Many two-income families eat out a lot. When they eat at home, they eat a lot of processed foods and convenience items. This can cause elevated levels of cholesterol and other nutritionally related illnesses. I went to my nutrition sources—and nothing really makes sense.
Jane Brody says in her classic “Good Food Book” the following:
In the meals of Mexico, India, Japan, the Middle East, China, Turkey, Greece and Italy, emphasis is on the starchy foods, using animal protein more as a condiment and as a complement to the protein in plant foods than as the centerpiece of the menu. To be sure, as affluence increases in these and similar countries, so does the consumption of animal foods, especially red meat. And along with it goes an increase in the chronic health problems that now afflict Americans.
On the opposite side of the coin, we all know about the Atkins revolution, and the other diets that also tout high protein, low carbohydrate intake as the solution to overweight and the attendant diseases caused by high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and elevated blood sugar (diabetes).
So who is right? I don’t know. But I still believe that a moderate amount of fat and protein and a large amount of complex carbohydrates makes the most sense, if only because it is the easiest one for Americans to stick with. We all know people who have lost lots of weight on the low-carb diet program, but are now just as heavy or heavier after resuming normal eating patterns. Potatoes, rice, bread and pasta are the foundational foods of comfort and pleasure for most Americans. It seems to be easier to add smaller amounts of protein than to cut out the “starchy” foods. Steering away from refined grains is the answer, I think. Eat potatoes with the skins still on and sans the butter and sour cream (or just a little). Try brown rice, whole grain breads and whole wheat pasta—they’re good. I still adhere to the anti-deprivation concept in my “Cruise Diet”: eat smaller amounts of any food you like and don’t attach moral judgments to food i.e. “good” foods and “bad” foods. Rather, start to welcome food and relate to it in a way that allows you to relax, be aware of what you’re eating, derive pleasure from the eating experience, and eat quality foods. When we succeed at doing that, we keep the cortisol and other stress hormones from causing our metabolisms to misfire and cause lots of belly fat.
Here is a delicious and “healthy” recipe from Jane Brody’s Good Food Book:
Potato Soufflé
1 and one-half pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 Tbsp butter, divided
1 medium onion, chopped (about one-half cup)
One-fourth pound mushrooms, chopped (about 1 cup)
One-fourth cup grated Parmesan, divided
One-fourth tsp. salt, if desired
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 egg yolks
6 egg whites
Cook the potato cubes in water to cover until they are soft, about 10 minutes. Drain and mash with a ricer or process them through a food mill into a large bowl. Stir in 1 Tbsp of the butter. While the potatoes are cooking, melt the remaining 1 Tbsp. butter in small skillet. Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté them until they give off their liquid and begin to dry. Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 2-quart soufflé dish with butter or vegetable-oil spray. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of the Parmesan on the bottom and sides of the dish. Set aside. Add the sautéed vegetables to the mashed potatoes along with the remaining Parmesan, the salt and pepper. Beat the egg yolks, one at a time, into the mixture. In a clean medium bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt, until they are stiff but not dry. Fold one-third of the beaten whites into the potato mixture, mixing gently but well. Fold in the remaining whites. Immediately transfer the mixture to the prepared soufflé dish. Bake the soufflé in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Serve immediately.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Regional Cooking
Sometimes when you’re entering an American city by car it looks all too familiar. The green freeway signs, the tall symbols beckoning you to buy the same brands of gas, stay in the same motels and eat at the golden arches or one of the other well-known franchises. If you had kids in the car, experiencing the city for the first time and they happened to look up from their comic books long enough to glance about, they wouldn’t likely find any distinguishing features to tell them where they are.
The airports are also all the same. A well-seasoned business traveler might be hard put to tell one city from another if he only changed planes at the airport.
And yet, our American cities still have their personalities, their distinctions, their individuality, their regionalism. Especially when it comes to food. Ask almost anyone what region he thinks of when he thinks of clam chowder, boiled dinner, and clam bake. Ask about roast pork, mashed potatoes and apple pie. See how he responds when you mention Tex-Mex, avocados and…you see? When it comes to food at least, we are still distinctive.
The Time-Life series of books, Foods of the World has a general volume named American Cooking; it then has several volumes of the various regions. In American Cooking 12 gastronomic regions are listed: Alaska; Hawaii; Washington-Oregon; California; Mountain States; Arizona, New Mexico, Texas; Plains States; Midwest; New England; Mid-Atlantic; The South; Florida.
The plains States include North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma while the Midwest category is comprised of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. But I think they have it wrong. It should be divided into upper and lower Midwest. Our great Scandinavian heritage is given to the plains states and Polish and Southern cooking to the Midwest?
Nevertheless, here are some of the most well-known regional American dishes. It’s easy enough to tell what basic region these are from—and here are a few recipes to try for a regional flavor.
New England: Boiled dinner, Red-Flannel Hash, Boston Baked Beans, Pennsylvania Dutch Fried Tomatoes
South and Southwest: Pecan Pie, Key Lime Pie, Grits and Cheddar Cheese Casserole, Southern Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy, Jambalaya.
Pacific Coast: Cioppino, Avocado-Tomato Cocktail, Palace Court Salad, Dungeness crab Salad.
Midwest: Stuffed pork chops, fried Smelts with butter, clover leaf rolls, strawberry shortcake.
New England boiled dinner
4 pounds corned beef
2 pounds green cabbage, cored and quartered
12 to 16 new potatoes, about 1 ½ inches in diameter, peeled
6 small carrots, scraped
12 small white onions, about 1 inch in diameter, peeled and trimmed
6 medium-sized beets
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley.
