"The Green Tomato Cookbook" - Tortilla Casserole and Green Tomato Spice Bread

Date I made these recipes – August 27, 2017 – Celebrating summer and the "arrival" of green tomatoes!

The Green Tomato Cookbook by Paula Simmons

Published by Pacific Search

© 1975

Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC

Recipes:  Tortilla Casserole – p. 50 and Green Tomato Spice Bread – p. 11

My friend Dennis mentioned in a Facebook post the other day that he picked some green tomatoes from his garden.

My ears perked up like a dog:  "Green tomatoes?  Did you say 'green tomatoes'?"

People, I've had this cookbook – The Green Tomato Cookbook – since 2011[1] and up until now, it's been languishing on my shelf until such a time as I could score some green tomatoes.

You may think "Well, that's easy, just go to a grocery store or farmer's market," but those folks sell red tomatoes.  Red. Red sell like hotcakes because they are ripe.  People like ripe.

Yet all tomatoes start out green and when Dennis mentioned that he had "green" tomatoes, I realized that in the future, I needed to connect with amateur gardeners.  Now I know plenty of people who garden and grow vegetables, but if they offer produce,  they are always trying to push things I don't need like zucchini or armfuls of rhubarb.  Not once has anybody ever mentioned they had green tomatoes until Dennis and then the light bulb went off and I found my "Holy Grail."

You might ask "Why didn't you just grow some yourself," but remember folks, my life motto is "Nature is NOT your friend."  When my husband and I moved into this house almost 20 years ago, I planted tomatoes and a few other things because it felt like the new home owner thing to do, and I grew lovely tomatoes which I then had to pick.

Well now, I went outside to pick my fruit (tomatoes) and vegetables and got eaten alive by mosquitoes.  And I'm the type of person who gets welts from bug bites (it's a histamine problem) and so that was my first and last attempt at gardening.  This is why grocery stores and farmer's markets exist.  But as I said above, farmer's markets in these parts don't offer unripe tomatoes and so I have to depend upon the "kindness of strangers" to be my supplier.  To be clear, Dennis is not a stranger but I just had to quote that line from A Streetcar Named Desire.

Anywho, I messaged Dennis and asked if I could have some and he brought some over and I had so many that I made two recipes instead of my usual one per cookbook.  I actually had enough for a third recipe but there is such a thing as overkill.

Now, I can't read minds but I'm pretty sure most of you probably inserted the word "fried" in front of "green tomatoes," but that was about the last thing I wanted to make, not only because it was expected but because I'm not a huge fan of these things.  I mean, they're okay, but don't float my boat; frankly, I think this is more of a southern obsession.  Besides, given that I had an entire cookbook with green tomato recipes at my disposal, why not do some exploring?

So I explored and I debated about branching out and making some pickles or relishes, something I had not done before, but frankly, I didn't/don't want to deal with sanitizing all the jars and making sure everything is sealed properly.  I suspect though, that this cookbook's previous owner really loved the Pickles and Relishes chapter as almost every recipe page was splattered with ingredients:  "End-of-the-garden Pickles," p. 69; "Green Tomato Chili Sauce," p. 70, and, "Martha's Vineyard Old-Time Mincemeat." I love particularly the note at the end of the mincemeat recipe – "Prize recipe of Gertrude Turner's mother."  I have no idea who that is, but hooray for her!

Other Table of Contents categories were:  Growing and Cooking Hints; Breads and Wine; Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and Desserts; Casseroles; Pickles and Relishes; Vegetables and Side Dishes.

I'm sorry, let's go back a minute:  ]Green Tomato] Wine?????  Pass.

Out of all the other non-pickle or relish recipes, the Tortilla Casserole and the Green Tomato Spice Bread seemed to be the best and easiest ones to make.  Neither one showcased the green tomato (something you would be expected to do on Chopped) but they were fine. 

I have to note though, that the Tortilla Casserole's filling could easily be used for Sloppy Joe's or even Chili, with or without beans.  I thought it was tasty and happily, not too spicy.

As to the spice bread, it was not at all "spicy" which was good, but the flavors didn't quite come up to those I would expect from a spiced loaf bread, and that was disappointing.  I also hoped for the bread to be a bit more moist (sort of like a zucchini bread) but that didn't happen.  Part of the problem might be that I halved the recipe thereby cutting the oil from ½ cup to ¼ cup, and the eggs from two to one.  It's hard to get a moist cake when you're shy on ingredients, not that a full recipe would have fared much better. 

Now as a side note, on my recent visit to Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in NYC last month, I found a Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook by Fannie Flagg (who knew?). I pondered and pondered whether or not to purchase Fannie's cookbook, and decided to pass this time around.  This would make sense to you if you saw the huge stack of books I actually purchased – 18 total!  Besides, I already had today's cookbook on my shelf and so first things first.

Tortilla Casserole – Serves 6

1 pound lean ground beef

1 T. vegetable oil

½ cup chopped onions

2 tablespoons flour

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

3 large green tomatoes, chopped

1 ripe tomato, chopped

2 crushed garlic cloves

½ cup green chili salsa (optional) (see Ann's Note below)

1 T. chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon or more salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

½ teaspoon sugar

1 cup water

12 homemade or purchased tortillas (recipe below)

¾ pound (about 3 cups) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

¾ cup chopped onion

Brown beef in oil; drain off excess fat.  Add ½ cup onion and sauté until limp.  Stir in flour; blend in tomato sauce.  Add both ripe and green tomatoes, garlic, chili salsa (if desired), and seasonings.  Stir in the water.  Simmer sauce slowly until thickened.

