Midnight Feasts

May Southworth  wrote a series of cookbooks at the turn of the last century for a small publishing house in San Francisco called Paul Elder.  Most of the tall, thin cookbooks have titles like 101 whatever, like cake or Mexican dishes or sandwiches.  The 1914 Midnight Feasts broke that mold, featuring a collection of different types of recipes in a larger selection of 202 recipes.

In her introduction Southworth writes:

" There are few social relaxations that are pleasanter than midnight suppers, and they have always had a certain secret fascination, as of forbidden temptations."

Now days, a midnight feast might be cold pizza or peanut butter, but May Southworth had other ideas. She was looking for recipes that would be easy, mostly salads and lightly cooked fare from that miracle of culinary devices, the chafing-dish.

The recipes are rather cryptic with simple titles that bear no resemblance to the dish that they describe.  Salads are called Devonshire, Daisy, Old Virginia, Grotto, and Sing Lee. 
Just as the titles give little idea what we will be making, the directions, too, carry that vague quality of early 20th century cookbooks.  Here is one salad option:

Nippon

Wash shell-mussels clean, using a brush.  Place them in a wire basket, and set in boiling water.  When the shells open, lift the basket, remove from the shells and drop them into hot melted butter, seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon-juice. Set on the ice, and when ready to serve mix with shredded lettuce and French dressing.  With it serve thin buttered sandwiches of Boston brown bread.

While these recipes don't offer a lot of direction, on can see that a salad of cold mussels and bit of bread would make a fine midnight snack.  Like many an early cookbook, these little gems are a fine place to glean ideas if not actual recipes. 

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Merchant of Sonoma

As one might expect, we just love Williams-Sonoma.  So it is fitting and proper that we feature Merchant of Sonoma on Chuck Williams 99th birthday.  William Warren's Merchant of Sonoma tells the story of Chuck Williams and his now famous cookery store.

On May 1, 1953, Chuck Williams saw Paris for the first time...and as they say, the rest was history.  Williams was a fine amateur cook living in the sleepy village of Sonoma.  He was looking for a business opportunity when he ran across a  hardware store.  The building would house a couple of other small businesses and provide an income. He would keep the hardware store and add a few household items.  It would be a big move, so he left with friends for a trip to Europe.

In Paris, Williams found wonderful items to stock a kitchen.  Items that were unknown to most of America.  Williams loved the simple foods and fancy cookware and an idea was born.  Williams kept his hardware store, but gradually realized that the hardware he wanted to sell was the hardware for the kitchen.  Williams began importing items he had seen in France to Sonoma and selling them in his shop and through the mail.  

Clearly, it was an idea whose time had come.  It is still coming.  Along with hardware, Williams included a few select pantry items.  One of his first was Italian balsamic vinegar.  This simple salad was one of Williams' favorites.  He carefully explains that in Italy, the oil and vinegar are not mixed together. A salad is tossed first in the vinegar, then tossed in the oil.  They believe the oil holds in the vinegar and prevents it from dripping to the bottom of the bowl.

Blacksmith Salad

6 servings
1 large or 2 small heads butter lettuce
1 piece Parmesan cheese, 3 oz.
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Chill salad bowl but do not allow it to become too cold or the lettuce leaves will stick to it. 

Discard any tough or discolored outer lettuce leaves. Separate, rinse and thoroughly dry remaining leaves, then tear any larger leaves into pieces. Place in chilled salad bowl. Using vegetable peeler, slice Parmesan cheese into very thin chips and scatter over lettuce. Sprinkle with vinegar and salt and toss well. Drizzle oil over top and toss again. Serve on individual plates. 

With his expert eye for detail and his love of great food, Chuck Williams built an empire, an adult candyland for the home cook.  

                                                         Happy Birthday Mr. Williams.

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Florida Salads

This little gem from 1915 is called Florida Salads.  There seems to be no real thesis presenting why these salads are particularly Floridian.  One might imagine that the temperate weather allows for fresh greens throughout the year, thus making salads a "Florida" thing and the author does mention the climate as a good reason for a salad on every table.  Or, maybe is is simply because this little book was published in Florida. 

While there is no information about the author, Frances Barber Harris, she has subtitled her book: "A collection of dainty, wholesome salad recipes that will appeal to the most fastidious."

The book is divided into the following sections:

Card Party Salads
Dinner Salads
Luncheon Salads
Salad Dressings
Salad Sandwiches

She writes:

"If the writer can impress upon the readers of this little salad book the importance of eating salads, the writing of it will not be in vain."

