Leftovers Vinaigrette

Leftovers Vinaigrette. It’s my go-to dinner when I’m too tired to cook and have lots of stuff in the fridge.

My daughter Meredith, her husband Greg and their two kids, Zivia and Nina, were here for a few days. Everyone likes something else to eat and, like my mother before me, I try to please them all. Chicken for Mer. Mac and Cheese for Zivia. Hard cooked eggs for Nina. Steak for Greg, Ed and me.

We had a little of each left, all wrapped up in different pieces of plastic wrap.

There were also steamed sugar snaps and roasted carrots and parsnips in sandwich baggies, marinated artichokes and olives in deli containers.

There’s always a lettuce, an avocado and a few tomatoes in the bin.

I decided against including the hummus and whitefish salad. Too thick and viscous for salad.

I chopped everything up and put it into two big wooden bowls, some of each ingredient in each. That took about 10 minutes. Splashed a really good Pugliese olive oil over everything then poured in a big dose of red wine vinegar. Mixed each of them around with two big spoons.

Voila! Dinner. Yum.

And everything is gone from the larder.

I can start afresh tomorrow after I get a good night’s sleep.

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When I Judged a Cheesecake Contest

I was once a judge at a cheesecake contest. It was at a cookware shop in Darien, Connecticut, and each of us, three judges in all, were given clipboards with survey sheets for cakes numbered 1 through 50.

50 cakes!! How much we would actually be eating by taking 50 bites, one from each cake??

The shop owners reassured us that there were only 32 cakes to sample.

Only 32???

There were tall cakes, fat cakes, plain cakes and glitzy ones. One, covered in mounds of white chocolate curls and festooned with pink satin ribbon, looked too gorgeous to cut.

One cake was already cut. The contestant’s husband had taken a piece for himself, not realizing it was for a contest.

The garlic-and-herb flavored savory cheesecake (with bread crumb crust and tomato rose garnish) was the biggest surprise. We started there.

We tasted New York Cheesecakes, Italian style ricotta cheesecakes, nut-filled cheesecakes, cherry covered ones and a couple topped with glazed or chocolate-dipped strawberries. In between each taste we drank sparkling water.

We tasted all 32 and each finished 3 liters of water.

The white-chocolate fancy cake was terrible, an overload of sugar and no cheese flavor. But it got a special “most beautiful” prize.

The cut cake was very good, but out of 32 entries there were three excellent tasting-looking cheesecakes that were clear winners.

It’s really difficult to be a judge at a local food contest. When the contestants and their families started to file into the store just before the winners were to be announcedwe realized how hard everyone worked and how eager they were for us to like their recipes.

And yet, we could only choose three. First place, by a lot, was Leslie Sutton’s chocolate and vanilla layered cheesecake enveloped in a chocolate cookie crust. It was capped with a thin, sweet-and-tangy sour cream icing cover and decorated with dark chocolate leaves and a white chocolate swan. The cake’s delicate beauty was matched by an exquisite flavor.

We announced the winners, prizes were given and then it was all over but the Alka Seltzer.

Leslie, wherever you are now, thank you and you should know that this is still my favorite. And so, on National Cheesecake Day, I am sending this recipe out to any readers who might want to try your recipe for the best cheesecake I ever tasted.

Leslie Sutton’s Layered Cheesecake

Crumb crust:

• 1-3/4 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
• 5 tablespoons melted sweet butter
• Mix the crumbs and butter until all the crumbs have been coated. Butter the sides of a 9-1/2 inch springform pan. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and sides of the pan. Set aside.

Cake:

• 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup dairy sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 7 ounces melted semisweet chocolate
• topping
• garnish: chocolate leaves, swan, etc. optional

Topping:

• 2 cups dairy sour cream
• 1/4 cup sugar

Mix sour cream and sugar. Use as a topping for cheesecake.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the cheese, sugar and salt together (use a mixer set at medium) until smooth, creamy and well-blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and blend thoroughly. Pour half the batter into the springform pan. Add the melted chocolate to the remaining batter, bend thoroughly and slowly pour the chocolate batter on top of the vanilla layer. Bake the cake for 40 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes. Reset the oven to 450 degrees. Pour the topping over the cake. Return the cake to the 450 degree oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Remove the sides of the pan and refrigerate cake until well chilled. Garnish with chocolate leaves, swan, etc, of your choice.

Makes one cake

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Grandma’s Macaroni and Cheese

"Like Grandma Made" — according to database research firm Innova Market Insights, those are the right words, right up there with "home made" and "homestyle," that appeal these days when it comes to food.

Grandma food conjures up memories of old fashioned comfort and Grandma indulgences. Our favorite dishes plus big hugs.

I know my own grandma was a world class cook. No one made Kraft dinner as good as she did. She didn’t mix the orange cheese powder with milk like you’re supposed to. She just sprinkled it over the buttered macaroni, where it only partially melted, so you could actually feel the cheese particles on your teeth, a pleasantly gritty contrast to the soft noodles and rich, oozing butter.

