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Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. Now in 2023, I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.

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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):

Once in awhile I’m ready to read another Louise Penny mystery. This time it was World of Curiosities. Usually I’d write something wonderful regarding “another tome about Three Pines.” Not going to say it this time. Three Pines becomes a sinister place. Murders (many).  Of course. Some bad folk out there, far too close to home. I had to put it down a couple of times because it was so frightening. But Inspector Gamache prevails. Of course he does! A piece of very complicated art is involved (I think it may be a real painting). Louise wrote a nice epilogue about how she devised the whole idea. Very interesting read.

Over the years I’ve read many of Jodi Picoult’s books. This, her newest, or very new, is called Mad Honey. Oh, my. This book is beyond Picoult’s usual borders, but then she always writes edgy books. That’s her genre. This one is written with a co-author, a woman who is gay (I think) and also a trans-gender. There is a lot of learn in this book, and might be very difficult or hard for some to read. Very engrossing story, though, as always.

Philippa Gregory is one of my fav authors. Just finished her 3rd (and last, I think) in the Fairmile series called Dawnlands. If you scroll down below you’ll find the 2nd book in the series, Tidelands. Very interesting about English history, but about the same families from the first book in the group. Loved it, as I loved all of them.

Am currently reading Rutherfurd’s long, long book, Paris. I love these involved historical novels about a place (he’s written many about specific places in the world). It’s a saga that goes back and forth in time, following the travails of various people and families, through thick and thin. Some of it during the era of the King Louis’ (plural, should I say Louies?). Very interesting about some of the city’s history and royalty.

Although this book says A Christmas Memory, by Richard Paul Evans, it’s not just about Christmas. A young boy is the hero here, but really an older widower man who lives next door plays a pivotal part of this book. It’s poignant, heart-rending and sweet. It delves deep into childhood memories to take readers back to an age when a world felt like it was falling apart, reminding us that even in the darkest of times, the light of hope can still shine. A beautiful read.

Wish You Were Here, by Jodi Picoult. Another page-turner. I loved this book. A thirty-something woman, about to take a trip with her boyfriend, when Covid breaks out. Covid plays a major role in this book, beginning to end. She decides to go anyway as her boyfriend is a doctor and cannot leave. She ends up on a remote Galapagos island, and you go along with her – with people she meets, the life she leads, the isolation she experiences, the loneliness she feels, but the joy of nature is a sustaining aspect. She’s stuck there because of Covid. Not boats, no airport, no nothing. Barely enough food. But yet, she survives. I could NOT put down this book. It had me riveted. You know, Covid is going to play a major role in a lot of books in our future – it has to. It was such a pivotal moment in this century!

Not everyone wants to read food memoirs. When I saw Sally Schmitt had written a memoir, titled Six California Kitchens, I knew I wanted to read it. I met Sally a few times over the years when I visited Napa Valley, and bought some of her famous pickled items, chutneys, jams, etc. She was the original chef at The French Laundry, before it became truly famous by Thomas Keller. Sally shares her food story, how she came to become a chef and entrepreneur. It’s a charming book and there are a few recipes (I think one at the end of every chapter). Enjoyed reading it. If you ever visited Napa Valley in the early days (the 1960s through 80s) you will enjoy reading how “California cuisine” kind of came into being.

Being a fan of Vivian Howard (from her TV show), when I saw she’d written another book, I knew I should buy it. This Will Make It Taste Good is such an unusual name for a cookbook, but once you get into the groove of the book, you’ll understand. She’s now divorced, but still running two restaurants and raising twins (part-time, I’m guessing as I assume her ex is involved some). I don’t know how she had time to write another book. She’s hysterically funny. I mean it. Over the years (and I’m guessing most of this came from her North Carolina roots and the mayhem she encountered opening a restaurant in her tiny, rural town, to great fame) she developed a group of tasty “things,” to complement her food. It’s hard to pinpoint what these are – they’re recipes for some “kitchen heroes” she calls them. They’re condiments. They’re food additions, they’re flavor enhancers. If I make some of them (I hope to) I’ll post them on my blog. They have umami flavors, and she says it’s how she survives and makes everything taste good. She includes the recipe for each of these kitchen heroes (and each title is laugh-out-loud funny in and of themselves) and a few uses of them. Recently she wrote a column in Garden & Gun (magazine) about online dating, and about how she filled out her profile and of some of the not-so-happy first dates. I laughed and laughed over that. I hope you click on that link and read it.

As soon as it came out, I ordered Spare, by Prince Harry. I’ve always been interested in the Royal Family. And I’m old enough to remember when Queen Elizabeth was crowned – my mother and I watched it on tv, in those early days of television. I admired her throughout her long life. What you learn in this book is how abominably Harry and Meghan have been treated. We all know the Royal Family has a company of people who “handle” them, called “the firm.” These people control what everyone in the R.F. does, when, who is present, who can take a vacation where, and some of them give permission for journalists to photograph, in somewhat private spaces, in return for leaving them alone for awhile. The paparazzi, and the photojournalists are ruthless. Absolutely ruthless and relentless. I cannot imagine having to live with that kind of low-life awaiting  your every move. It could break anyone, as it did Diana. I’ve never been a fan of Charles, and this book doesn’t endear him to me. I’ve never been a fan of Camilla, either. There’s a lot of verbiage given over to outing many people in the R.F. Betrayals on many levels. I devoured it, but then I’m an Anglophile of the first order.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. Usually I don’t seek out short stories. I might have purchased this book without realizing it was. There aren’t that many stories – each one gets you very ingrained in the characters. I love her writing, and would think each story in this book could be made into a full-fledged novel. I was quite taken with the main characters in each and every one of them. Since each story is different, I can’t describe one, without describing all of them; no space for that. With each story I was very sad when I realized it was the end, leaving you hanging. I wondered if these were stories Lahiri wrote hoping they would transcend into a full length novel, but she grew bored, or couldn’t quite flesh out more. But I always felt there could/would be more. I wanted there to be more.

A Lantern in Her Hand, by Beth Streeter Aldrich. A very interesting and harrowing story of early pioneer days in the Midwest (Nebraska I think); covered wagon time up to about 80 years later as the heroine, Abbie Deal, and her husband start a family in a small town. On land that isn’t lush or reliable. Many years of drought, winds, grasshoppers. The story is a novelized one of Aldrich’s own family roots. It’s full of good old-fashioned family values and is a record of some difficult Midwest pioneering history.

The Messy Lives of Book People, by Phaedra Patrick. From amazon’s page: Mother of two Liv Green barely scrapes by as a maid to make ends meet, often finding escape in a good book while daydreaming of becoming a writer herself. So she can’t believe her luck when she lands a job housekeeping for her personal hero, mega-bestselling author Essie Starling, a mysterious and intimidating recluse. The last thing Liv expected was to be the only person Essie talks to, which leads to a tenuous friendship. When Essie passes away suddenly, Liv is astonished to learn that her dying wish was for Liv to complete her final novel. But to do so Liv will have to step into Essie’s shoes. As Liv begins to write, she uncovers secrets from the past that reveal a surprising connection between the two women—one that will change Liv’s own story forever.

Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr. I’m a fan of this author and relished reading his book about a year in his personal life, with his wife and very new, newborn twins. Doerr was given an auspicious award – a year of study in Rome, with apartment and a stipend. There are four chapters, by season. You will laugh and cry with him/them, as they have to work very hard to survive days and nights with crying babies that will not settle down. As he escapes to his study lair, if only to get away from the babies, sometimes to nap because he was up all night. Those of us who have had fussy babies know what this feels like. He suffers greatly because the “great American novel” isn’t coming to him. He feels the year wasting away from the standpoint of the award. The time in Rome was wonderful, and he and his family enjoy many wonderful visits to city high points, to stand in awe at old relics. I loved every bit of this book – so well written. If you’ve ever been to Rome you’ll enjoy it all the more.

Kristin Hannah’s Distant Shores is quite a read. Some described it as like a soap opera. Not me. Interesting character development of a couple who married young. She put her own career/wants/desires aside to raise their children. He forged ahead with his life dreams. The children grow up and move on. Then he’s offered a huge promotion across the country. She’s torn – she doesn’t want to be in New York, but nothing would get in the way of his career. They try to make the marriage work from separate coasts. The wife begins to find herself again, re-igniting her own passions. Lots of family dynamics.

Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout. Lucy Barton is divorced. But she’s still sort of friendly with her ex. It’s complicated. Out of the blue he asks her to go on a trip with him to discover something about his roots. They go. And of course, they’re taken for a married couple most of the time. Lucy laments the things she loved about her ex, William. Hence she says “Oh, William” more than once. They encounter some very funny circumstances, and she guides him along, lamenting again, “Oh, William,” again. I don’t think she ever says it TO him, however. Very funny book. Sweet. Elizabeth Strout is a gifted writer.

