Olympic Food Part 1 - "The Kraft Official U.S. Training Table Cookbook (1992)" & "The Best Traditional Recipes of Greek Cooking" - summer salads

Date I made these recipes:  August 14, 2016

Kraft Official U.S. Olympic Training Table Cookbook (1992 Olympics) by Kraft Creative Kitchens

Published by Kraft General Foods

© 1992

Purchased at BCPA (Bloomington [MN] Crime Prevention Association) annual sale

Recipe:  Decathlon Macaroni Salad – p. 35

The Best Traditional Recipes of Greek Cooking  (New Edition) by Dimitri Haitalis

Publisher unknown (self-published?)

© 2000

Purchased at an estate sale

Recipe:  Country Greek Salad (Salta Horiatiki) – p. 48

"When my baby.  When my baby smiles at me I go to Rio.  De Janeiro.  My oh me oh..."

(from the song, I Go To Rio)

Folks, here are two words that always warm my heart: "Summer" and "Olympics. "   Even though our summer is running short on time, I do love warm weather and love sports so this is the best of both worlds.

Except that technically, it's winter in Brazil, this year's host country.  I think we need to redefine "winter" though because apparently, those poor souls are freezing to death down there right now in 86 degree temperatures.  Life is so cruel. 

And so with the onset of the Olympics, my mind turns once again to what food(s) to make to celebrate these "thrill of victory, the agony of defeat" moments (apologies to ABC's Wide World of Sports for stealing their line.)

But first, of course, let's talk about the sporting events.  I'll start!

Gymnastics:  In many ways, watching gymnastics is a little like watching a horror movie i.e. "I. can't. watch."  These men and women are just flying through the air ("with the greatest of ease...") and I fear for them every time they land back on planet earth. 

And the balance beam?  Well that's just insane.  In junior high, our PE teacher brought out a balance beam that was all of two inches (maybe) off the floor for us to try out and right then and there, I knew gymnastics was not for me as moving on that thing is harder then it looks.  That mini beam (the gymnastic equivalent of a Shetland pony) was as close as we all got to experiencing gymnastics and that is just fine by me.  No need for the parents to stock up on leotards or shore up my life insurance/disability policies.

But speaking of gymnastics, I'll have you know I did a mean dismount from my couch to the living room floor several times during our Olympic viewing.  Per my husband:  "Nailed it!"

Track and Field:  in 6^th grade, my school participated in track and field exercises and there went another event to scratch off my "To Do" list.

Look, I can run (barely) but I cannot run a decent Olympic time, nor a world record time, nor any time really.  And when you look at the times posted by the men and women in the track portion of our program, it's best that I stick to my regularly-scheduled laziness and leave it up to the Olympic professionals.  That said, I do excel in walking.

As to other Olympic track and events, oh please:  I would likely stab myself with my own javelin, break the pole in the pole vault, and cause serious injury to myself and others in the shot put.  I tried hurdles a couple of times and ended up wearing a hurdle like I would wear a cowl neck so that was the end of that.

Equestrian:  Although I've ridden smaller ponies and quarter horses in my day, I have never been on a full-size horse nor do I intend to (they scare me).  And so being on a horse and jumping over things like water hazards and poles and cement mixers (wait—I was mixing that up with monster truck rallies) and whatnot (it's like being on a golf course, only not), is out.  But my gosh, the sight of those beautiful horses clearing the hazards in the jumping event is outstanding. 

 I watched a lot of volleyball and basketball during the Olympics but again, these are not the sports for me.  I would no doubt sustain a permanent crick in my neck from volleyball and as to basketball, let's say  that while in gym class, I "traveled" more miles on the court than I probably did on any of my family road trips.  And I am really, really bad at shooting hoops.  Really.  And so, we must scratch those.

Which brings us to the one sport I do well and that has the smallest probability for injury: swimming. 

I may have mentioned before that I was on my high school swim team for the two short years it was in existence, but it's worth another looksee, is it not?  Besides, I'll only be talking about it every four years or so.

So.  After Title IX was enacted, my school formed a bunch of women's sports teams of which swimming was one.  By the way, the purpose of Title IX was to guarantee an equal opportunity to participate in college sports.  But many schools, high school and college, decided to go whole hog and set up women's sports teams.  Not that they funded them, mind you, they just created them.  Like a lot of teams, we got next to zero money, zero uniforms and with my tennis team, carpooled to meets.  We've come a long way, baby, yet not far enough.

 Anyway, since our school was old, our pool was also old and non-regulation which made for interesting swim practices as we had to swim at least twice the laps to ensure we could swim the regulation length of other school's pools.  And since our pool had a shallow end, we could not practice flip turns and so got permission to do a modified turn during meets.  I actually learned how to do a flip turn in, of all places, a pool at a motel (not hotel) in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where my family and I stayed if we went down for the weekend.

For two years during my sophomore and junior years, we managed to cobble together a group of swimmers and somehow managed to do respectfully well against bigger schools (Class A or B to our "barely" C) and against bigger athletes.  But then the school decided to close the pool and so we became "the swim team that wasn't" and that ended that.  (Happily, women's sports is now thriving at my old alma mater.)

Since everybody and their mother on a swim team normally prefers the freestyle events, our coach had to divvy us up between the other swim strokes and so I was assigned the backstroke.  I didn't mind it and was actually not half bad at it, but I was always happy to be a part of the 4 x 100 freestyle relay, swum toward the end of our swim meets. 

And so fast forward to this Olympics when I found myself at the edge of my seat instead of the edge of the pool, cheering on American swimmers to the finish line.  Their winning times put mine to shame as they normally did in two or more laps what I did in one but let me remind you that was eons ago and "times" have actually changed!

Also, and this is not necessarily a bragging point, swimming in a green pool or a green dive tank may have been new to most Rio Olympians but not new to me.  Our pool was so old it often had filter problems causing (green) algae blooms, and no amount of complaining to our PE teachers got us out of the swimming portion of our PE class.  Ew.  Double ew.  But hey, I am still standing today, no worse for the wear (I think???)

And so to the recipes!  Since the weather has been on the warmish side, I decided to make up a few salads, one from the Kraft Official U.S. Olympic Training Table Cookbook, and the other, a Greek salad, from a Greek cookbook as a nod to the country that held the very first Olympics – Opa!

The Kraft cookbook (really, more of a booklet) is interesting because it was printed in 1992 when the summer and the winter Olympics were held in the same year and so it featured athletes and recipes from both winter and summer sports.  In 1994 though, the winter Olympics were held separately, starting the trend we now see of summer and winter games alternating every two years.  The last winter Olympics were held in 2014 and in 2018 will be held in Korea and then in China in 2022. (Wow—that number gave me pause!)  The next summer Olympics then, will be in 2020 in Tokyo.  So there you have it, and please mark your calendars accordingly.

