Pumpkin Fritters In the Age of Innocence

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If you have never tasted pumpkin fritters, you are not ready to die and go to heaven.  You must try them, you have nothing to loose..its not as if you are investing in caviar or filet mignon.  Next time you purchase butternut squash, buy a little extra, roast it and save a little.  Great for cocktails, or side dishes.... like little fried balls of squash puree.  To die for!


In Spanish we call them Frituras de Calabaza and they are usually made from a type of pumpkin-like squash that is round in shape and varies in size.  This squash is popular in the Caribbean as well as Central and South America. It is also commonly called a West Indian Pumpkin.  You can find them already cut in  most Latin markets for they are quite hard to get into.  The closest thing to the flavor and texture of calabaza in this country is Butternut Squash and that is what my mother used when we first came to the States.

Pumpkin fritters remind me of a dinner I attended about 10 years ago. The host and hostess, both wonderful people but a bit showy, just didn't know the phrase enough is enough. I had been warned by friends who had previously dined at their home, but I also had been told they had a cook who made the best pumpkin fritters on earth. When I was a little girl, we used to have a cook who made them and I hadn't had them in a long time. They were my favorite.

Sure enough,  cocktails went on for two hours.  Two  uniformed servers in white jackets and black bow ties passed one hors d'oeuvre after another and I paced myself,  anxiously waiting for the fabled pumpkin fritters.  Finally, there they were, the stars of the show and the beginning of my Waterloo.  Tray after silver tray of pumpkin fritters came out to ooohs! and ahhs! and I did not let one pass untouched.  My mother, sitting across from me in the living room,  kept giving me the evil eye..you know, the one that says, "You are making a pig of yourself. " But to no avail...I must have had a good dozen and dinner was yet to come.

Around ten o clock we were ushered into the dining room where a  table for 24 was dressed in Victorian splendor with plenty of silver accoutrements to make Queen Victoria blush.

These people came from another century. It was like having dinner in the Age of Innocence.   As soon as we sat down, three servers this time, serving a la russe, came out of the kitchen with the first course.   Keep in mind now, I was seated to the right of the hostess with  a Catholic priest in between.  Very Garcia Marquez meets the Thorn Birds. 

We started with a luscious crab cocktail  that was out of this world.  Large chunks of crab so fresh that they must have been caught just that afternoon.  Cream of squash soup followed,  devoured like it was the Last Supper, for anything squash is high on my list.  On to the main course of beef tenderloin with roasted potatoes and a vegetable mousse.  I think there were another two side dishes being passed around but by this time I was catatonic and hyperventilating and definitely in my own cocoon.  The priest, thank heavens, was having a lively chat with the hostess and the person across from him.  If he had tried to engage me,  no doubt he would have been met with glassy eyes and dead silence.

At some point, I started doing what I used to do when I was a child,  hiding bits in my napkin and hoping to excuse myself to the ladies room to dispose of them.  I kept looking at my hostess and noticed she would serve herself a bird's portion of each dish and kept talking and drinking with not a single morsel going into her mouth.  No wonder she looked so fresh; but by the time I caught on, I was a dead duck.

The dessert was the crowning glory, a cart rolled in with cakes, flans, cookies...don't ask me what else; but I noticed a couple of my favorites somewhere in the mix.  I must have dived into one of these too but I was so close to passing out that I kept trying to catch my mother's evil eye in case I made a fool of myself.   This time she wouldn't even look my way..oh boy, was I in trouble.

I won't go into what happened when I got home...I will leave that to your imagination.  Let's just say that for a long time the mere mention of pumpkin fritters sent me into convulsions and I avoided them like the plague.

Definitely a night to remember!

I haven't had pumpkin fritters since that night almost ten years ago.

I think its time.

If I could only trust myself to eat but a few...


Serves 12


Ingredients


1 1/2 pounds calabaza or butternut squash

2 tbsp butter

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups self rising flour

cooking oil


Directions

1.Peel calabaza, cut into chunks and boil in a large pot of water until tender.

2.Drain water and mash calabaza then drain again.

3.Mix 1 1/2 cups of mashed calabaza together with butter, egg and sugar.

