Blue Ribbon Cuisine

It's Never Too Late For Soup

By that title I mean that even if it's spring, it's never too late for some kind of soup.  I also mean it's never too late in the day to think about cooking soup, because a good soup doesn't have to cook forever. 

I was born into a family of soup lovers, so I'm always in the mood to cook up a batch. Because I love soup so much,  I want it to be homemade, since that is the best kind.  Because I love soup so much, I also don't want to wait for several hours or days for my soup to be ready. 

There is nothing wrong with canned or packet soup, both are okay in a pinch, but anyone can taste the difference between those and homemade.  Having said that, a satisfying soup can be made with canned stock or even water  if the rest of the ingredients are flavorful.  There are good stocks  without a lot of additives in most major supermarkets these days. Plus, if you don't have to make stock from scratch, you can have your pot of soup so much faster.  Don't be put off by a long list of ingredients in any of the recipes.  The soups come together more quickly than those  lists might suggest.

The variety of soup is almost endless.  There are even fruit soups,  which I confess I've never tried, but always thought might provide a way to have soup for breakfast.  I'm not a big fan of cold soups either, although vichyssoise and gazpacho do have their charms on a hot summer evening.  For me, soups are like a comforting blanket on a cool day, even if that cool comes from my air-conditioner!

The Recipes

Spring Soup - serves 4 - 6

This is adapted from a recipe called Suppa d'erbiglie from one of my favorite books, "The Frenchwoman's Kitchen" by Brigitte Tilleray from Cassell publishers,  1990. Her recipe did not include asparagus, but I still associate that vegetable with spring, even if it is available all year long, so I add it. Very thin asparagus doesn't need peeling, so that saves time.  Asparagus spears always tell you where they want to be trimmed. Bend the stalk and the woody portion will naturally snap off. You can just use water instead of stock in this, but I think stock gives it more depth of flavor.  If you want to make this ahead of time and want the herbs to keep their green color,  reserve them to add you're ready to reheat the soup.

1 tomato

6 small red potatoes

1 lb baby lima or fava beans

1 lb early peas

1 bunch thin asparagus

4 green onions

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

6 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 cup mixed fresh herbs, including tarragon, parsley, thyme, marjoram and basil

Salt and pepper

To peel the tomato, cut a small cross in the rounded end and drop into boiling water.  Leave for the count of 8.  Place in cold water and pull back the peel,  starting at the cross.  Chop roughly and set aside.  Scrub the potatoes and peel them, if desired.  Cut into 1- inch pieces. Shell fresh limas or favas and fresh peas.  Snap the asparagus stalks where they break naturally,  rinse well and cut into 1 1/2- inch pieces,  leaving the tips whole. Roughly chop the green onions. 

Heat the olive oil in a deep soup pot and cook the garlic for 1 minute.  Add the potatoes and the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer gently until potatoes are beginning to soften.  Add the limas or favas, peas, asparagus and tomato.  Simmer all the vegetables for 15 - 20 minutes or until tender. Add the green onions once vegetables are almost done. Stir in the herbs and adjust the seasoning.  Serve with garlic croutons.

Mulligatawny Soup - serves 4 - 6

As a soup, this was unknown in India before the British Raj.  It was an invention for the officers mess when dinner required a soup course, and it started out a thin, peppery mixture. The name mulligatawny is said to come from the Tamil words molegoo (pepper) and tunes (water).  Over the years, other ingredients were added,  and I've added a few myself.  I'm fond of this soup when I feel a cold coming on.  I swear I even stopped one in its tracks with a particularly spicy bowlful  in London.

6 - 8 cups chicken broth

2 chicken breasts or thighs, skinned

3 tablespoons oil

1 cup diced onions

2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 tablespoons mild curry powder or 1 tablespoon hot curry powder

2 apples, peeled, cored and coarsely grated

2 teaspoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons mango chutney

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon lime juice

Salt and pepper

1 cup cooked rice

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut cream

Cilantro leaves

Combine 6 cups chicken broth with the chicken portions in a large pot. Cover and bring to the boil, then simmer, partially covered until chicken is cooked, about 20 minutes. Strain and reserve broth.  Bone and dice the chicken.

Heat the oil in a stock pot and add the onion. Cook until lightly browned. Stir in the flour and curry powder.  Cook 1 minute and add the reserved broth, stirring well.  Add apple and tomato paste. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.  Add more broth as the soup cooks, if needed.  Stir in the diced chicken and remaining ingredients and heat through.  Top each serving with a few cilantro leaves.

Caraway Counter-Spell Soup - serves 4

My Slovak grandmother was quite superstitious, only I didn't know how much so until recently.  My mother probably told her not to fill my head with such nonsense when I was growing up.   The story goes that when my mother,  her brother and sister were children and mentioned to my grandmother that someone in town had complimented them, she usually said, "They might have cast a spell on you."  Then she whisked them into the kitchen and cooked this soup for them.  If she had time, she made little egg dumplings to go into it.  Does the counter-spell work?  Caraway was long thought to protect against spells,  and since both Friday the 13th and tax day are coming soon, it couldn't hurt!  Besides, it really does taste good.

4 tablespoons bacon drippings

1 tablespoon caraway seed

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 clove garlic

6 - 8 cups chicken broth

Salt and pepper

1 large egg, beaten

2 - 3 tablespoons flour

Heat bacon drippings and fry the caraway seed for a few minutes or until seeds begin to pop. Remove and set aside.  Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly over fairly high heat to make a dark roux.  Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 6 cups of the stock and whisk until smooth.  Return the caraway seeds to the pot and simmer about 20 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Add more broth or water, if needed.  Strain if desired.  Adjust the seasoning.  Mix the egg and 2 tablespoons of the flour to a smooth paste, but don't over mix.  If the mixture is still very runny,  add a little more flour just until it drops easily from a spoon. Bring the soup to the boil and drop in very small amounts, about 1/8 teaspoon, of the dumpling mixture and cook until they float to the top.  Serving immediately.

Presto Soup  - serves 6

A very quick way to have an Italian-style meatball soup.  It's a very hearty,  filling soup,  perfect as a main course.  I really like hot Italian sausage for this, but mild is good too.  Turkey Italian sausage is fine if you want to cut down on the fat a little.  To make the soup without sausage, add some mushrooms. 

1 lb bulk Italian sausage

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove minced garlic

4 - 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

15 oz can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or basil or 1 tablespoon dried

2 cans red beans,  drained and rinsed

1/2 lb baby spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped or 10 oz frozen, chopped spinach, thawed

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 cups cooked soup pasta

Salt and pepper

Grated Parmesan cheese

Shape the sausage into a flat, square cake about 1/2 - inch thick on a lightly oiled plate. Place in the freezer until firm, but not frozen solid.  Cut into 1/2- inch dice. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot  and add the sausage pieces. Saute until lightly browned, turning often, keeping the pieces separated.   Drain the sausage.   Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook a few minutes.  Drain any remaining fat in the pot and return the sausage along with 4 cups of the broth, tomatoes and their juice and herbs. Simmer about 15 minutes adding more stock, if needed.  Add the beans and spinach. Cook a few minutes then stir in the vinegar and the cooked pasta.  Heat through, adjust the seasoning and serve with cheese.

