"Cooking with Love by Carla Hall (Top Chef/The Chew) and "The Big Chocolate Book" - Valentine's Day 2015

Date I made these recipes:  February 14, 2015 – Valentine's Day!

Cooking with Love – Comfort Food that Hugs You by Carla Hall with Genevieve Ko

Published by:  Free Press

ISBN:  978-1-4516-6220-7

Recipe:  Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Root Vegetable Ragout – p. 196-170 for the pork and 99 for the ragout

The Big Chocolate Cookbook by Gertrude Parke

Published by:  Funk & Wagnalls

© 1968

Purchased at Talk Story Book Store, Hanapepe, (Kauai) Hawaii  (Talk Story is "The Western-Most Bookstore in the United States)

Recipe:  Cocoa Cream Cake – p. 56-57

And now time for a quiz:  When I say "Hootie Hoo!" you say:

a)     Did you just swear at me?

b)     Is this a new secret ingredient on Chopped?

c)      Carla Hall

If you chose c) Carla Hall, give yourself a pat on the back.

Those of you who are fans of Top Chef should remember Season 5 when Carla Hall competed as a cheftestant on that show.  She won me over with her sunny personality and southern-based comfort foods and came "this close" to winning Season 5 only to be beat out by that year's Top Chef, Hosea Rosenberg.  Poor Carla—had she stuck to cooking what she knew instead of going off in a different direction, she would have nailed it.

Not to be deterred, Carla came back for more kitchen fun and frolic on Season 8 – All Stars – but was eliminated in episode 13 of 16.  Dammit!  Seems to me though that she won "Fan Favorite" somewhere along the line and although it's not the same as winning the big show, it will do. She was certainly one of my favorites from both seasons.

It was on Season 5 that we learned that Carla's catchphrase, Hootie Hoo!, was created as a way that Carla and her husband could locate each other more easily when out in public.  It probably beats the heck out of yelling "Matthew!  Hey Matthew" (her husband's name) in a store filled most likely with several other Matthews.  I may have to try that with my husband, Andy.

And perhaps capitalizing on her newfound popularity, she became one of five co-hosts on ABC's TV show, The Chew, that premiered in 2011.  Carla, along with fellow chefs Mario Batali and Michael Symon, natural food foodist and author Daphne Oz and host Clinton Kelly (he of What Not To Wear Fame), chat about food and entertaining and decorating and everything in between, Monday through Friday, much to the delight of their collective fans. 

No doubt these same fans – like me – were giddy when Carla published her first cookbook, Cooking with Love (how appropriate for our theme, right?) and then her follow up, Carla's Comfort Foods:  Favorite Dishes from Around the World.  I must confess that I do not yet own the comfort food book, but no worries, I will undoubtedly acquire it soon.  Maybe as early as this afternoon? 

So many of Carla's recipes sounded so good that it was hard to settle but ultimately, I decided on Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Root Vegetable Ragout.  What Andy and I both loved about this dish is that it tasted great plus made us feel somewhat heart-healthy.  The pork was marinated in orange juice and you can't go wrong with roasted root vegetables tossed with healthy herbs.  The fact that I also made a chocolate cake for dessert from another cookbook is beside the point.  It's Valentine's Day people.  Time to indulge!

Compared to selecting Carla's pork and vegetable ragout, selecting just the right chocolate dessert for Valentine's Day was an exercise in torture.  I have several chocolate books and went through each of them very carefully but my eyes started to glaze over and I was in danger of becoming overwhelmed.  I mean, one recipe was for a Sachertorte and damn, while this is one good dessert (made famous in Austria), the assembly made this a no go.  Same with a few other recipes.

At then at long last, I came across this easy but delicious recipe for Cocoa Cream Cake from the cookbook The Big Chocolate Cookbook, published in 1968.  Baked in a loaf pan, this cake is similar to a pound cake except it contains cream instead of butter making it much lighter and therefore healthier, right?  Exactly.

And so after slicing and dicing and sifting and folding, Andy and I ended up with one lovely dinner for our Valentine's Day repast.  And the bonus is that we have leftovers.  Yum!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Root Vegetable Ragout – Serves 6

Note:  You will need to marinate the pork for at least 2 hours.

For the pork:

*2 whole pork tenderloins (each about ¾ pound)

½ cup fresh orange juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1 tablespoon honey

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil

For the ragout:

2 medium carrots

2 medium parsnips

1 small rutabaga

1 medium turnip

1 medium Yukon gold potato

2 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

1 small yellow onion cut into ¼-inch dice

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

½ cup Chicken Stock (page 54) or store-bought unsalted chicken broth

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped

Freshly grated zest of 1 lemon

*And now a word from Ann about the pork tenderloins:  I am not a fan of pre-wrapped tenderloins that are injected with up to 12% saline solution.  Sure, it makes the pork last longer but in my opinion, it screws with the flavor.  Unfortunately, the number of grocery stores that carry non-treated pork products (even chops) is shrinking.  Luckily, Target carries "au naturel" pork and I used that and you should too, if you have the chance.

Back to our directions, start by marinating the pork for at least two hours.  If the pork still has silverskin (the thin silvery white membrane on the meat), trim it off.  Rinse the pork well, then pat dry with paper towels.  Cut each tenderloin crosswise into 2-inch-thick medallions.

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the juice, garlic, mustard, honey and Worcestershire. Add the pork, seal the bag, and turn to coat well.  Seal and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Remove the pork from the marinade and wipe off any excess; discard the marinade.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Heat half of the oil.  Add half the pork and cook, turning once, until well browned, about 2 minutes per side.  Transfer to a half sheet pan.  Repeat with the remaining oil and pork.

Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the pork is medium in the center, 140F, about 13 minutes.  Serve over the Root Vegetable Ragout and drizzle with the pan juices.

Ann's Notes:  I could have sworn that we had a jar of Gulden's (spicy mustard) in the fridge but we did not.  Gulden's was my dad's favorite mustard but when I was growing up, we could only get it when we visited my grandma in New Jersey.  Naturally, we stocked up on that and everything else my hometown grocery stores didn't carry.  I tell you what, I still chuckle every time I think about how low to the ground the back of that car was on the way home!  Anyway, without Gulden's, I was forced to use Grey Poupon which was fine even if it wasn't quite correct.

