BOOK/A TABLE - The Chowder Society

 

Revenge is a twice-told tale: the pursuit of it, and the aftermath that follows. Throw a spiteful ghost into the mix and things begin to get rather complicated...

In Peter Straub’s Ghost Story, set in a wintry New England town, a collection of four old men (a.k.a. members of the Chowder Society) are haunted by their past and get together once a month to tell each other—yes, ghost stories—in an effort perhaps to absolve themselves of the grave accident they once caused. Let’s just say it doesn’t exactly work out for the poor fellows.

“Somberness had not been evaded: he saw again the skeletal branches thrusting through the brilliant leaves, the implacable bloodied face of the girl on the film poster, and remembered that is was his turn to tell the story at the Chowder Society meeting that night.”

I won’t reveal any more about the book, preferring to tell you instead about this recipe for New England Clam Chowder from Manhattan’s Fulton Fish Market. But like the stories in Ghost Story, this dish is meant to be shared.

Chunky New England Clam Chowder
Adapted from fultonfishmarket.com
Serves Four

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
8 ounces thick-cut bacon, sliced crosswise
1 large onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 small white potatoes, peeled and diced
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 ⅔ cups whole milk
2 cups fish or chicken stock
2 bay leaves
⅔ cup heavy cream
1 ½ pounds fresh clams, rinsed
½ cup dry white wine
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry until golden and crisp, 6-8 minutes; remove to a plate lined with paper towels and cover with aluminum foil.

Add the onion, celery, garlic, potatoes, and a pinch of salt to the Dutch oven, sweating until starting to color, about 10 minutes.

Whisk in the cornstarch and cook for 2 minutes; whisk in the milk followed by the stock in a slow, steady stream until fully incorporated.

Add the bay leaves and bring the mixture to a simmer; cook steadily until the potatoes are very soft, 15-20 minutes.

Discard the bay leaves. Whisk in the cream; bring the chowder to a simmer and season to taste with salt and pepper; keep warm over very low heat.

Place the clams in a large saucepan set over high heat. Add the wine, cover the pan with a lid, and cook until the clams have steamed open, 3-4 minutes; discard any that don't open.

Drain the clams and leave to cool for 3 minutes. Pick the meat from the shells; stir the picked clam meat into the chowder along with the parsley and reserved bacon.

Serve straight away for best results.

 

BOOK/A TABLE - Mad About the Melt

In anticipation of Hallowe’en, I'll be featuring a few frightening reads and recipes all this month—kicking things off with a tribute to the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Read on, if you dare...

Back in 1980, when my friends and I were in 7th grade, we did the impossible. At least, our feat was something that would be considered quite unfathomable to the teens and tweens of today (and I daresay more than a few parents)—we sat, glued together in front of a television in the dark and, uninterrupted by any distractions, watched Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho in all its jaw-clenching entirety for the first time.

I will always remember that night and appreciate that my friends agreed to walk me the few blocks home afterward, certain as I was that although it was only a movie...only a movie...a knife-wielding madman was nevertheless hiding somewhere in a bush along the way.

In Robert Bloch’s novel Psycho, Norman offers Mary some sustenance upon her arrival to the Bates Motel. “The kitchen was a complement of the parlor—lined with ceiling-high glassed-in cupboards grouped about an old-fashioned sink with a hand-pump attachment...and the long wooden table bore a welcome display of sausage, cheese and homemade pickles in glass dishes scattered about on the red-and-white checkered cloth.”

I think it’s safe to say that Bloch was a fan of the hyphen.

Anyway, in the movie version, Norman gives Mary some kind of uninteresting sandwich instead of the aforementioned display, when what he really should have served is the outrageous tuna melt from the Golden Diner under the Manhattan Bridge. I can’t help but think things might have turned out differently for all involved if Norman had only cut into this sandwich instead of...well, never mind. 

Golden Diner’s Tuna Melt
Yield: 4 sandwiches
Recipe from Sam Yoo
Adapted by Alexa Weibel

Ingredients:
For the Tuna Salad
⅓ cup mayonnaise (preferably Hellmann’s)
¼ cup minced bread and butter pickles
1½ teaspoons yellow mustard (preferably Frank’s)
Scant ½ teaspoon distilled white vinegar
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 (5-ounce) cans yellowfin tuna packed in water, drained (all of the water squeezed out)
⅓ cup minced red onion
⅓ cup minced celery
½ teaspoon Tabasco (or to taste)
Salt

For the Sandwiches:
6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
8 slices rye bread (or other sandwich bread)
Salt-and-vinegar potato chips
6 slices American Cheese

Preparation
Step 1
Prepare the tuna salad: In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, minced pickles, mustard, vinegar, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil with one hand while whisking the mixture with the other. Add the drained tuna, red onion and celery; fold to combine. Season to taste with Tabasco and salt; refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
Step 2
Cook the sandwiches: Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, lightly butter one side of each slice of bread. Working in batches as needed, add the bread to the heated griddle, buttered-side down, and divide the cheese among 4 slices of bread, tearing cheese to fit in a single layer (1½ pieces per slice of bread). Cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is crispy and golden, about 4 minutes. Transfer toasts to a large cutting board for assembly.
Step 3
Divide the cold tuna mix among 4 slices (about ½ cup each), schmearing it to cover each piece from edge to edge. Add a handful of chips on top and close the sandwiches with the other slices of bread, toasted-side up. Using a serrated knife, cut sandwiches in half diagonally and serve while the bread is warm.

P.S. Speaking of Hitch...it’s Hitchcocktober at Village East by Angelika (181-189 2nd Ave, NYC) when they will be serving up a smorgasboard of Alfred Hitchcock’s finest films on the big screen every Wednesday in October, finishing up with Psycho on the 30th-31st. Go to angelikafilmcenter.com for more info.

