A "Mad Men" Finale Repast, with recipes from "Sardi's - The Story of a Famous Restaurant;" "The Colony - Portrait of a Restaurant..." & "Tanqueray The Perfect Entertainer"

Date I made these recipes:  May 17, 2015 – Mad Men Finale

Sardi's – The Story of a Famous Restaurant by Vincent Sardi, Sr., and Richard Gehman

Published by:  Henry Holt and Company

© 1953

Purchased at Kitchen Arts and Letters, NYC

Recipe:  Chicken Tetrazzini – p. 223-224 with assistance from Betty Crocker

The Colony – Portrait of A Restaurant And its Famous Recipes by Iles Brody

Published by: Jarrolds Publishers (London) Limited

© 1946, 1^st edition

Purchased at Julian's Books, NYC

Recipe:  Haricot Beans A L' Itlaienne – p. 164

Tanqueray® The Perfect Entertainer – A Collection of Recipes for Cocktails, Canapés & Hors D' Oeuvres

Published by Barron's

© 1984

Purchased at Arc's Value Village Thrift Stores

Recipe:  (Tanqueray®) Martini – p. 26

As the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end," and so endeth the fabulously entertaining Mad Men TV show.  Most people I know who watched and loved the show said some variation of the same thing:  "It was like watching my childhood (or young adulthood) all over again." 

The thing I loved most about the show is that it stayed true to form of telling a story that fit the ages and didn't change it just because people wished it otherwise.  As an example, women had a hard time then (and now) making headway in the marketplace.  Harassment was rampant and I could tell you chapter and verse of some of the things I witnessed in the workplace.  Smoking at work was definitely a cool thing and drinking during hours was not seen as the next step to heading to AA.  In fact, during the early 80's, my boss used to take my department out for liquid lunches every quarter.  In the first years of the show, many people – my guess men and women a lot younger than me – complained that all of this seemed unreal.  It wasn't.

When the character Sal, the art director left, some people thought the world would end and "surely he'll be back, right?"  He wasn't.  In real life, it was rare for someone to leave a company and then return and if they did, they often left shortly thereafter for the same reasons that drove them from the place in the first place.  I was glad that creator/director Matt Weiner didn't cave in to popular demand.

I could spend hours writing about how I loved this show and how the research and dedication to costuming and set design and props and character development and music is something we will likely never see again but the point of this particular writing is, of course, to talk about cookbooks.  So let's talk!  (As an aside though, a friend watched all of two seconds of the next to last episode and commented that the tie was wrong. Apparently, that was his only take away.  But I'm here to tell you pilgrim, the tie was NOT wrong!  Every article of clothing, down to the "unmentionables," was researched to the nth degree.  The tie was correct.  End of rant.)

During the course of the seven year run, Matt Weiner also talked about how he envisioned how the show would end pretty much from the moment he wrote the first script.   I too, thought about what to make for the "last supper."  And so I selected three books that I thought would be a good fit:  Sardi's cookbook, The Colony cookbook and the Tanqueray® cookbook – two venerable NYC restaurant cookbooks and one from the makers of Tanqueray® gin.  The gin book was thrown in at the last minute but it's fitting seeing as everybody on the show was drinking like fish and smoking like chimneys.

Out of all the restaurants featured in Mad Men during the seven-year run, Sardi's is perhaps the most famous. (Check out Season 2, Episode 5 where Don dines with (character) Jimmy Barrett and his hell-on-wheels wife, Bobbie.) Opened in 1927, it became famous for all the celebrity caricatures that continue to adorn the walls.  Back in the day, if your visage was on that wall, you had definitely made it!

Unbeknownst to me, Sardi's is listed as the "birthplace" of the Tony Award and Broadway stars continue to frequent the place which is still in business after all these years.  I'm going to have to add a visit there to my NYC bucket list. 

This cookbook, acquired a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, is not exactly a cookbook but rather, the story of Sardi's and how it became such an "it" destination. Recipes don't appear until Chapter 14 – Some Sardi Specialties – and even then, only a select few.  Many of them, like the chicken tetrazzini, call for sauce "in a can," a product Sardi's created and sold – see page 209 for details. I imagine that back then, Sardi's Jiffy White Sauce was likely all the rage, but I tell you what, trying to duplicate that sauce (no longer sold) for this recipe took some doing and I must confess to you that I cheated and called upon Betty Crocker for assistance.  What would we all do without Betty? By the way, and I just have to say this, my nose turned up when I read about white sauce in a can because...ew?

So that's the skinny on Sardi's and now you probably want to know about The Colony so I'm going to tell you (thanks to Wikipedia).  The Colony opened its doors in 1923, four years before Sardi's and operated until 1971.  Unlike Sardi's which was located at 44^th Street (Times Square area), The Colony operated on the city's Upper East Side at 61^st and Madison ("Mad Ave!").  According to Wiki, once the Vanderbilt's discovered it, it rocketed to fame.  Another interesting tidbit was that restaurateur Sirio Maccione (well-known in NYC but perhaps not so much elsewhere) served as The Colony's bar captain from 1960 to 1970 before leaving to found the equally famous Le Cirque in 1974. 

The Colony cookbook is similar to Sardi's in that the story of the restaurant comprises most of the book, but unlike Sardi's, there are a lot more recipes to play with.  Still, each recipe takes up the tiniest of space in the book (usually, a paragraph) and so instruction is lacking (and good luck with the ingredients as well).  

