Spice Dish

Mom Magic

One evening my friend Stacey called me to let me know that her mom Connie had, not only made a fresh apple crumble from apples in her front yard, but that she had given Stacey strict orders to share it with me. This was from a woman I've never met!

All I have to say is that this was the stuff of magic. I love my mom, but my mom was not a fresh baked goods type of mom. Connie is. Apparently, when mom’s bake… they sprinkle magic mom dust in there and baked goods taste….  magical. I couldn’t believe how good this was. Warm, gooey, tart, sweet and perfectly tasting of autumn.

I asked for the recipe and received a little print out, complete with maple leaf motif. Adorable. I made this recipe with bated breath hoping it could only come close to Connie’s. I have to say it was missing a little mom magic but it was still nothing short of delicious.

Connie’s Apple Crumble

Topping:

1 cup flour

½ cup sugar

¼ tsp salt

6 tbsp cold butter

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into quarter inch pieces, and add to flour mixture. Mix ingredients together to form crumbs.

Fruit Filling:

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp flour

½ tsp ground cinnamon

8 large tart apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1 tbsp lemon juice

Combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Toss apples and lemon juice together with above mixture until apples are well coated. Layer the apple slices in a deep-dish pie plate. Sprinkle topping evenly over apple mixture.

Preheat oven to 450*. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350* and bake for an additional 35-45 minutes or until apples are tender when pierced with a knife.

Serves 6 (Riiiiiiiight. More like 3.... maybe)

Enjoy!

EB

Woman's Work

What I’ve come to realize is that my favorite cookbooks are more than collections of glossy recipes but recollections of memories and values and the wishes and wants of the past.

One such book is “The Complete Family Cook Book” from 1969. This three ring binder of a book is a how-to bonanza. There are charts, tips and recipes for everything. I love the late 60’s illustrations but truthfully the book itself isn’t all that remarkable. What is remarkable about this is what I found inside.

 

This book was given to me by my grandmother. She no longer cooks, and truthfully I think she’s glad for that. I don’t know if she realized what she passed on to me, but it is a treasure trove of my grandmother’s history.  From what I have gathered, my grandmother never really loved to cook. She was very, very good at it, but I think she did it because it was expected of her. She was a 1940’s, war-time bride and navy wife. It was her job.

The Blushing Bride

When I received this book, I understood how my grandmother saw it, as a users manual, instructions for work. Underneath the pile of cut out magazine recipes, hand typed recipe cards and box top recipes there were a few unexpected finds: recipe notes scribbled by my grandfather (who really did love to bake), navy air-mail notepaper that has recipes written on it for sweets that travel overseas well (with notes from a friend named Don who put dibs on the first bite of fudge), a poison antidote chart (my grandma had all boys), and then there was The Home Maker’s Guide, a small booklet given to new San Jose brides by the courthouse where they were married. In it are menu planning tips, home ‘domestication’ tips, recipes, the do’s and don’ts of ‘charm’, and dieting tips.

Underneath that? The pamphlet and receipts from my grandparent's blood tests from August 4^th 1942, Two weeks after they meet and one week before he shipped out.

I know this is an all too familiar story. But, it's not just an old woman's story. It's my story too.

EB

The Most For Your Money

I picked up “The Most For Your Money Cookbook” one day while waiting for a dentist appt. I went to The Great Overland Book Co. on Judah and poked through the stacks. I didn’t have anything special I was looking for, just 30 minutes to kill. Their cookbook section is really small and has mostly newer books, but I dug through until I found this little charmer from 1938.

 

As I paid for my purchase, the clerk chided me “You understand this is in 1930’s money right?” Apparently he thought I was trying to use this book for current day money savers. Not that it isn’t a great resource. This kind of info never becomes obsolete really. I assured him that yes I understood and absconded with my purchase.

 

On the dentist’s couch I flipped through my new find. The inside has the name of it’s previous owner: Annie J Mc Crohan (I found a few possible matches on Google, all of whom were born in the late 1880’s which would fit). The name is written in the script of women of my grandmother’s generation.