Also, in the perfect culinary world, I would have either roasted the vegetables first at 425F before turning down the oven to 350F to make the cake and the tenderloins or vice versa.  Note that I said "perfect world."  In reality, I wanted to get the cake out of the way first so I did and then turned the oven up to 425F to roast the veggies since they took a while and then turned down the oven to make the tenderloins.  And this is why Carla Hall is on TV and I am not!

As to the vegetables, leave ample time to slice and dice your way to a ½-inch dice, making them as even as possible to ensure consistent roasting. 

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Peel the carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, turnip, and potato and cut them into ½-inch dice.  Combine them on a half sheet pan, toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and season with salt.  Spread the vegetables in a single layer.

Roast, stirring and rotating the pan occasionally, until tender and golden, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Heat the remaining ½ tablespoon oil.  Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the butter until it melts, then stir in the roasted vegetables.  Add the chicken stock and season with salt and pepper.  Simmer until the stock thickens and coats the vegetables, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the parsley, thyme, and lemon zest.  Serve hot or warm.

Ann's Note:  My grocery store moved a lot of the produce section around (when I wasn't looking) and so I had to work hard to find the rutabagas.  And although I am no expert, I have cooked with this vegetable enough that what I bought didn't look like a rutabaga but it was under the "Rutabaga" sign so I brought it home.  And then I cut it and was definitely puzzled as the texture was nothing like a regular rutabaga.  So I used it sparingly and that was probably best because it tasted kind of crunchy—sort of like jicama only not.  So I don't know what it was but it was actually pretty good!  Meanwhile, Carla says to use one and only one Yukon gold potato and that is one potato too few so I made up for the lack of rutabaga by adding another potato.  So sue me!

Cocoa Cream Cake – makes a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan)

1 cup heavy cream

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ cups sifted flour

1 cup sugar

½ cup cocoa

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Butter a loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 inches) and dust with cocoa.

Whip the cream until it is stiff.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together.  Sift gradually over the batter, folding as you sift.  Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake in a 350F over for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the cake is springy to the touch and shrinks from the side of the pan.  Remove to a cake rack, and after 10 minutes turn the cake out to cool. 

Serve this with sherbet or ice cream or use it as a base for any dessert, preferably one topped with chocolate sauce.

"I Like Food, Food Tastes Good - In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands" - Pasta Bolognese for Grammy Award Night!

Date I made this recipe:  February 8, 2015 – Grammy night!

I Like Food, Food Tastes Good – In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands by Kara Zuaro

Published by:  Hyperion

ISBN:  1-4013-0847-0

Recipe: Pasta Bolognese submitted by John Navin – The Aluminum Group – p. 75-76

So for once I was ahead of the 8-ball and found this recipe a good week before the Grammy's.  And I even made it up in advance, finishing it off Sunday night.  But people, I must confess that I did not watch this year's awards program.  I know, right?

Here's the deal:  Although I like many of the songs that are nominated and I know many of the bands that were featured, both as presenters and performers and winners, I'm at the point where I just feel like I'm watching a circus sideshow. 

First, let's talk (or not) about the outfits.  My gawd in heaven, when Madonna can come in looking like I don't know what wearing a "butt bra" (yup, check out the pictures), then the civilized world as we know it has come to an end.  For whatever reason, the Grammy's bring out the worst fashions in people and I am not limiting my meow moments to just the women because I'm talking to you, Joe Jonas!  WHITE shoes?  Are we kidding??

And then, let me just say it, there was Kanye West, who apparently repeated his "Let me just interrupt your acceptance speech, Taylor Swift," this time going after Beck who beat out Beyonce for Album of the Year.  What IS it with Kanye and Beyonce anyway?  News reports differ – he was kidding/not kidding - but regardless, you don't see Oscar contenders doing that, now do you?  No, you do not!  And speaking of which, to compare and contrast, Sunday night was also the night for the BAFTA Awards (British version of the Oscars) and let me tell you, when a real Prince (William) shows up, albeit via video broadcast, you do not wear a dress resembling a crocheted toilet paper cover, circa 1950, do you Rhianna!  (Goggle crotched toilet paper cover Barbie.)

And seeing as how I can read and reread and watch and re-watch and judge and judge some more all the celebrity photos on the internet the next day, why tune in for real?  Exactly.

Secondary reason for not watching?  Because the movie,  Marvel (comics) The Avengers, was on at the same time.  I am not a Marvel comic gal (Superman was a DC Comic) but I have seen all the Iron Man movies (Marvel) and am quite enamored with a new ABC show, Marvel's Agent Carter which can be seen on  Tuesday nights at 9, 8 Central Time.  I LOVE Peggy Carter.  I especially love seeing her kick the crap out of the evil men she encounters because she is just a super, super agent!  But.  I do feel like I'm missing something by not knowing my Marvel characters and back stories so when the opportunity came up to tune in to The Avengers, it was a no-brainer choice.

Okay, then, so now that we've established why I played hokey, let's talk about this book.  I am quite chuffed to say that I've heard of/listened to several of the bands listed here which is quite the accomplishment because these groups are not exactly getting a ton of playing time on pop radio stations.  But where they are being played is on Minnesota Public Radio's alternative station, the one, the only, 89.3 The Current.  The Current just celebrated 10 years on the air.  The Current also experienced a little kerfuffle a couple weeks ago when they laid off one of my (and others) favorite DJ's and I'm still trying to get over it but in the meantime, this is the station I listen to all day, every day.

The Current format is pretty fun—a few top 40 hits (although not many), a lot of alternative, garage and indie bands, and then there are moments where the DJ's just play whatever the hell they want and so one minute you can hear Frank Sinatra, the next, Curt Cobain, and one fine afternoon, The Osmond Brothers.  When the Osmonds came on, I was so psyched to hear a band from my middle-youth years that I almost drove my car off the road.  Now THAT is fine radio programming, people!