Avgolemono  Soup- serves 4

Eggs are the thickener in this soup. Those eggs,  symbols of spring and renewal are probably why it comes to mind at this time of year.  It has a sunny, springlike daffodil color, too.  Rice is the usual addition to this soup, but I once had a version with orzo and really liked it, so I've made it that way every since.  The most important thing to remember is to not allow the soup to boil once the egg yolks are added.  There are few things less appetizing than scrambled egg soup. If you are worried about the egg yolks not cooking completely, use pasteurized eggs available in supermarkets.

6 cups chicken stock

1/3 cup orzo

Juice and zest of  1- 2 lemons

3 eggs, separated

1 1/2 tablespoons water

Salt and pepper

In a deep saucepan, bring the chicken stock to the boil.  Add the orzo and cook until just tender.  Drain the orzo and reserve it along with the broth.  Return the broth to the pot.  Grate the lemon zest before squeezing the juice and add half of the zest to the broth.  Squeeze the juice and add 1/4 cup to the broth.  Reserve remaining juice.  Beat the egg yolks with the water until well mixed.  Beat a small amount of the hot stock into the egg yolks to warm them slightly and then beat the yolks into the rest of the broth.  Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the soup thickens slightly.   Stir in the cooked orzo and adjust the seasoning.  Add more lemon juice, if needed.  Serve immediately.

Microwave Croutons

One more recipe and it's a strange one.  This really does work, and you can flavor them however you like.

2 cups of 1/2- inch cubes of bread

Olive oil or melted butter

Finely grated Parmesan cheese,  minced garlic, finely chopped herbs, sesame, celery and poppy seeds and red pepper flakes

Place bread on a microwave oven safe plate.  Microwave 4 - 5 minutes on HIGH (100%), stirring every 2 minutes, until dry.  To flavor the croutons,  first toss the bread cubes in olive oil or melted butter to coat lightly, but evenly.  Sprinkle with whatever flavoring ingredients you choose and toss to coat.  Microwave as before.

                                                                                          ##

Next time: Making Waves

Technology: 1 Me: 0

What can I say?  My latest post, Cooking for Mr. Meat  has a very old date,  Oct 2006 to be exact.  I forgot I couldn't change the date to suit myself.  Take a look if you would.

Thanks

Cooking for Mr. Meat

Do you have one of these at home?  Someone for whom dinner isn't unless it contains (what else?) lots of meat.  Your Mr. Meat could even be a Ms. Meat -- mom, grandma, sister or aunt .   My Mr. Meat's choice is beef.  He also likes lamb, game, pork sometimes, but beef is the king of his culinary universe. 

Last November I was dreaming of short ribs in a rich sauce, savory lamb shanks, and hearty stews, so I filled my freezer with the appropriate raw material only to be so overbooked with professional cooking that I hardly had time for my own.  Between cooking 3 Thanksgiving dinners (only one of them mine), 5 Christmas dinners  (only 2 of them mine), 1 cocktail party ( fortunately not mine),  and my usual cooking jobs, I felt there was nothing I hadn't cooked, including that partridge in a pear tree.  Well, OK , I actually did Cornish hens with pears.  All my lovely ideas stayed frozen while I plonked steaks and chicken on the grill for dinner.  Peace on Earth descended on December 26, and I cooked out of the freezer for 3 months.  Mr. Meat was ecstatic.

The Recipes

Savory Lamb Shanks - serves 4

I have always wanted to like lamb shanks, but never quite got there until I stopped trying to rush them and just let them take their own time.  This recipe doesn't have any really strongly flavored ingredients to get in the way of the taste of lamb, which meat lovers appreciate.  Chop the vegetables by hand or in a food processor.  Processor-chopped veg can get a little watery, so drain in a colander  and save any liquid that comes off.  It is very important to brown the shanks and the vegetables well so that sauce will have a good rich color and flavor.  Bake slowly in the oven until the meat practically falls from the bones.  Prepare the dish the day before, and it is even better. 

4 lamb shanks, about 12 oz each

Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 large celery stalk, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove minced garlic

1 lb cremini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered

2 cups red wine

3 cups lamb or beef broth

28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon  chopped fresh thyme

Handful of roughly chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 300 F.  Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, deep oven proof casserole over high heat.  Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper.  Add 2 shanks to the casserole.  Brown on all sides and remove to a plate.  Watch the heat and lower it if the sediment in the casserole begins to blacken. Add two more shanks, brown those and remove them.  Lower the heat to medium and add more olive oil, if needed.  Add the chopped carrot, celery and onion to the casserole.  Brown slowly, stirring constantly until the vegetables caramelize, turning a rich brown.  Add the garlic and cook a few minutes.  Remove vegetables and garlic.  Add the mushrooms and cook over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove them to a separate plate from the lamb shanks and vegetables.

Return the shanks and the vegetables to the casserole. Add the wine, broth, tomatoes and their juice.  Add the herbs and bring to the boil.  Place in the oven and cook at least 2 hours or until the shanks are fork tender.  The shanks may take up to 4 hours to cook.  Allow the shanks to cool in their liquid to room temperature and them skim off the fat that has risen to the surface.  Refrigerating overnight makes this step easier.  Remove the shanks and bring the skimmed sauce to the boil.  Simmer until the sauce reduces and thickens. It should lightly coat the back of a spoon.  Return the shanks to the sauce and heat through with the mushrooms. Adjust the seasoning.  Sprinkle with lots of fresh parsley and serve with pasta, potatoes or polenta.

Raspberry Barbecue Pork - serves 4 - 6

This recipe is a favorite with my personal chef clients.  It is a combination of about 4 recipes, so no longer bears a resemblance to any of them. It is such a pretty dish that you could serve it for a special dinner. I've put it on menus for Valentine's dinners,  holiday dinners and summer dinners. Rice or orzo makes a good accompaniment, and I love sugar snap peas with this.

6 oz can tomato paste

1/2 cup red wine vinegar or raspberry vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup sugar

Water

2 containers of fresh raspberries

1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

Combine tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, about 1/2 cup water  and 1 1/2 containers of raspberries in a medium saucepan.  Bring to the boil, partially cover and simmer until the raspberries soften completely.

While the sauce cooks, trim the tenderloin, removing any fat and the silvery tendon.  Cut into 1/2-inch thick diagonal slices.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil  in a large skillet and saute the pork on both sides.  Cook in several batches to avoid crowding the pan and so steaming the meat instead of browning it.  Return all the pork to the pan and add the chicken broth and bay leaf.  Cover and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until pork is tender. 

Pour the cooking liquid from the pork into the sauce and bring to the boil.  Simmer, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.  Puree in a food processor until smooth. To serve,  reheat the pork in the sauce and adjust the seasoning.  Gently fold in the remaining raspberries.

