Then and Now II

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 

  

 

There used to be a place on the northwest side of Chicago called "Grover's Oyster Bar" which was a fun place to eat and have drinks.  It's now "Chicago Joe's" which has the same qualities and good food.  But what "Grover's" had that "Joe's" doesn't was a sign over the bar that said, "We Don't Serve Butchers After 6:00."  We toasted that sign often and a lot of other things as well.  I bet there aren't too many of us that would get that sign now.

Maybe some of you remember that you couldn't always just run into the store whenever you felt like it and buy meat.  Grocery stores couldn't sell meat before 9:00AM or after 6:00PM.  It didn't matter if the meat was already wrapped and in the meat case.  You couldn't buy it.  The butchers hours were regulated to a strict eight hour day and if there was no butcher, you couldn't sell the beef.  This also applied to chicken and fish.  

This explained why grocery stores were packed on Saturdays.  I remember my brother and I finding a spot (usually by the magazines) to stay with the cart while my Mom ran all over the store, coming back to our hide-away when her arms were full.  We read a lot of magazines that we never paid for during those trips to the store. The store was so crowded you couldn't maneuver the aisles.  I also remember it wasn't uncommon for us to be at the deli counter with number 412 while they were calling 102.  Mom shopped and we waited.  

 

Granted life is easier for the shopper now.  You can go buy T-bones at 2:00 in the morning if you feel like it.  But there are things from those days I miss.   During those same times there were butcher shops everywhere.  The butcher knew you and knew how you liked your beef ground and which cut of pork you preferred.  In addition to butchers everywhere, there were also wonderful bakeries always within walking distance.  In those days grocery stores didn't have their own bakeries.  Nothing beats walking home with a warm loaf of bread and some fresh baked danish in your arms.  Now locating a good butcher and a good bakery can be as difficult as finding Waldo and they're definitely not within walking distance.

I guess it's progress and it came in handy when I bought the fish for this recipe at 7:00PM but wouldn't it be nice if we could have it both ways?

Here's to "Grover's"

Flounder with Tarragon and Lemon

4 flounder filets

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons lemon juice (preferably fresh)

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard 

1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon*

Rinse and pat dry fish.  Sprinkle with seasoned salt.  Heat olive oil and cook filets about 2 minutes on each side.  Keep warm in low oven.  Add broth and lemon juice to the pan.  Whisk in mustard and tarragon.  Heat sauce gently.  Serve sauce over flounder filets.

 

* I love tarragon so I would increase this to one teaspoon or maybe even more.  You might not like tarragon at all so feel free to use dill or whatever else you think might taste great.  You're the cook.

Oops!

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 

  

 

It's going to happen.  The recipe you have been making successfully for ten years is going to turn on you.  And you know when it's going to happen---when you've invited guests to whom you've been raving about the same turncoat recipe.  Or, as in my case, it will happen just after you have posted the recipe to your blog.

I took out the cabbage, the potatoes, the carrots and the corned beef and plated it all up.  The vegetables were quite flavorful and cooked perfectly.  The corned beef, not so much.  It was tough!  My husband waited for me to say something.  He wasn't going to fire the first shot that could land him with frozen dinners for the next month.  "This corned beef seems tough," I say.  He breathes a sigh of relief and agrees.  I am quite confused as I have made this same exact recipe in the same exact way for at least ten years.  So, of course, my first thought---it was a bad corned beef.  I don't even know if that's possible.  Some are fattier than others but bad?  No, I had either over or under cooked it.  If it was over cooked, I couldn't fix that.  Undercooked could be dealt with.  

Having absolutely nothing left to lose, I threw  it back in the pot and cooked it for another 2 1/2 hours.  Viola!  I had my corned beef cooked to perfection and could happily construct my reuben sandwiches the next day.  Some times you can fix a recipe gone bad.  

But what caused this fiasco?  In retrospect I realized that this particular cut was thicker and more compact that any I had made before.  I should have adjusted the cooking time for this cut.  Now, I know.

Now, what you should know is this---don't ever tell your guests you're having them over for some wonderful dinner you have been making for years.  Instead, tell them to come over for a new recipe that you want to try out.  This way if your recipe goes rogue on you, your guests won't think you haven't any taste buds and you can say "well I guess this one isn't a keeper."  And if it turns out perfectly, like it always has before, your friends will think you have a great sense for recipes.  It's a win, win.

Now this recipe has worked before but I'm not telling anyone.

Stuffed Peppers

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice

1 cup water

6 red, orange, yellow or green peppers

1 8 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 8 ounce can tomato sauce

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

salt and pepper to taste 

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put a pot of water on to boil.  Cut peppers in 1/2 and scoop out membranes and seeds.  After water comes to a boil put the peppers in for 4-5 minutes and then plunge into a cold bath.  This step reduces the cooking time and keeps the beef mixture from drying out.  Place the rice and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and cook 20 minutes.  In a skillet over medium heat, cook the beef until browned.  

