"Gridiron Cookery" & "Gourmet Game Night" - Chili and Oven-Baked Potato Chips with Onion Dip - Super Bowl 51

Date I made this recipe:  Sunday, February 5, 2017 – Super Bowl 51

Gridiron Cookery – The nation's most resourceful hostesses – the wives of football coaches – skilled at taming (and feeding) victory-mad mobs – or reviving a few low-spirited losers – break out 250 and more of their treasured recipes for wonderful food – Edited by Frances S. Daugherty and Aileen C. Brothers

Published by David McKay Company, Inc.

© 1960

Purchased at Barnes and Noble (Used) for a whopping dollar!

Recipe:  Chili – recipe submitted by Mrs. W. W. (Woody) Hayes, [The] Ohio State University – p. 75

Gourmet Game Night – bite-sized, mess-free eating for board-game parties, bridge clubs, poker nights, book groups, and more by Cynthia Nims

Published by Ten Speed Press

ISBN: 978-1-58008-088-0; © 2010

Purchased at Powell's Chicago

Recipe: Oven-Baked Potato Chips with Onion Dip – p. 22-23

Okay then, the Super Bowl was played two weeks ago, and I am obviously behind on all my reporting, but I am happy to say that I managed to make some awesome dishes for the big day (or any day, really):  Chili (what football game would be complete without chili) and Oven-Baked Potato Chips with Onion Dip.  Think "back-to-back" touchdowns."

And of course, the winning recipes came from two winning cookbooks, one old and one new:  Gridiron Cookery, published in 1960, and Gourmet Game Night, published in 2010.  Both books need a bit of explanation and so let's get right to it.

I've heard the term "gridiron" my whole life, usually in the context about talking about college football, but didn't really know what it meant until now.  According to Google, a "gridiron" is a "field for football, marked with regularly spaced parallel lines."  Please file this away for future use.

Gridiron Cookery is a compilation of recipes submitted by (primarily) college coaches' wives, all of whom are referred to in the book as Mrs. [insert husband's first name here] Coaches' Wife, for example  "Mrs. W. W. "Woody" Hayes, [The] Ohio State University," or "Mrs. Hugh Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State University."

This rankles.  Look, I know this was a sign of the [1960's] times, but 160 women submitted recipes for this book and not a one of them was listed by her first name/given name.  Not a one.  And here's a little tidbit of interest:  back then, and for many, many years later, the only time you ever learned that a woman had a first name was when she was widowed or divorced (gasp!) in which case she went by Mrs. Betty Jones.  Ridiculous!

At any rate, so coaches' wives from all over the U.S. and Canada (with a smattering from NFL coaches' wives] submitted recipes and you would think that a book about the college gridiron would feature some of the more prominent football schools but you would be wrong.  As a for instance, and please shout out if you recognize these teams from a Bowl Game appearance:  Furman University; Ferris Institute; The College of the Holy Cross; Springfield College, and Susquehanna University. 

You can't, can you?  No worries, reader, because neither can I.  I have never heard of any of these colleges much less of the prowess of their football teams.

On the other hand, I am well acquainted with these college football powerhouses: 

• University of Alabama coached by Paul (Bear) Bryant, with recipe submitted by Mrs. Paul Bryant, no first name given!
• University of Mississippi (a/k/a "Ole Miss" and by the way, "ole" is not the Spanish "ole" but rather "old" as in "Old Miss.")
• University of Nebraska
• University of  Wisconsin
• University of Michigan (Patriot's quarterback, Tom Brady, is an alum)
• Michigan State University
• [The] Ohio State University coached by Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes

And this is just a short list! 

Other interesting cookbook tidbits:

• Today's Super Bowl battle pitted University of Michigan graduate, Tom Brady, against Boston College graduate, Matt Ryan but only the University of Michigan was featured in this cookbook.  Hmmm...foreshadowing of the game results? (Hint:  Matt Ryan got creamed.)
• The proper way to talk about Ohio State University is to say The (pronounced "thee," never, ever "thuh.") Ohio State University because that is the official name.  I'm serious.
• Speaking of The Ohio State University, Head Coach Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes was a household name during my prime college football-watching years.  In fact, he was the enemy to my Michigan State Spartans and the University of Michigan Wolverines.  Woody was a great coach which is why I recognized the name right off the bat and I was happy to make the Mrs. Woody Hayes' (given name is Susan) most excellent chili recipe.
• This is odd:  throughout the book, I would see often a listing such as "Mrs. Henry R. (Red) Sanders" then on the next line "Formerly University of California at Los Angeles."  Now kids, there is no such thing as a "former" University of California at Los Angeles.  The school continues to be called UCLA (University of California Los Angeles), just as Harvard was, is, and will always be Harvard University and not "Formerly Harvard University," perish the thought!
• Also:  Seems to me that a book that includes a list of Contributors in alphabetical order and a [recipe] Index in alphabetical order should also include a list of "contributing" colleges and/or NFL in alphabetical order but they didn't because that would be too easy?  Had such a list existed, I could have ascertained quite easily that Boston College was not on the list rather than flipping through page after page to see if I spotted the name. 
• There are a handful of recipes submitted by NFL coaches' wives and I learned the following:
• The Los Angeles Chargers (as listed here) started as the Los Angeles Chargers, then they moved to San Diego where they played for many years, and are now on deck to become the Los Angeles Chargers again this coming season.  (Meanwhile, back at the ranch, there are also the Los Angeles Rams who started in LA, went to St. Louis for many years, and are also back in LA.  I cannot keep up with this stuff, I cannot.  To this day, I will always think of the Colts as being the Baltimore Colts and not the Indianapolis Colts because that is just wrong and it messes with my head!)
• The current-day New York Jets went by the name "New York Titans" from 1960-1962.  I did not know that and so there goes the theory "Once you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way from your first cigarette to your last dying day!"  (Lyric from the Jet Song, from the musical/movie West Side Story).
• And then there's the Cleveland Browns and this is hilarious:  the Browns' head coach from the 50's to the early 60's was Paul Brown, no relation.

You know, I've remarked several times that reading cookbooks is like reading history books as I learn so much about the time and place and football!

And now on to our second featured cookbook and recipe, Gourmet Game Night and the fan-tab-ulous recipe for Oven Baked Potato Chips with Onion Dip.  Damn, was this good.

Now some of you may have surmised from the title that this cookbook is intended for game nights that include card games or board games.  But since betting figures in mightily for the Super Bowl, I included it here and do believe that was a most excellent play call on my part. 

The thing I liked about this cookbook is that it features all kinds of bite-sized and non-messy bites to be eating while game playing because who wants something messy? For that matter, who wants to watch a game while eating messy food that might plop all over the floor or sofa, causing one to take a break in the action during which time, the "home" team almost inevitably scores and of course you will have missed it because you were doing cleanup on Aisle 9? (My problem isn't necessarily food but with drinks that seem to upend themselves at the worst time!)

