Chances are that if the NSA has been monitoring phone calls, they sure must be monitoring emails and pouring through newspapers gathering information.
Therefore, since they’re listening, I’d like to tell them, “HEY. STOP IT! And, while I have their attention, I’d just like to say that I really, really don’t like this administration and the reasons are too numerous to list. There!
Oh, and one more thing: last week a friend gave me a recipe for All-American apple pie and I think I wrote down the wrong amount of flour. So, could you please go through my phone calls for May 17 and check how much flour I was supposed to use? Thanks.”
I would call my friend back, but she’s unavailable now; I think she’s in Guantanamo. Apparently leaking info on apple pie recipes is considered an infraction of the Patriot Act.
While I’m on the subject, has anyone noticed that ever since Bush’s re-election in November the color-coded alerts have disappeared?
All this brings me to salad dressings. (You have to figure out why.) I love salads and I love trying new dressing concoctions along with old stand-by and traditional dressings.
Since we never question mixing from scratch new dressings, why not make homemade classics. They’re really quite easy to whip up. All the ingredients are right there in your pantry.
The reason I started doing this is because my all-time favorite dressing, Green Goddess, seems to have been taken off the shelves. I found a recipe, tweaked it a little, and now make my own. After that, making homemade Thousand Island, French, and Russian dressing was as easy as tossed salad.
The best part of making homemade dressing is that you eliminate all those awful additives the commercial companies put into the dressing, and you could make the recipe more or less to your particular taste.
Green Goddess-Chive Dressing
The original Green Goddess dressing recipe includes anchovies. I like anchovies as much as I like President Bush, therefore you won’t find it in this recipe. However, if you’re anchovy-prone feel free to add 6 finely chopped anchovy fillets to the ingredients when blending. I also added chives to this recipe just because the chives in my herb garden are in mass now.
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh chives
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon tarragon or white vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Combine all ingredients in a blender container and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate. Makes about 1- 1/3 cup.
Russian Dressing
In my house, this dressing is mandatory on a turkey sandwich.
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chili sauce or ketchup
2 tablespoons finely minced pimiento-stuffed olives
1 tablespoon finely minced green bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced chives
1 chopped hard-cooked egg
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley
In a small bowl, blend all ingredients together. Makes about 1- 1/2 cups.
Lime-Cilantro Dressing
This is my second favorite dressing. I once purchased a very expensive jar of this dressing, never to find it again. I saved the ingredient label, and after much trial and error, came up with a very close replica.
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup rice or cider vinegar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
1/4 cup honey
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Combine all ingredients in a blender container and blend until cilantro is chopped finely but not entirely puréed. Cover and chill. Makes about 1- 1/2 cups.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Made with Lovage
Every day brings change in the garden in the spring. You could almost watch the buds bursting open, and seedlings inch their way toward the sun and its warmth.
Just last week, I was raking autumn’s leaf debris off my herb garden exposing tiny new growth peeking out of the ground. Today, my lovage is in full growth, and the chives are brandishing little pink flowers on their tips.
The lovage has been the best addition to my herb garden. I honestly don’t know how I managed without it all those years. I certainly can’t make tuna salad without it; its addition is essential.
For those not familiar with lovage, this tall herb is in the parsley family, but is similar in taste to celery with a hint of lemon and fennel.
Lovage originates in Southern Europe and was one of the most prominent flavors in Ancient Roman cooking. In Germany, lovage is used often to flavor potato salads.
I only use the lovage leaf from my garden, though the seeds of the flowers are used as a spice as well. In fact, what is sold as “celery seed” is often partially or entirely ground lovage seed.
The seeds are used to flavor breads, potatoes, dressings, salads, and cordials.
The leaves are used in cheeses, eggs (it’s wonderful in an omelet), salads, stews, and with chicken.
In Turkey, they make a meatloaf using allspice, garlic and lovage ground with the meat, which is then served with yogurt and mint.
Lovage leaves can be used in any recipe that calls for celery leaves, just use less, as lovage is twice as strong in flavor as celery.
If you find lovage seeds for sale in your garden center, snatch them up. This old timey herb plant will add new timey taste to your dishes.
In lieu of a recipe for tuna salad, which needs no recipe, here is one for a rich clam chowder using lovage. Prepare to be blown away. You will lovage this.
Lovage Clam Chowder
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup of chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup vermouth
2 cups heavy or light cream
1 large potato, grated (1 cup)
1 cup clam juice
1 cup fresh lovage leaves
1 cup chopped scallions
1 cup minced clams
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Sauté the onions and garlic in butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat just until softened, but not browned.
Add the vermouth, cream, potato, and clam juice. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook just long enough to soften the potatoes, about 20 minutes. Do not let it come to a full boil.
