April 3, 2007
via Slashfood: An amazing look back at some of the most outrageous fads, Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads could make our avant-garde molecular gastronomy look like meat and potatoes.
Here’s a taste of the “The Worst Salad of the Twenties.”
Banana and Popcorn Salad
1 banana, peeled and cut in half, length-wise
1 lettuce leaf
Popcorn
Mayonnaise
Place banana on lettuce leaf. Scatter popcorn over banana and place dabs of mayonnaise here and there. Makes one serving.
February 13, 2007
via OldCookbooks.com, from the Ceresota Cookbook: “This recipe is reprinted exactly as found from a charming product promotion cookbooklet circa 1910 by the Northwestern Milling Company, Minneapolis. Make these “Pound Cake Waffles” for Valentine’s Day breakfast and let us know how they turn out!”
Pound Cake Waffles
1 1/4 cups Ceresota flour
1 teaspoon lemon or vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
Beat the butter and sugar till light and creamy; add the well-beaten yolks of eggs, then the flour, salt and baking powder sifted together; add the flavoring and beat till smooth and light. Last of all fold in the whites of eggs, stiffly beaten. Bake the same as ordinary waffles.
August 22, 2006
Richard Hellman opened a deli in New York City in 1905 and the rest is history.
Also courtesy of NPR, here’s a recipe for Cracker Jack-Style Caramel Popcorn with Peanuts
May 22, 2006
Watch out, Rachel Ray, these guys whip out impromptu haute cuisine in about 15 minutes!
Harold’s Mussel & Smoked Paprika Soup
Ingredients:
2# Mussels
2 Shallots Sliced
1 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Cup White Wine
2 T Smoked Paprika
1 oz Ramps
1 T Snipped Chives
In a sauce pan, saute the mussels and shallots for 2 minutes on medium heat. Deglaze with white wine. Remove the mussels and shallots from the pan and take out of the shell. Cook the wine down by 1/2; add the heavy cream. Season with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Simmer for 15 minutes. Season and quickly grill the ramps. Chop the ramps. Place the ramps and mussels back in the soup and garnish with some snipped chives.
May 15, 2006
Adapted from Mangoes & Curry Leaves via the Toronto Star
On its own, the sauce is tart; it achieves perfection only when mated with the meatballs. Go to a butcher for ground lamb that’s not as fatty as the kind supermarkets try to foist on us. To open a coconut, use a hammer to tap a screwdriver or an awl into two of the three holes on top of the shell, pour the coconut liquid into a small bowl, smash the coconut shell into pieces with a hammer, and use a blunt knife to pry out chunks of flesh. To shred the coconut, use the second smallest holes in a box grater. Tamarind pulp is sold in Indian grocery stores; buy the moist version.
Makes 4 servings.
MEATBALLS:
3/4 lb (350 g) ground lamb
1/2 cup roasted, salted cashews, coarsely chopped
2 green finger-sized chilies (such as cayenne), seeded, deveined, chopped
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 cup finely shredded fresh coconut
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
SAUCE:
1 oz (30 g) tamarind pulp (about 2 tbsp), chopped
About 1 cup boiling water
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp peanut oil1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp each: cayenne, turmeric
1/2 tsp or more salt
28 oz (796 mL) can tomatoes with their liquid, coarsely chopped
2 cups water
Liquid from 1 coconut (optional)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
For meatballs, put ingredients in food processor and blend well. Transfer to covered bowl and refrigerate. For sauce, put tamarind in measuring cup. Pour boiling water over top to reach 1-cup level. Soak 20 to 30 minutes, until cooled. Mash tamarind with back of spoon or use fingers to separate pulp from seeds. Pour through sieve into small bowl. Press with spoon to extract as much liquid and pulp as possible. Discard remaining seeds and pulp. Set liquid aside.In small skillet on medium heat, toast coriander, fennel and cumin seeds until golden and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Grind to powder in spice grinder. Set aside.Heat oil in wide pan on medium. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in ground spices, cayenne, turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in tamarind liquid, tomatoes and water. Turn heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Reduce to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, about 45 minutes, until thickened, stirring occasionally and breaking up tomatoes with spoon.Meanwhile, using palms, roll lamb mixture into meatballs 1 to 1-1/4-inch in diameter. (Makes 30 to 35.) Turn heat under sauce to medium. Add meatballs. Stir gently and shake pan to coat meatballs. Simmer about 15 minutes, until cooked through. Stir in coconut liquid (if desired). Adjust salt. Stir in cilantro.
May 5, 2006
Pico De Gallo, Old Mexican Style
3 cans jicama, chopped
2 cans orange, chopped
2 lemons
chile piquin, powdered, to taste
salt to taste
Mix the diced jicama and chopped orange, add the juice from two lemons and salt to taste.
Let it rest for three hours before serving.
Just before serving dust top with powdered chile piquin.
Recipe by Josefina Velazquez De Leon, Mexican Cook Book, 1947.