Fry tortillas lightly in oil.  Spoon 1 tablespoon cheese, 1 tablespoon onion, and 2 tablespoons of meat sauce onto each tortilla.  Fold over and arrange filled tortillas in large shallow baking pan, side by side.  Spoon remaining meat sauce over them; sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake at 350° for 25 to 35 minutes, until cheese is bubbly.

Easy Home-Made Tortillas – makes 12

1 ¼ cups flour

¾ cups yellow cornmeal

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients together.  Boil up oil in water; add dry ingredients and mix well.  Divide dough into 12 balls.  Roll each into a thin disk on floured pastry cloth or between wax paper.

In lightly oiled skillet, brown tortillas on each side.  These can be made ahead and reheated in oiled skillet to soften them when ready to use.  Recipe can be doubled.

Ann's Note:  Green Chili Salsa is an optional ingredient for the recipe above, but the cookbook does not contain a recipe for it.  It does include a recipe for a Green Tomato Taco Sauce but the yield on that is mega (8 quarts green tomatoes) when all you need is ½ cup.  So if I were you, if you want to add this ingredient to the casserole, I'd go shopping and find something that most closely approximates green chili salsa or make up your own version.

Green Tomato Spice Bread – Makes 2 loaves

2 ½ cups unsifted flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ginger

1 tablespoon molasses

3 tablespoons honey

½ cup oil

1 cup ground and undrained green tomatoes

2 whole eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla

½ cup chopped walnuts

Mix dry ingredients.  Add rest of ingredients; beat well. Spoon into 2 greased and floured medium loaf pans.  Let batter rest 10 minutes.  Smooth the top of the loaves, then make an indentation along the center from end to end.  Bake at 350° for 45 to 50 minutes, or until they test done.

---

[1] Timing is everything:  I bought this book in July 2011, just a few days after we held a memorial mass for my late father who passed away in March of that year.  Since dad was from New Jersey, and since it was difficult for older relatives to travel, we brought the "show" to them and held a memorial mass for him in New Jersey.  Thereafter, as is usual and customary, we went into the city (NYC) for a few days to see more friends and family and to shop.  This cookbook was purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC, with "daddy money" i.e. money that he left to me after he died.  Since he knew about my cookbook collection I am sure he would have approved, if not been highly amused.  He also grew a huge garden every year so this cookbook is especially fitting.

"A Culinary Collection from The Metropolitan Museum of Art" - Fresh Vegetable Soup

Date I made this recipe:  August 20, 2017

A Culinary Collection from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, compiled by Linda Gillies, Anita Muller and Pamela Patterson (recipes from members of the Board of Trustees and museum staff)

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

©1973; ISBN: 0-87099-081-0

Recipe: Fresh Vegetable Soup – p. 25, submitted by Clare Vincent – Western European Arts

In my latest blog, published last week, I mentioned that I was recently in New York state and also New York City.   Today's recipe is from New York City's world-renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I cannot recall the first time I went to The Met, but it was and is pretty impressive. It's also so big that it almost exhausts visitors before they even get past the entrance.  To combat that, I often decide in advance what I'm going to look at and then go from there.

Over the years, my favorite section of the museum has been exhibits in the lower-level, particularly those in The Costume Institute.  I cannot sew and I cannot draw but others can and I've seen some great exhibits.

I also like photography and have seen a number of special exhibits that just leave me speechless; I'm particularly fond of black and white photos because of the crispness it brings and the detail it enhances. 

Here is the most important thing you should know about The Met:  although the sign says "admission," it is your choice whether to pay anything (you decide how much you want to contribute) or nothing at all.  Don't go that last route though:  this museum costs a ton of money to run and if you can't part with at least a dollar bill, maybe this is not the place for you!

In the early years, I dutifully paid the suggested admission and even had a membership for a few years (mostly for the gift shop), but eons ago, I switched it up to give what I thought was reasonable.  This works very well for me if I only have time for a quick in and out.

For the record, the suggested "admission" for adults is $25.00 per person and heaven help you brought people with you because ouch!  I am not a cheap person per se and yes, this is New York City, but I'd bet at least 90% of people attending The Met are families of at least four, maybe more.  And that's just to get in folks, that does not county shopping opportunities thereafter!

Now the thing to know about all museum gift shops anywhere is that you do not have to pay to go there, and so if I am pressed for time, like I was this trip, this is how I get a glimpse of current and past exhibits as the gift shop stocks books and magazines from those exhibits.  Win Win!  All that said, you should know that I probably spend about double what I would on the "admission" but I can't help myself because well, the stuff is there, and it's just waiting for me to buy it under the premise of "I'm here, it's here and I may not be back for another year so...."

This year, I got there so late and was so absorbed in several books of interest that I did not hear the "all call" that the museum is closing until a guard came up and said "You're the last person here."  OMG—I was so embarrassed!  I think I made up for it though by purchasing three books there; had I had more time, it would have been four!

So to recap, pay what you want, check out the gift shop and also, and this is important, (although not quite on point), if you are leaving The Met and it is raining, do not expect to be able to hail a cab.  Do not.  Insiders know that cabs and rain do not go together.  Time after time, I see tourists trying to hail cabs but those cabs – coming from where I do not know – already have passengers.  I need to figure out "ground zero" to catch an empty cab!  (Likely 20 blocks north from there, if not more.)

And for the record, and again, apropos to nothing, almost every single time I've been to The Met, whether alone or with someone, it rains.  It rained this year.  It rained two years ago when I was with my friend, Susan, who lives in NYC. In fact, it has rained on us every single time prompting me to tell her that she was the jinx, and yet this time around, I got caught out.  I had an umbrella though so that was good but other times, I haven't. 

