MissouriLife Articles

Tomato tales

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:13:31 GMT

Vegetable to fruit and everthing in between

By Nina Furstenau

The 1978 movie Attack of the Killer Tomatoes begins with a tomato rising out of a woman’s garbage can in a parody of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 The Birds. They find the woman later, and it isn’t pretty.

The movie ends ominously for the tomatoes. They are cornered in a stadium and then stomped and squashed by humans. All except one, who survives when the hero sings to the gigantic tomato girl the love song “Puberty Love.”

You have to understand that there were three, yes three, sequels to Attack. The movie is a pop culture icon.

Since love of tomatoes wins the day in Attack, I will begin there.

George Washington Carver, who grew up at Diamond, courted public favor for the tomato back in 1918 when we were still reluctant to eat them, publishing How to Grow a Tomato—115 Ways to Prepare It for the Table. Carver considered tomatoes the oranges of the Missouri garden and thought tomatoes were a good addition to the table and to the nutrient-poor diets of his neighbors. He was right. Just one medium-sized tomato provides about half of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. Plus, there’s the taste.

No coaxing is needed today. In an informal survey (taken while walking around during my day), the tomato was the unanimous pick for favorite garden vegetable. Americans eat an average of about one hundred pounds of medium-sized tomatoes per year, almost half of them fresh and the rest canned, according to Robert Hendrickson in American Tomato. The best of those come right out of our Missouri gardens, and most are never vengeful. Nor do we typically stomp them.

In fact, my vote for best tomato moment is when I’m waist-high in sticky leaves, out amongst them in their element, if you will. Try it: Gently clasp the fruit of this vine, notice how the pluck of harvest resounds along both the stem of the tomato plant and your arm; sink your teeth through ripe pulp, thrust out your chin and—wait for it—catch the dribbles.

The tasty burst upon the tongue has an additional advantage: With focus, it can stay with you throughout every bite of a summertime meal.

Despite amazing flavor, the tomato began humbly. It first grew in the Andes and is still found there, throughout Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, growing wild like shriveled grape clusters on a vine. It became a cultivated crop in Central America and then Mexico after Mayan seafaring traders brought the seed to the Yucatan, Hendrickson says. The traders called the fruit tomatl, or xtomatl, and so prized it that tomato images are traced on heritage pottery from the region.

The tomato began its circuitous journey back to the New World by first joining up with Cortez. In 1521, after battling Aztec uprisings, Cortez and his group took tomatl seeds from the Chichen Itza market back to Europe, Hendrickson says. The seeds, jostled by an ocean voyage, took root first in Spain, where the new fruit was hailed as a rare new food.

Its lush color and plumpness gave it an allure it never acquired in the Americas. It began to be called the “love apple” and gained a reputation of being an aphrodisiac. And truly, the inside of a tomato looks a bit like a human heart—the very seat of love—with its four chambers.

A Spanish chef is said to have combined the fruit with olive oil, spices, and onions to create the first tomato sauce. People living on the perimeter of the Mediterranean adored the new food, perhaps in part because of its aura of mystery, and a developing cuisine flourished around the tomate. The Spaniards took the seeds into Asia, and the tomato continued to become a major player in the diets of many nationalities.

Semantics, however, played a role in the tomato’s slightly sinful new image. “All Spaniards at the time were called Moors, and one story has it that an Italian gentleman told a visiting Frenchman that the tomatoes he had been served were ‘Pomi del Moro’ (Moor’s apples), which to his guest sounded like ‘pommes d’amour,’ or ‘apples of love,’” Hendrickson wrote. Hendrickson also cites another version, which claims that the phrase “apples of love” derives from the Italian pomo d’oro (golden apple), identical to today’s Italian name for the tomato, pomodoro. In fact, yellow tomatoes were among the first varieties to be introduced to Europe.

That tomatoes were titillating, perhaps as oysters are today, made way for a darker image. Membership in the nightshade family didn’t help. The tomato’s first botanical name, Lycopersicon, which means “wolf peach” in Greek, is close to Lycopersicon esculentum, a reputedly deadly aphrodisiac. German tales give tomatoes a sinister aura, linking them with werewolves and the witches needed to evoke them, a practice known as lycanthropy (hence, wolf peach). By 1544, the plant was aligned with mandrake, henbane, and belladonna, all extremely poisonous plants, by Italian herbalist Pietro Andrea Mattioli, in his Commentaries on the Six Books of Dioscorides.

The unbecoming image was actually true—for the leafy parts of the plant. In fact, all parts of the tomato plant except the fruits are toxic and cause severe digestive upset. Though fully ripe tomatoes have virtually no alkaloid toxin, a Cornell University study says less than two ounces of tomato leaves are likely lethal for an adult.

So, let’s not graze on tomato leaves in the garden.

One folk story has it that an English host served the talked-about tomato to a grand gathering after which all in attendance became ill. The cook apparently diced up the leaves of the plant as well as the fruit. After this, the English opted for safety and relegated the tomato to the greenhouse for floral ornamentation, not consumption. An English traveler wrote in 1596, “these love apples are eaten abroad,” but went on to describe them “of rank and stinking savour.”
Northern European countries regarded the tomato as a mere curiosity for over a century.

Stateside, the lush, scarlet image of the tomato was too much for our Puritan forefathers. A little resistance was in order, and we took our cue from the British and Germans. At first, Missourians used tomatoes primarily as a remedy for not-so-appetizing pustules.

Tomato suspicion lingered until 1820, or possibly 1830, when Col. Robert Gibbon Johnson of Salem, New Jersey, declared he would eat a bushel on the courthouse steps. In this possibly tall tale, his doctor predicted frothing at the mouth and tortured death. Two thousand people came to watch. Though Thomas Jefferson grew the plant at Monticello in 1781, not until Johnson ate the tomatoes publicly without dying did people believe.

Talk about Show-Me philosophy in play.

By 1835, the editor of the Maine Farmer wrote that tomatoes were safe to eat, and seed catalog listings for tomatoes grew exponentially throughout the next century. In 1863, a popular seed catalog listed twenty-three cultivars, and among them was Trophy, the first modern-looking large, red, smooth-skinned variety, which fetched five dollars for a packet of twenty seeds. Today, Heirloom Tomatoes of Hilliard, Ohio, currently offers more than four hundred varieties of heirloom tomatoes, typically for $2.95 per seed packet. Popular varieties of tomatoes that grow well in Missouri are Beefmaster, Better Boy, Big Beef, Celebrity, Jet Star, Lemon Boy, Pik Rite, Pink Girl, and the Missouri Pink Love Apple, according to the University of Missouri Extension web site.

Botanically, tomatoes are giant berries, yes, berries, or fruits belonging to the potato family, but legally the tomato is generally a vegetable. To counter a case brought by John Nix, a tomato importer, the U.S. Supreme Court held in 1893 that the tomato and all plants “grown in kitchen gardens, including potatoes, carrots, turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, and lettuce” had to be considered a vegetable when it was served in soup or with the main course of a meal, although it could be considered a fruit when eaten as dessert. Thus, Nix and others had to continue to pay a 10 percent tariff on imported tomato vegetables.

Regardless, we’re a tomato-loving lot. In addition to the fresh tomatoes we each eat each year, nearly six million tons of tomatoes grown in the United States are processed annually into canned goods. No matter how you slice it, the cautious Puritans were overruled.

With so many Missourians with backyard gardens, it’s hard to tolerate less-than-fresh tomatoes at restaurants in the summertime. Some chefs are nimble enough to create dishes based on regional food freshness (See Missouri Life June 2008 “The New Organic” for more on Community Supported Agriculture farms). Sycamore restaurant at Columbia takes this step with delicious results.

Ordering Sycamore’s fresh tomato salad is to look onto a plate of orange, yellow, or tangerine tomatoes; red, pink, or blue tomatoes; white, green, striped, or oddly shaped, sweetly-husked tomatoes—in a word: heirloom. Chef and co-owner Mike Odette makes the effort to acquire unusual tomato varieties through his contacts with local farmers. The riot of color and flavor in Odette’s tomato dishes will put you in the fresh-tomato camp for life. Gazpacho at Sycamore is chunky and savory with pieces of colorful tomatoes in the mix. Sycamore’s intriguing tomato sorbet is sweet and cooling with just the right zing.

Mike believes in developing dishes based on what is freshly available. “There’s always certain ingredients that you understand will work well together,” he says of his rotating menu. “Having a mental library of those kinds of ideas gets me about halfway there.”

The restaurant itself has a slightly urban ambience, with high ceilings sporting rotating fans, mosaic tile along with hardwood floors, white tablecloths, and a long dark bar. Odette and his wife, Amy, and partners Sanford and Jill Speake wanted an open kitchen design, and in the refurbishment of Sycamore, they created it overlooking the diners from the rear of the building.

Of course, you don’t have to go out for a fine tomato. Missouri is not one of the top commercial producing states in the United States, which are Florida, California, and Georgia, perhaps because tomatoes never make it past our backyards and kitchens. I choose to think that we tend to choose flavor, too, over the hybrid qualities of tough skin for shipping and uniform ripening times.

Like Gershwin’s 1937 song, tomato, tomäto, it’s all the same to me. The tale of the tomato comes down to this: eating.

Heirloom or not?

What makes an heirloom tomato? Some are shaped like peppers or cherries or weigh in at two pounds. They are purple, black, striped, green, orange, yellow, and pink. Indeed, some are red. Seeds of a tomato do not easily crossbreed and will produce plants resembling the parents. Early cultivars did not change much because of this property and were kept in a family or community for long periods of time, thus earning the name heirlooms. Some varieties available today have been passed on for more than one hundred years.

Names of heirloom cultivars often read like hints to a deeper tale: Black Krim (Russia), Bloody Butcher (unknown), Tommy Toe (Ozarks), Mortgage Lifter (U.S.), plus the Missouri Pink Love Apple. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds at Mansfield lists this cultivar as big, pink, and very rich-tasting: “It was grown since the Civil War by the Barnes family, who grew it as an ornamental, believing (as many people did at the time) that tomatoes or ‘love apples’ were poisonous.”

Heirlooms carry unique genetics and often a history. For instance, Polish is a cultivar said to have been smuggled into the United States on the back of a postage stamp in the late 1800s. Mortgage Lifter is said to have been developed during the Depression by a farmer who claimed one plant would feed a family of six. He sold the plants for one dollar each until he paid off his mortgage.

The tomato: heroic and tasty.

Nutritional value

A single medium-sized tomato:

• Provides about half of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. If the tomato is homegrown and ripened-on-the-vine, it may contain up to a third more vitamin C than a commercial, gas-ripened fruit.

• Contains vitamin A, some of which is in the form of beta carotene, thought to reduce the risk of certain cancers.

• Is a good source of potassium and contains B1 and B2 vitamins, iron, and phosphorus.

• Is fiber-rich, low in sodium and calories (only about four calories per ounce), and is cholesterol-free.

• Provides lycopene, the major carotenoid contained in tomatoes that is responsible for the deep red color. Similar to beta carotene, lycopene has been touted as a potent anti-oxidant, a molecule that snuffs out cancer-causing free radicals.