 

The Foreword is all about “Stretching the Food Dollar” which includes really practical advice like advocating whole grain cereals at breakfast because they “stretch the dollar like rubber”. The reason I so quickly fell in love with this book though was not only the authors’ sense of humor, apparently new tomatoes “bred to convenient size to suit the shipper, not the consumer” are “only good for kids to throw at cops”, but also their candor. They warn against “the siren call of radio experts who sell us foodless food,” offering a much needed reminder that the concern over food industrialization is nothing new.

 

The recipe I went to was one I remember from my childhood, when my mom was trying to stretch our family’s food dollar, Beef Stroganoff. The recipe is exactly the one I grew up with. It’s uncanny. The taste brought me right back to my family dinner table where I would be scolded for rocking back in my chair, my brother would stuff his cheeks like a chipmunk and my dad would try to make us laugh until the milk spilled. It’s simple, comforting and yes, economical… in the very best way.

Boeuf a la Stroganoff

 

1 lb tender beef

2 tbs butter

1 small onion minced

¼ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbs flour

1 parsley sprig

Salt and pepper

1 cup sour cream

 

Cut meat into narrow strips. Slowly fry onion and garlic in butter, add steak and brown. Add parsley and the mushrooms. Cover and let cook for 20 minutes. Add flour, simmer until thick. Add sour cream and heat through.

 

That’s it. Total. It’s best, and most nostalgic, on top of wide egg noodles.

Enjoy!

EB

Goat, Goat, Llama, Cheese!

The drive was long, foggy and full of traffic. It’s the weekend of the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival and so we’re taking the long way down the peninsula. We’re heading to Pescadero, a tiny rural town bordered by the Pacific. The very windy mountain road and foggy near misses have made us a little woozy. Just when we finally wonder if the drive is worth it, we arrive into the town. It smells sweet, like wet moss, flowers and the ocean. 

 

We’ve come to visit the goats. We’ll Harley Farms more specifically. Harley Farms is a family run, small scale, “green” farm that produces world award winning goat cheese. The farm’s herd of female goats were in a great mood the day we visited because… it’s mating season. The two male goats Elvis and Lucky (yes, only two playboys)  were ruling the roost. The only other male around was Bart the guard llama, who kicks and spits at predators. He wandered the field, led by his giant protruding teeth, keeping watch over his girls.

The goats toddled around in their little cliques, stopping by to nibble on shoes and bags. They played Queen of the Mountain on top of the chicken tractor (an organic fertilization process I first heard about from Pollan).

The dairy house was small but clearly efficient. It was there I got to test my hand at milking Angie the lovely little goat. Her utters were soft, warm, fuzzy and very full of milk. The cup of milk we had all filled was given to the farm kitties as we headed to the check out where the cheese itself was made. The small kitchen, again seemed just the right size. It wasn’t a large mechanized process. It’s hands on. It’s done with care and love.

That's Angie!

The cheese tasting could not have come fast enough, but was very well worth the wait. I’m pretty sure we bought our weight in cheese actually. Chevre topped with dried apricots? Check. An herb rolled log. Yup. Award winning Fromage Blanc? Double check.

I highly recommend you go to Harley Farms. See their good for the land practices, taste their amazing product, pet the friendly goats.

 

Harley Farms Goat Dairy
205 North Street, PO Box 173, Pescadero, CA 94060

 

Enjoy!

EB

Oh Julia...

    Everyone is having their Julia moment lately. I guess it's not unusual that I am too, but mine did occur a little more cosmically than commercially. You see, we have a VERY large lazy susan in our pantry. I mean the thing is quadruple towered, filling the whole broom closet, sort of large. It was also hand rigged by the previous tenant, meaning, while cool... not professional, or sturdy. It pooped out on me last week. All four tiers collapsed onto each other landing, not so gently, on whatever pantry items happened to be in it's path. This then became my weekend project. Not only to fix the darn thing, but to clean out and organize the pantry as well. A much needed task might I add.