And then there's the Tanqueray® gin cookbook about which I just must rant:  call me crazy, but wouldn't you expect a Tanqueray® cookbook to include Tanqueray® in every recipe?  I would, I did and yet not one single recipe for appetizers, etc. contained gin.  Well this was disturbing!  And try as I might to get excited about some of the recipes, I just couldn't and so finally gave up trying to make a dish from the book and focused instead, on my very favorite drink – a martini.  And this is so "Mad Men" that it just all worked and now I can get on with my life.

Before I get into the gist of the recipes, let me just say that I loved Mad Men's ending.  Loved it.  And without giving anything away – in case you haven't seen it yet – there was an "ending" and then there was another ending, one last scene that just tied everything together.  My husband and I clapped at the first one and then after that one last scene, just screamed "It's perfect!  It's just perfect!"  So thank you, Matt Weiner! 

Chicken Tetrazzini – the original recipe with modifications to follow – Serves 4

4 ounces spaghetti

1 can white sauce (Ann's Note:  this product no longer exists)

¾ cup of milk

1 cup cooked diced chicken

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 three-ounce can chopped mushrooms

Okay, so.  Since white sauce no longer exists, I had to decide whether or not to make a basic white sauce, coming up with proportions equal to the can – size unknown – or whether to "cheat" (such a Don Draper thing) and modify the recipe to something that was easier on everybody.  I modified it by following a Betty Crocker recipe that I got off the internet that uses cream instead of white sauce.  You could also make up a white sauce (recipes are everywhere) and then add the milk as directed.  Since we are a two-person household, I opted for the cream rather than keep milk in the fridge that neither of us will drink.

Boil about 4 ounces of spaghetti to taste and drain it.  Set aside in a colander.  To one can of white sauce add three-quarters of a cup of milk, bring it to a boil, and smooth with an egg beater.  Add one cup of cooked diced chicken, four tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese, and a three-ounce can of chopped mushrooms and their liquid.  Mix the ingredients well.  Put the spaghetti in a buttered baking dish.  Pour over the sauce.  Shred over it more Parmesan cheese and dot with lumps of butter.  Brown under the broiler.

My modifications come to you from Betty Crocker as follows (serves 6)

1 package (7 ounces) spaghetti, broken into thirds

2 cups Green Giant™ frozen sweet peas (Ann's Note:  many modern-day tetrazzini recipes call for peas.  We like them so why not?)

¼ cup butter or margarine

¼ cup Gold Meal™ all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 cup Progresso™ chicken broth (Ann's Note:  and wouldn't you know, that's the chicken broth I had in my pantry)

1 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons dry sherry or water

2 cups cubed deli rotisserie chicken

1 jar (4.5 oz) Green Giant™ sliced mushrooms, drained

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Ann's Note:  butter + flour + milk = white sauce.  This recipe called for 1 cup of cream instead of 1 cup milk making for a richer white sauce.  That said, although the dish started out being oh-so-creamy, the sauce dried out a bit after baking, leaving me to think that making approximately 10 ounces of white sauce and then adding the extra milk was really the way to go.  Lesson learned.

Heat oven to 350F.  (Ann's Note:  the original recipe asks you to use your broiler to finish the recipe.)  Cook and drain spaghetti as directed on the package, adding peas during the last three minutes of cooking.

Meanwhile, melt butter over low heat.  Stir in flour, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir for one minute.  Stir in sherry/water, spaghetti and peas, chicken and mushrooms.

Pour mixture into an ungreased 2-quart casserole.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until bubbly in center.

Ann's Notes:  No way was this all going to fit into a 2-quart casserole (are they kidding me) and so I used two, two-quart casseroles.  And then I am iffy about the 30 minute cooking time uncovered because the dish wasn't creamy like I expected and that disappointed.  It was all good, but I think it suffered from baking without a lid.  Next time around, the lid goes on and instructions be damned!

Haricot Beans A L' Italienne – serving size not given

1 quart (approximately) 1.5-2 pounds haricot vert (a fancier form of green beans)

1 tablespoon butter (approximately)

1 pound butter (2 sticks)

1 ½ - 2 cups hot stock

1 egg yolk

Juice of one half lemon

Parsley, finely chopped (for garnish)

Ann's Note:  once again, I found myself having to translate this recipe into something more modern.  It was almost a disaster until we got the amount of stock to use right.  The numbers given above – 1 ½ - 2 cups – is an approximation.  I think I might have used two cups but am not sure.

Here are the original instructions:  Parboil a quart of beans, drain and finish cooking them in a pan with melted brown butter.  Stir well and serve with the following sauce poured over them.

To make the sauce, melt a pound of butter, stir in an ounce of flour till it is smooth, add enough hot stock to make a sauce, and bring it to a boil.  Strain the sauce and put it back on the fire.  Stir in the beaten yolk of an egg, the juice of half a lemon, and some fine chopped parsley.  Serve very hot.

Tanqueray® Martini – serves 1 (Ann's Note:  I am a huge fan of Blue Coat gin, but Tanqueray® will do)

2 ounces (1/4 cup) Tanqueray® Gin

¼ teaspoon dry vermouth

1 olive or twist of lemon

Place a shaker in the freezer for 1 hour before beginning.  Place Tanqueray® gin in shaker with vermouth.  Add 2 or 3 ice cubes.  Stir well then strain into Martini glass.  Either drop in an olive or dangle a twist of lemon on the rim of the glass.  Serve very cold.

Okay, folks, here in my Martini recipe:  Pour gin of any amount desired into a shaker.  Skip the vermouth all together if you want a dry martini (I do) otherwise, measure out ¼ teaspoon as directed (and this made me chuckle—"a quarter teaspoon?") and add it to the gin.  Add an olive(s) that are either pitted or stuffed with pimiento and most certainly not the gorgonzola-filled ones which are precocious and nasty.  Do NOT add lemon, not as a garnish, not as anything.  Sip.  Breathe out.  Relax.  Rinse and repeat.