Sources: Dr. Sanjun Gu, Lincoln University vegetable specialist at Jefferson City; Michigan State University Department of Food Science study and Elaine Landau, author of Tomatoes

– MissouriLife Recipes –
Courtesy of Sycamore Restaurant at Columbia

Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

Ingredients:
1½ pounds heirloom tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons basil pesto
¼ teaspoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine ingredients and season to taste.

Serve at room temperature atop bread, preferably homemade, that has been brushed with oil, grilled, and rubbed with a garlic clove. This is also good as a pasta sauce or side dish.
Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer.

Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho

Ingredients:
3 pounds heirloom tomatoes, diced (about 2
quarts)
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced small
(about 2 cups)
½ medium onion, diced small (about 1 cup)
2 ribs celery, diced small (about 1 cup)
1 quart bottled tomato juice
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a one-gallon, non-reactive (plastic, glass, or stainless) container, such as a pitcher. Using an immersion blender, zap the gazpacho a few times until desired consistency is reached. Gazpacho may be served smooth, like a beverage, or chunky.

Heirloom Tomato Sorbet

Ingredients:
2 cups water
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup sherry vinegar
¼ cup vodka
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
4 pounds heirloom tomatoes, peeled

Directions:
In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients except for the tomatoes. Stir over medium heat until sugar and salt are dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Process the tomatoes in a food mill to purée and seed them. Combine the tomato purée with the water-and-sugar mixture and freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.
Serves 12.

Note: Flavored or infused vodka, such as lemon or pepper, may be used. The vodka is optional, but since this recipe doesn’t use much sugar, the alcohol helps keep the sorbet from freezing rock-hard.

August 2008

Rayville Baking Co. Recipes

Thu, 08 May 2008 18:58:53 GMT

Chef Josh Anthony shares recipes from farmhouse culinary classes taught at Rayville Baking Co. at Rayville northeast of Kansas City.

For more information, visit www.rayvillebakingco.com or call 816-776-2720.

FRENCH COUNTRY CHICKEN FRICASSEE
Courtesy of Rayville Baking Company’s Josh Anthony

For the marinade:
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 small leek, greens trimmed, bulb split, rinsed and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups dry red wine
16 thin slices bacon
4 Cornish hens, halved (or 8 chicken thighs)

For the stew:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
12 pearl onions, peeled
2 stalks celery, chopped diagonally
2 tablespoons port wine
2 tablespoons red current jelly (or a good quality tart jelly)
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
4 sprigs of rosemary for garnish

Marinate the meat by combining the celery, leek, carrot, onion, garlic and wine in a large bowl. Wrap 2 slices of bacon around each half-hen, then secure with a toothpick or kitchen string. Put the hens in the marinade, cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove the hens from the marinade and blot them dry with paper towels. Strain the marinade into a bowl and reserve the liquid. Reserve the vegetables separately.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the Cornish hens on all sides, about 15 minutes per batch. Set the browned birds aside.

Add the reserved marinated vegetables to the pot. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and brown the vegetables. Add the reserved marinade liquid to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Return the Cornish hens to the pot, cover, and place in the oven until the hens are well cooked, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. First, bring a large pot of salt water to a boil over high heat. Cook the onions until they are just tender, about 7 minutes, and then remove them with a slotted spoon. Add the celery to the pot and cook until it is tender, about 3 minutes. Refresh the celery in ice water. Set the celery and onions aside.

Remove the Cornish hens from the pot and keep warm. Return the pot to the stovetop over medium heat. Stir in the port wine, jelly and cream. Stir in the sugar, followed by the butter. Then add the onion and celery, stir until they are warmed through.

To serve: Plate two Cornish hen halves in the center of each plate, cover with sauce and surround with vegetables. Garnish each plate with a sprig of rosemary.

Serves 4.

COFFEE POTS DE CRÈME
Courtesy of Rayville Baking Company’s Josh Anthony

Flourless cooking spray for greasing
1 cup whole or low-fat milk
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar, divided
2 tablespoons coarsely ground coffee beans
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Fill a teakettle or a large pot with 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Coat six 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups lightly with cooking spray and set them on a kitchen towel in a deep baking pan.

Combine the milk and cream with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

Place 1/4 cup of the sugar in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar liquefies and turns into a deep golden brown caramel, 4-5 minutes. Add the hot cream mixture to the caramel in 3 additions. Bring to a boil after each addition, stirring each time to dissolve the caramel, about 5 minutes total. Add the ground coffee and continue to simmer until the cream is well flavored, about 2 minutes. Strain the cream mixture through a fine-mesh strainer or a regular strainer lined with cheese cloth into a clean saucepan. Return the strained cream mixture to the saucepan and bring to a simmer.

While the cream mixture heats, blend the egg and egg yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a heatproof bowl. Temper the eggs by gradually adding about one-third of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly. Add the remaining cream mixture and stir. Add the vanilla extract to the custard mixture, stir, and strain through a fine-mesh strainer into the prepared ramekins, filling those three-fourths full.

Place baking pan on a pulled-out oven rack. Add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with parchment paper or aluminum foil and bake until the pots de crème are very glossy on the top and jiggle only slightly when shaken, about 20-25 minutes.

Remove the ramekins from the water bath. Let the pot de crème cool on a rack for 30 minutes, wrap individually, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days before serving in the ramekins.

Serves 6.

Organic Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritoes

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 18:05:11 GMT

Courtesy of Main Squeeze Natural Foods Café chef Rachel Theerman.

We use primarily organic ingredients for this dish, which are easy to find at most grocery stores and health food markets like Clover’s in Columbia. Also, we use dried black beans, but using organic canned beans is a great time-saver. We make our own super tasty enchilada sauce, but there are great organic ones available as another time-saver. Just be sure to heat it up before topping the burrito.

Ingredients

Enchilada Sauce

2 tablespoons canola oil

½ cup yellow onion, diced

2-3 tablespoons garlic, minced

1 tablespoon cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1-2 teaspoons sea salt

pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

3 cups canned diced tomatoes

Seasoned Black Beans

2 tablespoons canola oil

½ cup yellow onion, diced

¼ cup celery, diced

½ cup carrot, peeled and diced

½ cup bell pepper, diced

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

1-2 teaspoons sea salt

1 tablespoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

¼ teaspoon dry mustard

1 can (12-15 oz.) black beans (whole beans, not refried)

Burrito Filling

2 cups sweet potato, peeled and diced

2 cups brown rice, cooked

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated

sour cream

scallions and sprouts to garnish

4 12-inch tortillas

Sweet Potatoes Preparation

Steam or boil sweet potatoes until tender. This takes 20-30 minutes, during which time you can prepare the sauce and black beans.

Enchilada Sauce Preparation

Heat canola oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and add garlic and spices. Stir until well combined, and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add canned tomatoes, including juice, and return heat to medium-high. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring often.

Use an immersion/stick blender to blend sauce until smooth.

Black Bean Preparation

In a medium skillet, heat canola oil on medium heat. Once oil is hot, add the onions, celery, carrots and bell peppers and sauté 5-7 minutes, stirring often. The onions should be translucent and the veggies slightly softened.

Turn the heat to low and add garlic, sea salt, and spices. Sauté another 3 minutes to toast the spices, stirring often.

Add the can of black beans with their liquid. Stir well to incorporate into the vegetable mixture and adjust seasonings if necessary. Hold on lowest heat, covered with a lid, to keep hot while you assemble the burritos.

Assembly

Make sure your tortillas are at room temperature or warmed slightly before assembling.

In the middle of a 12-inch tortilla add ¼ cup Monterey Jack cheese, ½ cup brown rice, 3/4 cup of the black bean mixture, and ½ cup cooked sweet potatoes.

Fold in the left and right sides of the tortilla and roll into a burrito.

Top with enchilada sauce, a dollop of sour cream, and scallions and sprouts.

Serves 4.

December 2007

Nuts about nuts

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:42:59 GMT

Missouri supplies 70 percent of the world’s black walnuts

By Nina Furstenau

There’s something of eternity in the cycle of walnuts.

Each fall, they rain down, pebbling the earth under black walnut trees throughout Missouri. The sound of the yellow-green balls hitting the earth makes a remarkably soft thump for such a hard husk. Maybe you’ve stooped to pick the harvest, stained your hands or gloves, and kept a few to sprinkle on oatmeal, ice cream, and salads or to cook into cookies, muffins, and breads. Maybe you or someone you know has even taken walnuts by pickup truck to walnut hulling and collection points throughout the state.

Since long before the first pioneers, the harvest of nut trees has been a part of the American diet. Wild black walnut trees have been cut for furniture, split-rail fences, railroad ties, and other rudimentary uses, but they also drop deeply ridged, rich-tasting nuts in a muffled reminder of a greater cycle dependent on something outside man. Look around. This is what our land produces naturally. In fact, nearly 70 percent of the average world harvest of twenty-five million pounds of black walnuts per year comes from the wild walnut trees in Missouri, according to the Walnut Council based in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Perhaps for this reason, the American black walnut, also known as the Eastern black walnut, was named the Missouri State Tree Nut in 1989 in part by the effort of a second grade class in Stockton.

Pickup trucks across the state laden with black walnuts head to one of about 125 collection points in Missouri beginning October 1, and thirteen dollars per hundred-weight is exchanged for the unique nut found only in our region of the world. The natural range of black walnut trees is broader than Missouri. It stretches east through western Pennsylvania and Virginia, south to eastern Texas, and north to southern Nebraska. Black walnut is even scattered in New York and southern Canada, according to the Walnut Council. But it is here in Missouri where most of the nuts are collected and processed.

The Hammons Products Co. at Stockton is the only commercial processor of black walnuts in the world. Spotless floors display machines with steel drums that crack the super-hard shell much more efficiently than, say, spreading the nuts on the ground and driving over them or smashing them with a hammer while ducking flying shards.

After the nuts have been cured, or dried, for a minimum of two weeks in silos or collection bags stacked out of direct sunlight, darker nutmeats are picked out by hand, and shell bits that eluded infrared lights and shake-out holes are decisively discarded. A full 45 percent of the volume of processed nuts is made into black walnut ice cream. Another 50 percent becomes packaged nuts for groceries. The remaining nuts are packaged into gourmet food items like black walnut caramels or fudge, walnut brittle, honey gems, and truffles marketed by the Hammons Pantry. The discarded shells are also marketed by Hammons—six grade sizes in all, from fine to coarse—for use in abrasive cleaners and polish or in the cosmetic and oil industries. There’s little waste in the nut business.

The average crop harvest is usually about twenty-five million pounds. But the late freeze in the spring of 2007 in the Midwest nearly wiped out acorn production, therefore squirrels—the main competitor for the nuts, grabbing them out of trees before they fall where we can nab them—were predicted to be more aggressive and reduce human harvest to between ten and twelve million pounds. Even with the average yield, which is six to seven pounds of kernel yield per one hundred pounds of in-shell nuts, that’s still a lot of nutmeat.

