"The Gift-Giver's Cookbook" - Sour Cream Candied Walnuts - Holiday party food!

Date I made this recipe:  December 3, 2017 – Party food!

The Gift-Giver’s Cookbook by Jane Green and Judith Choate

Published by Simon and Schuster

© 1971

Purchased at Bloomington Crime Prevention Association (BCPA) Annual Sale

Recipe:  Sour-Cream Candied Nuts – p. 111

I just have to say this:  Aiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

This freaking recipe, so simple to the eye, so difficult to nail, was almost the death of me as I prepared for our annual holiday party.  By the time I nailed it, I was on my fourth round and almost ready to pitch the pan and all its contents out my back door.

Here are the basic instructions:  Mix sugar and sour cream in a saucepan, heat to 236 degrees, remove from heat and add vanilla. “Beat until mixture thickens and loses its gloss.”

It was that last instruction that just about did me in because folks, you have no idea how hard it was to get that part – the “glossy” part - right.

The first time I added the vanilla, the entire mixture became a toasty-brown color which was not necessarily wrong, but not correct, either.

Attempts “2” and “3” didn’t come out right either.  Mixture two was not smooth enough, and mixture three did not lose its gloss as directed and seriously, how hard was this anyway?

The fourth attempt finally came out right and while the nuts didn’t exactly match photos I found on the internet, they were acceptable enough to grace our party table.  In fact, one friend asked if these were the ones that were giving me problems (I emailed some friends about my frustration) because she couldn’t stop nibbling on them!

Go figure.

Normally, after experiencing frustration like this, I have suggestions on how to fix it, but this time around I don’t except that you either have to keep trying to make this right or find another recipe.  Actually, I do have one suggestion and that is to refrain from adding the walnuts until you are absolutely sure that the coating is to your liking or you’ll be crying; walnuts are not exactly cheap!

Now if the thought of making these nuts scares you (and it shouldn’t because hopefully, it was a one-off situation), there are plenty of other recipes and categories from which to choose:

• Part I – From the Oven: Fruitcakes…and Others (Fruitcake; Breads; Cookies)
• Part II – Sweets (Plum Pudding; Candy and Nuts; Jellies, Jams, etc.; Syrups, Sauces and Flavors
• Part III – Sours (Spiced Fruit and Chutneys; Relishes and Pickles; Savories and Snacks)
• Part IV – Drinks (Festive Beverages)

Many of these recipes sounded great, but I was after party food and not gift-giving food and I thought the nuts would be a piece of cake to make.  Hardly. In retrospect, I should have gone for a “festive beverage”...with alcohol, but that type of drink is not in our party lineup. (Hilariously, this 1971 cookbook calls “humus” “hoomus” which is likely the correct spelling, but it seemed totally out of place.)

It occurred to me as I was writing this that I have a few other “gift-giving” cookbooks, but none that seem to date that far back.  My “newer” ones are mostly from the year 2000 on up.  Interesting, no?  Did people just fall out of love for hand-made food gifts or what?  I may have to put my “best people” on that one.

This then, concludes my kitchen report otherwise known as “Ah, nuts!”

Sour Cream Candied Nuts – makes about 1 pound

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ½ cups walnut halves

Mix sugar and sour cream in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, until 236 degrees is reached on a candy thermometer.

Remove from the heat and add vanilla.  Beat mixture thickens and loses its gloss.  Ann’s Note:  This will take a while, and if the result is not to your liking, do not add the walnuts!

Add nuts and stir to coat them on all sides. Put on a greased cookie sheet and separate the nuts.

Nuts may be stored individually plastic-wrapped in an airtight container for 2 weeks.

"Party Cookbook" (an Australian publication) - Chicken Cacciatora

Date I made this recipe:  October 29, 2017

Party Cookbook by cookery editors Anne Marshall and Elizabeth Sewell

Published by Paul Hamlyn New South Wales (New South Wales is a “state” or section of Australia)

© 1971

Purchased at Bloomington (MN) Crime Prevention Association (BCPA) Annual Sale

Recipe:  Chicken Cacciatora – p. 19

A few weeks ago, I needed to shift a lot of my cookbooks around to make way for ducklings new acquisitions.  I’m going to call this The Great Cookbook Migration 2017.

Let me just say that this was no easy feat.  Not only did I have to deal with years of accumulated dust (I try but you know…), but I had to deal with falling books (jeez, you nudge it just a little) and spatial relations, i.e. figuring out which books fit which way on my shelves.

It didn’t take me long before I had more books on the floor than I did on shelves as I kept arranging and rearranging my collection.  This book managed to slide off the top of its stack to land at my feet in a clear attempt to get me to look at it (Yes, books are sneaky that way), and so I did.

Although I did not have a party planned, it was close enough to Halloween for me to think about Halloween parties, past and present, and so why not, right?  Not that this is an official Halloween recipe because as I’ve said before, I don’t really “do” Halloween, but a party cookbook in the hand is better than none at all.

This book did a pretty good job of hitting a lot of party themes. Here’s the Table of Contents.  Do note that this book was published in Australia which explains some of the British and Maori (New Zealand) party themes.

