Saturday Night Treats

Posted: January 15, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: open thread, Treats | Tags: , , | 13 Comments

Since the weather’s been so nasty and cold almost every where, I thought I’d bring out some cold weather recipes from Iowa and Nebraska where I grew up.  I grew up in blustery weather and was no stranger to blizzards.

These are some heritages soups that my mother and some of her friends collected to produce a recipe book fundraiser for the General Dodge House in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  My mom was chair of the fund drive to restore  Union Civil War General Grenville Melon Dodge’s House.  She served as chairman of the Board of Trustees and President of the nonprofit museum for many years.  The recipe book was dedicated to my mom’s best friend–Bea Utley–an interior decorator that helped tremendously with the restoration of the house.  Actually, they were called receipts back then so this is a from a Receipt Book.

Their fund raising arm was and still is called the “General’s Ladies” and they’d do Victorian Christmas and summer picnics and all kinds of things to get funds to keep and get the property in order.  I haven’t been then in years but I was practically brought up in the place.  I used to talk to a ghost in one of the bedrooms when I was a kid and my first job at the ripe old age of 14 was as a docent there.

I got rather used to wearing Victorian clothes in the process.  During Christmas, my mother made me play Christmas Carols in the ball room or she’d have me bring my guitar and best friend to sing carols through out the house. My other best friend played the Harp.  Most of us wound up as docents on Sunday during our high school years.  I remember when mom was trying to round up some of the old antiques and furniture before it was completely restored. I pretty much became familiar with the attics and basements of many old houses.  It must’ve made an impression on me because I have a deep and lasting  affection for America’s historic houses.  My current house was built around the same time as the General’s Home.  If you’re every on interstate I-80, on the extreme western edge of Iowa, you should make a point of visiting.  It’s considered a premier Victorian restoration.

Oh, and we tested all the recipes too.

German Dumpling Soup:

4 or 5 pound fat stewing hen

4 cups carrots, cut up

3 cups potatoes, cut up

2 cups, celery, cut up

1 cup onion, cut up

1/2 cup chopped parsley, held back until just before serving

In a large kettle, cover hen with water, cover with a lid then boil one hour or longer, until tender.  Add vegetables in the order listed above.  After the vegetables are cooked, remove the whole chicken, bone it, cut it up and place it back with the vegetables and broth.

To make the Dumplings:

4 cups flour

1 tsp. Salt

6 eggs

Yellow food coloring

Add enough boiling water to flour to make  a paste. Add a few drops of the yellow food color to the water.  Break eggs into the paste one at a time and stir until well blended. Add more flour until the dough because very, very firm and dry. Use a teaspoon to cut off the dough and drop into the boiling soup when the chicken and vegetables have been prepared as above.  Dip the spoon in the boiling water to release the dough.  These dumplings are hard and firm.

Cover and boil  10 minutes.  Sprinkle the parsley into the soup right before serving.

This recipe came from General’s Lady Mrs. Harold W. Schultz and came with this sage Victorian Advice:

 

Give neither counsel nor salt till you are asked for it.


Dutch Split Pea Soup

2 lbs. split green peas

4 sticks celery, chopped

2 pig’s hocks

12 ounces fresh pork sausage

4 leeks,chopped

1 lb onions, chopped

1 1b. smoked bacon in a whole piece or bacon squares

Pepper, salt to taste

Clean peas. Soak overnight in water.

Bring peas to a boil with the vegetables in 4 1/2 quarts fresh water.  Add the hocks and bacon.  Let simmer slowly until hocks are tender–two or three hours, stirring often.  Pot should be covered.

One half hour before the soup is done, add fresh sausage in lumps the size of small walnuts.

Before serving, remove hocks and bacon from soup.  Cut meat from the hocks into small pieces and return to soup.  Season with the salt and pepper to taste., slice bacon to serve with the soup.

Makes about 12 servings.

This recipe came from Mrs. J Frederic Schlott.  Fred Schlott was the architect that was responsible for the park around the outside of the house and sat on the board with mom for a long time.  Almost, all the original people that dealt with the house have passed now so I’m not sure what goes on there any more.  If you ask me, there’s probably a few more ghosts in that house than the one that I used to talk to in the gold bedroom as a kid.  Some of these people spent a good portion of their life leaving the community this historic house museum.

Have any great recipes for some great comfy food that you’d like to share tonight?

Saturday Night Treats

Posted: December 11, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Treats | 28 Comments

Okay, it’s cold here and stormy.  I know I sound down right whiny and wimpy compared to those of you way north of me, but in my 15 years here I’ve acclimated to the tropical zone.  It’s a flannel pj kinda night for me even though the temp outside reads 63. It’s been in the 40s all week.  I’m here with some hot green tea and there’s a pot of something hearty and bubbly on the stove.

