Tuna Burgers

When I went to the fish store the other day there were several hunks of tuna for sale but only one of them was as thick as I like — tuna dries out quickly so I like to use a piece that’s 1-1/2-inches. Unfortunately, the piece i wanted weighed too much for a dinner for two for Ed and me, but I bought it anyway so I could experiment with the leftovers.

I actually cut a half pound chunk off to play around with the next day and decided to make tuna burgers.

They were gooooood!

Here’s the recipe:

Tuna Burgers

16-20 ounces fresh tuna

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro)

2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion or scallion

1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped serrano or jalapeno pepper

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Chop the tuna into very fine pieces into a bowl (you can use a food processor). Add the parsley, onion, garlic, ginger, chili pepper and some salt and pepper to taste. Stir ion 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Heat the remaining vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook the burgers for about 2 minutes per side or until lightly browned and crispy on both sides. Makes 4.

I served these on hamburger rolls with lemon-flavored mayonnaise: mix 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel.

Sunday Dinner and Roast Beef

In my family, growing up, Sunday dinner usually meant a trip to the local Chinese restaurant where our family of five would sit down to a meal of the then usual stuff: wonton soup, egg rolls, chow mein and of course a more esoteric dish from “Column B,” maybe Moo Goo Gai Pan or Wor Shu Opp. 

Anyone of a certain age will know what I’m talking about. You youngsters born after the days when General Tsao’s Chicken has become old hat probably never heard of some of those. 

But I digress. 

The fact is, we didn’t have homemade Sunday dinner.

But my husband Ed’s family did, as I learned when we became engaged. My mother-in-law frequently made rib roast on that day.

I had never tasted rib roast! My mother didn’t like it, complaining that it was “wet” and the only time I saw some was on those rare occasions when we would go to some lovely American restaurant that had celery and carrot sticks on the table when you sat down. The amuse-bouche of its day. My father always ordered the rib roast because he loved it.

I’m reading a book called “Home” by Marilynne Robinson and just finished a part where the family is eating Sunday dinner and Roast Beef is on the menu. It brought back such wonderful memories of Sunday dinner with the Feins and how delicious my mother-in-law’s beef roast tasted!

She taught me how to make it, thinking, this is what Sunday dinner is all about and I should know how to do it, which I did for many years.

And I taught my daughters too. But they never make roast beef and I rarely do now either, saving the special dish for when my cousins Leslie and Neil come at New Years and maybe once over the summer. 

It’s a pity though. We do eat differently these days. Still, those were some wonderful and celebratory dinners. “Home” brought it back to me. Good memories. Good days.

There must be some people out there who would still love a delicious roast for Sunday dinner. Or for company dinner on some Saturday night. It’s terribly old fashioned but oh, so good.

For you, here’s my mother-in-law’s recipe. I’ve given instructions on how to carve the raw meat off the bone and tie it back on. Meat tastes best when you cook it with a bone, but you can carve it more easily if it’s boneless. With this method, after the roast is cooked you snip the strings, the meat part comes off the bone and you now have a boneless roast. Serve the bones separately.

Pearl Fein’s Standing Rib Roast

1 2-3 rib beef roast

kitchen string

1 tablespoon paprika

1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

water

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Carve the meat from the bones as close to the bone as possible so that you are left with a round beef roast and L-shaped bones. Tie the meat back onto the bones with kitchen string. In a small bowl, combine the paprika, salt, pepper and garlic powder plus enough water to form a paste. Brush the paste on all the meat and bone surfaces. Place the roast bone side down in a roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and cook for about 15 minutes per pound or until it is cooked to the doneness you like. Use a meat thermometer (place it in the middle of the meat) and remove the meat from the oven when it reaches 115 degrees F for rare and 130 F for medium. Let the roast rest for 15-20 minutes before you carve it (the temperature will rise a bit during that time). Snip the strings and place the now-boneless roast on a carving board to slice. Makes 4-8 servings

What I Should Have Learned...: Picnic Safety

whatishouldhavelearned:

There is nothing more American than the picnic!

Picnics can take on many forms, such as the community picnic, friends and neighbors, tailgate parties, or ball games. There is also one sure thing at every picnic-lots of good food.

The important point is to have safe and healthy food, not…

Picnics are fun, but they can be annoying. I remember, even as a kid, our family would eat at the beach and I hated when the the sandwiches got sprinkled with sand so that when I bit into one I felt the grit and got that wince-worthy sound between my teeth that reminded me of the dentist.

