Unforgettable Taste

If you are like me, there are memory foods that stick to the ribs, unfortunately, but also in one's mind.  I was reading David Lebovitz's blog this morning and saw this picture of his tour of France. (He also lives and writes from Paris.)  He showed this picture of pâté from the Loire region and I immediately thought of Marie Claude's Paris party to celebrate the opening of her new antiques shop.  There was a pâté there among many generous dishes and it looked like this and probably tasted like the one I had that special evening which was near the end of my thirty years of trips to Paris.  I'll hope to never forget that taste or her kindness.

                                                                  

I was a very little girl when my parents took me to my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary party.  It was way out in the country and so snowy that my grandfather had to bring horses and a wagon to transport everyone from their cars to the house.  It was an exciting adventure and one that is so memorable.  When we got in the house, the table was laden with the most delicious looking food.  But, one platter stood out--what was that delectable white loaf sitting proudly among the various and beautiful offerings?  When my mother asked what I wanted on my plate, the first point was at the white roll, sliced and ready to be enjoyed.  My first bite and I was hooked for life on pork.

I must say I will eat potatoes in any form at any time.  When I am not feeling well, a potato fixed any way is exactly what I need...that coupled with an apple seem to do the trick for me in many cases.  I don't know why.  When I was doing the antiques circuit in England,  I always looked forward to a jacket potato from the cart outside the main door especially in Birmingham.  Those large fluffy clouds that cushioned combinations not thought of in America soothed my aching bones.



Even during the winter I can conjure up the taste of corn on the cob. Now you don't find this in London and Paris very often; I've never seen it in either place, but it is easy to break into thought during those snowy days in the USA.

I don't know how long Glenda and Joe's daughter, Mary Susan and Tom, her husband, have been married.  but they were the cause of this obsession.  We were having a bridal shower at a restaurant in Cincinnati and Glenda was to do the dessert and she pulled out this concoction.  I could never forget the first taste of this refreshing cake if my life depended on it. I have served it countless times to rave reviews.  At outdoor graduation parties after a heavy dose of scrumptious, pull this from the frig and it becomes the center of attention. Poke cakes are wonderful, no doubt about it, and this is the queen of poke cakes.

W




Prime Rib Restaurants & Steakhouses | Lawry's Restaurants

Well over fifty years ago Andy and I honeymooned in California while he worked on the Minute Man Project for the government. Andy planned something different and special for us to explore every week end.  Lawry's Prime Rib and Steak House was one of the adventures.  Their prime rib can be cut with a fork and simply melts in one's mouth.  It is the best as far as we are concerned.

Fall Activities

               

Face it. It's here.  Andy and Matt will be starting classes as soon as Wednesday.  Andy is going to OSU for classes every day and Matt is back in school full time in Computer Science.  The new driveway is in and we are preparing for Labor Day festivities.  Glenda gets to make the trip to Columbus and we are all looking forward to that. Andy, Nate and Matt have birthdays to celebrate during Labor Day. Alyssa is back at Tulane and Brooks is back at the Citadel. It is going to be quiet around here, except for the dogs barking at the falling leaves and the snapping of green beans from the garden.

I have already started some dishes for the holiday, but we intend to buy some ready made items too this time.  We've had a busy and hectic summer and no one is going to have a better time if I make the food and then get cranky.  So I am taking some help and the Cincinnati gang will bring their special dishes so there will be no lack of food, as usual. ( Also, Joe called and he is bringing us one or two of these!)

Then there are the OSU football games.  We will have over-nights during the week- ends for most of the home games. Cooking will be involved because I know who is coming. George, my hero, there will be ox tail something something for you.

I am still reading Stuart Woods' books.  He is a prolific writer and I am panting trying to read them all. I almost have it whipped.  I finished reading Dead Eyes. Lee Child's has a new book coming out early in September and I have to fight the urge to buy the hardback.  I need to just calm down!

Here is a dish Kate and Sam can make with the extra large zucchini that they can take home with them if they make it to Labor Day in Columbus.