This book's Table of Contents is broken into categories that make it easy to find a recipe in a snap.  The Table of Contents categories are:  Dips and Spreads; Skewers and Picks; All-Edibles; Sandwiches; Pastries; Small Dishes, and Drinks.  And the author also includes suggested menus for all kinds of game nights and that is fun.  A sample Game Night for Two to Four Menu includes "Rosemary Martinis;" "Salmon Poke in Endive Leaves;" "Oven-Baked Potato Chips with Onion Dip;" Lamb and Olive Kebabs," and "Nutella and Banana Galettes."  The author notes also games that you might be playing that evening such as Canasta, Mah-jongg, Scrabble, Bridge, or Pinochle.

Now I have never been a game player as I can't stand to sit still that long, but I do love food and must say that this onion dip recipe was so freaking good that I'm including it on my annual holiday party menu from here on out!  That said, there is no game night, football, baseball or other, during which I would ever serve "Salmon Poke in Endive Leaves" as I am not fond of salmon and is that dish just a tad precocious, or what?

So there you go folks, a game-winning Super Bowl menu.  In case you missed the game and care about these things, all good things came to an end for the Atlanta Falcons who were leading the New England Patriots at the half by a large margin, and then they weren't.  The Pats came back, tied the game, sent it into overtime and won.  This was definitely not my hoped for outcome but so it goes and hey, at least I had good food to take the sting off! 

These two dishes are great fare any time of the year so never mind that I posted them too late for the Super Bowl or any "bowl," really.  By the way, I was "this" close to making "Jackpot Casserole" from Gridiron Cookery just because I loved the name but in the end, it had to be chili or bust.

Chili – 6 servings – from Mrs. W. W. (Woody) Hayes . [The] Ohio State University

1 large onion, sliced

1 green pepper, finely chopped

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 pound ground beef

1 No. 2 ½ can tomatoes (Ann's Note:  27-29 ounces, or 3 ½ cups)

1/8 teaspoon paprika

3 whole cloves

1 bay leaf

1 ½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon (more or less as desired) chili powder

1 No. 2 can kidney beans, drained (Ann's Note:  20 ounces, or 2 ½ cups)

Fry onion and green pepper in melted butter in Dutch oven or deep skillet.  Add ground beef and cook until brown.  Add tomatoes and seasonings.  Simmer about 2 hours, adding water if necessary.  Just before serving, add kidney beans.

Oven-Baked Potato Chips with Onion Dip – Makes 8-10 Dips with Chips

Onion Dip

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh thyme, or ½ teaspoon dried

½ cup beef broth, preferably reduced-sodium

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

¾ cup top-quality mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream

½ teaspoon Tabasco, or more to taste

Salt

Potato Chips

2 russet potatoes (about 1 ½ pounds)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

To make the onion dip, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and thyme and cook, stirring often, until the onions are very tender and nicely browned, 10 to 12 minutes.  The onions shouldn't brown too fast; reduce the heat to medium-low if needed.  Add the broth and garlic and cook until the liquid is completely evaporated, about 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.  When cool, stir in the mayonnaise, sour cream, Tabasco, and salt to taste.  Transfer the dip to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line 2 baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.  Set 2 oven racks at the centermost levels.

To prepare the potato chips, half-fill a large bowl with cold water.  Peel 1 of the potatoes and cut it crosswise into 1/8-inch thick slices, preferably using a mandoline slicer.  Add the slices to the water and repeat with the second potato.  Use your hands to swish the potato slices around in the water to remove the excess starch. (Ann's Note:  I hand cut these and despite best efforts, my slices were thicker than the 1/8-inch thick slices as noted in the recipes.  That said, I rather liked our thicker chip that wasn't really a chip but a nicely-baked potato slice.)

Dry the potato slices well on a clean kitchen towel.  Rinse and dry the bowl and return the potato slices to it.  Drizzle the olive oil over and toss to evenly coat the slices with the oil.  Arrange the potato slices in a single layer on the baking sheets and sprinkle lightly with salt.  Bake until the slices are lightly browned and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes, turning the slices over and switching the baking sheets about halfway through for even cooking.  Keep an eye on the progress near the end; some slices may be done sooner.  Transfer them to a wire rack to cool.  Ann's Note:  my chips were definitely not crisp but they were great nonetheless.  To "serve," I put some in a bowl and then spooned the dip on top and ate them as I would a baked potato.  Shall I just say that my dip ration was far, far greater than the potato?

To serve, spoon the dip into individual dishes and set them on a platter or tray.  Set the chips in a bowl alongside for your guests to serve themselves.

It is best to make dip at least 4 hours ahead, but it can be made up to 1 day ahead and kept covered and refrigerated.  The chips are best made not more than 2 hours before serving.

"Beat This! Cookbook" & "Italian Family Cooking" - Savory Bread Pudding & Lentil Soup - New Year's Day 2017

Date I made this recipe:  New Year's Day, 2017 – Breakfast and Dinner

Beat This! Cookbook – Absolutely Unbeatable Knock-'em-Dead Recipes for the Very Best Dishes by Ann Hodgman

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

ISBN:  978-0-547-43700-2; © 2011

Purchased at Powell's Chicago

Recipe: Savory Bread Pudding – p. 44-45

Italian Family Cooking by Edward Giobbi, with an Introduction by Craig Caliborne

Published by Vintage Books, a division of Random House

© 1971

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

Recipe:  Lentil Soup ("Minestrone Di Lenticchie") – p. 21

Oh my gosh, if you have to start a day and a new year with a dish, the Savory Bread Pudding is the way to go.  It was easy to make and delicious!  And to think it was sort of a last minute "Oh what the heck, let me look at this cookbook" decision.  I love it when I get it right like this.

And the Lentil Soup was a great way to close the day, a day filled with football, but most importantly, Green Bay Packers playoff football.  My boys in green and gold prevailed and I was a happy, if not tired, camper.  And I would have said both recipes were "home runs" but as we are not in baseball season, I have to go with the flow and instead dub them "touchdowns."  I love [Packers] touchdowns!

Now I've mentioned before that the great thing about having so many cookbooks is also the worst thing about having so many cookbooks:  indecision.  And when it comes to major holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas, there are so many avenues I could take, so many holiday-themed cookbooks to peruse, that I am often paralyzed just by staring at my shelves.  "Where should I go?  What shall I do" is just not for Scarlett O'Hara anymore!

But then this year, I nailed my cookbooks and recipe selections pretty much in one fell swoop and well – how did that happen?  Answer:  somewhat easily for once!

Most of you probably know that on New Year's Day, there are "lucky foods" – foods that will bring you luck in the coming year - and "unlucky" foods, and even though I was pretty sure I was on track for good luck, it didn't hurt to double-check via the internet.

Lucky foods to start off the new year are pork (for eating "high on the hog"), cornbread, legumes including black eyed peas or lentils, and, if you are Spanish, grapes.  Apparently, if a Spaniard can eat 12 grapes every time the clock strikes at midnight (i.e. 12 times), good luck will come to that person.  But as you might imagine, this is hard to do, and since I didn't want to start the new year off by choking to death at my own hand, that custom went out the window.  As did eating  black-eyed peas because try as I might (and I have tried), they do not float my Midwest boat.

So those are some of the lucky foods.  Unlucky foods, and this may crack you up, are lobsters and chicken.  Why?  Because chickens can fly away and with it apparently, your luck!  Also, they scratch backwards and New Year's Day is all about going forward so have those buffalo wings on New Year's Eve and then forget about it!  And since lobsters can also "walk" backwards, they too, are out for New Year's day so best to stuff yourselves on lobster tails the night before.