As to the cookbook, here's a sample of bands you might know along with their recipes:

• Calexico (Tofu Scramble – p. 6)
• Death Cab for Cutie (Veggie Sausage and Peanut Butter Sandwich – p. 64)
• Franz Ferdinand (Lemon Ginger Flapjacks – p. 209)
• My Morning Jacket (The "You Can Care if You Wanna" Sandwich – p. 71)
• Pelican (Oatmeal Cake – p. 224)
• The Decemberists (Oh, how I love this group) (Pork Loin with Poblano Chilies – p. 77)
• The Hold Steady (Midwestern-Style Bratwurst – p. 81)
• The Violent Femmes (Wild Boar Ragu – p. 95)
• They Might Be Giants (Countrypolitan (drink) – p. 193)

And so on and so on.  If nothing else, I have the makings for my next playlist!  But alas, I could not possibly make all 105 recipes from this book or I'd be here all day and then some.  So after careful perusal, and the sad elimination of Nick Query's (from The Decemberists) recipe because it involved peppers (see my last blog for a word about hot peppers), the votes were in and the Grammy Award Recipe of the Night went to...Pasta Bolognese from John Navin of The Aluminum Group.  Congratulations! (Winners, let's get some photos. Losers, there are no losers, only those who did not win.  And see also Kayne.  But I digress...)

All right then:  The Aluminum Group...discuss!  Per my friend, and yours, Wikipeida, The Aluminum Group is an "American pop group from Chicago, Illinois, centered on brothers John and Frank Navin."  Their sound is sort of reminiscent of 80's songs in that it's got that lounge sound to it yet it's not.  This cookbook probably said it best though, in that they "make shimmering synth-pop."  So there you go – rather hard to describe but fun to listen to.   Sadly, The Current does not list them in their playlists.  This must be rectified.

Apparently, these brothers really enjoy cooking and it shows in this classic Bolognese sauce that I selected for the Grammy Awards repast.  This was yummy! 

Unlike a regular  tomato-based pasta sauce, Bolognese differs in several regards:  it is meat-heavy, often involving several cuts of meat; it can, as this recipe did, involve cream and butter, and spices are non-existent.  You want basil or oregano, go find yourself another sauce. 

Another thing that is important to know about Bolognese sauce is that not only is it meat-heavy, it is heavy, period and so don't plan to serve this up with a "petite" pasta like Angel hair or you will be crying and likely wiping sauce stains off your pants. A light pasta will "crumble" under the weight of this sauce.  The brothers suggested spaghetti but for whatever reason, I am just not a huge spaghetti fan as I find it to be rather dull compared to other pastas and so I opted for rigatoni, those very large tubes that pair well with a heavy sauce. 

Now, in order to do justice to a Bolognese sauce, you must plan to simmer this for a few hours – in this case, three.  And I tell you what, I'm waiting for the day when an invention is created where I can put my sauce on the stove, leave my house to run errands, and still come home to find the structure still standing (i.e. not burned down!).  Until that happens, I carved out three hours and did other things around the house.

In closing ("I'd like to thank Grammy voters for this award..."), here's what The Aluminum Group's John Navin had to say about this recipe:

"okay, so this is one of the finest and most classic pasta sauces in the world!!!  you go buy a couple of bottles of a good red Tuscan wine, a baguette of crusty Italian bread, whip up this sauce – and man, man-oh-man, you can't lose, in fact, you'll instantly charm the pants (or skirt) off the one you're with, seriously!"

We are charmed, for sure.

Pasta Bolognese – Serves 4

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons of finely minced onion

2 tablespoons of finely minced celery

2 tablespoons of finely minced carrots

¾ pound ground veal

1 cup of organic whole milk

1 cup of dry white wine

One (28-ounce) can of diced tomatoes

1 pound spaghetti

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt

Heat the butter in a sauce pan and add the onion, celery, and carrots, and

cook for approximately 6 minutes. Add the ground veal and sauté for another 3 minutes.  Add milk and bring to a simmer, continuing until the milk evaporates and only the clear fat remains.  Add white wine and repeat simmering process, until the wine has evaporated.  Ann's Note:  The milk evaporated pretty quickly but I can't recall how long it took.  Ten minutes?  The wine was harder to judge because it is clear to begin with and so who knows how long to simmer?  Maybe 10-15?

Add the tomatoes and their juices and simmer at very, very low heat, covered for 3 hours.

When cooking your pasta, reserve about half a cup of the pasta water to add back when you're mixing the Bolognese sauce with the pasta – a little water helps to distribute the sauce evenly.  Sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan and kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.  Do not pepper the sauce while cooking, 3 hours of simmering turns pepper bitter!

Buon appetito!  Con amor.  Il Aluminum Gruppo!  Ciao!  Baci!  (Good eating – or eat well – with love, The Aluminum Group.  Bye!  Kisses!

"Betty Crocker's All-Time Favorites" - Fiesta Tamale Pie

Date I made this recipe:  January 26, 2015

Betty Crocker's All-Time Favorites by Betty Crocker

Published by:  Golden Press

© 1971; Third Printing 1972

Purchased at Hennepin County Library Used Book Sale

Recipe:  Fiesta Tamale Pie – p. 18

Welcome to the Battle of the Betty's!

In this corner, weighing in at a whopping 94 years of culinary experience, the one, the only, the author of "Big Red," the most beloved cookbook ever, Betty Crocker!  [Crowd goes wild].

And in this corner, the newcomer restaurant on the block, the "red-headed stepchild" of Psycho Suzi's, a "bitchin'" Minneapolis restaurant, Betty Danger's Country Club:  a country club on crack! [Crowd goes wild].

Last weekend, my husband and I girded our loins and tried out the new restaurant on the block, Betty Danger's Country Club:  a country club on crack. Betty's is the third restaurant opened by Leslie Bock in the up-and-coming Northeast (or Nordeast, as the natives call it) neighborhood of Minneapolis.  Just down the street is Leslie's first restaurant, the crazy-fun, tiki-centric Psycho Suzi's and Donny Dirk's Zombie Den.  All three of these restaurants can be visited by hopping on the – I love this – Tiki Tram!  Leslie is just a creative genius.

 Betty's, which just opened in late December, sports, among other things, a Ferris wheel (called, The Danger) on the corner of its lot.  Should you be so inclined (spring, summer and fall), you can dine in one of the cars as the wheel turns.  Lit up in country club colors of pink and green, the Ferris wheel is visible for miles, making your GPS temporarily obsolete.  That Betty—how thoughtful.

For the golf-minded, Betty's provides Betty Danger's Monetary Correction Golf Course, a "put-put" golf course located on the property.  And for the literary and library set, there's Betty Danger's Library dining room, filled to the rim with people reading eating and drinking themselves silly amongst books and horse and hound wallpaper that makes you feel like you should be the proud owner of an English estate...except you're not.   For now.