• Brunch Party (Brunch is a “party?”  Huh.  I always thought brunch was just…brunch!)
• Morning Coffee Party
• Luncheon Party
• Kitchen Tea (given for the Bride-to-be!)
• Christening Tea
• Children’s Birthday Party
• Open House Party
• Cocktail Party
• Dinner Parties
• Formal Dinner Party
• Casserole Dinner Party
• The Man Takes Over [Dinner Party]
• Buffet Dinner Parties
• Summer Buffet Dinner Parties
• Winter Buffet Dinner Parties
• After Theater Party
• Patio Party
• Barbecue
• Haangi (a Maori BBQ pit)
• Wine and Cheese Party

 And here’s some sample recipes and again, do note that the cookbook features food from Australia which was once a British colony which is to say, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

• ·       Brunch Party – “Lamb Cutlets with Tomatoes;” “Liver with Onions and Bacon;” “Scrambled Eggs and Tomatoes,” and “Savoury Mince on Toast.”  This looks absolutely nothing like any brunch menu I’ve ever seen, and I cannot say it appeals.  Cannot.
• ·       Morning Coffee Party – “Cheese Roughs” and “Gingerbread.”
• ·       Luncheon Party – “Chicken Cacciatora;” “Malakoff” (a cookie and cream concoction)
• ·       Kitchen Tea – A “kitchen tea” is a tea given for a bride-to-be, and the menu includes “Fish Patties” and “Savoury Eggs.”  Ew.  This is what they serve at a bridal shower? That said, this menu also includes “Chocolate Rum Truffles” which is more than acceptable to moi.
• ·       Christening Tea – “Ham and Shrimp Puffs,” “Ribbon Sandwiches,” and “Christening Cake.”
• ·       Children’s Birthday Party – “Sausage Rolls;” “White Mice in Jelly” (hmmm), and “Skippy Birthday Cake.” “Skippy” is a kangaroo and this cake is shaped like one. I have photo proof! I think I need this, children’s birthday or no children’s birthday!
• ·       Open House Party – This two-page “chapter” does not contain recipes, just dialog about how to throw a large open house party.  Been there, done that.
• ·       Cocktail Party – Once again, these four pages cover the basics of Hors d’Oeuvres which is to say, “breads and spreads.”  They give you a list of “ideas” so you can build your own but no recipes to follow.
• ·       Dinner Parties – This category has three parts:  Formal Dinner Parties (“Cauliflower Hollandaise,” “Duckling with Olives,” and “Crepe Suzettes”), Casserole Parties, and The Man Takes Over dinner parties.  As to Casserole Parties, on what planet is “Salmon with Cucumber Sauce” considered a casserole?  I need to know this.  I need to know this right now! I ask the same question about the recipe for “Roulades” which are basically meat rolls.  All I’ll say is that these Aussies have odd ideas about casseroles.  Finally, the very title of this last section – The Man Takes Over – made me laugh but then made me mad.  How sexist! Like what, the woman couldn’t deal with the situation? Naturally, “Minute Steaks” is the key recipe in this section because you know, men are born with a gene that tells them how to grill steaks (and only steaks) and women aren’t.
• ·       Buffet Dinner Parties – This category includes “Summer Buffet Dinner Parties” and “Winter Buffet Dinner Parties.”  Well that works, doesn’t it?  The recipes also tend to work although my eyebrow raised a bit at the recipe for “Lima Bean and Cauliflower Salad” (summer) and “Prawns in Garlic and Anchovy Sauce” (winter) only because most people would never eat anchovies, or a sauce made from anchovies.  I am not one of those people, but that’s another matter for another day.
• ·       After Theatre (not to be confused with “Theater) Party – Oh for crying out loud folks, never ever have I thought to eat these awful concoctions after an evening at the theater…or ever: “Fandango Sardines,” “Satanic Sardines,” or this abomination – “Osborne Oysters” made with, I kid you not, oysters, bananas, grated Swiss cheese and lemon juice. Blink.  Blink.  Blink. 
• ·       Patio Party – Le sigh. We were doing great with recipes for kebabs, risotto and more, and then it all went to hell in a handbasket with this recipe, “Greek Marrow Salad.” I can’t even….
• ·       The Barbecue, Haangi and Wine and Cheese Chapters don’t really contain recipes as much as they do instructions.

 You know what, the above was a lot of dialog about a book that is a mere 121 pages long, but I would not be me if I didn’t comment about the recipes.  Once again, let me repeat that I continue to be stymied by “British” food, or rather, what members of the British empire consider food.  Edible food.  Maybe this was the real reason the Revolutionary War was fought?  “You Brits take your horrible excuse for food and get the hell outta here!”

Out of the wreckage though, I selected a “winner, winner, chicken dinner” – Chicken Cacciatora. (By the way, I don’t think I ever heard the “winner, winner, chicken dinner” phrase until I moved here but maybe people everywhere say that?  That said, only in Minnesota, and I do mean only in Minnesota, is a casserole referred to as a “hotdish,” and only in Minnesota do the natives say [of a child’s game) “It’s Duck, Duck, Grey Duck” instead of “Duck, Duck, Goose.”)

If you read last week’s blog post highlighting another chicken dish I made, then you’ll know about my incident with the chicken I purchased at Kowalski’s (grocery store).  I’m still rather poleaxed by that spectacular service.

I’m here to tell you though, that Whole Foods (Whole Paycheck) is no slouch in the service department, either.  Since Kowalski’s didn’t have what I was looking for, I went to Whole Foods to purchase just a couple of bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts.  Normally, that chicken is on display in the meat department, but this trip, they were out.