Add the lovage and scallions to a blender container. Pour the soup base on top of the herbs and blend until smooth. Pour back into the pot, and when you are ready to serve add the clams and gently reheat the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
Peas and Carrots Salad
1 pound fresh peas
1- 1/2 pounds carrots, sliced
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1- 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh lovage leaves
Combine carrots with peas and steam for no more than 15 minutes. Cool slightly.
Mix together the mayonnaise and yogurt. Add Dijon mustard, and fold in the lovage, followed by the steamed peas and carrots. Allow to cool completely before serving. Serves 4.
Just last week, I was raking autumn’s leaf debris off my herb garden exposing tiny new growth peeking out of the ground. Today, my lovage is in full growth, and the chives are brandishing little pink flowers on their tips.
The lovage has been the best addition to my herb garden. I honestly don’t know how I managed without it all those years. I certainly can’t make tuna salad without it; its addition is essential.
For those not familiar with lovage, this tall herb is in the parsley family, but is similar in taste to celery with a hint of lemon and fennel.
Lovage originates in Southern Europe and was one of the most prominent flavors in Ancient Roman cooking. In Germany, lovage is used often to flavor potato salads.
I only use the lovage leaf from my garden, though the seeds of the flowers are used as a spice as well. In fact, what is sold as “celery seed” is often partially or entirely ground lovage seed.
The seeds are used to flavor breads, potatoes, dressings, salads, and cordials.
The leaves are used in cheeses, eggs (it’s wonderful in an omelet), salads, stews, and with chicken.
In Turkey, they make a meatloaf using allspice, garlic and lovage ground with the meat, which is then served with yogurt and mint.
Lovage leaves can be used in any recipe that calls for celery leaves, just use less, as lovage is twice as strong in flavor as celery.
If you find lovage seeds for sale in your garden center, snatch them up. This old timey herb plant will add new timey taste to your dishes.
In lieu of a recipe for tuna salad, which needs no recipe, here is one for a rich clam chowder using lovage. Prepare to be blown away. You will lovage this.
Lovage Clam Chowder
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup of chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup vermouth
2 cups heavy or light cream
1 large potato, grated (1 cup)
1 cup clam juice
1 cup fresh lovage leaves
1 cup chopped scallions
1 cup minced clams
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Sauté the onions and garlic in butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat just until softened, but not browned.
Add the vermouth, cream, potato, and clam juice. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook just long enough to soften the potatoes, about 20 minutes. Do not let it come to a full boil.
Add the lovage and scallions to a blender container. Pour the soup base on top of the herbs and blend until smooth. Pour back into the pot, and when you are ready to serve add the clams and gently reheat the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
Peas and Carrots Salad
1 pound fresh peas
1- 1/2 pounds carrots, sliced
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1- 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh lovage leaves
Combine carrots with peas and steam for no more than 15 minutes. Cool slightly.
Mix together the mayonnaise and yogurt. Add Dijon mustard, and fold in the lovage, followed by the steamed peas and carrots. Allow to cool completely before serving. Serves 4.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
At a Turtle's Pace
My house and my life is filled to capacity with cookbooks and collected loose recipes, which, when I’m feeling organized, are placed in categorized folders.
The problem is that when I find and create a dish from one of those recipes and wish later on to make it again, I can’t remember which book or folder it came from.
Enter my winter project. Yes, I know winter is over; alas, my project continues. My winter project consisted of creating my own personal index of recipes in my house, whether they are in cookbooks or folders.
As time and incentive permitted, I would grab a cookbook from one of my cookbook shelves (I have four of these in four different rooms of my house), leaf through it, and mark down which recipe sounded good and what page of what book it was found.
It’s very interesting going through these cookbooks. Some look totally unfamiliar to me. We all make impulsive cookbook purchases. We get the book home, glance through it and put it on a shelf, never to open it again. Who knows what amazing recipes lie within?
Some other books are very old and once were standards, but were later on replaced by new favorites. Going through them brings back fond and not-so-fond memories of wonderful successes and also disastrous results. That eggplant and yogurt soup I made back in 1979 from the “Best of Middle Eastern Cooking” comes to mind.
I did find that long-lost potato croquette recipe from what was once my mom’s Italian cookbook passed on to me. Oh sure, it was a simple recipe with few ingredients, but replicating it without the actual recipe, I worried I wasn’t doing it quite right. It turns out I wasn’t. Breadcrumbs aren’t mixed into the mashed potatoes, just used to coat the croquettes. No wonder they seemed kind of dense.
One classic cookbook, “Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Cookbook,” a compendium of every possible recipe including loads of valuable information, had a listing of cheeses and their uses. Blatantly missing was one of my favorite cheeses, feta. How interesting that in 1961 feta cheese was unfamiliar to American cooks. The cookbook lacked feta cheese, but did include a recipe for those turtle candies I love. Now, that’s a find! I marked that one down in my recipe list.
