Royal Icing

Okay, I will admit it; I cannot wait to see William and Catherine get married. I adore all the pageantry, the excitement, the clothing, the jewels. Against my nature and all adult reason, I will force my eyes open way too early so I do not miss a thing.

On April 29^th, every public move made by the Happy Couple and Britain’s Royals will be televised, re-shown, You Tubed and commentated to death. I will, I am certain, thoroughly enjoy the spectacle along with multi millions of others.

But what we will not see much of, or perhaps even learn about, is the food those fabulous folk will enjoy. There has been some chatter about the wedding cake---booze soaked fruit cake laden with white butter cream and “Sweet William” flowers---and the groom’s cake---filled with broken cookie pieces (biscuits to the British), nuts, chocolate and sweetened condensed milk. The Groom's cake recipe is said to be a Windsor family favorite and requires no baking; you just glob everything together, pour it into a pan and chill.

Now I also understand that these confections are being prepared by two of Britain’s finest patisseries so the cakes themselves should be quite upscale and quite lovely to look at. Piping on the wedding cake is said to be done in the style of Joseph Lambert---fine garlands and latticework done in royal icing over fondant. Let us just hope they are just as delicious to eat as they are certain to look.  

Of course, I am aware that I will never know for sure as I have not been royally invited and therefore will not be able to taste aforementioned cakes and in turn pass along my judgment.

So all of this leads me to fantasize as to what a royal wedding costing millions of dollars (or pounds, excuse me) has in the way of food. Will proper English staff in brass-buttoned morning coats pass shiny silver trays laden with caviar and foie? Will they dine on exotic game birds like pheasant or partridge or quail, or lovely pink lamb or oysters and cod?  Sip magnums of rare Champagne and exotic teas? 


Or is too much being spent on clothing, pomp and restoring the Abbey to leave any budget for food. Will they instead have a wedding breakfast of tiny cucumber sandwiches, kedgeree and eggs?

There is a recent survey of top American Chefs suggesting that the menu include lobster with truffles (Alex Guarnaschelli---I’d go for that!) fish and chips (Marcus Samuelson---a little messy I’d say) and banana pudding (Paula Dean---that figures!) However, I doubt any celebrity Chef from the former colonies will ever be asked to cook on such a very British day.

 

 

So what will they eat for the post wedding breakfast or the gala that night? Like the rest of the world, I---and you---will just have to stay tuned.

 

 In Honor of William and Catherine

QUEEN ALEXANDRA'S SANDWICHES

 (Adapted from a recipe from The 2 Fat Ladies, 1998)

8 ounces poached chicken, minced

Mayonnaise to bind

Salt

Black pepper, freshly ground

Tabasco to taste

20 slices Pepperidge farm white bread

10 thin slices of rare roast beef

Watercress 

       For the mustard butter:

12 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons of grainy mustard

Method:

For the mustard butter, beat all the ingredients together to a smooth paste.

For the Sandwich:

Mix the chicken and mayonnaise with a fork, season with salt, pepper and Tabasco. Spread half the slices of bread with the mustard butter. Lay slices of rare roast beef over the mustard butter and spread with the chicken mixture. Add sprigs of watercress. Top with the remaining slices of bread to make sandwiches, trim the crusts and cut into dainty squares or triangles. 

Serve on a shiny silver platter festooned with silk ribbon.

About the Radish

My friend and I have been looking for radishes. We thought, with the weather getting warmer and Spring firmly in place, that they would be in good supply. After all, early spring is for the radish.

But for days none of the supermarkets had radishes. Especially those little beauties with the lovely greens still attached. The kind I ate in France years ago with fleur de sel, warm bread and sweet farmer's butter. We did find some that looked like it once was a radish, all withered, old and over grown and a few others garbed in plastic. Not good.

So we wondered, my friend and I, with all the demand for locally grown and seasonal foods, why our super markets did not pay closer attention and stock produce by season?  Why do we still find tasteless tomatoes in December and strawberries priced like caviar when no one in the Northern hemisphere could possibly be growing summer fruit?