Good-bye August

 

Cookbooks

Beth, my daughter-in-law and Matt, my grandson, have this place looking so good I have time to greet and sort my old friends which come in the form of my cookbook collection.  I thought of doing them in some sort of sensible order but that is so cold. So, instead I am letting them come to me, offering up memories and good reading. While I was working on this post I looked out the window to see the driveway being done and there was this old guy on the ground with a cigarette near a flammable piece of machinery. Workers are bound to blow this house up some day, although these guys are much less likely to accomplish that.  So far, until today, they have had the lightest touch I have ever seen with big equipment.  Mike Brown is a master with a back hoe and careful with the property he is serving.

Now to the cookbooks:

I must admit, when I bought this I did not know who Dorie Greenspan was.  Since this book, which I bought in Paris for 25.00 euros, but it can be bought here as well, she has written many more while dividing her time between Paris and New York. She visited every shop, usually more than once, that appears in this book.  She tells the story and gives the recipe.  I like a cookbook that 'talks' rather than those that give recipe after recipe with no cozy details. She gives the addresses of these shops as well and so you can visit them yourselves when you are in Paris...and you will be sure to hit all the good ones with Dorie as your guide. I made the French macaroons from this book. They turned out well, but now you can buy them in America pretty handily. Back in 2002, not so much, so I bought this book back then.

The Barefood Contessa, Ina Garten, loves Anna Pump and her shop Loaves and Fishes. When I read or heard several years ago that Anna charged over a hundred dollars for a pound of lobster salad, I think $125.00 per pound, I figured I should buy the book and find out the secrets of success like that! You'll have to go to Long Island to pay those prices, although I was just told that short ribs (here) are selling for $11.00 a pound...go figure.
One Review of many:

Fondly referred to as "Loaves and Thieves" and "Loans and Finances," as you basically need a second mortgage to cover the cost of a serving of pasta salad and a chunk of cheese. All the food is scrumptious, but so expensive it borders on insanity. If the government needs help finding Bernie Madoff's missing billions, I'm sure much of it is in their cash register.

Anna Pump (born April 11, 1934) is a chef, cookbook author, baker, and innkeeper famous for her Hamptons bakery Loaves & Fishes.^[1] She is the author of four bestselling cookbooks and the owner of the Bridgehampton Inn. Notably, Pump was a mentor to Ina Garten, of Food Network fame, who writes the forward to Pump's most recent cookbook Summer on a Plate. She can also sometimes be seen as a guest on Garten's Barefoot Contessa.

If you want to read the reviews of this establishment, they are scathing when it comes to prices.  I did not see one that left out the prices and the treatment they got in the Loaves and Fishes. (A jar of jam is $24.00.)

Here is the lobster recipe and you see if you would pay over one hundred dollars a pound for this.
1 1/2 pounds chilled, cooked lobster meat, cut in chunks
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoons of drained capers
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill
mix together (4 servings)
                                       
                                                  

Every time I saw the easiness of Sara Foster on the Martha Stewart show I marveled at her relaxed state AND because she seemed to be a real friend with  Martha Stewart. Her book, too, is relaxed and the recipes are doable and there is a folksy story to entertain you as well.  I like her and I like her book. I would enjoy a trip to her market. Now they have a food truck as well.

Tasha Tudor was a friend of mine.  I first met her when I asked if she would do the cover of one of my books.  She said she would then my publisher backed out saying it would not seem like a research book on antiques but like a children's book...so, his loss.  Anyway, Tasha was a trip.  She lived her life with her doll as though she were in the 1830s. Her son built her home by hand while reciting from memory one of the classics.  When he finished reciting one, he would begin another.  I first became familiar with Tasha's illustrations in The New England Butt'ry Shelf Cookbook by Mary Mason Campbell.  (I had seen Tasha's work before, but this is the book that caught my interest.) Tasha loved to collect as well and she had the toy dishes and accessories and liked pink lustre china so when she visited here I prepared her room accordingly with a child's red velvet fainting couch for her doll to sleep upon and before bed tea time with my pink lustre tea set.  I forget the doll's name and I don't know how I could forget... Nevertheless,I understand she left her estate in a tangle for her children to fight over and fight they did and one of them was to have said Tasha was enjoying the scene from her grave.   