Although the Kraft Olympic cookbook features summer and winter sports, it seems slightly skewed to summer sports (again—who doesn't love summer?).  Marathon runner, Joan Benoit, is featured on the cover, and track and field star, Valerie Brisco (now Valerie Brisco-Hooks) (200 and 400-meter run), is pictured inside as is U.S. diver, Ellen McGrath Owen. Featured winter sports athletes were  ice skating star, Kristi Yamaguchi, skier Bill Hudson, and speed skater, Bonnie Blair.  And recipes in this book were often given the name of one of the Olympic events, such as "Pole Vault Pepper Steak" or my featured recipe, "Decathlon Macaroni Salad."

This cookbook was fun.  A little outdated, of course, but fun.   And of course, all recipes are heavy on Kraft products usage:  Velveeta lives on! And they are also on the healthy side (Velveeta excepted) as you would expect but that's okay.  My sport – couch-sitting -  (the least-talked about Olympic sport ever) still requires me to keep an eye toward healthy meals as I get in shape for my every-four-years (two with the winter rotation) Olympic trials.  I do so hope I make the team next time – finger's crossed!

The recipes in the Greek cookbook were also medal-worthy even though I only selected one.  In hot contention for a while was "Macaroni with Leeks in the Oven" (p. 99) but that "in the oven" part disqualified it.  Just before I made these recipes, I returned from a very fun but very hot and humid family wedding in Galveston, Texas and I was in no mood to bake anything.  This, of course, left out a lot more recipes in this book but this Greek Salad was refreshing as all get out and paired well with the Decathlon Macaroni Salad.

So here you go, part 1 of 3 of my celebration of the Rio Olympics.

Decathlon Macaroni Salad – makes 8 servings

1 package (14 ounces) KRAFT Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner

½ cup finely chopped celery

½ cup chopped green bell pepper

1/3 cup KRAFT Real Mayonnaise

¼ cup sliced green onions

2 tablespoons CLAUSSEN Fresh Pickle Relish, drained (Ann's Note:  the recipe doesn't say whether to use dill pickle relish or sweet pickle relish.  I used dill this time around.)

2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Dash salt

Prepare Dinner as directed on package.  Add remaining ingredients; mix lightly.  Refrigerate.

Ann's Note:  This dish was almost too crunchy for me!  I liked all the chopped ingredients but it was hard to pick up the other flavors like the mac and cheese.

Country Greek Salad – 5 to 6 servings

3-4 tomatoes

2 medium-sized cucumbers

1 onion, sliced (Ann's Note:  I used white onion that I had on hand)

150 grams (5 oz) black olives

2 medium-sized green peppers, finely chopped

2-3 tablespoons vinegar

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

200 grams (7 oz) Feta cheese

Salt

Oregano

Wash and slice the tomatoes in quarters and place them in a bowl.  Add the cucumber, sliced, the peppers and the black olives.  Dress the salad with the vinegar, the olive oil, salt and oregano.  Add the Feta cheese, cut into chunks and serve.

"Paul Bocuse In Your Kitchen;" "The Culinary Cyclist;" "You Can Do Anything With Crepes" - food for the Tour de France

Date I made these recipes:  July 24, 2016 – the end of the Tour de France          

Paul Bocuse in Your Kitchen – An Introduction to Classic French Cooking by Paul Bocuse; translated, adapted, and with editors' notes by Philip and Mary Hyman

Published by:  Pantheon Books

© 1982

Purchased at Bloomington Crime Prevention Association (BCPA) Sale 2016

Recipe:  Bayaldi – p. 280 (similar to Ratatouille but layered like a casserole)

The Culinary Cyclist – A Cookbook and Companion for the Good Life by Anna Brones (vegetarian/Gluten-free)

Published by:  Taking the Lane / Elly Blue Publishing

©2013

Purchased at Kona Bay Books, Kona, Hawaii

Recipe:  Tapenade – p. 66

You Can Do Anything With Crepes – as Appetizers, Main Courses, Desserts by Virginia Pasley and Jane Green

Published by Simon and Schuster

© 1970

Purchased at Etsy

Recipe:  Cocoa Crepes – p. 34

Well folks, today the three-week-long Tour de France (bicycle competition) ended – "enfin" (French for "finally") - and as is usual and customary, we are celebrating our return to normalcy (plus the return of the remote to me) with French food.  This celebration also let's me sneak in a nod to Bastille Day (July 14^th) which I missed as I was busy with other things...like maybe watching the Tour?

Even though I am not the bicyclist my husband is (well, true confession:  I don't bicycle at all), I enjoy watching the Tour as they often ride through parts of France and Spain that we have visited.  This year, the guys were all back on Mount Ventoux and I have the most hilarious memories of a car trip up that mountain with my friend and travel companion on that trip, Susan, and my French friend's grandparents who drove us around France for the day.  

Quick backstory:  In the summer of 1988, my French friend, Edith (pronounced Ay-Deet) and her French step-grandmother, Marcelle, stopped to visit me while on a cross-country trip through the United States.  My friend, Susan, who spoke fluent French, spent a lot of time with us, and at the end of their trip, they invited me and Susan to visit in the fall.  Well, bien sur (of course) right? You should know that although I minored in Spanish in college, I also learned some French and spoke it pretty well.  That said, it pays to have someone fluent along for the ride and so – Susan!   This is especially true in Provence where Edith lives as the Provencal accent takes some getting used to.

And so, the ride.  Edit charged her grandparents with keeping me and Susan occupied one day when she had to work and so that is how we ended up sightseeing on Mount Ventoux, the same mountain that the Tour riders go up and down during their three weeks on the road.  Mount Ventoux can be a little challenging in a car with a lot of switchbacks (and a lot more challenging on a bike) but still folks.  Still.  Cars make it up and down this thing without incident every years except for ours.

Now since I believe I repeat this story every Tour, I'll spare you the details (especially since we still have no idea how this happened) except to say that when grand-pere rounded a wicked corner, Susan somehow, inexplicably ended up practically on top of me with her feet stuck under the front passenger seat. (And no, she was not wearing her seatbelt thus, the problem.)  Grand-pere had to pull over he (and we) was laughing so hard.  I have often said that the entire trip to Paris and then Provence could have been dubbed "Lucy and Ethel go to France."  That should tell you something.  (PS—after that hilarious ride, we went back to the grandparents' house for a midday meal with wine.  Lots and lots of wine.  I don't know what it says about me that I went glass for glass with grand-pere, who kept filling up my glass with quite the challenging twinkle in his eye, but there it is.)

And so every year like clockwork, I evaluate my French cookbooks, pull a few off the shelf, select the recipes and get to work.  Those books not selected go back on the shelf until next year's Tour is upon us.  So let's talk about the books I used this year.