In conclusion then:  pay what you want, if pressed for time, check out the gift shop because it's FREE, and "fugheddaboudit" hailing a cab in the rain. (PS—You can, if you want, purchase a rain poncho like many of the tourists do, but it won't help you get a cab, and frankly it screams "TOURIST" to everybody you see.  Plus they are hot and I don't mean fashion-wise! Umbrellas are the better choice, and for your "convenience" you can almost always find an umbrella vendor near the front steps.)

This concludes my public service announcement about visiting The Met.

As to the cookbook, it is spiral bound which as I said in my last post, does not usually find favor with me, but I bought this at an estate sale and really didn't care because it was from The Met.  Besides, I was intrigued by the illustrations, both on the cover and inside and thought them appropriate for a cookbook from an art museum.

The cover art is "The Pastry Cook," by Abraham Bosse (French, 1602-1676), and is a rendering in black and white of several cooks in a kitchen (illustrations continue on the back of the book).  The inside illustrations were taken from an early Italian cookbook, Il Cuco segreto di Papa Pio V (The Private Chef of Pope Pius V] by Bartomlomeo Scappi, Venice, 1570.  The inside illustrations were all of pots, pans, and utensils along with their Italian names and I thought that was kind of fun.

Like the museum itself, the Table of Contents is carefully curated into these categories:

• Appetizers & Soups
• Meats, Poultry, Fish & Their Sauces
• Vegetables, Salads, & Salad Dressings
• Noodles, Rice, Pasta, & Their Sauces
• Quiches, Soufflés, & Eggs
• Desserts
• Cookies, Cakes, & Breads
• Menus & Miscellaneous

And remember, all of these recipes were submitted by the museum's staff and board members and their work area is listed next to each recipe, for example "Catalogue," "Drawings," "Prints and Photographs," and so on.

As to the recipes, there were plenty that caught my eye and would have been acceptable.  In fact, for the longest time, my money was on making "Bloody Mary Meat Loaf" on page 59 because well, why not!  I've never made a meatloaf with a Bloody Mary mix.  But then I started rethinking my selection and I have to tell you that sometimes these self-debates sound suspiciously like the call of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs:  "It's 'Bloody Mary Meat Loaf' in the lead.  'Bloody Mary Meat Loaf' down the back stretch.  'Fresh Vegetable Soup' is coming up from behind.  'Fresh Vegetable Soup' is gaining on 'Bloody Mary Meat Loaf'.  'Bloody Mary Meat Loaf' and 'Fresh Vegetable Soup' are neck and neck and...'Fresh Vegetable Soup' wins by a nose!"

I have a vivid imagination! 

I also flagged "Hot Crab Meat for Twenty" on page 14 for future use, likely at a party, and pondered the merits of "Two-Tiered Tuna Casserole," p. 82. before deciding that it was a bit heavy for the day, plus it didn't have peas and people, it has to have peas.  Period.

In the end, I wanted something light and fresh and so went with the soup.  Mind you, the day I made it, the humidity was off the charts, but my house remained cool and so it all worked and it was tasty. 

As to my quick trip to The Met's Gift Shop, to answer your burning question, no, I didn't purchase a cookbooks because they really don't stock a lot of them and nothing I saw tripped my trigger such that I had to have it that day.  The books I purchased were all about NYC architecture and design which is also an area of interest and I ran out of time to see much of anything else.  By the way, one year after getting caught in the rain on my way into the museum and gift shop – what did I tell you – I pretty much hugged all the lighted jewelry cases as a way to warm up from the cold downpour.  I'd have loved to have been the security person who watched that tape:  "What is she doing? What. Is. She. doing? Is she trying to break into the cases?  Hey Joe, c'mere and look at this...."

Fresh Vegetable Soup – Serves 8 – submitted by Clare Vincent – Western European Arts

2 leeks, cut in ½-inch chunks

1 medium or large onion, cut in ½-inch chunks

2 tablespoons butter

 6 chicken bouillon cubes (Ann's Note:  or substitute chicken broth)

2 parsnips, cut in ½-inch chunks

2 medium white turnips, cut in ½-inch chunks

3 stalks celery (without leaves), cut in ½-inch chunks

2 medium carrots, cut in thumb-size pieces

¼ teaspoon dried thyme (or more)

¼ teaspoon dried rosemary (or more)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 medium potatoes, cut in thumb-size pieces

2 cups stewed tomatoes (one 16-ounce can) (Ann's Note:  or substitute fresh, chopped tomatoes)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

In a large pot wilt leeks and onion in butter.  Add 3 quarts of water and bouillon cubes and bring to a boil.  (Ann's Note:  if you want to substitute chicken broth like I did, then just pour out 3 cups of broth and add that instead.) 

Add parsnips and bring to a boil.  Add turnips and bring to a boil. Add celery and bring to a boil.  Add carrots and bring to a boil.  Add thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper, and correct seasonings (more herbs and bouillon may be added).  Ann's Note:  once the broth started to boil, it continued to boil so there was no "bring to a boil" portion of our program.  Since the recipe contributor didn't saw to lower the heat, I kept it as was and just kept adding the vegetables as directed.

Add potatoes and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer until the potatoes are nearly cooked through.  All the other vegetables will be ready by this time. Add parsley and dill, and simmer until the potatoes are done and the herbs have just begun to wilt.

When reheating to serve, make sure not to allow soup to simmer more than a minute or two, or all the care in bringing each vegetable to just the right degree of doneness will be wasted.

Ann's Note:  Okay, I need to parse this. Since the only way to make sure the veggies weren't overdone was to immediately lower the heat to simmer and then bring it back to a boil, it would have been nice if that was in the directions!  As mentioned above, once the broth started boiling, it never stopped.  Now had I made a full recipe, maybe the bulk of the vegetables would have caused the appropriate "delay" in the restart of the boil but such was not the case.  I did not need soup for 8, I needed soup for 2 and so played with it.  In the end, did the extra boil time matter much?  Nah. 