When the nut is finally pried loose from its casings, the meat itself is bold, a bit dry on the tongue, and distinctive. Black walnuts can make your holiday stuffing more fragrant or be chopped finely as a crunchy coating for chicken or pork. Added to a salad with chicken, apples, and bacon? Oh yes, black walnuts are not just for dessert anymore. Other varieties of walnut are milder and make better snacking. The softer English walnut, for instance, is more well-known and cracks into beautiful halves. The butternut, a blonde cousin of black walnut, is a bit smoother than the Missouri black. The smaller, crunchier, and almost smoky-flavored black walnut has a boldness that complements and intensifies the flavor of a full-bodied dish.

Not surprisingly, since Stockton is the black walnut capital of the world, Stockton also has a first-rate restaurant that incorporates the nut’s flavor into its fare with flair.

Aubrey Foster, owner and chef of Bongo’s Bistro at Stockton and its new location in Silo Ridge Country Club at Bolivar, praises the one-of-a-kind flavor of black walnuts. “We all know black walnuts add distinctive flavor to desserts,” Aubrey says. As visions of rich, nutty oatmeal cookies and coffeecake flash through the mind, he adds, “You don’t need me for that. I’d like to see the black walnut expand into other foods.”

Aubrey, whose restaurant at Stockton opened in 1999, serves up several choices. “I think it complements fish well, especially strong-flavored fish like trout, and I like it on tuna and salmon.” He mentions walnut-encrusted salmon and black walnut and sausage stuffing.

Aubrey came to cooking and business later in life. He began with a degree in drafting but was always attracted to cooking and wine. At twenty, in New York, he saw Hungarian women in fields picking grapes, which perhaps sparked a lifelong interest in fine wines. At thirty, he began an old-world-style apprenticeship in Florida. For four years, he learned the art of fine Italian cooking and presentation and used it to run several restaurants there. In 1999, Aubrey came back to his home state of Missouri with the thought of opening a new-world hamburger joint. “I couldn’t do it,” he says, and Bongo’s Bistro was born, combining a curious and inviting mix of a casual hangout and a sophisticated restaurant.

There’s a relaxed feel to the restaurant at Stockton, which seats about thirty-five in one half and another twenty or so on the side, where Aubrey sells more than two hundred varieties of wines and a worldwide selection of beers. By 6 pm on a Friday evening, the parking lot already accommodates a Subaru with two kayaks strapped to its top, a Lexus, two motorcycles, and a Honda. The building is tan stucco with jaunty awnings. Inside, cherubs and monkeys grace the walls and menu. The waitresses are friendly and efficient, and several entrées are nutty. With the opening of the new Bongo’s at Bolivar, Chef David Vignoe now leads the Stockton location.

Chef David explains that his special dressing for the Bistro Salad incorporates honey, pumpkin spice, cream, and nuts. He mentions several seasonings in the bread for dipping into olive oil, Parmesan, and herbs and that his pizza crust is made from scratch. The salad flavors of grilled chicken, black walnuts, apples, and bacon sit well on the tongue. His Linguini with Black Walnuts in Clam Sauce is rich and satisfying; the nuts deepen the flavor and make the dish sumptuous. Plus, it is a beauty on the plate—the nuts almost meaty atop the fettuccine and clamshells as a garnish. Moscato d’Asti, an Italian wine from Umberto Fiore, complements the rich flavor of the black walnuts and pasta. A light Chablis, Aubrey says, is also a good choice.

Another stop at Stockton is the Hammons Black Walnut Emporium on the downtown square. Manager Diane Steele brings in an array of interesting foodstuffs to her bright, inviting space: black walnut syrup, fudge, and ice cream; coffees and chocolates from around the world; and gift items, such as art prints, funnel cake kits, books, candles, and cards. Her bakery stocks blueberry black walnut muffins, cheesecakes, black walnut cookies, and more. The ice cream offerings include peachy black walnut, regular black walnut, and a caramelized black walnut, made especially for the Emporium.

The Emporium will host an open house from November 16 to 18, which will feature free samples of holiday black walnuts. Then during Stockton’s Living Christmas on December 3, black walnuts will be roasted out front. The festival features a band, carolers, Victorian-costumed shopkeepers, and burning barrels for hand-warming.

After indulging in black walnut treats and the festivities, a rest may be in order. Just outside of town, Stockton Lake’s wind-whipped waves are beautiful any time of year. You may still see some boats bobbing in their slips, and the 25,000-acre lake also boasts fishing and more than 300 miles of undeveloped shoreline. The lake makes the list of best lakes for sailing in the United States (see King of the Road “The Wind in Your Sail,” June 2007). Orleans Trail Resort and Marina just off Highway 39 and RB Road, offers lodging, guide services, a marina, a pool, camping sites, and a restaurant. While lake views from the rooms are limited, the grounds are beautiful and near the water.

No matter if you are contemplating the cycle of walnuts at Stockton Lake, indulging in their rich flavor in your Bongo’s dinner entrée, or nipping over to the Emporium for roasted black walnut ice cream, the walnut is a good Missouri food to explore. Stockton showcases it well—from tree to table.

Click HERE for Tasteful Traveler black walunt recipes!

December 2007

Nuts about Nuts: Black Walnut recipes

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:41:21 GMT

Black Walnut Linguini and Clam Sauce

4 tablespoons butter
2 ounces garlic, crushed
4 whole clams
2 ounces black walnuts
1 tablespoon Chablis white wine
3 ounces whole baby clam juice
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
3 ounces heavy cream
1 ounces Parmesan, grated
3/4 cup whole baby clams
7 ounces fettuccini or linguini, cooked

Over a medium-high flame, add butter, garlic, and 4 whole clams. When garlic starts to turn brown, add walnuts and stir just a few minutes until caramelized in color. Add Chablis. Add clam juice and lower the heat to medium or medium-low. Add fresh parsley, cream, and Parmesan and mix until smooth. Let simmer on heat until sauce starts to thicken. Add baby clams and noodles.

Serves 4.

Bongo's Bistro Salad

DRESSING:
1 ounce mayonnaise
3 ounces heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1-1/2 ounces honey
1 tablespoon sugar

Put all ingredients in a bowl, and mix with a fork or wire whisk until smooth. (Do not use mixer or the heavy cream will become whipped cream). Set aside and chill.

SALAD:
5 large leaves lettuce
1 granny smith apple
1 skinless chicken breast, cooked and cubed
2 ounces bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 ounce rice noodles
2 ounces black walnuts, chopped
Dash ground cinnamon

In a mixing bowl, tear leaf lettuce to desired size; add slices of granny smith apple, cooked chicken meat, crisped bacon, rice noodles, and black walnut pieces. Combine lightly, and then pour dressing to gently coat salad. Sprinkle cinnamon over top and serve.

Serves 4.

Chicken Breasts with Sage and Black Walnuts

1 cup black walnuts
2 tablespoons sage, fresh or dried leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
1 cup apple, Jonathan or other tart cooking apple, grated
4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, pounded flat
1/4 cup Durkee Red Hot Sauce (Do not substitute)
14 ounces chicken broth, canned, double strength
3 tablespoons flour
Fresh sage and fresh sage flowers for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In blender or food processor, grind black walnuts with sage, salt, and pepper until black walnut pieces are 1/8-inch. Remove from blender and combine with grated apple to form a paste. Spread 1/4 of the paste on the bottom of each chicken breast, covering evenly. Carefully roll each breast into a lengthwise roll, and secure with a toothpick. Place, toothpick down, in oven proof skillet. Generously coat the rolls with the Red Hot and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth and poach in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the chicken rolls are cooked in the middle and browned on top.

Remove the breasts to a cutting board, and add 1/4 of the remaining broth to the skillet. Reduce the pan drippings almost completely. Just as they are turning brown, add another 1/4 of the chicken broth and deglaze the pan. Mix remaining broth with the flour, be sure it has no lumps and stir into the skillet. Continue stirring over medium heat until the sauce is thickened and the flour taste has disappeared. Correct the seasonings with salt and pepper.

Carefully remove the toothpicks from the chicken breasts, and holding them carefully; slice into 1/2-inch slices. Keep the roll intact as much as possible. Arrange cut rolls on serving platter, fanning each roll so the black walnut filling will show. Cover with foil and return to oven until chicken has regained its warmth. Just before serving, spoon sauce over each breast individually, and garnish with fresh herbs.

Serves 4.

Black Walnut-Encrusted Chicken Breasts with Peach Sauce
This recipe was originally featured on Taste of the Ozarks with Jim Lekander.

4 boneless chicken breasts, without skin
1/3 cup peach preserves
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup flour
2 cups black walnuts, finely chopped
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Dash salt and white pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Trim the boneless chicken breasts and pound out evenly. Then mix the preserves, honey and one-quarter cup of the chicken stock in a bowl. In another bowl, take the flour and finely chopped walnuts and mix together. Dip the chicken breasts in the peach mixture and drain slightly. Roll the breasts in the walnut mixture and pat down. Place onto a cooking sheet and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

To make the sauce: Put the peach mixture in a small pan. Then add the cornstarch to the remaining chicken stock and mix. Add the chicken stock to the peach mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the chicken from the oven and plate. Take the sauce and nap it across the chicken breast, then serve.

Serves 4.

Black Walnut Praline Pork Chops and Apples

4 pork chops, approximately 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup black walnuts
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat sear the pork chops on both sides then turn down the heat to medium. Add the black walnuts to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until the pork chops are done, approximately 3-4 minutes.

Serves 4.

This recipe has been featured by Chef Jim Lekander on Taste of the Ozarks recipes on KY3 TV in Springfield, Missouri.

Green Beans with Raisins and Black Walnuts

1 pound green beans, trimmed, cut into 2-inch lengths
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup raisins, minced
1/4 cup black walnuts
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Cook green beans in large pot of boiling, salted water until crisp-tender, about 6 minutes; drain. Rinse under cold water to cool; drain well.

Melt butter in heavy, large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger, raisins and black walnuts; cook until ginger and black walnuts are golden brown, stirring constantly about 2 minutes. Add green beans and lemon juice and cook until beans are heated through and coated with black walnut mixture, stirring constantly about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4.

Sausage, Wild Rice & Black Walnut Stuffing

1 cup wild rice, cooked according to package directions
1 pound pork sausage, lightly browned
8 cups bread cubes, toasted
1 cup black walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
3 eggs
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 cups chicken or turkey broth
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon thyme leaves

In a large bowl combine wild rice, pork sausage, bread cubes, and black walnuts.

Over medium-high heat, melt butter in a skillet; add celery and onion, sauté until soft. Add to stuffing mixture. Stir in eggs, parsley, and raisins. Slowly stir in chicken broth until stuffing is moist and holds together. Season with salt, pepper, poultry seasonings and thyme leaves.

Turn into greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Makes enough stuffing to accommodate an 18 to 20 lb. Turkey.

Serves about 20.

Black Walnut Pie
1 9-inch pie crust
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 _ cups black walnuts
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degree. Check the pie crust to be sure the edges are at least 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch above the rim of the pan to prevent the pie filling from bubbling over the edge.

