News From Hayfoot Farms

SPINACH

2008-06-03T13:45:00.002-04:00

SPINACH
Spring’s arrival is trumpeted by fresh asparagus, spinach, fiddlehead ferns, ramps at the local farmers’ market, and Georgia’s renowned Vidalia sweet onions in supermarkets. They are all so simple to cook. Removing their sand is the only inhibitor to their delicious appearance at the dining table. Washing it all as part of the marketing day, not as part of cooking, removes the onus and makes it a welcome table treat. Varying spinach with the alternatives below surprises and delights guests.

Iron skillet or wok

1 large Vidalia onion, diced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 pound spinach, rinsed 3 times, spun dry, stored in the refrigerator drawer
freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated nutmeg

1. Heat the skillet or wok. Add the chopped onions, then the oil. Sauté until onions are soft and have begun to tan.
2. While the onions are cooking, chop spinach in all directions. Medium chop. Cooked, this will produce a texture between frozen chopped spinach and baby food.
3. Pile all of the chopped spinach on top of the onions. Do NOT stir. Lid the skillet, if desired. Cook about 3 minutes.
4. Begin to toss until spinach stems are soft. Season and serve hot.
ALTERNATIVES:
*Whole Leaf: Wash & Spin. Refrigerate. Heat pan very hot. Add oil, then icy cold spinach. Toss spinach only 2-3 times. Serve tepid, heaped dramatically high and glossy on plate. Spinach should retain its leaf shape and intense fresh flavor.
*Creamed Spinach: Add 3 Tablespoons cream cheese just before tossing. For a more moist product add a Tablespoon or two of sour cream as well.
*Poultry Stuffing: Add 1/4 cup cooked rice or bread crumbs, ½ cup grated parmesan cheese and dried oregano before tossing. Raw or cooked mushrooms can be added, too.
*Arugula, Mustard or Dandelion Greens: Add one bunch of any of these, chopped, to the spinach for a more flavorful dish of highly nutritious dark greens.
*Leeks: Add the washed, cut, green tops of 1 bunch of leeks to the onions and cook until they are soft before adding rough-cut spinach. Food process until smooth. Reheat and serve hot. White parts of leeks can be steamed in broth and served on top of spinach mixture or saved, cooked, for later use as a salad.
*Ramps (Wild Leeks): Wash, skin and cut roots off bulbs. Add chopped bulbs to onions, giving onions a slight head start. Chop leaves and add to spinach.
*Asparagus: Wash. Pare stems. Cut 1" off bottom of spears. Place in rapidly boiling water (either steam or submerge spears) for exactly 8 minutes. Drain immediately and serve attractively on or beside a bed of spinach.
©NANCY BOOKMAN HOFFMAN
May 16, 2008
RECIPES\SPINACH.VEG

ROASTED PEPPERS

2008-03-11T11:24:00.001-04:00

pre-heated broiler
½ sheet pan covered with foil
covered container or
brown paper bag

3 peppers
**************************************************************************************
1. Cut the tops and bottoms off of the peppers at the end of the natural curves.
2. Remove the stems and discard.
3. Place tops and bottoms, skin sides up, on the prepared sheet pan.
4. Slice the body of the pepper open lengthwise at a place where the pepper humps.
5. Lay the pepper skin side down. With the tip of a knife remove the pithy white ribs and seeds. Discard them.
6. Place the cleaned pepper centers skin side up, flat, on the baking sheet.
7. Broil the peppers until they are evenly black all over.
8. As the pieces blacken, transfer them to lidded container or closed paper bag to steam.
9. When they are cool enough to handle, place one piece at a time, skin side up, on a plate or cutting board. Peel off blackened skin and discard.
Use a napkin or a piece of paper towel to keep hands clean. Messy work.
10. Cleaned roasted peppers can be served as is, or sliced in strips, diamond patterns or cut into shapes with miniature cookie cutters. Full of vitamins, they add wonderful flavor and color to any dish, cold or hot.
©NANCY BOOKMAN HOFFMAN
March 11, 2008
RECIPES\ROASTPEP.VEG

TEMPERATURES

2008-02-20T17:39:00.003-05:00

There are a few temperatures to know by heart. They are particularly important for cooks. It's good to see them on a list making special note of normal human body temperature.

Fahrenheit Temperatures
32 degrees Freezing
45 degrees Temperature of City water entering a house
68-72 degrees Comfortable daytime room temperature
98.6 degrees **** Normal human body temperature
110-115 degrees Best water temperature to activate dry yeast
212 degrees Boiling water
325-375 degrees Oven temperatures for most roasting/baking
500-600 degrees Commercial pizza ovens

Note that water entering a house must be brought up to boiling to produce steam for heat.
The solar panels on my house in the north-east heat that water to 85 degrees in winter and 110-115 degrees in summer. That saves a lot of expensive fuel. Installation of a solar hot water system represents a very small percentage of the cost of building a new house. We wish the world would catch on faster to this enormous energy saver.

