December 2010
December 2010
Food for Thought
Moving the Markers
Watching football has been a last quarter of the year occasion. Now, and for the last several decades, we are inundated by the game.
Before television brought the world to our living rooms, and that includes the entire world of the gridiron, we traveled to watch our local high school perform, visited a college game or listened to the big school games on the radio, and if you lived in a really big city you enjoyed the pros.
In this day and age with super highways and jet travel the rabid fans are limited in attendance to a favored game only by their available finances. The rest of us can sit before our TVs almost any day during the season and absorb in high definition the sights and sounds of an almost unlimited selection of games. Is it no wonder that we wave goodbye to the first ten years of the 21st century with a phrase from football: Move the Chains?
Let us liken the past ten years of our history to the struggle of a team finding itself in a first-and-ten situation on its goal line. Our adversaries certainly had us backed up. Things didn't look too good for the home team when Al Qaeda hit us with everything they had very early in the game. Their quarterback, Bin Laden, despite losing many of his team, notably Saddam Hussein, kept our offense on its toes. Thankfully, the opposition committed more fouls than we did and somehow, here we are at the 20 yard (year) line and ready for a new set of downs. As we watch the markers, the chains if you prefer, move to indicate the progress of the next ten yards (years) lets do it with optimism.
After all, this isn't the first tough game our side has played. Over the years we have faced some pretty scary opponents and regardless of some disappointing set-backs we have triumphed to win the game. Let's hear a cheer for our side!
bon appetit
Recipes of the Month
Football to Americans means a one-hundred yard playing field with two ten yard end zones upon which twenty-two players in protective gear move an oval shaped ball. Not so in many other countries. While football to Canadians is something like the American game there are differences, but it is still recognizable. In other countries what we call soccer is football to them and by far the game has little similarity to our game played on the gridiron. Do they tailgate in those other countries? Frankly, we don't know, but if they do we wonder if the first two recipes would be acceptable.
THE FEATURED RECIPE USES POULTRY SEASONING
Without oil under its soil, Israel manages to play sports and at the same time fight off terrorists and other assailants, some petroleum rich, by being resourceful, frugal and patriotic. Turkeys are not indigenous to Israel, but here is a Jewish recipe in which leftover turkey works great and we know about leftover turkey, especially after The holidays.
Klops (Meat-Egg Loaf)
2 pounds turkey
˝ cup bread crumbs.
2 eggs
1 medium sized parsnip
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 carrot
1 large white onion
2 garlic cloves
1 dash of nutmeg
1 dash of allspice
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
1 sprig of parsley
6 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled
margarine
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Remove the turkey from all the bones and then shred it and set aside.
Peel the parsnip, discard the peelings, then grate it and set aside.
Peel the carrot, discard the peelings then grate it and set aside.
Remove and discard the outer covering of the onion then chop it and set aside.
Remove the outer papery covering of the garlic cloves then crush them and set aside.
Wash the parsley then chop it and set aside.
Boil the eggs and remove them from the water when they are hard-boiled, remove and discard the shell, then set aside.
Mix all the ingredients together except the hard-boiled eggs and the margarine.
Put half the mixture into a well greased loaf pan, then put the whole hard-boiled eggs in a row down the middle of the meat and cover with the remaining meat mixture. Dab the top with margarine using more if mostly white meat of the turkey is used, very little if mostly dark meat is used.
Bake for 15 minutes in the very hot oven. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. for about 45 minutes, until brown on top.
Serve warm or cold in thick slices so the egg centers each piece.
Serves 6
THIS RECIPE FEATURES WHOLE CARDAMOM PODS
Cars are a necessity (or at least some conveyance) for tailgating. Again, we don't know if in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, or Iraq the practice is common. We know that cars abound in those places. Here is a dish for the adventurous tailgaters in those countries.
Helawat al Jazr (Sweet Carrots with Cardamom)
1 lb carrots
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups 2% milk
8 Whole Cardamom Pods
1 lemon
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
garnish (use pine nuts pistachios almonds or raisins)
Peel the carrots, discard the peelings, then finely grate them and set aside.
Remove the peel from the lemon and then grate enough of the peel to make an amount equal to 2 teaspoons. (Retain the inner part of the lemon for other uses.)
Open the Whole Cardamom Pods and remove the seeds. Discard the outer pods. Crush the seeds using a mortar and pestle, or other suitable appliance.