While all three restaurants serve up their own brand of theme food, Betty's gives us the flavors from the mythical village of "Mexampton" – country club food with a Mexican twist.

It is here where the Battle of the Betty begins. For lo, though I do like a bit of Mexican flavors here and there, Betty Danger's lived up to her name, giving me a painful case of heartburn.  And the thing is, nothing in and of itself was that hot, such that we had to gulp pitchers of beer, it was just that everything came with a pepper...or 12...causing a slow burn.

And so this kids, is what made momma reach out to her other Betty, Betty Crocker.  You cannot go wrong with a recipe by Betty C.  You cannot.  Betty C. doesn't make a lasagna with Pepper Jack Cheese.  Betty C. would find this unseemly.  Betty D. might do something so foolish as that, but Betty C. would never.

Betty C. would also never put jalapenos on a Sloppy Joe (Sloppy Wog) or in a pot pie or in a shrimp salad.  But of course, all bets are off when you live in Mexampton.  Mexamptonites apparently love peppers; "regular" (not that there is such a thing) Hamptonites probably do not.

And lest you think it was just me, my husband, who has a high tolerance for heat, was rather exasperated with the menu as well, particularly with whatever (hot) dip came with our basket of fries.  I honestly thought the man was going to throw down his napkin in disgust and make like a tree and leaf, but he stayed the course.

So when we got home, I started searching for a recipe that would soothe my soul and my ravaged esophagus and of course, Betty had the answer.  Betty's Fiesta Tamale Pie is so innocuous you could probably feed it to a newborn and it would go down, stay down. Betty C. only uses 2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder.  Betty C. does not use jalapenos.  Betty C. recommends you top this concoction with shredded American cheese.  That's practically Velveeta, people!  Betty C. does not believe in shredding our stomachs.  Betty C. is clearly looking out for us.  Betty D. is giving us a wild ride.

This cookbook – All-Time Favorites – is full of similar recipes sure to please and comfort and soothe and I don't think you can go wrong with anything here but I must say, it was rather hilarious to see the recipe for the Fiesta Tamale Pie.  Nothing against Betty D. because the food was good if not a little spicy, but an entire meal of that is just asking for it.  "Danger" is right!  I even started eyeballing my martini to see if that really was an olive in my drink or just another pepper in disguise.

So:  for an easy, no-spice meal, go with Betty C.  For a fun time in the city's new hotspot, go with Danger.  Betty Danger. 

Fiesta Tamale Pie – 6 to 8 servings

1 pound ground beef

¼ pound bulk pork sausage

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can (16 ounces) tomatoes

1 can (16 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained

20 to 24 pitted ripe olives

1 ½ teaspoons salt

2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup milk

2 eggs, well beaten

1 cup shredded American cheese

Heat oven to 350F.  In a large skillet, cook and stir ground beef, pork sausage, onion and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender.  Drain off fat.  Stir in the tomatoes, corn, olives and seasonings and heat to boiling.

Pour into an ungreased baking dish, 8x8x2 or 11 ½ x 7 ½ x 1 ½ inches, or a 2-quart casserole.  Mix cornmeal, milk and eggs and pour over meat mixture.  Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake 50 to 60 minutes or until golden brown.

Note:  The meat mixture can be prepared ahead of time and kept, covered, in the refrigerator.

"Colorful Louisiana Cuisine in Black and White" - Shortnin' Bread and Turkey Gumbo - for MLK, Jr. Day

Date I made this recipe:  January 19, 2015

Colorful Louisiana Cuisine in Black and White by Bibby Tate and Ethel Dixon

Published by:  Pelican Publishing Company

© 1988; Third printing  July 1990

Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick's Cookbooks, NYC

Recipes:  Shortnin' Bread (B) – p. 19 and Turkey Gumbo (W) – p. 37

This is one of my more unique cookbooks and entirely fitting for Martin Luther King Day as it combines recipes of two women, one black and one white.  Bibby Tate (whose recipes are denoted with a "W" for white), was a descendent of a Louisiana plantation family who owned slaves.  Ethel Dixon (whose recipes are denoted with a "B" for black), descended from slaves.  Together, they published this book, filled with tons of recipes that will make you hungry.  Really hungry.

The timing for me using this book could not be better as one of the big films of the year – and an Oscar contender for Best Picture – is "Selma," that tells the story of how Martin Luther King, Jr. organized a march from Montgomery, AL to Selma, AL, 50 years ago this year, in an attempt to secure voting rights for all blacks in the state of Louisiana and beyond.  And although the vast majority of marchers were black, many from the white community risked life and limb to join in the fight for equality. 

Normally, I limit myself to one recipe per cookbook but seeing as how people of all color joined the march, I thought I would make two dishes, one of Ethel's and one of Bibby's.  Although a few recipes in this book gave me pause ("Smothered Sqirrel???"), there are 338 pages of glorious recipes sure to please.

And so there I was, all of 19 pages in, when I found my first recipe:  Shortnin' Bread.  Many of you who are my age might remember singing that song, Shortnin' Bread as kids, but the real reason I had to make this recipe – just had to – was all because of one woman and one woman only:  "Ethel Mae Potter (We Never Forgot Her)."

Ethel Mae Potter was TV character Ethel Mertz's maiden name on the show, I Love Lucy.  Actually, Ethel was given a couple of different middle names and maiden names over the course of the show but this one was most memorable.

In season four, Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel motored to LA so that Ricky could be in a movie.  Along the way, they stopped in Albuquerque, NM, so that Ethel could visit her hometown.  This episode remains one of my favorites.  Turns out Ethel told a teeny lie to her dad and hometown neighbors, alluding to the fact that she, not Ricky, was the big star.  And as it also turns out, the entire town always thought that she was destined for greatness as well.  As Ethel's father, Will, explained in a hilarious moment, the local theater marquee now reads "Ethel Mae Potter, We Never Forgot Her."   When daddy explained "Ethel Mae's very big in Albuquerque," Ethel's husband Fred, always the fast one with the quip said "She's big everywhere!"  Love me that Fred Mertz.

So of course, with Ethel Mae now back home (in triumph), she was asked to perform as the headliner for a variety show.  And one of the two numbers she sang is – wait for it – "Shortnin' Bread." 