4.Sift flour with nutmeg and cinnamon and add to calabaza mixture.

5.Mix well and drop spoonfuls into heated oil such as a deep fryer. Oil should be enough to cover fritters.

6.Cook until both sides are lightly browned and serve hot. Makes 12 Fritters.

A Classic Revamped...French Green Bean Casserole

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If you are a baby boomer, you grew up eating this.  However, you grew up eating the recipe that has Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup and regular green beans.   Well, I have news for you, this ain't it.  This is my remodeled, upgraded, stylized 2010 version of the old classic;  since to suggest, in this blog, that one open a can of condensed mushroom soup would be tantamount to heresy.  So read on, you will be comforted and thrilled to find out that the more things change, the more they almost stay the same.

It is interesting to see how some recipes come about.  I was looking for orange juice, of all things, when I passed an aisle at the grocery store dedicated to holiday cooking and baking and there, among the nuts and marshmallows, were the cans of French's fried onions.  Who would have thought!  Convinced that I had a can of cream of mushroom soup in my well stocked pantry, I started salivating and planning to make this long forgotten classic for dinner.  Sure enough, when I got home no can of mushroom soup, but some leftover fresh mushrooms from heaven know what in the refrigerator.  Mmmm...

For many years, this casserole was a favorite Thanksgiving side dish.  You might want to revive it!


Serves 6

Ingredients:


•8 ounces fresh baby bella or shitaake mushrooms, brushed clean, trimmed, and quartered

•2 - 3 TB butter

•1 pound frozen french cut green beans, cooked for 3 minutes and drained

•1 TB flour (hefty!)

•1/2 cup heavy cream, half-and-half or milk

•2 teaspoons soy sauce

•1 can (2.8 ounces) French's fried onions,

•1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, or to taste

•Kosher salt to taste


Procedure:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. F.

Place a heavy skillet over medium high heat. When pan is hot, add mushrooms and butter. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Saute mushrooms on high until browned.  Lower heat and add the flour.  Mix well for 1 minute.  Add the cream and a little milk,  add white pepper and stir until it thickens.  You may need to add more milk if sauce is too thick even though  you want a consistency similar to that of condensed cream soup.

Add beans, and soy sauce. Mix until combined.

Pour green bean mixture into a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish. Add fried onions to cover.  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbly and the onions are browned and crispy.

Arroz Con Leche...Rice Pudding

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This is the rice pudding I grew up with and the one I still pester my mother to make.  It is light, mellow, not too sweet and very white, nothing like the yellow goop with raisins you find premade at the deli.  Once you try this recipe, nothing else will ever do!

The key here is the lime peel and the use of whole milk rather than evaporated or condensed milk.  If you can't find limes go ahead and use lemon peel, but I much prefer the former.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white rice

• 1½ cups water

• 1 small piece of lime peel.

• 1 small cinnamon stick

• 4 cups milk

• 1 cup sugar

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• cinnamon powder


Preparation:

Boil the water, lime peel, and cinnamon stick. Add rice. As soon as the rice begins to boil, turn down
the heat, stir, and cover. Cook until soft, about 20 minutes.

Add the milk, salt, vanilla and sugar. Cook at medium-low heat, uncovered, until it gets thick and rice has absorbed most of the milk. Stir once in awhile so it will not stick.

Fish out the cinnamon stick and pour into a bowl or several individual bowls and sprinkle with powdered cinnamon. 

Let cool and stick in the refrigerator.  Serve cold.


Source: Cocina Criolla by Nitza Villapol

An Elegant Fall Menu For The Ladies Who Lunch...Apple Fall With Maple Cream

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One of the best transit systems in this country is in New York City.  I can't tell you a lot about the subway, since I refuse to ride it since 9/11,  but the buses are terrific, my favorite the M1- 4 along  5th Avenue heading south with the Madison Avenue one northbound.  I used to take both these buses to work every day when I lived in the city and it was a great start to my day.  Of course, you are riding along two of the chicest avenues in the world and the view of Central Park in the morning is second only to the action in the avenue. 

On the last day of my visit last month,   I was returning home on Madison Avenue around 4 o'clock when someone hopped on the bus that made me giggle.  A tall  40 -something young lady, dreadfully thin, with beatifully styled long blond hair , perfectly groomed,  dressed to the hilt, Hermes bag, unbukled of course,  a sytlish camel suit with silk blouse and pearls, a gold Cartier tank watch and very chic Manolo Blanik shoes.  The minute she sat down, she pulled her Smythson diary out of her bag and made some notes.  Well, well, well...nobody dresses like that in New York, at that hour of the day, unless you are, of course,one of the Ladies Who Lunch!  I'm not going to even venture a guess as to where she had just recently lunched for the possibilities are endless, but it goes to show you the kind of people who ride the bus in NYC



Nan Kempner, Pat Buckley and Betsy Bloomingdale



In case I haven't mentioned it before, Ladies Who Lunch is a phrase to describe "slim, well-off, old-money, well-dressed women who meet for lunch socially, normally during the working week. Typically, the women involved are married and non-working. Normally the lunch is in a restaurant, perhaps in a department store during shopping. Sometimes there is the pretext of raising money for charity." (Wikipedia)  That was before the Reagan years.  Since then, these ladies, some of whom employ full time chefs in their households, sometimes meet at home for an elegant lunch, no pretext of charity necessary.

The phrase was popularized by Elaine Stritch in the play Company by Stephen Sondheim. Take a look!

This dessert is from Anne Bass' chef and appears in the book R.S.V.P by Nan Kempner, a hostess par excellence, clothes horse and Chairman Emeritus of the Ladies Who Lunch.  Everytime I passed Mortimer's, their  favorite restaurant now defunct,  there she was in her corner table by the window.  Mrs. Kempner passed away a few years ago.  Nobody has been able to take her place.  Other members of the club in those days were Mrs. Alfred (Betsy) Bloomingdale, Nancy Reagan's best friend, Mrs. William (Pat) Buckley, Mrs. Oscar (Annette) de la Renta, and Princess Marie Chantal of Greece, chairman in training of the young set.

A Fall Lunch 

Curried Pumpkin And Leek Flans

Roasted Chicken Thighs With Breadcrumbs and Mushrooms

Yellow Rice Pilaf With Raisins And Almonds

Green Salad

Apple Fall with Maple Cream
(recipe follows)

Apple Fall With Maple Cream

The secret to this cake is the salted butter, something which is seldom used in baking

Serves 8

1 stick plus 3 TB salted butter

11 Tb sugar

3 large Mutsu apples

1 1/2 C all purpose flour

2C whole milk

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Confectioners suggar for dusting

Maple Cream

1/4 cup maple sugar

1 pint heavy cream

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375

Grease a 9 inch springform pan with 2 TB butter & dust with 2 Tb sugar.  Peel and core 2 apples and slice very thin. Layer apple sclices in concentric circles until bottom of the pan is covered.  Sprinkle the apple slices with 1 Tb sugar and dot with 1 Tb butter.  Place the pan in the oven and bake for 30 mins or until the apples are tender.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

Sift the flour together with 6 Tb sugar in a large mixing bowl.  In a cup whisk together the milk and eggs.  Make a well in center of the dry ingredients and pour milk mixture, whisking constantly, until thoroughly combined.

In a small saucepan, melt remaining 1/2 C butter with the vanilla in low heat.  Gradually combine with the batter, whisking constantly to combine.

Peel and core the remaining apple and slice very thin.  Pour the batter over the cooked apple slices and arrange the fresh-cut apple slices on top.  Sprinkle with the remaining 2 TB sugar and bake for 1 hour or until cake is puffed., golden and crusty around the edges.  Remove from oven and cool over wire rack for 15-20 minutes.

Make the maple cream while cake cools.  Using a whisk add the maple sugar to cream and beat briskly until soft peaks form.

Invert cake into a serving platter, dust with confectioners sugar and serve warm with the maple cream.


Wine: A robust California Chardonnay or French Burgundy can be served throughout the meal, but not too dry because of the curried flans


All Photos except #2 are by Quentin Bacon  in the book R.S.V.P. by Nan Kempner, unfortunately out of print

Photo #2 Google

Camembert Croquettes

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The holidays are coming and with it a lot of celebrations and parties.  I am sure you will be serving plenty of cheese and crackers, something I try to avoid, particularly if there is something else to choose from. Why spend those calories!