(Tasha Tudor died on June 18, 2008 in Marlboro, Vermont.^[7] Her estate, valued at over $2 million, was contested by the three children she disinherited. According to the Daily Telegraph:^[8] "Her will, written in 2001, left the bulk of the estate to Seth Tudor, 67, and his son Winslow. It left only $1,000 each to her two daughters, Bethany Tudor, 69, and Efner Tudor Holmes, and a piece of antique furniture to younger son Thomas Tudor, 64, because of their 'estrangement' from her." However, according to Brattleboro Probate Court documents, over Tasha Tudor's lifetime she gave her son Thomas Tudor a half share in her home in Marlboro, Vermont, and over $2 million in art work and other gifts, with a similar lifetime disposition to her two daughters.^[)

                          

Tasha, as you can see, wrote and illustrated her own cookbooks late in life.  She wrote a note and illustrated the thank you to me for her tea party I had here at Many Branches for her adult and children admirers. I am one of those who admired her and the life she selected for herself.

The picture she drew is of a pink lustre tea set.

For Kate and Sam:

What mixes well with what chart:

 

from Cursos y C

Product Enhancements

*Alyssa left this morning for her last year at Tulane, so late last night while she was packing I made her her favorite brownies. I had wanted to try the Ghirardelli brownie mix and it was not a disappointment. While I am not a chocolate fan, I found this dish difficult to leave alone and thought of an enhancement which might make a really good product even better...cream cheese brownies. The same box instructions with strong brewed coffee instead of water, but then swirled into the batter at the last minute before oven time, the cream cheese recipe for cream cheese brownies.

Swirl this into the finished batter before baking:

Cream Cheese Layer:

8 ounces (227 grams) full fat cream cheese, at room temperature

1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg
Mix to smooth and pour over brownie batter or swirl deeply into the brownie batter.

Mr. and Mrs. T.
Another product that enhances savory dishes as well as drinks is Mr and Mrs. T's spicy bloody Mary mix. I put it in everything like stews, sauces, pasta and marinades for meat. I keep three large bottles, one in the frig, one on the bar, and one in the pantry; yes, I use it that much.

I am going through my super stacks of cookbooks here in the library and ran across La Belle Pomme cooking school recipes that Betty Rosbottom used when she ran and cooked  in the Lazarus store.  I loved those classes and have a big binder of her recipes many of which I remember tasting with pleasure. I made notes all over the pages and many referred to David's (our son) wedding reception which we did in our back yard with 250 .
guests.

I still remember the day we ate Betty's grilled loin lamb chops.  I am not used to lamb and those tiny chops that many people use now for starters to pass at a dinner party were used in the cooking class that day.  I could have eaten ten of them and the sensation lasts to this day.

Serves 8
16 loin lamb chops, excess fat trimmed
8 cloves or more of garlic (to taste)
2 T. thyme
3 T. rosemary 30 black peppercorns
1 c. virgin olive oil
With a mortar and pestle crush together the garlic, herbs, and peppercorns, adding drops of olive oil in intervals to make the marinade.
Place the lamb chops in a dish and coat with the marinade, rubbing into each side of each chop.  Cover and let marinate at least one hour at room temperature or several hours under refrigeration.  Bring the chops back to room temperature before proceeding.
Heat a stove top grill, Jenn-air, or outdoor grill.  When hot, grill the chops 4-5 minutes per side for medium rare, seasoning each side with salt and more pepper to taste as you go.  remove from the grill to serving platter and tent with foil while you finish the sauce. (We had miniature lamb chops so the cooking time was less and fast.)

Roasted garlic sauce
6 heads of garlic, separated into cloves with the skins intact olive oil
1 t. thyme or a small branch of fresh thyme
1 t. grainy mustard, preferably Moutarde de Meaux, salt and pepper
meat juices collected from the plate of grilled lamb chops
Preheat the oven to 350
Place the garlic cloves in a baking dish just large enough to hold them. Pour olive oil over the garlic cloves just to hold them. Add the thyme to the baking dish and cover with a lid or foil tightly.  Bake 20 minutes or until golden.  Put the garlic cloves through a food mill to separate the skins from the pulp. In a food processor, puree the garlic reserved from baking the garlic to make a smooth puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  The sauce may be made a day ahead to this point.  Cover and refrigerate.
Warm the sauce base in a small saucepan.  Add any of the meat juices from the chops and stir or whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, or mustard.
Top each chop with a spoonful of the prepared sauce or spoon a bit of the sauce on each plate and arrange the chops along-side.
I have to try this again with the tiny chops and less cooking time, of course. YUM.