"The Best of the Best from New York" - Italian Sausage-Pepper Pasta

Date I made this recipe:  August 13, 2017

Best of the Best from New York Cookbook – Selected Recipes from New York's Favorite Cookbooks

Published by Quail Ride Press*

ISBN:  1-893062-27-9; © 2001

Recipe:  Italian Sausage-Pepper Pasta – p. 110, from the Great Taste of Parkminster cookbook

And I'm back!  Miss me?

My husband and I just came back from a grand tour of New York state and also New York City, and I just had to pull out this cookbook to make something in remembrance of our trip.

Our 18-day adventure was made principally so that Andy could participate in FANY Ride 2017.  FANY stands for Five Hundred Miles Across New York, and was a weeklong leisurely bicycle ride/tour that started in Niagara Falls and ended in Saratoga Springs.  Andy heard about it a few years back and wanted to give it a whirl.  This plan worked for us because we were able to stay for a bit with my brother and sister-in-law who live outside of Rochester, NY and use that as our home base for a good portion of the ride. 

For the curious, this was the route: 

Day 1 – Niagara Falls, NY to Batavia, NY

Day 2 – Batavia, NY to Canandaigua, NY

Day 3 – Canandaigua, NY to Auburn, NY

Day 4 – Auburn, NY to Hamilton, NY (home of Colgate University)

Day 5 – Hamilton, NY to Little Falls, NY (except we played hokey and went to Cooperstown)

Day 6 – Little Falls, NY to Gloversville/Johnstown, NY

Day 7 – Gloversville, NY to Saratoga Springs (home of Skidmore College)

Ta da! 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, on days where Andy was riding his bicycle, I explored nearby towns and points of interest such as "It's A Wonderful Life" Museum in Seneca Falls, All Things Oz Museum in Chittenango, NY (where I purchased a new cookbook – The Wonderful Cookbook of Oz – in the museum store), the Syracuse Zoo and also Syracuse's [university] campus, all of which I recommend. 

While in Little Falls, NY, I checked out some fun antique stores where I acquired three cookbook for my collection (nothing noteworthy, just ones I didn't have) and I also purchased another new cookbook – Saratoga Grazing Cookbook – at Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, NY where the ride ended.  Saratoga Springs is known for their horse racing (horses "graze," don't you know) and I think we were there on opening weekend because we hoped to go to the track only to find it packed with people and I mean "packed!"  Next time.

After we got done with the ride, we stopped in the Lake Huntington, NY area, to visit Andy's brother who has a weekend home there, and on one of our side trips, I found this fabulous and unique bookstore, One Grand Books (www.onegrandbooks.com) in Narrowsburg, NY.  This store stocks books of every genre that have been recommended by famous people whom the owner knows and whom he refers to as "curators."  I love this idea, and especially loved that many of the books are "classics" that I read in high school and college.

The book I purchased was a cookbook (!) called New Orleans Cookbook by Leah Richard, that was recommended by Marcus Samuelsson who I met when he visited Minneapolis last year.  Some of the other "curators" were actress Kathy Najimy, actress Michelle Dockery, The Daily Show host, Trevor Noah, and CNN reporter, Christiane Amanpour.  The shop is small but I still could have spent a few more hours there.  Or maybe work there, I don't know!

After that stop, we went on a "cannonball run" to NYC for three action-packed days before heading out to Ypsilanti, MI to see my Aunt Mary, then on to Chicago to see some friends, then home.  We were gone 18 days and while it was great to be gone, it was also great to be back in our own home.

No trip to NYC is complete without a stop at my favorite [used] cookbook bookstore in town – Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks – and I also had time  to go to Kitchen Arts & Letters on the Upper East Side.  Sadly,  I ran out of time to go visit the Strand ("18 miles of books") which was probably a good thing for my blown budget.  Let's just say that I consider these road trips, and particularly the stop in NYC, to be buying trips and buy I did, no problemo!  ( think I scored about 20 books between the two stores.)

And then when we got to Michigan to visit my  aunt, she gave me her cookbooks, one of which was a vintage Hawaiian cookbook/booklet that I saw last year and had it on my "look for" list – score!  The title is Hawaiian Party Book – How to Entertain the Hawaiian Way.  It's a booklet rather than a book but I don't care.  Although the book does not contain a copyright date, it sold for a big whopping dollar back in the day.  My price? Free!

These books are still sitting on my floor just waiting for me to add them to my "database" which will involve a lot of time and a bit of work, neither of which I have right now but soon, folks, soon, because as soon as I add them to my list, they become "eligible" for the blog!   

Meanwhile though, I thought this cookbook – The Best of the Best from New York Cookbook,  a compilation of recipes from 67 New York regional cookbooks, was a way to get back into the [blogging] game.

I must confess though, that this is not the type of cookbook I usually purchase.  This book is similar to a church cookbook in that it contains contributions from several sources and while I have nothing against church cookbooks, if I collected them, I would have to buy another house because there are a ton of them.  The other reason I usually refrain is that they are often spiral-bound (this one is) and spiral-bound books are boring on a shelf because you can't read the title.  The whole point of having any type of book collection is so that people can see easily what you have and spiral-bound books just don't have that "wow" factor.

That said, I recall at the time that this was the only cookbook I could find that covered all of New York state rather than focusing  just New York City or one of the other boroughs. 

Turns out, I really like this book.

I like this book because it seems pretty comprehensive:  recipes from 67 regional books were included in this "best of the best" edition. (On the other hand, I'm drying to know which books didn't make the cut and why!)  All 67 books are listed, along with a cover photo, in the back of the book and it should not surprise you that I have my eye on a few. And if New York is not to your liking, you can go to the publisher's website and find a state's "best of the best" that will work for you:  Quail Ridge Press – www.quailridge.com (or Amazon or Barnes & Noble).