Thanks to Rachel Vanni for the tuna sandwich pic from The New York Times!

 

BOOK/A TABLE - Victorious Victoria Cake

“Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. There are circumstances in which, whether you partake of the tea or not—some people of course never do—the situation is in itself delightful.”

So begins The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. I’ve always admired the gentle ritual of the British tea; the pause that refreshes, like a siesta—but with caffeine—and have enjoyed an afternoon or two steeped in civilization at The Ritz in London and The Plaza in New York.

But what is tea without cake? This heavenly Victoria Sandwich Cake courtesy of Barbara Pym is stuffed with raspberry jam and might well be the queen of all teatimes. With only a few ingredients and a modicum of effort, you can emerge victorious when serving this dessert any hour, even at midnight, to yourself. 

Victoria Sandwich Cake

Adapted from The Barbara Pym Cookbook

(My suggestions in italics)

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (180g) butter

1 cup (180 g) castor or superfine sugar

Vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 cup (180g) self-rising flour

Raspberry jam (go nuts and break from tradition with strawberry jam!)

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). 

Beat butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add a few drops of vanilla extract and beat in eggs, one at a time. Sift flour, and fold into batter gently.

Put the mixture into two 7-inch ( 18 cm) sandwich tins that have been greased and dusted with flour. Bake 17 to 20 minutes (I used one 8-inch tin and baked for 30 minutes. Tent with foil if browning too much), until done.

To sandwich, spread slices with raspberry jam, layer, and sprinkle tops with castor or superfine sugar.  

BOOK/A TABLE - Dressing for Dinner

Behold the battered, taped-up copy of Valley of the Dolls I bought at the Paperback Bazaar when I was about fifteen years old and desperate to escape New Hampshire. Although I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into, I ended up tearing through it, enthralled by the depiction of New York (and Broadway!) set in the 40s and 50s. And I told anybody who’d listen to read it. I wasn’t alone of course in my discovery—Jacqueline Susann’s debut has remained one of the all-time bestsellers for over fifty years.

The other night I went to a showing of the infamous 1967 movie version with my friend (he’d never seen it) and I explained afterward how the book has a special place in my heart and differs greatly from the camp spectacle he’d just witnessed. Also there is no bad acting in books.

Gore Vidal (or Truman Capote, depending who you ask) once said Susann’s prose wasn’t writing, it was typing—and although it might not be Wuthering Heights, the book has a brilliant structure founded upon the friendships of three young women struggling to make something of themselves. Susann was also a marketing visionary, a brand-name novelist who brought Peyton Place to Manhattan and paved the way for many romance writers to come.

Valley of the Dolls made me fall in love with New York and confirmed my decision to make it my home. Visions of the old El Morocco and the Stork Club danced in my head and after I moved to Manhattan, ‘21’ certainly became one of my favorite places to eat—no, to experience! 

Before ‘21’ closed a few years ago, I had the privilege to chat with its former executive chef Michael Lomonaco at a press event. I gushed over the shallot and champagne vinaigrette in his cookbook, which feature recipes from the fabled venue. So, when Anne Welles, the heroine of Valley of the Dolls arrives at ‘21’ dressed to the nines, I can’t help but imagine her salad was dressed with Lomonaco’s perfect vinaigrette—and my go-to favorite.

“Anne rushed into ‘21’ and joined Henry at his usual front table. Henry noticed that every man in the room had turned to look at her. She wore eye makeup and her hair was fuller, like a lion’s mane...she was exciting now. Anne laughed and ordered a salad.”

                              

Shallot and Champagne Vinaigrette
Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 large, peeled shallots
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Method:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process the vinegar, mustard, sugar, shallots, salt, and pepper until the shallots are finely chopped. With the processor running, add the oil very slowly in a small stream until all the oil has been incorporated and the dressing has achieved a silky, smooth texture. The dressing may be stored, covered, up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator but should be brought to room temperature before using.

BOOK/A TABLE - Champagne & Sorbet

As far as I’m concerned, the shorts stay on until mid-October, at least. And why not? The seasons have gone haywire—Memorial Day weekend weather doesn’t really start until sometime in June now and I prefer to think of September as the new August.

With that in mind, it’s still a fine time to knock back an effervescent Sgroppino! A video from Nigella Lawson popped up on Instagram and I was immediately intrigued as she mixed together lemon sorbet, champagne, and vodka for a last-gasp-of-summer cocktail.

It happened to be a bit of a coincidence then that I also came across a mention of champagne sorbet when reading Doctor No by Ian Fleming. While trapped in the madman’s “mink-lined prison” our favorite undercover agent James Bond is handed two huge menus: “They might have been from the Savoy Grill or the ‘21’ or the Tour d’Argent. Bond ran his eye down one of them. It began with Caviar double de Beluga and ended with Sorbet à la Champagne.”

Champagne Sorbet may certainly serve as a tasty dessert, but a Sgroppino is easier to make and yields quicker results without having to wait around for the whole thing to freeze. Cheers then—and say “yes” to the rest of summer!

Nigella Lawson’s Sgroppino Recipe
(My booze-free suggestions in italics)

Ingredients
100g Lemon Sorbet (about 2/3 cup)
25ml chilled vodka (1 shot) or herbally Ritual gin
25ml chilled prosecco (1 shot) or Giesen New Zealand Sparkling Brut

Method
Get a small coupe or martini glass and a small wide-ish jug. Scoop the lemon sorbet into the jug.
Pour over the vodka, followed by the prosecco. Mix swiftly but gently with a couple of forks, pulling the sorbet apart and into the liquid rather than beating the ingredients together.
When you have a lump-free cohesive mixture resembling a cloud of frosty froth, pour into the prepared glass.
Raise to your lips and prepare to be transported!

