"The Mountain Biker's Cookbook by Jill Smith-Gould" - Sausage-Beef Stew

Date I made this recipe:  April 10, 2016

The Mountain Biker's Cookbook written and compiled by Jill Smith-Gould

Published by:  Velo Press

ISBN:  1-884737-23-4; © 1997

Purchased at Bloomington Crime Prevention Association's annual sale

Recipe:  Sausage-Beef Stew – p. 48 by Chrissy Reden, Milton, Ontario (profile p. 92)

"Wind is an artificial hill and yesterday, it was a mountain."

Thus saith my husband, Andy Martin, after an absolutely grueling bike ride with some friends around Ames, Iowa this past Saturday.

Andy is a member of the Minnesota Randonneurs, a group of long-distance bicycling enthusiasts who take great pleasure and pride in participating in day-long rides.  This past Saturday, the Iowa Randonneurs group kicked off the spring season with a 125-mile bike ride around Ames, Iowa, home of Iowa State University.

And so it came to pass that Friday night, we motored our way down I35W to Mason City where we spent an overnight with friends, Doug and Emily.  Although both of them ride bikes, Doug and Andy like to do the long-hauls and since the ride started at 8 a.m. in Ames, requiring them to leave by 6 a.m. to get there on time, we gladly let them.  We are such accommodating spouses, I cannot tell you.

The weather in Minneapolis when we left was probably a sign of the apocalypse to come as it was windy as all get out with periodic snow showers to boot.  Seriously—one minute, it was clear and the next minute, it looked like someone split open a bean bag chair and threw the contents in the air.

When we arrived at Doug and Emily's, the wind velocity was nearly (Dorothy) Gale-force (I reference the Wizard of Oz) and we felt the need to batten down the hatches even if we weren't in Kansas or Oklahoma where the "wind comes sweeping down the plain."

And it continued to sweep down the plain, or at least the cornfields of Iowa, into the next morning and throughout the entire day.  And by the time the ride was done, in most cases a couple hours later than anticipated, the guys and gals who participated were all done in.  Most felt like they biked standing up which is what you'd feel if you were pushing against a major headwind from the north all day.

Although I suppose one could do these randonneur rides on a mountain bike, it is usual and customary to use a "regular" bike which is to say a "touring" bike, as opposed to a racing bike.  And Andy has a mountain bike but who would of thought that he would need it in Iowa which is pretty much hill-less?  Answer:  nobody.  (PS—I must have show-tunes on the brain because as soon as I re-read "hill-less," I thought of Professor Harold Hill's character from The Music Man.  The Music Man's writer, Meredith Wilson, is from Mason City, Iowa which is where we spent an overnight.  Anyway, now I have a hankering to listen to that soundtrack Which. I. Love.  "Oh-o the Wells Fargo Wagon is a comin' down the street, oh please let it be for meeeee.....")

So as Andy said after the fact, wind creates an artificial hill and by Saturday morning, it created a monster mountain.  By mile 50, all participants (about 20 in all) were spent and every mile thereafter was sheer torture.  When Doug called Emily in early afternoon, he stated that this ride was worse than another one he and Andy completed in Wisconsin a few years back called, appropriately and hilariously, Arcadia's Brute. During that ride, they climbed hill after hill after hill in Wisconsin (who knew it Wisconsin was hilly) and swore never to do that ride again.  But there they were, on a worse ride than that, all because of the wind.  ("They call the wind Maria – pronounced 'Mariah.'"  Yes, folks, another show tune – Paint Your Wagon.)

But when Emily inquired as to whether or not we should hit the road in our car to pick them up, Doug said "WE ARE FINISHING THIS RACE!!!!"  leaving us in no uncertain terms that the elements would not have the best of them that day – or any day bwahahahahaha.... 

Meanwhile, Andy's ride was no picnic and he probably could have finished had not his knee started aching somewhere around mile 50.  By the time he got to mile 100, he was screaming in pain and so when he got to one of the checkpoints – a bar called the Flat Tire Lounge (ha!)- he propped up his knee, ordered a beer, and called for reinforcements.  Poor guy.  But if he bailed out on the ride, at least he did so in a bar where he could ask for, and was granted, a bag of ice for his knee.

So that concludes the story of the guy's wild "What the hell, Mother Nature?" randonneur ride, the first ride of (ahem) spring.

 Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Emily and I had a leisurely day.  After getting coffee at a local coffee shop, we hit the road in a car (what are we nuts) for Ames.  Unfortunately, the wind was again whipping across I-35W making it seem at times like we were stuck in place.  And even though Emily filled up the tank before we left, the wind sucked out any decent gas mileage, that bastard!