Gently combine all ingredients, in order listed. Stir enough to begin dissolving the sugar, but not enough to incorporate air into the filling. Do not beat, or the pie will have air bubbles on the top, instead of black walnuts, spoiling the glossy look of the glazed nuts. Pour into the unbaked pie crust.

Bake on a cookie sheet 1 hour or until the center of the pie is no longer loose and the black walnuts are browned. Serve either hot or cold, but for the best appearance, allow the pie to reach room temperature before cutting. Whipped cream or ice cream is a wonderful addition.

Serves 6 to 8.

Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Pie
9-inch pie crust

FILLING
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 16-ounce can pumpkin
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten

STREUSEL
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons margarine, softened
1/2 cup black walnuts

TOPPING
1 8-ounce carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 teaspoon orange peel, grated

Prepare 9-inch pie crust. Heat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients; beat until well blended. Pour into pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 degrees, and continue baking for 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine all streusel ingredients. Sprinkle streusel over pumpkin filling. Bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool.

In a small bowl, gently fold whipped topping and orange peel together. Serve over cooled pie. Refrigerate any remaining pie.

Serves 6 to 8.

Hoss's Market & Rotisserie Roasted or Smoked Pork Tenderloin with Ham and Cheese

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:02:38 GMT

Premium quality pork tenderloin (6-8 oz. per person) Sharp cheese, shredded (Manchego, grana padano, or cheddar) Yellow onions, caramelized Garlic, minced Ham (Serrano, prosciutto, or country ham), thinly sliced Hoss’s steak seasoning Country bacon (optional) Butterfly the tenderloin lengthwise. Mix together onions, garlic and cheese. Sprinkle the cheese mixture lightly on the pork. Place a slice of ham on the cheese, then spread a little more cheese on top. Fold the tenderloin together, and sprinkle with steak seasoning. If desired, wrap with the bacon and secure with toothpicks. If not using bacon, tie with butchers twine. Either roast at 325 degrees or smoke at low temperature until the interior is 155 degrees. Slice and serve, either hot or cold. *WINE PAIRING* We recommend Pedroncelli Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley. This elegant wine has notes of cherry and spicy clove—a perfect pairing with pork. Courtesy of Hoss's Market & Rotisserie at Columbia October 2007

Coconut Cod with Mango Chutney and Curry Sauce

Thu, 17 May 2007 14:42:27 GMT

h3. From Chef Paul Blackwell at Classy's Restaurant at Columbia Serves 4 *Chutney* 1 mango, peeled and diced ¾ cup rice vinegar 1/3 cup brown sugar Pinch ground cloves ½ teaspoon coriander seed, ground Combine ingredients in small pan, bring to boil, and reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes or until liquid is syrupy. May be made 2-3 days in advance; keep refrigerated. *Basmati Rice* ¼ cup onion, chopped ½ teaspoon fennel seed 3 cloves, whole 1 teaspoon granulated garlic 2 tablespoons whole butter ½ cup basmati rice 1 ½ cup water Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste Green onions or chives, finely chopped (optional) Combine first 5 ingredients in sauce pot. Cook gently without browing until onions are clear. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently for 2 minutes until rice is coated with butter. Add water and salt and pepper, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed, 15-20 minutes. Keep warm. Stir in green onions or chives just before serving. *Vegetables* Begin with a selection of your favorite vegetables. Choose a variety of colors and textures to provide contrast. Peel or pare the vegetables as necessary. Bring a large pot of water to a roiling boil. Season the water aggressively with salt – the water should taste as salty as seawater. Meanwhile, have a large container of ice water ready. Working in batches of one type of vegetable at a time, blanch the vegetables in the boiling water, and when cooked to your preference, remove with a strainer and chill in the ice water. Then progress to the next type of vegetable. At time of service, gently reheat in the boiling water and toss with melted butter, salt and pepper. *Cod, Sauce, and Assembly* 1 lb. cod fillets 1 egg, beaten Coconut, shreaded, as needed 1 tablespoon curry powder 3 ounces dry sherry 8 ounces heavy cream Salt and freshly ground pepper Butter, as needed Garnish: Mango chutney, cilantro sprigs, and lime wedges Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Season cod with salt and pepper. Cook in lighly buttered non-stick pan until browned on one side. Flip cod over and remove from heat. Lightly coat browned cod with egg and coconut. Finish cooking in oven until cod is opaque and coconut is brown. Remove cod from pan and keep warm. Add curry powder and sherry to pan, reduce until almost dry, then add cream and reduce until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve cod on a bed of rice, surrounded by sauce and assorted vegetables. Garnish top of cod with mango chutney and cilantro springs and serve with lime wedges. _Note: Curry powders are available in a wide variety of flavor profiles ranging from sweet to fiery hot._

Christmas Dinner At Honeyshuck

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 20:16:00 GMT

*Butternut Squash Soup* 1 large butternut squash 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) 2 medium Yukon potatoes, diced 1/2 medium onion or 2 large shallots, diced 3 to 4 cups rich chicken stock 1 cup half-and-half 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Place in a baking pan, cut sides down. Add warm water to about a 1-inch depth in pan. Bake for 1 hour. Meanwhile, melt butter in large pot. Add the potatoes, and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onion or shallots, and cook 5 more minutes, stirring. Add the chicken stock, and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Allow the baked squash to cool slightly for ease in handling. Do not refrigerate. Scrape the cooked squash out of the shell and into the potato mixture. Stir until blended, and pour 2-cup portions into a blender. Purée for 2 or 3 minutes per batch. Return to pot, and add cream and spices. Gently simmer. Serve hot topped with sour cream. Serves 6 as a main dish or 10 as an appetizer. *Brussels Sprouts in Dill Butter* 2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts 1 stick butter 2 teaspoons dill weed Salt and pepper to taste. In a four quart pot bring salted water to a boil. Add sprouts and blanch for three minutes. Drain but do not rinse. In a large skillet melt the butter until light brown. Add the sprouts and the dill weed and simmer gently for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8. *Buttered Sherried Onions* 3 10-ounce jars small white onions 1 stick butter, style 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped 1 teaspoon pepper (no salt) 1/2 cup light, sweet sherry 1 cup bread crumbs, dried and salted Drain the onions very well. Melt butter in a skillet. Add onions to bubbling butter and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the parsley and pepper. Stir to incorporate. Add the sherry and stir and cook over medium heat for two minutes. Pour into au gratin dish and top with the bread crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes until crumbs turn a golden brown. Serves 6 to 8. *Stuffed Prunes in Citrus* 1 small orange, sliced thin into rounds 1 lemon, sliced thin into rounds 2 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup cider vinegar 3 cups water 2 cinnamon sticks, broken into one-inch pieces 8 – 10 whole cloves 1/2 teaspoon each of allspice, ground ginger, nutmeg 1/3 cup honey 1 pound dried prune Walnut halves Cut orange and lemon slices in half. Place all ingredients except walnuts in a heavy bottom kettle. Gently boil for 1 hour. With a slotted spoon, remove all the prunes that are whole. Chop remaining prunes and return to the mixture, this will be about a third of the prunes. Stuff half a walnut into the top of each whole prune and stand on a plate with the walnut on the top side. Add some walnut pieces to the citrus mixture and simmer 20 minutes. Set mixture aside or refrigerate until time to serve. Reheat slightly to serve. Use stuffed prunes to garnish around the base of the roast. *Chestnut Sausage Stuffing* 8 cups dried bread, cubed or torn 1 pound sage sausage 1 medium onion, roughly chopped 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, minced 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) 3/4 cup chestnuts, roasted, peeled, and chopped 2 teaspoons dried thyme 2 teaspoons sage, dried and crushed 1 large egg, beaten Salt and pepper to taste 1 cup chicken stock Place torn bread in a large bowl, and set aside. In a large skillet, cook the sausage. When almost cooked, add the onion, celery, garlic, butter, and chestnuts. Sauté mixture until sausage is fully cooked and onions look translucent. Add this mixture to the bread and toss well. Add the thyme, sage, and the beaten egg, and mix again, adding salt and pepper. Drizzle the chicken stock over the mixture, and toss again. Place all but 1 1/2 cups in a well-buttered oven-proof casserole dish. Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Use the reserved stuffing for the crown of the roast. Serves 6. *Standing Rib Pork Roast* 6 to 8 pound roast prepared in a crown by your butcher (order well in advance) 2 cups semisweet white wine 1 tablespoon rosemary, crushed Salt and pepper Reserved stuffing Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place roast in a roaster or open baker on a rack. Pour wine over roast and into the center. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and rosemary. Roast uncovered for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and place reserved stuffing in the crown of the roast. Roast for 45 minutes longer or until meat thermometer inserted in center registers 160 degrees. Allow to sit with a “foil tent” for 20 minutes before carving. Slice between ribs. Serve with Stuffed Prunes in Citrus Compote. Serves 6 to 8. *Ambrosia* 6 to 8 seedless oranges, peeled and separated, membrane removed 1 cup coconut, shredded 1/2 cup golden raisins 1/3 cup pecan pieces 1/4 cup vanilla sugar (available in gourmet stores) Mix all the ingredients together gently and refrigerate overnight. Serve in a crystal bowl. Serves 6 to 8. *Christmas Cake* 3/4 cup pecans, chopped 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 cup golden raisins 1 cup dark raisins 1 cup cranberries, dried 2 cups water 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground cloves Grated rind from one lemon Grated rind from one orange 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan. In a large heavy-bottomed kettle, combine all ingredients listed before the lemon rind. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Add lemon and orange rind. Sift the dry ingredients, and slowly add to the liquid mixture. Beat on low speed with mixer until all the ingredients are combined, about 4 minutes. Pour the mixture into the prepared Bundt pan. Set the Bundt pan in a larger pan and pour water around the bottom of the Bundt pan until water is about 1/3 of the way up the sides of the Bundt pan. Bake 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and invert on a cooling rack, leaving the Bundt pan on the cake for at least 1 hour. Remove pan and set cake on a serving platter with a lip edge that extends about 1 or 2 inches past the cake bottom. Slowly pour the hard sauce completely over the cake and allow it to absorb. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature to serve. The cake can also be heated slightly. Serve with additional hard sauce or whipped cream. Serves 10 to 12. *Hard Sauce* 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) 3/4 cup spiced rum 2 cups confectioners’ sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Melt butter in sauce pan. Add the rum and simmer 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture begins to bubble. Whisk in the sugar and vanilla. Simmer 4 more minutes. Spoon over Christmas Cake.