TIP: Chill your glasses to keep your cocktail cold – put them in the freezer for at least 30 mins, or up to 2 hrs before serving. (Avoid freezing crystal and delicate glass.)

This recipe was created by Nigella for Ocado.

 

 

 

Spaghetti with Salmon Roe

I don’t know what to tell you except that we were gifted an enormous amount of salmon roe from a very generous friend and we had to do something with it. I found this recipe for a luxurious pasta dish featuring fish eggs and set to work. Thin spaghettini is suggested, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Try linguine or fettucine.

Smaller jars of orangey-pink salmon roe or paddlefish caviar are usually less expensive than the black stuff (Sevruga, Beluga, etc.), so if you are looking to make a simple, elegant dish for a loved one, look no further. Double the recipe to include a few guests!

P.S. Lighten the whole thing up with condensed skim milk instead of cream. But do use both butter and oil. 

Spaghetti with Salmon Roe
memoriediangelina.com
Serves 2

Ingredients
150g (5 oz) spaghetti
100g (3.5 oz) salmon roe (2 small jars)
1 shallot, finely minced
A splash of dry, white wine
A good pour of heavy cream
Butter (or a mixture of butter and oil)
Salt

Directions
Cook the pasta in abundant, well salted water until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, melt a good dollop of butter (or a mixture of oil and butter) in a skillet. Sauté the shallot over very gentle heat for a minute or two, then add a splash of white wine. Raise the heat and let the wine reduce until it become syrupy. Add the cream and reduce again, until you have a nice, ‘saucy’ consistency. Turn off the heat and add half the salmon roe, mixing it well with the cream. If you like crush a few of the roe to add color and taste to the sauce. Taste and adjust for seasoning; the sauce should be very flavorful.

When the pasta is done, transfer it to the skillet. Turn on the heat to medium-high and mix the pasta with the sauce until all the strands of pasta are well coated with the sauce. If you find the sauce it a bit too thick, add more cream. If too thin, just let the pasta cook a bit longer. The pasta should not be swimming in the sauce, but it should slither around easily in the skillet.

Serve in pasta bowls and top each portion with the remaining salmon roe.

BOOK/A TABLE - Trifle, Revisited

Longing, regret, lost loves, memory: certainly all of these things are among my favorite obsessions, but only a few of the themes Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited touches upon.

At the moment though, there are several delicious scenes from the book I recall in particular...

The sprawling student luncheons in the rooms at Oxford featuring Lobster Newberg; a catered party held in the state room of a storm-lashed ship where a caviar-filled ice sculpture of a swan is melting; the summer evening Sebastian and Charles spent drinking wine at a table loaded with vintages pulled from the vast cellar at Brideshead; an afternoon lazing under elm trees after Sebastian told his friend, “I’ve got a motor-car and a basket of strawberries and a bottle of Chateau-Peyraguey—which isn’t a wine you’ve ever tasted, so don’t pretend. It’s heaven with strawberries.”

And then at last, we’re introduced to something called Mavrodaphne Trifle. As Charles recounts his harrowing evening with Anthony Blanche, “I had drunk a lot, but neither the mixture, nor the Chartreuse, nor the Mavrodaphne Trifle, nor even the fact that I had sat immobile and almost silent throughout the evening instead of clearing the fumes...explains the stress of that hag-ridden night.”

I was very intrigued. What Trifle was this? A google investigation explained that Mavrodaphne Trifle incorporates Greek Mavrodaphne wine—with the rich ruby-red color and nose of black raisins from Mavrodaphne grapes stepping in for sherry traditionally used to flavor the creamy, layered dessert!

                                 

The recipe below is more a matter of assemblage than labor, especially if you use a ready-made sponge cake and custard.

Consider serving the beautiful, unsusual Mavrodaphne Trifle at your next gathering—or enjoy it by a bubbling Gothic fountain bathed in moonlight. (IYKYK!) “Always summer...the fruit always ripe...”

Happy Labor Day, everybody! 

Mavrodaphne Trifle 
Adapted from treataweek.blogspot.com

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients
1 recipe of English Custard (about 3 cups)
2/5 to 1/2 recipe Lemon Sponge Cake (about 3/4 pound)
1/2 cup raspberry jam
1/3 to 2/3 cup Mavrodaphne or sweet sherry, port, sweet wine or fruit juice
1 to 1 1/2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 small banana, sliced
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons rose water (optional)
3 tablespoons powdered sugar (optional)
chocolate shavings or other garnish

Directions
1. Prepare custard in advance and use at room temperature or chilled. Do not use warm custard.
2. Slice stale sponge cake into 3/4-inch cubes. Using raspberry jam, attach two cubes of cake together. 
3. In the trifle bowl, pour alcohol or juice over cake and toss until the liquid is absorbed.
4. Add sliced strawberries and bananas and toss again. 
5. Cover with a layer of custard, making sure it settles over the cake-fruit mixture. 
6. Whip cream, rose water and powdered sugar until stiff.
7. Top trifle with whipped cream and decorate with chocolate shavings. You may also garnish with toasted sliced almond, fruit, sprinkles or cocoa powder. 
8. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours before serving.

Be sure to use a clear glass bowl to show off the layers of your trifle.

Thanks to treataweek.blogspot.com for the recipe and princesspinkygirl.com for the pic! 

BOOK/A TABLE - Summer Rum Punch

The inspo for this post comes from Ritual non-alcoholic spirits and...Charlie Chan! I found the nifty little copies from the 60s (shown above) on eBay.