Place the corned beef in a 5 or 6 quart pot and cover it with enough cold water to rise at least 2 inches above the top of the meat. Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Half cover the pot, turn the heat to low and cook the beef from 4 to 6 hours or until tender. Cook the cabbage separately in boiling salted water for about 15 minutes. The potatoes, carrots and onions may be cooked together in a pot of salted boiling water of their own. The beets, however, require different treatment. Scrub them thoroughly, then cut off their tops, leaving 1 inch of stem. Cover them with boiling water and bring to a boil. Simmer the beets from ½ to 1 ½ hours, or until they are tender. Let them cool a bit, then slip off their skins.
To serve: Slice the corned beef and arrange it along the center of a large heated platter. Surround the meat with the vegetables and sprinkle the vegetables with chopped parsley. Horseradish, mustard and a variety of pickles make excellent accompaniments to this hearty meal.
Grits and Cheddar Cheese Casserole (serves 4-6)
2 Tbsp butter
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 cups water
½ tsp salt
½ cup quick grits
1 tsp. Tabasco
Freshly ground pepper
1 ¾ cups grated Cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp soft butter
2 egg whites
In small skillet, melt 2 Tbsp of butter over medium heat. Add ¼ cup onion and cook for 4 or 5 minutes. Meanwhile bring the 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the salt and pour in the grits slowly without allowing the water to stop boiling. Boil for about a minute, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to medium and cook for another 2 minutes. Add to grits the onions, the Tabasco, black pepper and 1 ½ cups of the cheese combined with soft butter.
Butter a 1-quart casserole or soufflé dish and preheat oven to 400. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Thoroughly fold the egg whites into the grits mixture. Pour into the casserole and sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until mixture has puffed and browned. Serve at once.
The airports are also all the same. A well-seasoned business traveler might be hard put to tell one city from another if he only changed planes at the airport.
And yet, our American cities still have their personalities, their distinctions, their individuality, their regionalism. Especially when it comes to food. Ask almost anyone what region he thinks of when he thinks of clam chowder, boiled dinner, and clam bake. Ask about roast pork, mashed potatoes and apple pie. See how he responds when you mention Tex-Mex, avocados and…you see? When it comes to food at least, we are still distinctive.
The Time-Life series of books, Foods of the World has a general volume named American Cooking; it then has several volumes of the various regions. In American Cooking 12 gastronomic regions are listed: Alaska; Hawaii; Washington-Oregon; California; Mountain States; Arizona, New Mexico, Texas; Plains States; Midwest; New England; Mid-Atlantic; The South; Florida.
The plains States include North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma while the Midwest category is comprised of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. But I think they have it wrong. It should be divided into upper and lower Midwest. Our great Scandinavian heritage is given to the plains states and Polish and Southern cooking to the Midwest?
Nevertheless, here are some of the most well-known regional American dishes. It’s easy enough to tell what basic region these are from—and here are a few recipes to try for a regional flavor.
New England: Boiled dinner, Red-Flannel Hash, Boston Baked Beans, Pennsylvania Dutch Fried Tomatoes
South and Southwest: Pecan Pie, Key Lime Pie, Grits and Cheddar Cheese Casserole, Southern Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy, Jambalaya.
Pacific Coast: Cioppino, Avocado-Tomato Cocktail, Palace Court Salad, Dungeness crab Salad.
Midwest: Stuffed pork chops, fried Smelts with butter, clover leaf rolls, strawberry shortcake.
New England boiled dinner
4 pounds corned beef
2 pounds green cabbage, cored and quartered
12 to 16 new potatoes, about 1 ½ inches in diameter, peeled
6 small carrots, scraped
12 small white onions, about 1 inch in diameter, peeled and trimmed
6 medium-sized beets
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley.
Place the corned beef in a 5 or 6 quart pot and cover it with enough cold water to rise at least 2 inches above the top of the meat. Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Half cover the pot, turn the heat to low and cook the beef from 4 to 6 hours or until tender. Cook the cabbage separately in boiling salted water for about 15 minutes. The potatoes, carrots and onions may be cooked together in a pot of salted boiling water of their own. The beets, however, require different treatment. Scrub them thoroughly, then cut off their tops, leaving 1 inch of stem. Cover them with boiling water and bring to a boil. Simmer the beets from ½ to 1 ½ hours, or until they are tender. Let them cool a bit, then slip off their skins.
To serve: Slice the corned beef and arrange it along the center of a large heated platter. Surround the meat with the vegetables and sprinkle the vegetables with chopped parsley. Horseradish, mustard and a variety of pickles make excellent accompaniments to this hearty meal.
Grits and Cheddar Cheese Casserole (serves 4-6)
2 Tbsp butter
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 cups water
½ tsp salt
½ cup quick grits
1 tsp. Tabasco
Freshly ground pepper
1 ¾ cups grated Cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp soft butter
2 egg whites
In small skillet, melt 2 Tbsp of butter over medium heat. Add ¼ cup onion and cook for 4 or 5 minutes. Meanwhile bring the 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the salt and pour in the grits slowly without allowing the water to stop boiling. Boil for about a minute, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to medium and cook for another 2 minutes. Add to grits the onions, the Tabasco, black pepper and 1 ½ cups of the cheese combined with soft butter.
Butter a 1-quart casserole or soufflé dish and preheat oven to 400. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Thoroughly fold the egg whites into the grits mixture. Pour into the casserole and sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until mixture has puffed and browned. Serve at once.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Not Your Ordinary Bridal Shower
June is still the traditional wedding month. I hear that August, September and October are giving June a run for the number one month, but there is something about the month of June that feels bridal. If the wedding is later in the summer or early fall, then give a bridal shower in June and take advantage of the season of strawberries, roses, peonies, and wonderful weather (well, usually).
And speaking of strawberries, roses and peonies, they all come in shades of that girly color, pink. Yes I know that showers these days can be co-ed, but I still prefer the traditional female get together where the “girls” can play silly games, keep the ribbons for a rehearsal bouquet, and make cutesy decorations in pink or fuchsia.
