American Gastronomy

Louis Szathmary was a noted chef. He may, however, be more noted as a culinary collector. He donated most of his cookbooks to the University of Iowa, making it one of the leading culinary repositories in the world. Much of the ephemera, including signatures of most Presidents and Firs Ladies went to the Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales.




Szathmary wrote:

"It isn't strange, then, that I grew up to become a book collector, although I never expected to own some 45,000 of them.

Of these, only 18,000 are cookbooks. I remember the first book I bought within a year after coming to this country in 1951 with a small handbag and $1.10 in my pocket. It was at a Times Square bookshop in New York that I purchased, for 19 cents, a little volume by Ludwig Bemelmans. I never stopped buying books since."

Well it is just no wonder that we have a kindred spirit in Louis Szathmary and while we are doing our best to rival his collection, we are no where near his numbers. We do however, have a cookbook or two with his name on them. American Gastronomy is one my favorites. I admit to being a sucker for vintage cooking prints. Szathmary filled American Gastronomy with old prints and vintage recipes from his vast collection. He made a valiant attempt to define food or culinary experience that was truly "American." This was his premise for American Gastronomy, but flipping through the book one finds foods from North to South, East to West that form no quintessential American food experience but the which do reflect the vast nature of American cuisine.

In the end, trying to define American gastronomy as one thing or another simply muddies the water. It would seem that in all his study, he did find a great love of potato salads.

Ham and Sweet Potato Salad

2 cups diced, cooked ham, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups diced, cooked sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup diced celery, cut in 1/4 inch dice
1 cup apple, cut in 1/4 inch dice
1 cup fresh orange sections
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)1 cup mayonnaise.

1. Gently combine all the ingredients, adding the sweet potatoes last to avoid smashing them.
2. Chill and serve in large lettuce leaves.
3. If you wish serve additional mayonnaise.

The Centennial Banquet in Horticultural Hall, Philadelphia

Armour Calendar Girl

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Ottolenghi: The Cookbook

We have been spending a lot of cookbook time recently with Yotam Ottolenghi. Ottolenghi is an Israeli-born English chef. He has a a series of restaurants in England and this cookbook was all the rage. The cooking is not defined by a particular region though the influences are very Mediterranean and Middle Eastern. There is a lot of emphasis on vegetables and grains. He loves bold, bright flavors and cares about the ingredients. Of a philosophy of food Ottolenghi says:

"We take our food extremely seriously. We make everything – be it marshmallows, an elaborate upside down pear cake or a French bean salad - right from scratch. We don’t buy anything other than raw ingredients, and we only produce things that we would want to eat ourselves. We don’t use colouring or preservatives, we don’t freeze and we don’t refrigerate for long periods. We buy mostly local produce (that is, British and European), very often organic, and we cook to feed and to share, applying the same instincts as a home cook. But we are also perfectionists; testing and re-testing each dish until we get it just right; creating and maintaining beautiful and serene dining environments."

In 2002 he oped Ottolenghi, which was like a small deli and today there are 2 restaurants and three carry-outs. One of our favorites is a sweet potato gratin, so we are always on the lookout for chefs who make our humble favorite in new ways. This is a very interesting twist on our fave. the potatoes are rather thick and the skin is kept on. They are baked in a standing position for about an hour, then the cream is added for another half hour.

Sweet Potato Gratin

6 medium sweet potatoes
2 1/2 cloves garlic
250 ml heavy cream
5 tablespoon fresh sage
2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas mark 6. Wash the sweet potatoes (do not peel them) and cut them into discs 5mm thick.

In a bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, sage, garlic, salt and pepper. Arrange the slices of sweet potato in a deep, medium sized oven-proof dish by taking tight packs of them and standing them upright, next to each other. They should fit together quite tightly so you get parallel lines of sweet potato slices (skins showing) along the length or width of the dish. Throw any remaining bits of garlic or sage from the bowl over the potatoes.

Cover the dish with foil, place in the oven and roast for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and pour the cream evenly over the potatoes. Roast, uncovered, for a further 25 minutes. The cream should have thickened by now. Stick a sharp knife in different places in the dish to make sure the potatoes are cooked. They should be totally soft.

This is a great way to solve that problem of getting the potatoes fully cooked. By standing them up, the potatoes have a nice visual look, too.