In Behind That Curtain by Earl Derr Biggers, the eminent Chinese detective Charlie Chan is trying to get back home to Punchbowl Hill in Hawaii, but a most mysterious case keeps him moored in San Francisco. I was surprised by how beautifully and thoughtfully Biggers writes about that town as well as Hawaii back in the 1920s, when the books were first published.

“The bluest hills are those farthest away,” Chan said. “Bluest of all is Punchbowl Hill, where my little family is gathered, waiting for me—”

The Charlie Chan books are a lot of fun, but frankly all the talk about Chan’s Punchbowl Hill residence got me thinking about punch. So that’s where Ritual non-alcoholic spirits comes in: they text me daily, proffering seasonal cocktail recipes made with their booze-free whisky, gin, rum, vodka, and aperitif versions of the hard stuff. Just as I was mooning over the idea of a nice punch—they sent a recipe for Rum Punch!

 
I think Ritual is among the best of the n/a brands currently on the market. None of Ritual’s bottles are exactly like the real thing of course (but tell that to your non-existent hangover), however they do serve as a refreshing break from liquor and are part of a growing trend in alternative cocktailling.

Grab some straws, perhaps a paper umbrella too, and enjoy!

Rum Punch
Adapted from Ritual Zero Proof 

3 oz Ritual Rum Alternative
1.5 oz orange juice
1.5 oz pineapple juice
1 oz lime juice
1 tbsp grenadine
Garnish: Maraschino cherries and orange or lemon wheel

Pour Rum Alternative, orange juice, pineapple juice, lime juice and grenadine into a glass with ice. Stir to combine. Garnish with citrus wheel and maraschino cherries.

Thanks to nickelcitypretty.com for the pic! 

BOOK/A TABLE - Cornbread with Sausage Gravy

Looking back, I scarcely imagine I was prepared to read Truman Capote’s Other Voices, Other Rooms in high school. At the time I only knew Capote as that funny little man draped in silver fox with a lavender-gray fedora who appeared in my favorite movie Murder by Death and was also the celebrated author of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Whether or not I understood exactly what was going on in Other Voices (I at least knew I was missing something), I was certainly transfixed by Capote’s use of language. In his coming-of-age story, the pages are filled with images of mouldering mansions and ghostly faces drifting through the languid summer afternoons at Skully’s Landing—pure Southern Gothic. I remember the mysteries our delicate young hero Joel Knox encountered; catching glimpses of cousin Randolph, for example, wrapped in a faded kimono and smoking something called asthma cigarettes while sipping on perfumed concoctions. I loved Joel’s vaguely threatening friendships with mule-driver Jesus Fever and Idabel, the feisty tomboy who would grow up to be the real Harper Lee.

All beautiful, stirring stuff, but as a teen I wasn’t quite sure what it could mean. The vivid fever dream (starring the diminutive Miss Wisteria) that takes over the latter half confounded me for years. I kept returning to the book until I was able to make head and perhaps tail of it. 

However, the breakfast that Missouri cooks for Joel always made perfect sense to me:

“With a cut of cornbread, Joel mopped bone-dry the steaming plate of fried eggs and grits, sopping rich with sausage gravy, that Missouri had set before him.”

I love cornbread and have had a fond appreciation for the Jiffy mixes since I was a kid, but I bet Missouri would cuff me upside the head for the store-bought sacrilege. Have you picked up Jiffy corn muffin mix lately? It’s still pretty good! Here’s a tip: add a can of creamed corn to the mix. And blend a tablespoon or so of honey into softened butter and slather it with abandon on your cornbread, hot out of the oven. Use a pretty pan!

Now, was there a mention of gravy...?

Sausage Gravy 
Adapted from sugarspunrun.com
Ingredients
1 lb (455 g) pork breakfast sausage I recommend using sage flavored
¼ cup (31 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 ½ cups (590 ml) whole milk
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper optional
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Method
Place sausage in a skillet over medium/high heat.
Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break up and crumble sausage as it cooks, cooking until completely browned and no pink remains. Do not drain your skillet.
Sprinkle flour evenly over the sausage crumbles. Stir frequently until flour is absorbed (about 1 minute).
¼ cup (31 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
Slowly drizzle the milk into your skillet, stirring as you pour. Add crushed red pepper, if using.
2 ½ cups (590 ml) whole milk,⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Continue to cook, stirring frequently until mixture is thickened and desired consistency is reached.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve warm with your cornbread!

BOOK/A TABLE - Duck...Soup?

During a recent trip to Nashville, I stopped into Bits & Pieces Antique Boutique where I happened upon a copy of Cherry Ames, Camp Nurse by Helen Wells. I grabbed it off the shelf straightaway and while ringing up the sale, the cashier asked me, “What’s the deal with this Cherry Ames, anyway?” 

“Well...” I leaned in and proceeded to tell her all about the utterly charming (and often hilarious) series.

Much like Nancy Drew, Cherry solves mysteries. But unlike the titian-haired teen detective, young Cherry is a rosy brunette and a nurse. Her profession leads her to be installed in any number of absurd situations (in over 20 books written between 1943-1968), where she must save the day, while applying cold compresses, administering tinctures, or taking temperatures. 

Rest Home Nurse, Mountaineer Nurse, Dude Ranch Nurse, and Companion Nurse are all compelling titles, but among those I’ve read, my favorite is Cherry Ames, Department Store Nurse. Cherry has moved on to working in the infirmary of Thomas and Parke’s, a New York department store—only to discover someone has pinched a rose diamond necklace from Mrs. Julian on the antiques floor. 

Cherry goes home to Hilton, Illinois for a visit and is necessarily grilled: “During the balance of dinner, Cherry’s mother kept the questions to what nursing in a department store was like.”