Let’s share cold weather comfort food tonight!!!

Boullet Fricassee de Vieux Temps

(old fashioned meatball stew)

Yup, it’s Cajun.

MEATBALLS

2 lbs ground meat

1 tbs. salt

1 tsp. red pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 egg

3 tbs. salad oil

1 tbs. well chopped parsley

1 tbs. well chopped green onions

STEW:

2 quarts water

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup chopped green onion tops … if you like them, you can also use leeks here

ROUX:

1 cup flour

1 cup salad oil

Mix all the meatball ingredients and shape them into about 2 dozen meatballs.  Brown the meatballs in a  heavy poit in about two cups of oil.  Remove the meatballs and put them in a covered dish.

Make the roux by browning the flour in the oli in that same heavy pot.  (We use Dutch ovens down here.)  When the roux is a golden brown, add two quarts of cold water.  Then add the meatballs.  Simmer about an  hour.  You’ll be able to tell it’s done by the consistency of the sauce.  About 45 minutes into the process, add the chopped parsley and the green onion tops or leeks.

You probably will want to adjust the seasoning a little. I’m heavy handed with cayenne and I like to put a little savory in this too.  You can actually adjust the type of spice used and make it taste completely different.

I usually put this over rice but it’s okay with potatoes or pasta too.

Saturday Treats

Posted: December 4, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Treats | Tags: , , | 55 Comments

You may know that I got married pretty young and that my mother-in-law was born in Kyoto.  I was married for like 20 years and during that time my mother-in-law lived with us for quite some time.  I was a teenager when I first tasted her sushi and other Japanese recipes.  Both of my kids usually consider ‘home cooking’ to be some weird combination of southern food and Japanese food.  They are used to both mac and cheese and yaki soba.

So, when I left my husband and settled into New Orleans, one of the first things I had to find was a grocery store with authentic Japanese ingredients.  I finally found one out by the airport run by a nice Japanese woman.  My first check out still gives my family a good giggle.  I started placing all my fresh and packaged food for check out and the astonished owner blinked at me and said “You shop like Japanese housewife” with her very Japanese accent.  Well, that’s a part of who I was for some time so I suppose that’s as good a compliment to how well Mama San taught me to cook as any.

So, this in thread I’m sharing some of Mama-san’s recipes that I learned from her when I was a mere 19 year old.  I’m hoping that some of you will share your ethnic comfort food too!!!

First up, are chicken wings that are so delightful that I guaranteed a young analyst at the FED she would win the chicken wing cook off contest at a local bar here in New Orleans.  Winning any cooking contest takes a lot here because this is Food City Central.  Kai took the recipe and won the contest.  You’ll be surprised by the surprise ingredient too!!!  (Apricot baby food)

Barbecued Chicken Wings

For four people use 1 pkg of 12 pieces chicken wings cut up

1/2 small jar apricot baby food

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1-2 tsp. garlic salt

Soak overnight in the refrigerator.  Either cook on the grill over low heat or cook in 325 oven on foil-lined cookie sheet for 1/2 hour.  You’ll need to turn them at least once.  I’ve doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc. this recipe and it works well for a huge party.  People will eat these things up like candy.

Teriyaki Beef

1/2 lb/per person Rump Roast sliced like thick bacon

1  small bermuda onion-grated

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice wine  (mirin or sake)

1-2 tablespoons water

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1 finger grated ginger juice only

Soak three hours. Do not refrigerate and then Grill!!!  You may want to grill some of the red Bermuda onions along with the beef.  Serve this with Japanese Rice like Botan.   Japanese rice is essential for good Japanese food and new crop is best.

So what have you got to share?!?!?!
C’mon!!! Italian?  Chinese?  Indian?  We know you got’em!!!

Saturday Night Treats!

Posted: November 20, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Food, Treats | Tags: , , , , | 98 Comments

Hi Everyone!!

Tonight I’m going to share some traditional New England recipes from some of Boston’s oldest restaurants. New England cooking is pretty basic, real comfort food. And of course, since we’re near the ocean, we eat lots of seafood.

I’ll start out with a couple of recipes from Boston’s oldest restaurant, the Union Oyster House. The building itself dates to sometime in the 1600’s; it became a restaurant in 1826.

The new owners installed the fabled semi-circular Oyster Bar — where the greats of Boston paused for refreshment. It was at the Oyster Bar that Daniel Webster, a constant customer, daily drank his tall tumbler of brandy and water with each half-dozen oysters, seldom having less than six plates.

The toothpick was first used in the United States at the Union Oyster House. Enterprising Charles Forster of Maine first imported the picks from South America. To promote his new business he hired Harvard boys to dine at the Union Oyster House and ask for toothpicks….