While none of these recipes will be earth shattering, it is an interesting look into a different time period.  There are a lot of salads that involve slicing a fruit in half, scooping out the seed and serving it with -- a spoon.  One really can't differentiate much between the salads in each section of the book.   There is no real key as to why one might be a Card Party salad as opposed to a Luncheon salad.

Loquat Salad

Wash and slice loquats and kumquats thin, mix with sliced boiled chestnuts and serve on lettuce with mayonnaise.

You guess.  When does one serve Loquat Salad?  According to Harris, at Luncheon.

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Mad Men Cookbook

Actually, it is The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook as no one wants to get sued by the "official" Mad Men. So after a seventeen month hiatus, the boys are back in town. There is a thriving business in putting together this type of tie-in cookbook. Some of them are just slapped together, but Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin have done a wonderful job with this one.

One of the reasons that Mad Men has attained such a cult following is their exacting attention to detail. Creator Matt Weiner says it has become something of a game as viewers look for any little detail that is out of place. (Check out this short Q & A with property manager Gay Perello.) Gelman and Zheutlin have followed Weiner's exacting attention to detail. They have culled recipes from the popular cookbooks of the day as well as from some of the regular haunts of the Mad Men including, "21" Club, Keens Steakhouse, El Morocco, Stork Club, and Trader Vic's.

There are recipes for Pineapple Upside Down Cake featuring the new electric skillet-frypan, Date nut bread from Pat Nixon's contribution to Hints from Heloise, and John Kennedy's favorite daiquiri from Bacardi's "Be A Drink Expert" pamphlet. The book is chocked full of tidbits and facts and recipes that would actually find their way to a Mad Men table.

While definitely retro, The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook has its own blog filled with more fun Man Men info.

Here is a classic that is still classical...

Caesar Salad
courtesy of Executive Chef Bill Rodgers, Keens’ Steakhouse, New York, New York

For the salad

3 1/2 cups clean, cut romaine lettuce
2 ounces Caesar Dressing (see recipe below)

For the topping

1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

For the garnish

Raw egg yolk
4 thin slices pimiento
2 anchovy filets, cut in half (4 pieces)
Caesar Croutons (see recipe below)

1. Make the salad: Place lettuce in a serving bowl. Toss with dressing.

2. Sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano on top, garnish with egg yolk, pimento, anchovy filets, and croutons and toss well.

Caesar Dressing

1 1/2 ounces water
1 ounce lemon juice
3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup pure olive oil
1 1/2 ounces red wine vinegar
1 egg yolk
6 peeled garlic cloves
10 Italian anchovy filets
2 2/3 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano -Reggiano cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoons light brown sugar
3/4 tablespoon dry mustard
3/4 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1. Make the dressing: Combine the water and lemon juice in a measuring cup and set aside.

2. Combine canola and olive oils in a measuring cup and set aside.

3. In the blender, combine the remaining ingredients and mix for 10 seconds. With the blender running, slowly begin to add the combined oils in a slow and steady stream. As you continue to add the oil, the mixture will begin to thicken. When the mixture thickens, thin it out with 1/3 of the water/lemon juice mixture. Repeat this process until all the oil has been incorporated.

4. Chill dressing until cold.

Caesar Croutons

Note: Place the bread in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before slicing to make it easier to cut even squares.

Whole melted butter can be substituted for the clarified butter, but will brown the croutons faster. To make clarified butter, melt 4 tablespoons of butter slowly in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit until it separates. Skim off the foam that rises to the top, and gently pour the butter off of the milk solids, which will have settled to the bottom.

6 slices white bread, crusts removed and cut into 1/4-inch squares (see note above)
2 tablespoons clarified butter, melted (see note above)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, parsley and thyme)
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Toss bread cubes in a bowl with the remaining ingredients.

2. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or just until slightly browned and crisp. Let cool at room temperature before serving. Store covered in an airtight container.

While I am trying to get used to that fact that there are no more zombies on my Sunday nights, I will say that between Walking Dead and Mad Men the food is definitely better with Don than Shane.

Next Week: Peggy is given new responsibility.

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Quick Gourmet Dinners

We love Margo Rieman. We know she wrote a food column for Cosmopolitan Magazine. We feature her cookbook, Twelve Company Dinners and since then, we have received numerous e-mails asking about Margo Rieman. I do hope that one day someone, ANYONE, who knew her will drop us a line about her. She looks like she would be more fun to sit in a kitchen with and talk about food, or anything else for that matter.