"Len Deighton's Action Cook Book" - Minestrone

Date I made this recipe:  April 19, 2015

Len Deighton's Action Cook Book by Len Deighton

Published by:  Penguin Books (England and Australia)

© 1965

Purchased at Arc's Value Village Richfield

Recipe:  Minestrone – p. 112

People often ask me what prompts me to buy a certain cookbook and I often say that it's the cover art, or in this case, the cover photo.

I mean here we have a James Bond-looking guy and behind him is a woman in a lace negligee stroking his hair while he's removing pasta noodles from a pot.  Well, at least that's what it looks like, right?  Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.  But that's just the front cover.  On the back, the roles are reversed and he's hugging her while she's the one removing the pasta from the pan. Right then, right there, this book was mine!

Then there was the intrigue:  who was Len Deighton?  Thank goodness for the internet or I would not have learned the following:  he's a "British military historian, cookery writer (translated to American English that means "cookbook writer"), graphic artist, and novelist."  Quite. 

Still, I hadn't thought about cooking from this book anytime soon until one day last week when this happened: there I was, scrolling through the "New [Cookbook] Releases" section of Barnes and Noble's website, and suddenly, this book appeared as an upcoming new release.  I mean – what?  Why would this book, published in 1965, suddenly be on a "new release" list?

So I pulled the book off my shelf and believe I found the answer in this statement on the back cover:  "For copyright reasons this edition is not for sale in the U.S.A."  And a quick perusal of the book's details on Barnes' website shows a release date of March 2015.  So hooray, hooray, it now looks like the copyright reasons are no longer in play.  Smashing.

Also smashing?  In addition to resembling somewhat "Bond, James Bond," our man Len could also pass for protagonist Don Draper, on TV's Mad Men.  I made this dish on Sunday and wouldn't you know, Mad Men is on on Sunday nights.  I mean, if Don can't distract you from finishing your pasta, can anybody?

The recipes in this cookbook run the gamut – "Cassoulet," "Caneton (Duck) a l'Orange" to "Chili con Carne," "Low-Calorie Lunch" to my choice, "Minestrone."  All recipes are illustrated, likely by Len himself since he is also a graphic artist and are all fairly easy.  We quite liked our minestrone, especially since the weather turned colder yesterday and it felt like a soup kind of day.

What I liked best about this recipe though, is that he recognizes that minestrone can be a hodge-podge of ingredients, especially vegetables, so you can add things like potatoes, turnips, tomato puree and sweet corn if you want.  You can also use 2 large onions or 1 onion and the white part of 1 leek.  I went with the onion and leek combination for something different.  I also decided to use a mix of chicken and beef broth just to mix it up a bit.  The result was great and made for a great Sunday night dinner before we got down to the business of watching Mad Men.  As the Brits would say – "It was bloody brilliant!"

Minestrone – serving size not given but likely enough for 4

¼ lb. haricot (navy) beans

2 ½ pints stock (veal, chicken or beef)

1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

2 large onions – or – 1 onion and white part of one leek, chopped small

1 cup shredded cabbage

½ cup green beans

½ cup celery

Thyme (handful)

Salt, pepper to taste

Basil (handful)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

5 tablespoons olive oil

¾ pound tomatoes

1 cup peas

Pinch sugar

1 – 1 ½ cups tiny pasta (optional)

Optional:  potato, turnip, potato puree, sweet corn (if using potato or turnip, chop small)

Parmesan cheese for serving

Soak the ¼ haricot (navy) beans overnight, strain, cook until they are tender.  Ann's Note:  I decided to make this dish at the very last minute so I didn't use the beans because I didn't have time to soak them.  There are so many other vegetables in this that it didn't really matter.

Stir gently for 5 minutes over low heat the following items:  parsley, onions/leeks, cabbage, green beans, celery, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, basil.

If using potatoes or turnips (optional ingredients), add them into the pot at this time. 

Add the stock, tomatoes, peas, pinch of sugar and (for me) tomato puree, and simmer for 45 minutes.  Ann's Note:  He didn't say what to do with the tomatoes, so after seeding them, I cut them into small pieces and added them to the soup.  Seemed to work!

Once the soup is done simmering, add the beans and the pasta and cook until the pasta is done.  Ann's Note:  it is far easier to cook the pasta separately like I did than to add it.  And if you add it, to the soup uncooked, be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't overcook.  The author suggests 15 minutes.

Serve with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and lots of grated Parmesan cheese.

"The Pyromaniac's Cookbook" & "The Waldorf-Astoria Cookbook" - Welcome back, Mad Men!

Date I made these recipes:  Sunday, April 5, 2015 – Mad Men resumes...and it's Easter

The Pyromaniac's Cookbook – The Best in Flaming Food and Drink (For People Who Like to Play with Fire) by John J. Poister; Illustrated by Frank Perry

Published by:  Doubleday & Company, Inc.

© 1968

Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick's Cookbooks, NYC

Recipes:  Steak Diane – p. 71 and Cherries Jubilee – p. 7-8

The Waldorf-Astoria Cookbook by Ted James and Rosalind Cole

Published by: Bramhall House

© 1969 (MCMLXIX)

Recipe:  Delmonico Potatoes – p. 176

I never thought I'd say that a major holiday like Easter was overshadowed by a TV show, but I speak the truth.  Mad Men, the wildly popular TV show about the life of advertising men and women in the 60's, returned last night for its final six episodes.  Much of the nation is bereft at this news.  And so as between observing Easter and making the requisite ham (we still have leftovers from last year) and getting our 60's/70's grove on with a Mad Men-themed dinner, Mad Men won out.  Easter will come around again next year but this is it for Mad Men.  Sniffle.