When we got to Ames, we took a leisurely tour of ISU's campus, a place last visited by me circa 1985 (some friends are alums) and strolled into some of the buildings, partly to get out of the wind, and partly just to see the sights.  As is the case in the Midwest, when spring (or something akin to spring) makes its presence known, building facility management has a hard time keeping up with the usual and customary yo-yo temperatures (freezing one day, balmy the next) and the buildings we were in were saunas.  And so we spent the afternoon taking off jackets, putting them on, rinse and repeat.  Still, this was better than being on the open road, amiright?

And after our leisurely tour of all that was Iowa State (we also saw Ames' high school prom get underway at the Union - awwww), we shopped and strolled in downtown Ames.  And what a cute downtown it was!  Unfortunately, most stores closed at 5 so we didn't get much of a chance to peek in, but we managed to stop at three of note:    Ali Cakes for a "tide-us-over" snack of cookies and cupcakes; Random Goods, a store selling used and vintage apparel and knick knacks (I found a fabulous wooden tray and coasters from Puerto Rico, circa 1970?) and Chocolaterie Stam where, inexplicably, an adorable older man in his 80's was playing a grand piano of "pop standards" (songs sung by Sinatra, Ella, Bing, etc.) while shoppers perused then purchased their chocolate.  He even let me select a song from his song list and then played it beautifully, his fingers dancing across the keys.  The last time I was near a piano, my fingers danced because I was dusting. ;) 

And so this concludes the guy's biking (and cursing) portion of our program and Emily and my takin'-life-easy moment in Ames.  Guess who had the better time?

And with that, we hit the road, and as we were driving back to Minneapolis, I recalled that I had a mountain bike cookbook in my collection and since we now know that wind creates artificial hills and mountains decided to find it and cook from it for Sunday dinner.

As these things go, sometimes it takes me forever to settle on a book, never mind a recipe, for this blog but this time it took me mere seconds to settle on a "winning" recipe – Sausage-Beef Stew.  I ran it by Andy who said it sounded good (and it was) and so while off to do a few (low-impact) errands, we stopped and shopped for groceries and I came home and put this together.  Of course, this type of meal is best made before the ride to prime the muscles and carbo load but we didn't have time and frankly, I think it was a tasty reward for a job well done (past tense).

As to this cookbook, author Jill Smith-Gould, pictured on the cover seated at an elegantly appointed table in her muddied and dirty mountain biker gear, is a professional mountain biker who apparently also enjoys cooking.  I can get behind that.  Some of the recipes in this book are hers while others were submitted by mountain biker brethren.  As you might imagine, these are fairly nutritious recipes, perfect for an amateur or professional athlete both pre- and post-event and speak to vegetarians as well as meat eaters. Recipes range from "Veggies and Main Courses;" "Pasta and Pizzas;" "Baked Goods;" and Miscellaneous that includes soups, salads, breakfast items, sauces and dips and "Quickies" i.e. food made in a hurry (so as best to get back on the race course).

So hmm, what to choose, what to choose?  Many of these sounded great such as "Awesome Veggie Enchiladas" (p. 33), "One-Dish Chicken Pilaf," "Ratatouille Bake" (p. 44), or even "Sweet & Sour Chicken" (p. 49).  Several pasta and pizza dishes also sounded good and the Baked Good section was mighty tempting!  Still, I tend to like to make a main dish, especially on a Sunday night, and so went with the stew.

Also included in this cookbook were profiles and photos of mountain bike racers, the recipes they submitted, and an section about nutritious eating. 

Not included in this cookbook?  Serving sizes!  I looked and looked and looked but there's either some secret handshake section that I missed or we're supposed to guess.  And if you read my blog, you know how I feel about guessing!

But guess I did and seeing that the recipe called for six Italian sausages and 1 pound of stew meat, I decided to halve the recipe as that sounded like a lot of meat for two people, never mind the rest of the ingredients.  As it turned out, we had a decent amount of leftovers so half this dish could probably serve four unless you are a mountain biker in which case...I have no idea!

Still, even though I decided to halve the meat, I was at a loss for what to do with the two green peppers included in the recipe ingredient list.  The recipe instructions said "...add green pepper" and I was pretty sure they did not intend for me to just throw a whole green pepper into the pot so I diced it into medium-sized dices.  You should do the same with the potatoes and (if used) turnip or sweet potatoes as you won't find direction beyond "peel and cut."  I ask you:  how is that helpful?

My version of this dish then, was composed of three Italian sausages, one-half pound of stew meat, 2 regular potatoes, 1 sweet potato (I skipped the turnip) and half of everything else.  This bakes in the oven for a little over an hour and it was great and oddly rejuvenating but then it would be given that our get-out-of-Iowa Saturday dinner consisted of a sandwich on the run from Jimmy John's (subway/sandwich take-out)! Andy took the recipe-submitter and mountain bike racer, Chrissy Redden's serving suggestion to pair this with crusty bread and beer to heart (we skipped the salad) and was a fairly happy, if not sore, camper come Sunday night. 