No answer here......just wondering.

But.....when you do find those lovely radishes with their lovely greens attached, do this:

• Undo the bundle of radishes, being careful to keep the greens
• Wash them well under cold, running water and cut off any discolored greens
• Trim off the root end, do not pat the radishes dry
• Lay the radishes out in a glass or porcelain container, fill with ice water, cover loosely and soak over night

Presentation

Pour about 1" of sea salt or fleur de sel into a wide shallow bowl
Drain the radishes and lightly pat them dry
Lay the radishes over the salt, allowing the greens to hang over the edge of the bowl
Place the bowl on a larger platter
Diagonally slice a baguette and spread each slice with sweet butter (use the best bread and best--sweet, unsalted--butter you can find, it will make a world of difference)
Fan the buttered bread around the bowl of radishes and serve

Encourage your guests to take bites of salted radish and buttered bread together. This is a delicious treat to enjoy on soft spring evenings with a glass of Viognier or Shiraz.

Eating Memories

We all have an innate drive to maintain a connection with the past through objects or mementos. These objects serve as “witnesses” and help us invoke the event and feelings of the time.  I heard someone once describe mementos as “great literature”.

In that way food can also be a visceral reminder of emotions, important life events or people we love who may be gone from us. It is why a recipe for Grandma’s chicken or Auntie's pie is so important to enjoy on certain holidays and occasions.

The smells and tastes take us back. They serve as confirmation of that memory and keep it sharp and alive.

If our memory was traumatic, life altering or unique in some way, we are even more likely to covet and cling to the tastes, sounds, smells and objects of that time.  By not forgetting, we recognize the importance of that symbolic transformation in our life and its affect on our future.

This spring we celebrate two transformative holidays; Passover for Jews and Easter for Christians. Both are laden with prescribed familial traditions and foods. 

In my house there will be a (day early) Seder featuring the traditional foods and old recipes that I grew up with. I will share this meal with newer friends who are not Jewish and I am excited to add this coming dinner to my Passover memory bank.

I look forward to remembering that Bill asked for seconds on the matzo balls---that I made light and fluffy as he asked---or that Joey enjoyed the roast chicken that Nana used to make and that I had a big bowl of charoset on the table because son Stuart always loved lots of it.

Happy Easter and Happy Passover everyone! May your new memories be happy.

Charoset

(haroset or charoses ( חֲרֽוֹסֶת [ḥărōset])

A mixture of apples, walnuts, cinnamon, sugar and sweet Passover wine. It is eaten to commemorate the mortar with which the Israelites used to cement bricks when they were enslaved in Egypt.

• 2 Macintosh apples, cored, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 cup shelled walnuts
• Cinnamon and sugar to taste
• 1 jigger of Passover wine

Put every thing in a food processor and pulse until the mix is coarsely chopped. It should not be runny. The result is not too pretty but it is very good. Refrigerate covered until ready to serve. Traditionally spread on matzo but also good on celery sticks.

Did Someone Say Sardines?

My middle name should be antique or sentimental as I am continually harking back to the past. I love so many of the old-fashioned foods and old ways of doing things. I get all blubbery when I think of eating at my Grandmothers’ tables; remember eggs ala russe or the tuna casserole I learned to make in the 8th grade. I frequently crave egg creams, penny candy and neighborhood grocery stores with worn wood floors. I enjoy kneading dough and use my copper bowl for beating whites by hand. I prefer linen napkins. It has often made me feel like odd gal out. That is, until recently.

An email came from friend Angus. He was looking for a recipe for something his mother Edith (a superb cook) used to make, “…an hors d’oeuvres using sardines, Worcestershire sauce, plus other ingredients that she would mix up in a small frying pan and then spread on toast points and broil…”

At that point, it hit me. We're all a bit sentimental. Lots of us have fond memories of a food we once ate or a dish we used to love. We’d like to have that food again but we don’t have the recipe, can’t find it on the net and have exhausted the resources of family and friends.

