EllenFork

Dead Bread

Well, Halloween has FINALLY passed. Everyone gets so whipped into a frenzy over cocktails with eyeballs in them, cookies in the shape of dismembered digits and cupcakes with brain-colored frosting- it's kind of a relief when we can get back to enjoying delicious, non-themed fall food! However before we get entangled in the typical Thanksgiving frenzy, I would like to tell you about another November celebration that I love.

Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican celebration that happens to coincide with the American celebration of Halloween, but has a more "down-to-earth" feel about it (get it?).... On this day, families gather together to pray for the souls of family and friends who have died. The celebration occurs on November 2, which is the Catholic holiday "All Souls Day". On this day families visit cemetaries to clean the graves of loved ones, and build altars to honor the dead. These altars can also be found in many homes, as an incentive to souls to visit and hear the prayers of their families. Altars, or ofrendas, typically include favorite foods of the deceased, including various fruits, beverages such as beer and tequila, marigolds, sugar skulls, candied pumpkin and Pan de Muertos. All of these are gifts to welcome the deceased home, but are also eaten by the living participants. This day is not meant to be a day of mourning, but rather a celebration of life and the return of loved ones- feasting and partying accompanies the praying. (If you'd like to learn more, go here.)

I have always loved Day of the Dead, ever since I learned about it in some long-ago Spanish class. It's a party to celebrate life, and to keep loved ones with you always- plus there is a lot of feasting and fun that goes along with it! And I love the beautiful, colorful Day of the Dead art, like the sugar skulls that are given as gifts. The colorful little skulls in my altar were purchased at an AMAZING store in Austin, TX that was absolutely filled to the brim with Day of the Dead art. Luckily we flew and I had to carry on, or I would have appropriated a LOT more... Last year SW and I even planned to go as Day of the Dead skeletons for Halloween, until I came down with the plague. We ended up just carving some Day of the Dead themed pumpkins instead. The two on the left are clearly the handiwork of SW, as demonstrated by their superior carvings.

However, this year I went on the hunt for some festive Day of the Dead celebrations in my neck of the woods. It was nigh impossible! No one seems to be celebrating sufficiently in the DC/MD/VA area, and if they are they aren't advertising it. I did manage to find a huge, awesome Day of the Dead altar at the Mexican Cultural Institute. I ran right over there to snap some pictures, interrupted some private tequila tasting on the basis that "I came all the way from Virginia!!", then ran back home to build my own ofrenda and begin my preparations for Pan de Muertos or "Dead Bread" (recipes and photos after the jump).

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A 1964 Thanksgiving

 

Happy Week After Thanksgiving, y’all!

I hope all of you had wonderful and feasty Thanksgivings. I have just returned to my lair from NYC, and I am fully prepared to share this years Thanksgiving menu with you. This year was my 2nd Annual Brooklyn Thanksgiving (remember last years?), in which I decamp from DC to NYC to make an insane amount of food with my twin, Alice. This year, however, had a bit of a twist.
 
Foodbuzz is a "social network for foodies" that helps create a community for food bloggers all over the world. Each month they sponsor Foodbuzz 24,24,24 (24 meals, 24 blogs, 24 hours). Bloggers submit a proposal for a unique meal/experience/whatever that will be featured by Foodbuzz. This month, mine was selected!
 

I proposed a Thanksgiving menu comprised of recipes from the 1964 Nashville Junior League Cookbook. My mother gave me this cookbook one year for Christmas, both for the fun of looking back at how people ate in 1964 and for the presence of many of my relatives and their included recipes. The dishes from this cookbook run the gamut from delicious to perplexing (Grape and olive salad? Tuna Princess? Congealed beet salad?).

The menu I ended up with was based on assumed level of tastiness and our ability to find the ingredients. They are also mostly from the kitchens of my relatives. Per usual, this year's gathering would be taking place in my sister's spacey Bushwick apartment in Brooklyn, NY. It is a fourth floor walk up in an old belt factory, and filled with artists and a plethora of young people– the perfect place to mix up with the civilized '60s of the South with modern day living and eating.

Here are few examples of some of the menus from the book. They are categorized by season, and all the recipes (and more) come after. How fun do either of these parties sound? I'm positive the women in attendance were were wearing white gloves. (If any family reading this knows more, tell me!)

This meal was unique because of the dishes themselves. They are from another era, a time when cooking from cans was all the rage. The way we eat, cook and think about food has changed so drastically since then. Back then it was the era of convenience- now it is all about eating fresh, local and trumping each new fad as it comes along. I love that these recipes came from the kitchens of the ladies of Nashville, in a time when restaurants were not the temples of gourmet food that they have now become, and the Food Network was inconceivable. This book is a marker of times past, but also a treasure trove of Southern favorites; I often turn to it for something new (and old) to make.

The following recipes were taken verbatim from the book. Naturally there were modifications, but only in lieu of ingredients that could not be found at the Key Foods in Brooklyn (such as substituting a wild rice blend for the canned rice…). I think the hits were the Baked Apples and the country ham and beaten biscuits. I ordered the ham special from the Loveless Cafe in Nashville, TN, the best ham in town! When it was fried up and placed atop a beaten biscuit with some honey mustard and mayo…so good! My mouth is watering again just thinking about it! There is nothing better than a salty slab of country ham and a dense, crackery beaten biscuit. As for the least favorite... Wild Rice Supreme was hands down winner. Canned mushrooms will not be gracing the counters of my kitchen again anytime soon...
 

