With friends coming over for a Scrabble-fest, I needed a morning kind of bread. I had mis-filed this recipe in the “bread” section. It was only after I’d gathered all the ingredients together that I read – oh, this is actually a dessert, even though it says corn bread. But, well, maybe it would be okay anyway, I hoped. And yes, it was! Clearly, it is a dessert – it’s sweet (although it’s certainly not as sweet as I’d anticipated) and crunchy from the cornmeal. It was very easy to make.

I’d read the recipe over on FoodGal’s blog last year. It’s from Sherry Yard’s cookbook Desserts by the Yard: From Brooklyn to Beverly Hills: Recipes from the Sweetest Life Ever (she of Spago pastry chef fame). Food Gal absolutely raved about this recipe, calling it a star, and billed it as an academy-award winning corn bread [dessert]. With those words, I knew I had to try it sometime. Making the bread/cake itself was fairly ordinary (although there is more sugar than in a bread, of course). Once out of the oven, though, the cake is brushed with a honey-water-butter mixture that sinks into the holes you’ve made all over the top of the cake. You can barely see in the photo above the honey mixture as it sunk part-way down. I topped it with some powdered sugar; just because. I didn’t want my guests to be confused this was a bread. Results? It was very good. And I liked it because it wasn’t as sweet as some corn cakes could have been!
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A year ago: Stewed Eggplant and Tomatoes
Two years ago: Almond Pound Cake with Limoncello
Three years ago: Mister Charlie (casserole)

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A week or so ago I watched the chefs at America’s Test Kitchen prepare an Austrian type potato salad. It has not even a whiff of mayonnaise in it. No hard boiled eggs. No celery. It does have red onion, cornichons (those little French pickles – I used kosher dills) and a light oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard dressing with some chives too. It’s easy. And it’s delicious! We were barbecuing red bell peppers and Italian sausages (I know, it should have been something like Kielbasa or Polish Sausage, but that’s what I’d defrosted). I thought this potato dish just sounded like a perfect marriage.

Yukon Gold potatoes are peeled, quartered and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces. They’re put into a wide skillet (that has a lid) with a bit of water and chicken broth, salt, a little tiny amount of sugar and some white wine vinegar. The potatoes get cooked through, and you use the little bit of liquid remaining in the pan as part of the dressing – it’s mixed with Dijon, oil and more vinegar, and a little bit of cooked potatoes mashed up, then it’s tossed with the hot potatoes, along with some finely diced red onion, some chives, and the minced pickles. It’s seasoned well with salt and pepper and you’re done. How easy is that?

These potatoes are supposed to be eaten within a few hours of making the salad/side dish. Don’t refrigerate it, as it changes the consistency of the mixture. The folks at ATK said serve it within 4 hours. So, you can just leave it out (covered) once it’s made. They tried many different kinds of potatoes for this, and found Yukon gold by far the best. As it happened, I had Russets, but next time I’ll make it with Yukon. I thought the salad was scrumptious. It comes together quickly – you could do some of the work ahead, even. And sitting for an hour or two likely enhances the flavor. Be sure to taste it for more salt and/or pepper. I thought it took a lot of salt to make it just right to suit me. And I’m always very heavy-handed with the pepper anyway. I’d definitely make this again! And it’s no wonder the Austrians and Germans have a great reputation when it comes to potatoes. They know a thing or two about how to prepare them. A mayo-based dressing would have ruined this combo.

And, by the way, if you haven’t looked at the America’s Test Kitchen website lately, they’ve completely revamped it, and have ALL the recipes going back as long as they’ve been producing the TV show. That is SUCH an improvement. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’d watch a segment, go online to try to find it, only to not find the recipe. I contacted them by email and they told me that different regions of the country broadcast the shows at different times (sometimes a year later!) so the recipes were long gone. No more, with the new website! Thank you, ATK.
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Files: MasterCook 5+ and MasterCook 14 (click link to open in MC)

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Knowing that we were going to have a new patio cover installed on Friday (last week), I decided we should have a celebratory dinner. And we’d sit outside, no matter how chilly it was. It’s not every night I dig out beef tenderloin steaks. But this was special. It’s just starting to be warm enough to sit outside in the evenings. If we wear jackets.

