Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

This is the kind of pie you bake when you have a garden, and that is exactly what the Shaker women did at their village in Canterbury, New Hampshire. This recipe comes from Seasoned with Grace; My Generation of Shaker Cooking, by Eldress Bertha Lindsay.

1 generous cup of rhubarb, cut up

1 generous cup of strawberries, sliced

A pinch of salt

1 cup sugar

2 generous tbl. cornstarch or tapioca

Butter

Unbaked pie shell (additional crust for top is optional)

Mix rhubarb, berries, and salt. Mix sugar and cornstarch together and add to berries. Put in pie shell. Dot with butter.

Bake at 400° for 10 minutes, than continue baking at 375° for another 45 minutes or until done.

Shaker Village at Canterbury, NH

Pico de Gallo

Pico de Gallo is really just a fancy term for a fresh tomato salsa. Most recipes are pretty similar. Therefore, I'll just skip measurements all together and you can play around and do what you want, adding and subtracting as you'd like. It's more fun that way anyhow, right? So bust out the corn chips and figure out your best version this football season!

--Tomatoes, seeded and diced
--Red Onion, finely chopped
--Jalapeno or Serrano Pepper, finely chopped
--Garlic, minced
--Cilantro, chopped fine
--Olive Oil
--Fresh Lime Juice
--Kosher Salt
--Fresh-Ground Black Pepper

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients. Let them all sit together and marinate before eating.

Oyster Stuffing

I am such a traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving that I never want to fool around with the menu. I like Sausage Cornbread Stuffing for the turkey, but if I ever chose to experiment I might try this recipe from Seasoned with Grace; My Generation of Shaker Cooking, by Eldress Bertha Lindsay. Making it would remind me of the lovely Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire that we visited when the kids were little.

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 cups bread crumbs, soft

1 pint oysters, chopped

2 - 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Pour milk and butter over crumbs. Add oysters and seasonings. Spoon the stuffing into the turkey and roast.

Shaker Village, Canterbury, NH

Jenn's Sugar and Cinnamon Cookies

My coworker Jenn emailed me another of her cookie recipes. I'm a fan of using cream cheese in anything, so this intrigues me. Once, I wrote a 5 page essay on my appreciation of cheese. In it, I marveled at the many wonderful varieties of cheese from around the world, but the inspiration to begin can be traced to the bagel with cream cheese in my mouth. Other inspirations for writing a 5-page essay on cheese: I hated my job and didn't have enough work to do.

--1 cup Unsalted Butter (2 sticks)
-- 8 oz Cream Cheese
--2 ½ cups Flour
--2 tsp Cinnamon, plus some
--1 tbsp Vanilla
--½ tsp Salt (use only if you're using unsalted butter)
--2/3 cup Sugar, plus some

Mix butter, cream cheese and sugar together. Add in flour, cinnamon and salt. Add vanilla. Knead dough together and refrigerate for about an hour or so (Jenn recommends dividing the dough into two balls because it will cool quicker). Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll dough out to about quarter inch thick and spread addition sugar and cinnamon on top. Roll up into a log, then refrigerate for another hour. Cut into 1/4-inch thick cookies and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Jenn's Variation: Lemon Sugar Cookies! Instead of vanilla, use lemon extract. Instead of cinnamon, use lemon zest.

Brown Derby Potato Salad

The original Brown Derby Restaurant was opened in Los Angeles on Wilshire Blvd. in 1926. It was known for its distinctive brown hat shape, its good food, and because it was a place frequented by the Hollywood stars of the time. Three other L.A. branches were opened in 1929, 1931, and 1940--the latter, Los Feliz Brown Derby, is still in operation. The organization began a licensing program in 1987 with Disney and later with MGM. (Wikipedia).

My father's cousin was involved in the movie business and must have taken my parents to the original Brown Derby, as they always treasured memories of the place and enjoyed cooking from their copy of The Brown Derby Cookbook (Doubleday, 1949), which was passed down to me.

We kids loved this recipe, even though we might not have known its background. The bacon added just the right flavor and whenever my mother was making potato salad, this is the recipe we hoped she would use. She wrote little notes into the list of ingredients, and I have included those in brackets.

Serves 4.

3 large Idaho russet potatoes

2 tbs. chives [or green onions]

4 slices crisp bacon, chopped fine

1/2 cup hot chicken broth [one half cube bouillon, dissolved in 1/2 cup water]

1 tsp. celery salt

1/2 cup Brown Derby Mayonnaise [my note: See recipe below, or substitute Hellman's or Best Foods, depending on where you live]

1/3 cup Brown Derby Old-Fashioned French Dressing [use Girard's]

2 tbl. wine vinagar

1 tbl. parsley, chopped fine

Boil the potatoes until well done. While still slightly warm, slice into a medium-sized salad bowl. Add chives, bacon, chicken broth, celery salt, mayonnaise, French dressing, wine vinegar, and parsley. Mix well, allow to stand for an hour, and serve.

Brown Derby Mayonnaise

Makes one quart

6 egg yolks

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. English mustard

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

4 tbl. mild vinegar

3 cups salad oil

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tbl. boiling water

Beat egg yolks with electric beater or French whip. Add salt, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and 2 tbl. vinegar. Mix well.

Add oil in fine stream, whipping fast to absorb oil. Stop adding oil if it is not absorbed. As mixture becomes thick add remaining vinegar and lemon juice.

