'The Cooking" a recipe for living in the "NOW"

Sometimes you remember doing things that, at the time, when you were perhaps young and unexperienced, were life changing. Or were relevant to your relationship with a person, place or time. Marking it, as it were, with a stamp of memory. A mark so strong that even when it is pointed out to you later in life, that it was perhaps, "different than you remember it", you still hold onto the memory as truth. It has become your truth at least, and thus the will be way you remember a place a time a person or even a meal, forever.

Nostalgia is a funny thing in that way. It colors things with that rosy fuzzy hue and patina that makes the common and ordinary somehow sweet and magical. I think we do that as humans because we live so little in our present. Maybe because right now is scary, and real, and it demands we pay attention. We would rather bask in the glow of yester-year , or even dream about a magical tomorrow. Leaving today for dross and not realizing that the only time that is ever really ours and real to us is our Now. Not our yesterday or a tomorrow which may never come.

People who face life changing adversity, sickness or trauma know that "the Now" is real. It forces them to confront the Now and the HOW and the WHY in a way many of us thankfully may never have to until the end when all is done and life and time grow silent. But we live in the meanwhile. We often live in blissful ignorance of the beauty of our immediate NOW. It can be paralyzing a little, this looking back. I have oft thought that perhaps the story of Lot's wife in the Bible had another meaning. One which teaches us that life is meant to be lived looking forward, marching now. Not looking behind us at a yesterday which exists only in our memories and when focused on can stop our forward motion with it's soothing and yet paralyzing charm. Turning us into a pillar of salt as it were. Motionless and unable to go forward.

Am I saying that I think that Nostalgia is bad or silly. Absolutely not! Why what would life be without the basking in the afterglow of so many wonderful moments we have lived in and loved in. I am only saying that we should be careful not to let it get in the way of enjoying and being present in our NOW.

For the  Now can be a scary and difficult place to be even in the common life. That is one without high drama ( war, disease, pestilence). Just the everyday stresses of money, family, relationships, work etc. But even the common stresses of life and the everyday wear and tear can take a toll on our souls and with good measure push us into the space where dreaming or looking behind us is preferable to dealing with the problems of today. But we have to live in the NOW. no choice about it. Even if we long for tomorrow or yesterday the only way to get their is by going through the Now and the day upon us.

It's one of the reasons I like "The Cooking". Cooking can be an immersive experience which pushes us toward what will be another wonderful experience, "The Eating"! For it is done in the moment. And done with wonderful ingredients in the kitchen, and with people and fellowship around the table. The Cooking/Eating experience is one which we will repeat and enjoy and be present to all of our lives. I wish always to be able to prepare meals whether simple or complex and to enjoy them with people I love or whom I have just met and hope to love! That to me is living.

So if you find yourself overwhelmed in your life and there is too much on your plate. Resolve to find a way to take a moment and savor what life has brought you, bitter or sweet. And live in the moment. Live "it", whatever "it" is. If you have to rest do so fine. But don't "look Back" and get caught up on the yesterday, or get dreamy about tomorrow ignoring where you are.

My father had a great saying about those times when life was overwhelming and you thought you could go on, or move forward. He told a story about a Prince, who led his troops into battle. Struck down in the fray he was removed from the field by his men. When asked if he would withdraw from the battle he waved them off and declared, "I will lie here and bleed awhile, but then I will rise and fight again!". So let it be with us.

An Old School Charleston Seafood Dish

When I was younger, well about the of 1979 to be exact, my Mother took us on a beach trip to Florida. On our way back she decided that we were going to stop in Charleston  look around, have dinner, then drive on and visit our relatives in Columbia.

We found ourselves rolling into Charleston about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. We did some sight seeing and then, as my Mom wanted to go to dinner at an old established landmark restaurant called Perdita's, we drove down to where the place was located behind the old customs house on a narrow street.

It was very early. Probably 5pm and we saw from the sign that they were just about to open for dinner. We checked inside with the hostess and two things became clear. One, we were going to be the only people in the place that early. And Two, we would have to dress up to eat there as Coat and tie were required. So without any hesitation my Mom told us to dig out our shirts and ties and jackets from the luggage and we changed right there in the parking lot. My brother and I were not amused but got over it as soon as we entered the restaurant.

Now Perdita's was an old place. Dimly lit it had dark wood accents and dark wallpaper, velvet curtains and velvet seats. Crisp white table clothes greeted us as did a battalion of veteran ( aka. elderly) black servers in vests and starchy white shirts with bow ties. We ordered and had a full meal including appetizers, salads and delicious seafood dishes crafted in the old school Charleston style. I was resistant to the changing in the car, but was glad to have had the meal. It was good.

A few years later Perdita's closed it's doors a victim of time and changing tastes. Carolina's a new Charleston style reataurant opened several years later in the same space. They preserved the back dining room of the original restaurant calling it the "Perdita's Room". You can still get the dish that was most famous at Perdita's, the Fruit de Mer. And again it's a winner.

The chef there serves if up very nicely. ( seen here in a photo from Carolina's)

So I have collected information on how to make this dish which Chef Bacon at Carolina's describes as a Portuguese Bouillabaisse with seared seafood. The secret is in the sauce so once you have that just add in seafood you like. The recipe calls for Salmon and Scallops and Shrimp but you could vary that to your taste. It takes a little time but actually is very easy to prepare. The hardest thing is cleaning the mussels!  So enjoy cooking up a little SC. history Ya'll.

Seafood Fruit de Mer alla Perdita's of Charleston

For the Sauce

Start with  8 cups chicken stock held warm. Then saute in butter 4 car­rots, 2 large onions, 2 cups celery, 1 large bulb of fennel, add 1 star anise and 5 sprigs of thyme. When all the vegetables are cooked down and soft, deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup vermouth and 1/2 cup of white wine. Reduce this down by half and add all of the chicken stock and boil. Add 1/4 cup of whiskey and about ½ cup of tomato paste  and boil to reduce by 1/3. Then add 3 tablespoons grated garlic and 3 pounds of Prince Edward Island mussels which have been scrubbed and cook until they open up.

