Anything Goes

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of being with a group of "foodie" friends where we shared our favorite tapas. Basically "tapas" is the Spanish word for "hors d'oeuvres" but easier to spell. New to this Spanish version that seems to have a little more heat attached, I was impressed as to how the makeup of many could have to do with what's already available in the pantry and that ties into my approach to most concoctions that I come up with, even for meals. Example: today's lunch was a sandwich on wheat bread with some leftover pastrami, havarti cheese and leftover and therefore, old, red cabbage slaw. Plowing around in my fridge, eager to get rid of the little bits of stuff, often results in some very interesting meals. I'm curious about what others may have done with their exciting finds.

Why the French Invented Perfume

Our sous-chef invariably reeks
Of onions, chives and leeks--
Not that he ought to smell like a rose,
And  we've never seen him eating these;
But his odor can bring one's cat to its knees.
Mon Dieu!  The smell is in his clothes!

Mike Mc N

Happy Halloween!

Just to restate: OLLI will celebrate Halloween on Monday Oct. 31 with pumpkin painting, pumpkin judging, cider and (ta, da) cupcakes. I am anticipating that the cupcakes will carry out the Halloween theme - as scary as I can make them! Find them in the annex on Monday morning.

D.

AB OVO

Consider what precedes the chicken:

You, Colonel Sanders’, wing and leg; but

Well before the chicken, sir,

Let us discuss the simple egg.

                 ----------

Fried today, or with Sauce Mornay,

What’s breakfast without ’em light and airy?

Scrambled, stirred, or ovenly shirred,

The egg’s one joyous cackleberry.

In breads white and rye; in cake & pie

At home with apple, pear, and peach:

Eggs lend a tang to all meringue,

And Frenchify one’s loving quiche.

Here’s the mayonnaise and Hollandaise,

And the breath of each soufflé,

A hard-boiled Yegg just won’t renege,

Nor will poached eggs resist flambé.

O! If I could depict eggs Benedict

As my ultimate, heavenly wish:

I’ve often reveled in those be-devilled.

Here’s a toast: “To the egg, the do-it-all dish”.

                    -------------

Dear Sanders: One Colonel to another--

Take advice I collegially beg,

Smite the chicken, hip and thigh,

Embrace instead, the humble egg.

Mike Mc Namara

Colonel, Infantry, USA (Ret.)

Business Cards Available

Those folks who cater to the creative in all of us, Avery Products, have enabled me to create business size cards that include the vital information you may find useful if you want to access and then participate on this blog. I know some folks are checking it out, and I am hoping more of you will comment on what you are reading. But should you have an interest in writing something original, you need to email me at debbyhalv@aol.com so that I an invite you to author something. I wish it were easier but for now that's how it goes.  I'd like us to have an active restaurant review thing going so if you've dined recently, or simply eaten, somewhere that you want to promote, do ask me to authorize you; or slip it into a comment because you don't need any permission to comment.  If you use the name "anonymous", then identify yourself in the body of the comment.

You may also take advantage of the font choices at the top of the composing page to get fancy yourself . Look for my business cards in the social room or similar places at Reston and Loudoun.

Where did the crickets go?

Now it may be possible that there is suddenly a cricket convention somewhere other than at my house, but I think something else happened when, after several weeks of those wild and crazy bugs hopping around my house, making chirpy noises etc., that suddenly they are nowhere to be seen. My family had just reminded me that these bugs are nasty pets so I'd best get rid of them, but before I could, I noticed that they were already gone. Simultaneously, I had put a big bouquet of Carolyn Sanders' bay /laurel in my bathroom where the bugs had collected. She had said that other bugs hate bay; maybe crickets do too. Peace at last!

Meatless in Fairfax

Good to be alive in this nation

That doesn’t worship vegetation,

But loves its burgers, ribs, and chops

Ignoring verdant, fresh-field crops

Who then’s responsible for all of these

Tiny things like Bonsai trees?

Looking at my plate, well, darkly,

All I can see is nasty Broccoli!

Fed the stuff by a diligent Mom

I thought as adult I’d come upon

A promised land of meatfilled life;

But instead, I married a diligent wife.

Chorus:

For its steak, steak, steak,

Well-done or medium rare

Chew for goodness’ sake:

Meat’s on the bill of fare!

Mike Mc Namara

Rita's Tangy Potato Salad

Awhile back, Ray Beery saw that we had a foodie blog and asked for a good recipe for German Potato Salad. I reached out to pal Rita Leake ( who recently did me the honor of bumping into me at Boston's Logan Airport as we each were making our way home from New England...another story) and she sent me this:

Tangy Potato Salad

Prep Time: 25 Minutes    Ready In: 25 Minutes
Servings: 12


INGREDIENTS:
12 medium red potatoes
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
2 dill pickles, finely chopped
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
3/4 cup chicken broth    3/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tomatoes, cubed
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

DIRECTIONS:
1.    Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender. Drain; cool
slightly. Peel and slice potatoes; combine with onion, eggs, pickles and
parsley in a large salad bowl. Set aside. Heat chicken broth until warm;
remove from the heat. Add mayonnaise, salt, pepper and garlic powder; mix
until smooth. Pour over potato mixture and mix lightly. Cover and chill.
Just before serving, gently stir in tomatoes and bacon.