With all that, you'd think the man would wait a while before hoping on a bike again, right?  Oh no, in addition to riding to work this week, he's back in the saddle for another group ride on Saturday, April 16^th.  Here we go again.  I keep trying to remind my man  that Nature is NOT your friend (my life motto) but he's not having any of it.

This then concludes our post-bike (mountain or wind-created mountain) bike repast or, as I posted on Facebook "Yesterday In Iowa."

Sausage-Beef Stew – serving size not given but estimates are serves 4 if you make the  full recipe below and 2 if you halve it (still with leftovers)

6 sweet Italian sausages

1 lb stewing beef, cut in 1" cubes

1 large onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 medium green peppers (Ann's Note:  diced)

4 potatoes, peeled and cut (Ann's Note: cut into a large dice)

Turnip or sweet potato (optional) (Ann's Note:  cut into a large dice)

2 cans red kidney beans

1 tsp basil

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

2 beef bouillon cubes in 1 cup boiling water

Beer (optional)

Brown sausages well.  Cut each link into thirds and place in 3-quart casserole dish.

Brown beef cubes in same frying pan or skillet.  (Ann's Note:  the next instruction is to cook the onion and garlic but it didn't say if I should leave the beef in the pan or not.  I decided "Not.")

Cook onion and garlic until tender, add green pepper and cook one minute longer.

Turn into casserole dish.  Add potatoes, drained kidney beans, and, if desired, turnip/sweet potatoes.  Sprinkle with seasonings and mix lightly.  Add bouillon mixture.

Cover and bake at 350F for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until beef and potatoes are tender.

Add beer for an interesting flavor!  (Ann's Note:   Andy said he'd rather drink a beer than include it in the recipe so we made is sans that "interesting" flavor.)

Ann's Note:  I had some celery that I wanted to use up so I sautéed it with the onion, garlic and green pepper.  You could probably do that with other vegetables if you wanted.

"American Cooking 'in der Kuche' - In English - In German" and "Best of German Cooking

Date I made these recipe:  November 2, 2014 (late-breaking Oktoberfest)

American Cooking "In der Kuche" – 850 Recipes In English – In German by Sadie Summers

Published by:  William Frick Publishers

© 1952

Purchased at Bloomington (Police) Crime Prevention Association used book sale

Recipe: Sauerbraten – p. 225

Best of German Cooking by Edda Meyer-Berkhout

Published by HP Books

© 1984 (2^nd printing)

Purchased at Goodwill Stores

Recipe:  Beet Salad – p. 104

Oktoberfest:  It came, it saw, it went.  At least it did in Germany.  In Germany,  Oktoberfest runs from late September through the first weekend in October, which is a little puzzling given the name, right?  So I threw caution to the wind and decided that my "Oktoberfest" would run until the month's end.  I can do these things because well, it's my blog and I'll Oktoberfest if I want to!

And I would have come in under my own self-imposed deadline of October 31, 2014, had I not wanted to make one of my favorite things – Sauerbraten.  And for this recipe, you must (and fair warning here) marinade the meat four days in advance of cooking.  So with tax, license and waiting, I finally made this on November 2^nd.  Well—it's the thought that counts, right?

Now, you should know that observing Oktoberfest is not something I normally do, even though my maternal grandfather's family was German (last name was "Barr," converted from the original "Beer" – for real)  It might be because I don't like beer which is almost inexcusable in life and during Oktoberfest but such is life.  My husband though, likes beer and so he drank mine.  I could have had some German wine, I suppose, except my familiarity with German wine is limited to the following:  Riesling. And I'm not a big fan of Riesling so that was out. Instead, I had a martini which paired well with the sauerbraten and beets and if it didn't, who cares?  Besides, having a martini is just another way to get "pickled" – just like our beef and beats recipes!

Prior to moving to Minnesota, I thought this state was the land of the Scandinavians but I soon learned that there are far more people with German ancestry in their backgrounds than Scandinavian so go figure.  Many Germans came here to become farmers, a profession to which I do not aspire but admire those who did.  Neighboring states of North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska also have high populations (in terms of percentage of population that is German).  Yet when it comes to sheer numbers (as in number of people who are German/German ancestry), the California leads the way. Huh.

In terms of German language skills, I have none or next to none.  My mother's parents came from Austria-Hungary and mostly spoke a Slavic dialect but used Hungarian and a smattering of German when they wanted to talk about something private their children were present.  I think that's pretty cool.

I've only been to Germany once and of course, walked away with a few hilarious stories, most of them owing to the fact that during our brief visit, we managed to encounter people who didn't speak much English.  This was surprising because we were under the impression that most German's spoke English.  Let me sum up the reality for you: "Nein!" 