I was one of the lucky guests at just such an ultra feminine bridal shower last year at the Alexander Mansion B&B in Winona and I loved it. We drew pictures of the bride on top of our heads, made lists of the bride and groom’s preferences from color to pet names and compared them with the real thing. We laughed and drank creamy punch, loved the centerpieces wrapped in tulle and watched the bride open kitchen gadgets in—you guessed it—everything pink. We oohed and aahed over the beautiful cupcakes in a rainbow of colors and flavors, and admired each other’s shoes while we won points in another game with the contents of our purses. This is not a man’s environment, although any guy would have liked the assorted sandwiches, pasta salad and yummy salsa. The salsa is sometimes called Texas caviar and is also known as Cowboy salad. I guess that is masculine enough.
Punch is always a fun way to serve the beverage—I loved the creamy pink concoction served at the shower I attended—but they had a second choice that was even better. It was just a juice mixture to which you could add champagne. I didn’t get the recipe, but came home and came up with one I loved.
Here’s a menu that looks beautiful and “girly” and tastes delicious too. Choose either the “from scratch” method or the short and easy version:
Pink punch
Sandwich selections
Salami cornucopias
Texas caviar and chips
Pasta salad
Assorted cupcakes
Pink punch
1 750-ml bottle cranberry cocktail
1 pint pomegranate juice
1 2 ltr bottle strawberry soda
Strawberry ice ring
Pink champagne
Mix cranberry cocktail and pomegranate juice and refrigerate until serving time. When ready to serve, put cranberry mixture into punch bowl with strawberry ice ring and slowly pour strawberry soda into bowl. Open regular or pink champagne and place in an ice bucket next to the punch bowl for those who would like to add some sparkly to their punch.
Strawberry ice ring:
Fill metal ring molds with water tinted pink. Freeze until almost set. Place whole washed strawberries around ring, evenly spaced. Freeze until solid. Unmold by dipping ring into warm water briefly, careful not to let water come over the rim.
Sandwiches
Open face cream cheese and cucumber on wild rice bread
Buttered Peasant bread (hearty, seeded) with roast beef slices
Ham and very thin sliced Swiss cheese on deli rye with Durkee sauce spread
Salami cornucopias
Roll deli thin-sliced salami into cornucopia shapes; fasten with toothpicks on which a pickle slice is skewered. Mix a garlic flavored soft cheese such as Boursin with enough half and half to thin it a bit. Beat until fluffy. Carefully fill cornucopias with cheese mixture.
Texas Caviar
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz.) shoe-peg corn, drained
1 can (15 oz.) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
½ cup thinly sliced green onions, white and green included
½ cup minced fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp. lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt*
Mix first eight ingredients in large bowl. Mix together lime juice, garlic cloves, sugar and salt in a lidded jar. Shake until well mixed and pour over ingredients in bowl. Serve as a salad or with chips as a salsa.
*can use low-fat Italian dressing in place of last four ingredients.
Everything was delicious and beautiful and we all had fun. The husbands that came along had been sitting around the kitchen table and all the leftovers were gone when we packed up to go home.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Graduating and Celebrating
June 11th is King Kamehameha’s birthday and is an official holiday in Hawaii. Hawaiians love holidays and don’t need much of an excuse to have a luau or feast. Here in Red Wing, we’re doing a little celebrating of our own as our high school seniors graduate and that will mean a lot of graduation open houses. I’m guessing that most people giving these parties have all their plans made, but on the off chance that some are still looking for ideas, why not have a Hawaiian theme?
The Hawaiians are a generous, fun-loving people who ooze charm and hospitality and, coupled with their enchanting natural surroundings, are natural party givers. They have a tremendously diverse population, a melting pot of the Pacific, which contributes to the unique and delicious Hawaiian cuisine. Hawaiian food is derived from the Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Filipinos who make up the greatest number of inhabitants; add to them smaller numbers of Koreans, Puerto Ricans, Germans Galician Poles, Russians, Norwegians, Gilbert Islanders, Italians, Marquesans, Spaniards, Tahitians and Samoans. Most of these latter groups returned home at the end of a contract period working on plantations, but all left a trace of their culture on the islands.
For the graduation party, a selection of finger foods, hors d’oeuvre, salads and desserts is the usual fare. The Hawaiian version of hors d’oeuvre is the puu puu dish. And it’s a wonderful dish—a potpourri of international delicacies that reflect the many ethnic influences of the Hawaiian cuisine. The most typical puu puu tray consists of Chinese-style barbecued spareribs, butterfly shrimps, Japanese Kumaki on sticks, Korean meat balls, Hawaiian Lomi Lomi salmon, cherries, punch, sugar-glazed pineapple chunks and fresh roasted macadamia nuts. Other goodies that can be added or substituted are dips, chips, small cold tidbits, shrimp balls and chicken wings.
Pineapple Kumaki (also known as Rumaki, but there is no R in the Hawaiian alphabet)
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch cubes
¾ pound bacon slices, halved
Marinade:
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup pineapple juice
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 slice fresh ginger root, minced
Wrap each pineapple cube with half a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place in a shallow pan and cover with marinade, coating well. Marinate for 3 hours at room temperature or overnight in refrigerator. Prior to serving, roll in additional brown sugar. Bake on a rack over a foil-lined pan in a 375 deg. oven, or broil 3 to 4 inches from flame, turning until bacon is crisp. Replace toothpicks with fancy picks before serving. Bananas can be used instead of or in addition to the pineapple.
Korean Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp salt
2 scallions, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tbsp sesame seeds, pulverized
Dash freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten with 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
½ cup flour mixed with 1 Tbsp. paprika
Oil for frying
Mix the first nine ingredients together in a bowl. Shape into small meatballs. Dip in egg mixture then roll in flour and paprika. Heat oil in skillet and brown evenly on all sides. Serve with Vinegar-Shoyu Sauce. 25-30 meatballs.