For the Dish

4 Salmon Filets

8 large scallops

8 large shrimp

After the thyme mussel broth is prepared hold warm, and just before serving stir in 1/4 cup chopped parsley. 

Heat a saute pan till very hot. Add a little vegetable oil and then sear scallops, shrimp and salmon separately. Hold warm. When ready to serve compile the dish with the pre-cooked finger­ling potatoes cut long ways in half. Garnish with the celery heart leaves and chopped chives.­ Serve it with warm buttery garlic bread for dipping. So good!

Wheel o' Dutch Brie, Summer Stock in Holland Michigan and Easy and Sumptuous Summer Pasta

Summer Stock is that time of year when all New York City theater actors try to get out of the big old smelly, sticky, hot, sweltering city and go into the hinterlands of America to bring culture and art to the hearths and hamlets of the old ole US of A. At least it used to be that, 15 years ago or so when I was starting out. There were almost 100 regional and stock companies looking for actors every season. Now years later there are so few left. So many theaters which employed the young up and coming talent and filled their rosters with those hungry for experience and the sheer desire to perform have vanished. They just ran out of money or patrons and are a lost part of our American landscape in my opinion.  And believe me there were masses of hopefuls in NYC vying for a chance to work long hours for little pay and live in sometimes really bad housing just to be doing what they came to the city to do, Perform!!! Summer Stock provided however, in my opinion some of the best experiences I ever had as a young aspiring broadway baby.  Both on and off the stage. And yes I was once an AUCKTOURRRR!  ( said in an elongated and continental accent).  Still am....or what's left of one!

Why was summer stock such a draw? Well let me explain. It goes something like this. You audition for places all over the US which are producing shows, you get a contract, you travel there, you live there for the duration of the summer normally, you work night and day rehearsing and performing and you love it! Because it's what you want to be doing and not some survival job waiting for the next gig. ( Would you like fries with that!)

I was lucky. I did stock every year I lived in New York as an actor for 15 years ( unless I was on tour and already employed). I did 6 years at Seaside Music Theatre in Daytona Beach Florida and I loved every moment down there and made some of the best friends I would ever have. But I also worked in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, New York State, and several other states. Now many of those theaters are gone and so is the opportunity for the young and new crop of actors to ply the boards in far flung places. Still theaters live on and some get that chance. Here's hoping they grow and prosper.

One of the things that was always really fun about living in a summer stock environment was entertaining ourselves on a shoestring budget. I mean looking back it was quite the gypsy life. We would roll into a town where the theater was. Find our usually meager quarters and the first thing we would do was decorate. This was usually done as much out of necessity as it was out of fun. The dollar store  and thrify stores were starting places and then it went up to  about the Target neuveau from there. Sheets, Blankets, Lamps, Hanging lights, throws, pillows, pots and pans, blenders, glasses, tupperware, wine racks and rugs, posters and art and even tiki torches were all things which might be acquired to make the hovel into a home for a couple of months
.
We were just as creative in entertaining and party making. Theme parties such as "White Trash party", "Christmas in July", "Twisted Prom Party", "TV and Movie Personality Party" or even a "Priscilla Queen of the Desert Party" were popular themes.

And dining in parties were of course popular as going out for dinner was not an everyday thing ( Not counting Midnight Taco Bell Runs!!). So we cooked. Some of us well, and some of us not so well, but it was the time together and the fun we had that made it great. Well that and the liquor! Just joking! Well, sort of.

Anyway, I have a couple of recipes from that time that I can share. but this particular recipe is a cross breed from my friend Fred Tessler of the Denver Tessler's ( As you might notice he is becoming a guest star on the blog!) He spends summers at Hope Summer Rep. in Holland Michigan where he and his fellow director types have fantastic dinners all Summer long. He shared this recipe with me which a woman who works with him makes every summer. At first I could not believe what is was or how it was prepared. But it's a dish originally from "The Silver Palette Cookbook", an old favorite of many folks ( I do not own it).
Well I tried it and wow is it good. So I thought I would pass it onto you.  The recipe was described to me this way. Basically you take a small wheel of brie. Soak it in olive oil for a few hours. Cook spaghetti or bucatini and toss it together with sliced cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and garlic. As rich as Brie cheese sounds he maintains that is is not a heavy dish but with a lovely taste and smooth consistency. Blessed with fresh garden herbs and tomatoes it sings summer but with a sumptuous twist.

So here's a recipe for the summer Ya'll give it a try and enjoy!

Pasta with Brie, Cherry Tomatoes, Garlic, Basil and Arugula ( Inspired by the Silver Palette)

serves 4-6 as an entree, 6-8 as a first course

4 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 pound Brie cheese, rind removed, torn into irregular pieces
1 cup cleaned fresh basil leaves, cut into strips and 1 cup baby arugula
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
1 cup best quality olive oil
salt to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds spaghetti (sometimes I use bucatini, because it’s hearty)
freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Combine tomatoes, brie, basil, garlic, 1 cup olive oil, salt and pepper in a large serving bowl. Prepare at least 2 hours before serving and set aside, covered, at room temperature
2. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the pasta and boil until al dente, about 10 minutes.
3. Drain pasta and immediately toss with the tomato sauce and arugula. Serve immediately.

Better than Hillstone's Loaded Potato, Super Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes with Attitude

As many of you who are reading this know I have a slight compulsion with starch. I mean I love it! It's the glue that ties all meals together. It's a safe bet to assume that where there's starch there's flavor. Which is what brings me to today's entry.