Since Mad Men is set in NYC, I just looked to my NYC cookbook shelf (and yes, I try to keep like books together), and pulled out a few options, some of which I'm saving for the finale, some of which I used today.  Like the Waldorf-Astoria (hotel) Cookbook.

The Waldorf-Astoria hotel is probably about the best known of New York hotels.  Located at 34^th and Fifth Ave, it is an imposing structure, home and host to some of the world's most famous people.  Although I've walked by the place several times on various visits, I have not yet walked into the joint and that's because I'm not normally dressed appropriately for the place and by that I mean no shorts, tank tops or sandals which represents my usual summer in the city attire.  Even when I do go eventually, I feel this overwhelming urge to wear white gloves.  And maybe a hat.  So some planning is obviously in order.

By the way, although I have not yet gone into that hotel, I have been to the equally famous Algonquin for drinks (witty writer, Dorothy Parker, held court there) and the Carlyle Hotel.  The Cafe Carlyle, a jazz club, has been host to jazz greats for years, most notably pianist and singer Bobby Short.  Actor/director Woody Allen plays clarinet there every Tuesday night.  But the coolest thing about the Carlyle is Bemelman's Bar, where the artwork of Ludwig Bemelman - illustrator of the Madeline books – is on display.  Years ago, I was in a friend's wedding in NYC, and after the wedding reception, we all retired to Bemelman's Bar for a drink before heading back to the Upper West Side to stay with friends. 

As to the Waldorf, Mad Men fans might be tickled to learn that inside the front cover is a photo of Conrad Hilton. Conrad Hilton factored in mightily in the store lines for Season 3.  Conrad Hilton was also married to Zsa Zsa Gabor, one of three of the famous Gabor sisters (sister Eva played Lisa Douglas on Green Acres).  Actresses Paris and Nicky Hilton are Conrad's great-granddaughters.

Mad Men fans might also remember that Don Draper and company attended the Clio Awards at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel (Season 4) where they run into the obnoxious Ted Chaough who at that time was working for a competing ad agency.  Funny how those things work, right?  Ted is now part of Sterling Cooper & Partners (at least I think that's the name they have now settled on) which merged with McCann Erickson during the first half of Season 7.  It's. just. so. complicated!

  

Finally, Mad Men fans should take note that the cookbook was published in 1969.  The first half of Mad Men's final season takes place in 1969.  The last half starts in 1970.  And so the recipes that you read about here and the photos you see in this book are all right on point with the period. 

As expected, all the recipes in this book befit the grandeur and image of the Waldorf-Astoria and yet many, like the potato recipes, are geared for the average cook (and the average budget).  And if I wasn't so bent on making a main dish from The Pyromaniac's Cookbook, then I might have made more dishes than just the potatoes (like the "Consommé Hilton" on page 98), but I was on a mission and so Delmonico Potatoes it was.  They were delicious.

The second book I used – The Pyromaniac's Cookbook – is also on point for the Mad Men period.  This book was published in 1968, a period covered in Mad Men in Season 6.  At that time, setting your food on fire (i.e. flambé) was all the rage.  Honestly.  And having it set on fire tableside was the next best thing to going to the circus in that it was the attraction of many a fancy restaurant and hotel dining room including the Waldorf.  (Also of note:  The authors attribute this recipe to Le Manoir restaurant, a Manhattan French restaurant that operated in Manhattan at 56^th and Park during the Mad Men period.)

Since I couldn't choose between the Cherries Jubilee and the Steak Diane, I made them both.  And people, if you watched last night's Mad Men second half premier, then how hilarious was it that I unwittingly chose to make Steak Diane?  (I won't spoil the story except to say that one of last night's character was named "Diane.")  I tell you what, I have a knack for this stuff!

I talked to my brother just before finishing up my dishes and he cracked up laughing that I actually had a book called The Pyromaniac's Cookbook (Well, duh...) and warned me to be careful with my flame throwing.  I told him that this was not my first rodeo making Cherries Jubilee. Years ago, a good friend of mine threw a Red and Green party around Christmas.  Not only did we have to wear red or green but we had to bring a dish to share.  I chose the cherries.  So when it came to the whole "Light your cognac on fire," I was all over it.

Neither of the recipes from The Pyromaniac's Cookbook was hard but I do urge caution when cooking the steak so that you don't overcook it.  Per the instructions, you brown each side of your thin steak slice (luckily, I bought mine already thinly sliced) and then you add the cognac, light it on fire and then serve.  If I were you, I would barely brown the meat and then barely keep it in the flame.  Well, unless you like your meat well done in which case, fire away!

All in all, we were very satisfied with our non-Easter meal and the return of Don Draper and company.  Oh—and my ice cold, straight-up very dry martini (with an olive), naturally.

Steak Diane – serves 4 (from The Pyromaniac's Cookbook)

4 prime sirloin steaks (12 ounces each) (Ann's Note:  This recipe calls for you to pound these steaks until thin like a crepe but you might be able to buy your meat already thinly sliced like I did.)

Salt

Pepper

Clarified butter*

½ cup cognac

2 tablespoons chopped shallots

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

¼ cup sherry (optional)

Steaks must be selected with care, and completely free of fat and gristle.  Pound each steak with mallet until it is as thin as a dessert crepe.  Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

In flaming pan of chafing dish over high heat, add enough clarified butter to cover bottom of pan.  When butter reaches cooking temperature, very quickly brown steaks on both sides.  Pour in warmed Cognac, ignite and blaze.  Remove steaks to heated platter.  Add additional butter, shallots and parsley, sauté lightly and add a little sherry if you wish.  Mix well, then pour hot sauce over steaks.