We liked this cookbook so much, that we could not wait for his next book to arrive...

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The Forgotten Art of Flower Cookery

I know you think there was never a cookbook I didn't lust after. I must admit a certain fascination with flower cookbooks. There is something I just adore about cooking with flowers as an elemental ingredient. Maybe, and I the first to admit it, there is a profoundly prissy element to flowers as an ingredient. while nothing makes me happier than a side of beef, I also love a nice cold soup sprinkled with a "mystery" ingredient that came from the flower garden.

The Forgotten Art of Flower Cookery by Leona Smith is from the early 1970's. Smith was considered the leading authority on flower cookery. Truth be told, in many of the recipes, the flower element seems to be just a garnish, but in this day and age of cooks all trying to trump each other in the exotic ingredient department, some nice pickled carnations might be just the ticket to one-upsmanship.

Every Thanksgiving, tables across America are laden with sweet potatoes. Here is a recipe that will make you the talk of Thanksgiving or even The Fourth of July!

Confucius Sweet Potatoes

1 pound sweet potatoes or 1 seventeen-ounce can
1 cup orange juice
1 three-ounce package of orange gelatin
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup yellow chrysanthemum petals

While the sweet potatoes are cooking (if using raw potatoes) combine all other ingredients except petals. Simmer and stir for 5 minutes.

Place sweet potatoes in the syrup ad let stand over the lowest possible heat for 15-20 minutes. Baste occasionally. Turn off heat, add petals, and baste until petals are glazed.

Once I found myself in an unfamiliar kitchen. I was making some carrots, but there was nothing interesting to flavor them with, so I was facing a bowl of steamed carrot. (OK, not the worst thing in the world.) I noticed a package of orange Jello on the shelf. I added the Jello and some butter to the carrot circles and turned out a truly tasty and interesting carrot dish.

Confucius says: When in doubt check the larder and the flower garden!

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DamGoodSweet

The problem with "regional" cookbooks is always the same. The reader wants the regional recipes, but they have also seen all those regional recipes. You either get the same book over and over, or a book that is not true to the region. Walking the line between those two points is a tough one. Fortunately, for anyone with a sweet tooth, David Guas has managed to walk that thin line, hell, he has managed to skip over it with a somersault or two.

For years he was the executive Pastry Chef of DC Coast and its sister restaurants and was named Pastry Chef of the Year in Washington. Bon Appétit magazine named him a "Dessert Star." His book, DamGoodSweet, can make you a dessert star.

This recipe is a perfect example of taking a Southern classic, Sweet Potato Pie and transforming it into some that is the same and wildly different.

Sweet Potato Tarte Tatin

One 11-by-14-inch sheet all-butter store-bought puff pastry dough, defrosted

3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for the pastry

1/4 cup water

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 pounds (2 or 3 same-size) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick rounds

1 large egg

1 tablespoon milk

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Have a 10- or 12-inch cast-iron skillet at hand.

Place the sheet of puff pastry dough on a clean work surface and cut out a 10- or 12-inch round, depending on the size skillet you’re using (roll out if necessary to smooth over any creases). Set the round onto the prepared baking sheet. Prick the pastry all over with a fork and refrigerate until ready to use.

Place 3/4 cup of sugar in a small saucepan and cover with the water. Gently stir with a spoon to make sure all of the sugar is wet (it should have the consistency of wet sand), partially cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is clear and producing syrupy-looking medium-size bubbles.

Uncover and cook until the syrup is a light amber or butterscotch color and its temperature reaches 320 degrees. Turn off the heat; the sugar will continue to cook in the pan. Once the temperature reaches 350 degrees (this will take only a few minutes), whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, waiting until each addition is completely incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla extract and the salt, stirring to combine. Pour the caramel into the cast-iron skillet.

Cover the caramel with the sweet potato slices, starting in the center and overlapping in a spiraling outward circle as you go. Top with the chilled puff pastry dough round.

Combine the egg and the milk in a liquid measuring cup; use the mixture to brush over the pastry, and then sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the edges are deep amber and the pastry is puffed and golden.

Let cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a large plate. (Make sure the diameter of the plate is larger than 10 inches!) Cut into wedges and serve warm.

You will never see sweet potatoes in the same light.

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