The Raphael Recipes

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 16:07:14 GMT

*ROAST PEPPER PANCAKE TACOS* 2 duckling breasts, smoked, skin and excess fat removed, diced small 8 pancakes 8 scallions, blanched Crème fraîche Mango barbecue sauce 1 cup ripe mango, diced 1/2 cup scallion, thinly sliced Cilantro sprigs for garnish, optional Red bell pepper, minced, optional see recipes below Lay out 8 scallion strings. Place 1 pancake on each scallion, towards the middle of the scallions. Place the diced duck, diced mango, and chopped scallions in a pile on each pancake. Work on 1 pancake at a time, grab both the ends of the scallion, gently pull up to form the taco shape, and tie the scallion ends together with a simple over and under. Repeat with remaining pancakes. Either squirt or spoon the crème fraîche and mango barbecue sauce onto 4 plates in an attractive pattern and place 2 tacos on each plate. Sprinkle plates with any remaining duck, mango, scallions, minced red bell pepper, if using, and place cilantro sprigs over tacos, if using. *Pancake batter:* 1 large egg 1 cup buttermilk 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted 1/2 cup red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and pureed 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, ground Beat the egg well and add all other wet ingredients, whisk to blend well. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl, add to the wet ingredients and whisk to blend – it’s preferable to leave the batter a little chunky. Cover, refrigerate, and let rest for 20-30 minutes before using. To cook, spoon about 2-3 tablespoons of batter onto a lightly oiled griddle or non-stick skillet, into an oval shape, about 4 inches long by 3 inches wide, using the back of the spoon to work it around if necessary. Make 8 of these pancakes. *Crème fraîche:* 1/3 cup sour cream 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream This product can be bought at most grocery stores, but if you want to make your own, here’s how. Whisk together the cream and sour cream to blend well. Cover and let set at room temperature overnight to allow the beneficial bacteria in the sour cream to thicken the heavy cream. Once thickened, keep in refrigerator until needed. *Mango barbecue sauce:* 3/4 cup ripe mango, puréed 1 1/4 cup barbecue sauce In blender or food processor, mix together the mango purée and the barbecue sauce. Season to taste, if needed. *Scallion strings:* For the blanched scallions used to tie the tacos, trim the root end off of the scallion, and peel the scallion down and off the root end, trying to keep them whole. You should get 2-3 scallion “strings” per scallion. Place them in a small pot of boiling water, cook for 4-5 seconds, just until they wilt but are still bright green and then plunge them into a container of ice water to stop the cooking process. *GOLDEN CHANTERELLE SALAD* Balsamic syrup 4 Asiago bowls 5-6 cups baby field greens or spring mix 1/3 cup red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded, and cut into strips 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted Chanterelle mushrooms, sautéed see recipes below. Either place the balsamic syrup in a squirt bottle and squirt a crosshatch design on the service place or drizzle it from a small spoon. Fill a cheese bowl with field greens and place it on the service plate, toward the back of the plate. Sprinkle the plate with the roasted pepper strips and pine nuts. Spoon the sautéed mushrooms over the salad mix in the cheese bowl and drizzle the pan juices over the mushrooms. Repeat as necesssary and serve immediately. *Balsamic syrup:* 1 cup balsamic vinegar Place balsamic vinegar in a samll, heavy saucepan over low heat and cook until liquid has reduced by about two thirds. When cool. it will form a thick, syrupy liquid. *Asiago bowls:* 1 1/2 cups shreadded asiago cheese On a silpat or parchment-lined-cookie sheet, sprinkle a little over 1/3 cup of shreadded asiago cheese into a circle about 7 inches across. Repeat, if your cookie sheet is large enough to hold more than one at a time. Bake at 400 degrees approximately 15-17 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Remove from the oven, loosen with a thin spatula, and drape the cheese circles over an upturned soup bowl or coffee cup. The cheese will become crisp and hold the bowl shape once it cools off. Repeat until you have enough cheese bowls. *Chanterelle mushrooms:* 12 ounces golden chanterelle mushrooms, brushed, rinsed, patted dry, and cut into thick slices. Portobello mushrooms work well for this salad also. 1/2 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons shallots, minced 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, and tarragon, chopped (use what you have available) 2 lemons, juice only Salt and pepper to taste Heat a heavy skillet over high heat until it is smoking hot. Add olive oil and mushrooms, stir vigorously and cook for a couple of minutes. Add shallots, garlic, and herb mix; cook for a few minutes more or until mushrooms begin to give up their juice. Add lemon and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from heat and build salads. *SAUTÉED WALLEYE A L'ORLAN* Salt and pepper to taste 4 5- to 6-ounce walleye filets, skinned and boned Flour for dredging 1/4 cup corn oil Lemon-lime batter Linguine of vegetables Corn emulsion see recipes below. Season fish to taste and dredge in flour. Shake off any excess, while a large non-stick skillet (or griddle) is heating. Once your skillet is hot, add the corn oil, dredge the fish in the lemon-lime batter, and place in the hot oil. Cook over medium heat, flipping when first side is nicely browned and cook until fish is cooked through. You may finish the fish in a 300 degree oven if the batter browns before the fish is done. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over high heat, add cooking oil of choice, and add the onion, bell pepper, and carrot. Cook for a couple of minutes more or until the veggies are starting to wilt, but are still crisp and brightly colored. To plate, divide the linguine of vegetables into equal-sized mound on four service plates. Spoon the corn emulsion around the linguine in a nice circle. Place the fish on top of the linguine and serve immediately. *Lemon-lime batter:* 1 large egg 1/2 cup buttermilk 3/4 cup Sprite or 7-up 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted 1 small lime, grated rind and juice only 1 small lemon, grated rind and juice only 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon baking powder Whisk together the egg, buttermilk, soda pop, butter, and citrus products until well blended. In a separate bowl, blend the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. *Linguine of vegetables:* 1 small red bell pepper, halved, stemmed, and seeded 1/2 medium red onion, peeled and halved 1 large zucchini 1 large yellow summer squash 1 medium carrot, peeled 2 tablespoons butter margarine, or corn oil Salt and pepper to taste Wash and pat dry all the vegetables. Cut the peppers and onions by hand into long, very thin strips. Cut the ends off the squashes and using a mandoline with the fine-tooth setting, cut only the outer, colored layers of the squashes into long, thin strips and reserve the inner portion for another purpose. Cut the carrot in the same manner and use the entire carrot. *Corn emulsion:* 2 ears sweet corn, roasted in the husk, husk and silk removed, kernels shaved from the cobs, and cobs and kernels reserved 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth 2 tablespoons shallot, minced 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 1 sprig fresh thyme 1/4 lb. butter, diced and at room temperature Salt and pepper to taste Place the corn cobs, half of the corn kernels, wine, chicken stock, shallot, garlic, cream, and thyme in a heavy bottom sauce pan over medium heat. Let cook for about 30 minutes or until liquids have reduced about two-thirds. Remove from heat, discard the corn cobs and thyme, and let cool slightly, then purée in a blender or food processor. Meanwhile, rinse out the sauce pan. Return to the sauce pan, add remaining corn, place over medium heat, and bring back to a boil. Once it has hit a boil, remove from heat, let set a minute or two, and whisk in the butter, stirring until butter is emulsified into the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Hold on the edge of the stove or somewhere just slightly warmer than room temperature until ready for service. *GRILLED RACK OF LAMB* with Syrah reduction and minted English peas *Rack of Lamb:* 2 22- to 24-ounce New Zealand racks of lamb, frenched or scored or 4 14-ounce New Zealand racks or domestic 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon black pepper, cracked 1 tablespoon kosher salt 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon juniper berries, smashed, optional You may be able to purchase the lamb already “Frenched,” but if not, here’s how. First, peel off the fat covering the back of the rack and containing part of the shoulder blade. Then, trim any chine bones from the top of the rack (the end furthest away from the tips of the rib bones). Next, using a sharp boning knife cut the meat and fat from in between the rib bones to within one inch of the meat – make sure to get the bones as clean as possible to prevent them from burning. To score the rack, place the rack on a cutting board with the rib bones curving away from the board and slice into the loin, between the ends of the bones about ⅓ of the way through. This will help the meat cook faster as well as give you guidelines for slicing the meat into chops for service. Rub the racks with olive oil and then sprinkle on all of the seasonings, rubbing again to ensure good coverage. Wrap well and place in refrigerator until ready to cook. Let the racks marinate in the dry rub for up to three or four days. *Syrah reduction:* 1/2 tablespoon olive oil 2 large shallots, peeled and chopped 1-2 large garlic cloves, smashed 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary 2-3 sprigs fresh parsley 1 small bay leaf 1 cup good quality syrah (shiraz) wine 1 1/2 cup beef, lamb, or veal stock. You may use canned beef stock, but be aware that the final product will be salty. 2-3 peppercorns, smashed Heat a small heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and sauté the shallot and garlic for 3-4 minutes, or until they are nicely aromatic. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for a couple of hours or until the liquids have reduced to about 1 cup. If you are using canned broth you may want to stop cooking much earlier, and use a little cornstarch to lightly thicken the sauce. Strain through a fine strainer and keep warm for service. *Minted peas:* 3 cups English peas, shelled, blanched, and shocked 2 tablespoons butter 3-4 tablespoons chiffonade of fresh mint leaves, stack leaves and cut into very thin strips Salt and pepper to taste 3-4 tablespoons Boursin cheese at room temperature Shell the peas. Cook in a pot of lightly salted, boiling water until tender but still green. Plunge peas into an ice water bath to stop the cooking and set aside until ready to finish. To finish, heat a skillet or sauce pan over medium heat until hot. Add the butter and melt. Add the peas, and when they are hot, stir in the mint. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the Boursin cheese until melted. Let cool slightly. *To plate:* Cook the lamb over a grill or in your oven under the broiler to desired temperature, turning often. You may want to wrap the exposed bones in aluminum foil to keep them from burning. After removing from oven, let rest a couple of minutes while you plate the peas and sauce. Place the peas in a small soup cup, press to pack, and invert onto service plates, remove the cup. Spoon the sauce around the plates, slice the lamb into chops, and present attractively around the peas on top of the syrah reduction. Pea shoots and halved grape tomatoes make a nice garnish. *APPLE TATIN* 2 Jonathan apples, peeled, cored, halved, and sliced ¼ cup honey 6 tablespoons sugar 1½ cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 stick butter or margarine, finely diced, very cold 2/3 cup buttermilk Honey-cider caramel Black walnut ice cream see below for recipes Using 5- to 6-ounce ramekins, place the slices of apple in a spiral pattern at the bottom of each. Sprinkle 1 ½ tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon honey over each apple spiral and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until apples are almost floating in a little pool of honey caramel. Remove from oven and let cool. Meanwhile make sweet biscuit dough with remaining ingredients. Blend dry ingredients with a paddle attachment in electric mixer. Add butter and work in at low or medium speed, mixture resembles oatmeal. Add buttermilk and mix just until dough comes together. Form balls of the biscuit dough and gently place on top of the cooled apple-caramel spirals. The balls of dough should be big enough to reach the sides of the ramekins and come up to about ¾ of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Return to the oven and bake until dough is nicely browned, about 20 minutes, and has risen, or domed, slightly above the tops of the ramekins. *Honey-cider caramel:* ½ cup honey 1 cup apple cider ½ cup sugar ¼ cup cold water Pinch salt Place honey, cider, sugar, water, and salt in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Cook stirring regularly until mixture is amber in color and slightly thickened. Strain, let cool, and keep at room temperature until needed. May be prepared up to 2 days ahead of time. *Black walnut ice cream:* 5 large eggs, separated ½ cup black walnuts, toasted and finely chopped 1 ¼ cup sugar 1 ½ cup half and half 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream Pinch salt ½ cup black walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped Place egg yolks, ¾ cup sugar, and the finely chopped black walnuts in a round bottomed bowl over a pot of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly until mixture has paled in color and is light and fluffy. Remove from heat and add dairy products, whisking to blend well. Place in refrigerator until well chilled. When custard is chilled, place the egg whites and pinch of salt in the electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat at medium speed for two minutes. Turn speed up to high and beat until soft peaks form. Add the remaining ½ cup sugar and beat until whites are stiff. But not dry. Fold the meringue into the custard along with the coarsely chopped walnuts. Place in ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. *Assembly:* Trim any dough that has risen above the sides of the ramekins so they will sit flat when you turn them over to un-mold. Reheat in a 350 degree oven for 7 to 10 minutes to loosen the caramel. Un-mold onto service plates so apple spirals will be on top, drizzle honey-cider caramel around cakes, and garnish with a small scoop of black walnut ice cream, a mint sprig and a little sprinkling of powdered sugar. October 2006