Let’s have a recipe hunt (actually, Angus suggested this) and see if we can’t rediscover some of the foods we used to enjoy. Send me a description of the recipe you are looking for, I’ll blog it and we'll see if all of us (and our extended contacts) can find what you’re missing.

So I'll go first with Challenge #1 (something I’ve been looking for):

There was a steak house in New York, now closed, called Manero’s. They served the most incredible loaves of warm bread dripping with butter that came precut and wrapped in paper napkins. Does anyone know how they made it?

I am excited to hear from you!

My Take on Edith’s Sardine Canapés

• 1 can skinless and boneless sardines, drained and mashed

• 1 TBS softened sweet butter

• 2 TBS minced shallot sautéed in butter until wilted

• 1 Tsp finely minced parsley plus several leaves for garnish

• Several dashes of Worcestershire

• Pinch cayenne pepper

• Pinch dry mustard

• Pepperidge Farm white bread toasted, with crusts removed and cut into 4 triangles

• 1 hardboiled egg, finely chopped

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°

• Lightly butter toast points with softened butter

• Mix together mashed sardines, sautéed shallots, minced parsley, Worcestershire, dry mustard and cayenne

• Spread mix evenly over buttered toast points and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

• Bake until just warmed through, about 10 minutes

• Sprinkle the center of each canapé with chopped egg and garnish with one parsley leaf

• Serve warm with wedges of lemon

Just Food

Someone recently asked what my “word” was. A single word to describe me. Just one. I had to think long about that until it finally hit me: Food. My word is Food.

Food is nourishment and comfort. Food is friends and family. Food is tradition and essential for life. It crosses cultures and oceans and holds memories. Food is fun, food tastes good. Food has a history older than civilization yet continues to evolve. And most of all, food joins us as a community.

I love Food and it’s my way of saying, “I give you love”.

Gift Ideas List---Finale

Sometimes a great gift is many little gifts all wrapped together. Choose a container that’s useful like a basket or a bucket or a bowl and wrap it all with a dishtowel or two or three or an apron or a picnic cloth and fill it with a bunch of fun kitchen gadgets. Like a child and her toys, the cook never has too many gadgets.

There are dozens and dozens to choose from. Here are a handful of my favorites.

The Whisk.
Select one large, one medium and one small in dishwasher safe stainless steel. Look for the classic shaped balloon whisks with smooth fat stainless handles (not plastic or wood). Some of the newer models have ergonomically correct handles---made of silicon or nylon---for greater comfort. Those are very nice too. Count the number of tines (wires). There should be at least 20. The more tines, the faster the job goes. What about some of those newer shapes you ask? Well, I prefer classic equipment that’s been around for a long time (and with good reason).

Okay, okay, let me backtrack a bit and qualify that statement. Several years ago my Christmas stocking produced a tiny whisk with a handle shaped like an egg.
I love that little thing and use it happily and often for small jobs like beating single eggs.

Tongs. 

Shop for stainless steel with a nylon tip to avoid scratching non-stick pans. Self locking tongs close flat, store nicely and are a plus. OXO has a terrific line of kitchen do-dads and their tongs are winners. One long and one short should fit the bill.

Silicon Spatulas.
 
The silicon spatula has got to be the greatest improvement in the kitchen gadget family that I have ever seen. No more dried out rubber bits crumbling into our food or misshapen rubber coming out of the dishwasher. These things are impervious to heat up to 800°, dishwasher safe and come in a multitude of fun colors that I adore. Big ones, small ones, spatulas that can scoop…..I love them all and have many. Look for smooth solid handles that are comfortable to hold. I prefer wood and Le Creuset offers a nice set (pictured) in a full range of colors.

Wooden utensils.

If I were starting out today I’d only buy bamboo. Bamboo is a renewable wood resource and that appeals to my environmentally conscious self. Bamboo is heat and stain resistant and will not scratch non-stick pans. It is dishwasher safe, light weight and built to last forever. Look for a set with spoons and spatulas of assorted sizes and shapes.