Lest you think that only community or church cookbooks made the cut for this book, note that The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook, a book I own, is included as are two Moosewood cookbooks.  The Moosewood Restaurant is located in Ithaca, NY.  I do not have the two cookbooks listed but they are on my "find now!" list, as is the very popular La Cocina de la Familia cookbook.

Other things that I loved about this book were the photos and bits of trivia placed scattered throughout. And I also liked the wide range of recipes by region although let me comment that one of the things I love most about visiting NY state and city is the plethora of Italian restaurants and food stores.  Alas, as much as I like living here, Minneapolis-St. Paul just does not have the bustling Italian communities like New York and other east-coast cities have.  This is why then, I ate Italian food almost the entire time on our trip, no apologies! 

I also noticed that there are a lot of Polish recipes in this book and in fact, we ate at a fantastic placed called the Polish Nook, in Niagara Falls, NY where Andy's FANY Ride started.  Of course, once we hit Manhattan, the sky was the limit for cuisine, but as our time there was limited, we only ate non-Italian food twice, once at an Indian buffet, and the other at a French restaurant we like.

At any rate, it should come as no surprise then that I considered making many a pasta dish for this blog and the one I made was great.  It was simple and easy and tasty and you can't ask for much more than that.  These recipes were also in the running for a bit:

• Italian Vegetable Soup – p. 58 – from Great Taste of Parkminster
• Tomato-Basil-Onion Frittata – p. 94 – from Tasting the Hamptons
• Reuben Lasagna (I know, right?) – p. 106 – from The Cookbook AAUW
• 100% Vegetarian Lasagna – p. 107 – from Famous Woodstock Cooks
• Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and Beans) – p. 111 – Wild Game Cookbook & Other Recipes

 As you can see, I pretty much got hung up on the first couple of chapters but I have no doubt you'll find something in the remaining ones.  To aid you in this endeavor, here is the Table of Contents:

• Beverages and Appetizers
• Bread and Breakfast
• Soups
• Salads
• Vegetables
• Pasta, Rice, Etc.
• Meats
• Poultry
• Seafood
• Cakes
• Cookies and Candies
• Pies and Other Desserts

After much hemming and hawing, I still came back to the "Italian Sausage Pepper Pasta" recipe listed above and folks, I think this was meant to be because this recipe came from the Great Taste of Parkminster cookbook.  Parkminster is a church and school located in Rochester, NY.  My brother and sister-in-law live just outside of Rochester and since we had just visited them, this was perfect nay, even cosmic!

Also interesting (and hilarious)?  This church is located on Chili Avenue which everybody on the planet except for people who live in the area pronounce "Chilly."  Not so the good people of the Rochester area!  If you say "chilly," as in a dish with meat and sometimes beans, they will correct you with "It's Chi-lie."  (There's also a town in the area with the same name, pronounced the same way.)

These same people will also have you know that the Jell-O Museum which I have visited, is not in Le Roy (as in "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown" Le-Roy) but Luh-Roy, which is how the French pronounce the word for "king."  Since there is no arguing that Jell-O is the king of gelatin desserts, I think I think I can live with that.  I'm not sure about "Chili" though.  Not sure.

And so this brings us now to the conclusion of my travelogue and adventures with cookbooks.  Our trip was great, the towns we saw were beautiful, we had fun times visiting friends and family, and we ate like kings (!) while we were on the road. 

I was very happy with this pasta dish and hope you are as well.  Enjoy!

Italian Sausage Pepper Pasta – Makes 8-10 servings

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 medium zucchini, sliced

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

6 medium spicy Italian sausage, sliced*

½ cup fresh basil, chopped, or 2 tablespoons dried

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

16 ounces corkscrew pasta ("Fusilli"), cooked and drained

2 cups shredded mozzarella

½ cup grated Parmesan

2 tomatoes, sliced

*Ann's Note:  This ingredient was interesting because how do we interpret "6 medium spicy Italian sausage?"  Is it 6 medium-sized Italian sausage or 6 medium-spice (i.e. somewhere between mild and hot) sausage?  My whole life, there were two options only:  mild a/k/a "sweet" or hot a/k/a "spicy," so this confused.  Since I always opt to use "sweet" sausage, I avoided potential disaster but I'd still like to know what they meant  Clarity, folks, I need clarity!

Also, in the instructions below, you see that you are to sauté the sausage and vegetables for about 6 minutes or until sausage is browned and then apparently, slice it.  ("6 medium spicy Italian sausage, sliced")  Well now, that was fraught with peril!  I thought it probably best to sauté/brown my sausages separately and did that for well over 5 minutes, but yet they weren't cooked through so when I tried to slice them, many of those slices fell apart.  Fine then, see if I care!

I think the better directive would have been to remove the casings and then brown the sausage as you would ground beef but that's not what it said and so that is not what I did!

Directions:  Sauté garlic, zucchini, peppers, sausage, basil, salt and pepper in olive oil about 5 minutes or until sausage is browned.  Drain.  Combine with hot cooked pasta.  Place half of pasta mixture in 9 x 13-inch buttered casserole.  Cover with half of combined cheeses.  Repeat layers and top with sliced tomatoes.  Brush with olive oil and bake covered at 400° for 20 minutes. Uncover, bake 20 minutes longer.  Serve immediately.

"The Gay Cookbook" - Italian Meat Sauce - Gay Pride 2017

Date I made this recipe:  June 24, 2017 –  (Gay) Pride Festival

The Gay Cookbook – The Complete Compendium of Campy Cuisine and Menus for Men...or What Have You by Chef Lou Rand Hogan

Published by Sherbourne Press, Inc.