I didn’t like the ants either. Or getting sunburned (I am old enough to remember a time before sunscreen existed.) 

But okay, if you love a picnic, and like to linger with lunch and not sit in the usual chairs at the usual table, you deal with the pitfalls.

But one hazard you don’t want to hazard is spoiled food. So, read this list of good rules to follow before you venture out. 

Also, I have found over the years, that it is a good idea to take food that doesn’t spoil easily. Like this tomato salad:

Spicy Tomato Salad

3-4 large ripe tomatoes

6 Sichuan peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh jalapeno or serrano pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Cut the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Toast the Sichuan peppercorns or cook them in an unoiled pan for a few minutes over medium heat until they are fragrant. Crush the Sichuan peppercorns and add them to the tomatoes. Add the back pepper, chili pepper, olive oil, wine vinegar, cilantro and thyme. Mix and let rest for at least 30 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings

Ice Cream Smorgasbord!

The other day I was reminiscing about a place called Putnam Pantry, in Massachusetts. I went there a few times many years ago when my brother Mickey lived in Marblehead and he took me and my folks there for a treat. I had never been to any place like it. 

Putnam Pantry had an ice cream SMORGASBORD.

Here’s how it worked: you got a sundae glass and asked for a scoop of your favorite ice cream, then you went through a line to various stations to fill the glass up with any topping you wanted. AND as much as you wanted as long as it fit inside the dish.

For me it was like being Pinocchio on Pleasure Island (Disney version). When you see all that stuff what do you do?

Make a jackass out of yourself and take a little of everything.

Which I did.

It was a mess and mixture of too many flavors. I took fudge sauce, strawberry sauce, caramel sauce, nut sauce, whipped cream, sprinkled, crushed cookies and I forget what else.

Rookie move.

In that one visit I learned that if you are an ice cream lover then you asked for a large scoop, but if you’re like me and prefer topping, you asked for a small scoop and then filled the dish with the other stuff. But you don’t add all the other stuff that there is.

The next time I got smart. I got a small scoop of vanilla ice cream so there would be plenty of room for the thick, velvety hot fudge sauce that stayed hot and oozy even over the cold ice cream (maybe because I took so much?). I also added an Everest-sized mountain of whipped cream, a sprinkle of chopped toasted almonds and a few chopped fresh strawberries.

Simple, sweet and wonderful.

There’s still a Putnam Pantry in Massachusetts. And I understand they have even more toppings now. It’s too far from where I live to go to for a sundae. So when I want one I have to make it at home. 

For me, no sundae beats hot fudge sauce over vanilla ice cream and topped with homemade whipped cream. Here’s the recipe for hot fudge sauce in case you want to make one at home too.

Hot Fudge Sauce

2 cups light brown sugar

1 cup heavy cream

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the brown sugar, cream, chocolate and butter in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes or until the mixture reaches about 234 degrees F on a candy thermometer (the soft ball stage when a drop of the mixture forms a soft ball when dropped into cold water). Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract. Serve hot. Refrigerate leftovers. To reheat: place in the top part of a double boiler and cook over barely boiling water. Makes about 1-1/2 cups

National Fried Chicken Day

That would be today, July 6th.

You know those parlor games when people ask you “if you knew it would be your last dinner what meal would you want?”

My answer is “My Mom’s fried chicken, if she were here to make it.” (Plus her apple pie.)

But she isn’t. A little while ago I wrote about what made her version so special (you can find it here, with the recipe). Basically, it was the simple coating and the frying fat — she used melted vegetable shortening, which is so-so unhealthy but really-really terrific when it’s dark golden brown, juicy fried chicken you want. 

So, rather than post her recipe again, I’m giving one for Biscuits because there is no better bread accompaniment for fried chicken.

Of course these are perfect for breakfast too. Eat them plain (okay, maybe some soft, fresh, sweet butter! Or strawberry jam!!). Or stuff them with a fried egg or cheese. Or both.

Biscuits

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon rind, optional

8 tablespoons cold butter

2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Sift the flour, cake flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a bowl. Stir in the lemon rind, if used. Cut the butter into chunks and add it to the bowl. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in the buttermilk and mix until you can form a soft ball of dough. Try not to pound or overwork the dough (this makes the biscuits tough). Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead 4-5 times. Roll or press the dough gently to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out circles with a doughnut cutter or the top of a glass. Place the circles one inch apart (for darker biscuits) or close together (for fluffier biscuits) on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they have risen and are lightly browned. Makes 8-10

What Kind of Hamburger Do You Like?