I was introduced to Josefina Velázquez de León by Jeffrey M. Pilcher, author of ¡Que vivan los tamales! Food and the Making of Mexican Identity, as he spoke on the Splendid Table. Ever since his late introduction to Mexican food, he has undertaken serious academic inquiry into the history of the Mexican table.
[About 1940] the spread of processed foods to the countryside sent folklorists rushing to preserve the previously scorned vernacular cuisine. The most prolific of these culinary researchers, Josefina Velázquez de León, published more than a hundred and fifty cookbooks, including a volume of regional recipes that became the model for future cookbooks seeking to represent the Mexican national cuisine.
In 1947, Josefina made her foray into the American kitchen. Mauricio Velázquez de León writes:
The 1947 edition of Mexican Cookbook Devoted to American Homes, is divided into four sections. The first is a lengthy explanation of Mexican food including an installment called “How to Cook the Mexican Way in the United States.” The two following sections portray an array of recipes, from well-known Mexican dishes like tamales and moles that remain unchanged to this day, to some forgotten delicacies like Caguama (sea turtle) Soup, a “favorite dish among Baja Californians.” The last section of the book offers a look at one of Josefina’s most ambitious projects: to gather, research, and publish recipes from all the different Mexican regions. This task began in the 1940s when she embarked on a series of trips around the country… Mexican Cookbook Devoted to American Homes the first book published in English to collect, in a single volume, a selection of these regional dishes.
And so this 5 de M, raise una cerveza, margarita or horchata and toast Mexico’s own culinatrix, Josefina!
(For a taste of Mexico at home, check out the Missipi Delta’s Tamale Trail.)
May 1, 2006
COUNTRY: Seared Bay Scallops with Brown Butter Emulsion
Bay scallops are small and delicate. Unfortunately, they often suffer overcooking, oversaucing, or some other cruel fate. Here, they’re seared and then quickly basted in butter, bringing out a delicious caramelized flavor, which is also reflected in the balsamic vinegar reduction sauce. This “emulsion” attains a beautifully balanced, almost chocolatelike flavor–somewhat reminiscent of a good Mexican mole sauce–that emphasizes the fresh natural sweetness of the scallops.
Serves 4
For the emulsion
• 2 cups balsamic vinegar
• 1⁄4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper
For the scallops
• 2 pounds bay scallops
• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• About 1⁄4 cup Clarified Butter or Ghee
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Prepare the emulsion: Place the vinegar in a medium nonreactive saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and reduced to 1⁄2 cup, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature.
Place the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat, and allow it to melt and turn light brown. Remove the butter from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. Gradually whisk the browned butter into the reduced balsamic vinegar. Whisk in the soy sauce and season with pepper to taste. Reserve the emulsion at room temperature.
Cook the scallops: Pat the scallops dry with paper towels and season them with the salt and pepper. Coat the bottom of 2 large skillets with clarified butter. Place the pans over a medium-high flame and heat until the butter is nearly smoking. Divide the scallops between the pans; do not shake the pans or move the scallops around. Immediately reduce the heat to medium and add a little more clarified butter to each pan. Cook the scallops until they are deeply brown on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn the scallops over, and add a sprig of thyme and a clove of garlic to each pan. Allow the scallops to brown slightly on the other side, continuously basting them with the hot butter, about 2 minutes.
Transfer the scallops to a platter with a slotted spoon and reserve in a warm place. Add the 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan and scrape with a wooden spoon to dislodge any browned bits; remove the pan from the heat when the butter is completely melted.
Pour an equal portion of the emulsion onto each plate in a wide stripe down the center. Place an equal portion of scallops, browned side up, in the center of each plate, spoon the pan drippings around, and serve immediately.
April 24, 2006
Photo by Martin Brigdale
4 medium eggs
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 slices of brioche loaf
for the caramel sauce:
½ cup (100g) superfine sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
A day in advance, put the raw eggs in an airtight container with the split vanilla bean and refrigerate for 24 hours. The flavor of vanilla will permeate the egg shells.
To make the caramel, put the sugar in a heavy, deep pan and dissolve over gentle heat, stirring constantly. As soon as it turns to a light caramel color, turn off the heat and pour in about 1/3 cup (100 ml) boiling water and the lemon juice. Take care as the caramel to sputter and spit. Stir the caramel with a small whisk and cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until it has a syrupy consistency. With the tip of a knife, scrape in a few seeds from the vanilla bean. Pour into a small pitcher and keep at room temperature.
Toast the brioche slices, remove the crusts and cut into soldiers; keep warm.
Soft-cook the eggs: Put the eggs in a pan, cover generously with cold water, and set over medium heat. As soon as the water comes to a boil, count up to 60 seconds for a medium egg; the egg white will be slightly set. If you prefer the white slightly firmer but the yolk still runny, cook the egg for another 30 seconds.
Place the eggs in egg cups. Eat with a teaspoon, letting everyone drizzle some caramel over their egg and dip their brioche soldiers into the soft yolks.
From Eggs by Michel Roux, Wiley, $24.95
And for garnish, some tasty recipe links:
April 17, 2006
April 10, 2006