© MCMLXV (1965)

Recipe – Italian [Meat] Sauce – p. 45-50

I wish I could tell you that I absolutely planned to use this cookbook during Gay Pride week in Minneapolis but that is not what happened.  Instead, I was on the hunt for another book when I spotted this one and coincidentally, it was Pride week/weekend and so how perfect!

I cannot recall exactly when or where I purchased this cookbook , but the minute I saw it, I knew I had to have it.  Had. To.  I had to have this because of the cover art which is adorable ("Campy cartoons by David Costain") and because it was old – 1965.  And then there's the "tag line:" "the complete compendium of campy cuisine and menus for men...or what have you."  Could I pass that up?  No. 

You should also know that once upon a time, "gay" was the term used to describe someone's personality i.e. "he/she is so gay [happy, fun, or good spirited], or to indicate that a good time was had by all as in "Oh, we had a gay old time at the Frost's function this past weekend."

If not for the cover art and the tag line, I might have thought this book referred to that kind of "gay" but one look most certainly suggests not and that is all fine by me.  Sadly, I did not have a gay old time cooking from this book. Did not.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with writing a book in "narrative" form i.e. story-telling, but there is something wrong with recipe instructions being written in the same vein.  The recipe I made, for example, started on page 45, ended on page 50, and was pretty much one solid block of text and so I had to parse each and every sentence to figure out ingredients, cooking times, and whatnot.

And for this folks, I'm going to have to "ding" them which is to say "deduct points."  Not that I award points, but you get my drift.

And I have to tell you that every single recipe was like this and so I almost put the book aside for another day (i.e. after I'm dead) but no.  No.  I fortuitously found the book and so I soldiered on but nobody said I had to be "gay" about it!

Your chapter and food choices are as follows:

• Chapter One – Canapés, Hors D'Oeuvres and Aphrodisiacs (This is a long title for only 9 recipes, one of which is not a recipe at all as it was for sherry: To prepare sherry, open the bottle and pour!)
• Chapter Two – Soups...That Juicy Stuff (Apparently that saying comes from Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen from Verona.  There are four recipes here.  Four.)
• Chapter Three – Salad and Dressings; including Le French
• Chapter Four – Chili, Curries, Spaghetti Sauces and Other Blood Tinglers
• Chapter Five – The Shell Game; Oysters, Lobsters, Shrimp and What To Do With Clams
• Chapter Six – That Tired Old Fish (By which the author means the usual suspects – sole, trout, salmon, cod)
• Chapter Seven – What To Do With A Tough Cut Of Meat (There are many recipes here for stews and braised meats and roasts and the like.)
• Chapter Eight – Chicken Queens, Chicken A La King and Our Other Feathered Friends
• Chapter Nine – Sauces, Gravies and Other Brownish Delights
• Chapter 10 – Vegetables; Plain and Fancy
• Chapter 11 – Loose Ends; Including Potatoes and Other Weight Lifters
• Chapter 12 – In Your Oven! (As you would imagine, this is the cookie, cake, other category)
• Chapter 13 – Drunks and Drinks

After much consideration and much skimming of the narrative to suss out potential recipes, I settled on the very long recipe for Italian Meat Sauce.  Six pages long, in fact.  Six pages long in teeny, tiny print.  I felt like I was editing a short story!  The first four pages are all about the basic sauce and then if that wasn't bad enough, the guy added two more pages about how to turn your basic sauce into a meat sauce.  Surprisingly, this recipe did not call for any wine which is sometimes used in Italian sauce cooking, but I decided that I needed a drink and so I had one!

Now then, time for true confession:  I was so done in by the time I got done with the basic sauce that I had no patience to deal with the meat portion of our program and so did this instead:  I fried up the last bit of Trader Joe's Bacon Bits and Pieces and added that straight to the sauce without following a single direction for the meat sauce.  Not only did the sauce taste good with that addition but I saved myself several hours in the process.

Also?  The full recipe was supposed to make about 3 quarts (12 cups) and although the author froze some of it, we don't freeze in this household and so I cut the recipe way, way down.  We are a small family of two, not 22.  Sheesh.

Here then, is my best attempt to filter the ridiculously long and involved instructions and the ingredients I used.  Please note that I cut this recipe into 4ths and still had plenty left over for more servings, so for the first and maybe last time ever, I'll do the math for you so that you don't end up with 3 quarts/12 cups on your hand because you never know, you may hate it and then where would you be?  With a freezer full of spaghetti sauce, that's where!

Italian [Meat] Sauce – Ann's Notes: The revised amounts, shown below, likely made 3 cups of sauce instead of the 12 the recipe called for.  That should be enough for about 4 servings, depending on how much sauce is used per serving.

• ¼ cup celery
• ¾ cups chopped onions
• 1/16 cup chopped garlic (Ann's Note:  I think I chopped one large clove of garlic and threw that in.)
• 1/16 cup (optional) grated carrots
• ¼ cup chopped Leeks (optional) (Ann's Note:  I added the carrots but left out the leeks.)
• ½ cup chopped green pepper
• A few small mushrooms (optional) sliced
• 1 large can "standard tomatoes" (Ann's Note:  I used a 14 ½-ounce can of diced tomatoes)
• 1 small can tomato puree (Ann's Note:  I didn't have puree on hand but I had tomato paste and so I mixed some paste (maybe 1-2 T) with some water and used that instead.  I just now noticed that the author said some cooks like to use this instead of puree.  Count me as one of them!)
• 4 cups stock or water (Ann's Note: Eyeball this.  I think I added a bit more water later.  Or maybe it was wine?  I was too stressed out to keep track!)
• 1/16 cup mixed Italian herbs (Ann's Note:  If you have "Italian Seasoning" mix on hand, just use that.  If you don't then mix together some basil, oregano, rosemary leaves, tarragon, a half a bay leaf and if desired, some whole cloves.  Or—just use whatever floats your boat!)
• 3 chilis tepenos (Ann's Note:  I have no idea what a chili tepenos is but I left it out as it is better to be safe than sorry.  If you want a little heat, throw in some dried red pepper flakes.)