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My mother’s recipes were all collected in the 3×5 card era. My mother’s recipe-collecting years were from about 1938 (when she was married) to about 1992 (when she and my dad moved into a retirement home and she stopped cooking altogether). And I’ve shared before, I think, a photo of my mom’s recipe box (below). I think she bought this metal card box – a huge one – at a garage sale, or a rummage sale. It barely held all of her recipes. It was so full I had to go through and throw out some of the less-interesting recipes, mostly newspaper clippings with no notes, so I knew she’s never made them. Most of the treasured ones that I remember I’ve already shared on this blog. The inside of the box says “The American Home menu maker.” It also has a list of weights and measures and a section of equivalents like 1 tablespoon of flour = 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch. Or 1 cup honey = 1 to 1 1/4 cups sugar and 1/4 cup liquid. Hmm. That’s an interesting one.

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We’re now getting some lovely frozen wild salmon fillets from Norway. The steaks are absolutely delicious. Tender, and so tasty. A salad sounded good. So I made a mayo-based Caesar dressing with some spicy heat to it. I had some lovely spring asparagus, and a perfectly ripe avocado. It was so good.

The salmon was baked on parchment paper in a 450 oven. Meanwhile, I’d made the Caesar style dressing an hour or so ahead so the flavors could meld. The asparagus was simmered over hot water in my handy-dandy asparagus steamer. The avocado was huge (thanks, Joan!) and perfectly ripe after sitting on my counter for a week! I grated some additional Parmesan on top and added some cilantro to the salad. So it wasn’t strictly speaking a traditional Caesar.

The dressing is a mayo one with all the typical Caesar ingredients. But instead of anchovies in it, I took Phillis Carey’s idea (from a Caesar dressing of hers which is my really top-favorite Caesar dressing) and used capers instead. Then I added some hot Vietnamese chili sauce to give it some zipped up heat. And I let it sit. The salad needs more dressing than you might think; just keep that in mind. But add other things to this if you’d prefer broccoli, or tomatoes, or? This was just my version with what I had on hand.
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One year ago: Lemon Cake with Limoncello and Lime Mousse (oh, outstanding!)
Two years ago: Barbecued Short Ribs (my go-to recipe, always)
Three years ago: Algerian Carrots (gosh, this is a favorite in the cold side dish arena)

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We have these tall stalks growing on numerous shrubs in our yard. They’re called Pride of Madeira, and they bloom just once a year. From a distance of 15 feet they look brilliant purple, but up close they’re more lavender. In the purple hue, in any case. They’re really beautiful, although during the blooming season they do obstruct our view some. But not enough to get rid of them! We’ve been told that if you cut the blooming stalks the bush will die. So we don’t touch them. Just admire them.

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A friend from a long time ago emailed me some photos the other day. We were friends in Washington, D.C., way back in 1963. Our then husbands were in a Navy Intelligence school there, and the four of us palled around together. We all were from California. And we craved Mexican food, which you simply couldn’t find in D.C. at that time. So we made our own sometimes. My friend’s name is also Carolyn. Her husband, Jim, decided to become a Bombardier/Navigator and fly. Then Vietnam exploded into our time line and Jim was sent there. He was shot down over North Vietnam, and Carolyn lived in an awful limbo time as an MIA wife for many, many years.

But that’s me, holding her daughter, Sharee in the photo above. Carolyn came to Denver (where my ex and I were living at the time) when Sharee was about 6 months old. This was just a few short months before my ex and I adopted a daughter. Jim’s remains were finally found (or the North Vietnamese finally released info) many years later. And Carolyn remarried – to Dick, a guy with a big family and several children. She still lives in Merced, where she was raised. And Sharee is probably 42. My daughter is 41.

Anyway, Carolyn and I lost touch for about 20 years, but now we’re “found” again. We’re catching up, filling in the gaps of that 20-year period. She was going through some photos the other day and came across this one. Taken back in 1967 or 1968, I think. Twelve years later when my ex and I split up he kept all of the family photos. So I have only a few of my daughter (or me) when she was little – ones that my mother or dad took of her and I found amongst their things after they died. I’m glad I have those! I’ll have to share a couple one of these days.