Triple Crown Winner of Cooking Contests

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 03:00:54 GMT

*Webster Groves Woman Shares Her Winning recipes* *By Barbara Gibbs Ostmann* For home cooks, competing in the Pillsbury Bake-Off is the culinary equivalent of amateur athletes competing in the Olympics. Karen Tedesco of Webster Groves has been in training for the past two years, cooking her way through a bevy of cooking contests on the road to the Bake-Off. She’ll compete with ninety-nine other finalists from around the country for the million-dollar grand prize at the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest March 19-22 in Orlando. Along the way, she has won a triple crown of sorts in the “big three” cooking contests. Karen was the Missouri finalist for the 2005 National Beef Cook-Off and the 2005 National Chicken Cooking Contest, as well as being the Missouri finalist for the 2006 Bake-Off. She also won the ten-thousand-dollar grand prize in the 2005 cooking contest sponsored by Cooking Light magazine. What’s her secret? “I have a sensibility about food,” says Karen. “I’m very opinionated about it. I guess you could say I’m very food conscious. I read every food magazine on the periodical shelf. I love cookbooks, and I try to keep up on the restaurant scene. I’m sensitive to trends and to what tastes good.” Her family — husband Tom Finkel, eight-year-old daughter Annabel, and four-year-old son Jacob — get to taste the results of her many kitchen experiments. Annabel is an adventurous eater and will try most things, but Jacob is more cautious. Tom, who hails from University City, is a good cook in his own right. The two met in Providence, Rhode Island, where Karen is from, then lived in Florida and Minnesota before moving to Webster Groves three years ago. That’s when Karen began to enter cooking contests while she stayed at home with the kids. "I don’t take the contests as seriously as some people do,” Karen says. “I just want to have fun. I love coming up with new recipes. The contests inspire me to try new things and different types of cooking.” For example, the Bake-Off recipe uses some convenience products required by the contest rules. “It’s not the kind of cooking I usually do, so it was challenging.” Her first foray into the world of cooking contests was a Bays English Muffin contest. She won a five hundred dollar gift certificate to Williams-Sonoma and “I was hooked.” She joined Cooking Contest Central at www.contestcooking.com and decided to focus on the big money contests. Karen was a regional finalist in a contest sponsored by Fine Cooking. She won a trip to Chicago for the Midwest finals and then to San Francisco for the national competition. Her recipe for warm steak salad with rosemary flat bread won her a Sub-Zero wine storage unit. As a finalist in the Cooking Light magazine contest, Karen traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, to prepare her recipe for crunchy shrimp with toasted couscous and ginger-orange sauce. It won the healthful entertaining category and also the grand prize of ten thousand dollars, plus a family vacation to Florida and a five thousand dollar donation to the charity of her choice, which is the Webster Groves Public Library. “I’ve always been a library junkie,” she explains. “My first job at age fourteen was in the library in Providence, Rhode Island.” For the beef contest, she won a trip to Rapid City, South Dakota, and for chicken, to Charlotte, North Carolina. These contests include activities for the contestants in addition to the actual cook-offs. In Charlotte, she especially enjoyed the day at Johnson & Wales University, a culinary school. Karen entered the 2004 Bake-Off, but none of her recipes was selected. This time, she entered ten or twelve recipes, and her roasted potato-chicken salad made the cut. It’s a quick and easy recipe, with no actual cooking involved, just some microwaving and assembling. How does she come up with all these recipes? “When I get ideas, I jot them down in a notebook.” Then she writes out the recipes and tests them, keeping a notebook handy and making notes as she cooks. “I had to learn to measure. That was new for me — I didn’t cook that way.” An important key to contest success, she notes, is writing the recipe correctly. “There’s an art to writing a recipe,” she says. “A well written recipe gets noticed.” Another important point is to follow the contest rules exactly. Karen’s goal is to become a food writer, and she hopes to parlay the cooking contest experience in that direction. It has already resulted in an invitation to teach a cooking class on “Winning Ways” at Kitchen Conservatory in St. Louis in February. “Food and cooking are so important,” she says — spoken like a cooking contest veteran. *TUSCAN ROASTED POTATO-CHICKEN* *Finalist, 2006 Bake-Off* 1 (19-ounce) bag frozen roasted potatoes with garlic and herb sauce 1 (6-ounce) package refrigerated grilled chicken breast strips 1 cup diced fresh mozzarella cheese
(6 ounces) 1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, cut into strips 2 to 3 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained, rinsed 1/3 cup basil pesto 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice Salt and black pepper, if desired 3 cups mixed baby salad greens 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (see note) Put frozen potatoes and sauce chips in 2-quart microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave on high power 9 to 13 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking, until potatoes are tender. Stir potatoes to mix with sauce. Pour potato mixture into large bowl. Heat chicken strips in microwave oven as directed on package. Coarsely chop. Stir mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary, beans, and warm chicken into potato mixture. Add pesto and lemon juice; gently toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange salad greens on large serving platter. Spoon potato salad over lettuce; sprinkle pine nuts on top. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: 4 servings (11/2 cups each). _Note: To toast pine nuts, place in single layer on baking sheet. Bake in 350-degree oven 8 minutes, stirring once, until golden brown._ *LEMON ROSEMARY CHICKEN WITH ARUGULA BREAD SALAD* *Finalist, 2005 National Chicken Cooking Contest* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary 1/4 cup crushed garlic 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon fresh lemon peel 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 7 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extravirgin olive oil, divided 1 whole chicken, backbone removed, cut in half lengthwise through breastbon 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 slices crusty country-style bread, cut in 1/2 inch cubes, toasted 3 cups baby arugula leaves 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted 1/4 cup coarsely chopped golden raisins 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar 1 lemon, sliced in wedges Rosemary sprigs Whisk together rosemary, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon peel, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in small bowl; this is the marinade. Place chicken halves in large resealable plastic bag; pour marinade into bag. Seal bag and turn to coat chicken with marinade. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, turning occasionally. Place large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Wrap the bottom of second heavy skillet the same size with aluminum foil. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Brush heated skillet with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Add chicken to pan, skin-side down. Top chicken with foil-wrapped skillet (the second skillet acts as a weight to press down the chicken). Lower heat to medium and cook chicken without turning until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove top skillet and carefully turn chicken. Place chicken in preheated 425-degree oven and roast 15 minutes, or until fork can be inserted with ease. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Pour pan juices into clear measuring cup and skim off fat. Toss together bread cubes, arugula, pine nuts, raisins and goat cheese in large bowl. Mix together vinegar, remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil and reserved pan juices; drizzle over bread mixture, then toss gently. Place bread salad on large serving platter. Cut chicken halves into 4 pieces and arrange on salad. Garnish with lemon wedges and rosemary sprigs. Yield: 4 servings. *BANGKOK BEEF AND BASIL* *Finalist, 2005 National Beef Cook-Off* 11/2 pounds beef round sirloin tip center steaks, or beef shoulder top blade steaks, cut 1-inch thick 3/4 cup regular or low-sodium teriyaki sauce, divided 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 2 teaspoons red curry powder 1 (7-ounce) package dried rice noodles1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper strips 1 cup thinly sliced fresh basil 1 cup thinly sliced green onion, divided Black pepper Cut beef steak crosswise into 1/4-inch thick strips. Place in shallow glass dish. Add 1/4 cup of the teriyaki sauce; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes to marinate. Combine remaining 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce, lime juice, and curry powder in small bowl. Set aside. Prepare rice noodles according to package directions for stir-fry. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Meanwhile, spray nonstick wok or large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add half of the beef strips; stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until outside surface of beef is no longer pink. Remove from wok. Repeat with remaining beef. If necessary, re-spray wok with cooking spray. Add bell pepper to wok; stir-fry 30 to 60 seconds, or until crisp-tender. Remove from wok. Add teriyaki sauce mixture to wok; bring to a boil. Add rice noodles, bell pepper, beef, basil and half of the green onions; cook and stir until heated through. Sprinkle with black pepper and remaining green onions. Serve hot. Yield: 4 to 6 servings. February 2006