Book number one – Paul Bocuse In Your Kitchen – is the second Paul Bocuse book I've used.  I made "Soup au Pistou" (similar to Minestrone) for last year's Tour from  Bocuse's Regional French Cooking and it was delicious.  This year, I had another hankering for vegetables and so made Bayaldi, a Turkish dish that is similar to  the famous Provencal dish, Ratatouille in that it uses some of the same vegetables; this dish is layered with zucchini, eggplant, onions and tomatoes.  Although Swiss cheese can be added on top, I went with Bocuse's alternative, olive oil, as a topping.  My only issue with this dish and it is minor, is that I ended up making 3x the spice mixture called for in this recipe as his amounts did not make enough.  Well, at least not in my humble and decidedly non-French opinion.

I liked this cookbook because it offered a wide range of fun French dishes, some of which were better suited to fall or winter, but others perfect for spring and summer.  The instructions, which were translated from French, were not too bad although I had a few "moments" with these instructions just because they were kind of clunky—very similar to how I speak French! 

While the French cookbook had a great range of recipes, I was somewhat challenged to find something I liked in the tiny tome, The Culinary Cyclist.  The book focuses mainly on vegetarian and gluten-free dishes and while there is nothing wrong with that, I was just not into buying a few ingredients that I would never use again just to make a few dishes.  As an example, the recipe for "Dutch Apple Pie with Cardamom" requires sorghum flour, rice flour, almond meal and xanthan gum so I ruled that out.  Some recipes were more doable but didn't float my boat, such as "The Perfect quinoa Picnic Salad with Mustard Citrus Vinaigrette."  And for the longest time, "Gluten Free Olive Oil and Polenta Cake" was in the running until I just decided it was too boring and went instead with the Tapenade recipe two pages over.

This recipe would have been a hit with me had it not tasted so salty but Andy thought it was fine.  In terms of degree of difficulty in making it, it was a piece of cake so that was good.  And tapenade (a popular dish in the French region, Provence) paired well with the Bayaldi so that was also tres bon (good). 

As to the salt, the only salt added was just a teaspoon of sea salt, making me wonder if I should have rinsed the black olives before using them?  The instructions don't say so but as we all know, instructions can be sneaky.  Plus, my palate may also be more salt sensitive than yours or than Andy's. 

As to the last dish, Cocoa Crepes, nothing but nothing says "French" like crepes.  But like anything, these things are best when made well.  And it's not like I botched them per se but they were not the best looking things I ever made, unlike the crepes I made back in 1988 when Edith and Marcelle came to visit.  It was the summer of the drought and the poor ladies just about in my un-air-conditioned kitchen but they were determined that I should learn how to make crepes and so I learned.  At that time, I had the right size pan – 5" is ideal – so that helped.  Their crepes, of course, were perfect, but I did my part and got a few that weren't too bad looking.  And this was tres bon. (Good)

This time around though, the only skillet/ crepe pan I had was about 7 inches.  A 7" pan is just fine for making my own manicotti shells (so easy) but manicotti shells are generally bigger and thicker and so this size skillet works for me. Crepes though, are best really thin and benefit from a smaller pan (unless you have a large just-for-crepes-pan in your kitchen battery which I don't) and though I tried my best to pour just enough batter to coat the bottom, they were a little large in the middle so the first one I made didn't quite set right.  The second one I made (the one Andy ate) though, was much better.

And wouldn't you know, we just happened to have a can of Redi Whip in the fridge so we used that as a topping.  If I had chocolate syrup, I might have really gone to town.  Next time.

By the way, some of you might remember this restaurant, The Magic Pan, where you could get crepes of all shapes, sizes and fillings, from sweet to savory.  I first went to one in 1976 in New York City and thought it was an awesome idea.  And when I moved to Minneapolis and found out there was one downtown I was practically giddy.  It's the littlest things...

Please note though, that I made half the recipe and ended up with just enough batter for two large crepes.  The entire recipe is supposed to make 18-24 which I think is just a tiny exaggeration but oh well.

So this concludes my "Vive la France, Vive la Tour" post.  Bon Appétit!

Bayaldi – Serves 4-6 – from Paul Bocuse In Your Kitchen

4 medium zucchini weighing about 1 ½ pounds total

2 small eggplants, weighing about 1 ¼ pounds total

1 ½ pounds tomatoes

½ pound onions

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

½ bay leaf, crushed

Salt, pepper

Butter (for the dish)

1 ½ cup grated Swiss cheese (see author Note)

5 tablespoons butter (total) broken into pieces (or olive oil – see author Note)

Note:  If preferred, the cheese can be omitted and ½ cup of olive oil used instead of butter.  In this case, pour all of the oil over the surface of the vegetables before putting them in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Wash the vegetables and wipe them dry, then cut them into slices about ½ inch thick (if using a large eggplant rather than 2 smaller ones, cut it in half lengthwise before slicing).  Keep all the vegetables separate from each other.

Butter a large baking dish (preferably earthenware or enameled cast iron).  Cover the bottom of the dish with the onions, then make a layer of zucchini and sprinkle with a little of the garlic, thyme, and bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Next, make a layer of eggplant, and lastly, a layer of tomato, seasoning each layer as you did the zucchini. (Ann's Note:  You should probably double, if not triple, the seasoning mixture as it makes very little in the first place and you will run out.)

Dot the surface with half the butter (Ann's Note: or, as the author said, 1/3 cup of olive oil), then place in the oven for 30 minutes.  At the end of this time, sprinkle with the cheese (Ann's Note:  I omitted the cheese), dot with the remaining butter, and bake 20 to 30 minutes more or until golden brown on top.  (If the vegetables dry out during the first 30 minutes' baking, cover them with aluminum foil; remove the foil for only the last 10 minutes of the baking time.)

Serving suggestions:  Serve with roast or boiled meat.  Ann's Note:  I cooked some rice and used the vegetables as a topping.

Author's Note:  Instead of making layers as described here, you can simply make parallel lines of overlapping vegetables and bake them in individual baking dishes rather than in one large one.

Ann's Final Note:  The only butter I used was to butter the baking dish.  Once I layered all the vegetables, I poured the 1/3 cup olive oil over the surface and baked it and it was fine.  I also covered the baking dish with foil as directed.  Finally, as I said above, you'll need to triple the spice mixture or you won't have enough for all the layers (three in all).

Tapenade – Serving size not given (about 2 cups?) – from The Culinary Cyclist

1 6-ounce can of organic black olives  

½ of a roasted pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ cup almonds

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon rosemary or Herbes de Provence

½ teaspoon black pepper

Mix all the ingredients in food process until well blended.  Store in an airtight container in refrigerator until serving.