*Ann's Note:  Clarified butter is butter that is melted and then skimmed so that you remove all the top foam, leaving butter/oil for cooking. 

Delmonico Potatoes – serves 6 (from The Waldorf-Astoria Cookbook)

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup scalded milk

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

4 cups sliced cold boiled potatoes

3 pimientos, coarsely chopped (Ann's Note:  you can use chopped red peppers for this dish instead of jarred pimientos as they are basically the same thing).

½ cup grated Swiss or American cheese

½ cup fine dry bread crumbs

1 tablespoon melted butter

Heat butter in saucepan.  Stir in flour; when bubbly, slowly stir in milk.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring, until sauce thickens.  Remove from heat.

Place half the potatoes in a shallow baking dish.  Sprinkle with half the pimiento and grated cheese.  Cover with half the sauce.  Repeat with remaining potatoes, pimiento, cheese and sauce.

Mix bread crumbs with melted butter and sprinkle over surface.  Bake in preheated 35) degree oven for 20 minutes or until surface is lightly browned.

Cherries Jubilee – serves 2 (from The Pyromaniac's Cookbook)

2 tablespoons red currant jam

1 ½ cups pitted black cherries

1/3 cup Cognac

1 pint vanilla ice cream

Melt red current jam in flaming pan of chafing dish over direct heat, add pitted black cherries and a very small amount of juice.  When thoroughly heated, pour in Cognac and blaze.  Serve over vanilla ice cream.

"Esquire Cook Book" - Shrimp with Rice Fra Diavolo (made for the premier of Mad Men - Season 7)

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.

"The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook" - Pimento and Walnut Cheese Ball (for AMC TV's Mad Men premier)

 

Date I made this recipe:  April 7, 2013 (Mad Men Season 6 premiere)

The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook by Rick Rodgers & Heather Maclean

Published by:  Running Press (runningpresscooks.com)

ISBN:  978-0-7624-4573-8

Recipe:  Pimiento and Walnut Cheese Ball – p. 32

I have to chuckle sometimes at the communication disconnect in my household.  For weeks, I kept reminding my husband that the TV show, Mad Men – Season 6, premiered on April 7^th.  I even started hauling out cookbooks from the 60’s (when the show is set) weeks in advance. 

But in between all this, the NCAA basketball tournaments commenced and on Saturday, April 6^th, the University of Michigan advanced to the Final Four tournament championship game against Louisville (KY).  The game was set for Monday, April 8^th, and when I mentioned to my husband that I finally selected a recipe – a cheese ball – he said “Oh sure – for the game, right?”

Well bless his heart.  This man is not necessarily a sports fan but I can see how my enthusiasm for the game (which Michigan lost, by the way – damn it) overshadowed Mad Men’s premiere.  I won’t make the same mistake next year.

Now, I have a ton and a half of cookbooks written in the 60’s and in fact, one of them, with a very cool cover of a cocktail party, almost made it in to my own “finals,” but this newer book, written in 2012, beat them all to the punch because of the title.  I am nothing if not “Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad” for Mad Men.

For those of you who need a quick primer:  Mad Men focuses on the advertising world in NYC in the 60’s (the title “Mad Men” refers to the men who worked for advertising agencies located on Madison Avenue).  This series features the king of the “Mad Men,” Don Draper, the underbelly of the advertising world in which he inhabits, as well as the sorry state of affairs (literally) that make up his personal life.  A couple seasons ago, after repeatedly cheating on his wife, Betty, he married a younger, wannabe actress, Megan…and then of course, he cheated on her in the opening episode of Season 6.  Don, Don, DON!

So there I was, going through this cookbook filled with old-time favorites from the 60’s made new again, and I kept thinking to myself “WWBM?”  (What would Betty make?)  Faithful viewers will recall Betty’s Around the World-themed dinner – Season 2, Episode 8 – and I could have done a few things from that dinner but wasn’t in the mood.  I ruled out a few other recipes that, although good, just didn’t seem like something Betty would make, such as Sloppy Joes or Tuna Casserole.  (Not that Betty was all high-falutin’ in the kitchen but she didn’t seem like the type to make these two dishes).  And then I stopped to think “WWDE” – what would Don eat, and ruled out a few more as they just didn’t seem very “Draper-ish,” and I came up with this cheese ball.

For those of us who grew up in the 60’s, cheese balls were pretty much a staple item (along with Lipton’s “California” chip dip) at every cocktail party so I felt like I was sticking with the theme pretty well.  Now, Andy and I happened to be out to dinner earlier in the evening with his family (at Nye’s Polonaise, a total throwback to another era when supper clubs ruled the world.  There’s even a piano bar in this joint – LOVE.IT.) so we didn’t have this cheese ball until we got home and although it sat in the refrigerator for a couple of hours after I made it, I still think the recipe is best made way in advance and then left to “cure.”

Because folks, here’s the deal:  this is perhaps my second or third pimento cheese ball/spread and maybe it’s because I don’t have that inbred southern love for the thing, me being a northerner and all, but I don’t get it.  I don’t mean to insult people, but I don’t get it.  And it tastes (and this may get me killed) “okay,” not great.  Not even close.