“No worries,” said the lady behind the meat counter.  She walked me over to the pre-packed chicken cooler and said that if I saw what I’d like, she’d be happy to split up a package(s) so that I got exactly what I wanted and also give it to me at the meat counter price which is $1.00 less than the packaged product.  Sold!

The recipe is really easy and can be made on the stovetop if you want (and I wanted) instead of the oven.  The only thing I changed was to add the tomato juice to the dish instead of draining it as directed as you won’t have enough liquid to cook if you do it otherwise.  Also?  “Green capsicum” “translated” is green pepper.  Oh, those Aussies!

Chicken Cacciatora – serves 6

2 x 2 ½ pound roasting chickens (Ann’s Note:  If indeed she meant that I should purchase two 2.5 pounds of roasting chicken, that is a hell of a lot of chicken to feed six people, don’t you think?  I did!  Then I wondered if she meant to buy 2 to 2.5 pounds of chicken but the fact that she said chickens (plural), instead of chicken (singular) made me think she really did want that much chicken.  That’s almost a pound of chicken per person, folks – whoa!) 

½ cup plain flour

Pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ounce butter

1 green capsicum (pepper), diced

1 white onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 carrot, diced

3 cups tomatoes, skinned (tinned tomatoes may be used)

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons sherry

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

6 black olives, and 6 green olives, for garnish

Cut chicken into serving pieces.  (Ann’s Note:  Once upon a time, my dad did this but that was once upon a time. These days, pre-cut chicken is the way to go but by all means, if you have mad butchering skills, have at it!).  Wipe and dip chicken pieces into seasoned flour.  Heat oil and butter in a heavy-based frying pan and fry chicken until golden brown on all sides.  Remove chicken from pan and keep warm in a large heavy-based saucepan or flameproof casserole.

Fry green pepper, onion, garlic and carrot in frying pan, adding a little extra oil if necessary.  Cook until onion is soft and golden.  Add tomatoes.  If tinned tomatoes are used, drain liquid off first.  (Ann’s Note:  I don’t recommend that you drain the tomatoes because your dish will be dry and may burn.  I added the liquid and am glad I did.)  Add bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a boil, simmer a few minutes, the pour sauce over chicken pieces.  Add sherry.  Cover and simmer gently on top of stove or cook in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes or until chicken is tender.  Garnish chicken with chopped parsley and spiral cut olives.  Served with boiled noodles.

"Good Food Ideas - Kraft Cheese Cookbook" & "Cooking in Door County [Wisconsin]" - Cheddar Meatloaf and Mushrooms and Macaroni a la Creme - Packer/Viking football

Date I made this recipe: Saturday, October 15, 2017 – The eve of the annual Packers v. Vikings game, game 1 of 2

Good Food Ideas – Kraft Cheese Cookbook by Kraft Kitchens

Published by A Benjamin Company Book

© 1977

Purchased at Arc’s Value Village Richfield

Recipe: Cheddar Meatloaf – p. 45

Cooking in Door County (Wisconsin) by Pauli Wanderer

Published by Voyageur Press

© 1985

Purchased at BCPA (Bloomington Crime Prevention Association) Annual Sale

Recipe:  Morels (or another mushroom) a la Crème – p. 51

All right then, so yesterday (Sunday) was the annual [Green Bay] Packers (my team) v. [Minnesota] Vikings game.  It is a game that is always fraught with peril and this year it was a disaster as the Packers quarterback broke his collarbone halfway through the first quarter and the backup quarterback had to finish the game.  “We” as in my Packers lost 23-10.

This was not supposed to happen.  Nope.  You cannot believe the anti-jinxing rituals I go through just to make sure we win each one our games, and as faithful readers know, these rituals extend to my cookbooks and the game day recipes I select to spur my team to victory.

This time around, I found two cookbooks, one, a cheese cookbook from Kraft kitchens, and the other, a cookbook from Door County, Wisconsin.  (Door County is a “resort” area in northeastern Wisconsin, just north of Green Bay.) Since food is love and I love my team, I felt sure that the two recipes I selected would bring good luck their way.  I even made them the night before for an extra good luck push and to free me up on game day. Both recipes even had cheese for crying out loud which is the food of the gods in Wisconsin.  It is not for nothing that Packers fans are called “Cheeseheads!”

All sign then pointed to “yes.”  Unfortunately, the recipes were good but not great and that should have been my first clue to the upcoming Football Apocalypse (2017).  More on that in a minute.

So that was Saturday night, and on Sunday morning, my birthday twin and fellow Packer fan, Deb, and I went to breakfast for a late birthday celebration.  We agreed originally to meet at 11:00 and that was fine by me.  Then Deb texted me asking if we could change that to 10:00 (yes) and switch venues so she could watch the game. 

Ten o’clock was fine but watching the game was a problem for me and so stay with me while I explain it. 

In addition to trying to make food befitting a football game (not all Packers games, just some of the more important ones), I have come to believe that sometimes it is more helpful to the team if I don’t watch the live broadcast.  I always record it and will run it back no matter what, but I have found they win if I’m not watching them.  It’s crazy thinking to be sure, but it seems to work. There are also times, like this past Sunday, when my schedule doesn’t always allow for me to be at home when the game is on.  This week’s exciting task that took me away from the game grouting our new tile for our upstairs bathroom remodel. Three hours and a lot of grout dust later, we finally finished but alas, at that point, it was all over but the crying (and the last 45 seconds of the game).