Tidelands,  by Philippa Gregory. It tells the tale of a peasant woman, Alinor (an herbalist and midwife), who lives barely above the poverty level, trying to raise two children, during the time of great turmoil in England, the rancorous civil war about Charles 1. Her husband has disappeared. The feudal system at the time isn’t any friend to Alinor. In comes a man (of course) who is a priest, but to the Catholic king, not the Protestant people, and everything Catholic is abhorred and suspect. A fascinating read, loved every chapter.

Read Reminders of Him, by Colleen Hoover. A page turner of a story. A young woman is convicted of a crime (young and foolish type). Once released her sole purpose is to be a part of her daughter’s life. Hoover has such a gift of story-telling and keeping you hanging on a cliff.

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty. Oh my goodness. The wicked webs we weave. How in the world did the author even come UP with this wild story, but she did, and it kept me glued. Sophie walked away from her wedding day, and always wondered if she made the wrong decision. Then she inherits his aunt’s house, back in her home town, where the quizzical Munro baby disappearance provides a living for many of his family. Sophie moves there, only to have to unearth all the bad stuff that happened before. Quite a story.

Very funny and poignant story, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, by Elizabeth Taylor (no, not that one). Mrs. Palfrey, a woman of a certain age, moves into an old folks’ home in London. It’s a sort of hotel, but has full time elderly quirky residents. You get to know them all, and Mrs. Palfrey’s subterfuge effort to show off her “grandson.” I might not have ever picked up this book, but one of my book clubs had us read it, and I’m ever so glad I did.

For one of my book clubs we read Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus. This book is so hard to describe. Elizabeth is a wizard at chemistry and struggles to be recognized for her intelligence and research. She meets a man at her company who is brilliant too. They make quite a pair. They have a child, then he suddenly dies. Her work isn’t taken seriously, so she leaves her employment and becomes an overnight phenom on a cooking show where she uses the chemical names for things like sodium chloride, etc. You go alongside her struggles, and her raising of her daughter. LOTS of humor, lots to discuss for a book club.

Horse. Oh my, is it a page turner. Loved it from the first page to the last. Sad when it ended. It’s a fictional creation but based on a real racehorse owned by a black man, back in the 1850s. Technically, the story is about a painting of the horse but there are many twists and turns. If you’ve ever enjoyed Brooks’ books in the past, this one won’t disappoint.

The Book of Lost Names, by Kristin Harmel (no, not Hannah). Certainly a little-known chunk of history about a woman who becomes a master forger during WWII to help get Jewish children out of France. Not easy to read, meaning the difficulty of anyone finding the means and place to DO the forgery and right under the noses of the Nazis. Really good read.

Liane Moriarty’s first novel, Three Wishes, follows the travails of adult triplets, so different, yet similar in many ways. Two are identical, the third is not. So alike, and so not. It takes you through a series of heart-wrenching events, seemingly unrelated, but ones that could bring a family to its breaking point and test the bonds of love and strength.

Recently I’ve read both of Erin French’s books, her cookbook, The Lost Kitchen, and since then her memoir, Finding Freedom. About her life growing up (difficult) about her coming of age mostly working in the family diner, flipper burgers and fries (and learning how much she liked to cook). Now she’s a very successful restaurant entrepreneur (The Lost Kitchen is also the name of her restaurant) in the minuscule town of Freedom, Maine. She’s not a classically trained chef, but she’s terrifically creative. See her TV series on Discover+ if you subscribe.

Jo Jo Moyes has a bunch of books to her credit. And she writes well, with riveting stories. Everything I’ve read of hers has been good. This book, The Girl You Left Behind, is so different, so intriguing, so controversial and a fascinating historical story. There are two timelines here, one during WWI, in France, when a relatively unknown painter (in the style of Matisse) paints a picture of his wife. The war intervenes for both the husband and the wife.

Eli Shafak’s Island of Missing Trees. This book was just a page turner. If you’ve never read anything about the conflict in Cyprus (the island) between the Turks and the Greeks, you’re in for a big history lesson here. But, the entire story centers around a fig tree. You get into the head/brain/feelings of this big fig tree which plays a very central part of the story. You’ll learn a lot about animals, insects (ants, mosquitos, butterflies) and other flora and fauna of Cyprus.

Also read Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty. Ohhh my, such a good book. I couldn’t put it down. Whatever you do, do not read the ending before you start the book. I’ve never understood people who do this. The book chronicles the day a mom just ups and disappears. The grown children come back home, in panic. The dad isn’t much help, and he becomes the prime suspect of foul play. There is no body, however.

If you’d like a mystery read, try Dete Meserve’s The Space Between. It’s just the kind of page-turner I enjoy – a wife returns to her home after being away on business for a few days, to find her husband missing and what he’s left for her is an unexplained bank deposit of a million dollars, a loaded Glock in the nightstand, and a video security system that’s been wiped clean.

Read Alyson Richman’s historical novel called The Velvet Hours. Most of the book takes place in Paris, with a young woman and her grandmother, a very wealthy (but aging) woman who led a life of a semi-courtesan. Or at least a kept woman. But this grandmother was very astute and found ways to invest her money, to grow her money, and to buy very expensive goods. Then WWII intervenes, and the granddaughter has to close up her grandmother’s apartment, leaving it much the way it had been throughout her grandmother’s life, to escape the Nazis. Years go by, and finally answers are sought and found. An intriguing book, based on the author’s experience with an apartment that had been locked up similarly for decades, also in Paris.

Susan Meissner is one of my favorite authors. This book, The Nature of Fragile Things tells a very unusual story. About a young Irish immigrant, desperate to find a way out of poverty, answers an ad for a mail order bride.

Also read Rachel Hauck’s The Writing Desk. You could call this a romance. A young professional, a writer of one successful book, has writer’s block. Then she’s asked to go to Florida to help her mother (from whom she’s mostly estranged) through chemo. She goes, hoping she can find new inspiration.

Also recently finished The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. The book goes backwards and forwards in time, from the 1600s in London with the day-to-day lives of a group of Jews (who had to be very careful about how they worshiped) to current day as an old house is discovered to hold a treasure-trove of historical papers.

Colleen Hoover has written quite a book, It Ends with Us: A Novel, with a love story being the central theme, but again, this book is not for everyone – it can be an awakening for any reader not acquainted with domestic violence and how such injury can emerge as innocent (sort of) but then becomes something else. There is graphic detail here.

Nicolas Barreau’s novel Love Letters from Montmartre: A Novel  is very poignant, very sweet book. Seems like I’ve read several books lately about grieving; this one has a charming ending, but as anyone who has gone through a grave loss of someone dear knows, you can’t predict day to day, week to week. “Snap out of it,” people say, thinking they’re helping.

Another very quirky book, that happens to contain a lot of historical truth is The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World: A Novel by Harry N. Abrams. Set in Japan just after the tsunami 10 years ago when 18,000 people died. At a private park miles away, some very special people installed a phone booth, with a phone (that didn’t work) at the edge of the park, and the survivors of the tsunami began wending their way there to “talk” to their deceased loved ones. Very poignant story.

No question, the most quirky book I’ve read of late, a recommendation from my friend Karen, West with Giraffes: A Novel by Lynda Rutledge. Back in the 1930s a small group of giraffes were brought across the Atlantic from Africa to New York, destined for the then-growing San Diego Zoo. The story is of their journey across the United States in the care of two oh-so-different people, both with a mission.

Could hardly put down Krueger’s book, This Tender Land: A Novel. Tells the harrowing story of a young boy, Odie, (and his brother Albert) who became orphans back in the 30s. At first there is a boarding school, part of an Indian (Native American) agreement, though they are not Indian. They escape, and they are “on the run.”

Just finished Kristin Hannah’s latest book, The Four Winds: A Novel. What a story. One I’ve never read about, although I certainly have heard about the “dust bowl” years when there was a steady migration of down-and-out farmers from the Midwest, to California, for what they hoped to be the American Dream. It tells the story of one particular family, the Martinellis, the grandparents, their son, his wife, and their two children.

Also finished reading Sue Monk Kidd’s recent book, The Book of Longings: A Novel. It is a book that might challenge some Christian readers, as it tells the tale of Jesus marrying a woman named Mary. I loved the book from the first word to the last one. The book is believable to me, even though the Bible never says one way or the other that Jesus ever married. It’s been presumed he never did. But maybe he did?

Jeanine Cummins has written an eye-opener, American Dirt. A must read. Oh my goodness. I will never, ever, ever look at Mexican (and further southern) migrants, particularly those who are victims of the vicious cartels, without sympathy. It tells the story of a woman and her young son, who were lucky enough to hide when the cartel murdered every member of her family – her husband, her mother, and many others. It’s about her journey and escape to America.