Also out?  "White" food.   This is an Asian belief as white signifies death in that culture. So does it count that my breakfast dish had "white" bread and "white cheese," and eggs containing egg whites?  Am I okay by adding greens (sign of money???) and sun dried tomatoes?  It's unclear.  Also unclear is whether or not the egg from the verboten chicken started my day off on the wrong foot.  I'm going with "no."

But even if the answer was "yes," I offset the whole curse by ending the day with my lucky lentils in the form of [Lucky] Lentil Soup.  And since I knew lentils to be lucky, all I had to do was consult one of my many Italian cookbooks for a recipe and "ecco" (Italian for "There you go!"), there was Edward Giobbi's recipe just waiting for me to make it and so I did and it was good.  And as mentioned, my breakfast dish was also good which was nice seeing as how I decided on a breakfast recipe at the very last minute. 

So let's break down these cookbooks and recipes, starting with Ann Hodgman's Beat This!  You should know she also wrote Beat That! and I have that book as well but didn't find anything to make this time around.  And I have to confess that I found her Savory Bread Pudding recipe right off the bat and so didn't spend much time looking at the rest of the book, but if you do, here's what you'll find:  "Drinks;" "Hors D' Oeuvres;" "Soups;" "Salads and Dressings;" "Main Dishes;" "Sauces and Accompaniments;" Side Dishes;" "Show-Off Staples;" "Breads and Breakfasts," and "Desserts."

A few observations:  There is only one "Beverage" listed and it's for a Coquito – a Coconut Eggnog.  Well yumm-y!  And it has rum in it?  Sign me up!  The next category is "Hors D' Oeuvres," and look, I know its much more fancy to use the French word for "appetizers," but for the love of "Michel" (Mike) folks, I never, ever spell it right and so can we just all agree to use the word "appetizers" for cookbooks and "hors d' oeuvres" while out at cocktail parties when we want to sound all lofty and impressive?  We can?  Good!

Also, I think I absolutely need to to try the "Slow-Cooker Caramelized Onion recipe (p. 59) under "Show-Off Staples" as that sounds delicious plus you can freeze them which is good otherwise. I'd be tempted to eat the entire quart all by myself.  Like ice cream.  Only not.

Finally, the author must have a sweet tooth because there are more desserts in this book than there are other dishes and although tempting, I was in a breakfast kind of mood.  And the dish was good.  And it called for bacon and not that there is ever anything wrong with bacon, but I substituted prosciutto for the bacon and man, oh man – winner, winner, chicken dinner!  Plus, the prosciutto + sun dried tomatoes + cheese made it a tad more Italian in flavor and that fit perfectly with the Italian lentil soup I made from the Italian Family Cookbook by Edward Giobbi.

I can't recall just when I became aware of author Edward Giobbi and his daughter, Eugenia Bone, but methinks it was probably in the way, way back from an article in a cooking magazine, perhaps Gourmet, but more likely, Saveur.  At any rate, his stuff is great, his recipes, simple and tasty, and also familiar to me; his lentil soup recipe is similar to other Italian concoctions I've made in the past.

This cookbook (introduction by the late Craig Claiborne) is broken out by "Antipasti;" "Soups;" "Pasta and Rice;" "Salads;" "Eggs;" "Fish;" "Poultry and Game;" "Meats;" "Vegetables;" "Sauces;" and "Breads, Pizzas and Desserts."

And I have to give Edward credit in that he includes a "Feast of the Seven Fishes" menu for Christmas Eve even though there's not a chance in hell I would purchase and cook that much fish for just two people.  Plus, one of the dishes includes "Smelt."  If you've never had smelt, and sadly, I have, the only thing fun about smelt is catching it when the "smelt are running."  When that happens, you can pretty much dip a net in the river and come up with a huge haul. But smelt are full of bones and cleaning them is a nightmare and eating them is as well (to me). 

You should also prepare yourself not to be startled by a recipe for "Baccala with Rape."  The word "rape" here is an Italian green, leafy vegetable and "baccala" is the word for cod.  I'm not exactly sure how "rape" (the veg) is pronounced, but it's either "Rah-pay" or "rah-puh". (Similarly, my last name is "Verme" but the "e" is not pronounced here in America and if it is, it's more like "Verm-uh," not Verme-"ee" as most people think. Anyway, it's complicated!)  If you want to make this recipe (p. 104-105) and you can't find Italian "rape" (or "rapa" or "rabe"), use another green such as Swiss chard, mustard greens, etc.

In conclusion, the lentil soup was great (I substituted bacon for salt pork), the breakfast was killer and so does this bode well for the rest of 2017?  I think it does!

Savory Bread Pudding – Serves 4 to 6 – from Beat This!

(Ann's Note:  you need to soak the sun-dried tomatoes for 20 minutes before preparing this dish.)

½ cup chicken stock

½ cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), finely sliced (Ann's Note:  Trader Joe's sells these in a resealable bag)

1 cup milk

½ cup heavy cream

5 large eggs

½ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

6 slices bacon (Ann's Note:  I substituted prosciutto and it was fabulous.  You'll need to add a little oil to the pan though, before cooking the shallots.)

4 shallots, chopped

7 ounces arugula or baby spinach

1 1-pound loaf crusty bread – peasant, focaccia, sourdough or Italian – cut into bite-size cubes

4 ounces Gruyere, coarsely grated

2 ounces Parmesan, freshly grated

Preheat oven to 400F, with a rack in the middle.  Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or a shallow 2-quart ramekin-type dish.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil and stir in the sun-dried tomatoes.  Remove from heat and let them sit for 20 minutes, until softened.

In a large bowl, beat the milk, cream, eggs and seasonings.

In a large, heavy skillet, cook the bacon, turning once, until crisp.  Drain it on paper towels, then crumble it.  Pour away all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the skillet.  Add the shallots and cook them, stirring, until they're beginning to brown, about 6 minutes.  Add the arugula or spinach.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the greens wilt.  Let the mixture cool slightly.  (Ann's Note:  add the bacon to this mixture.  *See below for more notes about the bacon.)

In a large bow, toss together the bread cubes, the arugula mixture, the milk mixture, the sun-dried tomatoes and their liquid and the Gruyere.  Pack this mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle the Parmesan over it.

Cover the dish with foil and bake it for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for about 15 more minutes, or until golden brown.

Ann's Note:  Reader, please scan the above paragraphs carefully.  Do you see her tell you to add the bacon anywhere once you removed it from the pan and crumbled it?  No, you do not.  But the way it reads i.e. "crumble it," suggests that she intends you to put it somewhere in the dish otherwise, she'd tell you to throw it out.  So I made an executive decision and added it back to the pan after cooking the shallots and greens.  And I still stand by my other executive decision to substitute prosciutto for bacon!