Anyway, Deb said that if she watches them, they win.  I suggested to her that we just canceled each other out which was not good!  This is also foreshadowing of the debacle that followed.

Okay, so to recap, I made a Packer-related dinner, Deb and I canceled each other out on watching live/not watching live, and this brings us to the third and final nail in the coffin:  team apparel/team colors.

My unwritten rule of “game” apparel is this:  Thou shalt not wear “enemy” (i.e. opposing team) colors three days before game time.  By “apparel” I mean everything from underwear to eye wear.  I say this because for years now, I have had a pair of purple glasses and a pair that is not purple.  I do not wear the purple frames games at all three days before a game, regardless of whether it is the Packers v. Vikings game, because purple is a Viking team color and I don’t want to send any good juju their way, only bad!

You can call me crazy if you like, but all this is mild compared to some fans I know.  It’s all about not jinxing our team so that all they do is “win, win, win, no matter what!” (Thanks, DJ Khaled!)

Okay, so now that you know this, here’s what happened at breakfast:  Deb inadvertently wore a sweatshirt containing lettering in purple and yellow and yellow, the other Vikings color. Vikings colors are enemy colors and sheesh, talk about picking the wrong day to wear that outfit! I learned that Deb does not take things as far as I do but she should because look.what.happened.

In conclusion, and as I mentioned earlier, we were now up to three signs of the upcoming Football Apocalypse (2017):  Bad Juju Moment #1 – Saturday dinner; Bad Juju Moment #2 – Watch/don’t watch, and Bad Juju Moment #3 – Enemy apparel.  We inadvertently doomed our team before they even took to the field.

Our sincere apologies to Packer Nation for these actions.

Let’s backtrack then to the recipes that I made and how they fared.  First up:  Good Food Ideas – Kraft Cheese Cookbook.

This cookbook contains recipes for every type of cheese dish imaginable.  Naturally, Kraft wants us all to use Kraft cheese products, but I cheated and purchased a Wisconsin cheddar at Trader Joe’s. Now for all I know, this private label product was made by Kraft but I didn’t really care because the label said “Wisconsin” cheddar and that’s all I needed to know. 

Okay then, so let’s take a look at the Table of Contents:

• ·       Social Snacks
• ·       Hot and Hearty Soups and Stews
• ·       Feature Attractions
• ·       Zesty Vegetables
• ·       Special Salads and Salad Dressings
• ·       Savory Sweets
• ·       Wonderful Happenings
• ·       From Oven to Table – Homemade Bread
• ·       Sandwiches to Remember
• ·       Sauce Sorcery
• ·       Eye Openers – Breakfast and Brunch
• ·       Microwave Magic
• ·       Enough for a Crowd
• ·       Perfect Partners – Cheese and Wine (no recipes)
• ·       Through the Ages with Cheeses (no recipes)

 I must say that the only chapter that gave me slight pause was the “Savory Sweets,” but I shouldn’t have been alarmed because most of the recipes used other Kraft products such as cream cheese or Parkay Margarine (yuck) and only a few used cheese.  Even then, those that did, such as an apple pie crust made with cheddar cheese in the crust, made sense. 

I finally decided on the Cheddar Meatloaf from the “Feature Attractions” chapter because it had cheddar cheese in the mixture.  I pictured it as a great big cheeseburger with cheese molten like lava flowing out of the middle. Naturally, that is not at all what I got.

You can tell I’ve been watching too many episodes of Food Network’s “Chopped,” because I told Andy “I like it, but the tomato soup flavor overpowers all the other basket ingredients.” 

I am totally qualified to be a judge on that show.

Not only did the tomato soup overpower the other ingredients, but the cheese seemed to disappear in its entirety.  I’m not sure it was supposed to but it did.  This was not a good sign.

Still, we ate it because it was tasty even if it was a tad on the tomato-y side.

And then there’s the second book, Cooking in Door County (Wisconsin) which looked cute and all, but I must tell you that I was hard-pressed to find a recipe in this book to my liking.  Why?  Well, because of a smattering of recipes such as these: “Smelts” (a tiny bony fish, more fun to catch than eat); “Brussels's Belgian Tripe;” “Pickled Pig’s Feet,” and “Head Cheese.”  Now if I was on Chopped, cooking with these ingredients would be one thing but I’m not on Chopped so I was free to ditch those ingredients, thank goodness, and continue my search. 

Sadly, it only seemed to get worse.  Take for instance, this chapter - Water and Shore- and some of the offerings: “Whitefish Liver Pate,” “Mud Lake Mallards,” “Wild Goose and Red Cabbage,” and “Venison Pot Roast.”

Eesh!  I suppose I could be persuaded to eat whitefish but not a whitefish liver pate, nope. As to the duck and the goose, my dad used to hunt and so I’ve eaten both but cannot get past the gamey taste and smell.  Same goes with venison.  No matter how my mom prepared it or what she added to it, I just didn’t like it which of course did not make my dad very happy.

The rest of the recipes in this cookbook was a complete mishmash.  Woods and Byways contains lots of wild mushroom recipes and it’s a shame that morel season is over because I love morels.  My dad used to go and pick them and sauté them in butter and they were delicious.  The rest of that chapter though, is dicey except for a few recipes for wild jams that sounded interesting.