Also read JoJo Moyes’ book, The Giver of Stars. Oh gosh, what a GREAT book. Alice joins the Horseback Librarians in the rural south.

Frances Liardet has written a blockbuster tale, We Must Be Brave. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Although the scene is WWII England, this book is not really about the war. It’s about the people at home, waiting it out, struggling with enough food, clothing and enough heat.

William Kent Krueger wrote Ordinary Grace. From amazon: a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God. It’s a coming of age story.

A Column of Fire: A Novel by Ken Follett. It takes place in the 1500s, in England, and has everything to do with the war between the Catholics and the Protestants, that raged throughout Europe during that time, culminating in the Spanish Inquisition.

My Name Is Resolute by Nancy Turner. She’s the author of another book of some renown, These is my Words:

The Shepherd’s Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape by James Rebanks. This is a memoir, so a true story, of a young man growing up in the Lake District of Northern England, who becomes a shepherd. Not just any-old shepherd – actually a well educated one. He knows how to weave a story.

 

Tasting Spoons

My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.

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Posted in easy, Grilling, Pork, on September 22nd, 2023.

Easy, easy dry rub, air dried/marinated in the frig, then grilled.

Always, I’m on the lookout for a new way to do pork tenderloin. I was hosting a big family birthday party recently. Karen brought salmon, and her pistachio cole slaw, Karen’s mom brought a veggie platter, Sara brought a blueberry lemon layer cake and I filled in the rest with this pork and a big huge salad platter (see below).

This recipe for the pork came out of Southern Living a few months ago. Once you prepare the dry rub (brown sugar, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, dry mustard) you plop the tenderloins into a Ziploc bag with the rub. Toss it around a bit, let it sit for a few minutes, toss again, then the tenderloins are placed on a rack on a sheetpan (I used the smaller one) and they marinate in the refrigerator (yes, open, no covering) for 8-12 hours. What happens in that time is the outside of the pork hardens a bit and absorbs all of the dry rub.

When my family comes I almost always assign the grilling duty to my son Powell, or Sara’s husband John. I think they both worked at it – cooking the salmon and grilling the pork. The pork was grilled for 8-10 minutes I’m guessing (I wasn’t at the grill so don’t have an exact number), turning them occasionally, until the internal temperature reaches 140°F. If you remove the pork then, let it sit a few minutes and it rises to 145°F, which is what you want it to be. As you can see, the two guys cooked it perfectly.

I wish I’d made some kind of salsa or condiment to go with it – like balsamic onion marmalade, green tomatillo salsa, or pineapple salsa, strawberry salsa, tomato jam, parsley sauce, chimichurri perhaps, or mango chutney. It was fine plain, and we had plenty of food, but knowing my family, it would have been nice if I’d had something to go with it. Just sayin’.

There’s the salad platter I served with it. I cut Romaine in quarters (the ones from Trader Joe’s are smaller and manageable). There are nine wedges of Romaine in the center. Then green beans that I dressed with some of the vinaigrette at the last minute, halved hard boiled eggs, cherry tomatoes and some pomegranate seeds sprinkled over it all. I drizzled everything (except the eggs) with my old-favorite, creamy garlic blue cheese vinaigrette (that I made with Gorgonzola this time). There was nothing left on the platter except a few green beans.

What’s GOOD: oh, how easy this was – made the pork rub in the morning, marinated it for 5 minutes, then it chilled in the frig all day. Easy to grill – just don’t let it go too long, remove it at 140°F. Delicious. The smoky flavor comes from the smoked paprika, which was really nice, I thought. It wasn’t overly sweet at all, though on the pieces you ate with the outside edge, you could taste the brown sugar just a bit. Very good. I’d make it again – just with a salsa or sauce with it. The salad platter was SO easy too – I cooked the green beans the day before and made the dressing. The hard boiled eggs were done in my Instant Pot that morning and chilled. It took about 5 minutes to cut the Romaine wedges, dress everything and arrange on the platter. So easy and a pretty presentation to boot!

What’s NOT: hmm. Nothing that I can think of, other than you need to start this in the morning before grilling in the evening.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Smoky Rub

Recipe: Southern Living May 2023
Servings: 5-6

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
2 pounds pork tenderloin — about 1 lb each
1 tablespoon canola oil

1. Marinate pork tenderloins: Place a wire rack inside a medium-sized rimmed baking sheet, and set aside. Whisk together brown sugar, salt, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and ground mustard in a small bowl. Pour sugar mixture into a gallon-size Ziploc plastic bag, add pork, and seal well. Shake bag until pork is coated. Let stand 5 minutes; shake bag again to coat pork. Remove pork from bag, and transfer to prepared rack; discard sugar mixture if any remains. Refrigerate, uncovered, 8 to 12 hours.
2. Preheat grill to medium high (400°F to 450°F). Remove pork from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Gently brush pork with oil (do not brush off dry rub).
3. Grill: Place pork on oiled grates; grill, uncovered, turning occasionally, until charred in spots and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest portion of pork registers 140°F, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from grill; let stand 15 minutes. (Temperature will rise to 145°F.) Slice and serve.
Per Serving: 302 Calories; 9g Fat (28.3% calories from fat); 38g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 118mg Cholesterol; 2876mg Sodium; 14g Total Sugars; 1mcg Vitamin D; 28mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 752mg Potassium; 447mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Fish, Salads, on September 15th, 2023.

A fabulous recipe from my friend Linda. It’s a favorite of hers.

My friend Linda is a great cook. My guess is she cooks more than I do, and she’s also a single person. She had told me about this recipe some time back and she recently made it again for guests and took a photo and sent me the recipe, asking if I’d like to post it on the blog. I said yes, sure would! Originally the recipe came from Ina Garten, but as Linda has made it over and over, she’s adapted it some. For one thing, Linda felt there was too much shrimp in it (Ina called for 2 pounds). And she altered the amount of veggies in it too.

There are a four steps to this recipe: (1) cook the orzo; (2) make the dressing; (3) roast the shrimp; (4) combine the orzo, the dressing, the shrimp and add dill, parsley, cucumber, red onion and feta cheese. The dish is served at room temperature. You can make it a day ahead and bring it out to warm a bit before serving. Just taste it for salt and pepper before serving. Linda says everyone who has had this loves it.

What’s GOOD: the nice big shrimp and orzo combination. The lemon juice-based dressing adds a nice acidity to the dish. Great for hot weather.

What’s NOT: nothing that Linda mentioned.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

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Roasted Shrimp and Orzo

Recipe: Adapted from Ina Garten
Servings: 5

3/4 pound orzo pasta — a rice shaped pasta
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice — from about 3 lemons
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 pounds shrimp — peeled and deveined, 21-25/lb
3/4 cup minced scallion — white and green parts
3/4 whole hothouse cucumber — unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced
1/2 cup red onion — diced
6 ounces feta cheese — large diced
1/2 cup fresh dill — chopped
3/4 cup Italian parsley — chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Fill a large pot with water, add salt and a splash of oil, and bring the water to a boil.
3. Add the orzo and simmer for 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it’s cooked al dente. Drain and pour into a large bowl.
4. Meanwhile, whisk together the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Pour over the hot pasta and stir well.
5. Place the shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and spread out in a single layer. Roast for 5 to 6 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. Don’t overcook!
6. Add the shrimp to the orzo and then add the scallions, dill, parsley, cucumber, onion, salt and pepper to taste. Toss well. Add the feta and stir carefully. If the feta is quite salty, be careful adding salt to the salad.
7, Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend, or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, taste again for seasonings and bring back to room temperature before serving.
Per Serving: 659 Calories; 31g Fat (41.7% calories from fat); 38g Protein; 59g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 213mg Cholesterol; 1232mg Sodium; 5g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 296mg Calcium; 4mg Iron; 696mg Potassium; 517mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Chicken, on September 8th, 2023.

OMGoodness. Was this ever beyond delicious.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote up a post about Vivian Howard’s book, This Will Make It Taste Good. And about my friend Cherrie and I getting together to cook for a day and making three of the flavor enhancers Vivian shares in the book. This post is about the one called Red Weapons.

To make this chicken and grits, you need to make the Red Weapons. They’re not hard – not in the least. But it is a separate process, and they need to be made a day ahead, at least. The red weapons mixture Vivian says will keep in the frig for 3 months. It’s a pickled kind of mixture but also contains EVOO.

