Slivered Chicken and Walnuts

From: "Sunset Cooking Two." Menlo Park, California: Lane Publishing Co., 1985.

My lack of posting has less to do with my busy, fun summer than the fact that I'm in a culinary conundrum. In order to rearrange my cholesterol numbers (raise the good, really lower the bad), I've been sticking with the safest foods possible: lots of oatmeal with blueberries and walnuts (they top the list of healthy cholesterol foods). But it's time to branch out (somewhat, this recipe does have walnuts).

One of the new leaves I'm turning over is to - gasp! - alter the recipes I'm posting. I'm such a rule-follower that, as you can tell from some of these recipes, I've copied them here verbatim. I promise the changes I'll make will be improvements taste-wise, not just health-wise.

The absolute best Chinese restaurant in South Bend, Indiana is J.W. Chen's, near the University of Notre Dame on State Road 23. I wish I could say this recipe is as good as Jean's walnut chicken, but it probably isn't. And it definitely isn't served to you after Jean pulls up a chair to take your order. You have to do all the hard work. But it's worth it - it tastes as close to a Chinese restaurant dish as I've ever made.

Cooking sauce (recipe follows)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons olive or Canola oil
1/2 cup walnut halves
1 medium-size green pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch squares
1/2 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger [don't even bother with ground ginger - you have to use fresh in this recipe or the flavors will be off]

Prepare cooking sauce; set aside. Cut chicken into thin strips; mix with soy and cornstarch and set aside.

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a wok or wide frying pan; add nuts and cook, stirring, until brown; remove with a slotted spoon. Add chicken to oil; cook, stirring, until opaque (about 90 seconds); lift out. Add pepper and ginger; cook, stirring, until pepper is bright green. Add chicken and cooking sauce; cook, stirring, until thick (about 1 minute); add nuts and serve over steamed rice.

Cooking sauce: Thoroughly blend 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch, dash liquid hot pepper seasoning, 3/4 teaspoon each sugar and rice wine [or white] vinegar, 1 teaspoon dry sherry or water, and 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce.

'Possum Supper and Squirrel with Cider Sauce

From: "Better Homes and Gardens Meat Cookbook." Des Moines: Meredith Corporation, 1977.

I remember somebody in my family (a cousin, an uncle, possibly my dad) hunting one time when I was young and bringing a squirrel or squirrels to my grandma (raised in the hills of Tennessee) to prepare. More than one family member sampled the finished product (not me, I promise) but I don't recall anyone's reaction.

Meat is meat, right? There's no difference between eating a cow, a rabbit or a possum. Or is there? Personally, if I think too much about any meat, I lean toward veganism very quickly. I'd like to think that if conditions became apocalyptic, I could get along just fine without being forced to kill an animal to survive. But you never know when a possum or squirrel recipe might come in handy.

The possum and squirrel recipes are my favorites from this cookbook only because of the sheer novelty of them being in a cookbook in the latter part of the twentieth century. And I only own a cookbook entirely devoted to meat because it was in an auction box lot. Otherwise, I probably eat less meat in a year than many Americans eat in a week.



'Possum Supper - "Opossum is often said to have a pork-like flavor"

1 1 1/2 - 2-pound opossum
2 medium sweet potatoes
Butter, melted
Cayenne

Wash opossum; trim off excess fat. Season cavity with salt and pepper; close with skewers. Tie legs together. Scrub sweet potatoes; do not peel. Place opossum and potatoes in shallow roasting pan. Add 1/2 cup water. Brush meat and potatoes with 1/4 cup melted butter. Sprinkle with cayenne and some salt. Bake, covered, in 350 degree oven about 1 1/4 hours or till meat and potatoes are tender; baste occasionally with melted butter. Uncover; bake 15 to 20 minutes more or till brown, basting often with butter. Serves 2.

Squirrel in Cider Sauce

2 1- to 2-pound squirrels, halved
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup apple cider or juice
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon honey
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon cold water
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Sprinkle squirrel halves with some salt and pepper. In medium skillet brown squirrels in butter. Add cider, onion, honey and bay leaf. Simmer, covered, about 1 hour or till tender. Remove meat to heated platter. Remove bay leaf. Blend cold water into cornstarch. Stir into pan juices. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Pass with meat. Serves 4.

Pesto alla Genovese (Basil, garlic and cheese sauce)

From: "Recipes: The Cooking of Italy." New York: Time-Life Books, 1968.

It's basil season! Just when you think you can't eat any more of whatever was last in season, along comes the next great item. Right now, for me, it's basil. I can get armfuls of basil at the farmers market for less than $5, so I'm making every recipe that contains basil and freezing what I can.