A Sunday Spring Dinner

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 20:37:31 GMT

*By Karen Mitcham-Stoeckley* MISSOURI in the springtime is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We have the spectacular display of redbud and dogwood trees along the highways and byways. Winter wheat is bright emerald green in the fields, and bright yellow daffodils nod their heads in jaunty welcome in both the country and along city streets. And we have succulent lamb from local farms as well as fresh-from-the-field asparagus. Rhubarb is in season and ready to be matched up with early strawberries in a good crumble crust pie. Fresh mint is poking its head up wherever it has taken root. Local farmer markets are opening up and offering these and other goodies, to be presented to friends and families at home. Try the following menu for Sunday dinner, Easter, or any special occasion, and use the old-time seasonal favorites in these new ways. Lamb Chops with Minted Chutney Asparagus Terrine New Potatoes in Butter & Parsley Warm Crusty Bread Rhubarb Crumble Galette *LAMB CHOPS WITH MINTED CHUTNEY* 6 lamb chops about 1 ½-inch thick 1 tablespoon minced garlic 4 tablespoons fine olive oil 1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary or ½ tablespoon dried rosemary 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme or ½ tablespoon dried thyme 1 tablespoon sea or other coarse salt Fresh ground pepper Mix all ingredients, except the lamb, in a flat glass or ceramic (non-reactive) casserole dish. Add the lamb chops and coat with the oil and herbs. Cover with plastic wrap or lid and refrigerate overnight or at least 2 hours. Grill the lamb chops or place them in a preheated broiler and cook until they reach your preferred temperature. Lamb is best served medium rare. Do not cook welldone because lamb dries out quickly and loses its delicate flavor. Place on serving platter and top with the Minted Chutney. Garnish with fresh mint leaves. Serves 6. *MINTED CHUTNEY* 2 cups water ½ cup apples, not peeled but chopped ½ cup each of 3 of any of the following dried fruits (total 1 ½ cup fruit):* apricots, chopped cranraisins pears, chopped cherries, raisins ¾ cup sugar ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ cup aged balsamic vinegar 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint Place all ingredients except the vinegars and mint in a heavy bottom saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Water should be absorbed and a glossy mixture obtained. Remove from the heat, and blend in both vinegars and the chopped mint. Season with a dash of salt, and chill to room temperature. Serve with the cooked lamb. Serves 6. _Hint: Use apples plus three other fruits because apples hold the mint flavor best._ _Hint: Toss new red potatoes in sweet butter and fresh chopped parsley for a complementary side dish._ *FRESH ASPARAGUS TERRINE* 2 pounds fresh, pencil-thin asparagus spears 2 quarts boiling water, with 2 teaspoons salt 2 cups fresh goat cheese ½ cup grated parmesan cheese 8 ounces (1 cup) cream cheese 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped or 1 tablespoon dried thyme 2 medium shallots, peeled ½ tablespoon salt ½ tablespoon ground pepper Cut about 1 inch off the bottom of the asparagus spears. If needed, peel the stems of the spears with a vegetable peeler. If spears are as thin as a standard pencil, this need not be done, as they are tender enough. Drop spears into salted boiling water for one minute, and remove to ice cold water to halt the cooking process. Dry well on paper towels — if asparagus is not dried well, the terrine will turn to mush. Set aside. In a food processor or big bowl, blend well all the remaining ingredients until a thick cheese paste is formed. Line a narrow terrine or loaf pan with plastic wrap; allow the sides to hang over the pan. Spread about ¼ inch of the cheese paste on the bottom of the pan. Lay the spears side by side in one layer. Cover with another ¼ inch of the cheese paste, pushing the mixture down between the spears. Repeat this layering until all the asparagus and paste are used, ending with the cheese mixture on the top. Fold the plastic wrap over the top and refrigerate overnight or for 4 hours minimum. Remove the terrine from the pan, leaving the wrap on the loaf. Using a very sharp knife, slice the terrine into ¾-inch slices. Place spring mix lettuce or baby spinach on individual salad plates. Drizzle greens lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt and balsamic vinegar. Remove the plastic wrap from the terrine, and place terrine on top of greens. Serve with crusty French or Italian bread. Serves 6 as a main entrée for a luncheon or 10 as a side salad. _Hint: Freeze the terrine for about 20 minutes before slicing to make slicing easier._ *RHUBARB CRUMBLE GALETTE* Pie pastry for two pies; use your favorite recipe or refrigerated pastry ½ cup old-fashioned oatmeal ¼ cup brown sugar ¼ cup white flour ¼ cup white sugar 4 tablespoons cold butter, mcut into small pieces ½ teaspoon salt Prepare crust and refrigerate to chill. Mix together the remaining ingredients, cutting in the cold butter until the topping is pea-sized. Set aside. *FILLING:* 10 stalks fresh rhubarb, cleaned and all tops removed 10 to 12 fresh strawberries, cut in half ½ cup confectioners sugar ½ cup white sugar, super-fine preferred Zest from one orange 4 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice Chop the rhubarb into ½-inch chunks. In a large bowl, toss with the remaining ingredients. Set aside. Roll out the pastry dough into six 9-inch circles. Place ½ to ¾ cup of fruit mixture in the center of each circle. Top with 3 tablespoons of the crumble mixture. Fold the edges of the pastry up and over the fruit about 1 ½ inches all around the tart, leaving the center open. Place on a cookie sheet. Repeat this with the remainder of the pastry circles. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the galette is golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool. Serve with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Serves 6. _Rhubarb tops can be poisonous, so remove tops completely and clean stalks well._ *SOURCES OF PRODUCTS* *LAMB* M & K Ranch Mark & Karla Uthlaut 367 Route N Montgomery City 573-564-6117 www.booneslickharvest.com Generation 5 Farms John & Darla Noble 12750 County Road 7160 Rolla 573-364-0132 www.gen5farm.com Campo Lindo Farms Jay & Carol Middick 2390 SE 228th Street Lathrop 816-740-3625 CampoLindo@aol.com Parker Farms Natural Meats Tom Parker 43602 Route F Richmond 816-470-3276 parkerfarms@peoplepc.com Greenwood Farms, LLC 16800 State Route T Newburg 573-762-3234 Drug- and hormone-free King Mountain Organic Ranch 1182 County Road 1590 Willow Springs 417-469-5300 Certified organic Meadow View Farm HC 73, Box 720 Drury 417-261-2642 Troque Farms 31710 E. Oakland School Road, Buckner 816-650-9307 organic, available year-round Allen Family Farm 18239 Lawrence 1030 Pierce City 417-476-5571 drug- and hormone-free American Pasturage, Inc. P.O. Box 190 16658 Lawrence 1232 Marionville 417-258-2394 Pasture-raised lamb available year-round Bechard Family Farm 13700 Athens Road Conway 417-589-4152 *ASPARAGUS OR RHUBARB* Renaud Vegetable Company Dave Renaud 212 N. Highway 77 Charleston 573-675-3437 drenaud@ldd.net White Oak Berry Farm Michael Goth 2830 SW 450 Road Osceola 417-646-2244 Strawberry Lane Farm www.grm.net/~kampy/ rhubarb also available Isbell Valley Quality Produce 1054 Route C Bonnots Mill 573-897-3353 Rhubarb also available Missouri Highland Farm 17071 Garrett Road Jamestown 660-849-2387 www.missourihighlandfarm.com Anderson Farms 1009 Plymouth Drive Columbia 573-445-5260 Pierpoint Farms 8810 South Route N Columbia 573-499-9851 www.pierpointfarms.com Share-Life Farms Route 2, Box 134 Marshall 660-886-3936 or 660-886-3566