What’s in it? First you cut up 2 pounds of tomatoes, put them in a bowl. Glass one if you have it. Then in a big saucepan you combine green onions, jalapenos, fresh ginger, garlic, cumin, mustard seeds, cayenne, turmeric, brown sugar, EVOO, salt, unseasoned rice wine vinegar and white wine vinegar. The mixture is heated to a boil then it’s poured over the bowl of tomatoes. It’s set aside to sit, for many hours, or even overnight. This allows all those flavors to mingle – once you refrigerate this it will stop the flavor-mingling. Because of all the vinegar it contains, it IS a pickling liquid, but tempered by the EVOO. While you heat it up and then pour all that hot liquid over the tomatoes, it semi-cooks the mixture. The tomatoes stay relatively intact.

The recipe below makes twice this amount, pictured. At right is a quart of it (half). The EVOO is sitting there on top and the red weapons and the pickling liquid below that (called for separately in most of the recipes that accompanied the red weapons recipe in the cookbook). If you make this, store it in a wide mouthed glass container (do NOT use plastic). Or you can divide the mixture into several smaller containers – just use wide mouthed ones as the congealed EVOO on top makes it hard to get to the goodies underneath.

WARNING: turmeric stains everything it touches. There’s only 1 1/2 teaspoons in the entire batch, but it gets on everything –  your counter, your clean-up sponge, and if you mop any of it up with a paper towel, you’ll sure know there’s turmeric in it. But you can’t taste the turmeric at all. Funny how that is. The tomatoes and jalapenos are the primary flavors here. Ideally the mixture is left out at room temp overnight, then it’s refrigerated.

In the cookbook, Vivian suggests you can use the red weapons for these things: on any kind of cooked egg, added to braising liquid (stews, soups), mixed into cooked rice or beans, as a sauce or marinade for grains, legumes or pasta salads, added to reheated chicken or pork, a marinade for ceviche or a dressing for crudos, chopped up with fresh herbs as a salsa, blended with mayo for a dipping sauce and stirred into potato, chicken, shrimp or tuna salad. Recipes in the cookbook include: pickled shrimp, a breakfast casserole with sausage, bread and cheese, in deviled eggs, as a condiment for fish, beef or lamb tartare, added to fried chicken, Vivian’s sausage sauce (Sunday sauce) served over broccoli, not pasta, with greens on mozzarella toast, plus several vinaigrettes.

Now, we can get on to the Chicken and Grits recipe. First, I made a huge mess trying to extract the cup of red weapons (the stuff underneath).  I removed about half of the EVOO covering it, then dug deep into the glass container to get to the goodies. You need a cup of red weapons and 1/2 cup of the pickling liquid.

I didn’t have skin-on chicken thighs, so I used boneless, skinless ones. They were lightly browned in a skillet – the big, huge 12-inch Lodge cast iron one. They were removed, then you add a chopped up leek to the fat in the pan. As it began to soften I mushed them a bit so they’d separate into rings. Then garlic is added, then the grits, the red weapons, the red weapons liquid, milk and water. The recipe suggested adding more salt, but I didn’t think it was needed. The picture here at right is of the thighs nestled into the grits (which is very liquid at this point).

If you’re using skin-on thighs, they’re nestled into the mixture and the pan goes into a 375°F oven. With skinless thighs, I baked the grits for 20 minutes, then nestled the thighs into the grits mixture to finish cooking them. The total bake time is 40 minutes and you let the pan cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Vivian suggested serving the grits with another one of her flavor bombs, a mixture called herbdacious. I haven’t posted that recipe yet. I had guests the night I made this chicken, and we did use some of the herbdacious on the top and I agree, it made it even better.

What’s GOOD: I’ll say it again – OMGoodness. So good. There is very little fat in this (except for the chicken skin if you use it plus a tablespoon of EVOO used to brown the chicken). There’s no butter, no cream. The red weapons provide a wonderful flavor to everything – chicken and the grits. I will be making this again and again – providing I have some red weapons in my refrigerator.

What’s NOT: well, only that you need to plan ahead at least a day to make the Red Weapons first, then the chicken and grits later.

RED WEAPONS: printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open)

CHICKEN: printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Chicken and Grits with Red Weapons

Recipe By: Vivian Howard, This Will Make It Taste Good
Servings: 4

4 chicken thighs — bone in, if possible
2 teaspoons kosher salt — divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 whole leek — white and light green parts, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
3 garlic cloves — thinly sliced
1 cup grits — stone ground (Albers brand, if possible)
1 cup Red Weapons — roughly chopped
1/2 cup Red Weapon pickling liquid — here)
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups water

NOTE: if you make this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, go ahead and bake the grits for about 20 minutes (half the time), then add the boneless, skinless thighs to the mixture, nestling them down into the grits. It will still take 40 minutes altogether, but the chicken won’t overcook.
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Season chicken thighs with 2 tsp of salt.
3. In a 12-inch ovenproof skillet or braising pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Brown chicken skin side down, until nicely caramelized. Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside.
4. Lower the heat slightly and add the leeks, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pan. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, until the leeks have softened (and break them apart as they soften) and picked up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic and stir for about a minute, then stir in the grits, the chopped Red Weapons, the Red Weapons liquid, milk, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt (taste to see if it’s needed), and 1 1/2 cups water. Make sure everything is mixed together in a homogeneous way and that nothing is stuck on the bottom of the pan.
5. Nestle the thighs on top of the grits mixture. They will sink a bit because the grits are watery at this point, but as long as the browned chicken skin peeks out, all is good. Slide the skillet onto the center rack of the oven and bake for 40 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer in the chicken reaches 165°F.
6. Remove skillet and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes before serving. If desired, this would be great dotted with a little Herbdacious.
Per Serving: 721 Calories; 43g Fat (54.7% calories from fat); 40g Protein; 41g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 201mg Cholesterol; 1375mg Sodium; 7g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 173mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 657mg Potassium; 445mg Phosphorus.

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* Exported from MasterCook *

Red Weapons – Tomatoes

Recipe By: Vivian Howard, This Will Make It taste Good
Servings: 16

2 pounds plum tomatoes — cut into quarters lengthwise
1 bunch scallions — sliced thin
5 jalapeños — sliced into thin rings
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons mustard seeds — yellow or brown
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt — plus 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar
3/4 cup white wine vinegar

NOTES: Store this mixture in glass containers as the turmeric will stain plastic. Wear an apron. Use a wide mouth glass jar, or several, to store this. You can use all of the ingredients – the oil by itself for flavoring/frying, the juice to add a piquancy to dishes, and the tomato mixture to flavor a bigger dish of something.
1. Put the tomatoes in a large, wide, heatproof bowl that is plenty large enough to hold all the ingredients. Assemble and start to “pickle” my weapons on the counter, which lets the flavors marry as they cool down. Then, once they’re mixed together and have reached room temperature, transfer to smaller containers suitable for the fridge getting an equal amount of oil, tomatoes and liquid in each one. (This recipe is sized to just barely fit into two quart-size mason jars, but you may have a little extra. While you can try to pull it all together directly in the jars, that might just be a big mess waiting to happen.)
2. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, bring all the ingredients except for the tomatoes and the olive oil to a boil over medium heat. Let it boil for 1 minute. Then add the olive oil and bring back to a boil. Immediately pour over the tomatoes in the big bowl, pressing them down to make sure they are submerged.
3. Let the tomatoes and the liquid cool to room temperature without the aid of an ice bath or anything to speed the process along. If you’ve got room in your fridge, the big bowl can go in there. But if the weapons sit out at room temperature overnight, that’s totally fine. The more slowly they cool down, the more quickly they will pickle. Once they’ve cooled, transfer the pickled tomatoes to jars and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 days or up to 3 months. Do not freeze.
Per Serving: 243 Calories; 21g Fat (75.5% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 443mg Sodium; 12g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 28mg Calcium; 1mg Iron; 201mg Potassium; 28mg Phosphorus.
MORE NOTES: Once they’ve spent a few days in the frig, you’ll notice Twin B, the olive oil component, rises to the top and creates a lid over Twin A, the pickling liquid and the tomatoes and other solid stuff. This act of science makes the weapons and their offspring easy to separate from one another, but it’s not a pretty process. You’ll likely find yourself with your hand in the jar and a puddle on the counter. It’s easier to do if the mixture is cold. These are good on eggs, in braising liquids or soups, mashed with guacamole,, on cream cheese, mixed into cooked rice or beans, a sauce or marinade for grain, legume or pasta salads, with leftover chicken or pork, chopped with fresh herbs for salsa, blended with mayo as a dip, or stirred into potato, chicken, shrimp or tuna salad.

Posted in Appetizers, Cookbooks, Fish, on September 1st, 2023.

You are going to love these. I mean it.

In my last post I told you about Vivian Howard’s latest cookbook, This Will Make It Taste Good, and about the various “flavor heroes,” she calls them, that she relies upon in her restaurant and home cooking. To make this recipe above, however, you have to make one of her flavor heroes, the one she calls the “Little Green Dress.” Hereon referred to as LGD! I suppose that’s a take on every woman’s need for a “little black dress,” except that here, the color is decidedly green, not black.