Baked Ham

2008-02-13T16:13:00.000-05:00

This is one of the easiest of all dishes to prepare. Be sure to have it in the house over holidays when schedules are abandoned and people traipse in and out of the kitchen hungry. It can be eaten hot or cold, any time of day or night. Best of all, it keeps well and seems to serve many meals and/or snacks.

212 F
1 hour
325 F.
1 hour

1⁄2 bone-in smoked ham
sherry (New York State Taylor Golden, or any medium domestic brand)
cloves
1 1⁄2 teaspoons dry mustard
currant jelly
fruit decorations (pineapple slices, candied cherries, kumquats)

1. Optional for salty hams: Boil ham in water to cover for one hour. (@ 212 F). (Eliminate this step if label says ham is fully cooked and tough outer rind is missing.)

2. Place ham in a deep baking pan that just fits the roast. Add half and half sherry and water (or fruit juice, ginger ale or coca cola) to a depth of one inch to the pan.

3. Bake at 325 F. for an hour. Remove from the oven. While the tough outer rind is hot, quickly peel it back from the ham, using a butcher's knife. Discard. Score the remaining fat lightly in a diamond pattern. The score marks will deepen with cooking. Stud the intersections of the pattern with whole cloves.

4. Return ham to the oven and continue to cook the number of minutes per pound written on the package, if the ham is only partially cooked. So long as there is liquid in the pan, the ham can easily remain in the oven longer.

5. Thirty minutes before serving ham, spread the entire surface with currant jelly or jam ... any kind will do.

6. Remove ham from oven. Decorate with fruits, using 1⁄2 toothpicks to hold them in place. Let ham rest at least ten minutes before carving.

7. To the pan juices, add 1⁄2 teaspoon dry mustard and a teaspoon of Guldens mustard. Sherry can be added, too. Taste for balance. Reduce juices to thicken over heat. Pour into a tall container to allow fat to rise to the surface for easy removal. Serve hot gravy with cooked ham.

©NANCY BOOKMAN HOFFMAN
November 21, 2000, December 5, 20007
RECIPES\HAM.MET

Ham & String Bean Casserole

2008-02-13T16:12:00.001-05:00

HAM & STRING BEAN CASSEROLE

At the end of the BAKED HAM, when there is still plenty of meat on the bone, but no real slices, cut off all the bits and pieces and combine them in this recipe for another meal. Meanwhile freeze the bone to use to make a great SPLIT PEA, LENTIL, BLACK or other BEAN SOUP.
Alma Bookman

350 F.
30-40 minutes
deep skillet
oven casserole

ham fat
1 1⁄2 - 2 cups leftover ham, cut into bite-size pieces
1 onion, sliced or chopped
4 oz. cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1⁄2 Tablespoons wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon Worchestershire Sauce
1 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated or chopped
1 cup Swiss or Emmenthaler cheese, grated or chopped
freshly ground black pepper
1 1⁄2 pounds string beans, trimmed and cut or 2 10 oz packages French-cut frozen
Parmesan cheese, grated for topping

Optionals:
garlic, minced
eschallots, minced
fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
mozzarella cheese, grated or chopped
bread crumbs to combine with Parmesan for topping
butter to dot the top

1. Pull any pieces of fat from ham and render them in the skillet to make a Tablespoon of fat. Discard rendered fat pieces. Add the onions (garlic and eschallots) and sauté in remaining ham grease until just starting to brown.

2. Turn off flame. Add cream cheese to the warm pan and stir with a wooden spatula until it is melted and all the brown bits from the pan are combined in it.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the ham, beans and topping. Stir to combine.

4. Place cut-up ham in bottom of casserole. Add green beans. Pour mushroom soup mixture evenly over the beans.

5. Distribute topping evenly and dot with bits of butter, if desired.

6. Bake in a pre-heated oven. Serve piping hot by digging to the bottom and including ham with each spoonful. Add good black or rye bread on the side for a one dish meal.

©NANCY BOOKMAN HOFFMAN December 2, 2003, December 5, 2007 RECIPES\HAMBEANS.MET

Boston Baked Beans

2008-02-13T16:11:00.001-05:00

This dish is a great accompaniment to BAKED HAM. The beans are also wonderful served inside an omelet, or, just eat them with frankfurters.
from Marie St. Louis, Bostonian

250 F
1⁄2 hour, then 4-5 hours, then 1⁄2 hour
large pot
crock pot, or oven-ready pot with lid

4 cups dried pea, navy or Great Northern beans
3 medium onions
2 teaspoons salt
3-4 cloves (stuck in onion)
1⁄2 cup molasses
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 cups water
1⁄2 pound salt pork

1. Cover beans with water. Bring to a boil. Let soak in that water one hour.

2. Bring to a boil again. Add 1 onion and salt. Cover and simmer slowly 30 minutes.

*3. Drain water and onion. Heat oven to 250 F. Place a few pieces of the salt pork on the bottom of crock. Set onion stuck with cloves on top of them. Cover with beans. Combine other ingredients (less 1/4 cup brown sugar), plus 2 cups water. Add to crock. Push salt pork just below surface. Cover tightly and cook 41⁄2-5 hours.