When I look at that photo I see – well, how much thinner I was back then. I see my entire collection of cookbooks over on the right, the curtains I sewed myself for that basement den I was sitting in – in the tri-level house we lived in, in Aurora, Colorado. And I see some of the miscellaneous Japanese brick-a-brack my ex brought home from his 1963 deployment on an aircraft carrier (the Japanese kimono doll in the case behind me) and a Phillipine wooden flower decoration behind my shoulder. I gave away those things years ago. AND, I look at my hair. I was using hot rollers then.

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My hubby, Dave, just adores beets. It used to be just the pickled canned type – before he met me, that is – and he’d open a can of beets and eat the whole thing in about 10 minutes. A bachelor’s diet, you know. He also ate pickled herring in sour cream, and almost always had a jar of it in his refrigerator with Ritz crackers in the pantry. He didn’t know how to cook much. His son was living with him (Powell was about 11 or 12 then and had moved in with Dave about 6 months before we met), so he did have to learn to cook just a few things. He could do hot dogs, dial-up pizza, and he did know how to grill a steak and chicken. And country-style ribs with a generic-brand BBQ sauce slathered on.

A few days after I met him (on a blind date on May 6th – we just celebrated the the 29th anniversary of the day we met) I invited him to my house for a brunch I was throwing for a group of friends. Afterwards he and I ended up spending the remainder of the day together, walking on the beach, taking in a “set” at a jazz restaurant that was popular in Newport Beach at that time. Then he asked if I’d like to come to his house and he’d cook dinner. I had a daughter at home, but my roommate (a gal friend) was watching her that evening so I was able to say yes.

He’d explained that his son was coming home from a weekend away and he needed to be there to fix dinner anyway. So he stopped at a meat market, bought steaks, stopped at a market and bought Idaho potatoes, sour cream, and makings for a salad. At his home he started working in the kitchen. I was so impressed (having no clue at that point that I was going to see the complete extent of his cooking repertoire within the next couple of weeks). I thought he was adept in the kitchen. I sat on a bar stool and watched as he put the potatoes in the oven, as he cut up some greens and veggies for a salad. I sat there, thinking that a man in his own kitchen probably should be left alone. Little cupids were telling me it would be so much fun to cook with this man – together in a kitchen. So, he grilled the steak (a good one, delicious) and we had meat, potato and salad with a bottled dressing that he was crazy about – Catalina dressing. It’s no longer made.

We enjoyed the dinner, I talked with his son quite a bit, and then Dave made a pot of coffee which we shared. We talked more. And talked. And talked. And found that we had more and more in common. Well, it goes on from there, and we’ve been married for 27 years.

Meanwhile, back to beets. I finally got Dave to give up canned pickled beets. I mean, he’s a Type 1 diabetic – he should never be eating pickled (sugar sweetened) beets except in very small quantities. He looks for beets at salad bars, and would probably love it if I kept a can or two in the pantry. But I’m not enamored with canned beets like he is. So he loves it when I make them for him from scratch. The other day I saw some nice young red beets at the market. And I found a recipe I thought I could adapt. Yes, I had an orange in the kitchen. Yes, I had fresh herbs. I had most of the ingredients.

So, I made this recipe. And it was good. Very good. Dave nearly licked the plate, of course. He got the few leftovers the next night, and nearly licked the refrigerator container they were in. It made me feel guilty that I don’t make them for him more often. I mean, I learned on that first dinner date that he was in love with beets. A way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Therefore, is it a way to keep your man’s heart if you make beets? You know the drill! But I forget. After 29 years of dating and 27  years of marriage you’d think I’d remember a real basic fact: my husband adores beets!