Ann's Note:  Although it does not say to do this, I recommend rinsing the black olives just in case they are in a salt brine.  (I must confess I didn't even look but I found the dish a tad salty.)  You might also want to start with a quarter teaspoon of sea salt, adding more as needed.

Cocoa Crepes – makes 18-24 crepes – from You Can Do Anything with Crepes

2 eggs

½ cup flour

2 tablespoons cocoa

¼ cup sugar

1 cup milk with a little cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend for about 30 seconds at half speed.  Or mix eggs and flour by hand or in a mixer adding cocoa and sugar and then milk gradually, beating all the time.  Add vanilla and the cooled, melted butter and beat once more.  Led stand covered and hour or two.

Heat a small skillet or crepe pan – about 5 inches in diameter, brush with butter and when butter bubbles up, pour about a tablespoon and a half of crepe batter into pan, swirling so batter covers the pan.  Cook for about 1 minute, check for browning and watch carefully – both the cocoa and the sugar cause crepes to burn easily.  Turn crepe over and cook for about a half minute on the other side.  Turn out on paper towels.

This recipe will make from 18-24 crepes depending on the size of the pan and amount of batter used for each crepe.  These freeze well.  Ann's Note:  I used a larger pan but given that I halved the recipe, I only got 2 large crepes out of the deal.  Turns out that was perfect for our two-person household but if you want more, make the full recipe.

"The Northern Exposure Cookbook" (based on the TV show of the same name) - Ruth-Anne's Meat Loaf

Date I made this recipe:  July 19, 2016 – The heat wave is coming, so let's go North to Alaska! (1960 song sung by Johnny Norton)

The Northern Exposure Cookbook – A Community Cookbook from the Heart of the Alaskan Riviera Based on the Universal Television Series "Northern Exposure" Created by Joshua Brand & John Falsey – by Ellis Weiner

Published by:  Contemporary Books

ISBN: 0-8092-3760-1; copyright 1993

Purchased from Barnes and Noble Used Books Online

Recipe:  Ruth-Anne's Meat Loaf – p. 71

And so as is usual and customary, we are now having our annual one-time-a-year-whether-we-need-it-or-not heat wave.  And as always, I remain amused by the Armageddon that has resulted.  You'd think we never, ever experienced such hot temperatures, such the is picture of doom and gloom.

I blame much of this hysteria on local meteorologists.  Whereas once upon a time they just reported whether it would be hot or cold, rainny/sunny/snowy, now they scare the crap out of people reporting the "heat index" in the summer and "wind chill" in the winter. 

In the winter, every weather report tells us the actual temperature – e.g. -10, but oh my, "the wind chill index is going to feel like -50." "Do not go out unless you have to," they report.  "Do not!"  "You may die out there."  "It only takes a minute for flesh to freeze" (I kid you not, that's what they say.)

And so schools close because apparently parents who could normally dress children for  -10 lose the ability to dress their kids for -50 wind chill. 

People who could normally make it to work on time also lose their minds and feel like they have to stay home to warm up their cars when in fact, most "modern" cars warm up just fine in this weather.  The car doesn't know the temperature but the owner sure does.

And folks, it has been a long time since we've had temperatures in the -20's and -30's but the rules for going out in the winter hold no matter what the cold weather brings:  dress in layers.  Wear a hat, wear comfy boots (they can still be fashionable), and wear a jacket.  Avoid bikinis and shorts until the temperature hits 50 degrees in March or April (at which time, I kid you not, you will see people breaking out the summer gear.)

In summer, we have the dreaded and dangerous heat index.  The "heat index" is a thing to be feared.  Where once upon a time we survived just fine if it got hot out (let's say 85 degrees or warmer), now, with the heat index pointed even higher than the actual temperature, we have chaos.

"The temperature today is going to be 91 but it FEELS LIKE 101."  Stay inside.  Get nothing done.  Do not look at the sun.  Take cover!  Take cover!

I will concede that dangerously low temperatures and ridiculously high temperatures can be fatal to kids and the elderly (especially the heat) but honestly folks, this is Minnesota we're talking about here.  Only newbies to the area don't dress correctly and that once included me.   Although I came from snow country (lots and lots of snow), I was unprepared for the bitterly cold negative temperatures when I first moved here and when I missed the bus one cold night and had to wait in boots that were not suitable for cold, I got a minor case of frostbite on my toes.  Lesson learned.  If you take a moment to throw fashion principles aside and dress appropriately, you too, can survive these extreme temperature fluctuations.

Which brings me to Alaska.  I have only a small handful of states to visit in my lifetime, including Washington (state), Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming (I think.  That state may have been a "drive-by" (drive-thru) state), (inexplicably) Alabama and Alaska.  And let me be very clear on this:  while I may, someday, visit the remaining states, there is no way I'm willingly (or unwillingly) going to Alaska.  If I had a bucket list, it would not even make the top 1,000 cut.  

Why? Well for one thing, even though Alaska is often warmer than Minneapolis, it is still a pretty chilly place as some areas really get down into the subzeros, making Minnesotans look like a bunch of pussies for complaining about -10. Plus, they have that perpetual sun problem in the summer and almost absolute darkness in the winter and that just doesn't work for me.  Messes with the mind, it does.  Finally, there's the Nature "problem" and by "problem," I mean there's just too much Nature there for me.  And at the risk of repeating myself, my life mantra is – I kid you not – "Nature is NOT your friend."  I don't do wilderness treks to "Nature," "I don't like to encounter Nature in its natural habitat, and I will be just fine if I don't have a close encounter with a polar bear, thank you very much!

And yet, the praise for Alaska just keeps coming.  "Oh, it's gorgeous, you should go there!" 

"No."  "But..."  "No."  "No, no, no."  Between the weather and the sun/no sun and your overabundance of Nature, it is not for me.  There is nothing fun about a moose on the loose.  Nothing.

Unless, of course, you are watching the opening credits to the hit TV show, Northern Exposure, where a moose strolls through town, all nonplussed about what it sees or doesn't see.  I like "TV" moose as no harm befalls a viewer who is safely ensconsed behind a TV screen.  And can I just say that "Moose and squirrel" i.e. Rocky and Bullwinkle, was one of my favorite TV cartoons?  It was.  (I also adored the evildoers Boris and Natasha.) (Can't forget to mention Mr. Moose and his ping pong balls from Captain Kangaroo!)

And so since TV moose are good moose, you shouldn't have any difficulties cooking from The Northern Exposure Cookbook, based on the hit TV show (1990-1995) of the same name.