It’s not really clear what the Ames’s were eating on their best china, but my thoughts went to cherries and the marvelous Fruitful cookbook by Brian Nicholson and Sarah Huck, which features “four seasons of fresh fruit recipes.” I met the authors ten years ago at their launch party and I’ve particularly enjoyed returning to this cookbook every summer. As we are at a point when cherries are at their most flavorful, I wanted to include a recipe for smoked duck toasts (from Fruitful) and a chilled soup featuring the garnet-colored gems, in honor of Cherry Ames.  

Fresh is usually the best way to go, however for both of these recipes jars of cherries from Trader Joe’s might be preferable!

Smoked Duck and Cherry Confit Toasts
Adapted from Fruitful

Makes 4 to 6 servings
My suggestions in italics

Ingredients
2 tbs unsalted butter
1 small shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
12 oz sweet cherries, pitted (2 cups)/1 16.2 oz jar pitted Amarena cherries from Trader Joe’s
1 tb granulated sugar
2 tbs brandy
1/4 tsp sherry vinegar, plus more to taste
Pinch fine sea salt
8 (1/2-inch thick) slices rye bread (consider slicing into strips to make appetizers for a small group instead)
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbs whole-grain mustard (a nice Dijon is also good)
1 pound smoked duck breast, thinly sliced (try chopped smoked ham or cured sausage if duck is scarce)
1 cup torn arugula leaves (or baby/micro arugula)

Method
Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and cook for 30 seconds. Add the cherries and sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until cherries are caramelized, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of water. Cook, breaking up the cherries with a spoon, until the mixture bubbles and begins to thicken. Add the brandy and cook until cherries are soft and saucy. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the vinegar and salt. Set the compote aside to cool. (This can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for about a week.)

Preheat the broiler. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet and drizzle the tops with oil. Place the bread under the broiler until it is lightly toasted, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Slather one side of each toasted bread slice with mustard. Top each toast with sliced duck, a spoonful of compote, and a small handful of arugula. Serve immediately.

On to soup! I made this thrilling pink soup years ago, but only recently realized I neglected to post the recipe for it, so here you go. 

“This Hungarian dish is a dessert disguised as a soup. Morello cherries in light syrup, like the one’s sold at Trader Joe’s stores, are ideal.”

Hungarian Chilled Cherry Soup aka Meggyleves
Adapted from Saveur

My comments in italics

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
2 (24 oz) jars of pitted sour cherries (preferably morellos), with their juice (Alternatively, you may use 1 3/4 lbs. fresh bing cherries, stemmed and pitted, or 1 1/2 lbs. frozen bing cherries with 2 3/4 cups sour or regular cherry juice.) OR about 2 16.2 oz jars of Trader Joe’s Amarena cherries 
1⁄2 tsp kosher salt
1 stick cinnamon
1 slice (1/2"-thick) lemon
1 (8 oz) container sour cream

STEP 1
Add cherries, with their juice, to a 4-quart saucepan. Add salt, cinnamon stick, and lemon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until cherries are soft, about 5 minutes.

STEP 2
In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and 1⁄4 cup of hot cherry liquid from pan. Remove pan from heat; stir in sour cream mixture. Chill the soup and serve.

BOOK/A TABLE - Sugar Cookies

You read it, didn’t you? Probably a long time ago...? All about those unfortunate, incestuous Dollanganger children hidden in an attic, battling an evil grandmother while trying to escape from her enormous house?

In the summer of 1980, I was at my family’s summer place in Maine one rainy weekend and I’d just gotten a hold of a copy of Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews. It was quite a sensation at the time and I certainly couldn’t put it down.

Well, I did put it down once and my brother’s girlfriend’s friend who was staying with us that weekend snatched my copy, curious to know what I found so fascinating. I had to ask for the book back several times before finally resorting to forcibly pulling it from her covetous grasp and then hiding it away—much like the Dollanganger children themselves.

In the course of the story, the grandmother tries starving the children when she’s not emotionally abusing them. Other times, she brings picnic baskets up to the attic filled with sandwiches, fried chicken, bowls of potato salad, and occasionally cookies.

And sometimes, no cookies. Whatever other wisdom Flowers might impart, I think it all comes down to one thing: As the eldest Dollanganger sibling Cathy points out, “Lunch without cookies was an abysmal thing.”

Amen, sister.

Sugar Cookies
Adapted from southernliving.com

(My suggestions in italics)
Makes two dozen cookies (I ended up with four dozen 2 1/2" round cookies)

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

Directions
Step 1. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Step 2. Beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract; beat until combined. Gradually add flour mixture; beat on low speed until smooth.
Step 3. Divide dough in two and shape into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill.
Step 4. Preheat oven. Roll one disk at a time on lightly-floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into chosen shapes and space 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate to help cookies keep their shape.
Step 5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 375°F, rotating halfway through baking. (Took my oven more like 20 minutes to bake!) Cool on racks. Repeat process with remaining dough.

BOOK/A TABLE - Chicken Fricassée

I love Elizabeth Taylor with the heat of a thousand burning suns. I don’t mean the actress (great as she was)—I’m talking about the British author Elizabeth Taylor who wrote mostly in the 50s and 60s and travels on the same spiritual sister plane as Barbara Pym and Iris Murdoch. I’m not sure how I discovered Taylor exactly, but Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont was the first book of hers I read, probably her most well-known, before I made it a mission to read the rest of them!

Taylor writes about private domestic disasters, the little tremors that occur in our everyday interactions; turning an afternoon tea, for example, into a hollow den of restlessness or unrequited love with the stroke of a pen. “Even the humdrum becomes astonishing,” the Daily Telegraph noted even as she was being recognized as one of the greatest writers of the last century. Novelist Valerie Martin puts it perfectly: “Elizabeth Taylor is the thinking person’s dangerous housewife.” 