Another slight obsession of mine is dining at the Hillstone ( aka Houston's) restaurant chains. Not obsession, just a preference perhaps, but my love of their food, service and atmosphere is shared by many. They have in their repertoire an astoundingly good baked potato. Perfectly prepared and served up "loaded" with butter, sour cream, bacon, white vermont cheddar cheese, and scallions. Amazing. In fact I recently took a friend there and he commented that it might be the best baked potato he had ever had. This may be true for me as well. It is first off HUGE! Then perfectly baked, and perfectly topped and they give you double toppings if you want! Cause that's heathy! Well OK it's not but it sure as shooting is good once and awhile.

                                                  Loaded Potato at Hillstone in NYC


Well you know I like to take things a bit further than they are done elsewhere. So on with the story.

In my travels I came across the twice baked potato which was brought to my attention at a young age while eating at an Naval Officers Club in Hawaii (story for another day) and I thought it was the best idea in the world! Well, these potatoes were baked split in half and then stuffed with their loaded mashed insides and baked covered in cheese. Wow, were they were good. I have over the course of time made twice baked potatoes many times before. And I have always halved them like with the blue cheese stuffed baked potatoes I blogged about in an earlier entry.

However, the other day it occurred to me it might be tasty to serve them up stuffed but the whole thing, like a double stuffed loaded potato. So that's what I did. Taking the whole potato I baked it, spilt it open, scooped out the flesh, mashed it with all the "loaded" toppings, re-stuffed the potato and served it with a sprinkle of cheese and more scallions for color. And can I tell you it was da Bomb! So good.

So this Summer when you are serving up baked potatoes with your grilled deliciousness, try these decadent beauties. Enjoy Ya'll!!

Forrest's Double Stuffed Jacket Potatoes

4 giant Idaho Baking potatoes
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup non fat greek yogurt
1/2 cup dairy sour cream plus 1/2 cup for garnish reserved
4 tablespoons chopped bacon
1 cup shredded white extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded extra sharp yellow cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 cup chopped green onion
plus 1/4 cup for garnish
2 teaspoons veg. oil
Sea course salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Wash and scrub potatoes till clean
Rub with the oil and sprinkle with the sea salt
Pierce with a folk several times
Place potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet
Bake in the oven for 50 to 60 mins until soft when pierce by a fork
Turn down oven to 300
Remove and cool
Once cool enough sliced the potato's very top off exposing the flesh inside.
Carefully scoop out the insides being careful not to break the skin
Mash the potato with all the remaining ingredients except for the garnish items ( yellow cheese and extra green onions)
Carefully re-stuff each potato till flowing over and puffed out on the top
Replace potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet
Bake for about 25 mins till warmed through
Remove sprinkle with the remaining  sour cream, yellow cheese and green onion, enjoy!!

Super Southern One Stop Easy Mac N Cheese

It's not a super surprising thing for me to admit I suppose, but making great Mac n Cheese is something of an obsession of mine. I mean, I love Mac n Cheese like something a little crazy. I am obsessed with finding the best and making the best. I have my favorite restaurant versions here in NYC. For example, I think the Mac n Cheese at 44Xth or Forty Four and Tenth, on tenth ave and 44th street in Manhattan is one of the best mac N Cheeses in the city. My friend Fred Tessler of the Denver Tessler's thinks that French Roast on sixth Ave in the village has the best Mac n Cheese. And other's have their opionions. In my travels across the country I think the best Mac N Cheese I have had are the homemade varieties which crafted with love and caring are beyond what a restaurant can produce. Growing up in a big old southern family I can remember big casseroles of bubbling Mac N Cheese served up on family holiday feast tables, and on lazy Sunday afternoons for "supper". Baked Mac N Cheese seems to be the favorite of many. And there are as many methods and disputes as to what method delivers the best product as there are cooks. Should there be a white sauce base or no sauce base? What should be the topper or no topper? What kinds of cheese are best and what noodles are preferable are all discussion points people have about making Mac!

Everyone has their own version of Mac N Cheese which they remember, make or buy. I think everyone conjours up different visions of what Mac n Cheese looks like for them and how they envision the best Mac n Cheese. Regardless of your preference it all comes down four principles of Mac n Cheese I believe. Those four principles are creamy, crusty, tangy, cheesy. In probably conjours up an image like this...

I mean doesn't that look good? My view point is I want Mac and I don't want to have to wait for it. But what to do if you don't have time and you don't want to use the "Box"?

Well here's an easy way to get there. I sort of changed this to a 2 pot method of cooking from the original "one Pot" version. I was told about this cooking method by a friend I thought it sounded to good to be true but upon looking around online a found that the concept of a "One Pot" Mac n Cheese was definitely out there already. But like most things I wanted to put my own spin on it.  It's sort of gives you the feel of the baked Mac but the ease of doing it all in one pot. So here's this week's recipe. Super Easy Cheesy Mac N Cheese. Enjoy Ya'll.

Forrest's "Best Ever" Super Easy Cheesy Mac N Cheese!! ( Make this tonight it's so good and easy!)
Makes 8 to 10 servings

4 cups large elbow macaroni, uncooked (about 1 lb)
4 1/2 cups low fat milk
3 Teaspoons mustard powder
4 teaspoons salt
4 Tbsp butter
3 tsp garlic powder
dash of nutmeg
1 1/2 cup grated Yellow Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Cotswold Cheese
Plus 1/2 cup grated Yellow Cheddar for the top
Salt and black pepper to taste


Place raw elbow macaroni in colander and quickly rinse under water to rinse off the excess starch and soften the noodles. Let drain.   In a large sauce pan, add milk, raw elbow macaroni, salt, butter, mustard powder and garlic powder.  On medium heat, slowly bring milk/macaroni mixture to a simmer, stirring the macaroni frequently as it comes up to a simmer. You will need to stir the macaroni to keep them from sticking together. Do not leave the pot unattended as milk will come to a boil very quickly and boil over.