4. Remove crock from oven. Remove lid and add remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar. Return to oven and bake 1⁄2 hour. Serve.

Editor's Notes: Beans get better each time dish is reheated, therefore they can easily be made at least a day ahead of serving time. Beware: adding salt can toughen beans and prevent them from ever softening. Salt at end. Bacon, cut into tiny bits can be substituted for salt pork. *Alternatively, soak dried beans overnight in twice the amount of water as beans and start cooking at #3, above.

©NANCY BOOKMAN HOFFMAN
July 6, 1999, December 5, 2007
RECIPES/BKDBEANS.VEG

Valentine Hearts - COEUR À LA CRÈME

2008-02-10T18:20:00.000-05:00

1 pound cream cheese
1 stick vanilla bean
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 quart heavy cream, whipped

Beat together cream cheese, vanilla bean seeds and sugar. Whip cream separately and fold in. Pour into **pierced heart molds lined with wet cheese cloth. **Try putting a double paper towel under doubled cheese cloths if the molds are not pierced. Allow molds to drain in the refrigerator over night.

SAUCE
¼ cup dry sherry
3/4 cup currant jelly
1½ cups sliced* fresh strawberries soaked in
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
orange peel *

Cook sherry and jelly slowly until jelly is dissolved. When cool, add the rest of the ingredients.
NOTE: Leave the leaves on several strawberries. * Slice a strawberry in half from the stem down to the tip. Using the tip of a sharp tipped knife, make several small slices from 1/4 inch down from the hull to the tip. Fan strawberry out decoratively on the heart(s). Add finely julienned orange peel strips for additional glamour.
© NANCY BOOKMAN HOFFMAN
February 28, 1993, February 10, 2008
RECIPES\COEUR.DES

Party Clean-Up Tip

2008-02-10T17:58:00.000-05:00

The worst part of throwing a party is the endless clean-up. Everyone advises that good china and silver should NOT be put in the dishwasher, which makes the task longer and harder. I respectfully disagree. The strong detergents used in dishwashers are, indeed, damaging to gold trims on good dishes. The heat can sometimes unglue two part knives from their handles. But if you do not add detergent and simply load up the dishwasher with the dirty glasses and dishes, everything comes out clean from the hot water. If, once in a while an item doesn't wash properly, it's simpler to address that lonely dirty plate than the whole mess from the party. Do be careful about those knives. They are filled with a dark resin glue which is difficult to remove and/or refill.
c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

POLENTA - A Food Valentine*

2008-02-06T18:24:00.000-05:00

POLENTA

1 quart pot
whisk
wooden spoon
small bread mold
skillet

1 cup polenta (coarsely ground corn meal)
2 cups cold water
2 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper

1. Pour the the cold water into the pot. Whisk the polenta into it. Turn on a medium flame. Continually draw figure eights with the whisk or wooden spoon while the polenta cooks.

Polenta cooks quickly. Just how fast depends upon the quantity. One cup of dry grain should take about five minutes.
2. The moment all of the water has been absorbed and the polenta is soft and creamy, add the cheeses and pepper and distribute them evenly throughout.* Polenta can be served instantly here.
3. Pour the hot polenta into a bread pan mold lined with plastic wrap. Cover with the wrap and refrigerate until starch is congealed and set.
4. Unmold, slice polenta as if it were bread. Place slices in a greased skillet. Brown them, turn and brown the other side. Serve hot.

NOTES: Polenta is coarsely ground corn meal. It is a grain. Serve under beans to create a complete protein. More or less cheese can be added if the polenta is to be served at # 2 above. It is also wonderful at breakfast either as a cereal with fruit, or served as browned slices (# 4) under eggs.
Pennsylvania Dutch add ground breakfast sausage to the pot, mold it, slice it, fry it and serve it for breakfast as Pennsylvania Scrapple.
Italians pour the soft polenta into a square or oblong greased pan, add tomato sauce on top and bake it until the topping begins to brown. (Serve it as a Food Valentine* in a heart mold(s) February 14th.) . Or mold it flat on a sheet pan. Refrigerate. Cut out hearts with a cookie cutter.
Italians also incorporate chicken livers in the middle of the soft polenta and serve it in individual ramekins.
Southerners cook coarsely ground wheat the same way and serve it as grits, with a pat of butter or gravy on top. Sometimes they use white corn meal to produce their grits.
©NANCY BOOKMAN HOFFMAN
February 5, 2008
RECIPES\POLENTA.PTA

Supreme Creamsickle Sundae

2008-02-02T17:42:00.000-05:00

large wine glasses

1 navel orange per person

3 - 4 chunks of good vanilla ice cream pp

2 teaspoons Goslings Bermuda rum pp

Supreme the oranges: Cut away all of the peel. Using a small paring knife, separate the orange wedges from the white filaments. Cut the wedges into thirds and place them in the wine glasses.