Her book Quick Gourmet Dinners is a very gook book for anyone, but is especially handy for a beginner. At first glance, this might seem like a light weight vanity piece, but the recipes are solid and quite good. And above everything else, Rieman is funny and helpful.

She recounts the time a friend found no lemon juice to make a vinaigrette, so he used gin. Rieman not only perfected the recipe but offers up the suggestion to try it dry vermouth.

Gin Salad

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons gin
Dash Tabasco
1 clove garlic, mashed
Pinch dry mustard
Salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and let sit, stirring occasionally, until serving time. Then, pour over greens and toss.

note: a little more gin can be added, but not so much that you identify its flavor as such.

Who doesn't love a good gin salad, however Rieman and I differ. I think a "ginny" taste would be fine!

Here is what she tells us about using this book.

"...my kind of cooking does not require hours of precious time (which I seldom have), a Cordon Bleu background (which I lack), or an enormous collection of kitchen equipment... Basically, I cook with a couple of saucepans, a couple of frying pans, and a big pot..."

One really can't go wrong with any of Rieman's books. Again, if you by chance knew her...let us know.

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Cold Cuisine

In the late 1970' and 1980's, Helen Hecht wrote a series of lovely cookbooks, including Cold Cuisine. The book has a lot of salads and soups and refreshing deserts. As with most old cookbooks, it is a product of its era. Cold Cuisine is very much a a regular book, a simple octavo unadorned by photos and thus very different from the vast majority of the cookbooks published today. Perhaps the grand size and all those colored pictures are simply a mask to conceal the actual recipes. I know it seems much easier to cook from a photo than from the blank canvas of a printed recipe, but in time those photos will be as dated as avocado appliance. In the end, it is the recipes that make the book.



Helen Hecht writes of cold cuisine:



"The appearance of a dish is especially important in the summer. While a steaming hot cassoulet may require no further embellishment than its own enticing aroma and an appetite stimulated by winter chill, summer food must rouse appetites languishing or dormant in stifling weather. You can transform an ordinary-looking dish into something attractive and appealing with a few simple touches and an eye for color, arrangement , and detail."



It might come as no surprise that Helen Hecht was married to the poet Anthony Hecht, as her brief introduction is a poetic tribute to cuisine. When I read this recipe, it seemed to be a simple salad. That it is, but taking into consideration Hecht's description of transforming a cold weather dishes, a simple salad might just be the starting point. Before you toss a bag of lettuce into a bowl, think of how it might be transformed with tiny black olives, rich green avocado, and bursting red tomatoes.

Al Fresco Salad



8 thin slices bacon

2 ripe avocados

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 medium-size, ripe tomatoes

1 cup black pitted olives, halved

1 small Bermuda onion, peeled and sliced thin

2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)

1/2 pound fresh spinach, washed and stemmed and dried

salt

freshly ground pepper

1 recipe of Basic Vinaigrette (below)



Sauté bacon till crisp, drain on paper towels. Peel avocados, slice into bowl and toss with lemon juice. Core the tomatoes and chop into bite-size pieces. Combine bacon, avocados, tomatoes, olives, onion, blue cheese, and spinach in a bowl. Season to taste.





Basic Vinaigrette



1 garlic clove peeled and cut in half

3/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons wine vinegar

Combine and let stand for several hours. Remove garlic before using.

Enjoy the last of the garden and Fall is waiting in the wings.

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Recipes Of All Nations

Many cooks of the thirties, including Elizabeth David, were enamored of Countess Morphy's Recipes Of All Nations. There is very little known about Countess Morphy, though many believe she is a "countess" in that same way Prince is a "prince", that is in name only. Still the Countess knew how to collect recipes. This rather massive tome contains over 800 recipes from 29 countries.



This copy bears an introduction by the well-known 1950's television cook, Philip Harben. Harben states that while he has not cooked all 800 recipes, he has cooked over a dozen and boldly states, "I have never found Countess Morphy once to be in error."



There is a large section on Creole cookery and more than one person believes that before she was the "Countess", she was Marcelle Azra Hincks or maybe Forbes from New Orleans. Her section on Creole recipes features a calas recipe. This is a great old New Orleans recipe that is making a bit of a comeback in cooking circles.