Vinegar-Shoyu Sauce
Combine equal amounts of soy sauce and vinegar (6 Tbsp. soy sauce, 6 Tbsp vinegar). Add 3 Tbsp sugar and mix well.
Watermelon Boat Salad
Fill a hollowed-out watermelon half with chunks of watermelon, cantaloupe, honey-dew, pineapple, banana, star fruit, grapes, Kiwi fruits and strawberries. Serve a bowl of this sauce on the side:
Sauce
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup grated fresh or packaged coconut
¼ cup apricot preserves
2 Tbsp lemon juice
½ cup chopped macadamia nuts
Blend all well and chill until serving time.
Kona Chicken Salad
3 medium sized ripe pineapples
2 small cans water chestnuts, sliced
6 cups diced cooked chicken
2 cups thinly sliced celery
2 Tbsp. grated onion
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
Dressing
Salt, pepper to taste
Strawberries and mint for garnish
Cut pineapples in half, carefully retaining the leaves. Scoop out the fruit and dice, discarding the inedible core. Drain the water chestnuts. Mix pineapple, water chestnuts, chicken, celery, onion and nuts with dressing. Add seasonings and mix. Pile into pineapple shells and garnish with strawberries and mint. Chill thoroughly before serving
Coconut Crunchies
½ cup sugar
4 Tbsp butter
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
¾ cup flour
2 eggs, unbeaten
½ cup sugar
½ tsp pineapple extract
¼ tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup corn flakes
1 cup coconut
Cream sugar, butter and rind; blend in flour. Press mixture into 9-inch baking pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine eggs, extract, sugar and salt and blend well. Fold in remaining ingredients and spread over hot baked crust and return to oven for 25 minutes. Permit to cool in pan but cut into squares while hot.
The Hawaiians are a generous, fun-loving people who ooze charm and hospitality and, coupled with their enchanting natural surroundings, are natural party givers. They have a tremendously diverse population, a melting pot of the Pacific, which contributes to the unique and delicious Hawaiian cuisine. Hawaiian food is derived from the Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Filipinos who make up the greatest number of inhabitants; add to them smaller numbers of Koreans, Puerto Ricans, Germans Galician Poles, Russians, Norwegians, Gilbert Islanders, Italians, Marquesans, Spaniards, Tahitians and Samoans. Most of these latter groups returned home at the end of a contract period working on plantations, but all left a trace of their culture on the islands.
For the graduation party, a selection of finger foods, hors d’oeuvre, salads and desserts is the usual fare. The Hawaiian version of hors d’oeuvre is the puu puu dish. And it’s a wonderful dish—a potpourri of international delicacies that reflect the many ethnic influences of the Hawaiian cuisine. The most typical puu puu tray consists of Chinese-style barbecued spareribs, butterfly shrimps, Japanese Kumaki on sticks, Korean meat balls, Hawaiian Lomi Lomi salmon, cherries, punch, sugar-glazed pineapple chunks and fresh roasted macadamia nuts. Other goodies that can be added or substituted are dips, chips, small cold tidbits, shrimp balls and chicken wings.
Pineapple Kumaki (also known as Rumaki, but there is no R in the Hawaiian alphabet)
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch cubes
¾ pound bacon slices, halved
Marinade:
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup pineapple juice
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 slice fresh ginger root, minced
Wrap each pineapple cube with half a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place in a shallow pan and cover with marinade, coating well. Marinate for 3 hours at room temperature or overnight in refrigerator. Prior to serving, roll in additional brown sugar. Bake on a rack over a foil-lined pan in a 375 deg. oven, or broil 3 to 4 inches from flame, turning until bacon is crisp. Replace toothpicks with fancy picks before serving. Bananas can be used instead of or in addition to the pineapple.
Korean Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp salt
2 scallions, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tbsp sesame seeds, pulverized
Dash freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten with 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
½ cup flour mixed with 1 Tbsp. paprika
Oil for frying
Mix the first nine ingredients together in a bowl. Shape into small meatballs. Dip in egg mixture then roll in flour and paprika. Heat oil in skillet and brown evenly on all sides. Serve with Vinegar-Shoyu Sauce. 25-30 meatballs.
Vinegar-Shoyu Sauce
Combine equal amounts of soy sauce and vinegar (6 Tbsp. soy sauce, 6 Tbsp vinegar). Add 3 Tbsp sugar and mix well.
Watermelon Boat Salad
Fill a hollowed-out watermelon half with chunks of watermelon, cantaloupe, honey-dew, pineapple, banana, star fruit, grapes, Kiwi fruits and strawberries. Serve a bowl of this sauce on the side:
Sauce
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup grated fresh or packaged coconut
¼ cup apricot preserves
2 Tbsp lemon juice
½ cup chopped macadamia nuts
Blend all well and chill until serving time.
Kona Chicken Salad
3 medium sized ripe pineapples
2 small cans water chestnuts, sliced
6 cups diced cooked chicken
2 cups thinly sliced celery
2 Tbsp. grated onion
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
Dressing
Salt, pepper to taste
Strawberries and mint for garnish
Cut pineapples in half, carefully retaining the leaves. Scoop out the fruit and dice, discarding the inedible core. Drain the water chestnuts. Mix pineapple, water chestnuts, chicken, celery, onion and nuts with dressing. Add seasonings and mix. Pile into pineapple shells and garnish with strawberries and mint. Chill thoroughly before serving
Coconut Crunchies
½ cup sugar
4 Tbsp butter
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
¾ cup flour
2 eggs, unbeaten
½ cup sugar
½ tsp pineapple extract
¼ tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup corn flakes
1 cup coconut
Cream sugar, butter and rind; blend in flour. Press mixture into 9-inch baking pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine eggs, extract, sugar and salt and blend well. Fold in remaining ingredients and spread over hot baked crust and return to oven for 25 minutes. Permit to cool in pan but cut into squares while hot.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Cooking With Kids
Kids are enthusiastic cooks—and good ones, too. Given encouragement and supervision they can become fantastic cooks who take a major role in preparing family meals. Not only is that a great help for the whole family, but it often leads to a life-long interest and love of cooking.