Add chunks of vanilla ice cream to each glass.

Spoon rum over ice cream. Serve immediately.

NOTE: Goslings purchases rum from Barbados. Barbados refines its rum over charcoal, making it one of the cleanest rums on the market. Goslings further refines the rum until it can be drunk as a liqueur, it is so smooth. When combined with the oranges and vanilla in this recipe, it turns the dish into a celebration.

c. Nancy Bookman Hoffman

February 10, 2008

Substituting for Soup Stock

2008-01-09T14:34:00.000-05:00

When I've run out of stock and need some to flavor a soup, I put a whole cut-up chicken, skin sides down (the skin is pure fat) in my pot and turn on the flame to brown it a little. Add all of the vegetables, then water to cover, plus one inch. Cook over low flame for 1 ½ to 1 3/4 hours (depending upon the size of the bird). The soup will be flavored with chicken broth and the chicken will be ready to eat with it. Better yet, the chicken can be saved for sandwiches or salad the next day.

For an even richer stock base, put 4-6 short ribs in the bottom of the pot. They can be dredged in flour and browned first in olive oil, or not. Each choice delivers a different flavor. Load up the pot with the soup vegetables and water to cover plus one inch as for the chicken recipe above. Cook at least 2 hours. The short ribs will taste like pot roast.

Serve them on a separate plate with a little sauce: 1 teaspoon prepared mustard,1/2 teaspoon dry mustard, 1/3 cup sour cream, and horseradish to taste. Add ½ teaspoon sugar and a dash of vinegar. Mix well. Wedges of black bread will round out the meal.
c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

The Early American Rug Tragedy

2008-01-08T14:08:00.000-05:00

Even the most experienced of us suffers a calamity once in a while. Over the Christmas Holidays I had a gig to bake a pre-cut birthday cake. It was to feed 22 guests. I used a wonderful chocolate/buttermilk recipe which had won numerous in-house chocolate cake contests. It was a double recipe baked on a half sheet pan. I had prepared it the day before Christine, my friend and helper, brought me her two children for the day.

While I was spreading the batter on the pan, I thought it felt too thick and heavy. After I put it in the oven, I reviewed the ingredients and realized I had left out one and a half cups of water. So I quickly retrieved the cake and scraped the batter off the baking paper back into my mixing bowl and added the missing water. This time it spread better.

It baked forever. Normally it takes about an hour. This cake took close to two hours.
When it was cool, I cut off the edges, pre-cut and lightly iced the sides and top of the cake. It kept crumbling. The crumb seemed dry. Nevertheless, I put it in the freezer on its serving tray.

At two in the morning I woke up and suddenly realized that I had doubled the chocolate in the cake. I usually use a product that divides the chocolate into one ounce squares. This time my product came in two ounce squares, but I had not cut the requirement in half. And I also realized in that instant, that the chocolate had not melted as thoroughly as it normally does in the usual bowl over the usual pot of hot water. The double chocolate would surely account for the longer baking time and the crumbly crumb.

My customer sees me every week in exercise class. I could not face her selling her a faulty product. Nothing would do but to start all over again. I couldn't go back to sleep. By five in the morning, I was back down in the kitchen baking. We breakfasted while the cake baked.

The children arrived when the cake was pretty cool. We trimmed the sides. They watched me cut it into 48 squares, using multiplication to figure out just how many pieces I had made. We misted it with brandy, then applied a light coating of icing together. It was ready for the freezer on the top floor of my tenant's apartment.

I picked up the cake, walked into the hall, turned on the light at the bottom of the stairs and turned to go upstairs. The cake bumped into the corner and flew off the platter upside down onto the Early American rug at the foot of the stairs. The children were aghast and dumbstruck. I was horrified, angry, disappointed and all those thousand feelings that sweep over you when you know the loss is absolutely irretrievable.

One of the children leaped over the divider and ran upstairs to summon Christine. She deals with emergencies like a trooper. She kept saying, "The floor is clean. We can

put it back together again and you can still use it." No way. It had fallen higgeldy piggledy pop, upside down on its icing side. The pieces were breaking as we scooped them off the floor. Just try rearranging that puzzle...all 48 pieces, as if nothing had happened.

We stuffed all 48 squares into plastic containers. Christine mopped up the floor, the wall and the Early American rug. The kids and I returned to the kitchen to bake another double chocolate cake.

Judging from the trimmed edges of all three cakes that we sampled, the last one was definitely the best one. We managed to get it together like masters without any bumps or mistakes. The children told their mother that they had never seen me work so fast. I usually teach them about everything I do along the way. Not this time. I couldn't give them turns to try my methods. We just put it together quickly and shoved it into the oven.

By now we needed a break. We ran down the street for a pizza treat and back home again to cut the cake edges and the pieces. We sprayed again with brandy and iced it all lightly. This time it got up to the freezer safely. It had to harden at least an hour before we did the final icing and decorating.