Continue whipping until all oil, vinegar, and lemon have been used. If mixed correctly all ingredients should be absorbed. Finally, whip in the boiling water.

Keep refrigerated. Do not freeze.

The Genuine Charcutier's Meatloaf

According to Pork and Sons, a cookbook by Stéphane Reynaud (here's my intro to this cookbook), "the term charcuterie is used to describe both the branch of cooking devoted to cooked or processed meat products, primarily from pork, and a shop selling these products. A charcutier is the man or woman behind the counter, and they are a great source of information and advice on pork." I've never made the following recipe, but the page is already well worn. I'm preparing the card for my recipe box so that it will be ready for me when I can go visit my local charcutier... Porky Meatloaf, here we come!

--Sweet Butter, for greasing
--2 and 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour, plus a little more for dusting
--4 tbsp Olive Oil
--3 Shallots, chopped
--1 and 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
--4 Eggs, lightly beaten
--1/2 cup White Wine
--1 cup fresh Whole Milk
--1/2 cup coarsely chopped Smoked Bacon
--1/2 cup coarsely chopped Jambon de Paris or other Unsmoked Fully-Cooked Ham
--1/4 cup coarsely chopped spicy Spanish Chorizo Sausage (or Mexican Chorizo)
--1/2 cup coarsely chopped Prosciutto

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a loaf pan with butter and dust with flour, tipping out any excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Add the shallots, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the eggs, white wine, milk and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well, then stir in all the meat and the shallots. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.

At Last! New Mexico's Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail

If you live in New Mexico, you have probably debated one of our big questions: Who has the best green chile cheeseburger in the state? If you don't live here, you will want to plan your next vacation around New Mexico.org's Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail--map and guide "coming soon."

You see, they can't make up the map until they've stopped adding newly nominated restaurants around the state. Here is the current list of nominees.

Just to get your taste buds in gear, here is the description of our state's favorite burger from the New Mexico.org website: A juicy thick patty grilled over an open flame or sizzled on a griddle, then blanketed in molten Cheddar or other cheese, and topped off with enough New Mexican green chile to tingle the tastebuds—what could be more glorious?

Don't forget to vote!

Huaraches

A few years ago, I moved to Astoria, Queens. There, I discovered my new favorite "restaurant," though it was hardly "a restaurant". It was a catering truck, with "Azteca Pride" and "El Rey Del Taco" painted on it, parked on 30th Avenue outside the Rite Aid Drug Store. Marsha and I lovingly referred to it as "Taco Truck." Now, before you judge my views on food, let me note that in New York we take our street vendors seriously. Many carts proudly display food reviews from publications such as Zagat's and The New York Times. If you were to ask around about "The Taco Truck in Astoria," 1 out of 5 people in this town could probably give you directions. In fact, the truck is so popular that Jose, the owner, was able to earn the money to open a restaurant. It kinda makes me proud. This place has some of the of the best Mexican street fare. For example, the huarache (recipe from Sunset Magazine, via myrecipes.com, modified by ME)

Recipe makes 4 huaraches

Dough:
--2 cups Dehydrated Masa Flour (Corn Tortilla Flour)
--1 tsp Baking Powder
--1/4 tsp Salt
--1 and 3/4 cups Chicken Broth

Toppings:
--Refried Beans
--Some sort of Meat (I would recommend Chorizo (crumbled and pan-fried), or Chicken that has been marinated in Lime)
--Shredded Lettuce
--Sliced Tomatoes, or Pico de Gallo
--Crumbled Cotija Cheese (or Feta Cheese)
--Sour Cream
--Guacamole (optional)
--Hot Sauce (optional)
--Salt and Black Pepper

In a bowl, stir masa flour, baking powder, salt, and broth until dough holds together well, adding a little water if needed. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion into a 6-inch-long log on a sheet of waxed paper. Pat each log into a 1/8-inch-thick oval, about 4 by 8 inches. (If shaped ahead, stack with waxed paper, wrap airtight, and refrigerate up to 2 hours.) Place a griddle on medium-high heat. When pan is hot, flip masa dough onto pan and peel off paper. Cook until bottom of masa is light brown, about 3 minutes. Use a wide spatula to turn huaraches over, then spread refried beans over each huarache. Cover beans with meat topping. Cook until huarache bottoms are lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to plates. Top huaraches equally with shredded lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper to taste. I recommend guacamole and hot sauce too!

Fresh Raspberry Ice Cream Soda

Here I am, breaking my own rule. I'm posting a recipe here that I haven't actually tried out yet, yet what could go wrong with something that sounds so delicious? Living here right on the buckle of the Bible Belt as we do (however temporarily), it even sounds just the tiniest bit sinful, and I'm all for that!

1/2 gallon very good vanilla ice cream

2 cups fresh raspberries

1 bottle (750 milliliters) champagne

Fill 6 tall soda classes two-thirds full with alternating layers of ice cream and raspberries. Fill the glasses to the top with champagne and serve.

This comes from that old family favorite cookbook: The Nine Seasons Cookbook, by Pat Haley. They sure must have had fun out there in the New Hampshire woods while they were writing this book.

The recipe allows as how some might want a non-alcoholic version (substitute ginger ale for the champagne); and suggests that you might want to try this drink again when other fruits are in season (strawberries, peaches, nectarines, or cantaloupe).

Hey, Bucksnort has some cantaloupe ripening in her garden. Maybe we should test some variations this afternoon...