The flavor hero recipe has a preponderance of Castelvetrano olives in it, plus shallots, garlic, vinegar, capers, some anchovies (which you don’t taste at all – but you know – anchovies are one of the umami flavors), fresh parsley, fresh mint, EVOO, hot sauce and salt. You pour this into a clean glass jar, and if you haven’t used it within a few days, pour a little layer of EVOO on top so it doesn’t spoil. It will keep for several weeks that way.

If you’re not familiar with Castelvetrano olives . . . well, they’re a more ripe olive than the traditional green olives – not in color, just in how they pickle them, I guess. They have a milder flavor and they’re not as piquant (sour).

Once you make this flavor hero, then you add some of it to – – in this case it’s canned tuna, a little bit of mayo, and some minced celery and you’ve got a fantastic lunch. Vivian slices avocado and puts that on the cracker first, then piles it with the tuna salad. I forgot the avocado that day, but I made it again the following day, and used some avocado on one, and a sliced egg on the other.

You may THINK this is not worth the trouble, but I’m tellin’ you, it is. I don’t think I’ve ever had canned tuna taste this great. I’m serious. When my friend Cherrie and I got together to make three of the flavor heroes, we made this tuna salad cracker for our lunch. Cherrie and I were both blown away by how flavorful it is. FYI: I buy the line-caught Wild Planet albacore tuna from Costco (blue can, in a stack of about 5).

But, I do need to tell you about Wasa crispbread crackers. I remember them vaguely from my youth – my mother used to buy them. I have no recollection what we ate them with. They come in various grain flavors – I bought the whole grain. They’re not a good cracker to eat by themselves – even Vivian Howard says they taste kind of like cardboard. But they have a very unique characteristic (not mentioned in the book) that once you pick up that little slate of cracker, piled with goodies, you can bite into it without risking cracking the whole cracker and making a big mess. It stays intact as you munch on down. I suppose you could make the tuna salad and use other crackers, but I’m certainly a fan now, of Wasa crackers. I don’t know whether all grocery stores have them – I finally found them at my small, independent market near me.

It’s been two days since I had this for my lunch, and as I write, I’m craving another serving of those tuna crackers.

What’s GOOD: (the flavor hero, the LGD): so unique, and I hope to find more ways to use it. The cookbook includes many recipes using small amounts of it. (The tuna cracker): it’s sensational. I’m craving it. So delicious. Once you have the LGD made, it’s so very easy to make the tuna salad and you’ve got a simple but flavor-packed lunch.

What’s NOT: well, if you’re not willing to put in the effort to make the LGD, then you won’t be able to enjoy the flavor of the tuna snack crackers. I’m telling you, you don’t want to miss this flavor puch. FOMO!

LGD printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

Tuna printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

* * Exported from MasterCook *

Tuna Salad Snack Crackers

Recipe By: Vivian Howard, This Will Make It Taste Good
Servings: 4

10 ounces canned tuna — water-packed, drained, can use up to 12 ounces tuna
1/2 cup celery — finely diced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt — [might be too much – taste first]
1/2 cup Little Green Dress
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 large avocado — halved, pitted, peeled, sliced
Juice of one lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt — optional
8 whole Wasa Fiber Whole Grain Crispbread

NOTE: if you don’t have avocado, sliced hardboiled egg will do. One of the big benefits of Wasa crackers is that when you bite into them, they will not break apart in your hand.
1. Place drained tuna in a medium bowl and break apart some. Stir in celery, salt, Little Green Dress (LGD) and mayonnaise. Stir well. Set aside.
2. Cut avocado into slices and squeeze lemon juice over avocado and season with the 1/4 teaspoon salt. if needed.
3. Divide avocado slices on crackers and spoon tuna mixture on top. Serve immediately. Two slices make a very adequate lunch portion.
Per Serving: 327 Calories; 19g Fat (41.9% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 37g Carbohydrate; 16g Dietary Fiber; 27mg Cholesterol; 980mg Sodium; 1g Total Sugars; 1mcg Vitamin D; 81mg Calcium; 4mg Iron; 725mg Potassium; 134mg Phosphorus.

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* * Exported from MasterCook *

Little Green Dress

Recipe By: Vivian Howard, This Will Make It Taste Good
Servings: 20 (approximate)

2 medium shallots — peeled
2 cloves garlic — peeled
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2/3 cup Castelvetrano olives — pitted
1 1/2 tablespoons capers — rinsed
2 anchovy fillets — oil-packed
1 bunch Italian parsley — about 1 cup
1/2 cup fresh mint — packed
1/2 cup EVOO
grated zest of one lemon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon hot sauce — [I used Frank’s]
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

NOTES: Spoon on baked potatoes, dollop on steak, roast chicken, lamb, pork or fish. Add to salad with creamy cheese., on scrambled eggs, on top of soup, with guacamole on toast, in chicken, potato or egg salad, on top of deviled eggs, simmer with ground meat for tacos, spread on top of pizza, as filling for quesadillas. Or thin with oil to make a vinaigrette.
1. In a small food processor, puree shallots and garlic, then stir in a small bowl with red wine vinegar. Allow to pickle for awhile, about 20 minutes before continuing. Set aside.
2. Mince pitted olives, capers and anchovies in food processor. Transfer to a medium bowl. Pick leaves and smaller stems from parsley and mint and mince in the food processor. It may take awhile to get it all processed. Transfer herbs to the bowl with olive mixture.
3. Add vinegar-shallot-garlic mixture, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, hot sauce and salt to the bowl with everything else. Stir it all together and let this puddle of green sit for a minimum of 30 minutes. This will keep for a month in a sealed container in your fridge as long as you submerge it with a layer of olive oil.
Per Serving: 52 Calories; 6g Fat (92.7% calories from fat); trace Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; trace Cholesterol; 96mg Sodium; trace Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 7mg Calcium; trace Iron; 22mg Potassium; 4mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Cookbooks, on August 25th, 2023.

This Will Make It Taste Good: A New Path to Simple Cooking by Vivian Howard  | Oct 20, 2020 - Fieldshop by Garden & GunIt isn’t often that I devote a blog post to a cookbook, but this one is so unusual that I needed to. Everything about this cookbook, This Will Make It Taste Good, is unusual, IMHO.

So, let’s back up a bit . . . I really admire Vivian Howard. I have her first book, Deep Run Roots, which is more an homage to her unique little town, Kinston, North Carolina, than it is anything else. There are recipes, lots of beautiful photographs and plenty of down-south kind of stories about the bountiful produce and meat that come from the South. But more specifically to her locale. Kinston is a tiny, tiny town. When she and her husband (Ben, now her ex-husband) moved back to her home town they decided to open a restaurant. They did – she was the chef, and that’s the series A Chef’s Life she created for a year or two. That’s when lots of people fell in love with her witty, down-home, no-nonsense style. I had a reservation at her restaurant in 2020, and then Covid hit. No travel, no restaurant eating, nada. My trip to see one of my granddaughters graduate from Clemson got canceled. Well, we all remember – everything got canceled.

That year of mostly lock-down was so difficult. As a widow I struggled some with the loneliness. I waved to my neighbor occasionally. I saw people outside my car when I picked up online groceries and they delivered them to my car. A few times in those first months I took a drive in my car – just to get out of the house. There were hardly any cars on the road. It was eerie, like we’d just survived some gigantic earth shift or a global catastrophe. But other than that, was it a whole year we stayed at home? It was ugly. Just sayin’.

For Vivian, their Kinston restaurant closed (and has stayed closed since – I think she said somewhere that it was very difficult to get help because of the very rural outpost of a town it’s in). During Covid, she stayed home helping to raise their twins (and she was still married then) and she decided to write another cookbook, this one. She’s since opened a restaurant in Charleston.

THIS BOOK: Over the years of being a chef, she adapted recipes from lots of places and created lots of her own, obviously. She went about creating 8 or 9 “flavor heroes,” she calls them. These are recipes/concoctions she makes regularly that she uses to enhance all kinds of other things (finished dishes – other recipes, meaning they’re added TO something) from appetizers, main dishes, to salads and veggies, to desserts. She created them for the restaurant, and I think I remember correctly, she eventually had an employee make these up in gigantic batches. It was probably her full time job! She sells them online too (for a steep price) at Handy & Hot (in Charleston).

So far I’ve made three of them (the ones pictured). It’s a bit difficult to categorize this book – to explain the flavor heroes. All of them have very unusual names – not necessarily explanatory about what they are. Like the first one, the very first one she created, she titled “Little Green Dress.” In texture it looks kind of like pesto, but trust me, it’s NOT pesto.