So story #1:  where Ann and Andy land in Frankfurt, then traveled to Dresden to spend the night.  We didn't have reservations but planned, like we often did, to get hotel names at the train station where there's usually a tourist bureau.  Trouble was, nobody at the train station seemed to understand English and so this was a problem!  But we will credit them for realizing that we needed assistance so they called someone.  And this is "gut" (good)! Well, we waited and waited for this "someone" only to have a little man come flying by us beckoning us to follow him and so we did and we ran like bunnies to our hotel for the night – the Red Cross.  Hahahahahaha...  But you know, it was clean, it was inexpensive and it was fine.  And, as these things go, some friends of ours ended up in the same situation in Dresden and also stayed at the Red Cross which we redubbed the Red Cross Hotel.

Story #2: where Ann is touring a museum located just outside Frankfurt and wants to make a pit stop at the bathroom before leaving.  I was once again astonished to find that the museum guides did not know the English word "bathroom" or other variations thereof and so in the end I had to pantomime what I needed.  So ridiculous. (And of course, the restroom was a million miles away from where I was.)

Story #3: where Ann and Andy wanted to go into a small convenience store only to find out that it closed at 4:30.  In fact, all stores back then (1995) closed at 4:30, period, end of discussion.  Huh.  Did not see that coming.  This almost made me twitch.  It's not like I'm addicted to late-night shopping but 4:30 might as well be dawn o'clock as it came so early.

Story #4:  where Ann and Andy eat dinner just outside Frankfurt and once again, the server didn't know English.  So when I asked her (in English, natch) what a particular item was, she had a hard time telling us so we started guessing.  "Chicken?  "Nein."  "Beef?"  "Nein."  Then there was a pause and she said "Pig."  Okay, then...pork it is.

Story #5:  where Ann tries to order a cup of hot water so she can make tea.  In romance languages, the sentence structure is always a noun followed by the adjective so, for example, agua caliente is Spanish for "hot water."  But again, this was not helpful in Germany as I soon learned:  "Waser heiss?"  "Waser heiss?"  Crickets.  So Andy suggested I try the opposite:  "Heiss Waser?"  Ding, ding, ding – correct!  It would figure that the Germans would put the adjective in front of the noun just like we do here – bastards! ;)  (By the way, in college I took a linguistics class and found that German words account for the basis of a lot of our American ones.)

So that's all I've got about travels to Germany.  Except I may have picked up a wee bottle of kirsch (a cherry-flavored brandy) to commemorate the occasion because when in Rome...Frankfurt...

As to German food, I've always loved Sauerbraten but since it takes so long to make, I always passed on that recipe.  But not today, kids, not today.  And then because I like pickled beets, I threw in the beet salad for a delicious meal.  I thought about making spaetzel, a popular German dumpling, but decided that would likely mean even more work in the kitchen and so I boiled some dumpling noodles instead.

And so onto the cookbooks!  The first cookbook, American Cooking "In der Kuche," had quite the selection of recipes, many of which were authentic German although every once in a while, some American dish would creep in, like a recipe for a Zombie (cocktail).  I passed on that but not without think of the irony of seeing that recipe in this book so close to Halloween.

And then there was a recipe for Peanut Butter Bread, which I have to say is a new one for me.  I love the German name for this dish though:  Erdnussbutter-Kuchen.  In fact, half the fun of reading through this cookbook was seeing the German translations and the German names.  That said, I was pretty much determined to make the sauerbraten and  so didn't spend as much time perusing the cookbook like I normally do.

What I really loved about the Best of German Cooking book was that photos accompanied each recipe and so thankfully, I was able to eliminate any plate that contained fish as I am not fond of fish.  So goodbye to "Pickled Herring" (I'm sorry but... "ew") and "Herring Fillets with Green Beans."  "Fish salad" was also off the table. And since I had already selected a meat dish from the other German cookbook, and since this cookbook didn't contain a competing sauerbraten recipe – what?, I settled on beet salad.  I know, I know – some of you think beets are the "ruddest" food ever, but we love them.  And we loved this dinner.  Just remember though, that you have to marinade the beef for four days  and to plan on an hour or more for the beets to marinade.  Please note too, that the cooking time for this roast is 3 to 4 hours so sit back, relax, have a beer (or other adult beverage) and maybe take in an NFL football game...or 12.

"Zum Whol! "  To your health!

Sauerbraten – Serving size not given but estimate at least four generous servings

For the marinade

4 pounds round or rump of beef

Salt and pepper

1 ½ cups vinegar

1 cup water

4 bay leaves

1 teaspoon peppercorn

12 whole cloves

1 teaspoon mustard seed

To cook the roast

¼ cup fat

6 carrots, cut into strips

2 onions, sliced

4 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon sugar

12 ginger snaps – finely crumbled

Wipe the meat with a damp cloth and sprinkle thoroughly with salt and pepper.  Combine the vinegar, water, by leaves, peppercorn, cloves and mustard seed in a large deep bowl and set beef in this mixture.  (This must be done 4 days before serving).  Cover and let stand in refrigerator, turning the meat each day.  At the end of this marinating period, drain meat, place in a Dutch oven or deep kettle and brown well on all sides in the hot fat.  Strain the vinegar mixture and add to meat along with the strips of carrots and 2 sliced onions. 