It’s the way I made Kraft Dinner for my own kids.

But I have to say, for my grandchildren I make Macaroni and Cheese from scratch, so what I give them isn’t like what my grandma made, but maybe someday they will cook it and be able to say that my recipe is just like grandma made. Here it is:

Grandma’s Macaroni and Cheese

• 1-1/2 cups elbow macaroni
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk, preferably whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• freshly grated black pepper to taste
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg, optional
• 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese or mix of cheddar and American cheeses

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the elbows in lightly salted boiling water until it is al dente — almost done, but still firm. Drain and set aside. While the macaroni is cooking, heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add the flour, turn the heat to low and whisk the ingredients to combine them smoothly. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Gradually add the milk and stir constantly for 3-4 minutes or until a smooth, thick sauce has formed. Stir in salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add 2 cups of the cheese and continue to cook, stirring with a wooden spoon (so you can get into the corners of the pan) until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth. Pour the sauce over the cooked elbows and toss to coat the macaroni with the sauce. Place the macaroni in a baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and bubbly.

Makes 4 servings

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Egg cream, Pasadena/Bronx-style

As a New York transplant to California (well nigh 40 years now!), I’ve never lost my craving for thirst-quenching egg creams.  Though I don’t have them often, and never make them at home (the pleasure is ordering them at the lunch counter), on a hot California day I’ve been known to have TWO with my BLT at the local luncheonette! Made correctly, they have a nice kind of salty ”bite” and seem to go down very quickly! But Gilly’s link to the article on egg creams had a recipe that I take issue with. In it, Bonni Lee Brown writes that her father, a luncheonette owner, made eggcreams by pouring 1/2 inch of milk in a cola glass, then the seltzer, mixing to foam it up. She has the chocolate syrup poured in last, gently down the side of the glass.  Where I grew up, Smitty’s Pelham Parkway luncheonette on Lydig Avenue poured at least 1/4 inch Fox’s U-Bet in first, then 1/2 inch (or 3/4”) milk, then the seltzer, and then stirred.  It foamed just fine.  Maybe this is just a cultural difference (mine were made in the Bronx, Bonni Lee’s were made in Brooklyn!)?  When we arrived in Southern California, I was delighted to discover a great old-fashioned luncheonette in South Pasadena called The Pharmacy, just 15 minutes away from our Pasadena home. Happily, they offered egg creams!  The first one I had there was a disappointment… too much seltzer, not chocolat-y enough.  I asked the kid at the counter how he made it. He described the system approximately as Bonni Lee Brown transcribed it.  I asked him if he could make me one MY way, while I watched. He agreed, and (perhaps there was more chocolate syrup?), it was perfect!  Sadly (or maybe it’s “healthily”?), my grandchildren are not fond of sweets, and even less fond of chocolate.  I’m on a mission to re-educate them a little! — Carol

Submitted by Carol Selkin (carol_selkin@sbcglobal.net):

Carol — I am thrilled you guys have egg creams out in Pasadena. I do agree with you — egg creams have to be made in this order: chocolate syrup, then milk mixed in to make a dark chocolate milk, then the seltzer! The Bronx version wins!!

But ohmyohmyohmy — egg creams were a specialty in Jewish neighborhoods, though not necessarily a Jewish drink in themselves and you have them with BLTs!!!!

Good genes, definitely.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/NYEggCreamHistory.htm

submitted by gillyf

The Classic Egg Cream

My granddaughter Lila tried an egg cream for the first time and declared it a winner! Good genes? Smart kid?

Whatever, there’s now another generation to appreciate the finer things of life.

Does everyone know about egg creams? No. Not these days, when you can only find this fabulous drink in a select few places. But when I was growing up egg creams were the pride of New York, especially in the outer boroughs. You could get one in a candy store on almost every block. Who would choose a coke when you could have one of these rich, chocolatey, fizzy sodas with a thick head of cappuccino-like foam on top?

Seems to me that when baseball’s New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers left New York and folks started leaving the city for the suburbs, it signaled the end of the egg cream heyday.

But at least we had them, back in the day. Outside New York if you asked for an egg cream they didn’t know what you were talking about. I went to college in Evanston, Illinois and the first time I went to the local diner I asked for one. The waitress said “huh?” The guy behind the counter said “huh?” They did have a beverage called a chocolate phosphate, essentially chocolate syrup and club soda. I asked them to make a chocolate phosphate for me but please add 1/2 cup milk. From that time on they referred to me as the student who wanted the weird chocolate phosphate.

They did try, but it wasn’t the real thing anyway. An authentic egg cream has to be made with seltzer from a real seltzer bottle and with Fox’s U-Bet, not just any old brand.

I’m not sure if Lila’s egg cream was made with Fox’s U-Bet, and besides, the formula has changed. It’s no longer the old Fox’s U-Bet.