Another one she called “Red Weapons.” It’s a tomato based concoction that separates into 3 layers once finished and the various layers are used in different ways, separately, or in various quantities in another dish. It’s very labor intensive to prepare, but you end up with double the amount you see at right (which is four cups – so it makes eight cups). My friend Cherrie and I got together for an entire day and made the three pictured here). Since Cherrie and I shared it, four cups is about right for me!

Another one is called “Herbdacious,” and that’ll be the one I’ll post first.  We made a wonderful tuna salad crunchy cracker thing for lunch for ourselves using herbdacious, and we prepared meatloaf using one of them. Might have been the first flavor hero one, LGD. Both are green, one more chunky than the other and totally different flavor profiles. I haven’t yet baked the meatloaf, but I’ll post all about it eventually.

There’s an unusual sauerkraut flavor hero, another with preserved lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit (like preserved lemons that we know, but with the added other citrus fruits). Another one she calls “Community Organizer,” which has a very interesting provenance (you’ll have to read the book). Mostly that one is added to savory dishes, also tomato based. Another one is called “Quirky Furki Umami” which is seaweed driven. Another is called “R-rated onions” (mostly they’re caramelized onions).

So far I’ve only tasted the herbdacious used in the tuna salad on a cracker, and all I can say is that it was fabulous. I cannot WAIT to make it again – I think I have enough to do that from the leftovers. The herbdacious provided flavors that just burst in your mouth.

Vivian is a GREAT writer – she’s so funny. I can imagine she’d have been a handful as a child. She writes for the magazine Garden & Gun – (it’s one of my favorite magazines) and with every issue I can’t wait to see what her new column has to say. If you’re anxious to try something, you’ll find the recipe for LGD if you click through to the magazine. Her columns are not always about food – one was about the dating life of a well-known chef (herself) when you’re in your 40s and haven’t dated for mostly two decades. It was LOL funny.

SO, this book . . . if you have someone in your life who is a good cook, and likes taking on some relatively heavy-duty cooking projects, he/she might find this book well worth it. You wouldn’t have to tackle three of these in a day like Cherrie and I did – you could do just one. I’m looking forward to trying the Red Weapons in a baked dish with feta cheese and shrimp (or swordfish). Even if you’re not a cook, but you enjoy good food, you might enjoy reading the book just for Vivian’s witty writing all by itself. This cookbook might not be for everyone because each recipe for a flavor hero is a bit of a challenge (maybe except for the R-rated onions). I can’t wait to start using some of the flavor heroes in my everyday cooking. But first, I’m digging out the leftover tuna mixture and will make myself another lunch of crackers with it.

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, on August 18th, 2023.

Brownies – oh my – so rich and decadent. A different technique.

Today, I’m also philosophizing a bit about cookbooks. If you want to jump to the recipe write-up, scroll down further.

Lately, I’ve been having a talk with myself. About my cookbooks. My couple-hundred or three-hundred cookbooks. And don’t get me wrong, I love my cookbooks. But how often do I really go to those shelves to look or hunt for recipes? Truthfully, not all that often. Case in point . . . this recipe. I had decided to make some brownies. But as I looked through my MasterCook recipes on my computer, not a one jumped out at me. I wanted to try something new, and there were only about 5 or 6 brownie recipes that I hadn’t made before, and none suited me. So I went to my more recent cookbook purchases . . . so maybe I should say here . . . I still buy cookbooks, even though I tell myself not to. Sometimes I give in and buy one anyway. I’ve had to resort to storing my cookbooks in various other places in my house. Some are upstairs in my study (mostly cookbooks I can’t give up but rarely view), others are on various shelves and cupboards in my kitchen and family room. I’ve begun having to stack a cookbook or two sideways on top of a shelf full of cookbooks. I’m running out of room. And you may recall, about 3-4 years ago I donated at least 100 cookbooks, ones I almost never referred to. It’s an addiction. What can I tell you?

So, let’s talk for a minute about cookbook writing . . . in many of my older cookbooks there are very few author notes. In the cookbook world those are called “headnotes.” That little paragraph – tucked in between the title and the list of ingredients. In most of the recipes from the Joy of Cooking, there are NO headnotes. Even some of the old tomes from Betty Crocker and such, there are no notes to give you an idea about the recipe – you know, the things like “the reduced balsamic glaze is what makes this dish special.” Or, “don’t eliminate the almond extract even though there’s only 1/4 teaspoon in it.” I do love those headnotes, so going to my more recent cookbooks there were lots of headnotes. I grabbed one book after another, still hunting for just the right brownie recipe to try, not finding anything that I fancied. I have several books that are just about baking. Nothing there, either.

I’ve been thinking, that in my spare time (oh dear, do I really have any?) I should go through all of my cookbooks and mark them with sticky notes. Maybe I should add the actual recipes to my MasterCook online file. We’re talking thousands here! What a lot of work. I don’t know that I have it in me! Would you? But when I’m thinking about a recipe, what I don’t do, usually, is go hunt in my cookbooks. Part of that is the intervention of the internet. We need only go to a browser, put in a search term, “brownies” and the internet will provide hundreds. Likely thousands of recipes. Magazine recipes seem to come up first. Now that Bon Appetit and that group charge to access their recipe files, I’m no longer a fan. I subscribe to numerous food magazines so why wouldn’t I have access to the recipes online? When my subscriptions run out for a few of them I’m going to let them lapse. This practice annoys me. So far, Southern Living, Sunset, Food & Wine, and Garden & Gun are free for internet searching and browsing. If any of those begin charging a fee to access online I might just drop those subscriptions too.

I do have a subscription to EatYourBooks, a website that keeps track of all the cookbooks one owns (obviously you have to input the titles into your “library”), and as time has gone on, people have indexed all the recipes in most cookbooks out there. And so, let’s say I want to make lamb stew. I can go to my EatYourBooks website and hunt for “lamb stew,” and it will tell me what cookbooks I own contain a recipe for lamb stew. Then I have to go find the book and look it up. I was very enamored with the idea at first, and I used it quite often. But as time has gone on, I don’t research things there very much anymore. In this case, I could have gone there, input “brownies” and probably gotten a list a mile long for brownies. I just did a search and it provided me with 130 entries. Probably if I were to be searching for a recipe for brownies that contain sour cream, I could have done a more refined search and found fewer (a more manageable) number of recipes to locate. Some of the ingredients are listed along with the titles. In this case, I didn’t have a preconceived idea about ingredients in my brownies. So that website wouldn’t have helped me unless I were willing to devote a lot of time researching brownie recipes in my cookbook results. As it is, the cookbook I eventually used I don’t have listed in my “library.” Obviously I need to update the list!

So, I kept perusing my cookbook shelves and pulled out an old one. Actually I bought the book used, probably about 10 years ago, but it’s from 1987. The Nantucket Open-House Cookbook. Sarah Leah Chase is an accomplished chef and cookbook author. She likely has 8-10 cookbooks to her name, the most famous she co-authored with Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso (the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook and  Silver Palate Desserts). The work on those books put her on the map in the culinary world. She wrote two little cookbooks (on her own and all her other books are her own, not shared authoring) about bicycling, with food in mind, through France (in general) and the other one through Burgundy. I’ve made several recipes from those books over the years.

THE BROWNIES: There was one brownie recipe in this cookbook, and it was the headnotes that grabbed me front and center. Chase owns (or owned, I don’t know) a food shop/bakery on Nantucket, and these brownies were a regular on the menu. Everyone wanted the recipe – nobody could figure out what made them different. They were a bit crusty on the top but dense and almost wet inside. Finally, Chase decided to share the recipe in this cookbook. She explains that the recipe origin was Maida Heatter’s Palm Beach Brownies, but Chase made a few changes, mostly in the technique. When I went online, there is a bakery in Indiana with Chase’s original name from her Nantucket store, Que Sera Sarah. So maybe she’s now moved to the Midwest.

And, indeed, these brownies use three very unusual techniques. First, the 10-minute batter (sugar, eggs, extracts, espresso powder, salt) is whipped up at high speed in a stand mixer for 10 minutes (yes, TEN minutes). Set the timer; don’t guess. Secondly, they are baked in pure convection. Apparently that’s what creates the top crust of the brownie – it hardens almost. And lastly, the brownies must be refrigerated a minimum of 6 hours before even removing from the baking pan or cutting.

The batter is easy enough to put together – but as I mentioned just above, the sugar and egg mixture has to be mixed at high speed for 10 minutes. Makes the batter very airy. It’s interesting that you do that because the finished brownies are very dense. Once poured into a foil-lined and butter-greased 9×13 pan, they bake with pure convection for 25 minutes at 350°F. And they’re to be removed from the oven immediately. No guesswork – she suggests you stick a toothpick in and there should be WET batter on the toothpick. I used a metal pick and there were some wet crumbs, so I hope I didn’t over bake them.