Take me, for instance. I started my cooking career at the tender age of 3. This actually is a perfect age, as parents of toddlers can tell you. A child of this age wants to do whatever the grown-ups do and often drives mom (especially) or dad crazy by following him/her around all the time trying to do whatever the adult is doing. Put toddlers to work and you won’t regret it.
Cookies make the obvious best first cooking experience. They are fun, they are easy, they are versatile and they can take a lot of abuse. Let your child have pretty much free reign, but explain as you go why you make yours as you do. My mom would say while making pie dough (her specialty), “See, I barely touch it as I gather it into a ball in the bowl. Then I only roll it out once.” I would continue to play with my dough, but after it was baked, mine was gray and tough. Then Mom could explain that all that handling had caused it.
By age 6 or so, I had learned to make a perfect pie crust and delicious, pretty cookies. The oohs and aahs I received from family and guests kept me going. This is a good age to teach your child to use the sharp tools. I remember my mom taking a carrot and with the sharp chef’s knife, lopping off a finger-sized piece. “That’s what can happen to a finger if you’re not very, very careful.” I remember my granddaughter Crystal at age 8, standing on a stool with a chef’s knife chopping vegetables for a dish we were making. I was right opposite her, watching carefully but letting her do it. She was ecstatic that someone was letting her use the knife—no one ever had before. She was very, very careful and did a great job. Graters are another tool that can be taught around this age.
Once the sharp tools are out of the way, the next hurdle is the range. This needs to wait until 10 or so I think. Supervision for quite awhile is a good idea. You know your child—some are capable earlier than others. When a child has shown the ability to handle the range, the time has come to allow him/her to make a complete family meal.
The first time this is undertaken, the adult should stay with the procedure from start to finish for a lot of reasons. First, planning and shopping are needed. But once the actual cooking is underway, timing becomes the biggest problem. I served my first family meal at age 12—I did everything alone. We ate at 11:30 PM.
Here are two dishes we made while down in Florida with the grandkids (ages 10 and 12). They were a great success—and two dishes the kids have now in their repertoire.
Tacos
This taco recipe came from my 7th grade Home Ec class when I was living in the Los Angeles area. The teacher was Mexican and she swore this was the authentic way to make tacos. The one change I have made is the taco seasoning pack instead of the individual seasonings. The potato not only adds flavor, but the potato starch helps to thicken the filling, so if you opt to use your own spices, the mixture still thickens well.
8 soft flour tortillas or 12 pre-formed crisp corn taco shells (we prefer the soft)
12 ounces hamburger meat
1 medium potato
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
½ onion, chopped fine (optional)
Condiments:
Shredded cheddar cheese
Thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
Finely chopped fresh tomatoes (or use canned diced tomatoes)
Chopped ripe olives
Finely diced avocado
Sour cream
Taco sauce or salsa
Scrub potato well and grate with skin on, using medium grating blades of a box grater right into a bowl so juice is with potato. Do not squeeze or drain. Set aside.
Fry hamburger and onions (if using) and grated potato in skillet on medium heat. Cook and stir for about 10 minutes. When hamburger is medium brown, drain fat. Add the contents of the taco seasoning mix envelope to the skillet and follow directions on package. Fill tortillas with 2 Tbsp. of filling and set out the condiments in bowls.
Yellow cake with Penuche Frosting
Everyone raves about this frosting. It is a real winner.
1 Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix
Make cake exactly as the box says. This will require 3 eggs, 1 1/3 cups water and 1/3 cup vegetable oil.
Frosting
½ cup butter (one stick)
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
¼ cup milk
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in brown sugar. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring. Stir in milk. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Set the pan in cold water. When syrup is lukewarm (bottom of pan is just warm, not hot), stir in powdered sugar. Set pan in ice water. Beat until thick enough to spread. If frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If too thick, add a few drops of hot water.
Take me, for instance. I started my cooking career at the tender age of 3. This actually is a perfect age, as parents of toddlers can tell you. A child of this age wants to do whatever the grown-ups do and often drives mom (especially) or dad crazy by following him/her around all the time trying to do whatever the adult is doing. Put toddlers to work and you won’t regret it.
Cookies make the obvious best first cooking experience. They are fun, they are easy, they are versatile and they can take a lot of abuse. Let your child have pretty much free reign, but explain as you go why you make yours as you do. My mom would say while making pie dough (her specialty), “See, I barely touch it as I gather it into a ball in the bowl. Then I only roll it out once.” I would continue to play with my dough, but after it was baked, mine was gray and tough. Then Mom could explain that all that handling had caused it.
By age 6 or so, I had learned to make a perfect pie crust and delicious, pretty cookies. The oohs and aahs I received from family and guests kept me going. This is a good age to teach your child to use the sharp tools. I remember my mom taking a carrot and with the sharp chef’s knife, lopping off a finger-sized piece. “That’s what can happen to a finger if you’re not very, very careful.” I remember my granddaughter Crystal at age 8, standing on a stool with a chef’s knife chopping vegetables for a dish we were making. I was right opposite her, watching carefully but letting her do it. She was ecstatic that someone was letting her use the knife—no one ever had before. She was very, very careful and did a great job. Graters are another tool that can be taught around this age.
Once the sharp tools are out of the way, the next hurdle is the range. This needs to wait until 10 or so I think. Supervision for quite awhile is a good idea. You know your child—some are capable earlier than others. When a child has shown the ability to handle the range, the time has come to allow him/her to make a complete family meal.
The first time this is undertaken, the adult should stay with the procedure from start to finish for a lot of reasons. First, planning and shopping are needed. But once the actual cooking is underway, timing becomes the biggest problem. I served my first family meal at age 12—I did everything alone. We ate at 11:30 PM.