And this is how I came to select one of today's recipes.  Thank you, Ethel Mae!

I don't know as I've ever had shortnin' bread so I wasn't sure what to expect when I made this recipe but what you get is a rather dense cake that doesn't rise much (and it wouldn't since it doesn't contain baking powder) and is not very sweet.  It reminded me of cornbread which, unless you add sugar to it, is pretty bland (in my northern opinion).  Not in a bad way "bland," just bland!

Since there are only two of us, I decided to make just half a recipe which was fine and I somehow knew that the baking time needed to be adjusted from 60 minutes to about 30.  But I lost track of time and so the bread ended up being a little bit more golden than I would have liked.  Still good, but very golden.  The instructions say to serve with jam or jelly but I used honey instead to combat the aforementioned "blandness."  (It's the word of the day.)

Turning our attention to turkey...for the first time ever, I happened to have a turkey breast carcass in the refrigerator, left over from my New Year's Eve dinner.  So last week, I made up the gumbo base, sans the shrimp, and put it in my freezer.  I can promise you that this combination of "recipe calling for turkey carcass" + my having a carcass on hand = not likely to be seen again until asteroids pound the earth, destroying civilization.  Well, maybe.

But lo, though I had the main ingredient, once again the making of this gumbo was fraught with peril.  As you will see, this recipe doesn't give ingredient amounts, leaving me to guess at the right combinations.  There are several other gumbo recipes in this book but each one is so different, using different ingredients, and that made it hard for me to determine whether or not I could "borrow" ingredient amounts and instructions.  Further, a bona fide roux usually involves fat, flour and liquid but this instruction said to use flour and liquid only.  Soooo...fat, no fat?  I decided to use the flour and liquid as directed and hope for the best.

As to the spices, I started with ¼ teaspoon of each, then tasted, then added another ¼ teaspoon more.  And I added the entire can of Rotel tomatoes without draining them  - in other words, I was living life on the edge!

All in all, this recipe turned out okay and the flavors were good and yet, this recipe also tasted a little bland.  You can adjust that by just adding a bit of salt and pepper to taste before serving.

The bigger problem though, was that I thought this was a bit watery and the only way to solve that – I think – was to either add more okra (which is often used as a thickener), which I did not have on hand, or to add more roux.  But since I didn't know what to do with my roux in the first place, I'm not sure adding more would have made a difference.  Hopefully, some great southern cook is reading this and will let me know just where this thing went south, pun intended.  It was a tasty dish but I felt it was missing a little je ne sais quoi.

As suggested, I added shrimp and the shrimp was okay (actually, some of it was freezer-burned even though I had just purchased it the day before) but I think it would have been even better with pieces of leftover turkey.  Next time.

Turkey Gumbo – Serving size not given - *You'll need a leftover turkey carcass for this!

1 turkey carcass

Flour (Ann's Note:  about 1 tablespoon)

1 chopped bell pepper

1 can Rotel [tomatoes – traditional mixture]

Basil (Ann's Note:  about ½ teaspoon or more)

Thyme (Ann's Note:  about ½ teaspoon or more)

Rosemary (Ann's Note:  about ½ teaspoon or more)

Okra (Ann's Note:  amount not given, instructions not given so I used 4 small diced okra)

Salt and pepper to taste

Ann's Note:  As I explained in my narrative above, exact amounts were not given so season this mixture to taste.  As to the Rotel, all the recipe said was "Rotel" and like many things, there are several varieties of these canned tomatoes.  Use the "traditional" mix.  I also added the can without draining it and have no idea if that is correct or not!

This bears repeating:  Unclear instructions annoy me!

Put whole carcass in big stewing pot and boil in water with chopped onion until meat falls off bones.  (Ann's Note:  I almost boiled away my broth so keep an eye on this pot.  I think I reduced my stock to about half and that actually seemed about right but again, who knows?)

Remove the bones and make a roux by taking some of your seasoned water and mixing with flour, or use one of the prepared roux like "Iron Pot."  (Ann's Notes:  Okay, folks, traditional roux is fat + flour + liquid but do you see a mention of fat here?  No, you do not.) So I followed the directions and mixed flour and liquid until I felt the mixture looked like a roux; not that I know what a roux looks like. 

Return mixture to the pot and add chopped bell pepper, a can of Rotel, chopped basil, thyme, okra, rosemary, salt and pepper.  Cover and let simmer at least an hour.  Add crab meat, fresh or frozen, and shrimp that has not been cooked before.  You may also add gumbo, crabs, and oysters.  Cook till shrimp are done and serve over rice.

Shortnin' Bread – makes a 9 x 12 loaf pan

2 cups flour

2 ½ tsps baking soda

1 pinch salt

1 stick butter

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup sweet milk

Cream eggs and butter.  Add remaining ingredients.  Oil and flour a 9 x 12 loaf pan.  Pour batter in pan.  Bake in 350 oven for about 1 hour.  Let cook.  Cut and serve with jam or jelly.

  

"The A-Z of Casserole Cooking" - Pork Chop Casserole

Date I made this recipe:  January 18, 2015

The A-Z of Casserole Cooking by Jennie Reekie

Published by:  Galahad Books

© 1976

Recipe:  Pork Chop Casserole – p. 54

Like most people, I hate to waste food and so for two weeks now, I've been contemplating what to do with three Idaho potatoes I bought for my New Year's Eve dinner that I never made.  I thought this would be easier; it wasn't.

See, it's not like I have 100 recipe books about potatoes sitting around my house and so I had to go through my collection to find a dish that would just float my boat.  Ten books later, I was beginning to despair. Surely every recipe book had at least one potato recipe, right?

Well yes...but no.  I was in the mood for a main dish but instead found recipes for side dishes, potato salad (not my husband's favorite), and a few for soups but I was running out of patience as nothing clicked.  I kept picturing a recipe for something simple like Shepherd's Pie but alas, if one existed, it was not in any of the books I pulled off the shelf.  I even turned to an Indian cookbook thinking that surely a dish existed with something like potatoes and peas and curry or potatoes and cauliflower but again, no.  No, no, no.

And then finally – finally – I found this A-Z casserole book and praise Jesus, at last I had a recipe that used up my three potatoes.  And it was easy. And it was tasty.  And hearty.  It worked.  It wasn't gourmet fare by any means but it worked.