The Kennedy Clan has patronized the Union Oyster House for years. J.F.K. loved to feast in privacy in the upstairs dining room. His favorite booth “The Kennedy Booth” has since been dedicated in his memory.

Here are a couple of popular Union Oyster House recipes

Lobster Stew.

1 lb Cooked lobster meat
4 oz Unsalted butter
2 c Half-and-half
Chopped fresh chives

1. Cut lobster meat into 1/2 inch chunks.
2. Melt the butter, and stew the lobster meat in it until the lobster is heated through.
3. Place the mixture in a warmed casserole dish.
4. Heat the half-and-half until piping hot, almost scalded.
5. Pour it over the butter and lobster in the casserole.
6. Garnish with chopped chives and serve at once.

Union Oyster House Gingerbread

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 cup unsulfured molasses
1 cup hot water (160 degrees F)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour.
2. Into a bowl sift together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
3. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together oil and sugar until combined and beat in egg and molasses until combined well. Gradually beat in flour mixture until combined and add water, beating until smooth.
4. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool gingerbread in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of pan and invert gingerbread onto rack to cool completely.
5. Serve gingerbread with whipped cream.

Durgin Park is almost as old as the Union Oyster House. A Boston landmark since 1827, it is located near Faneuil Hall in the old market district. There is a huge shopping area there now, but when I first lived in Boston none of that was built yet. I’m going to share a some really old Yankee recipes from Durgin Park.

Boston Baked Beans

1 lb dried navy beans
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 lb salt pork
1/2 medium onion (peeled and uncut)
4 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Soak beans overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 325°F Place the baking soda in a Dutch oven and fill half way with water.
2. Bring to a boil, add the beans & boil for 10 minutes. Drain beans in a colander and run cold water through them. Set aside.
3. Dice the salt pork into 1-inch squares. Put half of the salt pork on the bottom of the bean pot, along with the onion. Put beans in the pot. Put the remaining salt pork on top of the beans.
4. Mix the sugar, molasses, mustard, salt and pepper with 3 cups of hot water and pour over the beans.
5. Cover pot with lid and place the pot into the preheated oven. Bake for 6 hours. Check pot periodically to make sure the amount of liquid is okay. Add water to the beans slowly as needed to keep them moist; DO NOT FLOOD THEM. Just “top them up.”

Indian Pudding

3 cups milk
1/4 cup black molasses
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup yellow corn meal
Vanilla ice cream

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix together 1-1/2 cups of the milk with the molasses, sugar, butter, salt, baking powder, egg, and cornmeal. Pour the mixture into a stone crock that has been well greased and bake until it boils.
3. Heat the remaining 1-1/2 cups of milk and stir it in.
4. Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake 5-7 hours.
5. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Legal Seafoods was orginally a just a fish market. The restaurant started up in 1950. It has lots of locations nowadays, but at first it was just a little restaurant in Inman Square Cambridge. Seating was communal, with everyone sitting at long wooden tables. There was sawdust on the floor to soak up spills. Here are a couple of my old Legal favorites.

Legal Seafood Clam Chowder

4 quarts littleneck clams (about
1 2/3 cups cooked and chopped)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup water
2 ounces salt pork, finely chopped
2 cups chopped onions
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled, and diced
into 1/2-inch cubes
4 1/2 cups clam broth
3 cups fish stock
2 cups light cream
Oyster crackers

Clean the clams and place them in a large pot along with the garlic and water. Steam the clams just until opened, about 6 to 10 minutes, depending
upon their size. Drain and shell the clams, reserving the broth. Mince the clam flesh, and set aside.

Filter the clam broth either through coffee filters or cheesecloth and set aside.

In a large, heavy pot slowly render the salt pork. Remove the cracklings and set them aside. Slowly cook the onions in the fat for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently, or until cooked through but not browned. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the reserved clam broth and fish stock, and whisk to remove any flour lumps. Bring the liquid to a boil, add the potatoes, lower the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the reserved clams, salt-pork cracklings and light cream. Heat the chowder until it is the temperature you prefer. Serve in large soup bowls with oyster crackers on the side.

Baked Scrod

3/4 cup oyster crackers
2 tsp unsalted butter
1 tsp fine-chopped onions
1 tsp minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp dried thyme or Herbes de Provence

4 x (7 to 8 oz.) scrod fillets, each about 1 inch thick
1/4 cup real mayonnaise
2 tsp fresh-grated parmesan cheese

crumb mixture: In a food processor fitted with metal blade, process crackers.
You want a crumb somewhere between medium coarse and medium fine; set aside.
In a medium skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat.
Saute onions about 2 minutes, or until translucent.
Do not brown. Add remaining butter, and when melted remove from heat and stir in reserved crumbs, parsley and thyme or Herbes de Provence.
Mix well and refrigerate until ready to use.
(Crumbs will need some stirring before use as butter will have solidified mixture a bit.)