The Cook's Corner is continuing with their Nov. 22nd all holiday cookie baking section and it is really special.  I am entering this dessert cookie this year.  I've never entered this 'contest' before.  No one wins, but everyone gets to add to their extensive cookie recipe collection.  I look forward to it every years.  This is my second favorite cookie in the world and it is really good.

Butterscotch Dessert Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1  1/2 cups brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon salt (I don't use that much)

1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder

1 teaspoon soda

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cups nuts

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.  Sift together flour, salt, baking powder and soda.  Add dry ingredients with sour cream to butter and sugar mixture.  Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.  Stir in nuts. Chill. (Be sure to do this step.) Drop by tablespoon on to cookie sheet about 2 inches a part.  Flatten slightly with back of spoon.  Bake in a hot oven (400) 10 to 12 minutes but DON'T OVER BAKE, these are cake like cookies. Cool and then frost with brown butter frosting.

Brown Butter Frosting

6 tablespoons butter

3 cups sifted powered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup hot water

Brown butter over low heat.  Add remaining ingredients and beat together.

This recipe is from an old friend who used to visit from a far.  These cookies were like her toll to get into the house after a long drive.  If she didn't have these, she didn't get to spend the week end.

If you love France be sure to read David Lebovitz. His post today is fantastic. Scroll down on the right side of my blog post and click on David Lebovitz. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/
You don't have to leave your seat to tour France with him.  It's a very good post and takes some time to read and see all the great pictures of his adventure.  It seems that the French are now shy about having pictures taken of their 'antiques' at flea markets.  This gives me a great laugh and you might enjoy it too when you see the items they are objecting to being photographed.

CORN and back hoes

Mike did a job for a farmer and that generous man picked a bushel of corn and pounds of peppers and sent them to my kitchen. I didn't see them until dusk and all night I had visions of what I was going to do with those luscious ears and pounds of peppers.  Corn chowder with crisp bacon popped into my mind and on to the stove, while family eased in and out of the kitchen today with an ear of corn to get them through the busy day.  We are getting a new driveway today and the back hoe and dump trucks and rollers are every where.  We had to park our cars on the grass.  It looked like a used car lot and one man actually stopped and asked if the cars were for sale.  I was still in my night clothes and said, sadly because his bumper was actually falling off in our driveway, that they were personal cars and not for sale.  He was sad. This situation will go on well into next week and then it will be smooth sailing. If you live in Columbus and need a new driveway, email me and I will give you a great guy.  I think he is doing our tennis court too, if the price is right. He has done that job for us before as well.

 So, back to the corn.  The chowder is on the stove and I still had corn after Andy took a load over to our dear neighbor across the street.  I then made a corn salad with black beans, cauliflower, broccoli, chick peas, chopped onions and tomatoes, topped lightly with Carfagna's vidalia onion dressing. That should hold us for a day or two and the corn has now been used. I tell you, there is nothing like corn on the cob (or off) this time of year.  Love it.

The Zucchini Champs, Kate and Sam. Well done.

There is a problem getting the twins pictures up on this blog.  Maybe it is a new protection device.  It's a shame because the pictures are so cute.  Both Matt and I have worked on this, but they appear and then they are gone.

Here are the twins with their prize zucchini that no one else could stand to deal with this summer. We took these two giant vegetables to Cincinnati and turned them over to Kate and Sam, who will start kindergarten this fall, and THEY dealt with the zucchini with plenty left over to freeze for winter projects. These girls are clever as can be and their mother, Annie, is constantly teaching them, so look out.  They are something! Their chocolate zucchini bread looks delicious and it is a recipe that I posted early in summer.  I understand they are starting their cooking journals and these pictures will be a super start creating memories for when they are too old to carry these cudgels. (These girls are Jim Lechler's grand children...he's the one with two sets of identical twins.)