Orange Braised Short Ribs with Pearl Onions - serves 4 - 6

I just returned from a trip to Santa Fe, where I saw short ribs on the menu as an appetizer. I wished the idea had appealed to me, but I wasn't in the mood for that much adventure.  I think I prefer my short ribs as a main course.  Use bone-in short ribs or boneless ones as you like.  Bones will give the sauce extra flavor and have a thickening power of their own.  If you can't be bothered to peel the onions, use the frozen kind, but don't add them until the meat is almost done.  To make peeling raw onions easier, drop them into boiling water for a few minutes, then into cold water.  The peels should come right off.

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb pearl onions, peeled and left whole

3 lbs short ribs on the bone (for boneless ribs, allow 2 per person)

Flour mixed with a good pinch of salt and pepper

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 celery stalk, roughly chopped

1 cup red wine

1 3/4 cup beef broth

Bay leaf

Sprig of thyme

2 or 3 parsley stems

1/3 cup orange marmalade

Chopped parsley

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, deep oven proof casserole.  Add the peeled onions and saute over moderate heat until golden brown, turning frequently.  Remove and set aside.  Toss the short ribs in the flour mixture to coat lightly.  Add more oil to the pan as needed and brown the short ribs over fairly high heat on all sides.  Do this in batches.  Place all browned ribs in the casserole and add the carrot and celery. Pour over the wine and broth and add the bay leaf, thyme and parsley stems.  Stir in 2 tablespoons of marmalade.  Bring to the boil, then simmer, covered for about 2 - 3 hours. 

After about 1 hour, add the onions.  If using frozen onions, wait until 30 minutes before the end of cooking.  Check the level of liquid in the pan often and add more broth or water to keep the ribs moist.  The short ribs may also be cooked in a 300 F oven.

When the ribs are tender, remove them and the onions and strain the sauce.  Discard the herbs and vegetables.  Add the remaining marmalade and bring the sauce to the boil. Cook rapidly until the sauce is thickened and syrupy.  Return the ribs and onions to the sauce and heat through. Adjust the seasoning and serve sprinkled with parsley.    I love everything with mashed potatoes, so try those or a mixture of brown, wild and white rice. 

La Macaronade de Vico au Stufado - serves 4 - 6

This is a Corsican recipe from that little island that is part French,  part Italian, at least in its cuisine.  The recipe itself comes from a brilliant book called "The French Woman's Kitchen" by Brigette Tilleray,  Cassell publishers, 1990.  I have taken very few liberties with it. I only cut the quantity of beef, upped the quantity of ham and smoked sausage and added a bit more tomato paste.  The original recipe was also meant to be served with a macaroni pie, far too much for me,  so I suggest pasta like bucatini or just let it go on its own to the dinner table. 

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 lbs lean stewing beef, cut into 1- inch pieces

8 oz country ham, trimmed of fat and cut into 1- inch pieces

8 oz smoked sausage,  cut into 1- inch chunks

4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves  garlic, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup red wine

Pepper

1 bay leaf

Pinch of fresh rosemary

1 whole clove

1 cup pitted green olives, halved

Salt

Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet.  Brown the beef  pieces on all sides, a batch at a time if necessary.  Remove to a deep heatproof casserole.  Add a little more oil and lightly brown the ham and smoked sausage.  Add to the beef.  Brown the shallots and garlic and transfer to the casserole.  Stir in the tomato paste, wine and pepper. Add the bay leaf, rosemary and clove.  Add enough water to cover.  Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 - 3 hours or until the beef is tender and there is still enough sauce for the pasta.  Add more water during cooking so that the meat is always covered.  Remove bay leaf and add the green olives before serving. Taste and add salt if needed, but the country ham and smoked sausage are salty so more might not be needed.

Next time:  It's Never Too Late For Soup                                                                                                 

 

Dinner on a Stick

Shish kebabs, kebabs, kabobs, satays, sates, brochette, shaslik, skewers, yakitori, spiedini.  Whatever names they go by,  however that name is spelled,  I love them.  They have been around for centuries.  The website homecooking.about.com says Columbus was very fond of a Portuguese version called espetadas, beef cubes marinated in wine and roasted over an open fire.  My old Larousse Gastronomique attributes the name kebab to Turkey, where the meat used was and is lamb, mutton or buffalo.  Satays or sates (accent over the "e", which I really must figure out how to do) are Indonesian and Malaysian. Brochettes, of course,  are French, yakitori Japanese and spiedini Italian.  Shasliks come from Asia and eastern Europe.  Indian cuisine boasts a few kebabs of its own. I suppose we will never know who stuck the first piece of meat onto the first skewer, but he or she gave us a fun way to serve dinner.

When I try to analyze why I love these skewers of grilled food so much, I can't really come up with a definitive answer.  One reason is their versatility.  Just about any food, savory or sweet, can be threaded onto skewers.  These can be grilled outdoors or in.  They can even be oven-roasted.  That way, even when it's too cold to grill outside (although I know grilling fans won't agree there is such a time)  skewers can be winter food, too.  Another reason I like them is they give me the feeling I'm eating more than I actually am.  The deck of cards definition for portion control looks a whole lot larger when the protein source is cut into cubes and threaded on to a ten-inch skewer.

Speaking of skewers,  if cooking this way becomes a habit, buy stainless steel. These are reusable and hold up to heat.  Bamboo skewers have to be soaked for at least 30 minutes in warm water prior to use.  This stops them from burning, but the method doesn't work well for thin wooden  skewers like the ones for cocktail kebabs.  With those I use a different method.  I cover the exposed ends with foil and this keeps them fairly safe from the heat.  Flavor-infused wood skewers are even available now from a company called Callisons Fine Foods.  These are a very clever variation on the theme of using woody rosemary stalks striped of leaves.  They work, they come in six flavors and don't have to be soaked first.   

Marinating gives skewered food flavor and helps tenderize meat like cubed leg of lamb.  The choices are practically endless, but the flavors should be robust enough to stand up to heat.  Spices are a good choice and so are strong herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage and savory.  Some kind of acidulating ingredient is needed for tenderizing. Try wine, vinegar, yogurt or fruit juices.  Just be careful with fresh pineapple and some other tropical fruit juices which can break down the meat if it's left in too long.  Oil will add moisture to the food and help herbs and spices stick. 

I like to cook the meat and vegetables on separate skewers, although peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes will do alright alongside the meat.  I usually parboil onion pieces first.  I think they need a bit more time to lose their raw taste and by then, the meat can get overdone.  Unless you want very crisp veg,  parboil zucchini, carrots, squash, shallots,  pearl onions and  new potatoes.  Eggplant can be done either way.

As this piece was meant to be done in July,  I've been chatting long enough.  Let's cook.

The Recipes

Spiedini alla Romana

Serves 4  as an entree, 8 as an appetizer

This is not easy. I would recommend using a broiler rather than grill for this to keep the cheese where it belongs.

1 loaf ciabatta, focaccia or other Italian bread

1 1/2 lbs Mozzarella balls (large or small)

1/2 cup olive oil

8 anchovy fillets or 4 cloves minced garlic

Italian parsley or fresh basil leaves

Cut the bread into 20 pieces or slices about the same size as the cheese.  Cut large Mozzarella balls into 1/2-inch thick slices or cut small balls in half to make 16 pieces of cheese in all.  Thread 4 large or 8 small skewers, starting and ending with bread.  Press cheese and bread closely together.  Place a piece of oiled foil over broiler pan and place on the skewers drizzle with a little olive oil.  Preheat broiler to 375  F or place shelf so that the pan will be 5- 6 inches away from the heat. Broil for 15 minutes, checking frequently so cheese doesn't melt away and bread doesn't burn.  Meanwhile heat remaining oil in a skillet. Remove from the heat, add the anchovies and mash until completely dissolved.  If you hate anchovies, cook the garlic in the oil until lightly browned.  When the spiedini are done,  place on plates,  spoon over a little of the anchovy or garlic oil and garnish with herbs.  For an entree,  serve with a tomato salad with maybe some artichoke hearts and black olives.      

Chicken Yakitori

Serves 4 as an entree, 8 as an appetizer

If you have no sake hanging around the kitchen,  white wine may be used. The taste won't be quite the same, but it will still be good. Sansho, a powder made from the seed pods of prickly ash trees was traditionally sprinkled over Yakitori.  Try Asian markets for it or check online.  Substitute pepper if you can't find it.

3 tablespoons sake or dry white wine

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

8 scallions, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups teriyaki sauce (bottled is fine)

Sansho or freshly ground pepper

Combine sake or wine, sugar and soy sauce in a bowl. Add the sliced ginger and the chicken pieces.  Leave to marinate for at least 3 hours.  Skewer 4 pieces of chicken alternating with 3 pieces of scallions on 8 skewers.  Grill or broil for 3 minutes per side or until chicken is no longer pink.  Baste with teriyaki sauce.  Serve 2 skewers per person for an entree along with more teryaki sauce.  Sprinkle each skewer with sansho or pepper.

Sausage, Apple and Pepper Kebabs

Serves 4

This is practically foolproof. There is no worrying about how long to cook everything.  Just cook it until the apples, peppers and sausage acquire a little brown.

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill

4 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 lb smoked sausage (beef, pork or turkey), cut into 2-inch pieces

2 Granny Smith apples, cored but not peeled

1 large red pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 2-inch pieces

Whisk honey and dill, gradually whisking in the vinegar. Add the sausage and marinate about 2 hours. Cut apples in quarters.  Thread ingredients onto the skewers alternating peppers, sausage and apples.  Thread on apples skin side up. Brush with marinade and broil or grill until peppers and apples are tender and everything is slightly browned.  Pour any remaining marinade over the top to serve.

Involtini di Pesce Spada

Serves 4

In an Italian recipe titles, involtini means rolls. The fish in these kebabs is sliced and rolled around a stuffing before being threaded on skewers alternating with tomatoes and lemon slices.

1 1/2  lbs of monkfish or tilapia

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tablespoon capers, drained and chopped

4 pitted black olives, chopped

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

1 - 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and pepper

2 lemons, cut into 1/2-inch thick pieces

4 Roma tomatoes

Olive oil

Set oven to 375 F. Cut fish into 1/2-inch thick slices about 3- inches long.  For the monkfish, cut the tail in half or thirds, lengthwise, then into 2 - 3 pieces.  Cut tilapia into 3 - inch long pieces. Mix the capers, olives, breadcrumbs, parsley and enough lemon juice to help the stuffing hold together.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Place a small amount of stuffing on each piece of fish and roll up. Thread onto skewers beginning with tomato, followed by lemon, followed by fish, followed by lemon and tomato. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Place on an oiled baking sheet and drizzle with more oil. Bake the skewers for about 15 minutes. Raise the temperature to 500 F and bake a further 8 minutes to brown lightly.  Serve immediately.   

Spiced Lamb (or Beef) Kebabs

Serves 4

My exception to parboiled onion is in this recipe. The onion rings are thin enough to cook completely in the same length of time as the meat. If you want hotter flavor, use cayenne pepper instead of the black pepper.

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 clove minced garlic

1 teaspoon black pepper

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

4 tablespoons plain yogurt

1 1/2 lbs lamb, cut from the leg or top sirloin

1 onion, sliced into1/4 - inch thick rings

1 green pepper,  seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces

Heat the oil in a small pan and add the cumin. Cook for 1 minute over moderate heat to roast the spice.   Add the ginger, garlic, pepper, salt, cilantro and yogurt.  Cut meat into 1 1/2- inch chunks and combine with the spice mixture. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.  Thread meat onto 8 skewers, alternating with the pepper pieces.  Choose onion rings that are large enough in diameter to slip onto the skewers over the meat cubes.  Grill or broil about 6 - 8 minutes per side or until meat and vegetables are done to your liking.  For a quick sauce,  combine 6 oz plain yogurt with 1 tablespoon chopped mint or dill, 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar.

Pork Satays

Serves 4

A staple in Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine, these are kebabs made from pork, chicken or beef marinated in a spicy mixture and served with peanut sauce.  As an appetizer, these satays will serve 8.  This recipe is long, but not complicated.

Satays:

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Grated zest of 1 lime

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil

2 cloves minced garlic

1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin

Chopped cilantro

Peanut Sauce:

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup smooth, natural peanut butter

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Mix soy sauce, cayenne, lime zest, oils, and garlic. Trim fat and silvery tendon from the pork and cut into 3/4-inch pieces, thread onto skewers. Pour soy sauce mixture over the pork and marinate 1 hour. Preheat broiler or grill to high. Place skewers on foil over broiler pan and directly on grill rack about 3 inches from the heat. Cook about 4 minutes per side or until no longer pink. For the peanut sauce, warm vinegar, water and soy sauce. Add garlic and whisk in peanut butter until smooth. Stir in sesame oil and keep sauce warm. Sprinkle satays with chopped cilantro and serve with the sauce.

Brochette aux Herbes

Serves 4

This is a remembered recipe from a long ago trip to Paris. The brochettes are good without the sauce, but this is French after all.

1 1/2 lbs top sirloin or leg of lamb, cut into 1 1/2- inch chunks

6 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons red wine

2 tablespoons chopped fresh savory

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

Salt and pepper

Chopped fresh mint or parsley

Sauce:

1/2  cup red wine

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot or onion

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 1/2 cups beef stock

Salt and pepper

Pinch of sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream

Toss meat chunks with the oil and wine.  Marinate for about 1 hour. Mix all the herbs, except mint or parsley, with a pinch of salt and pepper and add the meat chunks. Toss to coat the meat with herbs.  Thread the meat onto skewers and grill or broil for about 6 minutes per side or until done as liked.  Sprinkle with mint for lamb or parsley for beef. 

Meanwhile combine wine, shallot or onion, tomato paste and stock and bring to the boil. Simmer until thickened and reduced to about 1 cup. Add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar.  Stir in the cream. Bring back to the boil.  Serve with the brochettes. 

Vegetable Kebabs

Serves 4 - 8

Serve these as an appetizer or side dish for 8 people or entree for 4.  Get the smallest new potatoes you can find, about 2-inches diameter at the largest. These kebabs don't really need tenderizing, but the marinade will add extra flavor.  This marinade is practically all-purpose, so keep the recipe for whatever you are grilling.

12 very  small new potatoes, scrubbed

4  zucchini

12 pearl onions, peeled

1 large red or yellow pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

Marinade:

9 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons rosemary leaves

Coarse salt and cracked black pepper

Cut the zucchini into pieces about the same size as the potatoes.  Parboil the potatoes and onions for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook for about 3  - 4 more minutes until zucchini is slightly softened, but not cooked through.  Drain and thread all the vegetables onto skewers, alternating the different ones.  Mix all marinade ingredients,  except the salt and pepper.  Pour over the vegetable kebabs, turning to coat evenly. Leave for 1 hour.  Preheat grill or broiler and cook the kebabs for 6 - 7 minutes,  turning and basting frequently until lightly browned.  To serve,  pour over a little remaining marinade and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Next: Cooking for Mr. Meat   

Queen of all the Condiments

That would be me. After I buy all my fresh ingredients, I head for the heart of the supermarket where they keep all the intriguing bottles, jars, cans, boxes, bags, tubes and packets of  just about everything.  I have tried to analyze my obsession/addiction.  I think it comes from the time I spent as a magazine food writer.  We got every new food  and cooking item to taste and test before they hit the stores.  Or, maybe I should blame heredity; my mother has always had a collection of her own.

I have mustard in every shade from very green (lots of tarragon) to deep purple (lots of Burgundy). I have red currant jelly, apricot jam, bergamot jelly, fig preserves, Oxford marmalade, ginger preserves, clover honey, hymmetus honey and huckleberry honey.  I have ground red peppers, plum sauce, Thai fish sauce, toasted sesame oil, black bean and garlic sauce and pickled ginger. My spice selection simply doesn't bear thinking about.  I have all the standard stuff as well, like pickle relish and ketchup. I even have a sauce called Cackalacky.

Whenever someone opens my fridge, their first words are, "Look at all those jars!"  My pantry  runneth over as well.  I know a lot of what I buy in jars, etc. has ingredients I don't really need. In my saner moments, I remind myself of this, but then my obsession takes over.  I realized the full extent of my problem just recently when I as "Americanizing" a British cookbook for a publisher over there.  This involves, among other things, converting imperial and metric quantities into American cup and spoon measurements.  Having lived and worked in the U.K. once upon a time,  I know a lot of that by heart, but certain ingredients just have to be weighed on a scale and then transferred to a cup to see how much gets filled up.  Well,  every time I had to check an ingredient, however obscure, I seemed to have it on hand. 

The time has come to do something with my collection before everything is way past its shelf life.  Besides, I have to make some room. There is probably something new arriving on the stores' shelves right this minute that I will just have to try. 

The Recipes:

Devil Sauce and Rub

This is great for ingredient pack rats like me.  The recipe calls for just about everything on hand.  It, in turn, will keep for weeks in the fridge once prepared.  Use it on grilled or baked chicken or pork tenderloin,  ribs (both pork and beef). It even makes a good dipping sauce for shrimp.  Brush it on before baking or grilling and if you want, dilute it with a little water or broth to make a more pourable sauce. 

Sauce:

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons steak sauce (any variety)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

4 level tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons plum sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Large dash of Tabasco

Rub:

2 teaspoons dry mustard

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon curry or chili powder

Mix all the sauce ingredients and leave to stand at least 30 minutes before using.  Mix all rub ingredients and rub over poultry or meat.  Grill the poultry or meat and baste with the sauce.  Add a little water or broth to the sauce  and bring to the boil before serving.

Ginger Sesame Chicken - serves 4

Finally, another way to use up those ginger preserves I bought.  You can actually substitute 2 tablespoons of honey mixed with 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger if you want to.  For more sauce to serve with rice,  triple the sauce ingredients.

4 skinless,  boneless chicken breasts or

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

2 tablespoon ginger preserves*

4 tablespoons soy sauce

4 tablespoons dry sherry

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons canola oil

4 tablespoons sesame seeds

4 scallions, cut in strips

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.  Combine remaining ingredients except canola oil, sesame seeds and scallions.  Heat canola oil in a wok or skillet and add the chicken pieces. Stir-fry until lightly browned.  Pour over the sauce ingredients. Cook,  stirring constantly, until chicken is cooked through and sauce reduces slightly.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions to serve.

*Look for ginger preserves in the jam section or gourmet section of most supermarkets. The preserves  are imported from the U. K.

Honey-Glazed Pork with Ginger Grapefruit Sauce - serves 4

The tang of grapefruit cuts right through the richness of pork.  Besides, I have far too much honey, not to mention 3 kinds of soy sauce in my pantry.  Let's use them up, along with the pickled ginger. 

1 1/2 lb piece boneless pork loin

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Sauce:

2 pink grapefruit

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cup grapefruit juice

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons cold water

Lemon juice to taste

Pinch salt and pepper

Pickled ginger*

Set oven to 450 F.  Place pork loin in a roasting pan. combine honey and soy sauce and brush over the pork.  Reduce heat to 325 F and roast pork for 1 - 1 1/4 hours.  Remove peel and white pith from the grapefruits and slice them into 1/4 - inch thick rounds. Cover and set aside. When the pork is done, combine brown sugar, grapefruit juice and soy sauce in a saucepan. Mix cornstarch and water together and whisk into the grapefruit juice mixture.  Place over moderate heat and bring to the boil, whisking constantly until thickened and cleared.  Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Slice the pork 1/2 - inch thick and arrange on a serving platter. Top with grapefruit slices and scatter over at least 8 pieces of pickled ginger. Coat with the sauce and serve immediately.

*Available in the Asian ingredient section of most supermarkets.

Lamb Chops with Mint, Rosemary and Red Currant Sauce - serves 4

Mint and rosemary are classic with lamb. Red currant jelly is a classic English accompaniment to lamb. In fact, it is often served like mint jelly is here.  When I was in culinary school our instructions were to never salt anything before broiling and of course, those rules have stuck. Try this marinade/sauce with pork, chicken or turkey, as well.

8 loin lamb chops

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 cup red currant jelly

1/2 cup red wine

Salt

Heat broiler or grill.  Spread garlic over chops and sprinkle with pepper.  Combine mint, rosemary and jelly and whisk until no lumps remain.  Grill chops, basting several times with the jelly mixture. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Combine remaining jelly mixture with red wine and bring to the boil. Simmer until  slightly thickened. Serve with the chops.

Spicy Potatoes - serves 4

There was a wonderful tapas bar not far from the magazine offices in London where I used to work.  Once a week, without fail, we used to go there for lunch. This is a version of one of the irresistible dishes we always ordered. This one calls for Cackalacky Sauce, though, a North Carolina specialty that actually has sweet potatoes in it. There is also a sauce called Yam Good Sauce that has much the same composition. Knowing my addiction, I can't believe I don't have that one, too!

2 or 3 russet potatoes, depending on size

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon paprika

15.5 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 -  5 tablespoons Cackalacky sauce (or ground red peppers)

1 tablespoon dry sherry

Pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper

Chopped parsley or cilantro

Preheat oven to 425 F.  Cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces.  Coat with 2 tablespoons of the oil and place in a roasting pan.  Roast for about 40 minutes, turning frequently until golden and soft when pierced with a knife. Meanwhile cook the chopped onion in the remaining oil for a few minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients, adding 3 tablespoons of Cackylacky sauce or red peppers. Cook until onion is softened.  Taste and add more Cackylacky sauce or red peppers, if desired.  Season with salt and pepper. Place potatoes in a serving dish and pour over the sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro.

Frozen Orange Marmalade Yogurt - makes 6 cups

I'm always buying orange marmalade when visitors come from the U. K. It never gets completely used up, so I'm also always looking for a new way to do that.

1/2 cup bitter orange marmalade

3 cups plain low-fat yogurt

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon orange extract or orange flower water

Extra orange marmalade (optional)

Stir the marmalade to loosen it slightly. Combine all ingredients and transfer to an ice cream maker. Process according to the manufacturer's directions. Spoon into a container, cover tightly and freeze.   Warm extra orange marmalade gently until liquidy.  Drizzle a tablespoon over each serving of yogurt.

Clams with Garlic Black Beans and Basil - serves 4 as an appetizer

Unless I am going on a Thai cooking spree, a bottle of fish sauce can hang around an awfully long time. The same goes for a jar of garlic black beans and chili. Both of these are available at Asian markets and sometimes in supermarkets that have a gourmet or Asian section. I used to grow Thai or holy basil in my herb garden, but have none at the moment,  so I've suggested sweet basil as an alternative that also works.

3 lbs cherrystone or mahogany clams,  rinsed or scrubbed as necessary

2 tablespoons oil

6 tablespoons light soy sauce

6 tablespoons garlic black bean sauce with chili

3/4 cup water

1 cup fresh basil leaves (sweet or Thai)

3 tablespoon fish sauce

Clams can be gritty, so you might want to scrub their shells and rinse very thoroughly.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok and add the clams.  Add the soy sauce, black bean sauce and water and basil bring to the boil.  Cover the pan and leave to steam 5 minutes or more until shells open.  Stir occasionally. Discard any clams that do not open.  Add the fish sauce and serve immediately.

Chili Monkfish - serves 4

Ground hot peppers come in a jar and they are packed in vinegar, but that makes them great for marinades. They are also good for cooks like me who start coughing when they start chopping fresh chili peppers. I don't know why it happens, but it stops me from chopping them in front of anyone. If you like, double the marinade and save half of it to serve as a sauce at the end. The marinade and method works with fish like grouper and with shrimp or scallops, too.

1 3/4 lbs monkfish

3 tablespoons oil

4 tablespoons ground hot peppers

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons lime juice

1/2 cup water or clam juice (optional)

Trim any purplish-gray membrane off the monkfish.  I usually remove the reddish line that runs down the middle of the monkfish tail, but I'm probably the only one.  Cut monkfish into 1 1/2 -inch chunks.  Mix the oil, peppers,  honey and lime juice and whisk well.  Add the monkfish. If making double quantity marinade, use only half to marinate the fish. Leave for 15 - 20 minutes.  Remove and thread monkfish pieces onto skewers.  Broil or grill skewers for about 6 minutes per side, basting frequently. If making a sauce, combine the other half of the marinade with the water or clam juice and bring to the boil, whisking occasionally, until thickened.  Place monkfish skewers on serving plates and pour over the sauce.  Serve with rice, if desired. 

Next Time: Dinner on a Stick 

Just Begin

The closest I ever got to career planning was on a plane flying from Chicago, bound for London on a January evening.  I had already taken the first step; I had enrolled at the Cordon Bleu Cookery School as it was known then. I had taken a year's worth of French classes on my lunch hour so I would know how to pronounce all the French cooking terms I was about to learn without embarrassing myself. I had learned to say "blur" instead of blue for the word "bleu." I had packed well for an English winter. The requisite rain gear and lots of wool filled my suitcases.

After my delicious airplane dinner (the dessert was something I had never seen before or since, fortunately), I pulled my journal out of my carry-on bag and began to write about what I wished would happen to me.  I had left my job as a researcher in Chicago because I was more interested in the food pages of the New York Times than in the business section.  I couldn't wait to begin my adventure. As soon as I had slept off the jag lag, I went to look at the Cordon Bleu. Just look, I couldn't bring myself to go inside before my appointed day and time. 

It wasn't what I expected, but I didn't really know what that was.  Now, the school is all state-of-the-art and called Le Cordon Bleu, but then it was charmingly old-fashioned. It gave me a glimpse into a world that an average American visitor would never see. It was very English upper class, but real-life upper class, not like a public tour of a stately home.  Half of my class was filled with girls completing their educations in a finishing school manner.  The other half was filled with those like me, changing or advancing their careers.

The kitchens were the biggest surprise.  There were two rows of compact kitchens,  with eight students per row.  Each team of two students had two gas burners and two electric. Naturally, we all fought for those gas burners.  We had two ovens and not an overstock of equipment, but enough to do everything. I didn't know it at the start, but the situation taught me how to cook anywhere. While we had a thorough grounding in classic French cuisine, we also learned about traditional British food and even got some American recipes, some of which we natives hardly recognized!

Oh yes, back to my journal. I wrote that I wanted to teach at the Cordon Bleu after finishing my course, and then go on to write about food for a magazine, preferably one in London.  I didn't really want to go home right away.  Little did I know that I wouldn't go home for good for 10 years.  Did my wishes actually come true?  They did, but I never knew if that was due to planning, positive thinking or precognition.  I didn't teach at the Cordon Bleu or get a magazine job right away. I had to go out into the wide world first and just begin.   

The Recipes:

Poisson Veronique - serves 4

A recipe with Veronique in the title usually includes green grapes. The sauce is a classic veloute, and with a flour and butter roux to thicken the liquid. Known as a blond roux, the flour-butter mixture is meant to be cooked to a pale straw color,  just sort of beige.  One of the little hints I learned was that when the roux is still hot, cold liquid should be added to it. When the roux is made in advance and is cold, hot liquid is what's needed.  Both methods prevent lumps, although whisking like mad doesn't hurt either.

For the classic recipe, the grapes would be peeled, but if you have ever done that, you will know why I've left that out of my recipe! Any white fish fillets will work for this, although I've never used cod.  If you would rather have chicken, substitute 4 skinless, boneless breasts and call the dish Supremes de Volaille Veronique.