Lentil Soup (Minestrone Di Lenticchie) – serves 4 – from Italian Family Cooking

½ cup lentils

½ carrot, chopped

1 whole clove garlic

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 tablespoons chopped tomato

Pinch of oregano

1 slice salt pork, about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide (Ann's Note:  substituted bacon)

3 cups water (Ann's Note:  nope, more like 5-6)

1 small potato, diced

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Grated Parmesan cheese

Put all ingredients except potato, parsley and cheese in soup pot.  Cook gently for 1 ½ hours.  Add potatoes and when they are tender, remove salt pork and garlic.  Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley and grated cheese, to 4.

Ann's Note:  "Serve hot...to 4" means it serves four people.  This is a most awkward way to list the serving amount but except for the first couple recipes, this is what you'll find in the rest of the book.

"The Recipe Project Cookbook" (recipe by Mario Batali) & "The Hip-Hop Cookbook" (recipe by Hip Hop artist, Pexter) - more Minnesota State Fair

Date I made these recipes:  September 1, 2016 – a homage to the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand acts and my (coveted) Golden Decibel Award

The Hip Hop Cookbook - Four Elements Cooking by Cutmaster GB

Published by From Here to Fame Publishing

ISBN: 978-2-927946-38-2; © 2012

Purchased at Magers and Quinn Independent Booksellers (used) – Minneapolis, MN

Recipe:  Pexter's Angel Hair Parmesan Chicken – p. 60  (Pexter is Hip Hop artist Powerful Pex)

The Recipe Project– A Delectable Extravaganza of Food and Music – Songs by One Ring Zero, Words by Mario Batali; Tom Colicchio; David Chang; Isa Chandra Moskowitz; Michael Symon, Chris Cosentino and more (includes a CD of songs)

Published by Black Balloon Publishing

ISBN: 13: 978-1-936787-00-5; © 2011

Purchased at Powell's Chicago

Recipe:  Spaghetti with Sweet 100 Tomatoes courtesy of Mario Batali – p. 10

As mentioned in my last post, it's State Fair time here in Minnesota and in addition to all the things you'd expect to find at a state fair (animals, creative arts, lots of food, tractors, etc.), in these parts you also get The Grandstand.  The venerable Grandstand, only a few miles away from our house, books out many great bands during its 12-day run and given how sound travels, we practically have front-row seats to each and every concert!  For 12 nights, we hear each and every guitar lick, and each and every bass note, and each and every drum beat.   

So several years ago, after being "treated" to concert after concert, I created the (coveted) Golden Decibel Award for the person or group who blasts us out of house and home during the fair.  And by "blast," I mean that we cannot hear ourselves think and any TV show we are watching is drowned out by the music.  It's fun for the whole family!

Although I reserve the final vote (my contest, my vote—but with consultation from Andy), I always ask my Facebook friends to play along and vote for who they think will take the award. Then the Wednesday before opening day (always on a Thursday), I post the schedule with a link to The Grandstand acts and then people reply with their (initial) choices.  Here were this year's contenders:

• Don Henley (formerly of the Eagles)
• Charlie Wilson with special guest, Fantasia
• Dixie Chicks (two nights)
• Happy Together (music from the 60's and 70's)
• G-Eazy
• Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas
• Alabama
• Garrison Keillor (from A Prairie Home Companion)
• Weezer
• Bonnie Raitt

I always find it interesting that people tend to vote for the larger groups, like Dixie Chicks, or Alabama, thinking they have the firepower to be heard from a couple of miles away.  They are not wrong but I always caution voters that anything can happen and that weather plays an important part in determining the winner.  If it is hot and humid (as it usually is at this time of year), no amount of sound gets through Nature's "Wall of Water," and we've had some years where we wondered if anybody would prevail.  Such was not the case this year but more on that later.  Let's talk cookbooks!

Since the Golden Decibel Award is theoretically about music (but more like "Quien es mas macho?" when it comes to making noise), I thought it would be fun to make something from these two band and music-related cookbooks and to make it easiest on myself, I tried out two different pasta dishes rather than do different and more complicated courses.

And so from the shelf, I pulled The Recipe Project Cookbook, a book with 12 (and only 12) recipes, a CD of songs by One Ring Zero as well as musical and cooking discussions, and The Hip Hop Cookbook, filled with 40 recipes from 40 Hip Hop artists but alas, no music CD.  Let's review!

I must say that The Recipe Project Cookbook, while intriguing, was sadly lacking in what I consider to be edible fare.  One recipe was for "Raw Peach."  Now I ask you, how does a "raw" peach "recipe" end up in a cookbook?  File that under "Nothing to see here, folks."

Also eliminated:  "Creamless Creamed Corn," "Pickled Pumpkin," "Octopus with Black Eyed Peas," and my favorite (not really) "Brains and Eggs." Ugh. 

So just like the Golden Decibel Award, this left me with few contenders out of the 12 and so I went with the one that seemed easiest: Spaghetti with Sweet 100 Tomatoes courtesy Mario Batali.

Mario's recipe would have been a home run save for the trouble I had finding these two very important ingredients:  lemon basil and garlic chives.  I checked three of the more upscale grocery stores in town and struck out, and the Seward Co-Op near my house had only garlic chives (by the pound!) and not the lemon basil.  I must say that I was surprised as I can usually source almost anything I want in the Twin Cities.  Except for today, of course.

So I tweaked this dish as follows:  I added a bit more garlic to the recipe and then grated some lemon zest into the sauté pan and it worked out fine.  It was only after I "ta-da'ed" the dish to Andy that he reminded me that he wasn't that fond of tomatoes.  Oops.

In addition to the recipes, you'll also get nine "Musings" by various writers and five "Interviews" with "celebrity" chefs and other foodies. My favorite "musing" is "The Beatles' White Album: I'm Just Here For the Food," by cookbook author and food columnist, Melissa Clark.  And in the "Interview" category, I like Andrea Reusing expounding on "Bruce Springsteen, Egg Haters, and Giant Clams."  You've got to love an interview with that mash-up in the title!

Then from The Hip Hop Cookbook, you get 40 bios and 40 recipes from various Hip Hop artists. I have to confess that the only artist I recognize from this list is Kurtis Blow and the only song I know is his "The Breaks:" "Clap your hands everybody/If you got what it takes/'Cause I'm Kurtis Blow and I want you to know/That these are the breaks." (And how cosmic was this:  our local radio station, The Current, played this song yesterday afternoon.  Awesome!)

Other hip hop artists featured in this book (random sampling here) are:  Katmando; Blade TC5; Funkmaster Ozone; Cutmaster GB and Pyestar.  Today's recipe was from the previously-mentioned Powerful Pexter, a/k/a Tony Lopez.  When I Googled this guy, he came up under "Old-School Hip Hop."  I love it—"Old School" – as if I know who the "New School" hip hop artists are (I don't). 

Happily, this cookbook contained more recipes than The Recipe Project and while there were several pasta dishes that sounded interesting, I decided to make it as easy as possible and cook for chicken with parmesan.

You should know though folks, that this chicken parmesan is not the chicken parm you may be used to or expecting.  The chicken is not coated, there's no red sauce and no mozzarella cheese.  Instead, it's pretty much as labeled:  Parmesan + chicken to which you add garlic, ½ fresh chili and parsley.  That's it. 

While I liked both recipes, Andy was a little underwhelmed. I thought both were tasty even if they were a bit on the boring side.  But again, as between brains and eggs, and pasta with tomatoes, I know which one he wouldn't have chosen and so that made that choice easy. 

