Jul 28
Tarrant FiglioRecipes, Vegetables, retro food
My 14-year-old got excited about this recipe when she saw it. What isn’t to love about corn fritters? Corn, deep-frying, a doughnut disguised as a vegetable.
Another recipe from “My Favorite Maryland Recipes”
2 cups corn, fresh or canned (of course, true Silver Queen fresh off the vine works best)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, well beaten
1 teaspoon melted butter
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder for frying
Chop corn very fine, add salt, pepper, egg, butter, milk, flour and baking powder. Mix well. Fry in hot deep fat, 1 tablespoon batter for each fritter. Serve with strips of fried bacon or with brandy sauce. (I just dusted mine with powdered sugar.)
Jul 07
Tarrant FiglioVegetables, retro food
There comes a time in summer when all the fresh sliced tomatoes, tomato salads, tomatoes eaten like apples gets old. But, tomato season runs all too fast to turn up the fresh, wonderful, farmer’s market tomatoes. Time to add something else to the mix…like baked tomatoes. This recipe works perfectly with the overripe tomatoes as well as the not quite ripe tomatoes.
Baked Tomatoes
4 large tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon minced onion
2 tablespoons each fresh chopped basil and dill
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 cup bread crumbs
4 teaspoons butter
Remove stem ends from tomatoes without cutting flesh. Cut tomatoes in half horizontally. Set cut-side-up in a shallow baking dish or casserole. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, onion, herbs, toasted bread crumbs. Dot with butter. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Makes 4 servings.
Mar 08
Tarrant FiglioVegetables
So, there is an official site for Meat Out Mondays…but that isn’t why today is a meat out Monday. The Great American Meat Out Day is coming on March 20! You can even get free meatless products to celebrate-hurry if you want to get them by hosting a Great American Meat Out Event. If you aren’t sure about going quite that far- you might want to consider just attending an event.
I encourage you to take a look even if you haven’t had a meatless meal in months. If you are a lapsed vegetarian, a flexitarian, or a vegetarian–even better. To all the vegans who read my blog anyway-hey, you will really like these folks.
I confess we are way lapsed vegetarians and really every time I think vegan-I cringe-even though I thought it while touring an absolutely beautiful dairy operation where the cows were treated like queens-at least in public. I do like cheese and eggs and cooking without them feels too challenging.
I choose a veggie diet because touching meat gives me heebie jeebies. I choose it because I tend to make healthier choices when sticking to it. I choose it because the foods have an amazing ability to transform and make me smile.
I am not a vegetarian or vegan for compassionate reasons. I can’t even get into it for health reasons. I tend to think fuzzy math when we get into save the planet or feed the hungry. That might work for you. I know the meat out organizers espouse those ideas.
But you know what? It doesn’t matter in the end why I choose not to eat meat on any day or why someone else chooses a completely vegan lifestyle from shoes to snack time. I encourage all of you to support the meat out though and think about your food and the ways in which meat free meals can make you think of veggies as more than a supporting role.
(Totally non sponsored ramble about the Great American Meat Out which turns 25 this year) .
Jan 28
Tarrant FiglioPoultry, Recipes, Sandwiches, Vegetables, retro food
I have a fondness for club sandwiches. I blame a childhood where such things were ladylike and fancy. Of course, I failed at ladylike anything…but I sure did like some grown up lady food. I couldn’t figure out the dresses, heels, discussions or make-up. I didn’t quite understand why all the ladies didn’t have “jobs” but never had a minute to spare. I did understand the club sandwich, but not why it was marked “lady food.”
I still like club sandwiches. My love does not…but I aim to convince her with…the MUSHROOM club sandwich! Yes! A mushroom club sandwich. Coarse cut butter fried mushrooms instead of the original chicken. I need to investigate the peppy mayo though. Because I live with an anti bacon person…I have to skip that too…making it a vegetarian dream sandwich. You know why? Because a little bit of olive makes a fine substitute for bacon when it comes to vegetarians.
I will start with the “Original” club sandwich and continue with the mushroom. Look at the photo though for the Turkey, Duck, Goose, Tongue, Roast Pork, Lobster, Salmon, Flounder Cheese, Boston, or Oyster Club sandwiches.