Once the pasta and milk come to a high simmer, turn down  the heat to low. Stir frequently. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until milk is almost absorbed but still wet and creamy. If macaroni is not cooked fully, keep adding more milk until macaroni is fully cooked.

When milk has evaporated, stir in grated cheese of your choice. Stir the cheese evenly into the macaroni.  Turn off heat. Place lid on top of pan and cover for about 5 minutes and stir to mix well.


Place the hot contents in a oven to table serving bowl or individual baking dishes which can be placed under a broiler. Cover with the remaining cheddar and place under the broiler till the top in browned and beautiful and crunchy. Serve immediately. 

Dirty Martini Salad a Salty Indulgence for the Summer!!

OK. I know that salt is both a boone and a bane to modern man. I mean salt has preserved, flavored and finished foods for centuries. Our bodies need it to function. But too much of it is a bad thing, especially nowadays with so much added salt added to everything we eat in this country. And yet still I love a good salty indulgence. It's that part of me that will always favor a salty snack over a sweet one.

I have had the opportunity over the last several years to go out to folks houses and prepare some great summer meals for them. This summer will prove to be the same I hope. I also come up with special recipes for entertaining during the summer on my roof deck. It's so awesome to be up there in the summer when my neighbors are not. And they rarely use the buildings roof, ah well more for me!

Two years ago I was invited out to Jersey to my friends John and Mike's house for a impromptu cookout. John asked me if I could bring a salad. I of course said yes. But time go the better of me that weekend with work being busy and Sunday morning I found myself looking at a bus trip in an hour and nothing prepared of even really though through. So I did what I always do, I looked in the fridge to see what I had on hand. After observing the goods, lettuce, green olives, red onion, and blue cheese, I came up with a crazy idea. I had been making martini's the night before for a client and it dawned on me then that I love to eat the marinaded blue cheese stuffed olives while I am drinking my Martini. The salty bomb of flavor just is so satisfying, even as the martini with it's bitter edge and sweet undertones strikes a contrast with the salty pungnet flavor of the olives and is in a word...divine.

So I thought about how I would make this flavor combination come to life in a salad. And it struck me, just mix all the elements into the salad and add a few things to give it texture and contrast and how could that be bad. So that's what I did. I chiffonaded the greens and I chopped the olives. I made a dressing out of sour cream blue cheese and vermouth with a little bit of spices, olive juice and vinegar. I added both chopped red onion and French Fried Onions form the can for spice and I crushed up some Parmesan Crisps I had into little chards to add crunch. It all came together beautifully and I had people asking for the recipe at the end of the afternoon.

So I give you this recipe for your summer party time. Shaken or stirred it's a winner! Enjoy Ya'll

Forrest's Dirty Martini Salad

2 Hearts of Romaine lettuce chopped into chiffonade
1 head of tuscan or black kale ribs removed and chopped into fine chiffonade
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 table spoon water
sprinkle of salt
8 oz blue cheese crumbled
1 carton on dairy sour cream
3 tablespoon olive juice from the jar
2 tablespoon vermouth (dry)
2 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon powdered garlic
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup water
1 small jar of green stuffed olives chopped into slices
1 large can French's brand french fried onion pieces ( 1/4 cup held in reserve for garnish)
1 small red onion chopped
1 package Eli's brand parmesan crisps slightly crushed into bite sized chards

In a bowl add chopped kale lemon juice and 1 tablespoon water and a dash of salt, toss and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes

In a mixing bowl add the next 7 seven ingredients and whisk to combine and dilute with the water a little bit at a time till your dressing had you desired consistency. ( mine is runny but lumpy)

To serve: Add lettuce and kale to a large mixing or salad bowl
Add the olives, both kinds of onion and the parmesan crisps
Add dressing to taste and toss till well coated. Top with freshly ground pepper and reserved french fried onion pieces. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving's Summer Vegetable Casserole Cousin

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I mean go figure. It's in the fall when the seasons have turned and the chill in the air is whispering that the holiday season is near. It's a historical holiday which has it's roots in the story of the Pilgrims and their struggle to find a home here in the new world. And it's a blow out crazy foodie fest day of unrivaled proportions! A day of feasting and celebrating the bounty of the world and the graces given to us. It is a spiritual moment in which we reflect upon all that we have and all that we should be grateful for. It is in short a perfect holiday!

Now many dishes are well known as part of the Thanksgiving menu landscape. Mashed Potatoes, Green bean casserole, Sweet Potatoes glazed or mashed and swirled with bourbon and brown sugar, and of course the Bird are all dishes which we have come to expect in one form or another on the groaning board of our feasting holiday tablescape. These dishes especially the vegetable side dishes are the normally the favorite dishes in both cooks arsenals and in eaters menu choices. I mean who doesn't love Green bean Casserole! Well, there are some. However, many have now tried to reimagine the famous casserole taking it to new and interesting places and new taste and texture and ingredient frontiers.

Which brings us to the dish at hand. What does summer yellow squash casserole have to do with Thanksgiving you might ask. Well in the South it is sometimes served along with other vegetable casseroles as one of the holiday evenings feasting dishes. Indeed I have it every Christmas Eve at my Aunt Beverly's house! However, it is not where I first encountered it. No it was in the summer time in South Carolina on my Big Mama's lunch table. Warm, bubbly, buttery and full of fresh summer squash goodness! My oh My! Was it ever good. It was served with  steamed fresh beans or corn  and sometimes it was maybe the only other thing on the table that was warm. Served along green beans and a platter of sliced ham,  with fresh slices of big ruby juicy tomatoes and cornbread and butter, this casserole was wonderful.