It’s always the simplest foods that cause the biggest problems. Like hamburgers. You’d think it would be easy to make a patty out of a hunk of meat and then grill it. But NO! First you have to decide what kind of beef you like — like chuck or sirloin (or my favorite, a combo of brisket and chuck) — or even if you want beef at all. Because there’s turkey burgers, chicken burgers, veggie burgers and so on.

Then there’s whether you grill it or fry it. Rare or well-done. Ketchup or Russian dressing.

The choices go on and on.

That’s why there are so many food writers writing about it. 

I cooked hamburgers only occasionally when the kids were growing up. They just weren’t favorites at our house and we all liked them different ways so it was more trouble than it was worth. But once, my daughter Gillian came home from a friend’s house and said she had the best hamburger ever! So I called the friend’s mother to ask for her recipe and she told me she got the pre-made frozen patties that came in the 5-pound box. 

Not my style. 

We’re still not big burger eaters in our family. But last weekend, being July 4th and all, it seemed the right time to make them. On Monday I made hot dogs, some beef burgers and also these turkey burgers, from a recipe given to me by my daughter Gillian (who once liked that frozen patty). 

The people who tried them all said they were juicy and delicious (the beef burger and hot dog people wouldn’t even have a taste). The apple and spinach help to keep turkey, which is lean, moist and succulent. Here’s the recipe. See for yourself.

Turkey Burgers with Apple and Spinach

2-6 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2-1/2 pounds ground turkey

1 granny smith apple, peeled and cored

1 cup chopped spinach

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

4 large eggs

1-1/2 cups Panko

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, cook for 4-5 minutes or until soft and beginning to brown. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside. Place the ground turkey in a large bowl. Grate the apple into the bowl. Add the spinach, sage, eggs, Panko, the sauteed onions and salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and form into patties. Grill the patties for 3-5 minutes per side (depending on thickness) or until cooked through. OR: to saute, heat the remaining olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat and cook for 3-5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Makes 8 servings

Butterscotch Pudding Pie

Butterscotch Pudding Pie 

It rained yesterday. What a bummer for July 4th weekend! No swimming or grilling or just sitting outside to enjoy the warm weather and sunshine.

So my granddaughter Lila and I made this Butterscotch Pudding Pie and granddaughter Nina helped make the whipped cream. Then they licked the bowl, of course.

Sweet.

Butterscotch Pudding Pie

1 9-inch fully baked pie crust

3 cups whole milk

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon sugar

Heat 2-1/2 cups of the milk in a saucepan over medium heat for several minutes until the milk is hot and bubbles form around the edges. In the meantime, mix the brown sugar, cornstarch and salt together with a whisk to blend ingredients thoroughly. Pour in the remaining 1/2 cup milk and whisk the ingredients into a pasty consistency. Add the heated milk and whisk ingredients thoroughly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally with a whisk, over medium heat for a minute or two or until the mixture is thick and is bubbling. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract and spoon the pudding into the baked pie crust. Refrigerate until cold. Whip the cream and sugar until thick. Spread on top of the pie. Makes 8-10 servings

Egg Salad — My Go-To Staple

Egg Salad — My Go-To Staple

The kids are coming for the holiday weekend, so I’ve just made some egg salad. There’s always egg salad in my fridge. It’s like having salt and pepper in the cabinet, a no-brainer nibble. I make egg salad because everyone eats it. On a sandwich or crackers or cucumber slices or just plain on the plate. For lunch or as a snack or even for breakfast. 

Egg salad is my all-purpose go-to dish.

My son-in-law Jesse teases me about it. He rolls his eyes when he sees the fresh batch in the fridge. But then he takes it out and has some. If there weren’t any egg salad there he’d be upset that something was wrong.

I’ve tasted all sorts of egg salad over the years. My mother made it with onion and sometimes cooked potato. That was delicious. I’ve tasted egg salad with fresh dill. That’s good too. And there have been tastes of egg salad with olive, tuna, salmon, cooked peas and carrots and so on.

All good. But not plain old egg salad. I am an egg salad purist. I like it plain and always make it the same way. People say they like it because it’s dry, not overly loaded with mayonnaise — I use a microplane to crush the hard cooked eggs (you use less mayo that way). The only thing I change is the dish I serve it in. 

Everyone loves my egg salad, which is basically this: 

Egg Salad

• 8 hard cooked eggs
• 2-1/2 to 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard if you must

Crush the eggs using the finest grater possible (microplane is best) into a bowl. Add 2-1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise, season with salt, pepper (and mustard if you like it) and mix with a fork. Add slightly more mayonnaise if the egg crumbles don’t hold together.

Makes 4 servings

Easy Pasta Dish for July 4th Weekend

My kids and grandkids are coming for the holiday weekend, which means FOOD. Lots of it. For 6 adults and 4 kids plus whoever else comes by, which could be my brother Jeff and sister-in-law Eileen who live nearby.

It’s nice to have stuff in the fridge that I can just pull out for a nibble in case someone is hungry.

Someone is always hungry and nibbling at some time during the day.

I actually love that everyone goes to the fridge and “takes inventory,” as my mother used to say about me when I was the one visiting and she was the one whose house we went to.

I am thinking about making this pasta dish. You can make it in advance. It’s good hot, warm or at room temperature. It has a lot of flavor. You can add stuff to the recipe: peas, scallions, cooked chicken, bits of cheese and so on. You can replace the sun dried tomatoes with chopped fresh plum tomato. 

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Pignoli Nuts

1 pound bowtie pasta

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup pignoli nuts

10 ounces mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2/3 cup cut up oil-packed sun dried tomatoes

1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste

Cook the pasta until it is al dente. Drain the pasta but save some of the cooking water. While the pasta is cooking, heat one tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the pignoli nuts and cook, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes or until the nuts are lightly toasted. Dish out and set aside. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes, to soften them. Add the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and basil and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute. Add the remaining olive oil and heat through. Add the pasta and cook, tossing the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Add some of the cooking water if necessary to give the pasta more moisture if desired. Taste for seasoning and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with Parmesan cheese. Makes 4 servings

The Small Kitchen

One of the best meals I ever served came from my tiny kitchen in an apartment in Greenwich Village. Ed and I were newly married, our one-bedroom apartment was small and the kitchen about the size of your average suburban walk-in closet, only narrower. We invited 6 people, 2 aunts/uncles plus another “older” couple (who in fact were younger then than we are now).

I don’t actually remember everything I cooked, but there were some hors d’oeuvre with drinks, a chicken dish for dinner, a couple of vegetable sides and a homemade apple tart for dessert.

You don’t need a big kitchen to do big things. Everyone loved everything and yes, I realize they weren’t going to tell me otherwise and I am sure my cooking has improved over the years. But in that tiny space I know I cooked company-worthy food for an evening.

Of course it’s more difficult. You have to work ahead and you have to plan better. You can only usually work on one thing at a time. A small kitchen makes you focus, which is a good thing, especially as it prepares you for a big-kitchen future, maybe.

There’s a chef (Steve Johnson, owner of Rendezvous) in Cambridge, Mass who teaches "Houseboat Cooking" for those who need some creative ideas for working in a boat galley kitchen or any small cooking space. There are also a number of cookbooks available on this subject. 

If you have a small kitchen but like to cook and entertain, no worries. Make a plan. Buy some stuff, cook some stuff. Prepare some foods in advance. You’ll do fine. Here’s a dessert recipe you can make in a small kitchen — the apple tart I made those many years ago. I usually make this dish in the fall, when apples are a new crop, but summer’s fine too. Or switch to peaches/nectarines.

Apple Tart

the pastry:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel, optional

1/2 cup butter

3 tablespoons vegetable shotening

5 tablespoons cold liquid (water, milk, orange juice, etc.), approximately

Mix the flour, sugar, salt and lemon peel, if used, in a bowl. Add the butter and shortening in chunks work into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (alternately, place ingredients in a food processor and process using pulse). Add 4 tablespoons of the liquid and work the ingredients into a ball of dough, using more liquid only if necessary to form the dough. Wrap the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes (it may be refrigerated for 2-3 days). Just before baking, roll the dough into a circle large enough to fit into a 9-inch tart pan, place the dough in the pan and prick the dough with the tines of a fork. Set aside while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

3-4 tablespoons melted peach or apricot jam

2-3 crisp apples (such as Granny Smith or Golden Delicious) OR 5-6 peaches

3-5 tablespoons sugar (more with apples, less with peaches)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the preserves over the bottom of the pastry. Peel and core the apples or peaches, cut into slices and arrange the slices over the dough. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle on top of the fruit. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the fruit is golden brown and soft and the pastry is golden brown. Make 8 servings

NOTE: if you don’t have a tart pan you may bake this tart on a cookie sheet, but in that case, create a border by rolling the edges into a thicker edge of dough.