I don't know if you have noticed, but cheese has gotten quite expensive and to top that, guests barely touch it when there are other exiting things being passed around.    In the past, I have been guilty of having a plate of cheese and crackers, as a filler,  and invariably, I end up throwing most of it away after I've tired of the leftovers. Yes, I know, it's an easy thing to pull together but believe me, at a big party,  it will only go to waste.   

To me spending money on cheese makes sense when you serve it like the French, after dinner and before or in lieu of dessert.  Then, by all means, spend it on your favorites, but you don't need to go overboard when three different cheeses will do.  I usually serve a Camembert which, to me, is a little more interesting than a  Brie, paired with one of my favorites, Stilton, and some type of  goat cheese.  Fig marmalade to accompany and English crackers are all you need to go with it, but don't forget the port!

I came across this simple recipe in the Worldwide Gourmet and thought I would share it with you if case you decide to go to Costco and stock up on all their great cheeses.  Great prices but have you notice their size? After a week of making myself sick trying to justify their purchase, I am always looking for things to do with what remains.  In this house, NOTHING, ever gets thrown away.  Remember those poor kids in China?? Who would have thought they would end up supporting our debt!

You can substitute Brie for the Camembert or something else with the same consistency.  Check out the Manchego and Serrano Croquettes I posted awhile back.  They are definitely something I would spend my calories on!

Total time: 30 to 60 minutes

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes


Ingredients

- 1 Camembert

- 100 g (6 tbsp.) butter + 20 g (4 tsp.) for the baking sheet

- 40 g (1/4 cup) flour

- 40 g (1/4 cup) cornstarch

- 150 ml (10 tbsp.) milk

- 1 egg

- 1 tbsp. oil

- 250 ml (1 cup) breadcrumbs

- Salt and cayenne

- Oil for frying

Method

1.Make the béchamel sauce: melt the butter; when foamy, add the flour and cornstarch; let color slightly; remove the pan from the heat; whisk the roux while slowly adding the milk; return to the heat and continue whisking until thickened; season with salt and cayenne.

2.remove the rind from the camembert; cut the cheese into strips; add to the béchamel and let melt for 5 minutes, stirring constantly;

3.butter a baking sheet; pour the mixture on it and spread evenly; let cool;

4.heat the frying oil in a pan;

5.in a bowl, beat the egg with 1 tbsp. oil; pour the breadcrumbs in another plate;

6.cut the cheese mixture into squares or sticks; dip each piece in egg, then breadcrumbs; repeat until all the cheese is breaded;

7.fry the croquettes in hot oil for a few minutes; turn so that they brown on both sides; drain on paper towels; place on a serving platter, cover with a cloth to keep them hot and serve immediately.

Cooks Note

Here's an idea..melt some hot pepper jelly or fig preserves and serve as a sauce to accompany the croquettes!

Recipe adapted from Worldwide Gourmet

Sunday Family Dinner...Braised Beef Brisket

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This is great comfort food for a cold evening.

 If you want something inexpensive that feeds an army and is easy to make, there is nothing better than a beef brisket.  Even though it takes time in the oven, it's idle time.  Make it on a day you are going to be home for a few hours and, if you can, wait and serve it the next day.

With a little bit of time and the proper cooking method, even the toughest piece of meat can be made palatable. Brisket is one of the least tender cuts of beef, but it can be made tender and the flavor is tough to beat.

What is brisket?

Brisket is a beef cut taken from the breast section beneath the first five ribs, behind the foreshank.

Fresh brisket is an inexpensive boneless cut that requires long, slow cooking to break down the collagen in the connective muscle tissues achieve tenderness. The long piece is cut in half for marketing. You'll find it sold as a flat cut or a point cut. The flat cut is leaner, but the point cut has more flavor due to a bit of extra fat (called the deckel).

In traditional Jewish cooking, brisket is most often braised as a pot roast, especially as a holiday main course usually served at Rosh Hashannah, Passover, and Shabbat. For reasons of economics, it was historically one of the more popular cuts of beef among Ashkenazi Jews. In current times, however, brisket is most often associated with barbecue-style cooking.