But at least she knows about egg creams and likes them, which I do find lovely.

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Bulgur Wheat Salad with Zucchini and Herb Vinaigrette

Yesterday’s BBQ was a washout. Literally. And so much rain has fallen in Fairfield County the past week that big old trees have been uprooted and fallen on the roads, electricity has been scattered.

But Sunday looked hopeful. The sun was out, bright and warm. My cousins were over for a visit. I invited my brother and sister-in-law for a cookout.

Yes! Grilled meat! Grilled corn!  Salads made with fresh produce from a farmer’s market: unwaxed cucumbers, beefy tomatoes that haven’t been gassed, slim, young zucchini squash, sweet leaf lettuce that would make Peter Rabbit go nuts with delight.

But the gray clouds moved in just as I thought about lighting the grill. Rain showers for the next two hours.

I used the broiler for the meat. It lacked that outdoor, smoky taste, but was still good, thanks to a delicious barbecue sauce.

The salads? Perfect. Didn’t matter if we were outdoors or in, whether the meat had been grilled or not or, in fact, whether there was any meat at all. Fresh, local vegetables and greens, tasty olive oil and vinegar combos — you can’t go wrong here.

We ate well, with homemade apple pie and plum cobbler as a bonus.

The sun came out just as we finished.

Oh well. Here’s a recipe for one of the salads:

Bulgur Wheat Salad with Zucchini and Herb Vinaigrette

• 1 cup fine grain bulgur wheat
• 1-1/2 cups boiling water
• 1 large ripe tomato, chopped into bite size pieces
• 1 small, slim zucchini, diced
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, deseeded and diced
• 2 scallions, chopped, optional
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, optional
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, oregano, savory or marjoram leaves (or a mixture of herbs)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the bulgur in a bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Stir and let rest for about 15 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed. Add the tomato, zucchini, cucumber and optional scallions and cheese. Sprinkle with the herbs. Toss ingredients to distribute them evenly. Add the olive oil and 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Toss the salad, taste and add more lemon juice if desired, plus salt and pepper to taste. Best to let rest for 15 minutes before serving (at room temp).

Makes 4-6 servings

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Those Cheese and Peanutbutter Crackers

I seem to remember someone (cough, you) suggesting that I carry those bright orange packet-crackers around with me for such occasions.  I’m shocked to hear you were away from home without them.  

No, but seriously, I’m a fan of the Luna Bars (Chocolate Peppermint Stick) for this kind of situation.  They keep forever.

Submitted by Meredith    mflichtenberg@yahoo.com

Yes, well, some people told me those were not healthy, though I did so love those cheese cracker-peanut butter things. :(

I’ll take a look at Luna Bars (though chocolate peppermint not a fave). Thanks for the suggestion.

Sounds like a nightmare. You should pack some snack bags of Turkish pistachios on the car (aren’t those your favorite snack?) - one in the glove box and one in each side door pocket! Or how about a recipe for snack mix that travels well and doesn’t leave the car a total mess?

Submitted by gillianfein@gmail.com

Always Have Food in Your Car

Always have food and water in your car.

Proof of that came last night as I ventured home from my daughter’s house in Brooklyn. I faced the usual rush hour traffic, no problem, I’m used to that. Except for the pileup on the GW Bridge which made traffic in all directions the usual crazy. So, okay, tack on an additional half hour for that.

I keep forgetting to change the CDs in my car and I’m a little sick of them now, but, so what, I’ll try to remember for next time. Talk radio out of the question (my normally low blood pressure would peak to stroke levels).

What I didn’t know about was the raging storm in Connecticut, where I live. I called my husband to tell him what time to light the grill and he laughed, then described the sheets of rain that were falling in lower Fairfield County. When I reached the Merritt Parkway, traffic was almost at a standstill.

Aha! I thought, I’ll take the back roads, like I usually do when it seems maybe it’ll be faster.

Am I an idiot or something? Every back road was almost impassable. I followed three or four other cars as we made our way around huge fallen trees and sometimes under the ones that fell on high wires but were still above ground — hoping a tree wouldn’t fall completely, and therefore on me, as I was passing.

An hour later, after driving on some of the same roads twice, I realized what a hopeless venture this was and found myself back on the highway, where traffic was still not moving more than a mile or two an hour. Slowly, slowly I made it home.

I was ravenous. I always carry water in the car, but not food. Hard to believe too, because my grandmother’s philosophy always was to pack up pounds of goodies before we went anywhere with the car, even if the trip was a short one to the beach or something. We’d pile in to the car, several of us, the kids on the floor in the back — no seat belts or safety regulations in those days — and almost as soon as we left she would ask if anyone wanted a peach or a plum or maybe even a sandwich or a drink from the gigantic thermos she brought.

I should carry food in the car.

There was no grilling when I got home. Thank goodness for hangar steaks which cook quickly. Steak and corn on the cob, followed by a real treat to help me relax after a bad trip: popcorn. Good to be home at last.

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