Scrod: Preheat oven to 425 F.
Lightly oil a baking dish just large enough to hold fillets in a single layer and place fillets in it.
Stir mayonnaise and parmesan cheese together well.
Spread 1/4 of mayonnaise mixture evenly over top of each fillet.
Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons crumb mixture over each and press tops lightly so crumbs adhere to mayonnaise.
Bake in center of oven 12 to 14 minutes, or until fillets are just cooked through and topping is golden brown.

Legal used to sell a T-shirt that said “I got scrod at Legal Seafoods.”

Finally, here is a variation on bread pudding that is very popular in New England.

Grape Nuts Pudding

1 quart milk, scalded
1 cup Grape-Nuts cereal
4 large eggs
scant 1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (approx.)
Whole nutmeg
Water

Heat oven to 350°. In a medium-size bowl, pour scalded milk over Grape-Nuts and let sit 5 minutes. In a second medium-size bowl, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add egg mixture to milk and Grape-Nuts and stir well. Pour into a buttered 2-quart casserole dish. Generously grate nutmeg over the top. Place the casserole into a deep roasting pan. Place in the oven and pour water into the roasting pan, enough to reach halfway up the side of the casserole. Bake 45 to 60 minutes, until almost set in the center (very slight jiggle).

Grape Nuts are really popular in New England for some reason. People even put them on ice cream.

So that’s my offering of vintage Yankee New England recipes–all great for a chilly fall day. Enjoy! You are invited to share your own recipes in the comments.

Friday Treats

Posted: November 12, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Treats | 88 Comments
It’s Friday night!!!
Got something to share?

Alright, so I’m going to give up some of my best Creole Recipes for tonight’s Treats.  The first one is a shrimp recipe with a ‘secret’ ingredient.  No one will guess there’s a bit of cinnamon in it usually.  I love this one.  Tom used

'Creole Dancer' by Henri Matisse

to serve this one up at the Flamingo.   It’s a bit of roux, so you have to remember to pull the warm ingredients off the flame before you mix in the spices or they’ll cake up.  It’s great for this time of year.  I also add a little red crushed pepper to it but that’s up to you.  I’ve found my tolerance for hot stuff is getting pretty high.

Shrimp Supreme

(serves around 4-6 people)

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 tablespoons celery, minced

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1 -2 tablespoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups tomatoes (creole if you can find them),peeled

1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

Cook onion and the celery in butter until soft and translucent.  Do not let them brown.  Lift the pan from the heat and let it settle a little and begin mixing in the flour, chili powder, salt and cinnamon.  Add the tomatoes and stir them until they blend in with the rest of the stuff.  Then, put it back on the heat and let it simmer at a really low temperature about 10 minutes.  Stir so it cooks evenly ever so often.  Make sure it’s not too hot or the bottom will burn or stick.  Right before you’re going to serve it, drop in the shrimp.  I usually serve this with rice or some thick crusty Italian bread to get up the red gravy.

This one I usually take with me to balcony parties on Mardi Gras Morning and I take them to Vaughn’s or BJ’s too for game days.

Spicy Ham Fritters

(makes about 20-30)

2/3 cup flour sifted

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup milk

1 egg

1 tablespoon aromatic bitters

2 cups ground cooked ham

1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained

Fat for deep frying

(Optional if you’re keen on hot stuff: Cayenne pepper for sprinkling and/or Louisiana Hot Sauce for dripping)

Sift the flour with the baking powder in a mixing bowl.  Add milk, egg, bitters and mix until smooth.  Fold in the ham and the pineapple.  Drop by teaspoonfuls into deep hot fat (about 350 F).  Fry them until they are golden brown and then drain them on paper towels.

Okay, one more for tonight.  This is another good seasonal recipe. I’ve tried it with a bunch of different squash including our local favorites that we all have in our backyards, the marvelous alligator pear or Mirliton.

Squash and Pecan Casserole

Opps! It was last week ... yall missed it!!!

(about 4- 6 servings)

3 1/2 cups acorn squash, cooked and mashed

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup butter (melted)

grated rind of 1 lime or lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp white pepper

Whole pecans for garnish

Combine all ingredients except the whole pecans.  Blend them together completely.  Spoon the mixture into a 1 1/2 quart greased casserole dish. Top the mixture with the whole pecans.  Bake it at 375 for about 20 to 30 minutes.

It makes a great holiday take along dish too and if you use Mirlitons you can consider yourself an honorary Bywater Bohemian.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →