Men Who Cook: Kirk Spencer, California Stuffed Trout

I’m not sure, but I think Kirk is the person who pushed my guest recipe section into a Men Who Cook series.  He has sent me two recipes for this series and I’ll post one now and I’ll save the other for later when we need a lift.  Kirk’s recipes are as much fun to read as they are to eat.  Here is Kirk:

I learned to cook before I was 10. My parents believed all their kids should know how to do everything in the house, and that was one of the things done. Turns out I have a knack for it. I actually thought I was going to be a chef; till I worked in a restaurant and learned how much WORK doing that sort of thing really is. Still, I’ve been cooking for about 40 years.

Along the way, I found that far too often I didn’t have ‘that particular ingredient’ to hand. Shortly after that I realized that most dishes are variations on a theme; even before we get into the fact that one person’s “too hot” is another ’s “where’s the spice?”

Oh, and I also got my grandmother’s cookbook. Well, actually it was the one she got from HER grandmother. You laughed at the way I wrote squab in a coffin, and yet that’s the way the whole book reads. Dibs and splashes, handfuls of this and pinches of the other, and “a bit of this or that” to taste, depending on what’s on hand. My first successful pie dough came from that book, and I’ll give you a close approximation of the instructions:

Take two double handfuls of flour and a pinch of salt and stir them together. Cut in a fist of lard (Grandmother drew through that and wrote “shortening”) till it is mealy. Sprinkle handfuls of water and stir till it comes together.

Oh, it’s a short crust – tough, not delicate and flaky. It’s a crust that would stand up to her husband taking a slice with him to the field. I’ve picked up a few tricks for when I want to make it delicate and flaky (half a fist of butter instead of shortening – and reduce the total size of the fist – just for an example). However, it works, works easily and well for people who are flummoxed or frightened by more “proper” instructions.

But that seriously influenced how I write instructions. Precision is for chefs – the professionals who have spent years testing the same recipe over and over and strive for repetitive perfection. Me, I’m a cook. I’m tossing together today’s ingredients and since I don’t live near a great market and have to pinch a penny or two when I DO go, I’m looking for what’s going to be happily devoured by my family and guests.

Fortunately, I seem to have figured it out.

Kirk

Note from TaMara:  In my defense, when Kirk says I laughed at how he wrote Squab in a Coffin – it was because I enjoyed it!  Here’s his latest recipe, California Stuffed Trout in a pouch:

Recipes? I can go for hours on recipes.

California Stuffed Trout in a pouch

The basic recipe is simple. You need whole trout, as fresh as possible. (If you’re one of those who can’t handle the head looking back at you, you can cook this headless. Just get a friendly decapitator to assist.) You’re going to loosely pack a filling (which I’ll get to in a minute) in the belly, then seal the trout up and bake it.

Properly you’re going to seal the trout in a parchment pouch. Functionally, aluminum foil works though if your taste buds are sensitive you can taste the difference. You can also purchase brown paper (lunch) bags and oil them, put the fish in, close and staple the top, and bake. The process, however, is to trap all the steam inside so the cooking is as much about steaming as it about baking.

So what about that stuffing? You’ll want some chopped nuts, some fruit (small or rough chopped), a hot pepper that you’ve finely minced, and a pinch of salt. You’ll want roughly 2 parts nuts to one part fruit, and about a quarter cup of filling per fish. Now my preference is pecans, blueberries, and habanero that I’ve carefully seeded and cleaned of membrane, and I tend to make four of these (one habanero between the four, thank you). That’s a bit hot for some folk, and other folk look a bit askance at the blue stained interior of the fish when it’s done. However, I’ve used currants and cherries and apples and cranberries, each to good effect.  Loose stuff the fish, and put it in your pouch. Seal the pouch to trap the steam. Put in a hot oven (375-425 degrees F) for about 10-15 minutes for two to four fish, 15-20 for four to eight, and you’re on your own if you’re serving a feast. Serve in pouch, but warn your guests to be careful when opening as it will blast them with the steam.

Oh, formal?

Stuffed Trout en papillote

preheat oven to 400.

• 1 cup chopped pecans.
• 1/2 cup blueberries.
• 1 habanero, seeded, membrane removed, minced.
• 1/2 tsp salt.
• 4 fresh trout, cleaned. (wear gloves for protection)

Mix pecans, berries, habanero and salt. Loosely stuff the trout, and place in parchment pouches. Seal pouches.