The stars of that show, including the moose on the loose, were all residents of the Alaskan town named Cicely, a town that became home to Dr. Joel Fleischman, a newly-minted (and very neurotic) Jewish doctor who moves from New York to tiny town Alaska to work off his medical loans.  In my family, we likened Dr. Fleischman to my brother, (Dr.) Tom, who also paid off med school loans by moving to Gallup, New Mexico to work in a low-income clinic. Unlike me, Tom very much likes Alaska and he and his wife visited there a while back.  Tom loved that TV show, a show that showcased how Dr. Fleischman was such a fish out of water compared to the town's inhabitants who were (naturally) quirkier than all get out. 

In addition to "Fleischman," we have Maggie, the bush pilot; Maurice, who owned half the town and was a former astronaut; Officer Barbara, his no-nonsense law enforcement girlfriend;  Ruth-Anne who owned the local store; Holling and his much younger wife, Shelly, who own and operate the local saloon; Chris ("In the Morning") who is the local DJ and who likes to philosophize about everything, and Ed and Marilyn, two native Alaskans who added much humor to the show.  Ed is the resident jack-of-all trades who is pretty intelligent despite coming across as a dim bulb, and Marilyn is Dr. Fleischman's receptionist who is very quiet, almost eerily so,  but when she speaks, she speaks volumes. Other characters filled in the blanks and some newer series regulars appeared in later seasons, but this was our core group.

Out of this entire group, my least favorite character was Chris "In the Morning," the local radio DJ, played by actor John Corbett.  And I have to say, but I did not warm to his character, Aidan, on Sex and the City, either. (She was meant to marry Big folks, not Aidan.  Period.)

The nod for favorite though, has to go to Fleischman (Rob Morrow) as his attempts to fit his New York personality into small town Alaska were hilarious.  And runner-up for favorite went to Maurice Minnifield, played by actor Barry Corbin, especially after he started going out with Barbara, a serious-as-a-heart-attack officer who gave Maurice (a run for his money. Barry Corbin also appeared years later in the TV show, The Closer, as Clay Johnson, father to the protagonist, Brenda Leigh Johnson.  Loved him in both roles.

So that's the recap about the show and about Alaska and now we turn our attention to the cookbook. But I must say, if you were expecting quirky food, or "native" foods of elk, moose, bear, etc., from this cookbook to go along with this quirky cast of characters, you'd be disappointed (although there is a recipe for Mooseburgers –substitute ground beef).  Instead, we are treated to "regular" food like casseroles, lasagnas, and even a Jell-0 salad, the salad compliments of Joel Fleischman.  Almost all recipes are prefaced with a story, and in the back is a complete list of recipes and the episodes in which they appeared.  I like that.

One observation though:  While I am not saying that food provisions that we enjoy here in the Lower 48 don't get delivered to Alaska, I do feel that securing some of the items needed for these recipes back then (1990-1995) might have been a bit of a stretch.  Blue cornmeal?  (Page 34) Risotto? (Page 128).  I do recall though, that shopkeeper, Ruth-Anne could order almost anything and so I'm going with that.

Today's dinner came down to two choices:  Shelly's Hot Dog and Cheese Casserole (page 78) and Ruth-Anne's Meatloaf (page 71).  Both sounded great, but I to try Ruth-Anne's meatloaf and I was not disappointed. (Ruth-Anne's character was always pretty chill (pun intended) and made me laugh.)  I made half a recipe which was just right for two people.  If, as a kid, you ate your meatloaf with ketchup and mustard, then you'll be happy to know that both of these condiments are included in the meatloaf mix.

This then, concludes my I am not going "North to Alaska" even if it is one of the hottest days of the year.   Unfortunately though, I cannot console myself watching old episodes of Northern Exposure because they don't air on cable – yet.  Life can be so cruel....

Ruth-Anne's Meat Loaf – Makes 6-8 servings (Ann's Note: Also divides well)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon dried thyme

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 cup milk

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped white onion

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons catsup

1 ½ pounds ground chuck

1 ½ cups soft bread crumbs

3 strips uncooked bacon

Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat egg lightly in a large bowl.  Add salt, pepper, thyme, mustard, milk, celery, onion, and ¼ cup catsup, mixing ingredients well.  Add chuck and bread crumbs and mix well until thoroughly combined.

Transfer mixture to a 9 ¼-inch loaf pan.  Spread the remaining 2 tablespoon catsup over the loaf and top with bacon strips.  Bake for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes before slicing.

"June Roth's Indoor/Outdoor Barbecue Cookbook;" "Martha's (Stewart) American Food;" "The Best of Home Economics Teachers Bicentennial Cookbook" - 4th of July food

Date I made these recipes:  July 4, 2016

June Roth's Indoor/Outdoor Barbecue Cookbook by June Roth

Published by:  An Essandess Special Edition

© 1970

Purchased at Arc's Value Village Richfield

Recipe:  Coney Island Hot Dogs – p. 46

Martha's (Stewart) American Food by Martha Stewart

Published by:  Clarkson Potter/Publishers

ISBN: 978-0-307-40508-1; © 2012

Purchased at Barnes and Noble, Roseville, MN

Recipe:  Classic Potato Salad – p. 49

The BEST of Home Economics Teachers BICENTENNIAL Cookbook – 1976 – Favorite Recipes® A Limited Edition

Published by:  Favorite Recipes Press

© 1976

Purchased at BCPA (Bloomington [MN] Crime Prevention Association annual June sale)

Recipe:  Red-White and Blue Salad (Jell-O) p. 39

Every year since I can remember, class reunions are held in my home town of Munising, Michigan, on the 4^th of July.  That may seem odd to those who live in a city where reunions are held at various times of the year, but it makes sense for my small hometown as that it often the one time of year when people return home to be with family and friends.

This year was my 40^th class reunion – the class of '76.  That year was a big deal as our country celebrated its bicentennial and how nice of it to coincide with my graduation year. ;) There are times when I keep thinking that my graduation and that interloper, the bicentennial, were just yesterday but alas, forty years is not "just yesterday."

As is usual and customary in my home town, there is a parade that is always well attended (my parents were frequent attendees, long after my brother and I left home) and in the early years of my childhood, it was usual and customary for a vast majority of the parade units to be surrounding area drum and bugle corps including our very own Silver Echoes.   Oh how I wanted to be a Silver Echo.  So wanted to be part of that color guard; the color guard was most cool. But alas, I was just a tad too young to join and by the time I got around to being of age, they disbanded and were replaced by the Castle Rangers who were fine but not the Silver Echoes.  Not.