Cover pot tightly and simmer until meat is tender – 3 to 4 hours.  Remove meat to heated platter, slicing before serving if you wish.  (Ann's Note:  If I "wish?"  As opposed to what – tearing off chunks?  This cracked me up.)  Strain liquid and reserve.

To make the gravy for this dish, place the flour, sugar and finely crumbled gingersnaps in kettle or Dutch oven.  Slowly add the liquid and simmer until thickened and hot, stirring constantly. (Ann's Note:  this made for a pretty thick gravy.  To make a thinner gravy, add hot broth or hot water incrementally until you achieve your desired thickness/thinness.)  Pour some of this gravy over the meat and serve the rest separately. 

Ann's Note:  They didn't say what to do with the onion and carrots that simmered along with the beef so we ate them.  Why not?

Beet Salad – makes 4 servings

1 lb small beets

1 piece fresh horseradish root of 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

1 onion

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 to 5 tablespoons vinegar

½ teaspoon cumin or caraway seeds

Salt and pepper

Pinch of sugar

½ teaspoon mustard seeds, crushed, if desired

Chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)

1 bay leaf (for garnish)

Wash beets thoroughly but do not remove leaves and roots.  Boil in plenty of water 30 to 50 minutes, depending on size.  When beets are tender, plunge into cold water.  Let stand to cool.  Trim beet roots and tops.  Peel and dice or thinly slice beets.  Peel horseradish root; finely grate.  Finely chop or thinly slice onion. 

In a small bowl, combine beets, grated horseradish (or prepared horseradish), and onion.

In a small bowl, combine oil, vinegar, cumin or caraway seeds, salt, pepper, sugar and mustard seeds, if desired.  Pour dressing over beet mixture.  Garnish with parsley and bay leaf.  Let stand 1 hour before serving.  This salad will keep well up to 7 days if covered and refrigerated.  Serve at room temperature.

Ann's mini rant:  I was almost out of white vinegar and my grocery aisle choices were abysmal.  I had to buy either a big-ass bottle of vinegar that I would probably not use up in my lifetime or buy a small plastic bottle of the stuff.  The problem with the plastic bottle is that it looked like a water bottle and there was no way I was mixing up the water bottles I keep on my counter when cooking with that thing.  But—it was the size I wanted so I bought it and when I got home, transferred it into the existing glass bottle.  Hard to confuse that with a plastic water bottle, right?

"Love and Knishes" & "Cooking with Love" & The Way to a Man's Heart is through His Capricorn" - a Valentine's Day meal

Date I made these recipes:  February 17, 2014 (for Valentine's Day—a bit late!)

Love and Knishes – An Irrepressible Guide to Jewish Cooking by Sara Kasdan

Published by:  The Vanguard Press

© 1956; Fifth Printing 1957

Recipe:  Potato Soup – p. 33-34

Purchased at Arc's Value Village Thrift Stores, Richfield, MN

Cooking with Love – A World-Wide Collection of Recipes for Entertaining from One of Chicago's Favorite Hostesses by Florence Kerr Hirschfeld

Published by:  Houghton Mifflin Company Boston

© 1965

Recipe:  Wonderful Chocolate Cake (with Glossy Chocolate Frosting) – p. 291

Purchased at Bloomington (MN) Crime Prevention Association annual sale

The Way to a Man's Heart is Through His Capricorn – A Whimsical Astrological Cookbook by Peggy Holt

Published by:  Price/Stern/Sloan Publishers, Inc.

© 1970

Recipe:  Parfait Pistache (from the Libra chapter) – p. 67

Purchased on Etsy.com from SALLIEandJUDY

When, a few days before Valentine's Day, I announced to my husband that a few of the dishes I wanted to make contained sour cream and butter, he exclaimed – jokingly – "Are you trying to kill me?"

No honey.  Just trying to feed you something fun for Valentine's Day.

But a few day's later, when I got around to making the dishes, I had to wonder if instead of me killing him, he wasn't in fact trying to hasten my demise.  Because later that night, after he came home from a part-time job, he took the soup I made that afternoon out of the fridge to warm up a bowl for a late-night snack and forgot to put it back in the refrigerator.  And so the soup sat out all night.  Now granted, it is winter and our kitchen is not insulated (making it just a bit brisk back there until I turn on the oven) but no way was I eating that soup.  Nuh uh.  Nope.  Visions of emergency rooms replaced visions of love in quite the burning hurry.

Well of course he felt terrible because he was not trying to kill me off nor is he big on wasting food.  These things happen.  Luckily, I was of the mind to make the soup for a second time and I can promise you we have both be vigilant about storing it properly.  Still, all that butter, all that sour cream, all that milk wasted.....sigh.