When they come out, I guess, they’re way too soft to manipulate. They cool in the pan (so that probably took about 2 hours), then need to be refrigerated for 6 hours or overnight. I lasted about 4 hours before I removed the foil sling from the 9×13 pan (and because they were cold, they came out of the pan easily in a nice big slab) and cut off one end and sliced it up for the photo at top. I have to confess – I forgot to add the walnuts. Crazy me! I’d taken the walnuts out of the freezer, put them in a bowl and into the microwave just to take the frozen chill off of them. Then promptly forgot to add them to the batter. Oh well. I’ll probably freeze most of these brownies – there’s no reason they wouldn’t freeze well enough. I’m guessing you’re supposed to keep them in the refrigerator. Not sure, as the recipe doesn’t say. Just that the finished brownies must be refrigerated before removing from the foil sling and sliced up.

What’s GOOD: the brownies are really good. They’re very sweet – I might use a bit less sugar if I made them again (like 3 cups instead of 3 1/2 cups). The chocolate flavor certainly comes through, and the texture is almost fudgy, but it’s not fudge by any means. Hard to describe. Definitely these are not light, cake-type brownies; far denser than that. And yes, there definitely is a little crust on the top too. It’s not thick enough to be visible except from a side view, but yes, it has a bit of a bite to it. Guess you’ll have to make them yourself and come up with a better description of the texture. Help me out here if you do.

What’s NOT: only that it has some unusual techniques – the 10 minutes of batter-mixing, and the 6+ hour of refrigeration before cutting and eating. And you need a convection oven to make these exactly as the author does.

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Brownies – Sarah Leah Chase

Recipe By: Sarah Leah Chase, Open-House Cookbook
Servings: 25 (or more if you cut them smaller)

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate
8 ounces unsalted butter
5 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons espresso powder
3 1/2 cups granulated sugar — [next time I would try 3 cups]
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour — sifted
8 ounces walnuts — (large halves) or large pecans, optional (chopped)

1. Preheat convection oven to 350ºF.
2. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil. Butter the foil.
3. Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a large double broiler over hot water on moderate heat, or in a medium-sized, but heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted and smooth. Do not let the chocolate burn on the bottom. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the vanilla and almond extracts, salt, espresso powder, sugar and flour at high speed for 10 minutes. On low speed, add the chocolate mixture and beat only until mixed. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
5. Stir in the nuts and pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top.
6. Bake for 25 minutes – the brownie will have a thick, crisp crust on top, but if you insert a toothpick into the middle, it will come out wet and covered with chocolate. Do not over bake.
7. Remove pan from the oven and let stand until cool. Refrigerate the brownie for a few hours or overnight, or place it in the freezer for at least 6 hours.
8. Cut the brownies using a long, heavy knife with a sharp blade. Serve as is, or in a square shape with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Per Serving: 336 Calories; 19g Fat (49.1% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 39g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 57mg Cholesterol; 122mg Sodium; 28g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 25mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 143mg Potassium; 97mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Salad Dressings, Salads, on August 11th, 2023.

Can you tell I made this on the 4th of July?

I think I bought those salad servers for Sara about 10 years or so ago. They were perfect for this family gathering. See that lovely wedge of caramelized fennel in the center? THAT is the star of this dish, by far. If you’re not familiar with fennel, you should be. In its raw form I chop it up finely (or shave it with the peeler) in my regular green salads I have many nights of the week. Fennel has a kind of licorice taste – but it’s faint – don’t think licorice sticks at all. Once roasted, the fennel becomes smooth and satiny in flavor. Me-loves-fennel either raw or roasted!

Here’s the sheetpan of fennel, bacon and pancetta:

Salad: In this case I had baby spinach, arugula and some Romaine for the salad. The fennel, bacon (and pancetta, as I had both), garlic, brown sugar (I used Monkfruit), olive oil, salt and pepper are tossed together, then roasted on a sheetpan for about 30-40 minutes. You want the bacon to be crispy. After roasting let the pan sit out until you’re ready to dress the salad.

Meanwhile, make the simple red wine vinegar-lemon juice-honey and oil dressing. SOOO good all on its own, but it’s the perfect counterpoint to the salad. When you’re ready to serve, combine all the salad greens in the bowl, toss with some of the dressing, then add in the fennel and bacon (and pancetta), and add more dressing until just the right balance. Taste for salt and pepper (I don’t think it needed either). Serve immediately. My notes say that Phillis Carey made this at a cooking class. I don’t know why I never told you about this recipe before – since it’s so good! I found the recipe online (Giada) although she used only pancetta in her salad. Hence, since I had both bacon and pancetta, I used some of both.

What’s GOOD: oh, this salad was so unctuous. The fennel is the star, as I mentioned above. You’ll wish you had 3 or 4 wedges of it on your salad portion, it’s that good. The sturdy greens were perfect for the salad and the red wine vinegar dressing was just right to cut the richness of the bacon. Must of salad can be readied ahead of time.

What’s NOT: nothing, really. You do have to prep the fennel and roast the bacon and fennel together – that takes a bit of time, but it’s time well spent when you taste the finished salad.

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Caramelized Bacon and Fennel Salad

Recipe By: Adapted slightly from a Phillis Carey cooking class, 2019
Servings: 4

1 bulb fennel bulb — halved and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
5 slices thick-sliced bacon — cut into thin narrow strips, or pancetta, or a mix of both
2 cloves garlic — minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar — (or Monkfruit Brown)
1 tablespoon EVOO
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 ounces mixed salad greens — about 6 to 7 cups to serve 4 (I used baby spinach, arugula and Romaine)
VINAIGRETTE:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup EVOO

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, toss together fennel, bacon (and/or pancetta), garlic, brown sugar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place the ingredients on the baking sheet in a single layer. Cook until the bacon is crisp and the fennel is caramelized, about 25-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Can be made ahead an hour or so – allow to sit at room temp until ready to prepare the salad.
3. In a large bowl, place the salad greens, crumbled bacon and caramelized fennel. Toss the salad with the Red Wine Vinaigrette and serve immediately.
4. VINAIGRETTE: Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a jar with a tight lid. Add oil, screw the lid tight and shake to mix well. Refrigerate unless you’re using it right away. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper, if desired. Don’t overdo the acid (red wine vinegar and lemon juice) as you want the dressing to have a good balance. Dip a spinach leaf into the dressing and taste it to see if the dressing needs more oil or acid.
Per Serving: 331 Calories; 30g Fat (80.6% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 23mg Cholesterol; 739mg Sodium; 7g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 51mg Calcium; 1mg Iron; 400mg Potassium; 101mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, on August 4th, 2023.

Cute little bites – shortbread layers and a luscious chocolate filling in between.

As it happened, I made these in a slightly smaller Pyrex baking dish than I should (like an 8×11?) . . . so these delicious bites were taller (thicker) than intended. If you make it in a 9×13 as you’re supposed to, they’d be a better proportion of shortbread cookie type layers and the delicious chocolate layer. These disappeared in a hurry. I gave some to a neighbor, a friend, another friend who just lost his wife, then the last few just kind of disappeared, period.

These are easy to make. First you melt the chocolate chips, cream cheese, and evaporated milk in a heavy-duty saucepan or a double boiler. If using a saucepan, watch carefully so the chocolate doesn’t burn on the bottom. Once everything is melted, remove from the heat, add walnuts and almond extract, and set aside to cool a bit. Then make the pastry layer (flour, sugar, butter, eggs, walnuts and almond extract – which I added because I like almond flavoring). Half of it is pressed into the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan. Then pour over the chocolate layer and spread it out to cover. Then the crumbs of the remaining pastry layer are sprinkled over the top. Then it’s baked for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Easy. Let the bars cool until they’re cut-able, then store in the refrigerator. Warm to room temp before serving. They freeze well. This recipe came from a P.E.O. California cookbook my friend Cherrie gave me – it was submitted by Collette, from a P.E.O. chapter in Morgan Hill (that’s here in California).

What’s GOOD: everything about these were good. Loved the layers. Loved the chocolate. Easy to make. For me, this recipe is a keeper.

What’s NOT: nothing in particular; loved these.

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Chocolate Layer Bars

Recipe By: Collette R, Chapter WJ, Morgan Hill, CA, P.E.O.
Servings: 36

2 cups chocolate chips
8 ounces cream cheese
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3 cups unsifted flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter — softened
2 large eggs
1 cup walnuts — chopped
1/4 teaspoon almond extract — optional

1. Combine chips, cream cheese and evaporated milk in medium saucepan or double boiler. If using a saucepan, watch carefully so the chocolate doesn’t burn on the bottom. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in walnuts and almond extract and set aside.
3. Combine remaining ingredients in large mixing bowl; blend well with mixer until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Press half of mixture in greased 9×13 pan. Spread with chocolate mixture. Sprinkle remaining crumble on top. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
Per Serving: 239 Calories; 15g Fat (54.5% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 24g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 34mg Cholesterol; 118mg Sodium; 14g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 44mg Calcium; 1mg Iron; 103mg Potassium; 75mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Beef, Soups, on July 27th, 2023.