Originally I had made a quart of icing. By now I had about one third of a container left.
Now it became a grade D movie drama. Could we ice and decorate the cake with what remained? I was out of white chocolate. I didn't want to go to the store and make a new batch.

I selected a small bag and a tip with a narrow star. Instead of flat icing all over, I left my original semi-transparent skim and created a white, ridged grid over the cuts. That done, we were left with one fourth of the container. We colored one eighth blue and one eighth green. I wrote a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY with the blue, using up the space and the color. His name, IRV, we piped in green. Then we embellished the writing with green shadows on the lettering and eked out fleurs de lis in green on the corners. It used our very last drop of icing. Whew.

The cake turned out fine and went back up to the freezer. The kids loved the whole act.

Over the weekend I got out a never-used antique metal melon mold. This I buttered amply. I laid our left-over trimmings all over the mold. Next came some semi-sweet chocolate chips and a layer of sweetened coconut. I sprinkled the works with brandy, then poured a mostly yolks custard over the whole thing. I sealed it with more cake and a thin layer of coconut. I popped a lid on it and baked it at 300 degrees in a bain marie for an hour and a half.

When I was finished, my husband asked if I had made a second small one that we could taste. I had not, so I quickly took out a small charlotte mold, cut up the Early American Rug cakes, mixed another batch of custard and repeated what I had just done. This I sealed with silver foil and set into another bain marie to bake alongside its friend.

We were invited to a New Year's Eve party to which I was bringing a Bûche de Noël. Since I had accumulated four egg whites making my Early American Rug Puddings, I quickly whipped the whites up with sugar and piped out rows and rows of mushroom caps and stems with which to decorate the upcoming Bûche.

We sampled the second one and declared it a triumph. Clearly it was a good example of "making lemons into lemonade". The original Early American Rug Pudding could accompany the mushroom decorated Bûche to the New Year's Eve party.

The guests were flattering and obviously pleased by my sweets. No one preferred one over the other. I felt exonerated and victorious over the success of what had earlier been my grade D Early American Rug tragedy.

c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

MOCHA/COCONUT MOLD
or
EARLY AMERICAN RUG PUDDING

300 F
1 hour
small covered mold
bain marie (water bath)
bowl

½ buttermilk chocolate cake
butter to butter mold
2 egg yolks
1 Tablespoon egg white
1/4 cup Turbinado sugar
brandy
½ cup heavy cream
1/3 cup strong coffee
semi-sweet chocolate chips
sweetened shredded coconut

1. Find a container that will hold water half way up the outsides of the mold (Bain Marie). Generously butter mold. Light the oven. Pour water into the bain marie and set it in the oven.

2. Line the bottom and sides of the mold with cake.

3. Sprinkle or spray cake with brandy. Spread a layer of chocolate chips over cake, then a layer of coconut.

4. Separate eggs. To the yolks, whisk in coffee, then sugar. Slowly add heavy cream, still whisking constantly, and a splash of brandy. Add the small amount of egg white.

5. Pour custard mixture into mold. Top the mold with more cake and another thin layer of coconut. Cover. Let stand ten minutes before baking in the Bain Marie.

6. Serve warm or cold with a drizzle of caramel sauce over the top.

c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

Split Pea Soup

2008-01-04T15:47:00.001-05:00

Here's a perfect recipe for those who have a leftover ham bone (see below posts) or simply want a warm soup during the long, cold winter.

SPLIT PEA SOUP

low heat
1 ½ - 2 hours
large soup pot

1 package (8 ounces) split peas
1 ham bone, or 4-6 short ribs of beef
2 onions, diced small
2-3 stalks celery, diced small
3 large carrots, cut large on the diagonal
1 parsnip, diced small (optional)
1 bunch parsley, finely minced leaves; stems held together with a rubber band
1 parsley root, diced small (optional)
1 small whole celeriac root*, for use later as salad or puréed (optional)
1 small white turnip, diced small (optional)
1-2 bay leaves
4" kombu* (optional)
freshly ground pepper
spaghetti, broken in half (thickens soup and attracts children)
spinach, collard greens (ribbon cut), Swiss chard or other green whole leaf vegetable
fresh hot dogs or tofu dogs, sliced thin, horizontally (attracts children)

*(Japanese dried seaweed: adds salt, iodine and flavor)

1. Render any ham fat in pot. Sauté onion in ham fat until golden brown, if desired. Discard lumps of ham fat. This step is optional.

2. Place ham bone or browned meat in bottom of pot. Add split peas, vegetables (except greens), and seasonings. Cover with water to one inch above vegetables. NOTE: Almost all beans and grains require at least twice the amount of water as dry beans, rice, etc. Therefore, to one cup of dried peas, add at least 2 cups of water. For a thinner soup, add more water. If the raw vegetables appear above the surface, add more water. NEVER salt beans or peas until they are fully cooked. Salt will toughen them and prevent them from cooking. Kombu, parsley and celery add natural salt to the pot.