In a bowl mix the browned beef, the cooked rice, one can diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Arrange peppers in a shallow baking dish and divide the mixture among the peppers.  Mix the tomato sauce and Italian seasoning in a bowl and pour over the stuffed peppers.

Bake twenty minutes in the preheated oven, basting with sauce after ten minutes.

These freeze well.  Or if you want to make less, reduce the number of peppers and freeze the leftover rice and beef mixture for easy prep the next time.  And remember, its your recipe, if you feel like it you can throw some shredded cheese on top of the peppers before you pour on the tomato sauce.  Or you can try making it with ground lamb or a mix of ground pork and ground beef.  You can throw some chopped green onions in the beef rice mixture.  Make it yours.

Seconds

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 

  

 

In Peg Bracken's I Hate to Cook Book she has a chapter entitled "The Leftover or Everyone needs a dog."   As a rule, I generally agree.  I am not a big fan of leftovers and if my neighbors wouldn't object, they probably wouldn't have to buy dog food again for their boxer and bulldog.  I know, I know, people food isn't good for dogs.  I'm just trying to make a point.

As we all know rules are meant to be broken and I admit to liking some leftovers, actually I might like some better the second time around.   However, I do not re-purpose as some cooks do.  I don't try to turn that leftover pasta into a baked nest with an egg  cooked on top.  I like my leftovers in the simplest form-turned into a sandwich.  Who doesn't love the day after Thanksgiving turkey sandwich?  Sometimes I don't make it to Friday,  I'm making the sandwich while contemplating where all the other leftovers are going.  I've been known to have turkey sandwiches for breakfast.

My next leftover sandwich is meatloaf.  I don't even have to warm it up.  Give me some rye bread, some ketchup and I'm good to go.  

One of my favorite sandwiches will be coming up this Sunday with my leftover corned beef.  Ah, the reuben.  It was while I was dating my husband that I discovered the wonderfulness of 1,000 island dressing,corned beef, sauerkraut,  and swiss cheese  heaped on rye bread.  In those days I could only eat half a sandwich.  Now, I'm proud to say, I can eat the whole thing.  And,yes, it shows.

So first you have to make the corned beef dinner that gives you the leftover corned beef which is what you wanted in the first place.

Slow Cooker Corned Beef

Flat cut corned beef

Pickling spice

Red potatoes

Carrots

Cabbage cut into wedges

Water, Stout, or  Apple Cider or a combination

Get out your slow cooker, put the potatoes and carrots in the bottom.  Put the corned beef on top.  Put in enough of whatever liquid you are using to cover top of the corned beef.  If your corned beef came with a pickling spice packet sprinkle into liquid.  If not add two tablespoons pickling spice.  Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.  About one hour before serving, add cabbage to the slow cooker.  

Now for the reuben

Melt a small amount of butter in pan.  Spread two slices of bread with 1,000 island dressing, place sliced corned beef on top of dressing, top that with sauerkraut and then the cheese.  Top it off with the other slice of bread, dressing side down.  Put the sandwich into the pan with the melted butter, cheese side down first.  Cook for two minutes.  Flip and cook another 2 minutes, adding more butter if needed. 

Then and Now

 

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 

     

When I was a kid (circa: a long time ago) having company for dinner was governed by hard and fast rules.  Now, this may not have been the case in all homes but it was in ours and our friends.  Here's how it went.  The hostess, in this case, my Mom, did it all.  This resulted in her being in the kitchen, while the guests, the host (my Dad) and the kids were in the living room.   The guests and host having appetizers  and cocktails, the kids being kids and Mom nowhere in sight.  Mom occasionally slipped in and out in between stirring sauces, checking temperatures and turning whatever was sauteing.  I don't think she ever heard the start or finish of one complete sentence.  She did the entire menu, the appetizers, the meat, the potatoes, the salad, the dressing and the dessert.  You can bet none of it came from off the shelf.  Guests brought a small gift for the house, flowers or a bottle of wine along with their appetite.  No one brought food and no one expected them to.  It would have been insulting.  No one helped clean up, that's what you had kids for.  My Mom, after dessert, could then join the guests for after dinner drinks and attempt to catch  up on everything that was discussed earlier.  The dishwasher (me) was safely out of earshot for the grown up conversations that went along just fine with me in the room before dinner.  If the guests left before I was done washing,drying and putting away the dishes, my Mom would come and help me and quiz me about what she missed.  "What was Beth talking about when she said Mrs. Allen had really done it this time?"  "I dunno," I was only ten, "something about a drinking problem."  Turns out Mrs. Allen had become dehydrated for not drinking enough water while she was at the beach.  You just can't trust a kid to get the whole story particularly when same kid is busy dreading the future dish washing.  Company, in those times, meant you were "at" dinner.