Overall, Orchards and Fields yielded the most edible recipes such as “Door County Cherry Pie,” “Swedish Apple Cake,” and “Zucchini Stew.”  Alas, I just wasn’t struck by any of these enough to go ahead and make them.

Roots is the chapter that yielded some of the god-awful dishes mentioned above although thankfully, other recipes balanced that horror such as “Vivian’s Pea Soup, “and “Swedish Meatballs.”

Since I was in a cheese sort of mood, I decided on Morels and Macaroni a la Crème from the Woods and Byways chapter, only I substituted shiitake mushrooms for morels.

Just like the Cheddar Meatloaf, this recipe had potential to be blockbuster but wasn’t.  Turns out there was an unspecified amount of time to keep this on the stove top so it would stay rich and creamy and I went over that limit (apparently) by just enough to cause the cheese to coagulate.  Damn and blast!  The result was totally edible but the appearance suffered.  We’re talking minutes here people, minutes if not seconds.  Moral of the Morel and Macaroni Mixture? Keep your eye on the prize!

As with the meatloaf, the mushroom flavors got buried under the cheese and macaroni and that irked.  If I made this again, I would cut down on the macaroni, amp up the mushrooms, and definitely add a lot more salt and pepper. Oh well, live and learn.

In conclusion, all my attempts to will my Packers on to victory failed and so now Packer Nation must pick up the pieces and move on. My husband always says “It is so hard to be a Packers fan” and he is not kidding! As I said, the recipes were good, but keep your eye on both the oven and the stove and perhaps adjust your ingredients to bring out other flavors.

Cheddar Meatloaf – 6 servings – from Good Food Ideas Cheese Cookbook by Kraft

1 ½ pounds ground beef

1 ¼ pounds dry bread crumbs

1 4-ounce package Kraft shredded sharp natural cheddar cheese

1 10 ¾-ounce can condensed tomato soup

1 egg

¼ chopped onion

2 tablespoons chopped, fresh parsley

½ teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

Combine all ingredients; mix lightly.  Shape into loaf in 11 ¾ x 7 ½-inch baking dish.  Bake at 350° F, 1 hour.

Ann’s Note:  I made a half recipe and so used half the can of soup and I still thought the tomato flavor overpowered the cheese so you might want to hold off on using the entire can if making the full recipe.

Morels (Shitake) and Macaroni a la Crème – serves 8 to 12, depending on appetites

1 pound macaroni

6 tablespoons butter

1 pound Swiss cheese, grated

4 egg yolks, gently beaten

2 cups cream

1 cup morels, chopped fine (Ann’s Note:  or substitute shitake or chanterelle)

Pinch nutmeg

Salt and pepper

Boil the macaroni and drain.  Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pan.  Frizzle the morels for a minute.  Add the macaroni, the egg yolks mixed with the cream, and the cheese.  Mix the cheese in gradually as you stir and life over a low heat.

When all the ingredients have reached a creamy consistency (this will be in a matter of minutes), stir in the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.*  Heap this delicious mess on a large, deep platter and garnish with tomato slices.

*Ann’s Note:  One minute, the mac and cheese was all creamy and dreamy, but I left it on the stovetop just a hair too long and that made the cheese coagulate.  What the author failed to mention is “Remove from the heat immediately and then serve.”

"Cooking with [Winnie the] Pooh - Yummy Tummy Cookie Cutter Treats" - Piglet's No-Haycorn Pizzas - for my Aunt Mary's 96th birthday

Date I made this recipe:  October 10, 2017 – my Aunt Mary's 96^th birthday!

Cooking with Pooh – Yummy Tummy Cookie Cutter Treats by Marlene Brown

Published by Disney Enterprises, Inc.

© 1995

Purchased at:  BPCA (Bloomington Crime Prevention Association) Annual Sale

Recipe:  Piglet's No-Haycorn Pizzas ('Haycorn' is Piglet's word for acorns)

"I'm planting a haycorn, Pooh, so that it can grow....up into an oak tree, and have lots of haycorns just outside the front door instead of having to walk miles and miles, do you see Pooh?"

I love Winnie the Pooh and his friends and his stories and his adventures.  I always have, always will. 

These characters, brought to life by A. A. Milne, informed my childhood as I read and re-read many a Pooh story.  I remember being particularly confused and scared about the "heffalumps" until I got old enough to realize that is what Pooh called "elephants."  Ah.  Makes a difference, it does!

The main character (besides Pooh), and the subject of an upcoming movie, "Goodbye Christopher Robin," was Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh's young owner. Christopher Robin was the real-life son of A.A. Milne, Pooh's creator and the movie preview looks great.

In fiction and in real life, Christopher Robin and his bear, Winnie the Pooh had many adventures and were the very best of friends.  When I was a kid, there was a song about Christopher Robin called "They're Changing Guards at Buckingham Palace," that played on Captain Kangaroo.  The main refrain is "They're changing guards at Buckingham Palace, Chris-to-pher Robin went down with Alice..." and even though I heard it as a young child, that song always stuck with me. I loved the Captain, loved the show, loved the song – loved

So speaking of "love," just before Andy and I got married, we bought a greeting card for someone with a quote from Pooh and Christopher Robin.  We loved it so much that we tracked down a second card, found the full quote, and decided to have it be one of our wedding readings. I asked my Aunt Mary to do the honors and  I believe I've written in a pervious blog that she got up in front of everyone, said very solemnly "This is a reading from Winnie the Pooh," and then cracked up laughing.  We did too!