3. Cook in an open kettle at least 1 ½ hours. Peas should be disintegrated for soup. Taste them for doneness. Older peas require more cooking time. Remove parsley stems. When soup is cooked, it can be carefully food processed with the stop/start button to smooth it to desired consistency. Another method is to smooth half the soup, then return it to the pot with the more textured soup.

4. Place kettle back on stove. Heat gently and add spaghetti (this will thicken soup and attract children), greens and hot dogs (For picky eaters slice dogs so thinly that the child cannot fish a slice out without tasting some soup.) Cook until pasta is tender. Serve hot, garnished with sour cream or yogurt. Serve with wedges of black or rye bread for a complete meal-in-one dish.

NANCEEE B'S NOTES:
•Celeriac can be sliced and served cold with salad dressing. Or, it can be puréed and combined with an equal quantity of mashed potatoes. When using celeriac in soup, cut in only one stalk of celery.
•The more vegetables used, the richer the soup will be.
•Sauce for short ribs is a mixture of mustard, horse radish and sour cream to taste, plus a pinch of sugar and a dash of vinegar.
c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

nanceeeb's tips: Dried Fruits, Cutting & Re-Hydrating

2007-12-16T15:11:00.000-05:00

Dried fruits can be wonderful baked into cakes. An easy way to cut them up, yet still leave them chunky, is to oil a pair of scissors and snip away. Each time the fruit builds up on the scissors blade,run a razor blade scraper along the sides of the scissors and add a film of oil to them. Begin again. Don't forget to re-hydrate those dried fruits before you bake. Use any liquid with flavor. Heat the fruit and liquid over a flame or in the micro-wave oven. Off heat, allow the fruits to sit and macerate until they are plump and luscious. They can also be re-hydrated in a strainer placed over boiling water. This method takes longer and some of the fruit juices are lost in the boiling water. (That flavored water could be used to bake Ham. See recipe on this blog.)
c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

Browned & Clarified Butter

2007-12-04T13:07:00.000-05:00

Browned butter has a distinct flavor all its own. It is delectable and can cut the amount of butter used in half because the flavor soars. To brown butter, simply melt a stick in a pot or pan. When the foam subsides, lower the flame and watch the bottom carefully. That is where the milk solids fall.

At this point the clear melted butter can be poured off the top without disturbing the bottom solids. That clear liquid is called clarified butter, or ghee, often used in baking.

Back to browning the butter: when the milk solids are tan and toasted, quickly remove the pot or pan from the flame. They burn quickly. The browned butter can be re-solidified in the refrigerator for use in baked goods. It can be combined immediately with toasted bread crumbs to top cooked vegetables, fish or casseroles.

If clarified butter is called for, reserve the milk solids to enrich a gravy or casserole. Clarified butter keeps longer than butter with milk solids. Butter is actually only 80% fat, 18% water and the rest is milk solids.
c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

Poultry Seasoning

2007-12-04T12:49:00.000-05:00

Once in a while poultry, particularly turkey, can have a nasty, bitter taste. To eliminate any thought of that occurance wash out the cavities and the flesh of the bird with a fresh lemon or two. Next generously sprinkle the bird inside and out with powdered ginger. This sweetens the bird without flavoring the finished product. Then add personal additional seasonings. Substitute two Tablespoons of dry white vermouth, white wine, frozen apple juice or another citrus juice for the lemons. Whatever is used should be acidic. Keep a constant supply of powdered ginger on the shelf. It is a remarkable neutralizer.
c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

Trussing a Bird

2007-12-04T12:31:00.000-05:00

Many people like to get out a big needle and strong thread and sew a bird closed. Still others are adept at trussing with butchers' cotton string. I have become fast and adept at using stainless steel trussing pins. When the butcher has made an accidental extra slash, start a pin above the cut, enter the skin only and weave in and out down the length of the error, alternating sides of the cut. Pin the neck skin under the bird with the same in and out stitch, whether or not that cavity is stuffed. Then put the bird's elbows (pinions) up by its neck and bend the wing tips so that they further anchor the neck skin. Run one pin from the top of the slash of the bottom cavity down towards the tail. A small opening can remain. With the longest pin, start by going from the outside of one ankle, through the nearest skin flap of the cavity, then through the tipped up tail and through the other cavity flap and second ankle. This keeps the legs hugged close to the bird. Pour two Tablespoons of dry white vermouth into the cavity to keep the breast meat moist. If the cavity opening remains wide, place something there: the neck (seasoned and greased), one half a lemon, a small apple or an onion.
c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

