar and process until moistened. Press firmly over bottom and up sides of pie plate. Freeze 30 minutes. Place vanilla ice cream in the refrigerator for 0 minutes to slightly soften. Pack into crust with a large spoon; spread evenly. Freeze 15 minutes. Meanwhile, soften sorbet as above; spread on vanilla ice cream. Freeze until firm while slightly softening chocolate ice cream. Spread evenly on sorbet. Freeze at least 3 hours, or wrap airtight and freeze up to 1 week. To serve: top pie with half of the raspberries. Drop spoonfuls of whipped cream on berries; spread evenly. Top with remaining berries.

Small Plates

Have you noticed that all the trendy restaurants are offering “small plates”? If you aren’t abreast of this new food fad, it’s a sampling of dishes in very small amounts instead of the large, even giant-sized servings restaurants are usually guilty of serving. It’s a great idea, I think.

In July, I mentioned my “Cruise Diet” and shared my success with it during our vacation. A few years ago, I attended a weekend wedding in Kohler, Wisconsin and I am even more sure that the theory works. The small plate concept is a large part of the diet.

The wedding, by the way, was a fabulous 2-day affair. I had never been to Kohler and didn’t realize what an interesting place it is. It is almost spooky in its pristine streets and houses; rather like Stepford. The welcoming dinner on Saturday night was held in the Kohler Design Center. So we wined and dined among the bathroom fixtures. The food was served on several floors: main level had a bar, Wisconsin artisan cheese display, mini Sheboygan bratwurst, roasted garlic and horseradish crusted beef, a sirloin carving station and a pizza buffet. The whirlpool level had the band. The upper kitchens level had roasted chicken and tables for eating and the lower level had frozen custards.

On Sunday the wedding took place at 4:00 in the afternoon at The American Club, a beautiful old club-turned-hotel. The rooms, furnishings, chandeliers, courtyard gardens—everything—was elegant and opulent and the outdoor ceremony was held in perfect October weather.

However, since this column concerns itself mainly with food, it was the food that most impressed me. The dinner menu began with a tomato consommé which was like no tomato consommé that I have ever tasted or, for that matter, seen. It was clear, served in a shot glass, and had a tiny half grape tomato and a sprig of basil (also tiny) floating in it.
It was delicious.

The next course was a salad, followed by an “intermezzo”, a Meyer lemon sorbet. But the amount of sorbet was a tiny scoop, just enough to refresh your pallet and whet your appetite for the main course. What a civilized way to eat! Of course, we’d all have to have personal chefs and a maid or two for serving—but it really was very special.

Main course options were Beef tenderloin, Sea Bass or Mushroom ravioli and were all delicious, judging from the comments at our table.

The trend to make small amounts and more of them is not limited to the poshest restaurants or elaborate weddings. Right here in town, Oar D’oeuvres has the “small plate” concept wrapped up. Of course their desserts are hardly in the small category. But I like the idea of sampling more foods without filling up beyond capacity. And it’s more fun—that’s why the Cruise Diet works—eating becomes very pleasurable again; done at a much slower pace, without the need to stuff.

Tapas, sushi, dim sum, sampler plates--all are restaurant specialties, but what about the home scene? It really is an old idea, reworked. When I was growing up, my mother taught me the basic 6 as the meal plan: meat, starchy food, vegetable, salad, bread and dessert. In those days people ate a lot of pickles, olives, relishes, raw veggies, cottage cheese, applesauce, along side their main meal. But there was never a large serving of anything, because you couldn’t possibly eat that much (well, maybe, but it wasn’t quite as tempting). It was the retro version of small plates.

Here at the inn, we added a course at breakfast, but made the fruit and dessert courses really small. People can’t really eat a banquet at breakfast, but they seem to enjoy sampling lots of small, delicious courses. Newly popular but old fashioned desserts we are serving are chocolate pots de crème. I even found some cute little chocolate pots at the Red Wing Pottery Sales Room, just right for this dessert with handles and covers—but they are very small. It is a very rich dessert—easy to prepare. I give you Candlelight Inn’s version of the small plate.

Chocolate Pots de Crème (Makes 10 small desserts)

1 6-oz. package semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 and one-fourth cups light cream
1 egg yolk
Dash salt
Sweetened raspberries
Whipped cream

In a heavy saucepan, combine chocolate and cream. Stir constantly over low heat
until blended and satin smooth. Mixture should be slightly thick. Do not allow to boil. Beat egg yolk with salt until thick and light. Gradually stir in chocolate mixture. Spoon into cups or small dessert dishes. Cover and chill at least 3 hours or until mixture is the consistency of pudding. When ready to serve, spoon some sweetened raspberries and their syrup over and top with a tiny curl of whipped cream.