So I made these dishes and then on Labor Day, the 2016 Golden Decibel Award contest wrapped up and our winner was...drum roll...Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas! (Applause!  Applause!)  Not one single person on Facebook, picked them! I didn't pick them!  Seems like nobody but nobody excepted them to prevail.  But let me tell you folks, they earned it by blasting us out of our house for almost 3 solid hours.  By the time they finished, it took me and Andy another hour just to realize that the show was over.  That is some kind of fire power!

So.  That concludes the (coveted) Golden Decibel Award and the Minnesota State Fair and this recipe blog!  These recipes, while not award-winning, are easy to make, leaving you plenty of time to relax and listen to your own favorite musical selections, and hopefully not because they were "beamed" into your living room from a couple miles away!

Mario Batali's Spaghetti with Sweet 100 Tomatoes – serves 4 – from The Recipe Project Cookbook

Kosher salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 pint sweet 100 tomatoes, or other tiny tomatoes

½ bunch garlic chives, cut into 1-inch lengths*

12 fresh lemon basil leaves, finely shredded*

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 pound spaghetti

Lemon zest*

*If you can't find garlic chives, substitute regular chives.  Same with the lemon basil but then add some lemon zest to the dish to approximate the lemon basil flavor.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt.

In a 12- to 14-inch sauté pan, heat the olive oil over high heat until almost smoking.  Lower the heat to medium-high and add garlic cloves.  Cook for 2 minutes, or until softened and slightly browned.  Add the tomatoes, chives, and basil, and cook over high heat until the tomatoes are just beginning to burst.  Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in the boiling water according to package directions until it is tender, yet al dente.  Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the tomatoes.  Toss over high heat for 1 minute, then divide evenly among four warmed pasta bowls and serve immediately.

Pexter's Angel Hair Parmesan Chicken – serving size not given (4?)- from The Hip Hop Cookbook

14 oz angel hair or other pasta

6 Tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves

½ fresh chili*

2 stalks of fresh, flat-leaf parsley, chopped

9 oz chicken breast

2/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

 *I used red pepper flakes instead of chili

Finely chop the garlic and chili, then cut the chicken into small pieces. Heat a bit of oil in a pan, add the garlic and chili and sauté on low heat for several minutes.  Add the chicken and sauté until thoroughly cooked.  Remove from the stove and add the parsley.

Cook the pasta in a large pot with salted water until al dente, drain and mix with the chicken/garlic/chili mixture.  Immediately add Parmesan and serve.

"A Man's Whirled - Every Guy's Guide to Cooking with a Blender" - Uncle Gino's Chicken Cacciatore - for Father's Day!

Date I made this recipe:  June 19, 2016 – Father's Day

A Man's Whirled – Every Guy's Guide to Cooking with a Blender by Chris Peterson

Published by:  Simon & Schuster Paperbacks

ISBN:  13: 978-0-7432-7023-6; © 2005

Purchased at Powell's Chicago

Recipe: Uncle Gino's Chicken Cacciatore – P. 78

How timely.  My dad was a great cook and chicken cacciatore was one of his favorite recipes to make and so I present to you, this year's Father Day dinner selection!  ("And the crowd goes wild...")

When I acquired this book last year, I made a note in my calendar to use it on Father's Day.  And then a few weeks ago, when I was looking through it to select a recipe, there it was:  Uncle Gino's Lou Verme's (my dad's) Chicken Cacciatore.  How cosmic!

Except for a few minor differences, this was almost an exact duplicate of my dad's recipe.  My dad used celery, onions, green pepper and canned tomatoes, just like this recipe, but also added peeled potatoes and carrots.  And it seems to me he par-boiled all the vegetables for a bit before adding them to the roaster.  And he added also a few (secret) spices to his canned tomatoes although I don't think thyme was one of them before putting in the chicken and tomatoes.  Although he passed on adding Marsala or similar liquid ingredient to the dish, he sometimes enjoyed a glass of red wine with dinner so I think that counts.

This recipe was one of many in my dad's "go-to" repertoire of culinary delights.  Every weekend, we looked forward to his scrambled eggs and bacon and his doctored-up pancakes.  He was a master of the grill and the broiler and his barbecued chicken (grilled on a tiny Hibachi grill) and his steaks under the broiler (for mere seconds or he considered them ruined) were fabulous. 

In early years, he made a fantastic pasta fagioli (pasta "fa-jewel-eh") (beans and pasta) and in later years, linguine and clam sauce.  He was always – always – in charge of draining the pasta and serving it up to our family of four.  There was never a time when the plate wasn't heaping with too much pasta and yet he always encouraged us to "finish it [the food] up."

That said, he, like most men of his time, left the heavy lifting to the women and so didn't really operate any of the appliances or do the dishes (this is what dishwashers are for!) and so I cannot recall a time he used our blender although maybe he got sneaky and did so after I left home?

Luckily, this cookbook author, Chris Peterson, has it going on.  This book is subtitled "Every Guy's Guide to Cooking with a Blender" which suggests to me that this guy knows a thing or two about kitchen appliances.  The title alone though, is what sold me:  A Man's Whirled, a play on the song "It's a Mans Man's Man's World" by the late, great James Brown.  I often buy cookbooks based on the title and this one had me at "hello."

The recipes in this book range from soup to nuts and all of them are made in whole or in part in the blender.  The cacciatore recipe requires you to blend the vegetables before adding them to the pan but since I don't have a blender, I used my Cuisinart to the same effect.

The only downside of this recipe, and it is not a downside of the recipe itself, is that the temperature rose to a mighty hefty 92 degrees on Father's Day and I was not about to pre-bake the chicken at 350F for forty five minutes as directed.  Nope.  Not even for a minute, never mind 44 more of them, and not even in the memory of my beloved papa.  So I made recipe the day after Father's Day and made it during the day when it was not yet hot out and it worked out great.

As to other incredible edibles in this book, here are some of the chapter headings:  "Game Day Grub;" "Date Food;" "Mom's Best;" "Party Favors;" "Feel-Better Food" and "Sweet Treats."  Most of the recipes sounded really good and I actually had a couple others in mind before settling on the cacciatore.  And because my dad was a hunter, we often had other types of birds in the cacciatore, mostly notably, Ruffed Grouse (which tastes like chicken...well, chicken minus  a stray buckshot or two) so if you need to or want to adapt this, go ahead.  After all, "Chicken Cacciatore" translates from Italian to "Hunter's Stew" so you'd be right on point.  (By the way, I've mentioned in other blogs that my dad was 1^st generation Sicilian-American so it was fitting that this was one of his specialties.)

So Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there.  As my dad would say, as he called us to the table, "A mangia" (which our family pronounced "Ah mahn-jaa") – Let's eat!