Graters (including the microplane).
One of my earliest favorite kitchen gadgets is the box grater. It is a turn of the century tool that has shown remarkable lasting power and is, for me, quite sentimental. I can still see my Mother, my Grandmother and Nana shredding their knuckles along with potatoes, cheese, chocolate and onions. The box grater is versatile and has benefited from updating. The catch plate that snaps onto the bottom of the newer models is very handy indeed and I do like the new ergonomic rubber grips. To go with the box grater are micro planes of various lengths and widths and enough specialty graters to fill a barrel.

A micro plane has joined my old grater and I do have one of those old fashioned (metal) rotating barrel graters that is going to rust and has many dents. I don’t have the heart to throw it away. It still works….sort of.

Look for long lasting stainless when buying a box grater. Go for the ergonomic rubber handle and the catch plate on the bottom. OXO has a nice slim one with good sharp blades and a box at the bottom for catching and storing.

For micro planes, I like the medium grate flat bladed, long and skinny rubber handled models.

It will be labeled grater-zester because that is what it does and it does it very, very well. The brand I like best (and the one that my friend gave me) is actually called microplane. Look for this logo:

The old fashioned rotating cheese grater is especially nice to put on the table with a favorite hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Zyliss makes a rotating barrel grater that does a great (no pun here) job, is dishwasher safe and is the grater you’ll find on most restaurant tables. A model offering interchangeable barrels with finer and coarser grates is a big plus.

Gift Ideas List Part Deux

The Pan.

Let me say one thing up front and then we’ll move on. On principle, I do not endorse buying any cooking equipment labeled for celebrity chefs unless they do what Paul Newman did and donate every nickel and penny to charity. A name does not make the product.

OK. Nuf said.

The best value is a very good cast iron pan. And, the best are the pre-seasoned pans made by Lodge. There is little you cannot do---and do well---with these pans. I use them for sauté, frying, braising, searing and moving between stovetop and oven. They make the best pancakes and corn bread and are built to last beyond a lifetime.

What can’t you do with a Lodge cast iron pan? Put it in the dishwasher. These pans must be washed by hand and given a regular rub down with vegetable oil. Given their price---under $25 for a 12” model---they are a spectacular value.

At the other extreme----the most luxurious and expensive---are pans made of copper. Copper is beautiful and heats quickly and evenly which means it is highly responsive. There is little wait time for your pan to reach temperature and it also cools quickly, protecting delicate sauces or meat from over browning. Copper does need regular polishing but there is something about using a copper pan that just promises gorgeous food.

The most popular copper cookware found in this country are made by Calphalon, Ruffoni , All-Clad, Falk and Mauviel Cuprinox.

What you need to look for when buying a copper pan:
1. A lifetime warranty from the manufacturer. You’ll be spending a king’s ransom when you buy good copper and you need assurance that the manufacturer will guarantee it’s quality.
2. Thickness or gauge. The thicker the copper the better the heat distribution. Look for a pan that is 2.5mm thick.
3. Lining. The best copper pans are lined in aluminum. If you find one that is cheap, chances are it’s lined with tin and the copper coating is just for show and will wear off quickly. Do not waste your money on a thin tin lined copper pan.

Falk and Mauviel Cuprinox make the best copper cookware. Prices for a 12” pan average $290. (I said it was a luxury.)

For all around practicality, price and general use I love Cuisinart's Chef's Classic Stainless cookware. I give it high scores for performance and value and it is good looking. The handle is handsomely attached with rivets and stays cool to the touch. It goes easily from stovetop to oven and is dishwasher safe. No, it is not non-stick but food cooked in a properly heated pan will not stick….even crepes.

A 14” Cuisinart stainless pan is about $38. If you can buy only one good pan, make it this one.

Non-stick. I love non-stick pans for every day use. They are forgiving and you don’t have to break the bank to get a good one.

But, the main benefits of using nonstick pans, besides easier cleanup, is that you don't have to use much oil to coat the surface. This cuts down on fat and keeps meals healthier. Look for nonstick cookware that has several layers of the nonstick coating. Three layers are good enough. More means the price soars. Calphalon has a 2-pan set-----12” and 10”----for under $50. They get my vote.