Here are two dishes we made while down in Florida with the grandkids (ages 10 and 12). They were a great success—and two dishes the kids have now in their repertoire.
Tacos
This taco recipe came from my 7th grade Home Ec class when I was living in the Los Angeles area. The teacher was Mexican and she swore this was the authentic way to make tacos. The one change I have made is the taco seasoning pack instead of the individual seasonings. The potato not only adds flavor, but the potato starch helps to thicken the filling, so if you opt to use your own spices, the mixture still thickens well.
8 soft flour tortillas or 12 pre-formed crisp corn taco shells (we prefer the soft)
12 ounces hamburger meat
1 medium potato
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
½ onion, chopped fine (optional)
Condiments:
Shredded cheddar cheese
Thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
Finely chopped fresh tomatoes (or use canned diced tomatoes)
Chopped ripe olives
Finely diced avocado
Sour cream
Taco sauce or salsa
Scrub potato well and grate with skin on, using medium grating blades of a box grater right into a bowl so juice is with potato. Do not squeeze or drain. Set aside.
Fry hamburger and onions (if using) and grated potato in skillet on medium heat. Cook and stir for about 10 minutes. When hamburger is medium brown, drain fat. Add the contents of the taco seasoning mix envelope to the skillet and follow directions on package. Fill tortillas with 2 Tbsp. of filling and set out the condiments in bowls.
Yellow cake with Penuche Frosting
Everyone raves about this frosting. It is a real winner.
1 Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix
Make cake exactly as the box says. This will require 3 eggs, 1 1/3 cups water and 1/3 cup vegetable oil.
Frosting
½ cup butter (one stick)
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
¼ cup milk
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in brown sugar. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring. Stir in milk. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Set the pan in cold water. When syrup is lukewarm (bottom of pan is just warm, not hot), stir in powdered sugar. Set pan in ice water. Beat until thick enough to spread. If frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If too thick, add a few drops of hot water.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Children's Day
When I was young my brother and I always protested on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day—why isn’t there a Children’s Day? And we got the parents’ stock answer—“Every day is Children’s Day. Didn’t you hear that, too? Well, little did I know (or probably you either) there is one—celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of June which this year is June 13.
Now that I’m old, I have to agree that every day is Children’s Day. I think it is celebrated in churches as church Sunday schools wind up for the school year and children are celebrated for their achievements, but it could be a great opportunity to cook with children and get them started on the greatest pursuit I know.
I have several cookbooks in my collection meant especially for children and some that are geared to children’s foods. As one of my books, Kim’s Cookbook for Young Children says, “Cooking is easy to do and there are so many fun things to make you will want to be cooking all the time.” Last weekend, while visiting my oldest son in Madison, I was astounded to find that he has developed a major interest in cooking and was very knowledgeable about many different facets of it. This is a relatively new development, although he has always enjoyed making a few specialties; he is now experimenting with many different techniques and foods. It was very satisfying—after raising three boys that I would never have dreamed would care about cooking. So you never know what you’re starting when you cook with kids.
To start with children it is a great idea to make something that is do-able, delicious and fun! Also, if it is possible, a dish that allows them to be somewhat creative. While you are there helping, you can make many things—leave the actual lessons in independent cooking for later. A great starter for any age is cupcakes.
Cupcakes are enjoying a surge of popularity right now—there are even special cupcake holders that form a cake with tiers of cupcakes. It’s great for a birthday party because it delivers an individual unit for each person. Also each cupcake can be different. A great idea is to pipe each child’s name on a cupcake and add a small flower or other decoration if there is room.
Here’s an easy, classic cake recipe to use as your base: (adapted from Little Cakes by Kaye and Liv Hansen)
Use paper liners in a standard 12-cup muffin tin. Spray each liner with vegetable spray—very lightly—so that they will peel away from cake cleanly.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1 ¾ cups plus 2 Tbsp. cake flour
¾ tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup plus 2 ½ tsp. warmed milk
2 large eggs
1 stick soft butter
½ tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp baking powder
Sift into mixer bowl the flour and salt. Add sugar and mix; then add milk, eggs, butter and vanilla. Beat on low speed with whisk attachment for 1 minute. Scrape bowl. Beat at medium low speed for 1 ½ minutes. Add baking powder last and mix on low for 30 seconds. Fill each liner ¾ full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely before decorating.
Icing
2 sticks butter
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 Tbsp meringue powder
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp milk or half and half
In bowl of an electric mixer at medium-high speed, beat the butter until creamy. Add sugar, meringue powder, vanilla and salt all at once and beat at low speed until smooth. Add milk and continue beating until light and creamy.
To make a chocolate buttercream, combine 2 to 3 ounces of melted semisweet chocolate at body temperature to each cup of above recipe. Mix until smooth and completely blended.
With colored icing and nonpareils and other candies of your choice decorate cupcakes to your and your children’s content and delight.
CHILDREN—take ‘em as they run—
You kin bet on ev’ry one!—
Treat ‘em right and reco’nize
Human souls is all one size.
Jevver think?—the world’s best men
Wears the same souls they had when
They run barefoot—‘way back where
All these little children air.
--James Whitcomb Riley
Happy Children’s Day!
Here are a few of my favorite cookbooks for and about children:
Little Cakes From The Whimsical Bakehouse by Kaye Hansen and Liv Hansen (2008)
Betty Crocker’s Cook Book for Boys and Girls (1957)
Kim’s Cookbook for Young People from Red Farm Studio (1971)
The Country Mothers Cookbook by Jane Watson Hopping (1991)
Young Children’s Mix and Fix Cookbook from Parents’ Magazine (1975)
Now that I’m old, I have to agree that every day is Children’s Day. I think it is celebrated in churches as church Sunday schools wind up for the school year and children are celebrated for their achievements, but it could be a great opportunity to cook with children and get them started on the greatest pursuit I know.
