Pigtails and Frog Legs: A Family Cookbook from Neiman Marcus

Once upon a time, I was strolling through Neiman Marcus (we used to have one in downtown Minneapolis) with my husband and this caught my eye.

Now, I don't usually pay full price for new cookbooks, but I had to get it.  A cookbook illustrated by Chuck Jones?  How could I resist?

Okay...there may be one or two people out there...somewhere...who have no idea who Chuck Jones was.  Luckily, our local history center has an exhibit right now and I can show you this.  Take a minute.  (Thanks, Dave!)

And now that we're all on the same page, I'll go on.  So, a cookbook illustrated by Chuck Jones.  Apparently Neiman Marcus solicited recipes from its "InCircle Members" (no clue!) to do a fundraising cookbook for several children's charities.  Somebody found out Chuck Jones was one of their members and they asked him to do the illustrations. Unlike many fundraising cookbooks, the recipes in this book passed a panel of professional chefs.  And then they got Michael Jackson to write the forward.  (1993)

I like this cookbook a lot.  It's a great family cookbook, and I really need to dig into it more.  I love the recipe for Green Enchiladas, but best of all is The Á La King.

I don't think I had ever had chicken á la king made from scratch before.  I'd had cafeteria versions, and boil-in-bag versions, frozen dinner versions, and I *think* somewhere way in my past I had encountered a canned version.  My reaction to those was basically "it's okay".  But I tried this, and suddenly I knew why people had spent so much time attempting to make a quick and easy version.  But this is fairly quick and it's certainly easy, although you might have to buy an ingredient or two that you don't normally keep at hand.  Here's the recipe -- stick around for my notes on it afterwards.
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The Á La King

1/2 cup green pepper, diced
1 jar (4.5 oz) sliced mushrooms, reserve 1/4 cup liquid
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup milk
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup frozen peas, cooked
2 to 3 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
1 4 oz jar pimentos, chopped
1 pkg (6-count) PEPPERIDGE FARM puff pastry shells

In large skillet, sauté green pepper and mushrooms in butter for 5 minutes. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring until mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in half-and-half, milk, broth and reserved mushroom liquid. Heat to boiling. Stirring constantly, boil for 1 minute. Add peas, chicken and pimentos. Cook 4 more minutes. Serve in pastry shells.
Serves 6

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To start, I should say that I have never even purchased Pepperidge Farms puff pastry shells. I have no idea if you can even still buy them. But this is a flexible recipe (another one!  I like those) and it can easily be served on rice, refrigerator biscuits, drop biscuits...oh, probably mashed potatoes too if you want. What else?  Canned mushrooms are fine.  Half a cup of cream and 1 1/2 cups milk...red (sweet) pepper instead of pimiento.  Even the original recipe is very flexible on the amount of chicken involved.  And it tastes soooooo good!

Pigtails and Frog Legs at Amazon

The History of Pho

Lucky Peach published an excerpt of Andrea Nguyen's The Pho Cookbook (should I be italicizing all titles?) in their magazine and posted it online as well.  Here is her take on the history of pho.

Oh, and if you've never had pho, ask around, find the enthusiast, and go where they tell you.  Don't be afraid of the word "fatty".  Put everything in, and enjoy!

In Defence of English Cooking

Let's talk about George Orwell.

Everybody knows 1984.  If you went through the American public school system, there's a pretty good chance that you had to read it.  Or maybe you saw one of the movie versions. But did you know he was actually considered one of the truly great British writers and had several other books to his credit, both fiction and nonfiction?

I had to read 1984 for school. I didn't care for it.  However, some years later I wound up listening to an audiobook version of his Down and Out in Paris and London and I thought it was wonderful.  In it, he talks about living poor in Paris and London (hence the title) and doing a LOT of dishwashing.  In the accounts of his time in restaurant kitchens, he is writing a predecessor to Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential.  I found it absolutely fascinating.

So when I saw a listing for In Defence of English Cooking by George Orwell (Penguin Books, 2005) I snapped it up.

Um.

Hmm.

Well, I'm blaming Penguin Books for this one.  This was published as one of the "Pocket Penguins" done for their 70th Anniversary.  It's a slim volume, only 58 pages, and it consists of four essays.  "In Defense of English Cooking" begins on page 54.  The last two pages are a list of all 70 Pocket Penguins.  Yes, I bought it for three pages.  It reads like a newspaper opinion piece on the ideal British foods. So...not quite what I was hoping for.

Now, maybe this is still the book for you.  But I'd recommend getting a copy of Down and Out in Paris and London instead.