Calas (Breakfast rice fritters)

These delicious breakfast fritters or cakes were sold by the old Creole negro women, and their familiar and harmonious street cry of “Bel calas, bel calas, tout chauds!” was heard in all the streets of the French quarter at breakfast time. They went their daily round carrying on their heads a covered wooden bowl containing the hot Calas – picturesque figures they must have been, with their brightly coloured bandana tignons or head-dress, their blue check dresses and their spotless white aprons. The negro cooks would dash out to secure the freshly made hot Calas, which were eaten with the morning cup of coffee. The following is the traditional recipe for Calas:

Ingredients: ½ a cup of rice, 3 cups of water, 3 eggs, 3 tablespoons of flour, ½ a cup of sugar, about 1 oz or a little under of yeast, lard or oil.

Method: Put the water in a saucepan, bring to the boil and add the rice. Boil till the rice is very soft and mushy. Remove from the saucepan and, when quite cold, mix with the yeast dissolved in warm water. Set the rice to rise overnight. In the morning, beat the eggs thoroughly, add them to the rice, with the sugar and flour. Beat all well and make into a thick batter. Set aside to rise for another 15 minutes. Have ready a deep frying pan with hot oil or lard, drop into it 1 tablespoon of the mixture at a time, and cook till a light golden colour. When done, remove them from the fat, drain well by placing them on a sieve or in a colander, sprinkle with sugar and serve very hot.

My copy of this book was used exclusively for the Austro-Hungarian recipes. (There are notes and checks.) This seemed to be a favorite. The "paprika" here refers to the actual pepper so the Countess should have translated it as a Pepper Salad.

Paprika Salat (Paprika Salad)



The paprikas are either boiled or baked till tender and served with salad dressing made of 2 tablespoons of oil to 1 of vinegar, salt, pepper, and a little sugar.

AS you can see, there are just more countries than we have time for here.

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Williams-Sonoma Salads

I am a big fan of Georgeanne Brennan. Williams-Sonoma Salads is another one of her delightful compilations.
After everyone has over indulged in Thanksgiving festivities, I though a nice light salad would be fun. Actually, this recipe has often found itself on many a Thanksgiving and Christmas table.

If you served it, try adding a bit of leftover turkey for an interesting alternative to a sandwich.

Celery Root Remoulade

1 large or 2 medium celery roots(celeriac), peeled and cut into rounds 1/4 thick

Salt

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup mayonnaise

2 to 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

In a saucepan, combine the celery root, 1 teaspoon of salt, lemon juice, and water to cover by about 2 inches.
bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook 3-4 minutes. The celery root should be tender but not mushy. Drain well and, using a sharp knife, slice into thinner rounds, then cut into very thin strips. Alternatively, stack the slices and use a mandolin to shred the,. Place in a bowl.

In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons of the mustard. Taste the mixture. it should be well seasoned with the mustard but still taste of both ingredients.. Add mote mustard as desired. Pour the dressing over the celery root and mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours before serving.

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The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual

The story goes...

Two Italian kids who grew up together in Queens, then reunited to open an Italian-American restaurant in Brooklyn. It is not such a far-fetched story. It happens all the time. What makes this story different are the two friends, Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo. "The Franks", as the duo became known, opened an Italian restaurant, Frankies Sputino, featured fresh ingredients, simple preparation, and a relaxed dining room. Soon, their relaxed style of food and fun became a frequent stopping place for in-the-know New Yorkers.

Nest step...

A cookbook, of course. The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual gives the average reader a how-to in pasta making, sauce sauce simmering, and meatball rolling. Filled with rustic drawings and kitchen tips, "The Franks" offer up btheir simple style with everything a modern cook will need to cook like grandma.


Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo are not your average "pretty-boy" chefs. If they tell you to sit down and eat your meatballs, chances are, you will! Their food is simple, fresh and authentic. In their hands, a simple salad becomes a perfect spuntino.

Tomato, Avocado and Red Onion Salad

2 large ripe tomatoes
1 small (or 1/2 medium) red onion, thinly sliced
Fine sea salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Hass avocados
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Core the tomatoes and slice into wedges. Combine with the sliced onion, a large pinch of salt, and the olive oil and vinegar in a large bowl. Gently toss, and divide among four serving plates.

2. Halve, pit, peel, and slice the avocados and divide among the four plates. Sprinkle the avocado with a small pinch of salt and drizzle each plate with a little olive oil. Finish with a few grinds of black pepper just before the salad goes to the table.