A Triumph of Poaching

When we had that yummy Hollandaise sauce available and it was "egg" day in class, I knew the natural dish to use the sauce was Eggs Benedict. Now, I am not a great poacher, despite years of trying every method and gadget I have found. I had to demonstrate for seven people in class, so I thought I would try something that  had worked for me moderately well in the past. We have a large electric skillet that could handle the first batch of five eggs, so I squirted some canola oil in and let it come to heat. Then carefully broke the first egg and slipped it  into the oil, then did it with another and then I added hot water to all but totally cover the two eggs. By that time the whites had gathered so those eggs were well on their way to success. Next, I added, one at a time, three more eggs into the watery pan. Now everything was under control; all that was needed was a lid on the pan for half a minute to cook the top of the eggs. When we removed the lid, we all raved at how beautiful they were, soft, and beautifully poached.  They were ready to release to our toasted English muffins, topped with steamed asparagus,  Canadian bacon and Hollandaise sauce. Sounds like an international gathering, doesn't it?

Hollandaise Helps Any Egg

Carolyn Sanders returned to our class yesterday with a demonstration of how to make Hollandaise sauce. It was awesome! So we created the perfect egg dish, Eggs Benedict, with the perfect poached eggs, English muffins , asparagus and Canadian bacon. With the sauce, we really had something! Next week she promises to teach us how to make fried green tomatoes, with tomatoes from her garden.  Yesterday's demonstration also included my famous mashed potato omelet with sour cream and scallions. There was a real comfort food feeling at the cottage yesterday.

Judy's Beets are Easy to Make

Judy Melnotte picked up on my article where I mentioned roasting vegetables. Here's what she added:

"Roast whole beets are super and easy. Just wash and trim around the tops and bottoms.(No need to
peel.) Place in a covered Pyrex dish, add about 1" of water, and roast at 350 for about an hour. Serve with the greens sauteed in oil."

That Betty!

This morning my five -year-old grand-daughter called me from Oslo, Norway, where she lives with her parents. She was in a local supermarket and very excited to share some information with me. "I'm eating American food," she said. "It's Betty Crocker," evidently a chocolate sample. Her mother reported that the little girl thinks we have really good food in America. Yes, they do have American brands in Norway... Skippy, Cheerios, and now the famous baking woman. She must be at least one hundred years old but she's still moving. Our Betty is traveling the world!

Mashed Cauliflower

Ate at Coastal Flats recently and was served mashed cauliflower with fish...two asparagus were added for color. I have made it at home just like I would make mashed potatoes. Also you can find recipes by Googling mashed cauliflower. Try it for a change!

The Addition of Fresh Herbs

OLLI member Carolyn Sanders graced our “Basics” class on Wednesday with armloads of herbs from her prolific garden. Fresh bay leaf in three and four foot branches filled the cottage main room with fragrance that definitely improved the atmosphere. You all know about bay leaf, I’m sure, that dried up old leaf that we typically purchase in a bottle and use for everything like soups, stews, pasta sauce. Carolyn says that if you lay bay leaf around in your cabinets, it will discourage those nasty wheat bugs that can climb into all your cereal boxes.  The fresh form of bay is very soft and can be cut up into little pieces known as a chiffonade, and is edible in dressing recipes or scattered in those same dishes as referred to above, but since not dried, don’t have to be fished out before service.

She had other herbs with her as well, including oregano, mint, basil, fennel, garlic chives, and some strange strains of herbs that are international in origin.

Of course, knowing what to do with these terrific plants is important to having them. We used fennel in a steamed fish dish and the oregano with braised pork tenderloin and red cabbage slaw and the results were most pleasing.  What we need to do is have a special presentation by someone in the know about how to best use these herbs.

Meanwhile, Carolyn’s bay will continue to climb up and over her house; already, she says, it is as high as the roof.

Let's Get Cookin'!

Conversation about food is universal, or at least in my world, and this blog while it may begin as a monologue, I hope will become more “dialogue” in form as OLLI folks check it out.

For me, dialogue about food occurs wherever I go. Who could guess what my hairdresser and my son had in common? The same recipe of what to do with kale, that curly green that often decorates the plate in restaurants, but that no one would eat in that form. Two students in my Basics of Cooking class requested a recipe for preparation of kale and I mentioned this at my recent haircutting and also a day or so later when visiting with my son and family. Both recommended roasting it with olive oil and garlic. So we will have to try that, especially since my sixteen-year-old grandson, an enthusiastic chef on his own part supported his dad’s recipe.

Roasting vegetables is currently a favorite method for preparing many vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, asparagus, winter squashes, and probably many more that I haven’t tried yet. Just cut them up and spread them out on a baking sheet and coat with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake in a hot oven (400 degrees) for a short time, maybe ten minutes, and the result is often sweeter than raw or nuttier in flavor than when cooked in the steamer or boiled.  The class roasted cut up potatoes this way for twenty minutes and they came out crispy on the outside and soft inside. With the added enhancements of paprika and chili powder, the effect was awesome.

I hope the blog will feed your interests with cooking tips, recipes, poetry, restaurant reviews, seasonal market places...anything but weather reports unless a drought in the south affects the fruit supply or the price of peanuts.  I plan to add new stuff to it regularly so I hope you will stop by often to see what’s cooking in my little brain.  If there’s one thing we all have to do is eat; might as well enjoy a discussion on the topic that will enhance the experience.