Now I imagine, although I don't know for sure, that Sara Kasdan, author of the Love and Knishes cookbook from which this soup recipe came, also would likely have sighed and tut-tutted and oy veyed a couple of times at that waste of these yummy ingredients.  Many recipes in her cookbook contain these precious ingredients, some of which sounded yummy, like our soup recipe, but others that I just need a moment to ponder—like noodle or rice kugel which is basically a casserole of butter, sugar, eggs and...noodles/rice.  Nope.  That does not compute. 

I was really tempted to make a knish but that seemed too heavy (yeah, right—like potato soup isn't?) so I passed.  A knish is basically a mound of filling (potatoes, cheese) wrapped in dough.  Think of it as a Jewish Hot Pocket.  Now, I love these things but again, didn't want the knish weighing me down that day as they can be quite filling (with the filling).

By the way, years ago, Andy and I were watching TV show – maybe the "Tonight Show" – and a comedienne, who was a southern Jewish woman, just cracked us up. She talked about southern cocktail parties where the going phrase as hors d'oeuvres were passed was "Y'all want a knish?" The way she pronounced "knish" was just so southern i.e. add more syllables than needed.  "Knish" became "kah-ni-ish" and we became fans of that line.  Still, I veered toward the soup because I had other items to make for our Valentine's Day menu and didn't want to get too bogged down.

Cooking with Love by Chicago hostess with the mostest (who knew?) Florence Kerr Hirschfeld, yielded the very yummy "Wonderful" Chocolate Cake recipe, chocolate, of course, being a mandatory – no exceptions – Valentine's Day incredible edible.  The only thing that puzzled about this recipe was that you had to melt chocolate squares and water together – those two ingredients don't often mix well – and so the texture was somewhat odd even though the taste was delicious.  The glossy chocolate frosting also yielded a few "huh" moments when it came to appearance and the only thing I'll say is that the frosting is good but messy.

And last but not least, a book which made me laugh (but made Andy's forehead wrinkle in confusion—as in "why did you buy that?") is The Way to a Man's Heart is Through His Capricorn, featuring a nude woman (cartoon drawing) on the front.  Similar artwork abounds featuring nude woman with various animals like frogs and lions----we won't go there.  As to the recipes, nothing for February (Aquarius) or March (hubby's birthday) (Pisces) tripped my trigger but wouldn't you know, the ice cream dessert for Libra – my birth month – did!  Coincidence?  Yes!  So in addition to the chocolate cake, we had a parfait of – be still my heart – coffee ice cream, chocolate ice cream, pistachios and...drum roll....dark rum.  Woot!   Does that cake/ice cream combo sound like Valentine's Day, or what?

"Or what," people!  Although the culinary combinations might sound a little odd—potato soup, chocolate cake and ice cream, it all worked.  And hubby was happy.  So there you go—happy hubby, Happy Valentine's Day!

Potato Soup (Milchik) – serves 8

3 cups diced potatoes

1 cup diced onions

2 stalks celery, diced

1 quart water

2 teaspoons salt

1 quart milk

1/8 pound butter (or more)

3 sprigs parsley

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons minced parsley for garnish

Paprika

Cook potatoes, onions and celery in salted water until tender (about 30 minutes).  Remove from heat.  Mash vegetables with a potato masher.  Add milk, butter, and parsley.  Return to heat and simmer gently for about 15 minutes (do not allow to boil).  Remove parsley.  Stir in sour cream and allow the soup to remain over a low flame just long enough to heat the cream.  Garnish with minced parsley and paprika.

Ann's Notes:  I made half the recipe and had to adjust my cooking time when boiling the potatoes.  Simmer on low for about 15 minutes, then check.  If necessary, add a bit more water.

I cannot say that the addition of the sour cream made for an attractive-looking soup but the taste was great.  Think of this dish as a bowl of mashed potatoes with a bit of liquid in it.  Yum!

Wonderful Chocolate Cake with Glossy Chocolate Frosting – makes a 9" x 13" pan

For the cake

2 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate

½ cup water

6 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

2 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the frosting (You can also skip the frosting and dust with confectioners' sugar if desired)

3 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate

¾ cup evaporated milk

¼ cup water

1 cup sugar

Dash salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

To make the cake, place chocolate and water in top of double boiler and heat until chocolate is melted.  Cream butter and sugar together.  If using electric mixer, beat only at low speed, just enough to blend thoroughly; stir in eggs only until mixed.  Sift flour again with baking soda, then add to butter mixture, alternately with sour cream; mix lightly, starting and ending with flour.  Blend in chocolate and vanilla.  Bake in 9" x 13" x 2" pan, well greased, at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes or until cake pulls away from sides of pan.  Dust with confectioners' sugar or frost with Glossy Chocolate Frosting.  Cut into 3-inch squares.