Twenty six years later, my aunt is still with us and in fact, just turned 96 which is a major accomplishment.  We were always close (my birthday is the day before hers) and ever since the wedding, we have grown even closer over our love of Pooh.  Thanks to Hallmark, I am able to find a Winnie the Pooh (original illustration) for about every occasion including this year's birthday card.

The Winnie the Pooh characters in this cookbook/booklet are the more contemporary ones from Disney Enterprises. I have vague recollections of a Winnie the Pooh TV show from my earlier years and these more contemporary renderings were the one in that show.  I must confess though, that I have a fondness for the "original" characters are drawn by E. H. Shepard, and I hope I'm not the only one who found it amusing that both the author and the illustrator went by initials instead of full names.

Unlike the mega-paged The Playboy Gourmet cookbook that I used last week, this booklet contains 10 and only 10 recipes, all of which are intended to be made by kids with adult supervision. Each recipe has the name of a Pooh character and of course, all of Pooh's recipes contained honey, or "hunny" as he liked to spell it.

Since there are only 10 recipes, here's the list:

• Pooh's Honey Cookies on a Stick
• Eeyore's Rainy Day Cinnamon Crisps
• Christopher Robin's Gingerbread Friends
• Pooh's Best Lunch-Wiches
• Piglet's No-Haycorn Pizzas
• Rabbit's Double-Double Chocolate Cookies
• Tigger's Bouncing Rainbow Animals
• Pooh's Holiday Ornament Cookies
• Kanga's Animal Biscuit Surprises
• Roo's Painted Cookie Friends

As good as all these recipes sounded, I tend to favor savory over sweet and so made "Piglet's No-Haycorn Pizzas." Piglet calls acorns "haycorns," and I wish I could elaborate further on why it's important that this is a no "haycorn" recipe but I can't so I won't!

The pizza recipe is simple and delicious although I did not do two things called for in the recipe:  I did not use "grown-up" help to turn on my oven, and I did not cut out little pizzas with cookie cutters.  I also added an ingredient that wasn't called for in the recipe – Cipollini Onion that were marinated in balsamic vinegar – yum!  They were in the same olive bar from which I got my "ripe olive slices" and figured why not?  I cut them up in small pieces and they were a tasty addition.

Okay, true confession #4:  I did not roll out the dough as directed.  I tried it and it kept sticking to my non-stick rolling pin (How did that happen?) and still got stuck when I tried flouring first the rolling pin and then the dough.  I finally gave up and just pulled the dough into the rectangle desired and then added my toppings.  I'm just going to say again that I do not enjoy rolling out pie or pizza dough but my husband does which is why he is known as the "Pie Guy" and I am not!

I have always wished that my aunt lived closer as we have so much fun when we are together ("You're the best Pooh reader, ever, Auntie Mare!") but I'm pretty sure she would have enjoyed her Piglet Pizza as well as this charming Winnie the Pooh children's cookbook.

Piglet's No-Haycorn Pizzas – makes 12 to 14 mini pizzas or 1 large cookie sheet

1 8-ounce can refrigerated crescent roll dough

A few tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/3 cup pizza sauce

12 top 14 pepperoni slices, cut in half

12 to 14 ripe olive slices

½ cup pre-shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

With grown-up help, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Sprinkle flour on the countertop or a large cutting board.  Remove the dough carefully from the can in two sections.  Unroll one section of the dough on the board; unroll the second section of dough next to it to make a square.  With your fingers press the edges together to make one large piece of dough.  Ann's Note:  The tricky part will be pressing the edges of each crescent roll triangle and then keeping them pressed together.

Put some flour on the rolling pin.  Roll the dough carefully to make an 11x10-inch rectangle.  Dip your cookie cutters in some flour, then cut out shapes from dough.  Ann's Note:  I skipped this part but for those of you who want to use cookie cutters, follow the next steps below.

With a metal spatula, put your pizza cut-outs on the cookie sheet.  Shape the dough scraps into a ball.  Roll it out and cut more pizzas.  Put them on the cookie sheet.

With a small spoon spread some pizza sauce on each pizza.  Put two half-slices of pepperoni on top.  Put one slice of olive on each pizza.  Sprinkle each pizza with some cheese.  Try not to get any cheese on the cookie sheet.

With grown-up help, bake your pizzas for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the cheese is melted.  With help, take them out of the oven.  Cool them for 2 minutes.  With the metal spatula, take the pizzas off the cookie sheet to serve to your friends.

"Vietnamese Cookery" - Sweet-Sour Short Ribs - For Ken Burns' "Vietnam" documentary

Date I made this recipe:  October 1, 2017 – For Ken Burns' Vietnam documentary

Vietnamese Cookery by Jill Nhu Huong Miller

Published by Charles E. Tuttle Company: Publishers

© 1968; sixth printing 1986

Purchased at annual Bloomington Crime Prevention Association (BCPA) sale

Recipe:  Sweet-Sour Shortribs – p. 41

So listen, the first part of this blog is going to be rather depressing because I just have to talk about Ken Burns' most-recent documentary, Vietnam, as well as my recollections of growing up during that period. Can't be helped. 