    So after playing Schnieder, fixing the susan and cleaning out the 4 year old baking powder, I set to cleaning the top, non-susan, half of the pantry. Now up there, lives about 25 of my favorite cookbooks. I have over 200 at this point, most being piled high on the buffet. If I decide to use one of those, there is a good chance of a book-alanche. As I threw away a bag of "when did we buy shrimp skin chips?" I straightened up my favorite books. My go to's. My teacher's pets. I realized then that I don't play fair. I have 175+ other cookbooks that sit there, sad, un-utilized, and collecting kitchen grease, dust and must.

    I started, very methodically, on the right top shelf of the buffet, moved my back noting which books I had and had not cooked out of. Then came Julia. Now I've cooked many, many, many of Julia's recipes don't get me wrong. But this was The French Chef Cookbook, and I had been partial to Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I then realized, that while I had seen all the shows, I had never cooked from it, or the book. I took it down of the top shelf and flipped through to Poulet en Cocotte (Chicken Roasted in a Casserole). It was a rainy, thundery Sunday. Football was on. Long, slow, unattended chicken was perfect.

I took out the wishbone as she suggests

I won't repeat the recipe as it reads in The French Chef Cookbook because the recipe, given Julia's desire to make all her recipes fool proof, starts on page 282 and finishes up at the bottom of 284. Just know that for it's length... it's actually very simple.

One yummy carcass

    Now the pictures are a little sad (finished product wise) because once I took a bite, there was no "honey get me the camera would you?" there was only moaning. With sheer delight. This was the most moist, flavorful, delicious chicken either of us had had in quite some time, if ever, that we could remember. It's beyond good. It was way better than the outcome of the football game, I can tell you that much.

Give it a shot yourself. You won't be sorry.

Enjoy!
EB

French Style

This flavor was inspired by my recent trip to Paris. One morning for breakfast, I happened across some apple flavored yogurt. Simple, but completely divine. Unlike anything I’ve ever tasted in the US. Maybe it’s because French dairy products, are well, actually made of dairy. Not a collection of chemicals and preservatives. Whatever the reason, I was in love. I couldn’t stop thinking about that yogurt and decided I hate to recreate it at home. This is rich, creamy, speckled with vanilla and perfumed with a hint of tart, green apple.

Creamy Green Apple Ice Cream

1 lb tart green apples

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

¾ cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean (split lengthwise)

With a cheese grater, shred apples (including the peel) into a medium saucepan. Stir in lemon juice. Pour 1 cup of the cream into the pan. Add sugar & salt. Stir. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and add to the mixture. Then drop the bean in. Warm the mixture until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add rest of cream and milk. Let steep, covered, for one hour. Strain into large bowl and chill completely. Churn in your mixer. For a caramel apple effect, top with a creamy caramel sauce.

Enjoy!

EB

Irish Fix For What Ails Ya

Last Sunday was cold and grey. A few friends of mine were in town for Outside Lands and were a little worse for wear. I dragged them out to the boonies of SF (hey the don't call it Outside Lands for nothing!) to grab a much needed 'next morning' breakfast. We stepped into the Copper Kettle "bakery" and were greeted by a sympathetic waitress with a full on brogue who brought us water and coffee before I think we could even mumble an order. I had the "mini-Irish" a scaled down version of a gut busting Irish breakfast of beans, sausage, tomato, fried egg, toast, bacon and I'm sure a few other things. The out of towners loved the fact that they could order huevos rancheros and breakfast burritos full of Irish bacon. D.E.M. ordered herself a corned beef sandwich... which honestly... was the best I've ever eaten. Ever. Big thick slices of homemade corned beef that had been tossed on the grill like bacon.... this wasn't just the hangover talking. This was brilliant.

That's a mini!!

Fortified by our Irish provisions we stepped back out in to the fog, dropped the guests off at the park for another day full of San Francisco style fun and headed back to bed to sleep of the food 'lude.

This place is out of the way, way out of the way, but it honestly is Irish (with an SF twist) and worth a trek. Especially on a foggy, cold San Francisco weekend.