3 1/2 tbsps butter

3 tbsps all-purpose flour

1 1/2 lbs white fish fillets (flounder, orange roughy, sea bass, tilapia, or halibut)

1 cup dry white wine

1 1/4 cups water

1/4 cup cream or half and half

Salt and white pepper

Lemon Juice

16 seedless green grapes, washed and halved

Chopped fresh parsley

Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and stir in the flour until smooth. Cook over low heat, whisking continuously until the roux turns to a pale straw or beige color.  Don't let the roux brown.  Set the roux aside. Preheat oven to 325  F.  Place the fish in an ovenproof dish and pour over the wine and water. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake about 10 minutes for thin fillets or up to 20 minutes for thicker fillets, like sea bass. Chicken breasts will take at least 20 minutes or until juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the thickest part.

Remove fish or chicken from the dish, cover and keep warm.  Strain the cooking liquid into the pan with the roux. Whisk until smooth and cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until thickened. Add the cream or half and half, salt and pepper to taste.  Add a little lemon juice and the grapes.  Heat gently.  Transfer fish or chicken to a serving dish and pour over the sauce.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley.       

Barbecued Chicken - serves 4

This is a British version of  BBQ sauce that makes chicken breasts ready for the dining room rather than the deck. You can use this for basting chicken on an outdoor grill, but the original version is definitely an indoor recipe. 

1 lb tomatoes, skinned and chopped

4 Roma tomatoes, skinned, seeded and diced

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 thin slices of lemon

2 1/2 tbsps vinegar

2 tbsps tomato ketchup

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4 tbsps olive oil

1 tsp dried rosemary or thyme

Salt and pepper

To skin tomatoes,  bring water to the boil and have a bowl of ice water ready. Cut a cross in the rounded end of each tomato. Place in boiling water for 8 - 10 seconds. Remove and place in ice water. The peel should loosen easily starting at the cross on each tomato.  For the Romas, cut peeled tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds. A melon baller work well for this.  Cut the flesh into 1/4 - inch dice and set aside.

Combine the other chopped tomatoes, celery, lemon slices, vinegar, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce in a saucepan.  Bring to the boil then simmer gently, partially covered, for 20 minutes.  When the vegetables and lemon slices are completely soft, strain the sauce, pressing with the back of a spoon to extract all the juices.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon fairly thickly. If it doesn't, simmer the strained sauce until thickened.

Mix olive oil, herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. Brush over both sides of the chicken.  Broil chicken on both sides, about 6 - 8 inches away from the heat for about 15 minutes per side or until juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the thickest part.  Reheat the sauce and spoon over the chicken. Garnish with the diced tomatoes.

Brownies - makes 16

Wednesday afternoons were always reserved for baking at the Cordon Bleu. This is their recipe for an American favorite.  Demerara cane sugar is available in supermarkets now on this side of the Atlantic, but look for the finer granulated kind for this recipe .  If you want a bit of the whole grain, try wholewheat pastry flour; it's lighter than plain wholewheat flour.

2 oz unsweetened chocolate

1/2 stick plus 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 cup demerara cane sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped

Confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Chop the chocolate and put into a saucepan with the butter and melt over low heat. Whisk eggs and sugar together and whisk in the chocolate mixture.  Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold into the chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula and fold in the nuts. Do not over mix;  this tends to develop the gluten in the flour and makes the brownies tough.  Spray an 8-inch baking pan with cooking oil.  Spread in the brownie mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until a crust has formed on top and the edges pull away slightly from the pan.  Do not over-bake.  Cool slightly then cut into 2-inch squares.  Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Serve when cooled.

Eve's Pudding - serves 4 - 6

While there is no dessert more English than a steamed pudding, this is not the weather for one.  The last thing anyone wants at this time of year is a pot of water boiling on the cook top for 2 or 3 hours. As anyone who has watched PBS over the years or BBC America now will know, a dessert in the U.K. is referred to as a pudding.  This is more like a pudding cake and has a layer of apples on the bottom, hence its name.  You can make it in advance and reheat it or serve it cold.

Bottom layer:

Zest and juice of one lemon (be sure to grate the zest before squeezing the juice)

1 lb apples (choose ones like Granny Smith that hold their shape when cooked)

1/4 - 1/2 cup fine demerara cane sugar

1/2 cinnamon stick

Topping:

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup fine demerara cane sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Set aside the lemon zest to use later.   Measure the lemon juice and add enough water to make 1/3 cup.  Peel, core and thinly slice the apples.  Place them in a saucepan with about 3 tbsps of the lemon juice-water mixture, 1/4 cup sugar and the 1/2 cinnamon stick.  Cook slowly until the apples are soft, but holding their shape.  Add more sugar if needed and the remaining lemon juice-water if the mixture is too dry.  Remove the cinnamon stick and place apples in a greased ovenproof baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest and the eggs one at a time. If the mixture  looks a little curdled, this won't affect the taste, but fold in a little of the flour until it looks smoother. Mix remaining flour with the baking powder and salt and fold in until the mixture is thick, but will drop from a spoon easily when you shake it. Add a little milk or water if the mixture is too thick.

Spread mixture over the apples and bake for about 35 - 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the topping comes out clean.  Serve with whipped cream, ice cream or plain.

Next time: Queen of the Condiments

      

Cooking My Way Through It

The dreaded D's can stike at any time. Those would be Disappointment, Discouragement, Deception and, since we've just recently paid our taxes, Debt.  Oh, I just thought of another one, Diet, as in weight-loss plan gone seriously south.  I'm sure there are more letters of the alphabet waiting to cause trouble. Sometimes life is one blasted letter after another. Times like these call for an intensive dose of culinary therapy.

For me, cooking always untangles the knots and untwists my mind. It completely calms and soothes me. I'm not talking about microwaving some gourmet soup.  I had something more in mind.  I am talking about choosing an intriguing, slightly complicated recipe. I'm talking about making a list and shopping for the perfect ingredients, even if that means visiting more than one store. Then there's the dicing, slicing, chopping, sauteeing, simmering, baking and broiling.  Let me not forget the garnishing and presenting. The process is the therapy, and it's almost more important then the tasting. 

So, the next time the dreaded D's or any other problems from A to Z strike, why not give culinary therapy a try? To start you off,  consider these recipes.

Szechwan Spicy Shrimp - serves 4

My friend and former colleague in the U. K. was way ahead of her time. Years ago she swore that spicy food speeded up her metabolism and helped her lose weight. It's worth a try, isn't it? Sian loved seafood, but hated chicken, so I'm forgetting about cholesterol and dedicating this shrimp recipe to her.  Use as much of the chili peppers as you dare.