Yellow Crooked Neck Squash or the Yellow Summer Squash are southern vegetable favorites. Easy to grown and voluminous in the amount of food the plants yield it is normal in my mind that along with zucchini it is a staple of the summer table. Vegetables are a huge part of the traditional Southern diet. Something we don't normally acknowledge when we think about Southern food. But even the "Meat n Three" served up at old school Southern restaurants or diners it tribute to how important vegetables were in the traditional Southern diet. Now one must admit that the old school manner in which many of these vegetables were prepared ( i.e. boiled to death)  was not the best preparation. but they were a major part of the diet. Back when "Mac n Cheese" was not a vegetable, as it is often joked about being today in the South.  Squash Casserole is one of those in between dishes. It has many incarnations and it has many varied ingredients but the key is the things that go into it must elevate the lowly squash to culinary nirvana. In short it's a favor bomb born of butter and fat! Yeah Vegetables!

Today's recipe is certainly not one of those newly redone modern takes on vegetables. Oh no! However, as part of a meal balanced with fresh or freshly prepared foods it takes it place as the succulent side dish of the Summer table. It is in short the fatty, yummy dish that while it could, in it's goodness, grace the Thanksgiving Table. It remains a staple of the Summer when fresh vegetables are the center of the table's focus and the bounty of the garden is the fodder of the kitchen's counter. So when you are preparing your summer meals give it a try. It could not be easier and as part of a balanced menu it is that side that indulges that part of us which wants Thanksgiving everyday, even in the middle of the Summer! Enjoy Ya'll

Squash Casserole ala Renee ( Old Family Recipe)

1 pound yellow crookneck squash, cooked and mashed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup grated extra sharp cheese
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 egg, beaten
1 stick butter, melted
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

Combine squash, onion, cheese, sugar, salt, pepper, mayonnaise and egg in a large mixing bowl. Stir to mix well. Pour into a greased 2 quart baking dish or 6 individual baking dishes.

Combine melted butter and crushed Ritz crackers in a medium size mixing bowl. Stir with a fork to combine.

Sprinkle cracker mixture over casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before serving, Enjoy!

Between Soup and Side...French Onion Casserole

When I was in college I lived with some very interesting folks. You see I attended JMU or James Madison University in the late 80's and I had a very interesting time there. You see the town where JMU was located, Harrisonburg, was rather...well small. In every sense of the word. It has since grown and expanded and the University I went to is hardly recognizable any longer it's gotten so large. But trust me when I say it was not the intellectual or cultural mecca I had thought college should be, nor was it located in a town which fostered say...anything beyond the Baptist church.

However, Harrisonburg or "the Burg" as we called it had pockets of interesting and free thinking people. It was just hard to find them. Of course I was always on the search for them. I found them in the Music and Art departments and I found them in the school of hospitality. Creativity comes in many forms and across many disciplines.

 One of my friends Stevie in college was very creative. She had a knack for making up foods that were representations of themselves but not really the dish itself. She was from rural southern Virginia and had grown up eating very limited foods. In college she learned to experiment with both art and food! For example she loved to make casseroles. She loved to make casseroles out of dishes that were not casseroles at all. For example she would take sandwiches like a reuben and make a casserole out of it with corned beef and sour kraut and rye bread and cheese and somehow make a sauce and put it all together and bake it and voila! Casserole Rueben!

Well one day she challenged me to make a casserole out of whatever was in the fridge at the time. There were onions and swiss cheese and parmesan cheese. I also had beef stock and croutons. So I made soup...sort of. And this is how this recipe first came into being. It's not really a main dish casserole I will admit but as a side to pan roasted chicken thighs it can't be beat. It's got all the elements of the classic French onion soup but placed in another form, hence casserole. Give it a try, I am sure you will like it! Enjoy!!

Forrest's French Onion Casserole:
makes four servings

5 to 6 Medium Onions sliced
3 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 cup Beef Broth
1/4 cup Sherry ( always have sherry on hand in the house)
S&P
1 1/4 cups garlic flavored salad coutons
4 tablespoons butter melted
1 cup Shredded Swiss Cheese
1/3 cup Shredded Parmesan

Method:


Saute onions in butter till they start to turn a lovely golden color
Add in the flour and stir in the beef broth.
Add sherry and season to taste with the salt and pepper
Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter and toss with the croutons
Place into a oven proof pan and top with the croutons
Sprinkle with the cheeses and place under a broiler until the cheese melts
About 2 mins don't brown too long or the croutons may become hard and chewy
Serve as a side dish

Norma Gene and the Marilyn of all Tuna Melts

When I was in college I took a sabbatical to work overseas for a non profit aid organization and found myself being sent to work in Switzerland where I worked for about 2 years and where I had the wonderful experience of working with some of the most amazing and dedicated people I have ever met and some of the largest souls I have ever had the pleasure of walking with in this life.

We had our regional headquarters in Zurich Switzerland and I found myself all over the place in that country and Germany mostly with some brief jaunts elsewhere. It gave me my first taste of all things European especially food. I was lucky enough over my time there to be invited into some wonderful homes ,where wonderful fun and food filled evenings left me with an enormous appreciation for the origins of so many of the dishes we as Americans take for granted as our own. Yet, those dishes really have their basis in the cooking of some European cuisine.

It was a magical time as a young man to be exposed to so many new experiences and ideas. It was also the first time it occurred to me that not everyone in the world wakes up every morning and says, thank God I'm American! Cause they do not! In fact the people elsewhere know their worlds like we know ours. It seems to be a human condition to come to believe that one's way of experiencing the world is the same as everyone else, or at least the correct way of experiencing it! No wonder we have so many problems in our world with that propensity operating on every level of human living whether local or global.

That's why over time I have come to see food as something that unites people in a way nothing else does. For not only do we share ourselves with others in a social sense when we break bread together but we also share a different sensory experience in how we see the world through the flavors, textures and ingredients we bring to the table. We can break down cultural barriers and share our deepest understanding of our national ethos with others through food, and never leave our kitchens or dinning tables!