Uncle Gino's Chicken Cacciatore – makes 2 full-meal servings

What You Need

2 large chicken breasts, bone in (about 2 pounds)

½ cup olive oil (divided)

1 teaspoon salt

6 cloves garlic

1 medium yellow onion

1 small green bell pepper

1 small red bell pepper

1 stalk celery

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon thyme

¼ cup Marsala (Ann's Note:  you can also substitute sherry or port or brandy)

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

What You Do -- (Ann's Note:  This is not only a directive on how to cook it but also my Sicilian grandmother's question when she wanted to know what we were up do/doing at the moment:  "What you do?"  Makes me chuckle to think about it—so cute!)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Saturate the breasts with ¼ cup olive oil (Ann's Note:  reserve the remaining ¼ cup for later).  Sprinkle with salt and fresh-ground pepper, and rub into the breasts.  Put the breasts into a baking pan and bake for 45 minutes.  (Ann's Note:  I put the breasts in breast side down.)

Peel garlic and onion.  Chop coarsely and combine in blender with remaining olive oil.  Blend on medium for five 3-second bursts, or until well chopped.  Empty blender into large saucepan.

Seed bell peppers and cut off ends of celery stalk.  Chop into coarse pieces.  Blend each color pepper and celery on their own.  Blend for two to three 2-second bursts, or until the vegetables are coarsely chopped.

Put baked chicken breasts into saucepan and cook on high.  Sauté for 5 minutes, or until garlic begins to brown.  Add vegetables and oregano and thyme.

Add Marsala and bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and add tomatoes.

Simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours, adding water if sauce becomes too thick.  Turn chicken after 45 minutes.  Serve with small side of spaghetti covered with some of the cacciatore sauce. Ann's Note:  In NJ and NY Italian restaurants, it is usual and customary to see [a small side of] pasta listed along with your potato choices that accompany meat and poultry entrees.  If I don't see it, I always ask for one and it is provided, no questions asked.  Gotta have my pasta with my meat, don't you know!

Good Guy Advice [from the author]:  If you have to blend a lot of vegetables to a coarse consistency, take this shortcut.  Put the vegetables in the blender canister and fill to just above their level with cold water.  Blend as necessary to chop the vegetables, then drain the water.

"Tables of Contents - Recollections and Recipes from The New York Public Library's Benefit Dinners" by Eleanor Graves and Ralph Graves - Arroz con Pollo for National Library Week

Date I made this recipe:  April 18, 2016 – belated observance of National Library Week

Tables of Contents – Recollections and Recipes from The New York Public Library's Benefit Dinners by Eleanor Graves and Ralph Graves

Published by:  Crown Publishers, Inc.

ISBN: 0-517-59093-X; © 1993

Purchased at Barnes and Noble Used Books – Roseville, MN

Recipe:  Arroz con Pollo (Chicken and Rice) – p. 72 – from the Mambo-themed fundraising dinner hosted by Deborah and Peter Krulewitch, Gillian Jolis, and Andrew Goldstein

I love books.  I love libraries.  I like books about libraries.  I love library books.

I love cookbooks so much that I have a huge collection, better than most public libraries and many of them were, somewhat hilariously, acquired at used library books sales. 

I also love New York.  And I love the lions named Patience and Fortitude gracing the front of the New York Public Library located at 5^th Ave and 42^nd Street.  Not that the other New York Public library branches are not nice – I've stepped inside a few – but this is the best, especially if you like architecture...and lions.  (To read more about the lions, go to this website:  http://www.nypl.org/help/about-nypl/library-lions)   

So when I read that last week (April 10-16) was National Library Week, well then kids, I knew I had just the cookbook – Tables of Content - published in 1993, recapping all kinds of dinner party benefits hosted by some of New York City's best and most importantly, wealthy library patrons.  Although the Twin Cities libraries have their own fundraiser (St. Paul's is called Opus and Olives), I think New York has probably had a lock and load on this gig for a long, long time. 

I've often said that cookbooks are a snapshot into people, cultures, time and space and the "Who's Who" from this 1993 cookbook is vastly different from the modern day's "2016 Who's Who" list.  Still, the one thing that never changes is that the people who attend these events have money and usually prestige as well.  I have neither so suffice it to say that I cannot afford to live in NYC, never mind attend a single one of these events.

In fact, and I hate to say this, looking through this cookbook is rather depressing.  My little abode here in Minneapolis is nothing like the huge apartments these folks own that are big enough to house the Queen Mary never mind host these "intimate" gatherings of 100 or so people.  I don't have "people" nor do I have money to hire "people," and I sure don't have evening wear such as displayed here on these pages.  Not that I don't have a evening gown or two in my closet, I do, but not one that came from say, Barneys New York (I stopped in one time and looked just for fun but most things were out of my price range...not that I have a price range) or a Vera Wang original. (Does it count if I've walked by her store several times?)  That said, I had a gown made by Kristen, The Dressmaker, that I wore when I was gala chair for the 2008 Arc Greater Twin Cities fundraising gala.  (Arc is a nonprofit agency providing advocacy and support to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities and their families.)  The dress may not have had that NY "sniff sniff" factor (i.e. turned up nose) but it was a fabulous dress, designed based on a drawing of a 1950's dress of similar design and it was in the color purple, one of my favorite colors.  So take that Park Avenue!

This cookbook is all about benefit dinner "themes" and so each chapter contains a recap with some recipes from the menu du jour.  The late actress, Elaine Stritch, was a notable guest at the "Dinner at the Round Table" fundraiser, while author and humorist, Calvin Trillin and his late wife, Alice (subject of his hilarious book, Alice, Let's Eat), hosted the "Pretty Decent Chinese Takeout" event.  All the food at this party came from Chinatown restaurants in takeout boxes, natch. Love.

"A Literary Feast" featured dishes from famous books such as Babette's Feast by Isak Dinesen (Loved. That. Movie.) and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce.  "The Moderns" featured dishes named after famous modern artists such as Georgia O'Keefe and Man Ray and my theme dinner – Mambo – centered on the book, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijelous. 

Incredible edibles on that menu featured "Spiced Crab Cake with Papaya Chutney," "Sausage Empanadas," "Sweet Plantain Soup," "Rum Mousse" – alas, recipes not included, and "Arroz con Pollo" (Chicken and Rice) and "Black Beans with Tomato and Onions" – recipes were included.  And although I almost always make black beans when I make arroz con pollo, this time around I made just the chicken and rice and that was plenty.  The repast at this library benefit was accompanied by a mambo exhibition done by trained professionals and then after that, anyone could join in.  Sounds like my kind of party!

Unlike most of the chicken and rice recipes I've made in the past, this recipe calls for you to cook the rice separate from the chicken so that was new.  And not that this is a spicy dish but I was surprised that what little spice was used – cayenne pepper, paprika and bay leaf – was used in the marinade and that was it.  The dish was delicious but I was expecting more.  That said, arroz con pollo is one of those dishes that varies by country or region in the same way that other dishes, such as pasta sauce, vary by country, region and family.

I was also intrigued by the "dry rub" marinade of chicken, onions, cayenne pepper, paprika and bay leaf.  I couldn't help but think we were missing a liquid like olive oil or juice or something.  And no mention was made about oil or even butter for browning the chicken.  Finally, the recipe calls for boneless chicken breasts but said nothing about getting "skinless" as well.  I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and that was fine and frankly, if I'm at a dinner party, I do not want to deal with chicken skin so I think my method was better but as always, it would have been nice to know.