3 tbsps canola oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 scallions, sliced, green and white parts separated

2 - 4 red or green chili peppers (whatever variety you like best), seeded and thinly sliced (just make sure to wear gloves while slicing or scrub your hands afterwards)

1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and de-veined with tails left on

1 - 2 tsps five-spice powder

2 tsps chili powder

Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet.  Add garlic and white part of the onions and stir-fry for a few minutes.  Add the sliced chili peppers, the five-spice powder and chili powder. Stir-fry for 1 minute and stir in enough water to make a thick sauce. Add the shrimp and stir-fry for about 5 minutes or until shrimp curl, turn pink and go from translucent to opaque. While the shrimp cook, add more water a little at a time to keep the sauce liquid. Add salt to taste and sprinkle over the sliced green part of the onions to garnish.

Marinated Pork with Clams, Peppers and Tomatoes -serves 4

When wrestling with a problem or delving into the depths of a deception, what is needed is a dish of many parts.  This classic Portuguese recipe is certainly that. For me, concentrating my conscious mind on the intricacies of a recipe like this lets my subconscious go to work on my problem.  This recipe is often cooked in a cataplana, a spherical copper baking pan that opens like a clam. I got mine from the Sur La Table catalog. An ordinary heatproof casserole with a lid works, too.

2 lbs pork tenderloin, trimmed

1 cup white wine

3 cloves or garlic, minced

2 tsps hot or sweet paprika

Freshly ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

Olive oil

2 medium-sized onions, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces

Pinch of red pepper flakes

24 littleneck or mahogany clams, scrubbed

Salt

4 tbsps chopped fresh cilantro

1 lemon, cut in wedges

Be sure to remove the silvery-white tendon on the pork.  Cut the pork into 1 inch pieces. Mix the wine,  garlic, paprika, pinch of pepper and bay leaf and pour over the pork cubes.  Leave to marinate for 2 hours. 

Bring a pan of water to the boil and have a bowl of ice water close by.  Cut a small cross through the skin of the rounded end of each tomato.  Place tomatoes in boiling water to  5 - 8 seconds, depending on how ripe they are.  Place immediately in ice water.  The peel should loosen and come off easily.  Cut in half, scoop out seeds and chop the flesh.  Set aside.

Drain the pork and reserve the marinade. Pat pork dry with paper towels.  Heat 2 tbsps of olive oil in a large skillet. When hot add the pork. Don't crowd the pan or the pork will steam, not brown.  Saute in 2 or 3 batches as necessary.  Remove the pork and add the marinade to the pan.  Bring to the boil, scraping the browned meat juices from the bottom of the skillet. Boil to reduce the marinade to about 1/2 cup.

Heat 2 tbsps of olive oil in the cataplana or casserole. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for about 5 minutes until softened, but not browned.  Add the tomatoes,  red pepper flakes and return the pork and marinade to the pan. 

Discard any clams with broken shells or that do not close when tapped. Place the clams, hinge side down into the sauce and cover.  Cook over moderately high heat, about 10 minutes for the clams to open. Discard any that don't open as these won't be good to eat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and garnish with lemon wedges. 

Lakefront Pastitsio -serves 4

I think my grandmother and my mom were better at stretching a dollar and a recipe than I will ever be! This is a variation of a recipe my mom learned from one of the first TV cooking shows, which was broadcast from Chicago. The recipe was called Baked Macaroni Sizzling Squares. She changed it and so have I, but the original concept is still there--a more interesting take on macaroni and cheese. It's a bit like the Greek pasta casserole called pastitsio and it comes from Chicago, hence the new name.

1 cup elbow macaroni or penne

6 tbps butter

6 tbsps flour

1 1/2 tsps dry mustard

Pinch of paprika and cayenne pepper

2 cups milk

1 tsp Worchestershire sauce

2 cups white cheddar, grated

Salt and pepper

1/2 lb Kielbasa or other smoked sausage (beef, pork, turkey or any combination)

Extra milk

1 large tomato (Way to stretch one tomato Mom!)

Bring water to the boil and add the pasta. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes or according to package directions, until al dente. Drain well. Transfer to a bowl.

Melt butter in a deep saucepan and when foaming, remove from the heat. Stir in the flour and mustard until smooth. Add paprika and cayenne and gradually whisk in the milk. Stir in the Worchestershire. Return to moderate heat and cook, whisking constantly until sauce is thick and smooth. Stir in the cheese until melted. Taste and add salt and pepper. Sauce should be very thick.

Cut the sausage into 1/2 inch pieces and combine with the pasta. Fold in 1 - 1 1/4 cups of the cheese sauce until the mixture binds together thickly. Line an 8 inch square pan or dish with waxed or non-stick paper. Spoon in the pasta mixture and press it down firmly. Cover and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours. To reserve the remaining sauce, smooth the top and pour about 1/2 cup extra milk over it. This will keep a skin from forming. Refrigerate until needed.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Turn the pasta mixture out of the dish or pan onto a cutting board. Peel off the paper and cut into 4 large or 8 smaller squares. Lightly oil a baking dish large enough to hold the squares with room in between. Reheat the cheese sauce over low heat, whisking in the milk that covered the top. Sauce should coat the back of a spoon thickly, but run off slowly. Add more milk if sauce needs it. Spoon sauce over the pasta squares, reserving about 4 tbsps. Core the tomato and cut into 4 thick rounds. For 8 squares cut tomato rounds in half. Place a tomato slice on each square. Drizzle a little sauce over each tomato. Place in the oven and bake about 20 -25 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and lightly browned. If it subbornly refuses to brown, place under a hot broiler until it does.

Lemonade Pound Cake Pudding -serves 4 - 8

A well -known advice columnist used to say, "When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade." This recipe calls for homemade lemonade concentrate, much better than the frozen or powdered kind. It has no high fructose cornsyrup. Double or triple the syrup recipe and freeze in an ice cube tray. Just add water for fresh lemonade anytime. Buy the best pound cake you can, or if you really want to go all out, make your own. So, once you make your lemonade, take it a step further.

Lemonade syrup:

Grated zest and juice of 3 large lemons

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup water

Pudding:

1 1/2 tbsps cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp cold water

10 - 12 oz pound cake, cut into 8 slices

3 large eggs, beaten

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup milk

Confectioners' sugar to decorate

Be sure to zest the lemons before squeezing the juice. Combine the sugar, water, lemon zest and juice in a heavy-based saucepan. Bring slowly to the bowl, then simmer until sugar dissolves and mixture forms a thin sryup. Remove from the heat. Take out 1/2 cup of the syrup and set it aside.

Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the lemonade syrup still in the pan. Return to the heat and bring to the boil, whisking constantly until thickened and cleared.

Spray an 11 or 12 inch long baking dish with cooking oil. Spread each slice of pound cake with the thickened lemonade mixture and place in the baking dish. Mix the eggs, sugar, milk and reserved 1/2 cup lemonade syrup. Pour over the poundcake, cover the dish with oiled foil and leave to stand for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator, so the cake soaks up some of the egg mixture.

Preheat oven to 325. Bake pudding, covered for about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until the egg mixture has set. Serve warm or cool, sprinkled with confectioner's sugar.

Next Time: What Started All This.