See how Taylor’s character Edwina fares over lunch with a chicken fricassée from In a Summer Season:

“It was surprising that she, to whom social occasions meant so much, should never have been able to master the art of being a hostess. At meal-times, even with just the family, she became as uncertain as a young bride, quite obviously checked the table to see if all was there that should be, bothered the maid, lost the thread of conversation, became absent-minded when dishes were brought in and stared anxiously and silently as Kate helped herself to some chicken fricassee.”

To find out what’s fracturing Edwina’s soul, you’ll just have to read the book. Otherwise, enjoy this marvelous chicken fricassée and see what else Elizabeth Taylor’s got cooking in her remarkable books!

Chicken Fricassée
Adapted from recipetineats.com

(My comments in italics)

Ingredients
CHICKEN
4 chicken drumsticks
4 chicken thighs, skin-on and bone-in (try doubling the tasty thighs, instead of using drumsticks) 
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 tbsp unsalted butter

STEW INGREDIENTS
10 oz white mushrooms, halved if small, or cut in 4 to 6 if large
2 medium yellow onions, sliced (1/2 in) wide
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
3 thyme sprigs (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
3 tbsp flour, plain/all-purpose
1/2 cup white wine, preferably chardonnay
3 cups chicken stock , low sodium
1/4 tsp salt (cooking/kosher salt)
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
2/3 cup thickened/heavy cream (substitute evaporated skim milk to lighten things up!)

Instructions
Pat chicken dry with paper towels then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet or heavy based pot with a lid. Add chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown. Turn and cook the other side for 1 minute then remove to a plate.
Then brown the drumsticks--on 3 sides, about 2 minutes each. Then remove from skillet.
Add mushrooms, onion, bay leave and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes until mushroom is lightly golden.
Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
Add wine and chicken stock. Stir, scraping the base of the pot to dissolve the brown residue stuck to the pan ("fond") into the sauce.
Return chicken back into the sauce with the skin side up.
Simmer covered 10 minutes: Once it comes to a simmer, medium-low. Cover with lid and simmer 10 minutes.
Remove lid and let it simmer for a further 20 minutes. Chicken will be cooked – internal temperature 75°C/167°F or slightly higher.
Remove chicken to a plate. Add cream to sauce and stir. Once it comes up to a simmer, taste sauce and add more salt if desired.
Return chicken into the sauce then remove from the stove. Sprinkle with parsley and serve!

And how about the gorgeous book cover art? I think Sarah Maycock is absolutely tremendous. 

Maine Diner's Lobster Pie

Being a native New Englander, summertime has always meant lobstertime to me! And the Maine Diner in Wells, ME serves up a wondrous lobster pie that is also quite easy to recreate at home.

You can boil your own lobsters (as below) if you don’t mind the fuss, but otherwise consider pre-packaged lobster already cooked and cracked open, such as from Luke’s Lobster that I found at our local Whole Foods. Get started then by heating up the pre-packaged lobster (you’ll want about a pound of meat) in a lightly buttered skillet and then move on to the next step in the following recipe, sauteeing your Ritz cracker crumbs in margarine and more butter for your stuffing mixture. 

What a super simple and an incredibly tasty way to wow your guests!

Lobster Pie

Adapted from Twice as Good
Yield: 4
Cooking Time: 45 Minutes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Bring water to a boil in a stock pot. Put lobsters in boiling water. Remove lobsters after 12 minutes.
Remove tail and claws from each lobster. Cut tails in half, lengthwise. Crack claws open. Set aside to cool.
Melt 1 stick of butter and 1 stick of margarine in a saucepan. Add 3 cups finely crushed Ritz cracker crumbs. Mix thoroughly with a rubber spatula. Set aside.

Melt remaining stick of butter in a small saucepan. Coat the bottom of the casserole dish with the melted butter.
Remove tail meat and claw meat from the lobsters. Place picked meat in the casserole dish. Cover the lobster meat evenly with the Ritz Cracker stuffing mixture.
Place casserole dish in to the oven for 7 – 10 minutes. The Ritz Cracker topping should be a nice golden brown and you should hear the butter sizzling in the casserole dish. 

BOOK/A TABLE - Meatballs for the Family

I used to love asking my father if he’d seen some particular old movie or knew about this actress or that actor—or if he’d ever read the wonderful book I’d just finished. If he wasn’t familiar with whatever I was talking about, I’d put a DVD or book in the mail for him and we’d have a fine chat about it later. (I still have his thoughts on East of Eden in a letter he wrote to me.)

I lost my father almost two years ago. The sorrow still comes in on little feet of course, padding around me at any given moment, a reminder of his absence: right now, I wish I could talk to him about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I don’t know if he ever read it, but I bet he would have loved it.

When I was a junior in high school, my English teacher (who also happened to be my cousin Elizabeth) had us read the book, as well as several other titles not usually considered to be required reading. She chose stories that were precious to her and I always admired her for that. However, I missed out on discussing A Tree Grows in Brooklyn with my father at the time.

Chancing upon a used copy this summer (I found the same Perennial Library edition I’d read all those years ago!), I scaled the sturdy trunk once more. Search around for a plot if you must, but otherwise revel in the limbs and leaves—the keen, moving insights on human nature; its strength and frailty, as seen through the eyes of Francie Nolan, a young girl living with her family in Brooklyn at the dawn of the 20th century.