Once the marinating time is over, you prepare the rice, then prepare the chicken and then serve it up, one of top of the other and top it with strips of red pepper (and chopped parsley if desired).  Done, done and done!

For the curious, the last several pages of this book (p. 172-179) list all the volunteer hosts and hostesses for these shindigs, starting in 1983 and ending in 1993.  Honestly, I felt like I should genuflect or something because there are some big names.  And for the sake of the New York Public Library and libraries everywhere, let's hope they gave big money to keep these institutions afloat.  Say what you will about e-Books, but you can't exactly cozy up to a smart phone on a rainy day, getting absorbed in the yarn in front of you, and it goes without saying that you cannot dog-ear the last page you read on a phone. 

Long live libraries!

Arroz con Pollo (Chicken and Rice) – serves 6 to 8

Ann's Note:  you need to marinate the chicken for at least four hours or overnight if possible.

4 boneless chicken breasts, cut in quarters (Ann's Note:  it doesn't say whether or not to use boneless, skinless, breasts but I did.  Also, you may want to cut the chicken into smaller pieces.)

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 large onions, diced (Ann's Note:  divided)

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon paprika

3 tablespoons olive oil

¼ teaspoon saffron

2 cups white rice

4 cups chicken broth

Salt to taste

2 cups white wine

*2 cups peeled, seeded, and diced plum tomatoes (Ann's Note:  see directions below for peeling tomatoes)

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 10-ounce package frozen peas

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut in strips (garnish)

Chopped parsley (garnish)

*To peel tomatoes, cut an "x" in the top and bottom of the tomato.  Place in boiling water for about a minute or until skin starts to peel back.  Place tomatoes in cold water/ice water bath, then peel and seed.

Marinate the chicken breasts with the garlic, half the diced onion, cayenne pepper, bay leaf, and paprika for at least for hours, or overnight if possible.

In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat.  Add the saffron.  Sauté about a minute, then add the rice and sauté until all the rice is separated.  Add the chicken broth, lower the heat, and let it simmer until all the broth is gone. (Ann's Note:  about 20 minutes or longer.)  The rice should be cooked by then; if not, add about ½ cup hot water and let it cook off.  Salt to taste.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté the chicken breasts (2 or 3 at a time) for about 5 minutes on each side, or until they are light brown.  Set aside in the same saucepan.  Sauté the remaining diced onions for 5 minutes, or until translucent.  Then return the chicken breasts to the pan, add the white wine, chopped tomatoes, and green pepper, and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Ann's Note:  because today's chicken breasts are of the gargantuan variety, I suggest cutting the quarters down into bite-size pieces so they cook better.  You may also need to cook them longer than 15 minutes to ensure the pieces are done.  Add the frozen peas and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Place the chicken breasts on top of a bed of rice in a large serving bowl.  Garnish with the strips of red pepper and the chopped parsley.

"Roadfood Sandwiches" by Jane & Michael Stern - Grilled Gruyere with Braised Leeks on Multigrain Bread for National Grilled Cheese Day!

Date I made this recipe:  April 12, 2016 – National Grilled Cheese Day!

Roadfood Sandwiches – Recipes and Lore from Our Favorite Shops Coast to Coast by Jane & Michael Stern, authors of the best-selling Roadfood

Published by:  Houghton Mifflin Company

ISBN:  13: 978-0-618-72898-5; © 2007

Purchased at Powell's Books -  Chicago

Recipe:  Grilled Gruyere with Braised Leeks on Multigrain Bread from Clementine, Los Angeles, California by chef/owner Annie Milar who hails from Minnesota!

Folks, April 12^th is National Grilled Cheese Day (who knew?) and I did my part by making this delicious grilled cheese sandwich.  I like to be all in on these things, you know?

And this cookbook – Roadfood Sandwiches by Jane and Michael Stern - who many of you may know from their stints on the radio show, The Splendid Table, were just the couple to tell us all about sandwiches and sandwich lore and the places that produced these wonderful delights.

I was beyond excited to look through this book because I've been to many of the places listed, I've eaten some of the sandwiches mentioned, and I came "this close" to shaking hands with the Sterns when they came to Minneapolis one in advance of our Minnesota State Fair and gave a talk at the downtown Minneapolis library.  The talk, hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (also host of The Splendid Table), took place over the lunch hour and alas, I had to leave before the program ended.  They are more hilarious in person than they are on the air (Jane is an absolute stitch) and we could have listened to them for our.

Although the Sterns are food reporters more than they are chefs, I think of them as culinary royalty.  Their first book, Roadfood, is considered a classic for showcasing great eats at great and sometimes out of the way places.  Now what I say next will shock you – it shocked me – but it turns out I do not have a copy of that book.  Say what?  The scary thing is that I thought I did.  I mean, I keep all the Sterns books together on my shelves but I looked at the shelves and then looked at my cookbook catalog and...no.

Well this will be rectified immediately, never mind that the book is now woefully out of date (1977) such that the places mentioned might be long-gone; collectors don't care about such matters.

Happily, I can report that I DO own the following*: 

• Goodfood (1983) – (Not a cookbook)
• Square Meals (1985) –see post from December 31, 2008 where I made their Cheese Ball – p. 257-258
• Real American Food (1986) –see post from July 5, 2009, where I made their "Queen of Chilis" recipe on p. 244
• A Taste of America (1988)
• American Gourmet (1991)
• Eat Your Way Across the USA (1997) (Not a cookbook)
• Two for the Road:  Our Love Affair with American Food (2006)
• Roadfood Sandwiches:  Recipes and Lore from Our Favorite Shops Coast to Coast (2007) (see today's featured recipe – Grilled Gruyere with Braised Leeks on Multigrain Bread)

*Note:  not all the Sterns books contain recipes. 

Now usually when I peruse a book, fixin' to make something from it, I jot down page numbers of recipes that sound good.  Here though, I jotted down random notes about some of the sandwiches listed and places they and I have visited.  And I applaud that their table of contents made it so easy for me to do that as they listed all sandwiches in alphabetical order by sandwich name, then noted the place where they had the sandwich or the place best known for the sandwich and the city and state.  So this book is one-part travel guide and one-part cookbook.  Who can argue with that?

So notes on places I've eaten:

Katz's (delicatessen), New York, New York.  Katz's "Chopped Liver Sandwich" (p. 44) is the recipe of note in this book and I wrote down "Of course" when I saw that because it makes sense; many delis live and die by their chopped liver.  That said, I had the pastrami when I was there and it was delish!  And movie buffs will know right off the bat that Katz's was where an infamous scene from the movie When Harry Met Sally took place.  I won't ruin it for you if you are about the only person on the planet who has not seen that movie.  (And for the record, that is not my favorite scene.  It was funny, but there were others that made me laugh longer and louder.  To each his/her own.)

Ann Sather, Chicago, Illinois.  I did not partake of the featured sandwich, "Debbie's Hot Pork Roast" (p. 63) because the menu is Ann's is so good and so overwhelming that I hardly knew which way to turn.  Next time around, this is what I will have and my stomach will just have to deal with the fact that I did not feed it a turkey dinner.  Or a cinnamon roll.  Or a .....