Place the carrots in a medium pan and add the sugar, milk, Cardamom, and lemon peel. Steam the mixture until the carrots are tender. (for about 15 minutes). Place the mixture in a sieve, press firmly to remove all the liquid. Reserve the liquid.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Add the carrots mixture, stirring to coat with the flour mixture, and continue to toss this mixture for 3 or 4 minutes.
Pour the reserved liquid over the carrots/flour mixture, mix well and cook or about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour into individual serving dishes and garnish with nuts and raisins.
Serves 5
THIS RECIPE FEATURES APPLE PIE SPICE
Now we return to something very American, apple dumplings. Apples baked in flaky pastry are irresistible with sugar and this spice blend. Serve the warm dumplings with vanilla ice cream for a special treat. The frozen puff-pastry sheets will save preparation time, more time to spend with your guests.
Apple Dumplings
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Apple Pie Spice
2 frozen puff-pastry sheets (1 pound 1 1/4 ounces)
1 egg
4 Golden Delicious apples
Heat the oven to 425 degrees F
Peel and core the apples. Discard the peels and set the cored apples aside.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and Apple Pie Spice. Set aside.
Thaw the frozen puff-pastry sheets.
Roll out one of the puff-pastry sheets on a floured surface, until it is a 13-by-13-inch square. Cut the square in half and cut each half into a 9-by-6-inch rectangle. Reserve the scraps.
Beat the egg, mixing together the yolk and white well. Lightly brush the beaten egg along one-inch of the edges of one of the rectangles. Place one of the apples, upside down, in the middle of the rectangle and pour enough of the Apple Pie Spice and sugar mixture into the center cavity to reach the top. Gather the four corners of the pastry and pinch them together. Pinch the edges together to seal. With scissors, trim any excess pastry from where the edges meet. Repeat with the remaining pastry, apples, and cinnamon sugar.
Use a small knife or a shaped cookie cutter to cut eight small designs from the scraps of pastry. Brush the backs of the designs with the beaten egg and attach two of them to the top of each dumpling.
Chill the dumplings for 15 minutes. Put them on a heavy baking sheet and lightly brush them with the beaten egg. Bake the dumplings for 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400 degrees F and continue cooking until golden, 20 to 22 minutes longer. Don't bake too long or the dumplings may burst.
Serves 4
THIS RECIPE FEATURES WHOLE JUNIPER BERRIES
Here is another American dish and it is enhanced by wine. White or red wine, it depends upon your tastes and, it is perhaps the main ingredient in this recipe. Red seems to go well with beef, so we hope you like that wine.
Beef Stew in Red Wine
4 lb stewing beef
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions
8 carrots
5 potatoes
2 cups beef stock
2 cups red wine, (Zinfandel is recommended)
1 garlic clove, unpeeled
1 whole tomato
1-teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme
3 Whole Juniper Berries
2 bay leaves
Peel and slice the onions. Set aside
Peel the carrots and slice 4 of them into thin slices. Cut 4 of them into 3-inch pieces. Set all aside.
Peel the potatoes, cut them into 3 inch pieces and set aside.
Peel the tomato, coarsely chop it and set it aside.
Crumble the bay leaves and set aside.
Cut the beef into 2-inch cubes and pat dry thoroughly. Sauté the cubes, briefly, in a large skillet over high heat. Remove the meat to a heavy cooking pot.
Cook the onions and carrots in large skillet for 3 minutes over medium high heat. (Add an additional tablespoon of oil if necessary). Pour the beef stock into the skillet, add the wine and bring it almost to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the salt, garlic, tomatoes and pepper.
Place the remaining herbs in a cheesecloth bag (or enclose in large size stainless steel tea infuser). Bury the bundle in the meat.
Pour contents of skillet over the beef and herbs. Cover and place in a cold oven. Set oven temperature and bring oven to 450'F. Cook for 90 minutes.
While the stew is cooking, steam the carrots and potatoes that have been cut into 3-inch pieces.
Remove the skillet and the beef mixture from the oven and discard the herb bundle. Strain the juices into a large bowl. Return the beef cubes to the skillet. Press the onions and carrots cooked with the beef stock and wine through a sieve placed over the stewing juices. Pour the stewing juices/sieved vegetables mixture over the beef cubes. Add the steamed carrots and potatoes to the beef cubes. Cover and return to oven for 15-20 minutes
Serves 8
Please note that any of the spices and spice blends shown in these recipes may be ordered from Mary Ann, along with your selection for this month, and you save additional shipping.
Save shipping charges by adding any other spices or teas to your monthly selection. For each dollar you spend for added products you also receive one bonus point which can be exchanged for more spices, teas or membership in the Spice Surprise Club. Details will be included with your order.