Remember Bubba from "Forrest Gump"? He listed every possible shrimp recipe imaginable as he and Forrest went through basic training. I could probably do that with basil recipes.

This little cookbooklet only has one basil recipe, but it's the best recipe for pesto I've found. The cookbooklet is a keeper, too. The recipes create very fresh tasting Italian food and make me think I can master international cuisine (i.e. they're easy).

This pesto recipe will not disappoint you. It's basic, doesn't get fancy with the ingredients (not that there's anything wrong with that) and it freezes like a dream. You can either spoon a portion into a Ziploc freezer bag, fill an ice tray with pesto and bag the cubes after they're frozen or use your favorite freezer container. I've been happy with frozen pesto well into a cold Indiana winter.

This recipe makes about 2 cups.

2 cups fresh basil leaves, stripped from their stems, coarsely chopped [I used a food processor] and tightly packed
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic [I throw that in the food processor, too]
2 tablespoons finely chopped pine nuts [you guessed it, the food processor]
1 to 1 1/2 cups olive oil [start with less - too much will negatively affect taste]
1/2 cup freshly grated imported sardo, romano or Parmesan cheese

Combine the coarsely chopped fresh basil, salt, pepper, garlic, pine nuts and 1 cup of olive oil in a blender jar. Blend at high speed until the ingredients are smooth, stopping the blender every 5 or 6 seconds to push the herbs down with a rubber spatula.

The sauce should be thin enough to run off the spatula easily. If it seems too thick, blend in as much as 1/2 cup more olive oil. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and stir in the grated cheese.

Dick Van Dyke, the Stepford Cook

As I was working through my piles of old cooking magazines I came across this ad for Hunt's Barbecue Sauce. Now, I love Dick Van Dyke as much as the next person, but doesn't he look a little too perfect in this photo? Granted, it's from an early 1980s "Bon Appetit" and the 80s were all about perfect hair, but still. His teeth are too white, the shirt too starched, that chicken is too delectable.

In addition to the 1980s being Dick Van Dyke's era of celebrity endorsements, it was also the era of the food processor. "Bon Appetit" had a monthly column devoted to that new-fangled kitchen appliance, the food processor. What I noticed, though, is that every single recipe can be made more easily without a food processor. So not only was DVD trying to sell barbecue sauce, "Bon Appetit" was trying to sell food processors.

However, if there's anything we learned from the 80s, it's that life is better without a food processor. It might have taken some cooks (and "Bon Appetit") almost the entire decade to figure it out, but buying frozen chopped spinach is much easier than buying frozen leaf spinach and spending the time and energy with ye olde food processor to chop it. But that sums up what "Bon Appetit" was suggesting in their food processor column and recipes. "Hey, all you at-home chefs! Why not make cooking more difficult and really appreciate your efforts?"

I'm happy to say that "Bon Appetit" has been very responsive to trends and their readers. Current issues have streamlined processes and simplified recipes. And, Dick Van Dyke? He has aged very well, in my humble opinion, and is still making great movies like "Night at the Museum."

Mississippi Mud Cake

From: "Omaha Home for Boys Anniversary Cookbook." Kearney, Nebraska: Morris Press Cookbooks, 2005.

At first glance, this cookbook has an impressive collection of recipes. Even better, the three-ring binder style cookbook also comes with a mini-plastic stand that holds the book upright and open. However, almost every recipe I tried seemed to be a family recipe - that is, the combination of ingredients probably pleased the author of the recipe and his or her family, but only one suited my tastes. And even then, I'd reserve this recipe for large gatherings because it's super rich, with plenty of sugar and fat/cholesterol. In fact, the recipe says it serves 12-16 people but based on my experience, it probably serves 40. Because it's so rich, most people can only tolerate a small piece. But they do love that small piece and come back for more!

The good news is that you can easily halve this recipe and get the same results (not true for all dessert recipes, I've found).

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/3 cup coconut
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 jar marshmallow creme (large jar for full recipe, small jar for half recipe)

Cream butter, sugar and cocoa together. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add flour, baking powder, coconut and pecans; beat well for 2 minutes. Spread batter in greased and floured 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Spread marshmallow creme over top while cake is still hot. Cool and frost.

Frosting
4 cups sifted powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat together 1 cup of the powdered sugar with butter, cocoa, evaporated milk and vanilla. When well blended, gradually add additional 3 cups of powdered sugar and beat until creamy. spread on cooled cake. Serves 12-16.

Cup Cakes with Marshmallow Frosting

From "Rumford Common Sense Cookbook," Lily Haxworth Wallace. For the Department of Home Economics of the Rumford Company, Rumford, Rhode Island.