Mother's, New Orleans Louisiana.  Although my mother was a good cook, she wasn't "Mother's" of New Orleans and so did not specialize in home-cooked Louisiana favorites such as Red Beans and Rice, Shrimp Creole, or Po' Boys.  I cannot recall what we ate at Mother's, I just recall it was good.  "Ferdi's Special" is a sandwich of sliced ham, beef, mayo, mustard, cabbage (or pickles) and beef debris in gravy (debris is the bits and pieces left in the beef roast pan).  Yum! (I'm thinking road trip!)

Hell's Kitchen, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  "Oh hell" is what I usually utter when I eat here because it's so hard to decide on something.  Although they are best known for their Lemon Ricotta pancakes, you can get other delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner items, including this delectable-sounding "Ham and Pear Crisp Sandwich" (p. 106).  Hell's Kitchen owner, Mitch Omer, passed away this December but he wrote a cookbook a few years ago that you might want to check out:  Damn Good Food. It's on my "on deck" list to cook from shortly. (If you visit Hell's Kitchen, be sure to stop by their Angel Food Bakery next door.  I love their play on names.)

"Loosemeats" (p. 137) is a sandwich known and loved across Northwest Iowa and although the Sterns did not include a specific place to stop, you should check out a Maid-Rite establishment in northern Iowa.  A loosemeat sandwich is like a Sloppy Joe and it is delicious.  This sandwich was also featured recently in a storyline for the TV show, The Good Wife and it was pretty hilarious (Season 7, episode 11 – "Iowa")

Michigan's Upper Peninsula's (my home territory) famous taste treat – Pasty – is noted on p. 165 and although I would never call it a sandwich, the Sterns did so that's good enough for me.  "Pasties," like "Loosemeats," are available everywhere and anywhere in the U.P. so the Sterns didn't include a specific restaurant.  Although this shop was not in my hometown when I was growing up, my parents liked to stop at Muldoon's Pasties and Gifts on Highway M-28.  I've had a couple from there and they are indeed delicious.

Also in Michigan although it's the part the people in the U.P. refer to as "downstate" is Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Zingerman's is half fancy food store, half deli, and they have built a brand that is now recognized cross-country.  The Sterns featured "Rodger's Big Picnic (Asparagus and Mushroom) Sandwich" (p. 192).  I opted for the more traditional brisket sandwich and have to confess that I wasn't enamored with it or the price (the place can be expensive) but the experience was great so it was a trade-off.

So those are places I've been and you should check them out, too.  But I also made notes on some of the sandwiches listed, some of which also triggered fond memories:

"Baked Beans on Brown Bread" (p. 15) from Massachusetts.  Turns out this was one of Julia Child's favorite "go-to" sandwiches when she was tired of eating gourmet.  I recall seeing it in a few of my Boston cookbooks although I never made it.  There's time though folks, there's time.

"Beef on Weck" (p. 18) – One of my husband's favorite restaurants used to be BW3 which stood for "Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck," the precursor to modern-day chain, Buffalo Wild Wings.  One of the sandwiches they served was a beef on "weck," short for kummelweck (roll).  The sandwich, and the bread, originated in western New York state and my brother and sister-in-law live in Rochester so they've eaten them a lot (although not necessarily at Buffalo Wild Wings).  So one day, the four of us were having dinner at a Buffalo Wild Wings (I think we were in Ohio attending a family wedding) when Andy started talking about the beef sandwich at the former BW3 and when he said it stood for Buffalo Wild Wings, my brother said "and weck?," referring to the original name.  It took me a minute, but yes, Tom - "and weck."   (Sadly, the chain does not serve beef on weck anymore.  Shame, that.)

"Chicken Vesuvio" (sandwich) from Harry Caray's restaurant in Chicago, Illinois.  I've passed this restaurant a million times while in Chicago and have never stopped (mostly because it is so crowded) but one of these days I will and when I do, this is the sandwich I'm going to have.  For those of you who don't know, Harry Caray, may he rest in peace, was an announcer for the Chicago Cubs baseball team and an enthusiastic one at that.  Among his many memorable sayings, the one that stands out the most is "Holy Cow!" If you have a hankering to hear that phrase used in a broadcast, go to YouTube.

"Chow Mein" (p. 48) – Talk about your retro sandwiches!  I remember seeing recipes for it and hearing about it but I've never eaten it.  Perhaps it's time?  This is basically a chow mein casserole on a bun and believe it or not, it sounds pretty good.  But then again, I grew up eating this casserole so....

Although I could probably comment on each and every sandwich, let's wrap up the road food reminiscing to get to an upscale version of an old standard and today's featured sandwich:  grilled cheese.

Back in the day (my day), a grilled cheese sandwich with Campbell's Tomato Soup was the winning ticket, especially on a rainy Saturday.  At the time, "fancy" cheese was no where on the radar so the cheese was either American slices (say what you will, but they melt well) or Velveeta.  But now folks, now that grocery stores everywhere carry a billion and two kinds of cheese, now we can make ours with Gruyere.  How exciting!  And topped with braised leeks – even better!  And made by a Minnesota transplant to LA, Annie Milar, who owns and operates the Clementine restaurant that produced this wonderfully yummy sandwich. Just the ticket!

So I say if you plan to observe next year's National Grilled Cheese Day, put this recipe in your tickler file so that you have it at the ready. Meanwhile, who cares if the big day has come and gone because what, you need a reason to eat a grilled cheese?

Grilled Gruyere with Braised Leeks on Multigrain Bread – makes 4 sandwiches

Ann's Note:  Reserve about an hour to braise the leeks

2 medium leeks

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

½ cup water

Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Scant ½ teaspoon salt

Pinch of freshly ground pepper

Butter for spreading

8 slices dense multigrain bread

10 ounces Gruyere cheese, thinly sliced

Dijon mustard

To braise the leeks, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Trim off the root end of the leeks.  Slice them lengthwise and remove any tough, dark green portions by cutting away from the rot end on an angle and peeling them off.  Clean the leeks thoroughly under running water to remove any dirt.  Pat dry.

Heat a large skillet and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.  When the oil is hot, carefully place the leeks in the pan, cut side down.  Cook for a few minutes, just until they are golden brown on one side.  Remove the leeks and arrange them cut side up in a casserole dish.  Add the water, lemon juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Sprinkle the lemon zest, thyme, salt, and pepper over the top.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in the oven.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.  Then remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 20 minutes.  The liquid will reduce and the leeks will caramelize.  Let them cool.  (The leeks can be braised up to 2 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated.)

To assemble the sandwiches, thoroughly butter 1 side of each slice of bread and arrange the slices butter side down.  Divide the cheese evenly among the bread slices.  Cut the braised leeks diagonally into 2-inch lengths and arrange them on 4 of the cheese-topped slices of bread.  On each of the other 4 slices, spread about 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard over the cheese (use more or less according to your taste and the strength of your mustard).  Place the 2 slices together to make ach sandwich. (The sandwiches can be assembled up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated, wrapped tightly in plastic.)

Place a batch of sandwiches in a large skillet over low heat.  When they are brown and crispy on one side, flip them over and cook until brown and crispy on the other side, about 10 minutes per side.  Keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining sandwiches.  Cut in half and serve.