Except...I needed three hours to cook the thing.  Well, this almost put me over the edge but I was determined to make this meal and make it tonight.  And so at half-time during the Packers v. Seahawks playoff game of which we will NEVER speak, I went to the grocery store and was back in time for the first play of the second half.  When your recipe calls for only a few ingredients, you can do things like that.  Plus, I even had time to gas up the car!

Upon arriving home, I turned on the TV in my kitchen and got to work:  slice the potatoes (thin), dice an onion, brown the chops and then open cans.  Combine.  Then put it all in an oven, watch the game, have a meltdown, pour a cocktail and serve the dinner.

Easiest dinner ever, especially during these "trying" times.  This may not have been the fanciest dish ever but it did the trick:  comfort me with comfort food.

Had I not been so focused on using up my potatoes, several other recipes in this book would have done nicely...well, except for "Creamed Kidneys."  This book was originally published in Hong Kong and definitely had a British flair to it.  All recipes were fairly simple and ingredients were listed by metric/imperial and "American" measurements.

PS—Any book titled The A-Z of Casserole Cooking had to be spot-checked to make sure it contained foods from A-Z and it passed with flying colors:  Almonds to Zucchini.  As the Brits would say: "Smashing!"

Enjoy.

Pork Chop Casserole – Serves 4

2 tablespoons dripping

4 pork chops (loin or spare rib)

14 oz can tomatoes

15 ¾ oz can baked beans

1 onion, chopped

1 ½ lb. potatoes, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

¼ teaspoon dried mixed herbs (Ann's Note:  I used Herbs de Provence)

Heat the dripping in a frying pan and fry the pork chops on each side for 5 minutes.  Put half the tomatoes, with the juice from the can, baked beans, onion and potatoes in layers in a casserole.  Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with half the herbs.  Lay the pork chops on top, then cover with the remaining ingredients in layers, finishing with the potatoes and seasoning.  Cover the casserole and cook in a cool oven, 300F for 3 hours.

"The Italian Slow Cooker" & "Camille Glenn's Old-Fashioned Christmas Cookbook" - Lentil Soup and Good Fortune Tea Cake - Lucky Foods for the New Year

Date I made these recipes:  January 1, 2015 – New Year's Day

The Italian Slow Cooker by Michele Scicolone

Published by:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

ISBN:  978-0-547-00303-0

Recipe:  Sicilian Lentil, Vegetable, and Pasta Soup – p. 32

Camille Glenn's Old-Fashioned Christmas Cookbook by Camille Glenn, author of The Heritage of Southern Cooking

Published by: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

ISBN:  1-56512-102-1

Purchased at Arc's Value Village

Recipe:  Good Fortune Tea Cake – p. 200-203

Well, Happy New Year, everyone!

As is usual and customary, I decided to make something with beans (or lentils, as the case may be) to bring good fortune to our household for the coming year.  And then I found this recipe for Good Fortune Tea Cake and thought "why not," right?  Can there ever be an abundance of good fortune?  I think not.

And though we are far away from baseball season, let me use a baseball analogy for these recipes:  the soup was a swing and a miss as it lacked any flavor whatsoever, but the tea cake was a home run.  This concludes my baseball analogy.

Let's start with the Italian Slow Cooker cookbook.  I have a couple of books by Michele Scicolone and so when I saw this one, I thought it would probably be fantastic because her stuff usually is.  But I sensed going in that this recipe would not be another home run hit based on two things:  1) using water instead of chicken or vegetable broth to cook these lentils.  Water doesn't have much flavor, folks.  Broth does.  And 2) the instructions call for you to add salt and pepper but only after cooking the soup for 7 hours.  Um...no.  Believe me, I salted and I peppered and it was still one very bland meal.

Normally, I never alter a recipe for this blog because I want to evaluate the thing "as is," but this time around,  after tasting it midway through, I added a lot of Italian spices.  Still, this only upped the flavor profile (such that it was) a little bit.  And I should have really cheated and used chicken broth.  Live and learn, folks.  Live and learn.

The author also suggests that we add Pecorino Romano to the dish which is always a good idea, but in my book, the flavor should be there before adding any accoutrements.  So for this boo-boo, I'm going to have to ding our author. Nothing personal, Michele!

As to other recipes in this book, many sounded good but I was stuck on the lentil thing to bring us good luck and so there's that.  Still, two good things came out of these experiments from New Year's Eve (previous posts) and New Year's Day:  first, deep down, I'm a bread stuffing versus cornbread dressing gal, and by bread stuffing, I mean my mother's recipe that includes bread, onions, celery and sage.  No need to get all crazy about this stuff.  Second,  as between lentils and the black eyed peas used in Hoppin' John, another New Year's Day southern favorite, it's lentils every time.  I just don't get the point of black eyed peas.  Do not. 

But the cake.  Oh people, THE CAKE!  My gawd, it was awesome and so unexpected!  And hilariously, it was from a southerner so I figure that balances out my previous attempts with cornbread dressing and Hoppin' John.

And although I intended that just my husband and I partake of this incredible edible, we were invited over to my mother-in-law's for a New Year's Day open house and so we came bearing gifts.  There's nothing like the pressure of serving all these people a cake we've never made or had yet to taste but they swooned at first bite. 

I suppose I could just tell you all that the making of this cake was all so simple but that's not how these things go.  So here's how this thing went:  I was too busy cooking on New Year's Eve to get around to making the cake the night before so I asked my husband if he would take out the butter and eggs on New Year's Day to bring them up to room temp (as directed) so I could make the cake that morning.  But when I woke up that morning, I had a near-migraine and so he ended up making the entire cake.  And for the record, no, this was not a hangover migraine.  We ate dinner kind of late on New Year's Eve, and as soon as we sat down, I was wiped out.  In fact, I only had half of my usual and customary martini and that was all the "good cheer" I was able to manage that night.  I fell asleep at 10:30 and so Andy had to ring in the New Year all by himself and that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So I don't know why I had the headache the next day but it was awful.  And so I pressed  Andy into service to help out and am I a lucky gal or what that this man likes to bake?  And this recipe is a bit involved so it took some doing.  But to paraphrase the old Shake and Bake commercial "Here's how I helped:"  I pointed to the cupboards containing the sifter and the grater as well as some of the ingredients he needed and had already put out the springform pan he needed the night before so he was all set.  But thereafter, I was on the couch until go time.  But PS—I normally like the smell of oranges and orange peel but that day, the stuff smelled like that awful Orange Glo stuff you use to remove stick adhesive and if it wasn't zero outside, I would have opened a window to clear the air.  Sorry, Orange Glo people.