So, this past winter, carrying over into spring, and most probably carrying me through and beyond summer, I have been getting reacquainted with my old and new cookbooks. Each one is so different, just like the people you meet in life. Even the ones that don’t seem to have much to offer will inevitably have one or two priceless recipes or qualities making their place on my bookshelf, and in my life, guaranteed.
Amy Vanderbilt’s Chocolate-Caramel Turtles
1-pound package of caramels (54)
2 tablespoons water
3/4 pound cashew nuts
One 6-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
Heat caramels and water in the top of a double boiler over boiling water for about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally until evenly melted.
Grease a baking sheet. Arrange 36 groups of 4 cashews each, about 2-inches apart on sheet. Drop melted caramels by teaspoons on each group of nuts, letting some of the nut remain uncovered by caramel. Let cool 15 minutes. Reheat caramel over boiling water if it starts to solidify mid-way.
Melt chocolate chips over hot, not boiling water. Drop by teaspoons on top of each caramel turtle; spread chocolate if necessary with spatula. Set in cool, dry place until firm. Makes 36 turtles.
I found Amy Vanderbilt’s comment under the recipe amusing: “All children love to make and eat these.”
Yeah, and so do the grown-ups!
The problem is that when I find and create a dish from one of those recipes and wish later on to make it again, I can’t remember which book or folder it came from.
Enter my winter project. Yes, I know winter is over; alas, my project continues. My winter project consisted of creating my own personal index of recipes in my house, whether they are in cookbooks or folders.
As time and incentive permitted, I would grab a cookbook from one of my cookbook shelves (I have four of these in four different rooms of my house), leaf through it, and mark down which recipe sounded good and what page of what book it was found.
It’s very interesting going through these cookbooks. Some look totally unfamiliar to me. We all make impulsive cookbook purchases. We get the book home, glance through it and put it on a shelf, never to open it again. Who knows what amazing recipes lie within?
Some other books are very old and once were standards, but were later on replaced by new favorites. Going through them brings back fond and not-so-fond memories of wonderful successes and also disastrous results. That eggplant and yogurt soup I made back in 1979 from the “Best of Middle Eastern Cooking” comes to mind.
I did find that long-lost potato croquette recipe from what was once my mom’s Italian cookbook passed on to me. Oh sure, it was a simple recipe with few ingredients, but replicating it without the actual recipe, I worried I wasn’t doing it quite right. It turns out I wasn’t. Breadcrumbs aren’t mixed into the mashed potatoes, just used to coat the croquettes. No wonder they seemed kind of dense.
One classic cookbook, “Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Cookbook,” a compendium of every possible recipe including loads of valuable information, had a listing of cheeses and their uses. Blatantly missing was one of my favorite cheeses, feta. How interesting that in 1961 feta cheese was unfamiliar to American cooks. The cookbook lacked feta cheese, but did include a recipe for those turtle candies I love. Now, that’s a find! I marked that one down in my recipe list.
So, this past winter, carrying over into spring, and most probably carrying me through and beyond summer, I have been getting reacquainted with my old and new cookbooks. Each one is so different, just like the people you meet in life. Even the ones that don’t seem to have much to offer will inevitably have one or two priceless recipes or qualities making their place on my bookshelf, and in my life, guaranteed.
Amy Vanderbilt’s Chocolate-Caramel Turtles
1-pound package of caramels (54)
2 tablespoons water
3/4 pound cashew nuts
One 6-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
Heat caramels and water in the top of a double boiler over boiling water for about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally until evenly melted.
Grease a baking sheet. Arrange 36 groups of 4 cashews each, about 2-inches apart on sheet. Drop melted caramels by teaspoons on each group of nuts, letting some of the nut remain uncovered by caramel. Let cool 15 minutes. Reheat caramel over boiling water if it starts to solidify mid-way.
Melt chocolate chips over hot, not boiling water. Drop by teaspoons on top of each caramel turtle; spread chocolate if necessary with spatula. Set in cool, dry place until firm. Makes 36 turtles.
I found Amy Vanderbilt’s comment under the recipe amusing: “All children love to make and eat these.”
Yeah, and so do the grown-ups!
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Here's the Pitch
Other than always having my eyeglasses with me, my next most important accoutrement is a notepad and pencil; mostly because I’m forever forgetting important things, and secondly to jot down “grand” ideas.”
There’s a notepad handy in every room of my house, in all my purses, coat pockets, and car glove compartments.
Quite a lot of these columns have been written with a premise I have jotted down one of my trusty notepads. I think you know the ones.
The problem is that when I jot down an idea, I do it quickly and with the barest minimum of words. When I reread the note, I haven’t a clue what I meant to say, such as when I found a note that said fish lic.