The Original Club Sandwich
3 slices toast
Butter or Margarine
Lettuce
Mayonnaise
2 slice cooked white chicken meat
2 crisp cooked bacon slices
2 slices tomato
Toast the bread and spread with butter or margarine.Cover one slice with chicken; spread with mayonnaise and top with a lettuce leaf. Place bacon and tomato slices on top. Cover with the remaining toast slice. Fasten securely with 4 wooden toothpicks. Cut the sandwich diagonally into 4 triangles. Stand them upright on a plate. Garnish with pickles, olives, or halved slices tomato.
Mushroom Club Sandwiches
Make according to directions for the original club sandwich; but use instead of chicke, a layer of coarse-chopped butter-fried fresh mushrooms. Add a little chopped scallion or minced olives and use “pepped up mayonnaise”
Better Cooking Library, Sandwich and Party Snack Cook Book, 1964
Jan 26
Tarrant FiglioCheese, Eggs, Recipes, Vegetables, retro food holidays, Valentine's
This recipe is a pain. I will confess to this right up front. It makes for a lot of dirty dishes. It seems fussy. It matters not…it is one of my favorites.
You see…this is a completely wonderful dish to serve to company or to take to a friend with a new baby. Put it in a heart-shaped springform pan-you have a Valentine’s Day to remember.
It comes from a grocery store checkout cookbooklet I bought in the early 90s that is all pies. The cover is missing. No decent information on the publisher at all. I could make guesses based on the products pimped in it…but it is irrelevant really. It isn’t retro but this recipe makes people swoon.
Please REALLY read all the directions first and as you go along. Otherwise you will end up with some missing egg whites or cheese or generally going “huh?”
Layered Pasta Ricotta Pie
Makes 6 to 8 servings ( I feel like it makes a bit more than that-but I tend to serve with sides)
1/4 (1lb package) Creamette Vermicelli (I tend to use about 1/2 of the package and you can use whatever brand you like)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 cup grated fresh Romano cheese (Yes, I tend to use Parmesan)
3 eggs
1 15 or 16 oz container ricotta cheese
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained. (I mean it, WELL DRAINED. Press it once it is thawed.)
1/2 tsp salt
1 26 oz jar Classico Di Sicilia Ripe Olives and Mushrooms Pasta Sauce (or any chunky pasta sauce with olive and mushrooms)
Preheat oven to 350. Break vermicelli into thirds; cook according to package directions. Drain. Meanwhile, in large skillet, cook onion and garlic in oil until tender; remove from heat. Add cooked vermicelli, 1/2 cup Romano cheese and 1 egg; mix well. Press into well-greased 9-inch springform pan. Combine 2 egg yolks, ricotta, spinach, salt and remaining 1/2 cup Romano cheese. Spread over pasta layer. In small mixer bowl, beat 2 egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold into 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce. Pour over spinach mixture. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until set; let stand 10 minutes. Heat remaining pasta sauce. Serve with pie. Garnish as desired. Refrigerate leftovers. This reheats well.
Nov 11
Tarrant FiglioRecipes, Vegetables, retro food
My mother was asking what I was blogging this week. Oh, Thanksgiving stuff, I told her. She started rambling, bless her heart.
Here is the contents of her ramble:
Tell them when they make their ambrosia for Thanksgiving, because many people do, that they should cut the oranges in half to do it and hollow them out. (Me: We don’t make ambrosia. We make some fluff thing.) Then save the shells for mashed sweet potatoes. Mash your sweet potatoes with a little orange juice and fill the orange shells. Then you have individual servings and it looks so pretty.
So, while my family would rather die than eat mashed sweet potatoes and definitely not mashed sweet potatoes with orange juice, keep it in mind. She is right. It is a nice serving suggestion.
Nov 10
Tarrant FiglioRecipes, Vegetables, retro food
No one gets excited about sweet potatoes in my house. Darn them. I keep trying. This however is a tasty choice in my opinion-though do cut down on the corn syrup and add more orange juice (1/4 cup is good). You just don’t need that much corn syrup!