I have several cookbooks in my collection meant especially for children and some that are geared to children’s foods. As one of my books, Kim’s Cookbook for Young Children says, “Cooking is easy to do and there are so many fun things to make you will want to be cooking all the time.” Last weekend, while visiting my oldest son in Madison, I was astounded to find that he has developed a major interest in cooking and was very knowledgeable about many different facets of it. This is a relatively new development, although he has always enjoyed making a few specialties; he is now experimenting with many different techniques and foods. It was very satisfying—after raising three boys that I would never have dreamed would care about cooking. So you never know what you’re starting when you cook with kids.
To start with children it is a great idea to make something that is do-able, delicious and fun! Also, if it is possible, a dish that allows them to be somewhat creative. While you are there helping, you can make many things—leave the actual lessons in independent cooking for later. A great starter for any age is cupcakes.
Cupcakes are enjoying a surge of popularity right now—there are even special cupcake holders that form a cake with tiers of cupcakes. It’s great for a birthday party because it delivers an individual unit for each person. Also each cupcake can be different. A great idea is to pipe each child’s name on a cupcake and add a small flower or other decoration if there is room.
Here’s an easy, classic cake recipe to use as your base: (adapted from Little Cakes by Kaye and Liv Hansen)
Use paper liners in a standard 12-cup muffin tin. Spray each liner with vegetable spray—very lightly—so that they will peel away from cake cleanly.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1 ¾ cups plus 2 Tbsp. cake flour
¾ tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup plus 2 ½ tsp. warmed milk
2 large eggs
1 stick soft butter
½ tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp baking powder
Sift into mixer bowl the flour and salt. Add sugar and mix; then add milk, eggs, butter and vanilla. Beat on low speed with whisk attachment for 1 minute. Scrape bowl. Beat at medium low speed for 1 ½ minutes. Add baking powder last and mix on low for 30 seconds. Fill each liner ¾ full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely before decorating.
Icing
2 sticks butter
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 Tbsp meringue powder
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp milk or half and half
In bowl of an electric mixer at medium-high speed, beat the butter until creamy. Add sugar, meringue powder, vanilla and salt all at once and beat at low speed until smooth. Add milk and continue beating until light and creamy.
To make a chocolate buttercream, combine 2 to 3 ounces of melted semisweet chocolate at body temperature to each cup of above recipe. Mix until smooth and completely blended.
With colored icing and nonpareils and other candies of your choice decorate cupcakes to your and your children’s content and delight.
CHILDREN—take ‘em as they run—
You kin bet on ev’ry one!—
Treat ‘em right and reco’nize
Human souls is all one size.
Jevver think?—the world’s best men
Wears the same souls they had when
They run barefoot—‘way back where
All these little children air.
--James Whitcomb Riley
Happy Children’s Day!
Here are a few of my favorite cookbooks for and about children:
Little Cakes From The Whimsical Bakehouse by Kaye Hansen and Liv Hansen (2008)
Betty Crocker’s Cook Book for Boys and Girls (1957)
Kim’s Cookbook for Young People from Red Farm Studio (1971)
The Country Mothers Cookbook by Jane Watson Hopping (1991)
Young Children’s Mix and Fix Cookbook from Parents’ Magazine (1975)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Vacation Home Cooking
I used to wish that I had a vacation home, better known in Minnesota as a “cabin up North.” That was before I spent all of my time cooking, cleaning and maintaining a big old Victorian home that operates as a bed and breakfast. Now, what I really want is to visit other people’s vacation homes wherever they are.
My parents had such a place when I was young and when my children were young and we all loved it. Of course, my mother and father did most of the work while we were there and all of the work before we came and after we left. My memories are of fishing, berry picking, water skiing, swimming, eating wonderful barbeques and freshly caught fish (which somebody else, usually my Dad, cleaned and filleted.)
Carefree Cooking by Jacquelyn Reinach, written 40 years ago, is a cookbook for the people who want to own a cabin and actually enjoy it. She opens her book with this description: “Owning or renting a second house seems so luxurious, doesn’t it, as you lie in your apartment bathtub, envisioning that get-away-from-it-all place where you can turn off the world, gaze at clouds and have your family snug and secure. Unfortunately, by the time you pack, get the car loaded, drive to where you’re going (on I94, ugh), stop on the way or market after you get there, put away groceries, unpack, scrub bathrooms, make beds, arrange flowers, cook breakfast, followed by lunch, followed by dinner, followed by breakfast, and so forth, do dishes, wind the eight day antique clock, sweep, clean, throw out flowers, take out garbage…” Parentheses mine.
And yet…it really is fun! While reading the above-mentioned book, I realized that we new millennium folk have adopted the more casual and care-free style which 40 years ago was being suggested for cabin cooking. We are making progress.
Here are some of the suggestions posed by Ms. Reinach for coping with guests and family at your summer home.
Breakfast: If you’re not an early riser, leave the makings for simple breakfasts out or prepared in the refrigerator such as dry cereals (those individual boxes are nice), with bowls, sugar and bananas and sweet rolls or coffee cake, covered with foil; perhaps a bowl of fresh fruit. In the fridge you can have pancake batter or the makings of French toast. Something like the motel breakfasts of today.
If you’re an early riser and a breakfast lover—as I am—it’s not difficult to come up with crowd-pleasing but simple breakfasts. Scrambled eggs are always a winner and there are so many variations. Or you can bake a large number of eggs—here’s how:
Baked Eggs for a Crowd
8-10 commercial shells for baking or any individual ramekins or baking dishes
16-20 eggs (allow 2 per dish)
Per shell: 1 tsp. melted butter, 2 tsp. heavy cream, 1 tsp. grated parmesan cheese, Salt and Pepper, Kosher coarse salt to hold shells steady in large baking pan
Swirl the melted butter around the bottom of each seashell to coat it. Set the shells on a bed of coarse salt in a large baking pan. Add 1 tsp. cream, cheese and salt and pepper. Break in two eggs, gently. Spoon the other teaspoon of cream over the top, salt and pepper again. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 18-20 minutes, depending on how set you like your eggs. If you prefer a runnier yolk, cover the entire baking pan with foil.