Here some other notes I’ve found; if you have any idea what I was talking about, please let me know:
hooverphonics
Tom Paine – not now
2 trees & a bird
a fungi at a wedding – mushgroom
termites eat through wood 2 x faster when listening to rock music
It’s not entirely during waking hours that I do all my note-taking. I sometimes wake in the middle of a dream with a grand idea. I’ll even tell myself in the dream, “wake up and jot this down; it’s a terrific idea.”
I always listen to myself, and did so just the other night. While in the midst of a dream, I had a grand idea for a sitcom. I followed my advice, woke up, and wrote it down quickly. I was going to email the idea to my daughter in California, because who else would appreciate the idea for a sitcom in the middle of the night but someone in California; but I didn’t. I waited until morning, mostly because I forgot about the grand idea and only saw it on the notepad lying by the computer when I went to check email.
The idea came back to me and I quickly emailed my daughter the sitcom pitch. Here’s what I found on my notepad:
high rent cost
NYC
2 couples (1 w/baby) share a 1-bedroom apartment
1 couple works nights
1 couple works days
briefly their time in the apartment overlaps
hilarious
It’s been days since I emailed the pitch and haven’t received a reply. I can only assume that the email just didn’t go through. That darn server!
California Breakfast Croissants with Good Mornay Sauce
1 teaspoon vinegar
4 eggs
2 croissants, halved and lightly toasted
4 slices tomato
1/2 avocado, sliced
8 slices of cooked bacon
Mornay Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1- 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Make Mornay sauce: Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking until thickened. Stir in cheeses, mustard, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and continue stirring until cheese melts. Keep warm as you cook the eggs.
Fill deep skillet with about 1-2 inches of water. Add vinegar; bring to a simmer. (Adding vinegar to the water helps keep the egg whites intact while poaching.)
Break 1 egg into shallow cup or sauce. Gently slide the egg into the simmering water. Repeat with remaining eggs. Cook eggs 3-4 minutes or until set. Carefully remove eggs with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.
Place croissant half on each plate. Layer tomato slice, avocado slice, and poached egg on croissant. Drizzle with Mornay sauce and top with 2 slices of cooked bacon. Garnish with chives if you like. Serves 4.
There’s a notepad handy in every room of my house, in all my purses, coat pockets, and car glove compartments.
Quite a lot of these columns have been written with a premise I have jotted down one of my trusty notepads. I think you know the ones.
The problem is that when I jot down an idea, I do it quickly and with the barest minimum of words. When I reread the note, I haven’t a clue what I meant to say, such as when I found a note that said fish lic.
Here some other notes I’ve found; if you have any idea what I was talking about, please let me know:
hooverphonics
Tom Paine – not now
2 trees & a bird
a fungi at a wedding – mushgroom
termites eat through wood 2 x faster when listening to rock music
It’s not entirely during waking hours that I do all my note-taking. I sometimes wake in the middle of a dream with a grand idea. I’ll even tell myself in the dream, “wake up and jot this down; it’s a terrific idea.”
I always listen to myself, and did so just the other night. While in the midst of a dream, I had a grand idea for a sitcom. I followed my advice, woke up, and wrote it down quickly. I was going to email the idea to my daughter in California, because who else would appreciate the idea for a sitcom in the middle of the night but someone in California; but I didn’t. I waited until morning, mostly because I forgot about the grand idea and only saw it on the notepad lying by the computer when I went to check email.
The idea came back to me and I quickly emailed my daughter the sitcom pitch. Here’s what I found on my notepad:
high rent cost
NYC
2 couples (1 w/baby) share a 1-bedroom apartment
1 couple works nights
1 couple works days
briefly their time in the apartment overlaps
hilarious
It’s been days since I emailed the pitch and haven’t received a reply. I can only assume that the email just didn’t go through. That darn server!
California Breakfast Croissants with Good Mornay Sauce
1 teaspoon vinegar
4 eggs
2 croissants, halved and lightly toasted
4 slices tomato
1/2 avocado, sliced
8 slices of cooked bacon
Mornay Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1- 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Make Mornay sauce: Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking until thickened. Stir in cheeses, mustard, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and continue stirring until cheese melts. Keep warm as you cook the eggs.
Fill deep skillet with about 1-2 inches of water. Add vinegar; bring to a simmer. (Adding vinegar to the water helps keep the egg whites intact while poaching.)
Break 1 egg into shallow cup or sauce. Gently slide the egg into the simmering water. Repeat with remaining eggs. Cook eggs 3-4 minutes or until set. Carefully remove eggs with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.
Place croissant half on each plate. Layer tomato slice, avocado slice, and poached egg on croissant. Drizzle with Mornay sauce and top with 2 slices of cooked bacon. Garnish with chives if you like. Serves 4.
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