Now having company for dinner is a lot more casual with my friends.  Our dinners are just as fine and they aren't rigid.  This took a little adjusting for me at first.  My friends would ask what they could bring and they meant food!  I'd stammer "nothing" but they would show up with things anyway.  Things you could eat!  Then I realized if I was smart I'd play this to my advantage and have them bring a) things I wasn't good at or b) things that were too much trouble or c) both.  That isn't the only thing that has changed.  Sometimes the guests, cocktails and appetizers never leave the kitchen.  While  checking the temperature of the roast someone is actually refilling my cocktail. Now you're not at dinner, you are part of the dinner.  I like that a lot better.

One of my most treasured Thanksgivings was at my house with my friends.  I made the turkey, the stuffing, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce.  My friends brought everything else, the mashed potatoes, corn pudding, appetizers, desserts and wine.  It was wonderful.  While we were timing re-heatings and letting the turkey rest, the women scoped out the ads for the pre-dawn sales at the kitchen table and the guys watched football on the family room TV.  I just know my Mom is looking down on me tsk tsking.  But I didn't miss out on a single conversation which is a pretty good thing because my dishwasher doesn't speak.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Olive oil for baking sheets

2 large eggs

3/4 cup panko crumbs

3/4 cup grated Parmesan

plus more for topping ( about 2 Tablespoons)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 large eggplants (about 2 1/2 lbs total) peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch rounds

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

48 ounces of your favorite chunky tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 375.  Brush two baking sheets with oil.  In a wide, shallow bowl whisk together eggs and two tablespoons of water.  In another bowl, combine 3/4 cup Parmesan, oregano, panko crumbs, and basil.  Season with salt and pepper.

Dip eggplant into egg mixture, letting excess drip off, then dredge in panko mixture, coating well, then place on baking sheets.  Bake until golden brown on bottom, 20 to 25 minutes.  Turn slices and continue baking until browned on other side, 20 to 25 minutes more.

Spread two cups sauce in a 9 x 13 baking pan.  Arrange half the eggplant in the dish, cover with two cups of sauce, then 1/2 cup mozzarella.  Top with remaining eggplant, sauce and mozzarella.  Sprinkle with additional Parmesan.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Cooking isn't male or female

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 

We've all heard it and most of us subscribe to the statement  that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus.  Many women feel that most men do not appreciate the need to shop even when the closets are full to bursting.  Most men feel that most women don't understand the need to watch the sport highlights, after they watched the game and saw the instant replays twelve times.  Women feel men are helpless and hopeless when they are ill.  Men feel women are helpless and hopeless when it comes to deciding what dress to wear.  And so it goes on and on.

But the men from Mars and women from Venus thing does not play out when it comes to cooking.  There is no differentiating between the sexes on this one, either you cook or you don't.  Some women do, some don't, some men do, some don't.  Whatever your sex you probably  fall into one of the following categories:

 

I'm just here to eat- I don't shop, I don't help prepare, I don't clean up and I may not even  comment on the food.  This category requires you to eat all your meals out as surely some cook will kill you.  

I'm willing to do my part but not cook-I will shop if you give me a detailed shopping list, I'll help chop, clear the table,load the dishwasher and tell you dinner was divine.  You'll be welcome at any cook's table and will probably be invited over frequently.

I'll cook but that's it-I will get along great with "willing to do my part"  listed above.  You will also get frequent dinner invitations as who wouldn't want someone to cook for them?  Unless, of course, your idea of cooking is opening a can of Spaghetti-O's.

I'll do it all-I will find the recipe, locate the ingredients, prepare the dinner, coordinate the table linens,  arrange the dinner music, flambe dessert at the table, clean the kitchen and have the coffee set up for the morning's breakfast.  Well, what can I say?  You'll be on everyone's guest list---male or female---it doesn't matter.  It doesn't matter because it's only in your dreams.

Chili

This is a recipe my husband came across and that he actually prepares.  As to the category he might fit into, just guess.  This chili tastes much better the next day.

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground round

1 onion chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

1 28 ounce can tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 Tablespoon chili powder

2 15 ounce cans red kidney beans

2 cups cooked macaroni

 Garnishes as you like

1 7 ounce can chopped green chilies 

Sour cream

Shredded cheese

Oyster crackers

Hot sauce

 

Brown beef with onions and garlic and drain fat.  Add tomatoes and seasonings and simmer gently uncovered 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Add kidney beans, heat to boiling.  Add macaroni and heat to serving temperature.  Garnish as desired.

 

I think this is a mild chili so if you want to spice it up, add a jalapeno to the chopped onions or add more cayenne pepper, or add some hot sauce.   Make it your way, after all you're the cook.