You could serve cantaloupe wedges, and brioche (store-bought) with butter and jam and lots of coffee to round this out.
Here’s a different dinner menu that caught my eye:
Italian Roast Beef
Angel hair pasta with butter and cheese
Zucchini and Mushroom salad
Orange Oranges
The roast can be done ahead and frozen. Bring to room temperature before reheating for about half an hour. Angel hair pasta can be made just before dinner. Zucchini and mushroom salad is made from marinated zucchini and mushrooms (which have been lightly sautéed) in an Italian dressing for several hours, then drained and served on crisp romaine. The oranges can be made ahead any time and kept frozen.
Italian Roast Beef
½ stick butter
4-pound eye of the round roast
1 onion, peeled and sliced
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
1 Tbsp grated Romano cheese
1 cup dry vermouth
3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. chopped lemon rind
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp. anchovy paste (optional)
Melt half of the butter in a shallow, flame-proof casserole and brown the meat and onion. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Sprinkle grated cheese over all. Roast uncovered at 350 about 40 minutes for rare. Baste now and then with half the vermouth. Just before serving, add a mixture of parsley, lemon rind, garlic, anchovy paste, rest of the butter and vermouth to the juices in the pan. Serve separately as sauce. Serves 6 to 8
Orange oranges
Cut a lid from the tops of oranges. Scoop out the fruit. Pack the orange shells with orange sherbet. Put the lids back on. Wrap each orange in foil and freeze until serving time.
My parents had such a place when I was young and when my children were young and we all loved it. Of course, my mother and father did most of the work while we were there and all of the work before we came and after we left. My memories are of fishing, berry picking, water skiing, swimming, eating wonderful barbeques and freshly caught fish (which somebody else, usually my Dad, cleaned and filleted.)
Carefree Cooking by Jacquelyn Reinach, written 40 years ago, is a cookbook for the people who want to own a cabin and actually enjoy it. She opens her book with this description: “Owning or renting a second house seems so luxurious, doesn’t it, as you lie in your apartment bathtub, envisioning that get-away-from-it-all place where you can turn off the world, gaze at clouds and have your family snug and secure. Unfortunately, by the time you pack, get the car loaded, drive to where you’re going (on I94, ugh), stop on the way or market after you get there, put away groceries, unpack, scrub bathrooms, make beds, arrange flowers, cook breakfast, followed by lunch, followed by dinner, followed by breakfast, and so forth, do dishes, wind the eight day antique clock, sweep, clean, throw out flowers, take out garbage…” Parentheses mine.
And yet…it really is fun! While reading the above-mentioned book, I realized that we new millennium folk have adopted the more casual and care-free style which 40 years ago was being suggested for cabin cooking. We are making progress.
Here are some of the suggestions posed by Ms. Reinach for coping with guests and family at your summer home.
Breakfast: If you’re not an early riser, leave the makings for simple breakfasts out or prepared in the refrigerator such as dry cereals (those individual boxes are nice), with bowls, sugar and bananas and sweet rolls or coffee cake, covered with foil; perhaps a bowl of fresh fruit. In the fridge you can have pancake batter or the makings of French toast. Something like the motel breakfasts of today.
If you’re an early riser and a breakfast lover—as I am—it’s not difficult to come up with crowd-pleasing but simple breakfasts. Scrambled eggs are always a winner and there are so many variations. Or you can bake a large number of eggs—here’s how:
Baked Eggs for a Crowd
8-10 commercial shells for baking or any individual ramekins or baking dishes
16-20 eggs (allow 2 per dish)
Per shell: 1 tsp. melted butter, 2 tsp. heavy cream, 1 tsp. grated parmesan cheese, Salt and Pepper, Kosher coarse salt to hold shells steady in large baking pan
Swirl the melted butter around the bottom of each seashell to coat it. Set the shells on a bed of coarse salt in a large baking pan. Add 1 tsp. cream, cheese and salt and pepper. Break in two eggs, gently. Spoon the other teaspoon of cream over the top, salt and pepper again. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 18-20 minutes, depending on how set you like your eggs. If you prefer a runnier yolk, cover the entire baking pan with foil.
You could serve cantaloupe wedges, and brioche (store-bought) with butter and jam and lots of coffee to round this out.
Here’s a different dinner menu that caught my eye:
Italian Roast Beef
Angel hair pasta with butter and cheese
Zucchini and Mushroom salad
Orange Oranges
The roast can be done ahead and frozen. Bring to room temperature before reheating for about half an hour. Angel hair pasta can be made just before dinner. Zucchini and mushroom salad is made from marinated zucchini and mushrooms (which have been lightly sautéed) in an Italian dressing for several hours, then drained and served on crisp romaine. The oranges can be made ahead any time and kept frozen.
Italian Roast Beef
½ stick butter
4-pound eye of the round roast
1 onion, peeled and sliced
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
1 Tbsp grated Romano cheese
1 cup dry vermouth
3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. chopped lemon rind
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp. anchovy paste (optional)
Melt half of the butter in a shallow, flame-proof casserole and brown the meat and onion. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Sprinkle grated cheese over all. Roast uncovered at 350 about 40 minutes for rare. Baste now and then with half the vermouth. Just before serving, add a mixture of parsley, lemon rind, garlic, anchovy paste, rest of the butter and vermouth to the juices in the pan. Serve separately as sauce. Serves 6 to 8
Orange oranges
Cut a lid from the tops of oranges. Scoop out the fruit. Pack the orange shells with orange sherbet. Put the lids back on. Wrap each orange in foil and freeze until serving time.
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