Bake 10-15 minutes at 400 (F).

Serve in pouches while hot.

Recommended sides: vinaigrette slaw OR other crisp salad; steamed vegetables.

That sounds so good.  Can’t wait to try it.  Thanks, Kirk.

Thursday Night Menu: Garlic, Garlic Edition

I know this sounds like a crazy recipe, but the Garlic, Garlic Chicken is a keeper.  The garlic roasts to a nice, nutty, sweet flavor, perfect with a slice of bread.  Friends made this for me and after the first bite, I was sold, I couldn’t believe how good it was.  The Sliced Pepper Salad came about because I was at the store last week and they had a huge sale on peppers of every color.  Each one has a different flavor, so I didn’t want to do much too overwhelm that, but you can add sliced onion if it appeals to you.  Get a really good Artisan bread and you’ve got a dinner that takes less than 20 minutes to prep.

On the board tonight:

1. Garlic, Garlic Chicken
2. Loaf of a good crusty Artisan bread
3. Sliced Pepper Salad
4. Hot Apple Cider with Ginger Snaps

Garlic, Garlic Chicken

• 5 lb roasting chicken
• 1/2 cup of wine
• 1/2 cup of chicken broth,
• salt & pepper
• 40 cloves of garlic (unpeeled).

 Wash and dry the chicken, remove any giblets.  Add all ingredients into a roasting bag and roast for about an hour (follow cooking bag instructions, usually about 350 degrees, use a meat thermometer to check chicken temp).  Remove chicken to a platter and place garlic and sauce in a serving bowl.  The garlic can be squeezed out of the skins at the table onto the fresh bread.  Alternately, you can take the broth, reduce it and then add the peeled garlic into that. It makes a very nutty, garlic-y kind of gravy.

Sliced Pepper Salad

• 1 each: red, yellow, orange & green pepper, washed & sliced
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup vinaigrette dressing
• 1 head bib lettuce, washed, dried & torn

Toss peppers and vinaigrette dressing and let marinate 30 minutes.  Serve on a bed of bibb lettuce.

Shopping List:

• 1 5lb Roasting Chicken
• 40 Cloves of Garlic (about 4 bulbs)
• 1 loaf Artisan Bread
• 1 each: Red, Yellow, Orange, Green peppers
• 4 oz vinaigrette dressing
• 1 head bibb lettuce
• Ginger snaps
• 1 gallon apple cider

Also: chicken broth, wine, salt, pepper

Thunder Cake Update

A snow day and a friend’s birthday provided me with the perfect excuse to spend some time in the kitchen, so I baked a Thunder Cake.  It was pretty much a fool-proof recipe and the cake came out great.  So if you need a quick chocolate cake, give it a try.

Update:  Todd Daily gave me this recipe originally and we had this conversation this morning.

Todd:  I hope you remembered the most important ingredient. The Thunder! According to the book, that’s the only way that it really works.

Me:  I checked my cooking equivalency and substitution chart and found that I could substitute a 36 hour blizzard for an afternoon of thunder, so it worked out okay.

Food In Fiction: To Kill A Mockingbird – Lane Cake

Photograph by Neil Ravenna

For the Lane Cake, I won’t be posting a recipe, but instead, because of the wonder of the internet can offer the history of how it came to be. In all the years I’ve read To Kill a Mockingbird, I really didn’t have a clear idea of what a Lane Cake was, except I knew it had liquor in it, as described when Atticus’ sister came to stay and help with Scout and Jem:

Maycomb welcomed her. Miss Maudie Atkinson baked a Lane Cake so loaded with shinny it made me tight….

Before that, Miss Maudie baked a Lane Cake as a thank you to one of the men who helped fight the fire that burned her house to the ground:

“Mr. Avery will be in bed for a week – he’s right stove up. He’s too old to do things like that and I told him so. Soon as I can get my hands clean and when Stephanie Crawford’s not looking, I’ll make him a Lane Cake. That Stephanie’s been after my recipe for thirty years, and if she thinks I’ll give it to her just because I’m staying with her she’s got another think coming.”

I reflected that if Miss Maudie broke down and gave it to her, Miss Stephanie couldn’t follow it anyway. Miss Maudie had once let me see it: among other things, the recipe called for one large cup of sugar.