As I turned the pages, I was struck by the awful-sounding fricadellen meatballs the Nolan family threw together from butcher’s scraps probably because they reminded me of the hard scrabbled meals my father was subject to as a boy during the Depression. Then with another whiff, I suddenly remembered the delicious meatballs cousin Elizabeth used to serve at her holiday parties back in the 80s! But those were made with grape jelly and rather different from what the resourceful Nolans cooked up...

“A loaf of stale bread was made into a pulp with hot water and mixed with a dime’s worth of chopped meat into which an onion had been cleavered. Salt and a penny’s worth of minced parsley were added for flavor. This was made up into little balls, fried and served with hot ketchup. These meatballs had a name, fricadellen, which was a great joke with Francie and Neeley.”

I think it’s safe to say that Elizabeth’s meatballs were tastier. At least they were a big hit at her parties. The recipe below is very similar, according to her daughter, although Elizabeth also added horseradish. If you’d like to see what German fricadellen is all about, click here. 

Now go and share the meatballs—and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn—with someone you love.

Grape Jelly Meatballs

Adapted from evolvingtable.com

(My comments in italics)
YIELD 12
PREP 5 minutes
COOK 4 hours
TOTAL 4 hours, 5 minutes

Ingredients
1 ½ cups ketchup or barbecue sauce
¾ cup grape jelly or other fruit jam or preserves
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce optional (definitely use)

1 1/2 tsp horseradish (my suggestion)
36 oz meatballs cooked (buy frozen or click here for the best meatball recipe!)
Parsley for garnish, optional

Instructions
Combine Ingredients: Whisk ketchup, jelly, and Worcestershire in either the bottom of a 6-quart Crockpot or in a large pot on the stovetop until smooth.

Add Meatballs: Toss meatballs until they are all well coated. For both the slow cooker and the stovetop cooking methods you can either add frozen meatballs directly to the pot or thaw before adding them in. Frozen meatballs will take longer to cook all the way through so you'll need to add an extra hour for the Crockpot and 5-10 minutes on the stovetop.

Cook Meatballs in Crockpot: Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or on high for 1-2 hours. Stir the meatballs in the sauce during the last 30 minutes of cooking to ensure they do not burn.

-OR-

Stovetop Instructions: Cover the pot with a lid and cook over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through. Give the meatballs a good stir a few times throughout cooking to ensure they do not burn.

Serve meatballs with a sprinkle of finely chopped parsley.

Thanks to fortheloveofleftovers.com for the meatball photo!

BOOK/A TABLE - Trader Vic's Mai Tai

It just so happened I was tearing through Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City series when I first visited the Bay Area. The fantastic story of a group of friends loose in 1970s San Francisco evokes a sexy, thrilling era that must have seemed like a dream even while living it—and the great city certainly came alive for me during my trip as I ventured through its vibrant neighborhoods on the lookout for each beloved character I was reading about.

One of the tales concerns stodgy businessman Edgar Halcyon and the difficult relationship with his wife, Frannie—and her penchant for Mai Tais. Early on, Edgar confronts Frannie at eleven-fifteen in the morning. “She was perched on the sofa on the sun porch. Her legs were curled up under her Thai silk muumuu. Her wig was askew. She smelled of rum and Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Mix.”

Poor old Frannie, resigned to swilling some godawful mix. Surely we can do better than that! Here’s a recipe for the real deal that was originally invented at Trader Vic’s in 1944.

Trader Vic’s Mai Tai
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 cup crushed ice
1 lime
2 oz. Jamaican rum
½ oz. orgeat (almond syrup)
½ oz. orange curaçao liqueur
¼ oz. simple syrup
1 cup ice
1 sprig fresh mint

Directions:
Fill a rocks glass with 1 cup crushed ice. Set aside in the freezer.
Cut lime in half. Juice both halves into a cocktail shaker. Set one rind aside for serving; discard the other.
Add rum, orgeat, curaçao, and simple syrup to the cocktail shaker. Add 1 cup ice, cover, and shake until chilled.
Place the reserved lime rind into the chilled rocks glass. Strain Mai Tai in a glass and float the mint sprig on the edge.

But why stop there? Serve the following delicious Polynesian deee-lites along with Mai Tais at your next cocktail party!

Chinese Spareribs from Tyler Florence. While the ribs cook, the aromas fill the kitchen and beyond, all gently spicy and warm like Christmas.

Chinese Roast Pork Probably my favorite of these three recipes—it’s actually red food coloring that turns the meat pink!

Coconut Shrimp Try frying with Panko bread crumbs added into the mix.

Do enjoy. Thanks to us.inshaker.com for the Mai Tai photo!

BOOK/A TABLE - Roasted Leg of Lamb

An old school pal and I were in the midst of a bar conversation when grappa (a grape-based pomace brandy) came up, or rather a memory of us drinking it one night in Manhattan. He said fondly, “Ah yes, our My House in Umbria days.” He was referring to our obsession over the HBO movie starring Maggie Smith, in which her character (the unreliable narrator Mrs. Delahunty) drinks tons of grappa and continually forces it upon her guests, with dubious results. 

But they do eat too, in the movie as well as in the stirring novella of the same name by the brilliant William Trevor. To wit: 

“Rosa Crevelli brought us lasagna, and lamb with rosemary, and the Vino Nobile of Montepulciano, and peaches. A stranger would have been surprised to see us...the walking wounded at table.”

Usually when I think of lamb, Easter comes to mind...but how about serving a roasted leg of lamb to your guests on a sultry summer evening, dreaming of an Italian garden surrounded by olive trees and rosemary bushes? Grappa optional. 