This recipe makes enough for either two 8 ½-inch springform pan's worth of batter or one 10-inch and we went with 10-inch.  And it makes a ton of frosting, not that there's anything wrong with that, but we had more than what was needed seeing as how we made one cake.

This recipe also calls for you to insert randomly two small blanched almonds into the cake batter with the instruction that whoever finds the almond in the piece of cake they are given will have harmony and good fortune in the year ahead.  Well folks, if some is good, more is better, right?  So I bought about a cup's worth of almonds and then blanched them and we put them all throughout the batter so that everybody got good luck.  The New Year is no time to be playing favorites with the roulette wheel of life.

I was also to have purchased 1-2 tiny mirrors to put in the center of the cake(s) and before serving the cake, everybody was to look in the mirror and make a wish.  I hate to tell you but we defied fate and skipped the mirror part.  I figured between the cake's name and the overabundance of almonds, we were good to go.

As to the rest of the cookbook, I may just have to keep this one at the ready for next year's holiday dinners.  I don't normally do that but this cake was so good and the rest of Camille's recipes also sounded so awesome that I just may.  What I loved about this book is that she put together suggested menus for the entire season and sometimes you just cannot beat that. 

So, even though the lentil soup was disappointing, the lentils alone should bring us luck and the addition of the cake into the mix should have put us over the top.

May all good things come your way in 2015.

Spinach Lentil, Vegetable, and Pasta Soup – serves 6

*Ann's Note:  Please consider using at least a half and half mixture of water and broth of your choice.  And spices such as basil, oregano, etc.  The author also suggested you can add a couple of chopped potatoes or two cups chopped green beans, winter squash or spinach leaves.  I used potatoes but they were just too bland for this dish.  Should have gone with the green beans...

1 pound brown lentils, rinsed and picked over

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 large celery rib with leaves, chopped

2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped or 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes

6 cups water (*Don't say you weren't warned)

 1 cup ditalini, tubetti or elbows

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Freshly grated Pecorino Romano

In a large slow cooker, combine the lentils, vegetables, and water.

Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.  (Ann's Note:  I don't think that's enough as my lentils were still a bit al dente.  I tried 8 hours and that was a little better but not by much.)  Add the pasta and salt and pepper to taste.

Cook on high for 30 minutes more, or until the pasta is tender.

Serve hot, sprinkled with the cheese.

Good Fortune Tea Cake – serves 6 to 8 per cake

For the cake

2 cups sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

Zest of ½ navel orange

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 large eggs, separated

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 ½ teaspoons fresh orange joice

1 ½ teaspoons cognac vanilla (see page 29) or 1 tablespoon cognac

2 whole blanched almonds (Ann's Note:  most grocery stores carry slivered blanched almonds but you need them whole.  To do them yourself, pour boiling water over your almonds, just enough to cover and let sit for 1 minute.  Drain, rinse, drain again.  Peel off the skins.  Do not let the almonds sit for too long or they will be soggy.)

For the frosting

½ cup heavy or whipping cream

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 cups sifted confectioner's sugar

¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 ½ teaspoons good-quality pure almond extract, or more to taste

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350F.  Butter two 8 ½-inch springform pans and dust them with flour.  (You can also use one, 10-inch springform pan).  Shake out excess flour and set the pans aside. 

Combine the sugar, lemon zest, and orange zest in a food processor and twirl until the zest is finely grated (or grate the zest by hand and add it to the sugar).

Using an electric mixer, beat the zest mixture and butter together until thoroughly blended.  Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

In another mixing bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder and salt; stir well.  Alternating, add the milk and the flour to the egg mixture.  Do not overbeat.

Add the lemon juice, orange juice, and vanilla and blend carefully.

Beat the egg whites until they hold a stiff peak.  Gently fold a third of the whites into the batter to lighten it.  Then fold in the remaining whites, mixing gently but thoroughly.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans and poke and almond down into the batter of each pan. 

Bake the cakes on the lower rack of the preheated oven until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Watch the cakes carefully – if they overbake they will be dry.  Don't let them cook so long that the cake separates from the sides of the pan – that's too long.

Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 5 minutes.  Then remove them from the pans and set them on wire racks to cool thoroughly before frosting them.

Frost the cakes:  place a small mirror in the center of each cake and frost around the edges to seal it in place.  Then cover the remaining top and sides of the cakes with the frosting.  Place each cake on a stand or platter and arrange a few very small edible flowers around the mirrors.

Before serving the cakes, each guest in turn looks into the mirror and makes a wish.  The person who finds an almond in his slice will have a year of harmony and good fortune – it's a promise!

The author also notes that "This is one of the best cakes I know for its "keeping" qualities.  Store in an airtight container, it will stay moist for days.  (Ann's Note:  this is assuming you have any left!)

To make the frosting, heat the cream in a small saucepan until it is warm. 

Using an electric mixer or food processor, cream the butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt together until smooth.  Slowly add the warm cream, beating until smooth.  Add the almond extract.  If you won't be using the frosting immediately, cover and refrigerate it.

"Thanksgiving Dinner" - Pistachio and Apple Stuffing - New Year's Eve 2014

Date I made this recipe:  December 31, 2014 – New Year's Eve

Thanksgiving Dinner – Recipes, Techniques, and Tips for America's Favorite Celebrations by Antony Dias Blue and Kathryn K. Blue

Published by:  HarperPerennial

ISBN:  0-06-092343-1

Purchased at Goodwill

Recipe:  Pistachio and Apple Stuffing – p. 66

As mentioned in my last post, we sort of skipped over Thanksgiving this year but that didn't stop my cravings for the "real deal."  This craving was helped along when I perused America's Test Kitchen specialty magazine, Slow Cooker Revolution," while waiting in line at the grocery store.  And there, on page 52, was a recipe for Turkey Breast and Gravy made in a crock pot.  Sold!

So then, of course, I had to find recipes for the "go withs," and so came upon this recipe for Pistachio and Apple Stuffing in one of my Thanksgiving cookbooks.  And maybe it's just me, but at this point, all stuffing recipes started sounding the same so that made my job hard.  And then finding something without sausage, (a favorite ingredient) given that I made two Christmas dishes using that ingredient, even harder.