The (Wm. G.) Mather High School band also marched and that was a fun thing.  We may have been a small, Class C school but we had one fantastic school band.  Although I hung out with plenty of band kids, I was never in a marching band, not in high school or college and that's a whole other long story best told over cocktails. ( I can though, play a fine Mickey Mouse March on the chimes!)  So just after I got married, I took adult clarinet and saxophone lessons and at the urging of a good friend of mine (who has since passed away), I joined the same community band that she helped found – the Calhoun-Isles Community Band.  I played with them for 20 years, although we shall use the term "play" very loosely (I played the 3^rd clarinet part  which is about all I could handle),"retiring" 2 years ago after serving also as the President of the Board of Directors.  But alas again, this concert band most decidedly did not march anywhere except to and from the parking lot for our Tuesday night rehearsals, especially on cold and dark winter nights ("Double time!")

No parade is complete without floats and the "dignitary" cars although I'm told that there are hardly any floats these days in the Munising parade and that's sad.  I posted some parade pictures my dad had taken in the late 60's/early 70's on Facebook so my classmates and I could reminisce about the good old days.  In previous years, each graduating class had its own parade float but these days, those classmates walk the route handing out candy to the kiddies.

After the big parade, there was usually a pet parade and then in the afternoon, our volunteer fire department held a water fight, the gist of which was to battle each other in a water tug of war before turning the spray on the crowd to cool us off.  Not that it was ever really hot in my home town when I was growing up, but getting sprayed was a big deal.

At dusk, everybody gathered at Bayshore Park to watch the spectacular fireworks that were shot off from the boat dock at Munising Bay into Lake Superior. Those fireworks were always top notch and are honestly better than the ones Minneapolis used this year, go figure.

So there I was, within a month of my reunion and the 4^th celebration, when I found The Best of Home Economic Teachers' Bicentennial Cookbook and could not let the opportunity to use it pass me by.  My love of the cooking portion of my Home Ec classes is a big reason why I have this mega book collection, now numbered at 2, 276 cookbooks, and no, I did not plan it so that the '76 in the collection number coordinated with the bicentennial although what timing, right? 

Now when I say that the cooking portion of my Home Ec class was something I loved, I cannot and will not say the same about the sewing portion of our program.  Because, and forgive me this word folks,  when it came to sewing, I "sucked."  (And by the way, while the 7^th and 8^th grade women took Home Ec, the boys took Shop.  Talk about a sign of the times.)

All 7^th and 8^th grade females had to take Home Ec where we practiced our kitchen skills and sewing skills—or lack thereof.  I was pretty darned handy dandy in the kitchen, despite the fact that my mom considered that her territory and only her territory, but until that class, I never sewed anything.  Meanwhile, all my other classmates were already quite skilled and everyone but me had sewn before.  I did not think it a good sign when I broke a needle practicing on a paper pattern.  And I managed to mangle more bobbins than "Carter has pills" (and old advertising slogan that only those my age or older will get.)

And so naturally as these things go, instead of sewing easy aprons, pot holders or tea towels like 99.9% of the Home Ec classes across the country, my 7^th grade project was to make a sleeveless blouse with interfacing and the 8^th grade project was to make a skirt with a zipper and waistband.

All righty then!  Nothing like starting out with the most difficult projects ever.

Worse:  when were finished our projects, we had to wear them to school that day in what I call the Walk of (Sewing) Shame.  All the other gals proudly paraded their outfits as they well should have whereas  I tried to hide in the bathroom.

Reason?  Well, let's see...it might be because I got a D on the blouse as it wouldn't even have qualified as a Project Runway reject.  The interfacing did not flatten out as it should, I had stitches showing everywhere, the fit was off and so the whole thing was bloody was awful.  The only thing saving it was that it was dark navy blue so it hid every single on of the million boo-boos I made. 

The second project – the skirt – looked good on paper but the execution thereafter was most problematic.  Denim was the "it" fabric at the time so I wanted to make a denim skirt but alas, folks, there is denim as in Levi denim and then there is "fake" denim as used by Home Ec students.  Mine was the later.

Still, I was doing okay until this happened:  I put the zipper in (just fine) but the substitute teacher the next day told me it was wrong so I had to take it out.  Then when the regular teacher returned, she told me that was wrong so I had to take it out again.  And when I put it in for the final time, the fabric around the zipper was trashed plus the zipper was about ¼ inch away from the waistband.  And just when things couldn't get any worse, the skirt fabric got bunched up and caught in the sewing machine, causing a huge snag to occur on the back on the skirt and why?  Because it wasn't real denim!

And this is what I wore on the Walk of (Sewing) Shame, Round 2.  And needless to say, both projects ended up in my dad's fire barrel as was right and proper for such abominations. 

But the cooking portion?  Oh my yes – nailed it!  To this day, I still have the recipe cards I wrote for all the food we made those two years.  In seventh grade, we made all breakfast items and in 8^th, soups and salads for lunch.  Some were quite good (potato soup) whereas others were just so kitsch – broiled grapefruit with a Maraschino cherry in the middle.  I think I made those at home exactly once and then I was done with that.  (I am not a big grapefruit fan.)

So tying it all together, that cookbook was just perfect for the day, with Martha Stewart and June Roth filling out my 4^th of July menu.

As always, the bicentennial book had a lot of good recipes making it hard to choose, but these two were easily and automatically DQ'd (disqualified) from the lineup:  "Creamed Brains in Potato Cases" (I am gagging as we speak) and – and I am not kidding –"Squirrel Jambalaya." Oh. Dear. Lord.

Folks, maybe it's me but really Home Ec teachers?  Really?  THIS is what you have your little darlings in Home Ec class make?  No.  Just say no.

In the end, I settled on the Red, White and Blue (Jell-O) salad because it fits the holiday theme and it's "safe."  You cannot really go wrong with Jell-O although as you will read, making mine was a bit challenging (but only a bit so don't fret).

This year's entree—if hot dogs can be considered an entree – came from June Roth's Indoor/Outdoor Barbecue Cookbook.  Roth has the distinction of writing a cookbook – Let's Have a Brunch - with one of the worst looking covers ever: a two-tired ham-salad "cake" that is frosted with something (mayo?) to make it look like wedding cake, that is then further "decorated" with peas and lemon halves to make it more...festive?  That was a definite "no" for me but happily, the recipe I made for my blog (June 30, 2007) from that cookook, "Cinnamon Raison Brunch Bread," was delicious.

You should know that the recipe for Coney Island Hot Dogs is really a recipe for a Coney Island sauce and not really the hot dog itself.  A Coney Sauce is almost like a chili sauce or a sloppy joe filling  and that is a flavor profile I love. And I love that she gives both an indoor and outdoor option for those who may not have a grill handy.

Finally, there's Martha.  Martha's American Food cookbook features all kinds of recipes from coast to coast and the pictures and recipes are glorious well because of course they are. This is Martha Freaking Stewart after all.  Martha is no slouch when it comes to beautiful and mouth-watering photos.