Orange-Glazed Sweet Potatoes
6 medium sweet potatoes
3/4 cup boiling water
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 tablespoon orange juice
3/4 cup light or dark corn syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 or 4 orange slices, cut in half
Pare and halve sweet potatoes. Add boiling water and salt. Simmer in covered skillet until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain off liquid, leaving 1/4 cup in skillet. Dot potatoes with butter. Combine remaining ingredients. Add to potatoes.
Cook uncovered over low heat until glazed, about 15 minutes-baste frequently, turn potatoes once. Makes 6 servings.
Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Cook Book, 1959
Oct 19
Tarrant FiglioCasseroles, Cookbooks, Meat, Vegetables, retro food
Now syndicated on BlogHer.
A couple of weeks ago, I was startled by a cookbook among the books we picked up at the library. I don’t generally read new cookbooks and why on earth were we getting one from the library. It was too polished, too many pictures, too new. Cook’s Country Best Lost Suppers-Old-Fashioned, Home Cooked Recipes Too Good to Forget, 2009. I put it in the cold room to flip through while waiting for the dogs to come in.
I didn’t like it. First was the matter of the pictures (am not a fan). Then there was the matter of the “Notes from the Test Kitchen” at the end of each recipe. These were family favorite recipes from all over the country. How dare they change them? I read on though. And I thought. I considered. I craved.
Then I realized a couple of things, these are recipes that I would LIKE, do like, and uh, I tweak old recipes all the time. The people who submitted probably tweaked the originals as well. Ok, so maybe I love this cookbook, as new as it is and as much as it first rankled. I may even put it on my wish list. You see, there were a lot of recipes I want to try but it will be due back at the library soon. So, go see if your library has it. Give it a look. See what you think. The only thing I would have liked is the exact recipe pre-tweaking. For instance, one mentions that the original had used the crock pot but they preferred the oven to save time. I would nearly ALWAYS prefer a crock pot than the oven.
The one recipe I made already, Funeral Potatoes with Ham, got mixed reactions last night. Boy child and youngest objected to the mushrooms. (They both liked it well enough though-even if it had that horrible food included) Girl child-food snob-objected to the “casserole-ness” of the recipe. She also wasn’t impressed. But as she reflected on it, she said “You know, I didn’t think I liked this much, but now I want more.” Denise feared the ham and the “That looks like au gratin. I don’t like au gratin.” She had two servings. As for me-yum.
My notes-the peeling and shredding of the potatoes after cooking them was highly unpopular as a step. I think in the future, I will use pre-shredded potatoes-it won’t change the baking time and save a big step. We also didn’t butter the cornflake crumbs. I served with a dill cole slaw.
Funeral Potatoes With Ham
4 lbs russet potatoes, scrubbed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 lb white mushrooms, sliced thin (We used pre-sliced)
salt (oops-left that out)
1 onion, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
11/2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon pepper
11/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 pound ham steak, cut into 2-inch matchsticks
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups cornflakes crushed fine
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Set aside
2. (This is the step I would skip in the future) Bring the potatoes and 4 quarts of water to a simmer in a large pot and cook until just shy of tender (a paring knife should glide through the flesh with slight resistance), 10-15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set aside. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them and then grate the flesh lengthwise on the large holes of a box grater. Return the grated potatoes to the pot.
3. While the potatoes cook, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. (a step we said “Huh?” to) Add the mushrooms and 3/4 teaspoon salt (yeah, that salt, forgot.) and cook until mushrooms have released their juices and are brown around the edges, 7-10 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
4. Whisk in the milk, thyme, and pepper, bring to simmer, and cook, stirring frequently until thickened slightly, about 1 minutes. Stir in the cheese and 6 tablespoons of butter and cook until melted, about 1 minute.
5. Off the heat, stir in the ham and sour cream. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and toss to combine. (I think this could be done in the 9 x 13 pan in the future and save a second saucy pot to clean) Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a bowl in microwave. (skipped this) Stir in the cornflakes, then sprinkle evenly over the top of potato mixture.