Let's start with the basics:  Once upon a time, the country of Vietnam was a French colony.  The  Vietnamese wanted nothing to do with the French and so in 1954, the Geneva accord was drafted kicking out the French and dividing Vietnam into North Vietnam which was communist, and South Vietnam that was democratic.

The North Vietnamese wanted control of the south and so they started a civil war shortly thereafter.  The United States which at the time didn't have a stake in the game, decided that it did not want to see the communists take over the south and so we started sending troops to help the South Vietnamese. Prior to that, we were minimally involved in the country.

In 1961, President Kennedy, a Roman Catholic who did not favor the communists, started ramping up the U.S. involvement and thereafter, every president not only sent more troops but helped escalate the border war into the disaster that Ken Burns documented.  The U.S. finally left Vietnam for good in 1975 (under Nixon) utterly defeated as we failed and failed miserably.  Not only did we fail to prevent the communist takeover, but for the first time in a long time, we failed to outright win a war.  This did not sit well with WWI and WWII veterans and military personnel.

That's the dime version.  To get the long version, you should watch Burns' documentary which as always, was thorough and compelling.

When I think about the Vietnam era, here are some impressionable moments from the past that come to mind:

Watching the war on TV.  Yup. As unbelievable as it sounds, at six o'clock every night, my family, along with millions across the country, tuned into CBS News to get updates on how things were going for the U.S.  Answer?:  Not good.  We saw footage from the field, we saw body bags being loaded onto airplanes, and we got daily totals of those killed in action (KIA), missing in action(MIA), and prisoners of war (POW) all relayed to us by the calming voice of "Uncle Walter," CBS News anchor, Walter Cronkite. 

I know, it's weird.  It's actually a little morbid when you think about it, but it was all we knew.

The "Domino" Effect.  The domino effect was how the U.S. justified our ongoing involvement in Vietnam and it went like this:  "If we let South Vietnam fall to those godless communists from the north, then other neighboring countries will fall like dominos to communist control as well." 

Well, this created a problem for many peace advocates like my very-Catholic mother.  She didn't want us in the war, but she didn't want the communists to take over, either.  She was not alone in her thinking which is probably why our involvement in Vietnam lasted as long as it did. 

The 1970 Kent State (University in Ohio) Massacre made an indelible impression on me.  On May 4, 1970, anti-war protests on Kent State's campus escalated such that the Ohio National Guard was brought in.  Although I've read that the guard was supposed to have used rubber bullets (which raises the argument "Why shoot in the first place?"), that didn't happen, tensions escalated between protestors and the guard, shots were fired and four people died leaving nine more injured. One photographer, who later won a Pulitzer Prize for his photographs, took a photo of a woman on her knees next to a man who was laying face down on the ground, her arms out, and her expression one of complete disbelief if not horror.  If you Google "Kent State Massacre," that is likely the first photo to appear.

To put this in perspective, this happened when I was not quite 12 years old and was in 6^th grade.  Never mind that I still had six years to go until I started college, I was completely freaked out and decided right then and there that I shouldn't go to college because what if I got shot like those students?  It took me forever and a day to calm myself down and I don't think my parents ever suspected my anxiety over this event.  To make matters better, or worse if you will, the band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young immortalized that event with their song "Ohio" (1971) which is one of their best songs even though it was about this depressing event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRE9vMBBe10

The "Fall" of Saigon.  The city of Saigon was not only the south's capitol, but it was home to the U.S. Embassy as well.  Although many Americans had already left the area, many were left behind to work at the embassy. These people were ordered to leave and started packing up when things became very dire:  word reached the embassy that the North Vietnamese were advancing on Saigon at which point, the U.S. started making preparations to leave in a burning hurry.

Complicating matters though, was the promise to evacuate several thousand South Vietnamese families, particularly those families who assisted with U.S. war efforts.  You have probably seen video footage of the evacuation and I just have two words to say about that:  widespread and chaos.

Although my husband and I differ slightly on our interpretation of the urgency of the situation, I tell you what:  I will never forget watching this unfold on TV and being frightened that all these people would not get out in time. Once again, this was something that was broadcast on TV and also repeated in the documentary.  I was 16 years old at the time.  What a childhood.

Of the thousands of Vietnamese who were evacuated by the U.S., many came to the United States to live, assisted by Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities.  A good number of Vietnamese refugees relocated to Minnesota, specifically St. Paul, and once they got settled, opened Vietnamese restaurants so that we here in the Twin Cities, could experience the fare they once enjoyed in their homeland.  It was the first win-win of the war.

Today, one of the areas along the Green Line (light rail system) in St. Paul has been dubbed "Little Mekong," named for the Mekong Delta in Vietnam because of the plethora of Vietnamese businesses have set up shop in this area. One of our favorite restaurants on the Green Line in St. Paul is Ngon Vietnamese Bistro, a restaurant that features both Asian and French-influenced food.  Another, Bona, is on the Green Line in Minneapolis in Stadium Village at the University of Minnesota. We love their food and I particularly love Pho (pronounced "Fuh"), a noodle soup that is practically Vietnam's national dish.