I used to work with someone who would put on her Nonni's (Italian grandmother) hat when she was going to clean her house. It made her more industrious (like her Nonni). She told me about this when I admitted that the way I got my own house clean was to fix myself a frozen margarita and pretend I was my own cleaning person. I paid myself at the end of my cleaning session.

These two stories are related to these two recipes because of their origin. They're from a very old, very quaint cookbooklet circa 1920. There's no publication date in the booklet, but I'm making the assumption based on the illustration and the instructions for baking by temperature: "For the benefit of housewives who follow the new method of temperature cooking, and for those who wish to learn how, the following table is given." My guess is that people were still using wood stoves for cooking during this transition period and had used wisdom and expertise vs. relying on the stove science of selecting a cooking temperature. In some ways, we all still rely on wisdom and expertise with our own stoves. I know that my over cooks low (below the selected temperature) and that my stove burners cook hot.

When I prepare these recipes, I like to imagine how early 20th Century bakers might have done things, for whom or what occasion they might have prepared these cupcakes, how those newfangled stoves worked. I have not, however, prepared this recipe while drinking a margarita. Too many eggs to deal with (requires all my faculties).

Note that the cupcakes will be much denser (and, I think, more flavorful) than the cakes we're used to in this century. The crust will be a little tougher as well, so keep an eye on them while they bake (you can't get away with over-baking even a little bit with this recipe).

Cup Cakes
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2/3 teaspoon flavoring (I used vanilla)
1 1/2 cups flour (I used Softasilk cake flour)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Rumford Baking Powder (don't even try - they don't make it anymore!)

Cream the shortening, add the sugar gradually and beat well. Separate the eggs, beat the yolks and add these to the first mixture. Then put in the milk and flavoring alternately with the sifted dry ingredients. Lastly fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Half fill greased cup cake pans [I ALWAYS use cup cake liners] and bake about twenty minutes in a moderately hot oven - 375-400 degrees [I went with 375]. Serve plain or frost with any desired frosting.

Marshmallow Frosting
1/3 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cook the water, sugar and cream of tartar rapidly to the soft ball stage - 238 degrees F. While the syrup is boiling, occasionally remove with a small damp brush the drops with gather on the sides of the saucepan.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and dry. Pour the syrup very slowly over them, beating while pouring and continue the beating until cool, adding the vanilla while beating.

NOTE: This frosting is very "wet" (aka gooey, not stiff). I added some powdered sugar to create a stiffer consistency. If you do this, add small amount of the powdered sugar and wait five minutes - the frosting becomes stiffer with time.

Chicken Triangles

From: "Easy Cooking Step by Step," Bev Bennett. Woodbury, NY: Barron's Educational Series, 1985.

There's a reason you'll find this cookbook at every garage sale and thrift store. A lot of people liked the idea of a step-by-step cookbook but this cookbook doesn't really deliver - definitely not on the step-by-step aspect and not on quality of recipes. However, these chicken triangles are incredibly tasty and, although they require you to be something of a culinary construction worker, are worth the time they take.

The recipe suggests serving them hot or tepid. Don't be afraid of the word tepid. It just means you don't have to time everything perfectly so you can take them out of the oven the minute guests arrive. You can make these a few hours ahead and pop in a 200 degree oven to reheat for about 15 minutes and the flavor is even better than out of the oven the first time.
1 cup butter, melted (divided)
3 eggs, beaten
3 cups chopped cooked boneless chicken breast
1/4 teaspoon saffron dissolved in 1 tablespoons chicken broth (if desired, just use the broth)
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground gingerroot
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (divided)
3 tablespoons sugar (divided)

1/4 cup light or dark raisins
1/4 cup pine nuts
Salt and freshly ground pepper
16 sheets phyllo dough

Place 2 tablespoons melted butter in top of double boiler. Add beaten eggs and cook, stirring often, until mixture resembles slightly underdone scrambled eggs. Stir in chicken. Add saffron mixture, along with coriander, nutmeg, ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon sugar, raisins, pine nuts and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lay 2 sheets of phyllo dough, one on top of the other, on board or cookie sheet (keep remaining 14 sheets covered with slightly damp cloth). Brush generously with melted butter. Cut into 3 vertical strips. Place a heaping tablespoon of the chicken mixture in corner of one strip and fold into triangle, then continue folding into triangles all the way up the strip. Trim off excess. Press edges of dough in to seal using more butter. Place triangle on ungreased cookie sheet.

Repeat making triangles with remaining 2 strips. Then repeat the entire process 7 more times (using 2 sheets of phyllo for each, cutting each into 3 strips). You'll have 24 triangles in all.

Mix together the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Brush triangles with remaining butter and sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot or tepid.