From the Encyclopedia of Alabama:

The Lane cake, one of Alabama’s more famous culinary specialties, was created by Emma Rylander Lane of Clayton, Barbour County. It is a type of white sponge cake made with egg whites and consists of four layers that are filled with a mixture of the egg yolks, butter, sugar, raisins, and whiskey. The cake is frosted with a boiled, fluffy white confection of water, sugar, and whipped egg whites. The cake is typically served in the South at birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and other special occasions. The recipe was first printed in Lane’s cookbook Some Good Things to Eat, which she self-published in 1898.

According to chef and culinary scholar Neil Ravenna, Lane first brought her cake recipe to public attention at a county fair in Columbus, Georgia, when she entered her cake in a baking competition there and took first prize. She originally named the cake the Prize cake, but an acquaintance convinced her to lend her own name to the dessert.

The Recipe

Lane’s recipe states that the cake should be baked in medium pie tins lined on the bottom with ungreased brown paper, rather than in cake pans. She specified “one wine-glass of good whiskey or brandy” for the filling and that the raisins be “seeded and finely clipped.” She also insisted that the icing be tested with a clean spoon. In Lane’s time, the cake would have been baked in a wood stove. Lane also suggested that the cake is best if made a day or so in advance of serving, presumably to allow the flavors to meld. Lane used the cake recipe as the basis for other cakes in her book, some frosted with orange or lemon cream.

The Lane cake has been subjected to countless modifications and twists over the years. Coconut, dried fruit, and nuts are common additions to the filling described in the original recipe. Home bakers who wish to avoid the whiskey or brandy in the original recipe have substituted grape juice, especially for children’s birthdays. Another common variation is to ice the entire cake with the filling mixture. The Lane cake is often confused with the Lady Baltimore cake, another fruit-filled, liquor-laced dessert with a different pedigree.

In Alabama, and throughout the South, the presentation of an elegant, scratch-made, laborious Lane cake is a sign that a noteworthy life event is about to be celebrated. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Alabama native Harper Lee, character Maudie Atkinson bakes a Lane cake to welcome Aunt Alexandra when she comes to live with the Finch family. Noting the cake’s alcoholic kick, the character Scout remarks, “Miss Maudie baked a Lane cake so loaded with shinny it made me tight.” Shinny is a slang term for liquor.

Apples, Apples, Everywhere

This is one of my favorite times of year, apple season. I love apple cider and all kinds of apples. At various times in my life I’ve been lucky enough to spend fall days in orchards picking my own apples or buying fresh cider. Last week we had a baked apple recipe, so to continue a theme I’ll post more apple recipes over the next week or so. We’ll start with a twist on baked apples:

Snicker Apples

• 4 large Macintosh apples, cored
• 2-2 oz snickers candy bars, cut into 4 pieces, set end pieces aside
• 2 cups apple cider

large baking dish

Arrange apples in dish, using the middle sections from the snickers, press 1 piece each into each apple core. Pour apple cider over apples. Take snickers end pieces and place one on top of each apple, pressing down a bit so they don’t fall off. Bake 350 ° for 50-60 minutes

Vegan Recipes

Photo: Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times

Not sure how I missed this, but for the whole month of October, the LA Times has been posting a vegan recipe a day.  I thought it would be good to direct you there, the recipes look amazing.  And since I don’t have a lot of truly vegan recipes in my arsenal, I’m glad to have the assist.

The L.A. Times Test Kitchen, reporting for Vegan Month of Food duty

Well, we can’t call the Daily Dish a vegan blog. But the L.A. Times’ Test Kitchen turns out plenty of vegetarian — and vegan! — recipes. So, for the month of October, we’re joining Moskowitz’s challenge by publishing one recipe a day. (We’re going to do our best to stick with the vegan theme, but we reserve the right to hide behind a vegetarian recipe if we get desperate enough!)

At least by posting this late,  you avoid the suspense of waiting for the next recipe and can scroll at your leisure through the month.  Enjoy!

Men Who Cook: Michael Sigmon Fallai – A Taste of Italy

Time for my favorite time of the week, another Men Who Cook entry.   Tonight it is from Michael Sigmon Fallai, who I have enjoyed corresponding with during this series.  Check out his photos and his uncle’s book links below.  We’re going strong with the series, but there is still room for more, so join the fun and send me your story and recipes.  Now, here is Michael:  

My name is Michael Sigmon Fallai. I was born in the US but my mother is Florentine and I have spent a lot of time there since I was a kid – I consider it my ‘real’ hometown rather than where I was actually born. Every couple years or so, we spent most of the summer with relatives in Tuscany and Umbria. As a result, I speak very good Italian and I have dual citizenship as well.