Essay: In Defence of English Cooking

In Defence of English Cooking at Amazon

Down and Out in Paris and London at Amazon

A lovely piece from Bee Wilson on food history and Alexis Soyer:

The Forgotten Kitchen: Neapolitan Fondue

The Peanuts Cookbook

The Peanuts Cookbook.  It came out in 1969, which is probably about when my sister got it.  I went through a phase of liking anything Peanuts, as many kids did, and for a while this was great.  In reality, it's a cutesy little book that was put out to capitalize on the fact that somebody had gotten the license from Charles Schulz to do a Peanuts cookbook.  It's cute, it is very pink and green (the interior sticks with the same color scheme as the cover, a pink panel in a green border), and there is a recipe on the left-hand page and a four-panel comic (which may have a tie in to the recipe, or not) on the right.

The recipe selection?  Meh.  They found some things that would tie in to the comics. Doughnuts, macaroni and cheese, and a steak tartare recipe for Snoopy (only to be fed to dogs, or maybe cats).  Mostly they took kid-friendly recipes and changed the names.  Sally's Scrambled Eggs, Lucy's Lemon Lollipops, Charlie Brown's Brownies...you get the idea.

The one recipe I remember making, and making more than once, is Great Pumpkin Cookies.

Great Pumpkin Cookies

1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 lb. can pumpkin
2 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 cup raisins
1 cup pecans, chopped

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix sugar, shortening, eggs and pumpkin thoroughly. Sift dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture. Blend well. Add raisins and pecans. Drop batter by teaspoonful on uncreased baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes about 6 dozen

A delicious snack while you're waiting for the "Great Pumpkin."
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I don't remember the pecans ever being used in ours.

Amazon link to The Peanuts Cookbook

A busy month, Eurovision, and food history

Have I mentioned that this month has been extraordinarily busy?  Or at least it feels like it.  It's the last month that the kids are in school, the yard and gardens need to be finished, a dinner party, garage sale, ripping up carpeting...and Eurovision.

Eurovision shouldn't be a big distraction for me, here in the middle of the US.  But we've watched faithfully for more than a decade, and I can't help but get caught up in it a little.  But I'm not the only one.

Here's a link for you to the blog of Dr. Annie Gray, food historian, TV presenter, and Eurovision fan.

I Love Eurovision

Quick and Easy Indian Cooking

I have no yogurt in the house.  Okay, this may be tough, but here goes....

Madhur Jaffrey came into the public eye as an actress.  She was born and raised in India, then traveled to London to join the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1955. While in London, she was so disappointed in the food that she asked he mother for recipes and began to teach herself to cook.  She did lots of radio and theater work, and her first film, Shakespeare Wallah, came out in 1965. Her first cookbook, An Invitation to Indian Cooking, came out in 1973.

This is not that book.  But it is my first Madhur Jaffrey cookbook.

I was introduced to this book by a friend, who convinced me I needed a copy.  It wasn't hard -- he cooked for me. Mango lassis FTW!  I have now been conditioned by this book to start salivating as soon as I see it.  Everything we have tried has been delicious, and it really is easy.  Quick...well, it might depend on how good you are at prep.  Assembling everything once you have it ready to go is simple, but some of the recipes require a fair amount of chopping.  The recipes may not look simple at first glance either, especially if you have been seduced by cookbooks that promise results with only three ingredients.  She uses lots of spices and this makes the ingredient list twice as long as the instructions, but when the most difficult part of prepping them is finding where they are in your cupboard, I don't think you have to worry much.  (YMMV -- my cupboards are full but generally organized.)

The lamb recipes (Lamb Stewed in Coconut Milk!) are good. The chicken recipes are good (Silken Chicken!). The lentil recipes (Whole Green Lentils with Cilantro and Mint!) are good! There's even a Hard-Boiled Eggs Masala that is great when you have no idea what to make for dinner.  And the Mango Lassi.... *sigh*

I think the recipe I'll give you is one of the first we made after getting the cookbook.  It's good for picnics and potlucks, can be served at any temperature, and eaten with fork, toothpicks, or fingers.

Delicious Chicken Bits
Murgh ke mazedar tukray

1 1/4 pounds boned, skinned chicken breasts (4 breast pieces)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1/2 teaspoon ajwain seeds
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon bright red paprika
3/4 teaspoon salt
About 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut each chicken breast piece into thirds, lengthwise, and then crosswise into 3/4-inch to 1-inch segments. Put in a bowl. Add the black pepper, turmeric, cayenne pepper, cumin, thyme, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes or longer.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok or large, nonstick frying pan over very high heat. When the oil is very hot, put in the chicken. Stir and fry quickly until the chicken pieces are lightly browned or turn opaque on the outside. Put in a baking dish, cover loosely with oiled waxed paper (which should sit inside the dish and directly on the chicken pieces), and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the chicken pieces are just cooked through. If not to be eaten immediately, remove the chicken pieces from the hot baking dish to prevent them from drying out.

Serves 6-8

I want a mango lassi....

Shakespeare Wallah on YouTube

Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking Shakespeare Wallah - The Merchant Ivory Collection Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India