While every single recipe looked fantastic, I was on a mission for potato salad because you can't really have a bona fide Fourth of July celebration without potato salad, not in my book.  But I am not sure Martha and I see eye-to-eye on what constitutes "classic" potato salad.  My mom used potatoes, onions, celery, salad dressing (yes, I know, but that was what she used) and mustard, but not relish, and the whole thing was topped with hard-boiled eggs and radishes. Delicious.  Mom also garnished with fresh parsley from our garden.

Martha's "classic" involves mayonnaise because of course it would—Martha likely never, ever substituted salad dressing for mayo because she's Martha.  My mother did because her doctor advised her to way back when in order to lower her high cholesterol (which ran in her family.  And by the way, my mother was quite petite and skinny so "who knew?").  As these things go though, salad dressing is almost 10x worse than egg-based mayo but nobody knew that at the time.  At any rate, Martha also adds cornichons instead of pickle relish as well as scallions.   This is so very Martha, is it not? But I'm not sure cornichons is a standard addition to a "classic" potato salad.  Southern cooks, for instance, seem to favor pickle relish in potato and macaroni salads, but sweet pickle relish, not dill or even cornichons.  This recipe was good and it was definitely a "Martha" moment, but if I made it again, I think I'd switch things up and add sweet pickle relish.

So that was the repast and all in all, things worked out except for the following little quibbles:  (Please note, I made half recipes of each one.)

1)     Thank goodness once again for Google.  The Coney sauce did not say which type of pickle relish to add but internet recipes showed that most cooks favored sweet pickle relish so that is what I used in the Coney sauce.

2)     The middle layer of the patriotic Jell-O didn't quite set and I have no idea why.  It might be because I used only one half of the unflavored gelatin since I was making a half recipe.  Some recipes – perhaps this one – don't halve very well.  The entire thing was good but soupy.  Very soupy.  I recommend using a whole packet of the unflavored gelatin.

3)     Potato salad is tricky because you don't want mushy potatoes but you do not want undercooked ones, either.  Martha says to cook for 25 minutes and Martha is probably short by another 15.  The thing is that Martha says to use a medium potato but these days, everything is gargantuan and that's all that you can find unless you grow your own.  Martha may grow her own, but I most certainly do not.  Been there, done that.  If you use a larger potato, plan to add a bit more time to the cooking schedule.

So there you go, everyone.  Some food for the 4^th, some food for a bicentennial class reunion and just some good food, period.  Enjoy.

"Oh let us cheer, for Mather High, we want our team to win this game....."

Coney Island Hot Dogs (sauce) – makes 12 servings – from The Best of Home Economics Teachers Bicentennial Cookbook

¼ pound ground beef

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1 ½ cups water

¼ cup pickle relish (Ann's Note:  Google "survey sez" sweet pickle relish)

1 tablespoon instant minced onion

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 dozen frankfurters

1 dozen frankfurter rolls

Outdoors:  Cook ground beef in a medium-size saucepan on the edge of grill, stirring t break up meat into small particles.  Add tomato paste, water, relish, onion, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, chili powder, salt, and sugar.  Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Makes about 2 cups of sauce, enough to spoon over 1 dozen grilled frankfurters on rolls.

Indoors:  Make sauce in saucepan on range.  Cook frankfurters under broiler and warm rolls in the oven.

Classic Potato Salad – serves 10 to 12 from Martha's  American Food (Ann's Note:  Even a half recipe made a lot.)

4 pounds russet potatoes (about 8 medium)

Coarse salt

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

3 large eggs

1 cup mayonnaise

½ teaspoon cvelery seeds

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 celery stalks, cut into ¼-inch dice

1 small onion, cut into ¼-inch dice

10 cornichons, cut into ¼-inch dice

3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

In a large saucepan, cover potatoes with water by several inches.  Bring to a boil, then add 1 tablespoon salt.  Reduce heat and gently boil until potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about *25 minutes.  (Ann's Note: *as noted above, most potatoes these days are pretty large and need more time to cook.  Although the potato surface was tender, the middle needed more time.)  Drain.

Peel potatoes while still hot, using paper towels to protect hands; cut into 1-inch pieces.  Transfer potatoes to a bowl and drizzle with vinegar; let cool.

Place eggs in a small saucepan; fill with enough cold water to cover by 1 inch.  Bring to a boil; turn off heat.  Cover; let stand 11 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and cover with cold water; let cool and peel.  Cut 2 eggs into ¼-inch dice.  Slice remaining eggs into ¼-inch-thick rounds; reserve for garnish.

Combined diced eggs, mayonnaise, celery seeds, and dry mustard in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper, and whisky to combine.  Stir in potatoes, celery, onion, cornichons, scallions, and parsley.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day.  Just before serving, garnish with paprika and egg rounds.

Red-White and Blue Salad – Yield:  15 servings or one 9 x 13 pan – from The Best of Home Economics Teachers Bicentennial Cookbook

2 packages raspberry gelatin

2 c. boiling water

1 envelope unflavored gelatin (Ann's Note:  I halved this recipe and in retrospect, should have probably used the entire package instead of ½ package as the middle layer did not set very well.)

1 c. cold water

1 c. half and half

1 c. sugar

1 8-oz package cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ c. chopped nuts

1 can blueberries (Ann's Note:  I used fresh blueberries and raspberries and made a simple syrup to substitute for the canned blueberry liquid.)

To make a simple syrup:

1 ½ c sugar

¾ cup water

As noted above, sometimes making a half recipe does not yield the results you are looking for; I think this was one of those instances.

The first layer of this Jell-O set up fine.  The middle layer did not set up as well and I suspect I likely needed to add the entire package of unflavored gelatin.  If you make this, try adding the whole thing.

As to the blueberries, sure, I could have purchased a can of blueberries at about $5 a can, but this is summer and that means fresh fruit.  So instead of using the canned berries and their liquid, I used about an equal amount of fresh berries and then made a simple syrup and added that instead. 

To make the whole recipe, dissolve 1 package raspberry gelatin in boiling water; pour into 9 x 13-inch pan.  Chill until firm. 

Combine unflavored gelatin and cold water; set aside.  (Ann's Note:  even if you are making just a half recipe, try using the entire package instead of a half package like I did.)

Mix half and half and the sugar in saucepan; bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Add cream cheese; beat until smooth.  Add vanilla, nuts and unflavored gelatin; stir until gelatin is dissolved.  Cool.  Pour over chilled layer; chill until firm.

Drain blueberries; add enough water to blueberry juice to make 2 cups liquid.  Bring to boiling point.  (Ann's Note:  if using fresh berries, make a simple syrup and use two cups of that instead of the blueberry juice.  The ratio above of 1 ½ cup sugar and ¾ cup water makes plenty of "juice.")

When liquid is on the brink of boiling, add remaining raspberry gelatin; stir until dissolved.  Cool.  Stir in blueberries; pour over cheese layer.  Chill until firm.