Still even as amazing as all this cultural expansion love fest is, the fact remains that occasionally the Ex-pat will want to experience a sense of home and the familiarity. A taste of home if you will. And that is really what this story is about. For as much as I loved the native foods I was experiencing, I was also aware of the fact that I had things I missed from home.

So that brings me to where I would often get a chance to enjoy those homey delights. It was at Pilatusstrasse 11 the headquarters or home office for us. It was also home and office to the President and his wife of the organization Clayton R Hurst and Norma Gene! Wonderful people, Clayton Hurst may remain the most influential man in my life, other than my own father.And he was someone who taught me more about life and love and kindness and being fully and passionately human than anyone since. He is sorely missed as he passed several years ago but remains a beacon of light for me when finding my way in life. I have found myself on occasion thinking "what would Pres. do??" A strong testament indeed!

His wife was also really awesome and a great supporter of all of us "kids"! One of the things she did for us was to make us feel a little homey when we were invited to a meal at the office. On conference days she would often make a dish which by name seems so simple and all American but with the incorporation os Swiss ingredients became a positively gourmet experience. Her famous Tuna Melts!!
Now you may not especially like tuna melts or think they are a little passe but I assure you these were not ordinary!

First off they were prepared on wonderful crusty swiss white bread. It was sliced thick lightly toasted and then slathered with a mixture of mayo flavored with rosemary. Then the tuna salad was mixed with more plain mayo, capers, cornichons , pungent red onion, celery,  dijon, garlic powder and curry powder. This was mixed together and then piled on the bread. Then this was topped with a thick blanketing slice of a special stinky Swiss cheese unlike any other. It was Appenzeller Cheese pungent like Limburger Cheese from Germany but more robust in flavor and softer in smell. And as I came to learn, the more a cheese stank, the better is tasted! Anyway these were placed into an oven and baked until warm and bubbly and served up hot with a salad and sometimes a Tomato soup! Yummy!

This was the most amazing tuna melt I had ever had and even as it was a fusion of Swiss ingredients and an American recipe it was still so good and tasted a little bit like home! And sometimes that's just what we needed. We needed a little bit of home cooking before returning to our cultural immersion!

So I give you my version of this recipe.I actually have a scrap of paper with the recipe written down that I have saved all these years! Hotdogs may have been Marilyn Monroe's favorite food, but this Norma Gene sure beats that with this sandwich!  However, I will alter it a bit because I don't have exactly the same products to work with  as she did but just the same here it goes, you enjoy Ya'll!!

Norma Gene's Swiss Style Tuna Melt ( As recreated by Forrest) makes 6 sandwiches

For the Bread

Get a thick peasant bread loaf one which when sliced would make a good size for a sandwich or do what Norma Gene did, slice a larger piece from a big round loaf in half to make a sandwich portion.

Heat your oven to 350 and place the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast until just starting to toast but still a little moist.

make compound butter: Take 5 tablespoons RT butter and mix in 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon black pepper, 2 tablespoons dried tarragon and a pinch of salt.

Slather with a little compound butter when warm and let melt, reserve toast.

For the Tuna Salad

4 small cans of tuna in water ( 1 cup and 1/4)
3 tablespoons capers
1 small red onion finely diced
2 stalks of celery finely diced
1/4 cup mayo ( I like Dukes Brand)
5 cornichons finely diced
1 tablespoon white wine or vermouth
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon ( I like Trader Joe's)
1/2 teaspoon curry powder ( not madras)

Mix all ingredients together and let set in the fridge at least 3 hours or overnight
If too dry add a little more Mayo.

Slice Appenzeller cheese at your cheese monger into nice thick slices of cheese perfect sie for th sandwiches.

To assemble:

Divide the tuna salad between the six slices of bread.
Top with the cheese slices

Heat oven to 325

Place sandwiches on an lined baking sheet and place in the hot oven and bake until the cheese is nice and melted and the tuna warmed through. Serve immediately! Enjoy Ya'll!

Asparagus Salad and Spring in your Step

Spring is a time that I associate with all the normal things we probably all do. Warming weather, pretty skies no longer gloomy with Winter, longer days and even allergies! But for me I also associate it with Asparagus! Why? Well that answer is pretty easy. It's because I really grew to appreciate it as a spring vegetable when I was living in Switzerland. There they serve up big plates of meaty white asparagus with a boat load of creamy hollandaise sauce on the side and big green salad with a creamy garlic cafe dressing and call it a meal.

I wanted to make a salad the other day for a dinner party and decided that would be easy and tasty but also something a touch special. I mean why do anything when you can do something a touch special and change the game totally without a  lot of effort!

So I had 2 bunches of asparagus which I cooked in the microwave and then cooled in the fridge. Cut up the stalks on the bias into 2 inch pieces. Took a jar of red and yellow roasted peppers out and julienned them up and added in some red onion and toasted almonds and pungent romano cheese grated well. A truffled oil touched vinagrette and a splash of siracha hot sauce as a garnish touch and I had a fine and fancy looking salad. So i give this one to you for your spring and summer table. It would make a great addition to any antipasta menu for a summer table outside or a small gathering indoors. Either way, give it a try, enjoy ya'll!!

Asparagus Salad with Peppers and Almonds

2 bunches Green asparagus stalks trimmed and cooked in the micro wave for about 3 mins. Cooled in the fridge and then sliced into 2 to 3 inch pieces.
1/2 red onion sliced thinly and separated into rings
1/2 jar about 4 to 5 pieces roasted red peppers in juice, sliced into matchstick julienne pieces
1/4 cup toasted almond slices
1/4 cup romano cheese grated ( hold a few tablespoons to sprinkle over the top)
Siracha for garnish

For dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
5 tablespoons balsamic glaze ( reduced vinegar till it's a syrup)
1 1/2 tablespoons truffle oil
onion powder
garlic powder
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 anchovy filet
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried savory
salt to taste

Combine all these ingredients in a jar and shake till emulsified.