 

 
Baked Apples Filled with Spiked Sweet Potatoes

Wash and core, without cutting all the way through, the required number of Winesap apples. Pare apples, making certain to leave some skin around the bottom. Place apples in a baking dish, preferably one in which apples can be served. Fill each center with sugar, lemon rind (grated), and a lump of butter. Pour into dish one tablespoon of water for each apple. Cook uncovered in a hot oven until they are tender, basting often. Test with straw after 35 minutes. Do not overcook. Mash cooked and peeled sweet potatoes. Beat potatoes until fluffy. Beat in butter, salt, a little nutmeg, cinnamon, cream or sherry, molasses orr brown sugar. Fold in chopped pecans and raisins. Fill apple with sweet potato mixture, leaving a tablespoon or so of the mixture on top of apple. Place marshmallow on each apple. Bake again in moderate oven until hot. Turn on broiler to toast marshmallows the last thing.

Mrs. Livingfield More (My second cousin, Aggie)

Fruit Compote

10 winesap apples
1 small can of apricot halves
2 tbsp crushed pineapple
2 tbsp seedless raisins
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
juice of one lemon
grated nutmeg
 
Peel, core and quarter apples in a casserole dish. Add apricot halves, crushed pineapple, seedless raisins and simply syrup (water and sugar cooked together until it thickens). Sprinkle with grated nutmeg and bake in moderate over for about 30 minutes or until apples are tender. Serves 8. May be prepared in advance.

Mrs. Rufus E. Fort, Jr. (Great-Aunt)

Wild Rice Supreme

3- 12 ounce cans of pre-cooked Nokomis all-purpose wild rice
2 small cans button mushrooms
1 medium can water chestnuts
3 tbsp butter

Combine wild rice, mushrooms, water chestnuts and butter. Put into pyrex dish and bake just until it’s piping hot, or heat in double boiler. Light topping of grated cheese if desired. Serves 8.

Can be done in advance and reheated. Unbelievably good to be so simple.

Mrs. Rufus Fort, Jr. (Great-Aunt)

 

Beaten Biscuit (served with fried Loveless Cafe Country Ham)

 4 cups flour, sifted
2/3 cups lard
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup cream
½  cup milk
 
Mix together and roll until dough blisters and pops. Dough should be slick like marble. Cut out biscuits, prick twice with fork on tops and place on the middle rack of a 300 degree oven, preheated. When biscuits begin to brown on the bottom, turn oven to 250 degrees and continue to cook until a little color appears on the top of the biscuits…slightly pinkish. Turn off oven, open door but leave biscuits in to continue to dry out. This is not an original recipe but is very good. Makes about 4 dozen.

Mrs. Walter Stokes, Jr. (No relation, just a good recipe!)

 

Caviar Sour Cream Egg Halves

Caviar (we used paddlefish caviar)
½ pt sour cream
1 tbsp chives
1 dozen small eggs, hard-boiled
 
This is to be served in a frozen mold. To make mold, fill large silver bowl with water, place in center of bowl a plastic bowl for the sour cream and one for the caviar, or use a divided container. Weight the container and freeze. When ready to serve loosen the container and replace with caviar and sour cream. Place on silver tray  with glass liner if possible. Put halved eggs around the edge and garnish with parsley. Spread sour cream and caviar on eggs and eat.

Mrs. Louise Fort Linton (Second cousin)

 

In addition to these retro treats, friends brought lots of goodies, such as turkey marinated in duck fat, green beans and lots of yummy desserts. All in all, I had a great time making family dishes, and reexamining the recipes from 1964 Nashville. And no matter where you are and what the year is, the combination of food, family and friends is always in style.

For Butter or Worse

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for my compulsive use of puns. I've really tried to control it within the confines of this blog, and for the most part I feel I've been pure. Hopefully this time it won't freak you out too much to read about what this post is about...COOKIES.

Secondly, regarding desserts, I do not have much of a sweet tooth. Don't get me wrong, I like desserts, but I don't have the craving or necessity for sweet things the way many people do. I am no chocoholic. I much prefer savory treats, so a SWEET and savory treat is right up my alley. Something like salted caramels, or ROSEMARY BUTTER COOKIES.

This is a Martha Stewart recipe. I love her, ok? You might not, but let's all be honest- that lady gets things done. Naturally I looked to her wisdom for a relatively foolproof cookie recipe. And it turned out deliciously! Here is how I did it:

Rosemary Butter Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg white, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup fine sanding sugar

Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in whole egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour, rosemary, and salt, and mix until combined.

Halve dough; shape each half into a log. Place each log on a 12-by-16-inch sheet of parchment. Roll in parchment to 1 1/2 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log. Transfer to paper-towel tubes to hold shape, and freeze until firm, about 1 hour. The point here is to get a really round, evenly shaped log of dough. Also, these are small cookies, don't be scared of their size.

Preheat oven to 375. Brush each log with egg white; roll in sanding sugar. I used red, which was very cute. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Make sure that you do not let them burn! I left mine in 45 seconds too long and they got too brown, seriously. Because they're so thin, they will cook quickly.

 Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Enjoy these savory and sweet holiday treats!

Thanksgiving Traditions 2009

(my fancy flower arrangement from last year's holiday)

Thanksgiving is in T-minus 2 days! OMG!!! This year I am braving the apparently horrid traffic from DC to NYC, to visit my twin monster and bro-in-law and friends. We are starting all sorts of Thanksgiving traditions, above and beyond the lovely Turkey Days of my childhood. Think Champagne Punch and a Salted Turkey... I'll be updating with an epic, Twin-ified Feast Blog very soon.

In the meantime, I would love to know what YOUR favorite Thanksgiving Tradition is! Please leave a comment about how you celebrate. It could be watching football in a food coma, playing shuffleboard with Uncle Ernie, working in a soup kitchen or simply enjoying a meal with your weirdo but beloved family. What is it about tomorrow that is so very special and so very YOU?

Happy Thanksigiving Y'all!