To make the frosting, melt 3 squares of chocolate in top of double boiler; combine milk, water, sugar, salt and stir into chocolate.  Cook over hot water 20 minutes, then beat with rotary beater 1 minute or until smooth.  Stir in vanilla; cool.

This icing may be made in advance.  It will store well in refrigerator, tightly sealed.

Parfait Pistache – serving size not indicated although I'm guessing it's one serving for you, one for your Valentine!

½ pint coffee ice cream

½ pint chocolate ice cream

1/3 cup dark rum

½ cup crushed pistachio nuts

In parfait glasses, alternate layers of coffee ice cream, crushed pistachio nuts, and chocolate ice cream.  Store in freezer two to three hours.  At serving time, trickle rum over each glass.

The L.L. Bean Book of 'New' New England Cookery - Celery, Carrot, and Wild Rice Soup

Date I made this recipe:  November 10, 2013

The L. L. Bean book of New New England Cookery by Judith and Evan Jones

Published by:  Random House

ISBN:  0-394-54456-0

Recipe:  Celery, Carrot, and Wild Rice Soup - p. 49

Oh, the fickleness of fall.  The week before last, the weather was somewhat warm so I made a dish from a Hawaiian cookbook.  But this week, we are back to cloudy and gloomy and so forget the warm-weather food and just give me something "warm."  And so...soup!

I must confess that this recipe selection was sort of a setup - a regional "throw down" if you will.  To my mind, there's no way another state's or region's wild rice soup is going to beat out Minnesota's famous wild rice soup and while this recipe was good, it wasn't "ours."  The New England soup utilizes yogurt, a surprisingly nice addition to the soup, but it did not make it smooth and rich like the Minnesota version that usually relies on cream (and lots of it).  I also added chicken to the New England soup recipe because well...no self-respecting Minnesotan (even an adopted one like me) would make a wild rice soup without chicken or ham.  Period.  Heck, Byerly's grocery store adds slivered almonds to their wild rice soup.  I didn't go that far so whew- no almonds were harmed in the making of this version.

Still, I shouldn't knock this soup as it was quite delicious and a whole lot heart-healthier than the Minnesota version and yet, as we slide into the cold months of the year, I'm not sure anybody is thinking about their hearts, instead focusing on "hearty" with a "y."  (Pun intended).

As to the cookbook, this is quite the tome but I wouldn't expect anything less from authors Judith Jones and (the late) Evan Jones.  In addition to writing cookbooks, Judith is a master cookbook editor, editing, among other things, Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  She is also responsible for "rescuing" (Anne Frank's) The Diary of a Young Girl from the rejection pile, an act for which I thank her mightily as that book made an indelible impression on me when I was a young girl.

Judith's husband, Evan Jones, was no slouch in the writing/editing department, either.  Jones' last book was Epicurean Delight, a biography of James Bear, a book I read a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away!).  In one of those "small world" moments, it turns out that Evan Jones was a native of Minnesota and there I was making a wild rice soup. 

Judith and Evan also co-authored a couple of cookbooks about bread, something that would have gone nicely with the soup but alas, I do not own one of their bread books and even if I did, we are likely talking about my efforts looking and tasting like a doorstop.  I have not had much success in that area.

Besides the wild rice soup recipe, I was toying with making something with cranberries as that is practically regional berry of honor in New England (blueberries likely come a close second) but we are so close to Thanksgiving that I decided to pass and make soup instead.  Still, the recipe I passed up - Pot Roast with Cranberries and Horseradish (p. 194) is haunting me so I may just have to up and make it sometime soon. 

This soup takes next to no time to make, something I appreciate more and more with my busy schedule, and if you use a mini Cuisinart like I did, the vegetable chopping takes no time which frees you up to watch your favorite football team play (and keeps knives out of your hands - very important during a game).

Celery, Carrot and Wild Rice Soup - serves 4

8 ribs celery

2 tablespoons safflower oil

4 scallions

1/2 tablespoon flour

2 medium carrots, grated

4 cups chicken or beef stock, heated

1 cup cooked wild rice

1/2 cup plain yogurt

3 tablespoons grated cheddar

Trim the celery and chop fine.  Heat the oil and stir in the celery, cooking, covered, for 5 minutes.  Chop the scallions, including the tender greens, and stir into the celery and oil.  Cook 1 minute, stir in the flour, and continue cooking 1 minute more, stirring.  Add the grated carrots, whisk in the hot stock, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes.   Stir in the wild rice and bring the soup to a boil.  Fold in the yogurt.  Serve with grated cheese.

Ann's Note:  I poached two packages of chicken tenders then chopped them and added them to the soup after it was done.  Yummy!