Enjoy!

The Copper Kettle
2240 Taraval Street

Pot Roast Comfort

Absolutely Charming & Fabulous

The other night was the kind of night where only some serious comfort food could make things right. It was the kind of night where pot roast seemed to make perfect sense. I knew I would need to flip through one of my classic books to find just the right recipe and guess what I discovered… that I have a new favorite cook book. I do! Really! It’s the Fireside Cookbook by James Beard, the 1949 edition with illustrations from Alice and Martin Provensen. It’s so unbelievably charming.

What does it have to say about pot roast? That, “It is hearty fare and one that is relished by all who are blessed with good appetites.” Good appetite? Check. And a need for a drink? Double check. Luckily Mr. Beard offers several variation of pot roast…  Plain, Italian Style, With Wine and Hungarian. “With Wine” it is!

 

How could this duo not induce glee?

Confession time… this was my first pot roast. Ever. It was! And it came out perfectly. Tender, rich, comforting and even better the next day. I used a Le Creuset Dutch Oven, which I’m totally convinced let to the tenderness.

This is the recipe as it is written on page 107 with my changes in italics:

“Choose a 4 to 6 pound pot roast. Wipe it with a damp cloth and season with salt and pepper.  Lard the meat well with ¼ inch strips of salt pork. I didn’t happen to have salt pork so I gave it an olive oil rub down. Sear in 4 tbs butter until nicely browned on all sides. Pour over 6 tbs cognac and blaze. No cognac so I skipped this step. Extinguish the flame and add 1 clove garlic, I added 4, 1 bay leaf, and a pinch of thyme, and 2 cups red or white wine I used a cabernet. Cover and simmer for about 25 minutes per pound or until tender. Add 12 small white onions, peeled, and 4 or 5 carrots, peeled and cut in strips. I also added mushrooms, celery and fingerling potatoes. If you need additional liquid, add another ½ cup wine. I added the wine and 1 cup of tomato puree. Continue simmering until the meat and vegetables are tender. Just before serving, add ¼ cup finely chopped parsley and stir it into the sauce. Arrange vegetables around the meat on a hot platter and pour the sauce over. Buttered noodles or potatoes mashed with butter and cream are excellent with this.”

If you’ve been intimidated by the big hunk of meat that is pot roast definitely give this a try. The butter searing, the rich sauce, the leftovers…. it’s undeniably worth a try.

Enjoy!

EB

Most Memorable Moments

I'm back from my whirlwind trip and thought I'd share a few of my most memorable food moments with you all:

Hummingbird Bakery on Portobello Road. Delicious cupcakes. Delicious.

Napoleon's Dining Room. Man he knew how to eat.

And then there's these. Most 'memorable' because I can still taste them. Unfortunately.

There's a million more memories. Wine cheaper than water? Vive la France! Korean BBQ in late night London? Love it. Salted caramel yogurt in Paris? A revelation.

Thanks Europe (well except for that exchange rate thing...)

EB

Tomatoes Galore

If you're anything like me you've got an abundance of tomatoes right now. Since I'm heading out of town for a bit and knew there was NO WAY I could eat all the amazing tomatoes chilling on my counter, I decided to 'put some up'. There isn't much better than a bright tomato sauce on a cool day, long after the season is over.

This is a sauce that is easily frozen but is, of course, amazing when fresh. It's also startlingly easy, all it calls for is a few ingredients and a low warm oven.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

2 lbs tomatoes
1 head garlic
Olive Oil
Several tbs Herbs de Provence
Salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 250*. Slice tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Lay slices on a baking sheet on a silpat or spread olive oil on the sheet. Disperse garlic cloves around the pan. Drizzle oil and seasonings all over the tomatoes and garlic. Roast for about 2 hours. Once roasted put tomatoes and garlic (remove skins) in a large saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes. At this point, cool to room temp then freeze. Keeps for 2-3 months (just about the time your fresh tomato craving should kick in!)

Enjoy-

I'm off to Europe. Check back when I get back!

EB