I have to confess that the only other time I've had brisket was at school and it was disgusting. A boiled to death  grey mass.  We usually made a bee line back to the room for cheese and crackers.  This is nothing like that, for you do brown it first and then cook it in a delicious tomato sauce for around 3 1/2 hours.

Once you have made this fairly basic and delicious recipe, you can improve on it and make it your own.  You can add red wine, or beer, make a rub with salt , garlic and paprika, or add mustard and light brown sugar.  There are many a recipes for brisket so whatever you do will be considered original.

I will be posting an oven braised barbecued beef brisket in the country blog in a couple of days...don't miss it., It's now my favorite way!



yield: Makes 4 (main course) or 6 (as part of hash)
active time: 35 min
total time: 4 hr


Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 (2-pounds) piece beef brisket (preferably second-cut)

2 large white onions, chopped

4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch pieces

6 garlic cloves

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 cup beef stock or reduced-sodium beef broth

1 (28-ounces) can crushed tomatoes



Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in lower third.

Heat oil in a wide 5-to 6-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Season brisket with 1 tsp each of salt and pepper, then brown brisket, turning once, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onions to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Add carrots, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Add vinegar, stirring and scraping up brown bits. Add stock and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Return brisket to pot, nestling it in braising liquid (liquid will not cover meat). Cover with a tight-fitting lid and braise in oven until fork-tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours.


Cooks' note:

Brisket is best if made at least 1 day ahead (and up to 3 days) and chilled (covered once cool). Skim off fat before reheating.

Adapted from Gournet Magazine

Yellow Rice Pilaf With Raisins & Almonds

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This is a much simpler version of Colin Cowie's Aromatic Basmati Rice or as I like to call it, Basmatic Rice.  It is the one I use for family and casual weeknight entertaining when I'm cooking certain chicken or fish recipes and want something sweet and sour to complement the dish.

Rice is the traditional accompaniment in most Latin dishes and as such, we have as many recipes as Americans have for potatoes.  If my mother could have gotten away with it, we would have had rice every night of the week.  White, yellow, with vegetables, mushrooms or chicken bouillon... any combination she could think of.  So I grew up eating lots of rice and not as many potatoes.  Saffron used to be the traditional spice we used in those days but with the astronomical price you now have to pay for a few threads, well, you just have to be creative.  I found some at Marshall's a few weeks ago and bought the entire lot.  It is safely tucked away in the back of my jewelry box.

Saffron threads an saffron powder

I have started using turmeric as a less expensive alternative for coloring the rice and almost have the family convinced that they like it.  But it's been an uphill battle so if you don't care for turmeric, by all means, substitute saffron.  In that case, I sometimes add a teaspoon of tomato paste for a different dimension and omit the cinnamon stick!  You will be left with essentially a Cuban yellow rice with raisins and almonds...not a bad combination!

Tumeric root and tumeric powder

Monks in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon

Yellow Rice Pilaf With Raisins And Almonds

Servings: 8


Ingredients

2 TB butter

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 bay leaf

3 cups light chicken stock

2 cups long-grain rice

1/2 cinnamon stick

One 1-inch piece of tangerine or orange zest, white pith removed

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup sliced almonds (about 2 ounces)

1/2 cup raisins or yellow raisins(about 3 ounces)

Chopped Parsley


 Directions

1.In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and sautee the chopped onions until translucent.  Add the bay leaf halfway through.  Combine the chicken broth with the rice, cinnamon stick, tangerine zest, salt and turmeric. Stir well and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over very low heat until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, 15 to 17 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat. Add the almonds and cook, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in the raisins and remove from the heat. Add to rice together with the chopped parsley.  Fluff gently with a fork to combine. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

If you want a little flair in your presentation, sprinkle a little shredded coconut on top

Cooks Note.

If you want to keep this simpler, saute the almonds and raisins first and transfer to a plate.  Wipe the pan and proceed to step #1.  I hate cleaning up so I am always thinking of ways to cut back on pans


Photos Getty Images
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