6. Place the baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake until potatoes are bubbling and the top is golden brown, 35-45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Aug 06
Tarrant FiglioVegetables
We had hummus tonight for dinner. From a can. Don’t ask. Ok, do. We had hummus in a can and baba ghanoush from a can and grape leaves from a can. All bought in a strange trip to Produce World on the spur of the moment. It seemed like a good idea at the time but by the time we got home it wasn’t in the cards for dinner. Then it has sat in the cupboard like another Tarrant Weird Food Orphan (TM). Tonight for dinner I was shopping the cupboards and decided it was time for Greek Dinner from a can. It was not horrible. Really. But, I have higher standards for hummus.
My hummus experience started with a Tofu Hummus brought to grad school parties from a place that seems to be no longer in existence in Madison, WI-Magic Mill. It appears that it has been turned into a Whole Foods of all things. Oh well, it had been 14 or so years since I last had been in Madison so some things can change. However, I was a hummus addict by the time we left Madison. I figured out before we left Madison that the secret ingredient in the Magic Mills Hummus was tofu. That was what made it so creamy and delicious.
So…on nights when we don’t have hummus from a can or that quite good hummus that just changed their overblown packaging, I make hummus. Or dream of making hummus. This is how I do it:
Tofu Hummus
1 lb tofu (silken/soft/medium works best-save the firm for something else)
2 cans garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
1/4 cup tahini or cheat with a couple tablespoons of peanut butter and some toasted sesame oil
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
A generous tablespoon or two of garlic
If you are lucky enough to have a food processor (I don’t), you can throw it all in the food processor at once. If not..start with the tofu, oil, lemon juice and garlic. Whir that together well in blender. Then slowly add garbanzo beans and maybe a bit of water or more oil.
If your blender or vita-mix dies during this process, throw it at that point into your mixer and cream it together. Throw the mixture, not the blender or Vita-Mix. Yes. This happened to me. Yes. I was crushed. I still am crushed. I dream of the day Vita-Mix sends me a free replacement just because I loved it so very, very, very much. There is a Vita-Mix fairy isn’t there? *sigh* I know. The Vita-Mix was replaced by a little retro Oster blender that I like to look at but really um, isn’t much of a blender. You can also do it the old fashioned way and mash by hand, but I love the super smooth creaminess that can be achieved by mechanical means.
Then use the hummus with oh fresh Italian bread or pita or crackers or spoon (I didn’t just say that spoon part…ok I did…but I do love the stuff) or however you like to eat your hummus.
Jul 31
Tarrant FiglioSandwiches, Vegetables, retro food
This time of year, whenever I am in a gathering of women, I get transported back to the banks of the Magothy River in the 1970s. Why? Because there I realized that women do things differently when together but not really friend friends but friendly. Also, because that bit of summer tastes like a “revolutionary” sandwich of the day.
You see, a large group of us took swimming lessons in the Magothy river. While we learned crawl stroke, “Elementary backstroke” (a creation different from the backstroke the rest of the world learns), breast stroke, and to dive into the murky river–our mothers shared chatter and food.
One of the most coveted food items (on my part) and coo’d over foods the first summer of swimming lessons was a sandwich. A VEGETARIAN sandwich. (Well sort of, not sure if the Seven Seas Green Goddess dressing had anchovies or not)
Here are the ingredients:
Pocket Pita (known as Kangaroo bread or pocket bread in my area at the time)
cucumber slices
tomato slices (most likely tomatoes from Diehl’s produce stand or the garden)
sprouts
chopped green onions
lettuce (either buttercrunch from the garden or iceberg)
sliced green peppers
Green Goddess dressing
All the veggies arrived sliced and then the moms would slice the pitas in half to make the pocket, fill, top with dressing and eat.
Yes, that is it. Now, this is the sandwich that I would beg for after lessons…but was for grown ups. I still got to sneak a bite or two from time to time.
Every once in a while, it makes me pause to pick up green goddess dressing (which my kids think tastes like ranch) or stop and stare at the Kangaroo bread. Sometimes I will sneak one into my summer, but it just doesn’t taste the same without a group of gossipping moms, the grit of sand, and the kiss of the sun and river water on my face.
Older Entries
My 14-year-old got excited about this recipe when she saw it. What isn’t to love about corn fritters? Corn, deep-frying, a doughnut disguised as a vegetable.
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