Cooking came a bit late to me; though my mother is a wonderful cook (as was her mother Mafalda, and is my uncle Giampaolo), I’ve had to be a bit assertive about getting her to include me in the kitchen. She takes it very seriously so I’ve learned to do this little dance so I am not in her way, while at the same time keeping a close eye on what she’s doing.

I’ve also taken the initiative to learn new dishes. I often refer to an Italian edition of Artusi, “Kitchen Science and the Art of Eating Well”. It is difficult to find in English, but you can check for it at Amazon where I have seen both new and used copies for sale.

I consider my heritage – including my ability to speak the language well, and my deep connections to Florence, Tuscany and Umbria – to be a tremendous gift. Over time I’ve oriented certain tasks in my daily routine towards maintaining and strengthening that heritage; for instance, I keep up with the news in Italy through the websites of the major newspapers as well as watching a fair amount of  ”>Raitalia, the international distribution of RAI’s domestic television programming.

Cooking is most certainly one of those connections to my heritage. I don’t even mind cooking for one; it’s something I find relaxing as well as an opportunity to think about my Italian family and friends, including the great meals we’ve had together. To me, knowing Italian cuisine is as important as knowing the language. I’d even go as far as to say that each country’s cuisine is another language in which it speaks, each region with its own kitchen dialect.

I was asked to submit one of my favorite recipes. Given the theme of this site (keep it simple and delicious, in 30 minutes or less), I’ve decided on one of my favorite recipes which fits all three criteria plus one more. It is delicious; it is both easy and quick to fix; and it also has the virtue of providing both a meat dish and a very tasty red sauce which you can either use with pasta for the same meal, or store for another day.

As always, you should use good meat and fresh herbs – the fresher, the better.

SCALOPPINE ALLA LIVORNESE

(Chops Livornese Style)

• about 6 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil (use extra-virgin if you can)
• 4 medium sized, boneless 1/2 inch thick chops (around 2 lbs)
• -you can use lamb, veal or center-cut pork
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 6 fresh sage leaves, tied together
• (you can substitute 1 teaspoon of powdered sage for the bundle of 6 leaves… but fresh is always better!)
• salt and pepper

================

For your kitchen prep, you’ll need:

* a garlic press (or use pre-minced garlic… but you should really use fresh garlic!)

* a 2 quart bowl or other bowl large enough to hold 2 cups or so of liquid

* something to spoon sauce into the bowl

*a large frying pan with lid. Make sure it is large and deep enough to hold the chops plus the sauce. This is not a recipe where you want to discover too late that your pan was not big enough!

* a plate

* either another two plates or a covered container to hold the warmed chops.

* (optional) a small dish to hold the sauteed garlic

Crush the garlic and sauté it in a large frying pan on low heat. While it’s sautéing, you can prepare the chops. Put the flour on the first plate. Rinse each chop, pat it dry with paper towels, and coat both sides with flour. Place the chops on a second plate or in the uncovered container. Don’t forget about the sautéing garlic!

When the garlic is golden brown, take the pan off the burner and fish out the garlic, setting it aside either on the small dish or on the side of one of the plates.

Brown the chops on both sides. When done, place them on the second plate and cover them with the third plate, or place them in a covered container to keep them warm while you make the sauce.

Reduce heat and add the tomatoes, the tied bundle of sage leaves or powdered sage, the garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 10 minutes. Give it a stir about every couple minutes or so. Once the tomatoes have reduced some, give it a taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.

When it’s ready, take out the bundle of fresh sage. Remove about half the sauce into the bowl, leaving enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Place the chops on this ‘bed’ of sauce. Pour the bowl of removed sauce on top of the chops. Cover and cook on low for about 10 minutes.

That’s it. Have some of the sauce with the chops; use the rest on pasta for the same meal, or save it for another meal. If you save it for later, either freeze it or refrigerate and use within 3 days.

=============

This recipe is based partly on one found in the cookbook my uncle Giampaolo wrote, Mamma Si Mangia? It is a really delightful cookbook filled with recipes of this sort – authentic, delicious and quick – as well as his tales of growing up with nonna Mafalda in Florence. It is out-of-print but I have a few copies left which you can purchase. At that same website,I have a number of original photographic prints which you might enjoy if you love Italy too. Buon appetito!