This brings us now to this featured cookbook, the only one I have that focuses solely on Vietnamese food.  For those who haven't had Vietnamese food but have had Chinese food, the dishes are similar and yet not.  Vietnamese eggrolls are deep fried, same as their Chinese cousins, but I think are lighter and better.  Vietnamese egg rolls contain bean thread noodles in addition to pork and other ingredients.  The Vietnamese spring roll is very popular and is made with a rice wrapper stuffed with fresh shrimp, Thai basil, mint, and cilantro; this dish is not fried. I have been known to do a lot of damage to a plate of these puppies.

The Table of Contents for this cookbook is fairly brief and you should know that you can probably substitute other proteins for many of these dishes.  The lineup is:

• Basic Recipes
• Soups
• Pork Main Dishes
• Beef Main Dishes
• Seafood Main Dishes
• Chicken & Duck
• Salads
• Desserts
• Hors D'Oeuvres

 Recipes featured in the "Basic Recipe" category include all the essential Vietnamese sauces you will need as well as a recipe for cooked rice.  In the "Soups" category, I considered "Chicken-Long Rice Soup" – p. 37 but thought there were more interesting recipes elsewhere in the book. (By the way, in Vietnam, "long rice" is bean thread noodle which I love.)

Next we have the "Pork Main Dishes" category, and reader, I have a confession to make.  When I photocopied the recipe I made for "Sweet-Sour Pork Ribs" on page 41, I neglected to note that it was from the "Pork" category and so used beef short ribs.  Duh.  That said, the recipe was still delicious.

All the dishes in the "Beef and Seafood Dishes" categories sounded good but I passed on them but when I got to the "Chicken & Duck" category, I added "Baked Chicken" to my list of possibilities.  This dish is chicken marinated in soy sauce and fish sauce, sugar and garlic and then baked  Yum!

In the salad category, the "Cucumber Salad" recipe is one I've seen in Vietnamese restaurants and it sounded great. It's a mixture of cucumbers, boiled shrimp, boiled pork and Nuoc Mam Sauce which is fish sauce plus other ingredients. 

Okay, let me just say that I am seriously starving right now.

In the "Desserts" category we have a lot of dishes featuring coconut and also bananas as well as rice puddings.  I have to say that I don't think I've ever ordered dessert at a Vietnamese restaurant but I could be convinced to try any one of these.

The final category behind "Desserts" is "Hors D'Oeuvres" and here you will find many recipes featuring shrimp.  My favorite item here is "Shrimp Toast" (p. 106) which I could eat and eat and eat to my detriment as these are deep-fried but totally delicious!

Okay, now I'm really, really hungry.  Really.

In conclusion, if you haven't had the chance to watch the PBS documentary, I recommend you do so.  If you are of similar age to me and my husband (or older), it may be hard to watch but it was informative and even a little bit healing.  If you are younger, then definitely watch the show because Vietnam (and also Korea) go in the history books at the war the U.S. just couldn't win. 

And once you've done all that, eat!

Sweet-Sour Shortribs – Four Servings

1 ½ lb. shortribs (Ann's Note:  pork shortribs, not beef.  I didn't catch that and so I used beef.  Still delicious!)

4 cups water

2 shallots (or white part of green onions), thinly sliced

1 tsp. salt

1/3 fresh pineapple or small can crushed pineapple + 1 tablespoon vinegar

2 large carrots, shredded

1 large tomato, cut into eights

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup water

2 tbsp. fish sauce

½ tsp. cornstarch

Slice shallots in thin rounds. Cut lean short ribs into serving pieces.  Place in a large skillet and add shallots, salt, and water.

Ann's Note:  My short ribs were beef short ribs on the bone so cutting them into serving pieces didn't really work for me.  I decided to cook the ribs in a larger pot rather than a large skillet for the length of time listed below and then pull the meat off the bone.

Bring the shallots, salt, water and short ribs to a boil on high heat, cover and reduce heat to medium.  Simmer, covered, for 2 hours.  If water evaporates before cooking is completed, add about 1 more cup.  If all water is not evaporated at the end of 2 hours, bring heat to high, uncover and boil until water is all evaporated.

Clean pineapple, take out core, then cut into small chunks.  (Ann's Note:  These days, most grocery stores have pre-cut pineapple available.)  Squeeze chunks of pineapple between the hands, getting out as much juice as possible.  This will crush the pineapple.  (Ann's Note:  I used a potato ricer.)  Save the juice for drinking, salads, etc.

Shred the carrots, using a vegetable peeler or large section of grater.  (Ann's Note:  Next time around, I might grate the carrots or thinly slice it rather than use a vegetable peeler.)

Cut tomatoes into eights.

Crush the garlic and add to meat in skillet, which will begin to sauté in its own fat. (Ann's Note:  Not really!  Sure, had I cooked the ribs in a skillet as directed, this might be true, but if you did it like I did which was to boil them in a separate pan, then plan on adding some of that fat to the skillet or the pan will be too dry.)

Sauté the garlic and meat (and oil) on medium high.  When the smell of garlic begins to be noticeable, put in the pineapple, carrots and tomato.  Sauté about 1 minute, stir often.

Add the water and fish sauce, stir well, cover and steam about 10 minutes, still on medium high heat.

Take some of the juice from the skillet, mix the cornstarch with it so it won't get lumpy, and stir into the mixture in the skillet.  Let cook about 1 more minute.  Serve hot with rice.