Best Soda Fountains

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 04:49:22 GMT

*By Susan Atteberry Smith* Before canned soft drinks and fast-food restaurants, back in the days of hand-cranked cars and Prohibition, there was the soda fountain. Even after the fizz of a Coke was just the pop of a bottle top away, drugstore soda fountains — all chrome and counter stools — remained community fixtures. In small-town Missouri, well into the 1950s and 1960s, where else could you experience the social scene and special-order a chocolate soda with just the right combination of carbonation and syrup? In most towns, soda fountains went the way of poodle skirts and saddle oxfords not long after drive-up and drive-through eateries moved in. Yet, in a few Missouri towns, the chrome, counter stools, and carbonation are back. And so are the customers. *AVA DRUG COMPANY* In the 1950s, David Norman could be found almost every day at Ava Drug Company. His father, Boone Norman, Jr., happened to be the pharmacist and owner of the family business, but that wasn’t all that attracted his teenage son. Flagged by a neon sign off the square in this Douglas County town, the drugstore was a gathering spot for many of David’s friends, who stopped by after school and Saturdays. “In those days, you had forty-five minutes or an hour for lunch, and all the kids came down here for lunch,” David recalls. David became a pharmacist himself, returning to Ava to work alongside his father and brother. With the store’s 1982 modernization, he took out the soda fountain, installed in 1950 when his grandfather, Boone Norman, Sr., was also a practicing druggist. It was a decision he always regretted, he says, especially when his father, who opposed the fountain’s removal, died three years later. In 2003, David, who had sold the pharmacy in 1991, bought it back and set about restoring the fountain. Luckily, the man who installed the original twenty-eight-foot-long counter and fifteen stools could still recite their measurements. The company that created the original neon sign still had its specifications. The creator of the original chicken, ham, and tuna sandwiches and the burger and coney sauces had handed down her recipes. Today, red-smocked servers replace the white-capped soda jerks seen in historic photos on the drugstore wall. However, from its original cash register and 1952 Seeburg jukebox to its retro sign and rolled-back prices (sodas, milk, and dips of ice cream sell for a nickel or a dime), those who remember tell David it is exactly the same. Better yet, it’s a social hub for a new generation. “About the time school’s out, at three-thirty or four, this place will be full of kids,” David says. Ava Drug Company, 124 W. Washington Ave., Ava Hours: 8 AM to 6:30 PM Mondays to Fridays, 8 AM to 6 PM Saturdays. 417-683-4127 and www.avadrug.com *WINFIELD’S RESTAURANT* The fizz has seldom stopped flowing at this Main Street soda fountain in Eminence, where the Current and Jacks Fork rivers cross the heart of Shannon County. The fountain had been part of the historic Hyde Building since 1923; the Hyde Building was built to house a pharmacy. But the fountain left town with a previous owner in the 1990s. So when Eminence native and longtime Missouri legislator Winnie Weber bought the building about six years ago, she had to travel to Blackfoot, Utah, to find a proper replacement. Fortunately, the replacement she found was an exact fit, says Paulette Williams, Weber’s sister, and the soda fountain has been up and running since the building’s one-million-dollar renovation in 2001. Recently retired as Winfield’s manager, Paulette, a former Eminence mayor, can still be found working there. Yet the Hyde Building, with its copper-paneled storefront, was a childhood haunt for her, too. She recalls visiting William “Willie” Hyde’s pharmacy after school, then making sure to show up on Saturdays because “they had comic books in the drugstore, and they were a dime.” Winfield’s doesn’t claim to sell Betty Boop memorabilia, butcustomers step even further back in time when they enter the main dining room graced by oak floors, a high tin ceiling, belt-driven fans, and shelves of Depression-era glass and old apothecary bottles. The early twentieth-century saloon-style of black soda fountain cabinets trimmed in burgundy and gold gets a wake-up call from giant Andy Warhol-like acrylic paintings by both sisters’ niece, Lisa Faulkenberry. They portray mainstays like the fountain’s famous Two Rivers Gumbo, advertised on a red and white can. But behind the antique counter, it all comes together in wellpracticed blends of soda, syrup, and ice cream. Campers, canoeists, equestrians, and bluegrass music lovers who converge on Eminence for vacations know it. “In the summertime, you can’t get in here,” Paulette says. “They all come for the atmosphere of having a banana split or an orange phosphate. Chocolate sodas are pretty much demanded.” Winfield’s Restaurant, Eminence Hours: 7 AM to 7 PM Mondays to Thursdays, 7 AM to 9 PM Fridays to Saturdays, 7 AM to 5 PM Sundays. 573-226-3400 *WILDWOOD FLOWERS, GIFTS & JEWELRY* Don’t let the name of John and Linda Musille’s downtown Mountain View business mislead you. True to tradition, there’s an old-fashioned soda fountain inside. From the mid-1950s until the early 1970s, the site of their modern-day business was a drugstore with a soda fountain, John says. The Musilles moved to Mountain View seventeen years ago from Boulder, Colorado. Two years after that, they reopened the soda fountain, which has once again become a centerpiece of the location. John takes pride in making the fountain’s soda drinks and ice cream treats as authentic as possible. “We do carbonate our own water and make ice cream sodas and phosphates the old-fashioned way,” says John. “There is definitely a process you go through in making old-fashioned sodas.” For example, a real old-fashioned float is not just soda and ice cream in a glass, he contends. “You put a little soda with ice cream and make a paste so it foams up,” he explains. “Then, add carbonated water and ice cream.” With a seat on one of the chrome-and-gray stools overlooking the railroad, the sidewalk, and the occasional pedestrian, the Musilles’s soda fountain is more of a place for men to cool their heels while their wives shop than it is a teen hangout, John says. He knows that most area youth are more likely to hit the drive-through at the McDonald’s on nearby Highway 60 if they want quick refreshment. Yet, a generation that hasn’t forgotten how good a real fountain treat tastes frequents the business. “What we’re seeing is grandparents bringing their grandchildren down to let them experience the oldfashioned soda fountain, the old-fashioned drinks,” John says. “And the kids love it.” Wildwood Flowers, Gifts & Jewelry, 108 W. First St., Mountain View Hours: 8:30 AM to 5 PM Mondays to Saturdays 417-934-6363 *BRADBURY BISHOP DELI & ROUTE 66 DINER* With a black-and-white checkerboard floor, red pendant lights, and 1950s memorabilia from Coca-Cola to Marilyn Monroe, the Bradbury Bishop Deli & Route 66 Diner in downtown Webb City harks back to its heyday — even though the occasional 1970s or 1980s oldie slips into the music. Even the menu serves up a bit of nostalgia and history with its list of phosphates, lemonades and limeades, and cherry, vanilla, and chocolate sodas. As they stand, the deli and soda fountain have been in operation since 1988, but the first soda fountain, a wooden one, was built in 1927 when C.S. Bradbury was pharmacist of the Electric Drug Co. In 1931, he partnered with son-in-law and fellow pharmacist Harry Bishop to form the Bradbury Bishop Drug Company, and the current establishment is its namesake. A stainless steel fountain replaced the wooden one in 1945. Today, the mid-century fountain is for display only, but servers still pump the carbonation to make the pop. The diner is a draw for travelers making their way along historic Route 66, especially classic car owners who cruise through on the second Saturday of every month. It’s also a favorite among locals, says Ana Gutheil, proprietor of the restaurant for the last six years. “It’s just the same loyal people who have been here before me and will be here after me,” she says. Bradbury Bishop Deli, 201 N. Main St., Webb City Hours: 6 AM to 2 PM Mondays to Fridays, 6 AM to noon Saturdays. 417-673-4047 and www.route66search.com *BREANNA’S OLD-FASHIONED SODA FOUNTAIN AND GRILL* With twelve stools and a century-old, restored soda fountain situated on the corner of Clinton’s Historic Downtown Square, Breanna’s Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain and Grill is one of the largest operating fountains left in its original location in the United States, according to owner Jennifer Shadwick. Jennifer had $126 to start the business in 1994, when she bought the 1887, three-story building that once housed Diamond Drugstore and named it after her now-nineteen-year-old daughter. In addition to owning a nearby coffee shop, she was pregnant with her son, Spencer, and her husband, Rick Harper, worked in Kansas City. Since restoring the old fountain “just a little bit at a time,” Jennifer says she and her family have become knowledgeable, thanks to observation and word of mouth, about making old-fashioned sodas and phosphates. And she distinguishes between the two: “When you say, ‘I want a soda’ that doesn’t mean pop. That means an ice cream soda. It’s a very different process.” Counting homemade root beer, sarsaparilla, and her eleven-yearold son’s “inventions,” Jennifer says, “there’s probably two hundred or more treats and eats that you can get in here, and we also have a grill.” Besides the soda fountain, penny candy in glass jars and décor dating from the 1930s through the 1950s attract a lot of tourists. Jennifer says babies to centenarians and visitors from every state in the union have visited the business. “We get pretty much every walk of life,” she says. Breanna’s Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain and Grill 100 W. Jefferson St., Clinton Hours: 8 AM to 5 PM Mondays to Fridays, 10 AM to 5 PM Saturdays. 660-885-4700 and www.clintonmomainstreet.com/breannas/ *SUPER SODA FOUNTAINS* *Henderson’s Drug Store* 523 First St., Glasgow Fresh-squeezed orangeade and cherry phosphates are two favorites from the 1916 soda fountain. Hours: 7 AM to 5:30 PM Mondays to Fridays, 7 AM to 1 PM Saturdays. 660-338-2125 *Saults Drug Store* 505 Court St., Fulton While a model train makes its rounds on a track above thesoda fountain, milk shakes, sundaes, smoothies, and more are served at the store, family-owned since 1937. Hours: 8 AM to 6 PM Mondays to Fridays, 8 AM to 1 PM Saturdays. 573-642-4186 *Main Street Galleria and Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain* 501 Main St., Weston Coca-Cola is concocted the original way at the fountain of this large antiques and collectibles dealership. Hours: 10 AM to 5 PM daily. 816-640-2825 dancingturtle5252@yahoo.com *Vandalia Drug* 112 N. Main St., Vandalia Fountain treats and a famous “nickel cup of coffee” are twoattractions here, where a soda fountain has been in operation since the 1950s. Hours: 8 AM to 6 PM Mondays to Wednesdays and Fridays, 8 AM to 5 PM Thursdays, 8 AM to 12:30 PM Saturdays. 573-594-2136 and www.vandaliadrug.com *Crown Candy Kitchen* 1401 St. Louis Ave., St. Louis Homemade chocolates and ice cream are served along with old-fashioned drinks at this soda fountain, owned and operated by the same family since 1913. Hours: 10:30 AM to 10 PM Mondays to Saturdays, 11 AM to 6 PM Sundays. 314-621-9650 and www.crowncandykitchen.com *Red Apple Grill* 42 Court Square, West Plains Buy an old-fashioned phosphate to go along with a cheeseburger or steak at this antique soda fountain. Hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 10 AM to 9 PM. 417-256-8777 *The Hardware Cafe* 5 E. Kansas St., Liberty Malts, shakes, limeades, ice-cream sodas, and phosphatesare the specialties at this fountain. Hours: 11 AM to 8 PM Mondays to Thursdays, 11 AM to 9 PM Fridays and Saturdays. 816-792-3500

Taking Tea in Missouri

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 03:05:40 GMT

*By Karen Mitcham-Stoeckley* Across Missouri, tables are set for tea in charming tearooms and parlors, from the Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis to Victorian homes in small towns. Some serve authentic teas, Afternoon Tea or Low Tea as it is known in Great Britain high society; others are simple country tearooms. Visit Missouri’s tearooms, and you can also use these recipes and invite a few friends to share in this time-honored tradition. Use Grandma’s china and linens. The Shady Gables Tea Room & Gift Gallery in Versailles is an authentic English tearoom, hosted by Reba Starling-Silvey. Scones and delicious desserts are baked fresh daily, and guests receive a perfectly brewed pot of tea cloaked in a tea cozy and poured through a silver tea strainer. Over seventy varieties of tea from around the world are available to enjoy and purchase. Reba’s daughter, Ashley, offers Tea and Etiquette classes by appointment. Both Reba and Ashley can share stories about tea, its sources, its various characteristics, and its history with those who are interested. When the weather permits, tea may be served in the gazebo in the cottage garden near the house of Heathcliff, the family rabbit, perhaps a distant relation to Alice’s March Hare. Tea is served in three flights: Cream Tea, served before noon, includes assorted scones, sugar cookies, real clotted cream, and lemon curd from England. Light Afternoon Tea consists of all of the above plus fresh fruit, finger sandwiches, dainty sweets, and fruit sorbet. The Queen’s Choice is a full-luncheon Afternoon Tea with Shady Gables’ Chicken Salad Croissant, individual quiche Lorraine, both savory and sweet scones, clotted cream, lemon curd, assorted finger sandwiches, fresh fruit, and a meringue filled with raspberry curd from England. Reservations are required, call 573-378-2740. A charming bed-andbreakfast is next door, also owned and operated by Reba. In Louisiana, travelers discover The Rosebud Tea Room located in an 1896 home on the main thoroughfare, Georgia Street. Open on Fridays and Saturdays by reservation, hostess Margie Willingham accepts reservations twenty-four hours in advance. Her scones and clotted cream with jam or lemon curd are in the Victorian tradition of Cream Tea as well as Afternoon Tea, which includes tiny, delicate sandwiches and fresh fruit, along with home-baked sweets. She offers special events for up to twenty-two guests for luncheons, showers, clubs, organizations, and birthdays. Restored to its late-1880s grandeur inside, a china collection adorns the dining room mantel and sideboard, as well as the tea table. Outside, the surrounding garden is a labor of love for Margie and her husband. Call for reservations, 573-754-3843. *SHADY GABLES RECIPES* *CHICKEN SALAD* 2 cups cooked chicken breast, finely cubed 1 cup apple, cored and chopped ½ cup celery, finely chopped ½ cup onion, finely chopped ½ cup walnuts, chopped 1 tablespoon dried parsley 1 tablespoon dried rosemary 1 cup tiny, frozen peas 1 cup mayonnaise (do not use salad dressing) Combine all ingredients. Chill and serve on a croissant with a lettuce leaf. Serves 6 *BLACK WALNUT, APRICOT & WHITE CHOCOLATE SCONES* 3 cups self-rising flour 2/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder ½ cup (1 stick) butter, chilled and cut into small chunks ¾ cup chilled buttermilk 3 tablespoons black walnuts, finely chopped 3 tablespoons dried apricots, finely chopped 3 tablespoons white chocolate chips plus one tablespoon chips for glaze Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two forks, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk. Stir until thoroughly combined. Add walnuts, apricots, and white chocolate chips. Thoroughly combine. Turn out onto a floured board surface and knead for one to two minutes, until dough is smooth and workable. Pat out a circle about ¾-inch thick. Cut with a small biscuit cutter (no larger than 2 inches in diameter). Bake at 450 degrees for about 8 minutes on a baking parchment-lined cookie sheet. Watch closely to prevent burning. Remove from oven and glaze while hot. Glaze: Melt 1 tablespoon white chocolate chips in microwave. Using a butter knife spread glaze very thinly on top of each scone. Serve warm. Hint: Scones can be reheated in a preheated 350 degree oven for 3 minutes. Scones may be frozen up to 4 months. Yield: 40 two-inch scones *ROSEBUD RECIPES* *DILLED CUCUMBER SANDWICHES* 4 slices of thin, white bread, such as Pepperidge Farm 4 slices of thin, whole wheat bread, such as Pepperidge Farm 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon dill weed Cut crusts from bread and spread with the cream cheese. Cut each slice into two rectangles. Lay slices of cucumber on four slices of the whole wheat bread. Lightly sprinkle with the dill weed. Top with the white bread rectangles. Cut each sandwich in half to form small squares. Yield: 16 dainty sandwiches *TURKEY-CRANBERRY SANDWICHES* 8 slices whole wheat bread ¼ cup salad dressing ¼ cup pecans, finely chopped ½ cup dried cranberries, chopped 8 slices turkey breast, thinly sliced Cut crust from the bread. Spread salad dressing over the bread slices. Lay the turkey on four slices of bread. Sprinkle the nuts and cranberries over the turkey. Top with the remaining bread and cut into triangles. Yield: 16 triangles *MORE MISSOURI TEAROOMS* Visit these sites: www.teamap.com/states/state_MO_Name.html or www.teaguide.net/tearoomsmissouri.htm June 2006