Now sit down and eat.

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The Art of Simple Food

Salad: Open a bag of lettuce. Twist off the top of that Ranch dressing and add to lettuce. Salad right? You are so very wrong. If you don't believe me, then tell that to Alice Waters. In her book The Art of Simple Food: Notes and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution, she waxes downright poetic about the simple garden salad. In Waters' hands it doesn't seem the least bit simple.

"For me, making a garden lettuce salad — washing beautiful fresh-picked lettuces and tossing them together with a scattering of herbs and a vinaigrette — is as much of a joy as eating one. I love the colorful variety of lettuces, bitter and sweet; the flavor and complexity of herbs such as chervil and chives; and the brightness of a simple vinaigrette made with red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a whisper of garlic, which highlights the lettuces and herbs without overwhelming them.

For a salad to have flavor and life, you have to start with fresh, just-picked lettuces. I’m fortunate to have a small kitchen garden in my backyard where I grow various lettuces and herbs for salad, but if you don’t have such a garden it can take some real dedication to find good greens. Farmers markets are the best places to start. When my garden is not producing, or when I’m away from home, I shop for head lettuces and try to create my own combinations of lettuces, arugula, chicories, and whatever tender herbs I can find. I generally avoid the salad mixes, especially the pre-bagged ones, which usually seem to include one or two kinds of greens that don’t belong with the others. If there is a lovely mixture from a local salad grower, fine, but otherwise try to buy the best head lettuces you can find and make your own mix.

Wash the lettuce, gently but thoroughly, in a basin or bowl of cold water. First cull through the lettuces, pulling off and throwing into the compost bin any outer leaves that are tough, yellowed, or damaged. Then cut out the stem end, separating the rest of the leaves into the water. Gently swish the leaves in the water with your open hands and lift the lettuce out of the water and into a colander. If the lettuces are very dirty, change the water, and wash again.

Dry the lettuces in a salad spinner, but don’t overfill it. It’s much more effective to spin-dry a few small batches than one or two large ones. Empty the water from the spinner after each batch. Any water clinging to the leaves will dilute the vinaigrette, so check the leaves and spin them again if they’re still a little wet. I spread out each batch of leaves in a single layer on a dish towel as I go. Then I gently roll up the towel and put it in the refrigerator until it’s time to serve the salad. You can do this a few hours ahead.

When the time comes, put the lettuce in a bowl big enough to allow you to toss the salad. If you have some, add a small handful of chives or chervil, or both, either chopped quickly or snipped with scissors.

Toss everything with the vinaigrette, using just enough sauce to coat the leaves lightly, so they glisten. Beware of overdressing small, tender lettuces: They will wilt and turn soggy. I usually toss salads with my hands. (I eat salads with my hands, too.) That way I can be gentle and precise and make sure that each leaf is evenly dressed. Taste, and if needed, finish the salad with a sprinkling of salt or brighten it with a splash of vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste again and see what you think, then toss one last time and serve the salad right away."

OK. There you have it. Here is a fave salad variation. I adore cukes and this gives a variety of ways to go about making a lowly cucumber into a divine salad.

Cucumbers with Cream and Mint

There are many varieties of cucumbers, each with its own flavor and texture. I especially like Armenian, Japanese, and lemon cucumbers.

Peel and slice:

2 cucumbers

If the seeds are large and tough, cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon before slicing. Place in a medium-size bowl and sprinkle with:

Salt

In another bowl, combine:

1/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Fresh-ground black pepper

Stir well. If water has accumulated with the cucumbers, drain it off. Pour the dressing over the sliced cucumbers and combine. Coarsely chop:

3 mint sprigs, leaves only

Toss with the cucumbers. Taste and adjust the salt as needed. Serve cool.
Variations

Add pounded garlic to the dressing.
Serve alongside sliced beets dressed with oil and vinegar.
Grate or dice the cucumbers and serve as a sauce over baked salmon.
Parsley, chervil, basil, or cilantro can be substituted for the mint.
Substitute plain yogurt for the cream.
Add spices such as cumin, coriander, or mustard seeds to the dressing.

One of the reasons i really adore this book is the way the recipes are written. They have an old-fashioned feel. they have that very "American Cookbook" list of ingredients carefully measured out, but when you read the recipes you know in your heart that Alice Waters hasn't raised a measuring cup to make this recipe.

I love that!

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