                                                           

"The Flavors of Italy" - Tomato and Meat Sauce

Date I made this recipe:  October 20, 2013

Flavors of Italy by Simonetta Lupi Vada

Published by:  Crescent Books

ISBN:  0-517-05920-7

Recipe:  Salsa di Pomodoro Con Carne (Tomato and Meat Sauce) - p. 47

Well, okay.  Two minutes ago, it was September and now it's the end of October and I have only one recipe posting to show for myself.  But my husband and I were ridiculously busy in September and the first two weeks of October we enjoyed a long-awaited (and I mean long) vacation in Hawaii.  There really is nothing like warm sun and a gentle breeze to help settle the soul.

By all rights, I should have made something tropical upon our return but reality set in in more ways than one when we landed in Minneapolis on October 13th:  cold temperatures (mid 40's), gray and cloudy.  So much for papaya salsa and that "settled soul." 

But fear not folks, my cookbook arsenal is huge and so in no time, I found a book and a recipe to help transition from the abrupt change in climate and temperature:  Flavors of Italy.

What I wanted, what I really, really wanted was just a hearty pasta sauce and that was easily accomplished with this book.  What was not easily accomplished, at least on paper, was making the sauce.  If I followed the recipe to a "t," something I almost always do, I would have ended up cooking half the day with a yield of 9 pounds of sauce (yes, it said 9 pounds) and that was just not going to happen.  So changes were made.  The end result though, was just a basic tomato meat sauce, beautiful to look at, beautiful to eat.

Speaking of beautiful, I like cookbooks with photos and this cookbook is rife with photos of food and scenic areas in Italy.  Not that I needed a photo for this recipe, but I do like them if making more complicated dishes, not because I expect my creation to look like the photo (they often don't) but because I like to know if I'm in the ballpark. 

Most recipes in this book contained a little map icon alerting the reader/cook to the region from which this recipe is best known so if you're in the mood for northern Italian food, this book is helpful.  Since my relatives are from Sicily though, I tended to look southward! 

Before I get into the meat of the instructions below (pun intended), let me just say that although I did not cook for the blog in September, I was busy attending several Hennepin County Public Library (www.hclib.org) used book sales, adding to my already vast collection; this book was one of my purchases for a - wait for it - buck!  I love these sales.  All proceeds benefit the libraries that fall under the Hennepin County umbrella (Hennepin County is home to several cities, including Minneapolis).  I am a huge supporter of public libraries and of course, love me a few cookbooks and so it all worked.

Buon appetito a tutti!

Salsa di Pomodoro Con Carne (Tomato and Meat Sauce) - warning:  makes 9 lbs of sauce!

*This was a mix and match recipe.  Below is the recipe for the meat sauce (page 47) to which I added a few ingredients from the piquant tomato sauce recipe found on the preceding page (p. 46) and then more or less cooked as directed on page 45 but with a few adjustments.  End result:  It all worked (amazingly) and it was delicious.

8 lbs firm, ripe tomatoes

1 lb slender carrots

3/4 cup sliced celery

1/2 cup mixed chopped parsley, sage and basil

5 cloves garlic, crushed

1 lb onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup olive oil

1 3/4 lbs lean ground beef

salt

*bay leaf

*white wine vinegar (about 1/2 cup or less, to taste)

*2 tablespoons sugar (I always add just enough to cut the tartness of the tomatoes)

(Other optional items from the pomodoro piccante are green peppers, red bell peppers, pickled pepper, cloves (2 whole) and cinnamon.  Note too, that the pomodoro piccante sauce serves 4 whereas the meat sauce makes 9 pounds.  The piccante sauce also cooks down for 3 hours, then you add more ingredients and cook for 2 more - Mama Mia! 

To make a more reasonable amount of sauce to serve 4 people, use the following ingredient amounts:

2 lbs tomatoes

1/3 cup carrots

1/4 cup celery

1T (or more) chopped parsley, sage and basil

1-2 cloves garlic

1/4 lb onions

1 T butter

1- 1 1/2 T olive oil

1/2 pound lean ground beef

salt

If you stick with the meat sauce recipe, do like I do and cook just the tomato sauce for about a half an hour or so, then add the meat as directed and cook for another hour or so, bringing the total cooking time to 1 1/2 hours.  You can play around with this as you wish.  The total cooking time for the basic tomato sauce recipe, found on page 45, is 4 hours and I'm sorry but no, that's not going to happen.  I will allocate 4 hours or more if necessary to watch a Packers game but draw the line at spending 4 hours popping in and out of the kitchen unless it is to refresh a cocktail!

Directions:  Wash the tomatoes and seed them, then chop coarsely.  (By the way, I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but a small ice-cream/dough scoop does the job perfectly).  Set aside.  Put the onions in a pan with butter and olive oil.  Heat gently until softened.  (New instructions)  Add the tomatoes, carrots, celery, herbs and garlic (use whole cloves of garlic).  Cook for 1/2 hour.  Add the meat (raw) and cook for another hour to hour and a half; add water if necessary.  Season with salt.  Serve!