And after a few rounds of making this dish, I just fail to understand why.  The ingredients are all there:  cheddar cheese, cream cheese, mayo (depending on the recipe, cheddar cheese may be the only constant), finely diced pimentos, Worcestershire Sauce and hot sauce.  And then for added “oomph,” add your finely chopped walnuts.  And yet…I dunno.  I just am not feeling the cheese love.  And I want you all to know that this bothers me greatly but there’s not much I can do except, well, not make it! Had I to do it over, I would found a recipe for and made my “mother’s” cheese ball with cream cheese, pineapple and walnut bits (and perhaps a few more ingredients but I’ve forgotten them).  Oh well, next season. (By the way, a while back, I heard southern food expert, John T. Edge, talk about pimento cheese and I love the way he pronounced it “Peh-mhennnn-toe chiz.” Totally precious.)

As to the show itself, the first episode (two hours, back to back), showed our characters celebrating Christmas and then New Year’s 1968.  The theme this year is all dark and brooding, focusing on death and loss and transition and although there were parts of the episode I wanted to move along, I have to say it set the mood for the times.  Just the other day, I posted on Facebook that April 4^th marked the 45^th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, and coming up in June, it will be the same anniversary for Bobby Kennedy, JFK’s brother.  These were not fun times, folks.  I do believe I spent most of 1968 glued to the TV set as one event after the other unfolded.  So I like it that Mad Men’s writers depict the year for what it was, even if some viewers were uncomfortable with it.  Well, life can’t be all sunshine and roses, kids.

So…if I were you (and I’m not but pretend I am), I’d go ahead and make this cheese ball and see what you think.  It’s not bad but it’s not what I am used to and maybe that’s the deal.  And then sit back and watch Mad Men or the Master’s Tournament (because b-ball is over, folks, over) and think about life as you know it.  And if you have a hankering for a 60’s cocktail to accompany your pimento and walnut cheese ball, then this book has several that should be just the ticket (Chapter 7 – p. 178 through 205).  I must say that the martini recipe include in this book fails because it calls for too much vermouth (as in any vermouth is too much vermouth) but several other cocktails brought back fond memories of my parent’s parties.  Enjoy!  

Pimento and Walnut Cheese Ball – makes 12 servings (Ann’s Note:  I made half the recipe)

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, well softened

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp or mild Cheddar

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 (4-ounce) jar chopped pimientos, drained, rinsed, and patted dry

Hot red pepper sauce

1 ½ cups (6 ounces) finely chopped walnuts

Crackers, for serving

Mash the cream cheese, Cheddar, mayonnaise, and Worcestershire sauce together with a rubber spatula in a medium bowl.  Mix in the pimientos.  Season with hot red pepper sauce.

Scrape the cheese mixture onto a large sheet of plastic wrap.  Bring the wrap up to cover the cheese, and twist the ends together to shape the cheese mixture into a ball.  Refrigerate until chilled and firmer, at least 2 hours.  (The cheese ball can be prepared up to 5 days ahead.)

Just before serving, unwrap the ball and roll in the walnuts to cover.  Place on a serving platter.  Served chilled or at room temperature, with the crackers.

"The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook" - Pineapple Glazed Ham & Potatoes Au Gratin

Date I made these recipes: March 25, 2012 (Mad Men Season 5 premier)

The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook by Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin
Published by: Smart Pop
ISBN: 978-193666141-1
Recipes: Pineapple-Glazed Ham in honor of Season 4, Episode 1 “Public Relations” and Julie Child’s Potatoes Au Gratin in honor of Season 1, Episode 2 “Ladies’ Room”

Finally, after 17 months off, Mad Men is back. It’s back! Oh how I have missed it. I mean, weren’t we all on the edge of our seats wondering about Joan’s baby and Don and Megan’s engagement and all kinds of various and sundry revolving stories? I know I was. Aside from a TV show here and there, I can’t think of any other show I have wanted to watch more than Mad Men.

This hero worship is probably due to the fact that I grew up in the 60’s. I was in Kindergarten when President Kennedy was shot (I called him President “Keninney”) and held on for the ride in 1968 when everything seemed to be going to hell in a handbasket. In between, I managed to somehow survive Catholic grade school and Vatican II, secondhand smoke, loud cocktail parties thrown by my parents (where I got to sip from my dad’s martini and please, spare me the lecture) and the gamut of 60’s fashion. In fact, one of the more hilarious scenes from Mad Men has Betty chastising Sally for running around with a dry-cleaning bag on her head because Betty didn’t want the clothing in them wrinkled. While I’m pretty sure my mother would have been more concerned than Betty about my potential death by asphyxiation, I also know my mom’s desire for smartly pressed clothes and so who’s to say I, too, wouldn’t have heard “Ann Marie Verme, you’re ruining the clothes!”

The thing I, and others, love about this show is the attention to detail. When I watch this production, I feel as if I was right back in the 60’s, girdles and all! Many women were horrified that pregnant women smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol but as my friend, Mary, said on many occasions “Oh my God, my mother smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish with all of us kids!” And that was absolutely true; the fact that you were pregnant was immaterial.

Smoking was allowed everywhere, and I mean everywhere, even hospitals (can you imagine?!) In fact, my favorite “toy” growing up was the huge ashtray in our local bank. It was filled with sand and my brother and I used to move the cigarette butts through the sand like we were driving a truck—at least until my mother said “Stop that!” Spoilsport.

For many women of the 60’s, the “available” positions were teachers, nurses, secretaries or stay-at-home housewives. My mother stayed at home (because my dad wanted her to) and hosted coffee klatches with her female friends, grocery shopped, cleaned the house, took care of me and my brother and countless other things and was still expected to have dinner ready and on the table by 6. And it wasn’t that my dad was a hard-ass, far from it. It’s just that more women stayed home because it was expected of them and that was that. Dinner was, of course, preceded with my dad’s wind-down-from-a-tough-day martini.