Wrapping Well with Plastic

2007-12-04T12:15:00.000-05:00

In the bakery where I worked we had to seal our products very well. We also had to get back into them fast when we needed to unwrap them. Pull out enough plastic wrap to go under and over the container or sheet pan. Place the whole container on top of the plastic. Pull the plastic up and over the container. Pull the last bit of plastic out of the box to overlap the first end. Cut and seal on TOP of the product. Pull the plastic sides up on TOP of the container, too. Thus all of the ends of the plastic rest on TOP of the product and the product is tightly sealed inside an envelope of plastic. If the container, such as a sheet pan, is too wide for the plastic, cover one half of the pan lengthwise as above, then repeat, overlapping the plastic down the center, for the second half of the pan. Sealing this way should prevent "freezer burn", and prevent blind searching for ends underneath a wrapped product.
c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

A Different Kind of Birthday Cake

2007-11-29T21:59:00.000-05:00

Not everyone can eat wheat. In fact, a growing number of people have become gluten-intolerant, which means their bodies are unable to process the gluten that is an essential part of wheat and other grains. But just because you can't eat conventional flour doesn't mean you should miss out on the fun of a cake on your birthday. Take this recipe, which was adapted from one originally tasted at the Fatty Crab Restaurant in New York City's Greenwich Village.

MALAYSIAN COCONUT/RICE CAKE

Oven temperature: 350 F
Preparation time: 1½ hours
Essential Equipment: 2 bowls (1 large)
2 half sheet pans, fitted with baking paper

DRY Ingredients
1 pound Mochiko Powder (fine rice flour)
3 Tablespoons Coconut Powder
3 Tablespoons Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon salt

WET Ingredients
8 Tablespoons soft sweet butter
2 Tablespoons vanilla
5 cups granulated sugar
10 whole eggs
2 cans coconut milk

1. Preheat oven. Prepare pan(s).
2. Mix together dry ingredients.
3. Mix together wet ingredients.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
5. Spread batter evenly on prepared pans and bake.
6. Serve in two-bite squares or small diamonds.

Nancee b's notes: This is a very moist, dense, light cake. The crumb is so wet that the consistency resembles a fine polenta. At the restaurant a two bite square per person accompanies the check. Called Coconut Mochi Cake, it is a delightful, slightly sweet ending to a fine meal. Preferably mix the cake by a machine. Unsweetened coconut minced finely can be substituted for coconut powder. The batter will be very liquid. Test tilt of oven with a level before baking. If using only a half recipe, bake in two 11 inch jelly roll pans. They will take less than one hour to bake.

c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

Nanceee B's cooking tip: Getting ready to bake up a storm during the holidays

2007-11-27T21:18:00.000-05:00

Because I bake a lot, the big thing I accumulate in my freezer is unsalted butter. I buy it whenever it is on special at the supermarket.

Big winter holidays like Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanza either call for a wonderful brunch or a simple elegant dinner. Both require some baked goods.

Think ahead and try to freeze anything you are going to bake well ahead of time. Most baked goods freeze beautifully without suffering any flavor loss. They must be well sealed in plastic.
(See Wrapping Well with Plastic on this blog.) Because they incorporate AIR, they also defrost quickly within their wrappings.

Getting the baking out of the way long before due date takes much of the cooking pressure off the big event.
c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

Nanceee B's cooking tip: Don't flush the fat down the drain!

2007-11-26T15:00:00.001-05:00

Keep an empty coffee can in the refrigerator for fat. Cap the plastic top onto the bottom of the can for use when the can is full. I set the can on a piece of cardboard or a folded paper towel so that if I spill the fat over the side of the can, it won't rub off on the refrigerator when I return it to its place.

Poultry fat is very tasty and salt free. It also has a high smoke point, meaning that it can be used over a high flame without burning. It's great for home fried potatoes and lightly greasing the next bird for roasting.

If you can accumulate several cans (about 5 pounds) of fat (any kind), you may want to try to make your own laundry soap. It's a long, messy, process with lots of ingredients, including caustic lye. I usually do it in a big old enamel roasting pan, outdoors in the barbecue pit. One recipe lasts me years.

Otherwise, cap the can when it is full with the plastic lid you saved on the bottom of the can. Throw it in the garbage.
c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

Nanceee b's cooking tip: Cleaning Your Oven After Thanksgiving...

2007-11-25T21:58:00.000-05:00

A quick tip for those dealing with the not-so-pleasant side of Thanksgiving …

To clean your "turkey" stained oven, place ammonia in a glass bowl on the floor of the oven over night. The next morning carefully open the oven door, making sure the fumes do NOT hit your eyes. Wipe the sides, ceiling and floor of the oven with a damp cloth, paper towels or a sponge. The same thing can be done with a separate broiler. If some large lumps remain, run a razor blade scraper through a bar of soap, then scrape clumps off the oven surface. The soap will prevent the razor from scratching. It can be used (soaped) on glass oven doors as well.
c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman

Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers

2007-11-23T21:55:00.000-05:00

LEFTOVER TURKEY SOUP

large pot
sheet pan

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 bunch parsley, stemmed, leaves minced
leftover stuffing
leftover gravy
leftover turkey bones and skin
leftover turkey, removed from bones and set aside, covered in the refrigerator
3/4 cup pearled barley
1/2 cup dry white vermouth

1. Saute the onion in olive oil until it is tan.

2. Add the carrot, celery, parsley stalks (tied with a rubber band), stuffing, barley, gravy, turkey bones and skin.

3. Add vermouth and enough water to cover. Set over low heat and allow to cook until the barley has bloomed (40 minutes to 1 hour) and is soft.