Ann's Note:  So because the middle layer didn't really set correctly, the entire dish ended up kind of soupy but the taste was great. 

"Catch 'em and Cook 'em" by Bunny Day - Crabs Creole

Date I made this recipe:  June 26, 2016 – spotlighting the game show, To Tell  The Truth

Catch 'em and Cook 'em by Bunny Day

Gramercy Publishing Company

© 1961

Purchased at Arc's Value Village Thrift Stores

Recipe:  Crabs Creole – p. 46

In my May 8^th blog, I cooked from actress and TV personality Arlene Francis' book, No Time For Cooking.  Arlene was a panelist on the (vintage) TV show, What's My Line, and in that blog, I did a good deal of "reporting" about that show and its sister shows, To Tell the Truth and I've Got a Secret. 

I also reported that cookbook author, Bunny Day, appeared on To Tell the Truth, prompting me to screech "Bunny Day? My Bunny Day?"  That very name – Bunny – is what prompted me to purchase two of her cookbooks in the first place and there she was, on TV and everything!  When I was growing up, I knew or knew of three people with the name or nickname, Bunny, and it just makes me giggle – still - because it's so cute (and so were they).

So I made a mental note to cook from her book sometime this summer and was actually gearing up to do so when I watched yet another episode of To Tell The Truth, and on that episode, three people claimed to be cookbook author, Eva Jean Schulz, who wrote the book, Shrimply Delicious!  So first I had Bunny talking about fishing (which I gather was an expertise of hers) and her cookbook (Catch 'em and Cook 'em) and now Eva was talking about her shrimp expertise and her cookbook and well, something was "fishy" here, right?  (Pun intended.)

Alas, I already cooked from Shrimply Delicious! (Collectible Cooking – December 15, 2007 – Shrimp and Mango Chutney Canapés that were delicious) as well as from Bunny Day's other cookbook, Crazy-Quilt Cookery (Collectible Cooking - September 24, 2014 - Beef Casserole/Meatloaf), and so that left me with one more from these game show participants:  Bunny Day's Catch 'em and Cook 'em.

But first, one more tidbit that just amused me to no end about Schulz's book, Shrimply Delicious! On the To Tell The Truth celebrity panel that night was the always elegant and witty, Kitty Carlisle who, before beginning her questioning of the panelists, said (dramatically, of course) "Well there's absolutely nothing I love more than shrimp!"   I do so love her.  Plus, she was wearing this totally kick-ass leopard skin stole (with pearls) and yes, I know, PETA will likely be all over me for that but let's remember folks, that back in the 60's, this was the biggest deal on the planet. 

At any rate, Kitty was all excited by the Shrimp Lady and she was all excited about Bunny Day and shrimp and seafood and you should be too! 

I must confess that when I first starting looked through this book for a recipe to make, I thought I might be overwhelmed with recipes for fish and I am not a fish fan.  But hooray, readers, the "Catch" in the title is misleading because the book is not about catching something with a fishing pole but rather "caught" as in with traps (crabs, lobster) or digging (oysters, scallops and mussels.)Except for the bouillabaisse recipe in the last chapter, there's not a mention of fish to be seen and to me, this was a good thing.  (And need I tell you that there is no way I am ever again gutting a fish?)

Had I grown up on the east coast like my father and his family, I might just have gone to a seafood store, gotten live crabs (or lobster or whatever) and just cooked them myself.  Alas reader, I did not grow up on the east coast (although I do visit a lot) and Lake Superior, my backyard, does not yield these incredible edibles so I chose the slacker route and went to Coastal Seafoods and bought a can of crab, already prepared.  As I often say, "Why do for yourself when you can pay others to do for you?"

Aside from the crab meat which pound for pound equaled a couple pounds of beef or a couple chicken breasts (depending where you shop), the rest of the ingredients were pretty inexpensive to buy and the entire thing was really easy to make.  My only complaint, and it is very minor, is that the dish was a little too sweet (i.e. sugary) for me.  The guy at Coastal Seafoods talked me into purchasing a can of sweeter crab meat and that, along with the teaspoon of sugar, and lack of other balancing savory spices, made for a more sweet than savory concoction.  Did we eat it anyway?  Well, of course we did.  But the next time around, I might add a bit of Old Bay or even a bay leaf to try to course correct the sweetness.

The recipe also calls for 4 tablespoons bacon fat and I tell you what, I was positively giddy to discover that Trader Joe's carried a one pound package of raw bacon ends and pieces (of mostly fat) which was PERFECT for this dish.  I used to buy and freeze bacon slices but that didn't work well because we never used them up in a timely manner, but this?  This I will use, especially if the recipe calls for only the fat and not the bacon itself.

So there you go.  "Bunny" and I had a lovely time in my kitchen making this dish and I think you will too.

Meanwhile, I am keeping an eagle eye on the guests on To Tell the Truth because you never know who will pop up. In fact, I was watching one episode (circa 1963) recently where three people claimed to be Australian-born folk singer, Shirley Abicair, who rocketed to stardom after appearing on the BBC.  And one of the panelists claiming to be her was actress Cecily Tyson.  (You should know that Shirley is Caucasian as was the other pretender but Cecily is not.  But this type of mixed panel happens quite often on "TTTT" to throw off the panel.  I've seen them mix men and women, for example, when the "real" person's name is something like Carol (f)/Carroll (m), or Jean (f)/Gene (m)("'Jean'"/Gene, the dancing machine..." from The Gong Show.)

At any rate, so I'm watching the show, right, and I kept thinking "I know that woman"   (Cicely Tyson) but could not come up with her name.  I remembered "Miss Jane Pittman," a character she played in a 1974 TV movie, and I correctly placed her as character Annalise Keaton's mother in the contemporary TV show, How to Get Away with Murder, but beyond that, I was stumped.  And then just as she was asked to give us her real name and what she really did, the light bulb came on and two seconds later she said " My name is Cicely Tyson and I am a student at "the New School" and I was born right here in New York City."  (By the by, the New School is a famous New York university, of which, the drama program tutored up and coming (and now famous actors, like Ms.  Tyson) in the craft. 

So get out there and Catch 'em and Cook 'em folks (ha—as if), and do some cooking and if you have time, perhaps a little walking down memory lane by viewing some vintage and current TV shows or movies.

Crabs Creole – serves 4

2 cups crab meat

1 large onion, chopped

1 crushed clove garlic

½ cup chopped green pepper

4 tablespoons bacon fat

1 16-ounce can tomatoes

½ cup chopped celery

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Dash Tabasco sauce

½ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Sauté the onion, garlic, and green pepper in bacon fat until tender.  (Ann's Note: I threw in the celery too because I wanted mine soft.) Add everything else and simmer for 20 minutes.  Serve on rice.