So speaking of cocktails, this cookbook has a ton of popular 60’s cocktail recipes, many of which I have sampled in bars and restaurants over the past few decades, but I decided to pay homage by making a couple of food recipes instead. Besides, at precisely 8 bells Central Standard Time, I had my own cocktail of choice, a martini, at hand, ready for the start of our two-hour adventure. (By the way, the authors suggest adding 1/8 ounce of vermouth to the gin. Nonsense! That’s overkill.)

As to the food, the recipes all sounded delicious but I just had to make the ham recipe in honor of the hilarious episode from last season, Season 4, where Pete and Peggy have to come up with an advertisement for the fictitious Sugarberry canned ham. (That said the recipe for “Trudy’s Flying Roast Chicken with Stuffing” recipe came in a close second—talk about another hilarious moment in Mad Men history when Peter sent his wife Trudy’s roast chicken over the balcony in a fit of pique!)

Okay, back to the ham, in this episode, Pete and Peggy struggle to make their ham client happy. After much consideration, they come up with a “sure-fired” way to get their female grocery-buying public’s attention and that is to stage an in-store fight where two women argue over who is going home with a Sugarberry ham. The idea was, of course, to make Sugarberry ham the only ham that women would want to make. But naturally, the two “housewives” hired for the promotion get into a major fight, all hell breaks loose and that pretty much put the kibosh on that! Tell you what though I can’t look at a canned ham anymore without cracking up laughing. (And for the record, of course the ham I made today is a canned ham. If Matthew Weiner can pay attention to details, so can I!).

As to the potatoes, well, ham and potatoes just go together, right, so I broke my own little rule of only making one recipe per cookbook and made the au gratin potatoes as well. This was the first time I’ve ever seen them made with Swiss cheese but then again, this is an adaptation of a Julie Child recipe so that made sense. The texture of this is more like an omelet due to the addition of eggs, but I found myself really liking it. Still, Julia Child aside, I’m really more of a cheddar cheese gal myself when it comes to au gratin potatoes.

So there we were – martinis in hand, ham on the plate, potatoes nearby, and Mad Men commenced. Ah, life is good!

Pineapple-Glazed Ham (adapted from The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook (Hearst 1963)) – Yield: 1 ham
1 ham (in keeping with the episode, canned ham is best!)
1 cup pineapple juice, or reserved juice from pineapple can
¾ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 15-ounce can pineapple slices
Maraschino cherries, optional

Cook ham according to instructions on the package. Remove ham from oven 45 minutes before it is done cooking and remove rind. Score ham, if you wish, by cutting it in long diagonal slashes in one direction and then crossing those cuts with diagonal slashes in the opposite direction to create a diamond pattern. Increase oven temperature to 400F.

Combine pineapple juice, brown sugar, and mustard in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until thickened and clear. Spread on ham. Use toothpicks to fasten pineapple slices to ham and place maraschino cherries inside the pineapple rings. Return to oven for 20 minutes or until pineapple is glazed.

Place fully cooked ham on a serving platter and let rest for 15 minutes before carving into thin slices.

Ann’s Notes: My canned ham only took an hour to cook but I was still in a burning hurry to get done in time for Mad Men’s 8:00 (CST) start so….I didn’t wait until the pineapple juice, brown sugar and mustard became a paste but instead just poured it over the ham and shoved it in the oven. But I did take a moment to arrange the pineapple slices on top of my perfectly flat canned ham! Needless to say, I didn’t bother to score the ham since there was nothing to score—no rind, no fuss, no muss, no bother!

Potatoes au Gratin (adapted from Gratin De Pommes De Terre Aux Anchois – Gratin of Potatoes, Onions and Anchovies), Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child (Knopf, 1961))

2 tablespoons butter; plus 1 tablespoon for top
1 cup minced onions
½ pound raw potatoes (about 2-3 large potatoes) (Ann’s note: today’s baking potatoes are HUGE so weigh them in the grocery store if at all possible lest you end up with more potatoes than needed like I did.). Peel and dice the potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes
3 eggs
1 ½ cups whipping cream, half-and-half, cream or milk
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup grated Swiss cheese

Place butter in a skillet and melt over low heat. Cook onions slowly in butter for 5 minutes or so, until tender but not browned.

Preheat oven to 375F. Drop potatoes in boiling salted water and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until barely cooked. Drain thoroughly.

Butter a 3-4 cup baking dish. Spread half of the potatoes in the bottom and then the cooked onion and, finally, the remaining potatoes.

Beat eggs with whipping cream, and add salt and pepper. Stir. Pour eggs and cream over the potatoes and shake the dish to send the liquid to the bottom.

*May be cook in individual serving crocks if desired.

"The Ham Book" & "Insatiable" - Glazed Ham Ring with Red Devil Sauce and Macaroni and Cheese

Date I made these recipes: April 24, 2011 (Easter Sunday)

The Ham Book by Monette R. Harrel and Robert W. Harrel, Jr.
Published by: Donning Company Publishers
ISBN: 0-915442-14-0
Recipe: Glazed Ham Ring with Red Devil Sauce – p. 136-137


Insatiable – Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess by Gael Greene
Published by: Warner Books
ISBN: 0-446-57699-9
Recipe: Almost Like Mom’s Macaroni and Cheese – p. 19-20

People, you would think that having a book called The Ham Book would make Easter planning a walk in the park but you’d be wrong!