Roast Leg of Lamb 
Adapted from food.com
Serves Six

INGREDIENTS
4 1⁄2 lbs leg of lamb
2 garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon oil
salt 
fresh ground pepper

METHOD
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
With a small, sharp knife cut slits all over the lamb (top and bottom).
Insert the slivers of garlic, and the rosemary sprigs.
Brush the lamb with the oil and season with salt and pepper.
Place on a wire rack in a baking tin and pour in 3/4 cup of water.
Roast for about 2 hours basting often with the pan juices.
Remove from oven and cover loosely with foil.
Allow to rest for about 15 minutes before carving.

Enjoy with roasted vegetables, peas...and of course, mint jelly! 

 

BOOK/A TABLE - Coffee and Fudge Ice Cream Cake

Happy Gay Pride!

Barbra and I have become rather close over the last few months. At least it’s felt that way as I’ve been listening to her intimate 966-page autobiography My Name is Barbra on Audible. The legend herself reads to me while I’m folding my laundry. She speaks very slowly, so I recommend adjusting your settings to 1.2x speed (like mid-90s Touring Barbra, but don’t rev it up any further—at 1.3x, you get Woody Allen). 

If you are a Barbra fan (I certainly am, the lady and her music have scored many of my memories), the Audible version with musical clips and ad libs is the way to go: it’s like sitting next to her during an episode of Coffee Talk with Linda Richman as she tells you frankly about her career and love life—as well as what she wore and perhaps most importantly, what she ate. Now speaking of coffee... 

Let Barbra tell you about it herself, from My Name is Barbra:

“There’s nothing like a big, fresh scoop of McConnell’s Brazilian Coffee packed into a crisp cone and handed to you at their store in Santa Barbara. Maybe it’s the intensity of the flavor, made with real coffee beans, the smooth, rich texture…”

Music to my ears. 

In honor of Barbra and coffee ice cream (my personal favorite), I am including this outrageous recipe for Coffee and Fudge Ice Cream Cake with the suggestion that you try making it with McConnell’s ice cream! You can use fudge sauce from a jar, of course, for time’s sake or convenience. The rest is more a matter of assembly than the baking and precision required of other cakes. 

And scroll down for BONUS MATERIAL—Barbra’s homemade coffee ice cream. It’s like...buttah! 

                                              

Coffee and Fudge Ice Cream Cake
Adapted from halfbakedharvest.com
Serves 10 

INGREDIENTS
FUDGE SAUCE:
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup honey
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted buttah
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
salt

CAKE:
1 pint chocolate ice cream
1 pint coffee chip ice cream
1 pint vanilla ice cream
18-20 sheets graham crackers
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

METHOD
1. To make the fudge sauce: Combine the cocoa powder, cream, honey, sugar, and buttah in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes, or until the buttah and chocolate are melted and the sauce is smooth. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Let cool for 10 minutes.
2. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
3. Press the chocolate ice cream into the bottom of the pan, top with a layer of graham crackers, then about 1/3 cup of fudge sauce. Freeze 15 to 30 minutes. Remove from the freezer, add the coffee ice cream, another layer of graham crackers, and then 1/3 cup fudge sauce. Freeze 15 to 30 minutes. Remove from the freezer, add the vanilla ice cream, and then the final layer of graham crackers. Cover and freeze for 6 hours or overnight.
4. Keep the remaining fudge sauce in the fridge.
5. When ready to serve, warm the fudge sauce for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen, then invert the cake onto a platter and remove the paper. Pour the fudge sauce over cake and freeze 5 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, whip the cream and sugar with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Dollop the cream over the cake. If desired dust with cocoa powder. Slice and serve immediately.

BONUS MATERIAL:
This recipe is excerpted from Roberta Ashley’s 1967 cookbook Singers & Swingers in the Kitchen-The Scene Makers Cook Book.

Barbra Streisand’s Homemade Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
for the ice cream
1 cup whole milk
24 marshmallows
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 cup heavy cream

Directions
Turn your refrigerator to the coldest point. Pour milk into a saucepan, heat, and gradually add the marshmallows. Mix until the mixture is smooth; add the instant coffee. Let it cool a bit. Whip the cream until stiff.; mix cream and marshmallow mix together and pour into an empty ice tray. Freeze.

BOOK/A TABLE - Blueberry Cobbler

 

Happy Juneteenth! As I was plotting out a small tribute here to Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, NYT Cooking sent out an email for a Blueberry Cobbler recipe. I remembered the scene from Morrison’s first novel, The Bluest Eye, where sweet, tragic Pecola Breedlove encounters a cobbler bubbling with “blackish blueberries” and suddenly I had an idea for this post.

“On the counter near the stove in a silvery pan was a deep-dish berry cobbler. The purple juice bursting here and there through crust.”

I was completely bowled over by Morrison when I discovered Beloved  in 1992. Something always seems to be simmering stovetop in her novels—and certainly in her vivid, extraordinary prose. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy this summery cobbler!

Chez Panisse’s Blueberry Cobbler
Recipe from Lindsey Remolif Shere 
Adapted by Molly O'Neill

INGREDIENTS
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Berries:
4½ cups fresh blueberries
⅓ cup sugar
1tablespoon all-purpose flour

Dough:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1½ tablespoons sugar
2¼ teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
¾ cup heavy cream, plus additional for serving, if desired

METHOD
Step 1
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. To prepare the berries, place in a bowl and toss with the sugar and flour. Set aside.
Step 2
To make the dough, mix the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the cream and mix lightly, just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
Step 3
Put the blueberries in a 1½-quart gratin or baking dish. Make patties out of the dough, 2 to 2½ inches in diameter and ½-inch thick. Arrange them over the top of the berries. Bake until the topping is brown and the juices bubble thickly around it, about 35 to 40 minutes.
Step 4
Let cool slightly. Serve warm, with cream to pour on top, if desired.