Need a quick, easy soup – even if it’s summer – taco soup is always welcome.

It’s been a few weeks ago that I made this, but I recall that I was in a hurry to get it done – so I perused some online recipes for quick taco soup, and came up with this variation. It has all of the usual ingredients (although I added celery – not sure that’s an authentic addition to taco soup, but I like celery, what can I tell you?) and a shortcut of using a packet of dry taco mix. First I sauteed onion and celery, then added garlic, chopped red bell pepper, a chopped up poblano pepper, the package of taco seasoning mix, a punch of ground cumin (because I like it a lot). Then I added a package of ground beef (you could use ground turkey or one of the non-meat substitutes, or it could be vegetarian easily enough without any protein added). Once it was no longer pink, and separated into lots of little bite-sized pieces, I added tomato sauce, a can of tomatoes and pinto beans. And some water. It simmered for a grand total of 30 minutes. Done. You could make this in the Instant Pot – but the sauteing of the various veggies and the beef would take longer, but probably under pressure it would be done in 8 minutes.

Garnishes are optional – but they help – I used cilantro, sour cream, green onions for sure. The second time I had it I added a few crumbled tortilla chips and some bell pepper. Any of those work – whatever suits your family’s preferences.

It was better the next day – soups always are. And what I didn’t eat in the first three days I froze for another quick meal another day.

What’s GOOD: only that it was finished in about an hour – the prep work did take a bit of time, but some of it can be done while the initial sauteing is being done. Easy soup. It didn’t have time to develop a lot of complex flavors – a simple soup, cooked in a jiffy.

What’s NOT: nothing really – it isn’t going to win any blue ribbons at the fair, but I was happy I got it done in under an hour and provided a bunch of meals afterwards.

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Easy Ground Beef Taco Soup

Recipe: From a variety of online recipes
Servings: 8

1 tablespoon EVOO
1 large red onion — chopped (or yellow onion)
1 1/2 cups celery — chopped
3 cloves garlic — minced
1 1/2 cups red bell pepper — chopped
1 whole poblano pepper — stemmed, seeded, chopped
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 pound lean ground beef
16 ounces tomato sauce
12 ounces canned diced tomatoes — undrained
15 ounces canned pinto beans — undrained
1 cup water — used to rinse out the cans then add to the pot
GARNISHES: sour cream, chopped cilantro, shredded cheddar cheese, minced red bell pepper, green onions and/or tortilla chips

1. In large Dutch oven warm the EVOO, then add onion and celery. Saute for 4-6 minutes until softened. Add garlic, bell pepper, poblano pepper, taco seasoning mixture, ground cumin and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes.
2. Add ground beef and use implement to break up the meat. When all the pink is gone, add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and pinto beans. Bring to a simmer and bubble away for about 5 minutes. Taste for seasonings. Continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
3. To serve, scoop about 1 cup into a soup bowl and serve with optional garnishes.
Per Serving: 193 Calories; 6g Fat (25.4% calories from fat); 17g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 35mg Cholesterol; 310mg Sodium; 7g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 81mg Calcium; 4mg Iron; 827mg Potassium; 217mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Beef, Pork, Veggies/sides, on July 21st, 2023.

There are SO many recipes out there in the ‘verse for meatloaf. How do you choose?

My friend Dianne and I hosted a PEO fundraising event awhile back and did a menu from Erin French’s cookbook, The Lost Kitchen. I already posted the cocktail we made, the Cider & Rosemary Prosecco Cocktail, and in the photo for the cocktail was a cute little board with the whole menu on it. Here’s the next set of recipes.

We’re talkin’ meatloaf here. So, can I say this meatloaf is all that different from others? Well, yes and no. What’s different: quite a lot of carrots, a lot of shallots, pecorino cheese (that’s certainly different!) and more than a usual amount of bread cubes. Listening to podcasts, or reading articles about meatloaf, more and more chefs reveal that they use a lot of bread in their meatloaf – because it makes it tender. I don’t think my mother used any bread or breadcrumbs in her meatloaf. I might have used a little bit in my old tried and true meatloaf. Hence my old standby is kind of a firm, very firm chunk of meat. I definitely like this better, despite not really wishing I have to add carbs to make it tender. But hey, if it tastes better, then yes, I guess I’ll have to incorporate this into recipes from now on.

Erin suggested a variety of sides to choose from (including just mashed potatoes) but I thought the parsnips would be a different side not many people would make themselves. Many of our guests had NEVER had parsnips before – some didn’t even know what they looked like. They’re shaped like big carrots, but they’re a kind of off-white color. They’re quite hard to cut, but become tender when they cook. They’re naturally sweet – not as sweet as sweet potatoes, but still they have a lot of natural sugar in them. Trader Joe’s carries them now and then – I guess when they’re in season. Particularly around the holidays.

The glaze on the meatloaf is a ketchup based one (with brown sugar and Dijon added). I love the topping – wanted some of it with every bite. And I wanted a bit of parsnips with every bite too. Make plenty – you’ll be surprised how well it goes with meatloaf.

All of our guests raved about both dishes and wanted the recipes. We got to talking about meatloaf and many at our table had their own little twists that became family favorites. It was decided that next year Dianne and I are going to do a meatloaf cook-off. She’s going to make two types and I’m going to make two types (all four of them different) and we’ll have sides and a dessert. Maybe we’ll include Ina Garten’s turkey meatloaf in the mix too — not sure. It’s excellent, but I think we’d be comparing apples and oranges to choose between and try to compare a beef/pork meatloaf with a turkey one.

Really, I loved Erin’s Dad’s meatloaf. It WAS very tender, and tasty from the added carrots, shallots and Pecorino  – and the bread! The recipe below makes two big loaf pans of it – you could easily halve it, though. I’m sure portions would freeze easily, however! And the parsnips were a big hit. I have loved parsnips ever since I first tried them in England many years ago. They’re a standard side dish in British cuisine. You don’t have to do much to them to make them delicious – this with butter and heavy cream. Yummy.

What’s GOOD: Loved the meatloaf and the parsnips. The additions in the meatloaf make for a very tender loaf – more tender than usual. And the parsnips are such a lovely sweet surprise. And they go so well with meatloaf. Both recipes are keepers.

What’s NOT: the meatloaf does take a bit of prep (you could use a food processor to hasten the process) but so worth it. Parsnips are a cinch.

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Erin French’s Dad’s Meatloaf

Recipe By: Erin French, The Lost Kitchen Cookbook
Servings: 10

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
3/4 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1/2 cup pecorino cheese — grated
2 cups bread cubes — (1/2-inch-diced) such as sourdough
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons kosher salt
6 twists pepper — (pepper grinder style)
SAUCE:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. In a large bowl, add all meatloaf ingredients and mix with your hands until combined. Do NOT overmix it! Divide the mixture between two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans and set aside.
3. For the glaze, in a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, ketchup, and mustard. Brush the top of each meatloaf with a thick coat of the glaze. Transfer to the oven and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the middle registers 150 degrees F, about 45 minutes.
4. Let the meatloaves rest for 10 to 15 minutes, unmold, cut into slices, and serve. Ideally, serve with parsnip puree on the side.
Per Serving: 340 Calories; 15g Fat (38.7% calories from fat); 30g Protein; 22g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 125mg Cholesterol; 797mg Sodium; 17g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 71mg Calcium; 3mg Iron; 576mg Potassium; 298mg Phosphorus.

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Parsnip Puree

Recipe By: Erin French, The Lost Kitchen Cookbook
Servings: 8

3 pounds parsnips — peeled, roughly chopped
Salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream — warmed

1. Put parsnips in medium saucepan, add cold water to cover, and seasonw ith salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so the water simmers, and cook until just fork-tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Drain parsnips and transfer to a food processor. Add butter and pulse until melted. Pour in cream and process until very smooth. Taste and add salt if needed, though if your cooking water is well seasoned, you probably won’t need more. Serve immediately or keep warm in a double boiler. Can also be made a day ahead and reheated in the microwave oven – be sure the center of the mound of parsnips is hot.
Per Serving: 229 Calories; 12g Fat (43.8% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 31g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 32mg Cholesterol; 22mg Sodium; 9g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 73mg Calcium; 1mg Iron; 654mg Potassium; 131mg Phosphorus.

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