For the meat sauce (Ann's Note:  I did not make this portion of the recipe but these are the amounts to use if you are making 3 quarts.  If you aren't making 3 quarts, cut this way, way down.)

• Salt, pepper, oil, flour, MSG
• 1 can sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 2 lbs. (good) ground meat (or more)  (Ann's Note: I know what the author meant by "good" ground beef but I laughed anyway.)
• 3 cans consommé

 Okay then, sorry for all the notes but hopefully this will help you get set up. I think I just eyeballed a lot of things because I could and you can too!

As to the instructions, here, to the best of my ability are the instructions, parsed for your reading enjoyment.

1. Finely chop all the vegetables you plan to use. 

2. If you want, wrap up your seasonings in a cheese cloth, simmer the mixture with them and then throw the seasonings away.  Or, you could do what I did which is to add them to the sauce, sans cloth or other protective covering because it is the only way I know. 

Then, and I am not kidding, a page and a half later, we get to how to actually put the thing together.  "We" (the author uses the royal "We" all the time) will make this as simple as possible – moving on...

3. Put some fat or oil in a heavy pot, add the fresh vegetables, cover and cook for a few minutes then add the prepared vegetables (canned mushrooms), then your ground beef (if you are using it), then the tomatoes, salt, sugar, herbs and bring it all slowly to a boil. 

If you are using ground beef, sauté your vegetables first, brown the meat and then add the tomatoes, salt, sugar, and herbs. 

4. Regardless of whether you made this with meat or went meat-less, reduce the heat to simmer and cook 1-2 hours, stirringly occasionally.  Add more broth or water if the sauce starts to stick.

Ann's Note:  Since I used bacon instead of ground beef, I cooked my bacon, then added it (bacon bits only, not the fat) to the pot after the sauce mixture had been cooking about a half an hour.  I think my sauce was pretty much done after about an hour but I let it go a bit longer to let the flavors settle in.   

If making the meat sauce:

Skim off the fat that rises to the surface while cooking and reserve it.  Add some flour to the fat then cook that mixture in a small pan over medium heat until you have a dryish paste or mash. 

Add some tomato sauce from the pan then add that mixture back into your pot and continue cooking.

Ann's Note: "We" use this as a thickening measure so if you want to skip it, my guess is you can but you'll still want to skim the grease from the sauce so it's not a big greasy mess.

If you wish, you can add canned mushrooms, some salt or MSG, and continue to simmer until you're satisfied that it is done and the flavors are incorporated.

Now then, was that hard?  No! This concludes my tutorial about how you go about parsing a recipe so that it can work for you.  As I said, we loved the finish product and now that I know what's involved, this sucker is a snap!  The best thing though, was that it was tasty.  "We" (our author) noted that the carrot tends to make the sauce sweeter but I think that's true if you were to make the full recipe using ½ cup grated carrots.  Here, I grated one carrot and that was that!

"Cooking With Spirits" - Martinis In Suspension (Jell-O) for National Martini Day 2017

Date I made this recipe:  June 19, 2017  - National Martini Day

Cooking With Spirits by Ruth Vendley Neumann

Published by Reilly & Lee

© 1961

Purchased at Curious Book Shop, East Lansing, MI

Recipe:  Martinis In Suspension – p. 52

I am a gal who knows what she wants and what she wants in a beverage when out for dinner and drinks is simple:  a dry gin martini, up, with (preferably) pimento-stuffed olives.  The choice of gin depends on where I am and what's available, but favorites include, in order of "toxicity," Tanqueray, Hendricks, Blue Coat (made on the east coast) and local favorite Gunner Ghost which is really paint thinner in disguise.  Gunner Ghost is 114 proof or 57% alcohol – whoa! I save that one for special occasions.  Bombay Sapphire used to be my absolute "go to" for years and years until a few years ago when I started getting headaches every single time I drank it.  It didn't seem to matter if I ate or not, or whether I drank copious amounts of water which I did.  I suspect it has one "botanical" too many as I have sensitivity to those things; "Nature" is not my friend.

And call me picky, but a proper martini is not a proper martini unless and until I see a toothpick skewered with small pimento-stuffed olives resting in the gin bath.  I will accept large green olives sans pimento but rather reluctantly, and I will also accept green olives with pits (as served in a few favorite restaurants) but small pimento is what I grew up with and I want what I want.

Furthermore, and I've said this before:  gorgonzola-stuffed olives are an abomination and are completely and totally unacceptable and yes, I will make the server return to the bar to fetch me a proper martini.  This hasn't happened in a while which is good, but there was a time when these olives were all the rage in martinis and...no.  No.  I am also not fond of a lemon twist in my drink and it's gin, not vodka, period, end of story.

Now the good people associated with the National Martini Day (if they exist—they may not) did not give any guidance to what kind of a martini to make but I have no doubt they envisioned everyone the world over, even expats, making the standard, liquid version.  Could I have made a liquid martini?  In my sleep!  In fact, I enjoy a martini every day during the cocktail hour.  It's just how I roll.  I thought though, that it would be more fun to cook something with gin, and so selected Cooking with Spirits to do the job and it did it admirably.   Fifty-two pages in, I found this spectacular dish -  Martinis In Suspension – and we were ready to roll.