Method Gently toss all salad ingredients together in a bowl with dressing till dressed to your taste.
Place on a platter and serve immediately or hold in the fridge for a hour to let the flavors marry.
Right before serving sprinkle with the remaining cheese garnish with few dabs of siracha hot sauce for color and spice!
Enjoy!

The Magic of Tyson's Corner Mall was a Magic Pan

Picture it, Sicily 1945, well not really it was more like Mclean Va., 1983. I was a wipper snapper looking for a job, and needing that pre college money for my year at school. My friend Kai Larson was working at a restaurant in the Mall and got me an interview for the job. It was the summer, it was awesome, it was the Magic Pan at Tyson's Corner Mall!

Now if you have been reading my blog you will know that I have referenced the Magic Pan Restaurant before. But for those of you who have not been a brief story.

The Magic Pan was a restaurant chain started by a Hungarian Couple , the Fono's in San Francisco in the 1970's. The original concept had been an Austrian style crepe restaurant mostly with recipes from Mrs Fono's family background. There were Ham crepes and Spinach crepes and chocolate and Strawberry crepes for dessert.

The business expanded and was purchased by Quaker Oats in the 1980's. They took the concept expanded it to a french country kitchen concept and rolled it out across the nation. The center piece of each Magic Pan was the giant tile enclosed Crepe Wheel which spun around and cooked the crepes and other dishes while the customers looked on. I remember as a 12 year old being taken to the Pan and being just mesmorized by the giant cooking wheel of crepe goodness! It was one of the first "chain" restaurants in the country in a time when the US was just beginning to discover different foods. The Pan delivered that and at a decent price point. It was also a perfect time for a crepe restaurant as like fondue, crepes were all the rage in the 1970's. The thing that was interesting about the Pan looking back was that all of the food was cooked on site with real recipes. This required a staff of cooks to be behind the scenes at all the locations and was not a cheap way to do business. Amongst the many reasons for the demise of the chain was the rise of sit down restaurants like TGI Friday's and Applebee's that offered a full service bar and menu with a central commissary supplying the chain. This meant cost savings on site and guaranteed that that food was the same everywhere. Interestingly enough this concept was pioneered by Howard Johnson's, who with Jacque Pepin at the helm produced frozen entrees which could be uniformly served all over the US.

Eventually through falling revenues and customer base the Pan collapsed. Interestingly enough the last Pan to close was the Mclean Store where I worked. A testament to Sue the manager and eventual owner I understand, who ran a tight ship and kept it afloat!

Even as people turned away from the Magic Pan because of trends so today people are looking back and recognizing the value that the concept had  not only as a novelty but as a place and a culinary experience. Whether the scene of many a boozy lunch by the ladies of Mclean or candle lit dinners for couples in love in the evenings, the quiet elegance and french country charm enveloped the diner in a world beyond the Mall and beyond their own. Upon entering the Tyson's Pan one was struck by the charm and sophistication of the surroundings. The excellent service and of course the tasty and interesting food. Food which for the time was new, foreign, and different. Before food TV, Media, food blogs and the internet., Americans were new to many of the foods the Magic Pan was serving.
And many look back with fondness to the time and place they discovered those foods for the first time. The Magic Pan.

For me the Pan was a great place to work, filled with a fun and interesting cast of characters. I learned a lot form those folks. Many of them were full time employees, I was the summer help but we all got along and they welcomed me and Kai into the fold with open arms. Salty and Rough they were the workers who make this country great. They worked hard and they played hard. But as a group they were awesome to spend that summer with. And this was where I learned that food service comes with a healthy serving of humor, cause people are very funny when it comes to their eating habits and the things they say about food. For example a young couple came in and was obviously on a date. Trying to be proper and order for his date the young man announced to me that... "she will have the St. Jacques "Creepie" and I will have the Beef  and Mushroom "Creepie"", mispronouncing the word "crepe". Well as you can imagine it was hard to keep a straight face, and the crew referred to the crepes as "creepies" the rest of the summer. Lots of milelage from that one. Ah, but it's the little things that make life fun!

Now to the food. There were serveral dishes which made the Magic Pan famous and there are people who would disagree which were their favorites. There was of course the famous Potage St. Germain, or french country pea soup served with a dallop of sour cream and a mini decanter of Sherry wine. There was the Orange Almond salad. Amongst the crepes were the chicken and beef and seafood options and then there was the famous Monte Cristo Sandwich which to this day I have never had duplicated. ( Although I hear Bennigan's ripped off the recipe). Then there were the saute pans, with veal picatta and fettucini Carbonara ( Still my favorite version ever). And lastly the desserts. All excellent washed down with the Pan's excellent Bloody Mary. ( Recipe to come)!

But today I can't think of another crepe recipe I would rather recreate than the famous Chicken Elegante Crepe. Now finding the exact recipe for this would be very difficult indeed. Just looking online leads to many deadends. However, I think that I can recreate this for you and take to the place where is would be just so tastily amazing. So without more adieu I give you...

Chicken Elegante Crepes ( As inspired by the Magic Pan)

You will need:

8 crepes ( you can make these or you can buy them pre-made at the grocery store)
1 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons of flour
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 egg yolks at room temp.
1/2 cup light cream at room temp.
1/4 cup parmesan
1/4 cup shredded swiss cheese

Saute butter and flour together till browned
Slowly add stick whisking in
Add chicken and next 5 ingredients
In a bowl add the eggs to the cream and slowly whisk together
Add some of the hot sauce to the cream mixture to temper it.
Then add it to the rest of the sauce
add the parmesan cheese

Fill the crepes evenly and place in the bottom of a greased baking dish or in individual baking dishes
sprinkle with swiss cheese and place under the broiler.
Serve 2 per person onto a plate and garnish with some paprika. Enjoy Ya'll!!