Actually I could use these girls today.  Three of us with five degrees among us could not produce one string of pasta from this @#@$%^&*Philips pasta machine!  It is easier and cheaper to buy it ready to go.
 

Does a rocket have this many parts?

                                                                   

College Hill Bakery two

 This brave little item is a rare breakfast cheesecake.  One that has never been seen by a commenter about her many travels, other that at the North College Hill Bakery.  It is delicious with a dense butter cake base and a cheesecake topping.

 This is a favorite and Mike remembers it from his childhood and it is still the same, a cherry coffee cake strudel--if that goes together, if not, who cares, it is addicting.

 This is a coconut fruit coffee cake to the right and it is so satisfying. (No, this one is Mike's favorite.)

This one is a nut job which we have yet to taste.  I also have a cinnamon roll from the bakery that has not been pictured or tasted. I will waddle on down to get them ready for the church crowd which will be arriving shortly with Chinese carry out.  I am not cooking  in the near future .Cincinnati wore me to a frazzle. I did find one thing they won't eat down there...ox tail soup. What a shame, it is so delicious.

Cinnamon roll

We just returned from a long week end in Cincinnati visiting and helping Glenda who will be in a wheel chair for two more months.  We played cards until I'm blind and it was fun except the guys cleaned our clocks repeatedly, yet we keep trying.   Each night a different group of family would come over for dinner and cards and chats (and drinks), so we have an eventful good time.  I came home to a perfect house, not a thing to do, thank you Beth and Mike and Matt. We planned Labor Day here during this perfect month of August.  I have never seen an August or a July like it in all my years.  The weather is PERFECT.

While talking with Glenda and her neighbor I was shocked to hear the price of short ribs.  The woman said she wanted to try this dish that called for short ribs and they were $11.00 a pound!!!!!! The beef world has gone mad.

A have a new favorite product.  Mr. and Mrs. Ts spicy bloody Mary mix.  I am putting it in everything that includes tomatoes.  I made ox tail soup today (and in Cincinnati, but no one would eat it there except George and Joe) but here in Columbus, everyone but Andy enjoyed it.  Andy did not try it.  He used to eat everything I put in front of him, but no more. I tell you that mix is the best way to intensify taste and I am glad to have found it. Give it a go, you won't be sorry.

I have been trying to duplicate North College Hills coffee cakes and I think I have found the recipe...but I am too tired to try it.  Maybe in a week. (I slept five hours after arriving home from Cincinnati.)  I don't know how Joe does it.

STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE COFFEE CAKE

recipe adapted from Anny's Blog

Butter Cake & Crumb Topping

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into chunks

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup sour cream (full fat)

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Filling

1 - 8oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

Strawberry Filling

1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, cut into pieces

3 tbsp sugar

3 tsp water

1.5 tsp cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8 inch round pan with removable bottom with non-stick baking paper.

Prepare the strawberry jam. 

Combine the cornstarch and water to make a slurry in a bowl. Mix the strawberries and sugar in a pan. Cook over low heat until the strawberries release their juices about 5 minutes, then add the cornstarch mix and stir until well combined. Stir for another minute or two until it has thickened. Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the cake.

Prepare the cream cheese filling. 

Beat the cream cheese on medium speed for about 30 seconds until smooth. Add in the sugar and egg and beat until well combined.  Set aside.

Prepare the cake.

Combine the flour and sugar together in a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or just 2 forks, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Measure 3/4 cup of the mixture and set aside. Add the baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix well.

In another bowl, beat the sour cream, egg and vanilla extract until well blended. Using a hand whisk or a spoon, stir gently into the flour mixture until just incorporated. Batter may be a bit lumpy. Set aside.

Spread the batter in the pan, with about 1/2 inch up the sides, also leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edges bare (like making a well). Pour the cream cheese mixture over the batter, being careful not to go beyond the border. Spread the strawberry jam on top of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup crumbs over the strawberry filling. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes before removing the cake.