Do we not love this title? Translated, this 1961 recipe for Martinis In Suspension is really an early attempt at a Jell-O shot only fancier. And the Jell-O comes with olives – how sophisticated!  I hear the applause of the good people associated with National Martini Day – if they exist – golf clapping at the brilliance of it all!

  

Not only does this concoction have a great name but the recipe is ridiculously simple:  mix a little lemon gelatin with unflavored gelatin, add your desired mix of gin and vermouth and when that mixture is slightly chilled, insert your skewered olives.   You can, if you want, make a salad garnish to surround the upturned martini glass (ingredients and directions below) but nah—we concentrated our efforts on making sure the mixture itself was sound and it was, and we loved it.  In fact, I may have to repeat this dish every year because when something works, it works.

Now if you like gin but would rather not make the suspended martinis, consider also "Stuffed Celery" (p. 23) with blue cheese and gin, and "Cold Curried Shrimp" (p. 29), also containing gin.  There are likely more gin recipes that followed but once I found what I didn't know I was looking for, I stopped!

If gin is not to your liking, be not afraid because this book has a ton of recipes from soup to nuts made with everything from beer to bourbon and beyond.  Had I not been so singularly-focused, I saw many recipes that likely would have been fantastic. 

The only downside or challenge if you will to this book is that you won't be able to look up a spirit by name (e.g. vodka [recipes] or brandy [recipes]) as neither the table of contents nor the index breaks things out by spirit.  Instead, here are your Table of Content choices :

• Spirited Coffee 'Round the World
• Spirited Appetizers and Cocktail Dips
• Spirited Soups
• Spirited Salads and Salad Dressings
• Spirited Fish and Shellfish
• Spirited Meats
• Spirited Relishes and "Window Dressings" for Meats and Fishes
• Spirited Poultry
• Spirited Egg and Cheese Dishes
• Spirited Pasta and Rice
• Spirited Vegetables and Vegetable Casseroles
• Spirited Sauces and Gravies for Meats, Fish, Poultry, and Vegetables
• Spirited Breads, Waffles, Pancakes and Popovers
• Spirited Cakes, Frostings, and Fillings
• Spirited Pies, Cobblers, and Tarts
• Spirited Desserts (Gelatin and Refrigerator Desserts; Custards and Puddings; Dessert Sauces)
• Spirited Fruits for Cocktails and Desserts
• Cookies and Confections

Now then readers, did you spot an error in the above list?  Note that every chapter titled begins with the word "Spirited" except for Cookies and Confections.  I thought that was hilarious and so of course I had to double-check and am quiet relieved to tell you that cookies and confections are indeed loaded with booze.  In fact, page 199 contains a recipe for "Cognac Butter Cookies," and I think we can all agree that cognac is a spirit, no?  (A very good spirit!).  Two words: editorial error!

If I used this cookbook again, in addition to the above-mentioned cookies, I might make  also "Mexican Arroz Con Pollo with Beer and Tequila" (p. 121), "Cheese and Mushroom Soufflé" made with Dry Sherry (p. 127), or a "Sweet Potato Casserole" with Curacao (p. 157) because they all sounded delicious.  Frankly, most of the book sounded delicious.  Potentially deadly perhaps, but delicious and who doesn't like "delicious?"  That said, do remember that this is adult Jell-O so perhaps it's best if you eat this after the kiddies have gone to bed?  Even then, be warned that these pack a punch!

This concludes my National Martini Day 2017 cookbook and recipe review report.   I almost missed the whole thing (a childhood friend tipped me off), but then again, every day in my house is martini day so there you go!

Martinis In Suspension (Gin and Vermouth) with a Garnish – serves 4

For the Martinis In Suspension

1 T. unflavored gelatin

1 T lemon gelatin

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tsp. granulated sugar

¾ cup of your favorite martini mix (or ½ cup gin and ¼ cup dry vermouth)*

1 cup boiling water

1 T. lemon juice

Stuffed green olives

For the Salad Garnish

3 cups very finely shredded cabbage

2 T. white vinegar

¼ cup dry vermouth

2 T. granulated sugar, or more, to taste

1 tsp. salt

White pepper to taste

Few dashes of Tabasco

Small stuffed olives

*Ann's Note:  Oh dear god, ¼ cup dry vermouth, what?  No.  No properly made martini on this planet contains that much vermouth ever.  Since I made a half recipe, I added "some" vermouth for good measure, emphasis on "some" as in about an eyedropper full.  But that is my martini preference not yours, so if you want to add that much vermouth, by all means do it.

Combined gelatins, salt, and sugar, then dissolve them in martini mixture.  Add boiling water and lemon juice and mix thoroughly.  Pour into very lightly buttered cocktail glasses (for easy removal at serving time).  When aspic has partly thickened, press a stuffed olive into each glass so that it will remain suspended part way down.  Ann's Note:  "One" olive?  Surely, they jest!  So. Not. Happening.  I put about four olives on a toothpick and stuck that into the mixture instead and it looked exactly as a martini should only it was made of Jell-O. 

Chill until very firm.  To service, run a thin sharp knife around molds, then unmold each in the center of a salad plate; leave the glasses in place, upside down in the center of the plate.  Encircle each inverted martini with a ring of the following:

To Make the Salad Garnish

Marinate the cabbage in a mixture of all other ingredients, except olives.  Drain thoroughly, then make a wreath of it around the martini glasses.  Garnish here and there with the stuffed cocktail olives. Have these martini salads in place as guests are seated.  Then, when the oh's and ah's begin to subside, remove glasses.  This makes for a really dramatic presentation of your edible martinis.

By the way, and for the first time ever - the finished product!  I've had those plastic martini glasses for decades now - aren't they fun?