The first recipe in this book is for a traditional southern ham weighing 10-12 pounds. Let’s pause here for a moment: I do not have access to southern ham (nor do I need to one) and there are only two of us in this household so we didn’t need that big of a ham. I’m not even sure my oven could handle that puppy!! Besides, ham is expensive and we would have practically bankrupted ourselves had we gone with that recipe. So that was out.

Also out was canned ham as called for in many of the entrée recipes. Aside from chuckling over one of this season’s Mad Men episodes where Pete and Peggy have to advertise a canned ham, there’s nothing about a canned ham to recommend itself to me. If you’re going to go canned, go with SPAM. (Note to the good people at SPAM – Call me! I think I have a new jingle for you!!)

Lucky for me, I found a ham ring (i.e. loaf) recipe that was pretty easy and did not call for canned ham. And there was much rejoicing.

I have to say, though, that my husband looked less than enthusiastic when I told him we were having ham ring and even less so when I said it was topped with Red Devil Sauce. Silly rabbit – he was probably thinking that this would be spicy given the name but as we know, ketchup is not a spice…unless you live in Minnesota.

So, I got out my Cusinart, chopped the ham, added there rest of the ingredients, got out my ring (Jell-O) mold and holy cow – talk about overflow. The instructions said to gently pack but even if I would have really jammed it in there, we are talking too much meat. I could have easily have made two ham rings. And okay, sure, they said it the recipe would serve 8-10 but did they really think all that meat mixture would fit in one ring mold? Hardly! So I resorted to Plan B and plopped the mixture on a baking sheet (with the 1” sides as directed) and made a huge, and I do mean HUGE ham ring. It came out just fine.

The sauce was pretty easy to make although I must say the color was off-putting. Remember mixing your ketchup and mustard together on a plate and then dipping your meatloaf in it? (Well, at least I did!). Well, that’s the look we had going on. But it was tasty and that was all that mattered.

And so in the end, The Ham Book redeemed itself but alas, it gets put back on the shelf, never to be used for the blog again. Rules are rules. One recipe only, not exceptions unless I decide to make one; I feel I’m good as is.

In a complete about face from my usual scalloped potatoes, I decided I was in the mood for macaroni and cheese and remembered that Gael Greene’s book had a recipe that sounded yummy. (Thought for the day: Is it because I was deprived of mac and cheese as a child that I am so fixated on it?) And indeed, the recipe turned out to be fantastic. But oh my word, reading her book to get to the recipes was another story.

For those of you who don’t know, Gael Greene was a well-known food writer/critic for the New York magazine. Well, perhaps it was a stretch to say “well-known” since she tried to remain anonymous as much as possible and is famous for her many hats that hid her face from inquiring restaurant servers. Gael also spent two seasons as a judge on Top Chef Masters, a show I far prefer to the original, Top Chef (although careful readers will note that I watch the original show all the same). This year they changed the format and so Gael will only guest star. Bummer, that. (P.S. - Gael still writes about food - check out her Insatiable Critic blog - www.insatiable-critic.com)

Anyway, back to her book. It’s been a while since I read it but back in her youth she was known more for… well…shall we say sexual exploits than her culinary skills (thus the title)? Not that I’m a prude but I’m not always comfortable with books like this because I feel like a peeping Tom (or rather a peeping Ann). My best advice to Gael and to Paula Dean (who also wrote a similar book) is “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” I’ll forgive Gael though since the mac and cheese was exactly what I wanted.

And there you have it, Easter 2011. Questions?

Glazed Ham Ring with Red Devil Sauce – 8-10 servings
Ham ring
About 1 pound ground cooked ham
1 pound ground beef
½ cup chopped onion
¾ cup fine cracker crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
½ ten-ounce can tomato soup
Glaze
½ ten-ounce can tomato soup
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine the ingredients for the ham ring and mix well. Pack lightly into a ring mold or form in a ring on an inch deep baking sheet or pack lightly into a 9 ½ x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Brush with Red Devil sauce before and during backing. Bake for about 1 hour. Pour off excess fat and let stand 5 minutes, then turn out on a platter. Fill the center of the ring with warm potato salad, whipped potatoes or green peas with small potatoes. Serve with Red Devil Sauce. (But caution: if you plan to serve the sauce on the side, make sure to put it in a separate bowl, otherwise you will cross-contaminate your food!)

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. I used medium heat.

Almost Like Mom’s Macaroni and Cheese – serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a side dish…or just me!

Olive oil spray or ½ tbsp mild-flavored olive oil, plus 1 tbsp for tossing later
½ lb small elbow macaroni
1 tbsp salt
2 ½ cups shredded or chopped firm cheese (Gael notes “Needless to say, my mother used Velveeta, but I make this with sharp cheddar and Emmentaler, half and half. Once I threw in some leftover Brie, a triple crème from France, and a half cup of crème fraiche and the result was celestial.”)
Optional: ½ cup chopped baked ham or snipped crisp bacon
1 cup whole milk
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 tbsp fine dry bread crumbs
¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray the bottom and sides of a shallow 6-cup metal baking dish with olive oil spray. Bring several quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add tablespoon salt. Boil macaroni until just tender: Drain well. Immediately turn macaroni into baking dish (a flat baking pan gives more crispiness than a loaf pan). Use a pan that can go under the broiler later. Toss macaroni with tablespoon of olive oil. Then add (cheddar) cheese, optional ham or bacon, milk, salt and freshly ground pepper and mix well.

Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove from oven, close oven door, and stir. Taste for seasoning. Sprinkle fresh bread crumbs and grated Parmigiano on top. Bake another 15 minutes. If there is still some milk in the bottom, return to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes. If topping has not browned and crisped like Mom’s used to, stick it under the broiler (three or four inches away from heat) and brown, watching so it doesn’t burn.