Then there was the age-old question:  "stuffing or dressing, bread or cornbread?"  Over the years, I've observed that if there is one thing that causes family tension during the holidays, it's the "stuffing" issue. 

So for fun, I had a little online chit-chat about this with my attorney friends, "The G's."  We're a group of women attorneys who all met while working on a legal project and became fast friends.  "TEA" opined that she was a bread stuffing gal, always had been, always would be and that it was supposed to be stuffed into the bird, end of discussion. But "Tex," a native Texan, who is also now living there again, said it was dressing and it was made with cornbread and that's all that you needed to know about that. (Except she did share that her momma, who was originally from Baltimore, added oysters to hers and we all agreed that was a bad idea.  In cornbread?  Ew!) Two of the other G's stayed out of the conversation although I suspect that as born and bred Midwestern gals, they would vote for stuffing.  It's what we know.

Now folks, I have made cornbread "dressing" in the past but almost always with mixed results. (I hate to say but Paula Deen's cornbread recipe that I made years ago was awful.  I mean awful.  It called for a sleeve of saltine crackers, making me feel like I was licking a salt lick.  Move over, Bossie!)  And while I sometimes appreciate the texture cornbread adds, I decided that this year, I was a bread gal all the way and that it is indeed better "stuffed" than "dressed," and that all my cookbooks aside, what I really want is my mom's stuffing because it's so good and so basic:  bread, onions, celery and sage.  And honestly, I think that about covers the ingredient list.  But of course, that is not what I made though I wish I had. 

After looking through several cookbooks, I finally decided on this stuffing as it sounded unique and whoa, even somewhat healthy!  I mean, it has apples, it has currants (okay, so they're soaked in brandy) and so what's not good about that?   "An apple a day keeps the doctor at bay!"  And it was good but since I made a turkey breast, I couldn't really stuff the bird and so that disappointed.  Instead, I baked the dish in the oven, turning it into dressing instead of stuffing which defeats the entire purpose but we must do what we must do.

So—things you must know:  the first instruction is to let the currants soak in ¼ cup Calvados or apple brand for one hour.  And thereafter folks, you never see another word about the currants and what to do with them.  Well this irked to no end.  And I didn't realize, until the stuffing/dressing was in the oven for a good 10 minutes, that they were still sitting on my counter, unused.  Surely, we were not meant to soak and stare, were we?  And so for this oversight, I am going to have to "ding" the authors.  (For the record, I believe you incorporate the currents, booze and all, into the stuffing.  Or at least, that was my interpretation!)

Second thing to know:  pistachios are expensive.  Tres cher!  Muy caro!  $$$$!  Luckily, I made half the recipe (a full recipe serves 12) and so the pistachios were half the price but that still came to a whopping $10.00 for just over one cup.  As my dad would have said "That's highway robbery!!" 

Third thing to know:  any time you bake a stuffing versus use it to stuff the bird, it will get drier faster so even though the authors said using the chicken or turkey stock is optional, I recommend you use it.  The mixture was pretty moist without it but the last thing I needed was for this Cadillac-priced stuffing to dry out.

"But other than that, Mrs. Lincoln," the recipe was good and I liked it.  It was certainly different from my mother's and I think that now that I got this dinner out of my system, I can go back to making hers with no regrets left on the table.

And as if these dishes weren't sinful enough, I found a recipe for Creamed Spinach Gratin in O The Oprah Magazine, saved from her November Thanksgiving issue.  And it was fabulous!  Sinfully fabulous.  But I did have to chuckle that this was included in the magazine, given how Oprah is trying to get us all to eat better and all, but at day's end, she is like anybody else:  give me comfort [food] or give me nothing at all!  (And by the way, do note that this dish is made up primarily of healthy spinach.  I mean, between the turkey breast, and the apples and currants in the stuffing, and now this spinach, was I on a healthy roll, or what?  Never mind that you use half and half and two cheeses for the spinach.  It's "dairy."  Balances out the rest.  'Nuff said!)

Pistachio and Apple Stuffing – makes 12 cups

½ cup currants

¼ cup Calvados or apple jack

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

6 cups cubed French bread, crust on

2 cups shelled pistachio nuts (Ann's Note:  prepare for sticker shock!)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

3 celery stalks, trimmed and diced

3 medium onions, coarsely chopped

1 ½ cups sliced mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 teaspoon fresh

¼ teaspoon cayenne

Salt

2 tart apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored and cut into small chucks

Juice of 1 lemon

½ cup Chicken (see page 77) or Turkey (see page 78) Stock (optional)

Place the currants in a small bowl and pour the Calvados or apple jack over them.  Let soak 1 hour.  (Ann's Note:  What we are to then do with these currants is a mystery but I added them to the mixture, booze and all!)

In one or two skillets, heat 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil and brown the bread cubes, turning them several times.  Add more olive oil, as needed.  (Ann's Note:  even though I only made a half recipe, I needed to add more oil several times to prevent sticking and burning.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Toast the nuts for 8 minutes in a single layer on a baking sheet or a jelly-roll pan lined with foil.  Cool and reserve.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Sauté the celery and onions until transparent, about 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms, garlic and seasonings.  Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 3 more minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl.

In another bowl, moisten the apple chunks with the lemon juice.  Add to the onion mixture, and toss to combine.  Add the bread cubs and nuts, and toss again to combine.

Melt the remaining butter in the skillet and dribble it over the stuffing. If you wish, moisten the mixture with chicken stock, but be careful not to let the stuffing become soggy.  Correct seasoning.

Ann's Note:  Did you see any mention of the currants beyond step 1?  Didn't think so!  So put them in before you dribble the butter as it would be a sin to let even a scant amount of Calvados go to waste.

Ann's Note, part 2 – IMPORTANT – Also missing?  So you mix the whole thing together and....then what?  Page 59 tells you how much stuffing mixture to use per pound but since this was a turkey breast, not an entire bird, I had to find other baking instructions.  And so as best as I could tell, bake the stuffing at 325, right alongside your turkey if you are doing that, or alone in the oven if you are using another method for the turkey, for about an hour, just to make sure it's warmed through.  See page 39 for more details.

Advance Preparation:  Can be prepared 1 day ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.  Bring to room temperature before using.