4. Off heat. Skim skin and fat from surface of soup. Remove parsley stems and discard. Also discard the bones.
The simplest way to do this is to strain or remove all solids from the soup with a slotted spoon and place them on a sheet pan.

5. Return the solids to the soup. Add turkey and fresh chopped parsley. Season to taste. Reheat and serve hot.

NANCEEE B'S NOTES: Fat and skin rise to the top of the soup. They add flavor so leave a thin skim of fat. It can be completely removed after refrigeration. Since I roast my turkey on a grid of celery, onions and carrots (so that it won't stick to the pan) , those vegetables go into my soup pot. Celery and parsley add natural salt to the soup. Carrots add natural sugar.

c. Nancy Bookman Hoffman

Holy Smoke – Surprises amid the Great BBQ

2007-11-22T00:53:00.000-05:00

RESTAURANT REVIEW
(Submitted to the Putnam County Courier, October 24, 2004)

If you love surprises and you love BBQ, there are plenty of both at Chris and Susan Casino's. new restaurant, HOLY SMOKE . For years we have pursued real BBQ and have sampled it in Gaylordsville (smoked turkey legs at a fair), East Fishkill, Pawling, Danbury as well as NYC, Kansas, Alabama, Florida, California, Louisiana and Texas. So when we spotted the attractive HOLY SMOKE sign on Route 6N, it was natural for us to slam on the brakes. We couldn't pass it by. No way.

When you walk in, the smell is right . Susan Casino greets and seats you. The restaurant looks airy and clean. The waitress is cheery. She obviously likes her job. The menu is varied and innovative.

Chris will tell you good quality choice meats is a key, along with the right wood, the right temperature and patience. "It's a long slow process," he says. "There are no short cuts." Chris has cooked in Manhattan, Kansas and both Galveston and Houston Texas. He also worked for Stouffers. Top of the line products are all over the menu down to fine Beverages where he stocks Stewarts Sodas. Ales and beers are imported and domestic.

For Starters Corn Fritters are crisp outside, gooey inside, a treat not to be missed.
Trash Ribs come from the kine bone, that triangular flap, which runs perpendicular to a rib rack . They are surprisingly juicy and succulent, boasting exactly the right shade of rosy pink produced by great smokers, with three wonderful home made dipping sauces to mix at the table. BBQ Spring Rolls in a crisp tortilla shell have a memorable complex, saucy filling, yet are not messy to eat.

Because we want to taste as many of HOLY SMOKE's dishes as we can, we try both Texas Beef Brisket and Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches, each served on an Arthur Avenue hand-formed Kaiser roll, and each smoked to tasty pink perfection that amateur smokers wish they could achieve. The pickles are cold and crunchy. We just loosen our belts a little, mix up some more sauce and dig in.

Side dishes are delicious, too. Spinach is warm and creamy. Beans are baked with chunks of BBQ meat . Skinny sweet potatoes are fried crisp. It is delightful to find that nothing we taste is heavily salted. More local restaurants might take note.

The Casinos' Italian sweet tooth shows up at Dessert. Home made Apple/Raspberry Crumble should probably be served warm, maybe with ice cream. Here, it is served straight from the refrigerator. The final good surprise is the Banana Split with Smoked Chocolate Sauce. Never heard of it? It's a first for me and a fascinating twist on a universal favorite.

We questioned Chris some more after dinner and learned that hundreds of pounds of meat pass slowly through his huge stainless steel smoker every 24 hours. It's a process that doesn't start until 10 PM every night, when a fire under water-soaked wood in the smoker is allowed to burn for 2 hours before the temperature is right and the smoke is sweet and white. At Midnight the meat is loaded in on the racks and left there all night, at a constant temperature, until 10 AM the next morning. After the perfectly smoked meat is removed, the smoker is scrubbed down thoroughly and made ready to be fired up for another night's work.

How many times do we go to a restaurant and find almost every dish worth applause? Seldom. We are lucky Susan and Chris Casino chose to open in our neighborhood. The quote by Alexander Pope on HOLY SMOKE's menu is, "Send me, Gods, a whole hog barbecued," Chris Casino, thankfully, is doing just that for us in Mahopac! We are already salivating thinking about our return visit.

Located 3.5 miles from Jefferson Valley and 3 miles from Mid-Mahopac, 8 miles from Carmel, on a totally renovated old restaurant site, HOLY SMOKE is open from 11:30 AM to 10 PM, 9 PM Sundays, closed Mondays
241 ROUTE 6N, MAHOPAC, NY 10541, 845-628-9795.

c.Nancy Bookman Hoffman