Thank you Michael.  Can’t wait to try it.  Enjoy everyone.

Success!

Since Thursday’s menu included biscuits and since my last attempt at biscuits was a complete and utter disaster, I thought I should suck it up and try again tonight.  I am a happy to report the over timer went off, I opened the door to fluffy, golden biscuits.  They taste pretty good, too.

I decided to go back to my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, which I received as a high school graduation present, and has served me well for all the basics, and make sure I had the recipe right in my mind.  I did, but it was good to refresh.  I still have no idea why the last batch were rocks and this batch turned out great.  It is the way it is with cooking and why it’s always fun.

Thursday Night Menu: Beef Stew & Biscuits

There seems to be caramel apple dip on my computer keyboard. I don’t want to talk about it. Anyway, it is time for the Thursday menu.  In honor of the fall colors, it’s time to break out the slowcooker and make a traditional menu. How nice is it to come home from a day’s work or outdoor chores like raking leaves and have a hearty beef stew waiting for you? Add some biscuits and baked apples and you have the perfect fall dinner. On the board tonight:

1. Beef Stew
2. Wheat Biscuits
3. Baked Apples

Beef Stew

• 1 lb lean stew meat
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 4-6 small potatoes, quartered
• 8 oz baby carrots, halved
• pinch of rosemary
• 2 bay leaves (remove before serving)
• ½ tsp ea. salt & pepper
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 7 cups water
• 3 tbsp flour

slowcooker

Place meat, onion, potatoes, carrots & spices in slowcooker, add 6 cups water and cook according to slowcooker directions, (usually 8 to 10 hours on low). Before serving, turn heat to high, mix 1 cup water and flour completely, add to stew, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened.

Wheat Biscuits

• 1-1/2 cups white flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1/3 cup shortening
• ¾ cup milk

large bowl and baking sheet

Mix dry ingredients together, cut in shortening, add milk. Stir quickly with a fork until completely moistened, don’t over mix. Kneed gently on floured surface for 10-12 strokes. Roll out to ½ inch thick, cut into biscuits. Place on baking sheet and bake at 450° for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

Baked Apples

• 4 large apples (McIntosh, Honey Crisp, Gala, etc)
• 4 cinnamon stick
• ¼ cup raisins

glass baking dish

Core apples, place in baking dish, fill each core with a cinnamon stick and a few raisins. Add 1inch of water and bake at 425° until tender (about 30 minutes, though it depends on the size of the apple).

This menu serves 4.

Shopping List:

• 1 lb lean stew meat
• 1 small onion
• 4-6 small potatoes
• 8 oz baby carrots
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 4 large apples (McIntosh, Honey Crisp, Gala, etc)
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• ¼ cup raisins

Also: rosemary, bay leaves, salt, pepper, garlic, white flour, wheat flour, baking powder, and milk

To Kill A Mockingbird: Crackling Bread

The book that had the greatest influence over me as a child was To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. I read it for the first time when I was 12 and have read it every year or two since. My Gram Rullo gave me a hardbound copy that is probably my favorite gift ever - except for the two special rings my brothers won at the county fair when they are little and gave to me. Those I keep in a ring case in my jewelry box.

To Kill a Mockingbird is filled with food, good southern food, that as a child I’d never heard of before. It was an exotic world filled with scuppernongs and Lane cakes and of course, Bo Radley. I’ll start with Crackling Bread:

Perhaps Calpurnia sensed that my day had been a grim one: she let me watch her fix supper. “Shut your eyes and open your mouth and I’ll give you a surprise,” she said. It was not often that she made crackling bread, she said she never had time, but with both of us at school the day had been an easy one for her. She knew I loved crackling bread. “I missed you today,” she said.

Crackling Bread

• 1 1/2 c. cracklings or crisp bacon, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups white cornmeal
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven ot 450° and grease a heavy oven-proof skillet (cast iron works great). Or preheat to 350° and grease 12 count muffin tin, but do not preheat the tin.

Sift together dry ingredients and then mix in cracklings. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add buttermilk and egg. If batter seems to thick, you can add a bit of water.  Pour into a hot, greased skillet. Bake in 450 degree oven (or 375 degrees for muffins) for about 25 minutes or until light brown.