    

Pizza Night at Home...Ranch BLT Pizza

Growing up in a cooking family I had 3 Cooks in the house. My Mother, my Grandmother, and for special occasions, grilling and baking, my Father. This led to an ever changing world of menu items and food adventures born out of both creativity and financial necessity.

As with many families in the 1970's we were pretty strapped when it came to the monthly budget. The funny thing about that was that I for the most part never felt like we were anything but a largely normal family living the life that the average person had. There were none of the electronic games and gizmos that kids today require to entertain themselves or their friends. In the summers and good weather it was out the door in the morning for adventures in the neighborhood with the kids who lived around us. We would be gone until lunch then out again exploring our world. We were soldiers and adventure seekers, bike riders and fort builders, spacemen and cowboys. Our world was unlimited by the creativity and imagination we had and television was still only a backup to the world's we created in our heads.

Those days also saw the family dinner table as a round table of discussion and sharing. There were speeches and debates, fights and drama, hugs and great conversations. It was a safe and a good place and one we all would be at as a family. Sharing thoughts and foods. As any of you who are home cooks know bringing quality home cooked meals to a table day after day can be a daunting task. In fact, down right difficult. But somehow we always had dinner, and 99 percent of the time it was amazingly good.

One part of living on a budget is creativity. And my Mom and Grandma had plenty of that. We would have the general American dinner menus but we would also have theme nights. Mexican taco night or Enchilada Supper. Meat Fondue cooked right at the table with condiments and tasty side dishes. My Grandma took a Chinese cooking class and many a night was spent enjoying the fruits of her studying. Egg Foo Young mixed with Chinese cabbage salad and chicken dishes with fried rice! There was spanish night, greek night, Italian night, fried chicken night. And then there was the one fun night that out did them all in my opinion , Pizza night!

Pizza as you know is not always cheap and feeding a family of five including two growing and hungry boys on pizza was not inexpensive. Plus this was not the era of mass pizza distribution. Pizza Hut was new and other chains were not as popular nor as prolific as they are today. Nor was it the era or the artisanal pizza maker. Most pizza joints were of questionable quality unless you enjoyed a great Italian trattoria in your home town.

So thus was the great home cook challenge to create a great pizza at home with little or no money and also tailor it to your families taste palette, whatever that may be. My homemade pizza was not a yeasty but flat and crispy dough which was further augmented by the use of cornmeal on the bottom to keep the dough from sticking. It might be round or it might be square in shape. It was topped with a homemade sauce of simple garlic and herbs and then topped with a variety of vegetable toppings and ground sausage or hamburger and sometimes pepperoni. The cheese was cheddar or mozzarella or a mix of the two and the green canned parmesan cheese from kraft foods flowed freely!

See the 70's were fun, and not just because of key parties and LSD!

So moving right along into my kitchen today. I still love to make pizza at home. There are really two great stumbling blocks in the way of making great pizza at home. The one being, the dough. The other being the cooking oven. Now I can't do anything about the oven you have, unless you have access to a wood burning oven in your house, in which case we need to be friends. However, you can do something about your dough. Now I am not going to tell you that you have to make pizza dough from scratch. In fact I think that's a lot of work and maybe for you not a lot of return. That's fine. If you have a great dough recipe use it! I will give you the one like the one I grew up with. It was a yeast free dough which accounted for it being so easy, and the fact my Mother was terrified of baking and making yeast breads. That was my Dad's job! Plus it was easy and quick and what house wife and home cook does not like that! Or, you can just buy a dough at the grocery store. Most upscale grocers carry dough now. Either way the dough is your base.

Now I have made a variety of pizzas over the years but the one I am sharing with you today is my recipe for my Ranch BLT Pizza. Now I love this pizza. It is sold in various pizza joints around the country. Mine is based on a pizza I had while doing theater in the Berkshires at a little Italian joint near the theater. But BLT Pizza is also sold at the California Pizza Kitchen. So good! I love it because it embraces the hot yummy gooey cheesy goodness of pizza and the cold crisp crunch of salad, and the tang of salad dressing all in one. In my opinion the secret to a great BLT is to mix the mayo with the shredded lettuce. So move over pepperoni. BLT is on it's way!!

Forrest's Ranch BLT Pizza


Pizza Dough ( non yeast) 

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup salad oil

2 tablespoons salad oil

 Method:

1. Heat oven to 425°F.
   
   
   Measure ingredients (except 2nd amount of salad oil) into a bowl.
2. Stir vigorously until mixture leaves the side of the bowl.
3. Gather dough together and press into a ball.
4. Knead dough in bowl 10 times to make smooth then divide dough in half.
5. On lightly floured surface roll each half into a 13-inch circle or rectangle.
6. Place on pizza pan.
7. Turn up edges 1/2 inch and pinch.
8. Brush circles with remaining 2T of salad oil.
9. Add toppings and bake for 20-25 minutes or until it looks done
   
   
   
   
   Ranch BLT Pizza Toppings ( for 2 pizzas)
   
   
   12 pieces of bacon cooked and chopped
   6 plum tomatoes chopped
   1  small red onion finely chopped
   3/4 cup ranch dressing
   2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
   1 1/2  cup shredded parmesan cheese
   6 cups shredded romaine lettuce
   6 tablespoons fine quality mayo plus more if needed
   ground fresh pepper and sea salt
   dash of garlic powder
   dash of hot sauce
   
   
   Prepare dough in pan
   
   
   Spread dough with the ranch dressing divided on the two pizzas.
   Cover the pizzas with the tomatoes, onion, bacon and mozzarella and 1/2 the parmesan.
   In a large bowl mix the lettuce with mayo season with the hot sauce and garlic powder and lots of black pepper.
   Season to taste with salt.
   
   
   Cook pizza for 25 to 35 mins.
   When pizza if done remove from the oven and let sit for 4 mins
   Top with the lettuce mixture and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan cheese.
   Grind some pepper over the pizza and Bon Appetite! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Enjoy Ya'll!