So zipping back to those early weeks of our relationship in 1981, he cooked dinner for me several times – he made country ribs. And baked potatoes. He made grilled chicken. And baked potatoes. He made steak. And baked potatoes. Again. And he made one other chicken one-pot meal with zucchini and other vegetables (that he later told me he’s just learned to make a week or so before we met). It was delicious, by the way. It’s a darned good thing that by then I’d fallen head over heels in love with him. Because that was IT. That was his entire cooking rotation. And I soon found out he really didn’t know a thing about being in the kitchen. No question he enjoyed eating – we found lots of commonality when we discussed food and ate out at good restaurants – but he knew next to nothing about how to cook. In the ensuing years, very little about that has changed (and it’s okay). He still can’t cook. Doesn’t want to cook (unless it’s as a grill-meister). And it’s worked out just fine.

Moral of the story: cook more beets (insert words for your significant other’s favorite food)!
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A year ago: Skirt Steak Salad with Tomatoes & Croutons
Two years ago: Green Salad with Chevre Dressing
Three years ago: Cauliflower, Bacon & Mushrooms

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With a half a head of cabbage in the refrigerator I searched for something to do with it besides more cole slaw. I’d made a cole slaw last week (from another blogger’s recipe) and was so disappointed in it. I followed the recipe faithfully, but it just didn’t float my boat, so most of it was thrown out. So I found another recipe using cabbage (the one I adapted actually called for Savoy cabbage, which I didn’t have, of course), but I took big tangents with the flavors. I found several variations on this theme on several websites. Some people eat this as a main course. It could be vegetarian except for the bacon. But for me it made a nice side dish.

I wouldn’t rate this recipe as anything like over the top, but it was good. Something different to do with cabbage. And it made a nice, hearty side dish to go with grilled meat. I liked the combination of textures – the cabbage that still had just a little bit of crispiness to it, and the soft, succulent white beans. It’s both a vegetable and a carb, which makes for an easy side dish. I kept tasting it as I went along, adding things, and more things to it. The chili flakes add a nice zippy afterthought too if you’re agreeable to the heat. This could be served on top of thin spaghetti too, I’d suppose. I may use the leftovers (of which there was a LOT, and I made only half of the below recipe) in a soup, with some pork, perhaps. Or, this would be very nice with some chicken or Italian sausages too.

Anyway, this is a kind of stir-fry dish. It helps to have most of the ingredients all ready once you start cooking the bacon. If so, it comes together in nothing flat. If you want more flavor, add more bacon. The bacon I used was almost all meat, so I had very little drippings in the pan – hardly enough to sauté the leeks, but I managed. Use some minced dried apricots if you don’t have raisins. I used more sage and not enough chives (my poor chives in my garden are looking pretty tired), but you can vary the proportions to suit your taste or your garden.
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A year ago: Black Bean Layered Dip
Two years ago: Lemon Rice Pilaf
Three years ago: Cold Cream of Pea Soup (green peas, not split peas)

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We decided to dig out a steak for dinner last night and make something special. The original recipe came from an old Bon Appétit article. But then, I changed it around some. . . I had most of the ingredients and then some. Here’s what’s involved:

First you make a rub using Hungarian sweet paprika, chipotle chili powder (I actually used my Mercken powder [pictured right] which is similar, but spicy hot like chipotle is), bay leaves and cumin seeds. These ingredients get whizzed up in a spice blender (a cheapo electric coffee grinder that I made a spice grinder) and it’s rubbed onto the steaks. Chill the steaks for awhile (about an hour). Grill them in our normal method – searing them over direct heat for 3-4 minutes, then turning off the grill underneath, using a meat thermometer to monitor the temp, it continues to cook with indirect heat until it reaches 123.

Off it comes and is tented with foil. Then you take two pieces of ciabatta bread to the grill – the soft side was briefly grilled – return them to your kitchen and  slather the bread with Cambazola cheese  (it’s a triple cream cheese like Brie, but mixed with Gorgonzola). Back it goes to the grill just long enough to melt the cheese.

The steak was sliced into nice thick pieces and placed on top of the bread and sprinkled with some fresh thyme from my garden. Serve immediately to raves.
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A year ago: Strawberry Mango Margarita
Two years ago: Crumbled Asparagus (a huge favorite)
Three years ago: Carrot Spice Muffins

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