Date I made this recipe:
April 13, 2014 (Mad Men Season 7 premier)
Esquire Cook Book
by the Editors of Esquire (magazine); Illustrations by Charmatz (Bill Charmatz)
Published by:
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.
© 1955
Recipe: Shrimp with Rice, Fra Diavolo –p. 114
Finally—Mad Men
(Season 7) is back along with Archie, Jughead, Veronica and Betty. Wait, that's The Archies (1970's TV cartoon based on the comic book). Correction:
Mad Men (Season 7) is back
along with Don, Peggy, Roger, Pete, Joan and a host of other characters
including (we hope), Betty Draper, Don's ex-wife.
It is with longing and trepidation that we approach Season 7
as this will be the final run of what I consider to be a great show. Seven episodes air this spring, seven more
follow next spring (2015) and then that's all folks. And then what will we do? Why, we'll watch it all on DVD's! Collect the whole set! I have.
Mad Men, in case
you didn't know, is a story about men and women working at an advertising
agency in the 60's. Season 7 starts in
1969, just after Nixon's inauguration (and my word, won't we be in for a couple
of wild years) but some of the characters, like our protagonist, Don, are stuck
in the 50's and are trying to keep up with these changing times. Many viewers commented that Don was still
wearing a hat in the first season 7 episode, something that I don't find odd at
all: my father wore a hat to my college
graduation in 1980. Besides dealing with
the changing times, each character on the show is trying to deal with a
changing life. It's too detailed for
further comment so let's get to the food!
Esquire magazine
is a men's magazine, founded in 1932 by the Heart Corporation. It's still on the newsstand today, a major
accomplishment given how many magazines have folded over the years. I never read the magazine but when I saw this
cookbook, I snapped it up. (I also have Esquire's Handbook for Hosts which I am
saving for another day.)
I noted at the top that the illustrations in this book were
done by (Bill) Charmartz and they are basic illustrations (i.e. nothing fancy)
but definitely charming and a sign of the times. Many magazines featured artwork by famous (in
the industry) illustrators and magazine covers for the longest time also
featured artwork. Today, cover art from Gourmet magazine, Vogue, The New Yorker and
the like are highly sought after (and can cost a pretty penny).
As to the recipes, there's a wide variety of recipes, some
of which are quite involved and some of which are easy; unless I'm in some kind
of weird mood, I opt for easy! Many of
the recipes are from famous restaurants and I only wish I had the time to do
some Google searches to see which ones, if any, are still operating. And, as a sign of the times, frog legs and
lobster recipes are prevalent in the Shellfish chapter—although someone please
explain to me how frogs are shellfish.
That puzzles.
After careful consideration, I decided on the fancily-named Shrimp with Rice, Fra Diavolo, Italian
for "Brother Devil." Wait –
what? Well anyway, it's supposed to be spicy.
This was not spicy. It was good,
but there were a few problems so let's get to them!
Problem number one:
the recipe requires "1/2 teaspoon pepper." It doesn't say
"red pepper flakes" which is the usual and customary ingredient of
this dish, just pepper. Well, pepper can
have a bit of a bite, but not black pepper if this was in fact what they
wanted. The little spice chart at the
front of the book was not helpful because it too, listed "Pepper – black
or white." But I'm here to tell you
folks, that you need to use red pepper flakes and a lot more than ½ teaspoon!
Problem number two:
To make the rice, you slice two small onions and cook them in ¼ pound of
sweet butter. Not a quarter stick or a
quarter cup – ¼ POUND. This is too much
butter. Way too much. It might have been fine had the recipe called
for two large onions but not two small.
So while the rice was good, it was a bit greasy.
Problem number three:
the recipe calls for one 1 1/2-pound can of plum tomatoes but doesn't
tell us what to do with them. I found
the blobs of tomatoes to be just a bit much so I pulsed them in my
Cuisinart. I might as well have just
purchased chopped or crushed tomatoes – live and learn.
Problem number four:
what kind of heat are we looking for here? Simmer?
Low? Medium? The only direction was to bring the broth to
a boil, then add the rice and cook for 20 minutes. But are we still at a boil or not at a
boil? And then when you make the tomato
sauce the directions say to "cook for 15 minutes" but again – what
temperature? I'll do whatever the recipe calls for but it really should call
for something!
Now, despite our four problems ("Please identify the
four problems then compare and contrast in an essay..."), the dish was
tasty. Not spicy, not hot, and not
necessarily spectacular, but tasty.
Can't fault that. And I do so
love shrimp, so there's that. It was a
nice dish for a Sunday night viewing of Mad
Men and seemed to fit in with the times – a little exotic
("Frau?" "Diavolo?") a little spicy (this was 1955 after
all), very retro and very "Esquire." And If anybody embodies a 50's (and 60's) male,
it is Don Draper. (The fact that he and
his life are a mess is beside the point – watch the show!). (By the way,
although "esquire" is used in the US
to signify an attorney, in England
it is a designation used by certain members of the gentry i.e. well-borne
members of a high social class...usually men.)
And that is how we got off to a great start watching Mad Men Season 7 premier!
Shrimps with Rice, Fra
Diavolo...from Scribes Restuarant,
New York – serves 4, amply
2 small onions, sliced
¼ pound sweet butter (Ann's Note: this is way too
much—adjust according to your preference)
1 quart chicken broth
2 cups rice
3 cloves garlic, diced
4 tablespoons olive oil (Ann's Note: again, just a tad much
– adjust accordingly)
1 ½ pound can of plum tomatoes (Ann's Note: I recommend using crushed tomatoes)
½ teaspoon *pepper (Ann's Note: use red pepper flakes. Period.
And about 1 teaspoon – or more – should do it)
¼ teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 ½ pounds peeled, raw shrimp
For the rice: Slice
two small onions and cook them until golden in ¼ pound sweet butter. (Ann's Note:
use low heat). Add 1 quart
chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir
in 2 cups rice and cook for 20 minutes to reduce the volume. (Ann's Note:
I decreased the temperature to medium and even then, almost burned the
rice. You've got to keep an eye on
things!).
For the shrimp sauce:
Brown 3 diced garlic cloves in 4 tablespoons olive oil; then add a 1
1/2-pound can of plum tomatoes, ½ teaspoon pepper (Ann's Note: Last call—use red pepper flakes!), ¼ teaspoon
oregano, 1 teaspoon chopped parsley.
Cook for 15 minutes (Ann's Note:
apparently, at a temperature of your choosing! I chose low), then add the shrimp and simmer
for 10 minutes.
Place rice on platter, cover with shrimp and sauce, and
serve to 4, amply.
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