Phoebe's Kitchen

Disaster and Candlelight

Those of us who live in New England have always been so happy that all we have to put up was snow which could be shoveled and pushed around. We didn't have to worry about severe hurricanes and tornadoes.  That all ended on June 1, 29, 2011.  I had spent the day in Boston and as I was headed home, I received a call that told me the Commonwealth was under a tornado watch.  I got off the turnpike in Palmer and had planned to do some shopping, but one look at the sky made me change my mind. I called a friend and asked where the storms were, she checked the internet and indicated they were just crossing the New York state border.  I turned my car around and headed home.  I watched the area tv stations and they were all talking about a storm cell in the Northampton-Amherst area.  Nobody mentioned any other areas.  All of a sudden I noticed a green dot in the Westfield area that was growing quickly.  Within a few minutes, the weatherman said touchdown in Westfield (and he wasn't discussing football).  I watch the sky darken and all of a sudden I heard a sound like a wall of hail approaching.  I headed to the basement and by the time I got to the foot of the stairs, it was over.  I looked out my windows and everything looked normal, not a leaf out-of-place.  Pretty soon I noticed cars turning around and my neighbor flying into my driveway saying I had to come see what had happened to the lake we live one.  I could not believe my eyes - all the trees on both sides of the middle of the lake were gone.  I went back home and started walking down the street - about 200 feet away I could see the beginning of the devastation. Prior to the day, our street could have been certified as a canopy road, but not anymore.  Within minutes the police were going house-to-house to make sure nobody was injured.  Thankfully, there were none.  They then suggested we return to our houses as the warnings were still on.  I then spent an hour or so in my neighbor's basement.  We then decided it was time to eat.  Since there was no power and had no idea when we would get it back, we had to get some items out of the freezer. 

My neighbor's eldest son, Peter, is quite the cook and had already brined chicken to grill that night. So to the table we added lobster and a salad. A few Coleman lanterns were added for lighting and tea candles for ambience.

Lemon Grilled Chicken

5 lemons, halved

12 bay leaves

1 bunch (4-ounces) flat-leaf parsley

1 bunch (1-ounces) fresh thyme

1/2 cup clover honey

1 head garlic, halved

1/4 cup freshly ground black peppercorns

2 cups (10-ounces) kosher salt

2 gallons water

2 roasting chickens, cut-up

1.  Combine all ingredients in a large pot, cover and bring to a boil. Boil for1 minute,  stirring to dissolve the salt.  Remove from the heat  and cool completely,  then chill before using.  The brine can be refrigerated for up to three days.

2.  Place cut-up chicken into brine and let sit for for 12 hours, stirring several times.  Remove chicken, rinse and dry.

3.  Heat grill. Rub chicken pieces with olive oil, garlic, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Place chicken on grill and grill, turning once. Serve immediatley.

We enjoyed this delicious chicken with a wonderful salad and grilled kale that was seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Recipe adapted from Thomas Keller.                                                            

 

 

 

 

Easter Brunch - Potato Brunch Casserole

Hard to believe that we ate outdoors last Easter on the first Sunday in April.  This year the weathermen can't make up their mind - rain or sun.

The dish below was given to me by a dear friend from Sarasota, Florida.  Whenever it is served, it just disappears. All I can say absolutely  delicious.  From Taste and Tales of Massachusetts

                 Potato Brunch Casserole

1 (32-ounce) package hash browns

1 pint whipping cream

1 (16-ounce) package Swiss cheese, grated

1 stick butter, melted

few dashes nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Put all ingredients in an oven-to-table casserole dish; mix thoroughly.  Sprinkle top with paprika.
3. Bake covered for 30 minutes; remove cover and continue baking for another 30 minutes until golden and bubbly.                                                           

Note:  Do not double recipe in same pan.  

Serves 6-8                             

Host of Golden Daffodils and A Daffodil Cake

Yesterday on April 11, 2011 the last bit of snow melted from my yard at the same time my first daffodil of the season bloomed.  It took me several hours to clean out my beds and 15 containers of leaves, etc were left for pick up.  Hopefully, this year will be not as hot as last and everything will bloom when it is suppose too. Winter did a number on my shrubs with one "Cornell Pink Azalea" being destroyed by snow coming off the roof. Have the remnants in a vase and am enjoying the blossoms  in the dining room.

Daffodil Cake

1 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons of sugar                                                   
12 egg whites
1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest

Lemon Glaze
1½ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Stir together the cake flour and the 2 tablespoons of sugar and set aside.
2. In a large electric mixer bowl with the whisk attachment, ,beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt for about 60 seconds, until foamy. Add the 3/4 cup of sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Gently fold the vanilla and lemon zest into the meringue.
3. In another electric mixer bowl, beat the egg yolks for about 5 minutes, until they are very thick and lemon colored. Set aside.
4. Sprinkle the flour-sugar mixture, one quarter at a time, over the meringue, gently folding the flour in just until the dry ingredients disappear. Pour half the batter into the bowl with the whipped egg yolks, and fold gently together.
5. Get out an ungreased tube pan, about 10×4 inches. Spoon the yellow and white batters alternately into the pan, and gently cut through the batters with a knife to swirl.
6. Bake on the bottom shelf of your oven for 35-40 minutes, until the top springs back when gently touched with a finger. Invert the pan on its funnel and let the cake hang until it is completely cooled.
7. While the cake is cooling, it’s time to make the glaze. Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl and add the lemon zest. Add the lemon juice one tablespoon at a time to the powdered sugar, whisking vigorously until the mixture is smooth.  The mixture will thin very quickly as you add the juice so go slowly and stop when you get to your desired glaze consistency.
8. Carefully remove the cake from its pan and spoon the glaze over the top.  Enjoy!

Betty Crocker Cookbook

From Sun to Snow

Spring arrived 2 weeks ago according to the calendar, but  I guess someone forgot to tell Mother Nature.  Two  weeks ago I was sitting in the sun on Siesta Key beach  in Sarasota, yesterday I was preparing the snow blower to be used.  Is there something wrong with this picture? 

I must say the weather was marvelous for my annual trip.  It was raining as I left Bradley International, but miraculously ended as the plane landed in Tampa.  As I stepped out of the airport the warmth enveloped me.  I headed out in rental car with the windows open and headed to Publix, my favorite grocery store. 

Sarasota has one of the finest Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning.  Always best to get there early in order to get a good parking spot.  The flowers, vegetables, and fruits are straight from the growers.  After the   market we head to the Broken Egg at  Lakewood Ranch.  Their meals are very inventive and don’t besurprised to see Dick Vitale having breakfast or signing books. 

 

As usual a trip to Anna’s Deli on Siesta Key was in order.  Founded in 1971, it is now the oldest
restaurant on Siesta Key.  The reason for this success is the delicious sandwiches, especially the surfer.  It is a combination of ham, turkey, cucumbers (sliced on length very thin), cheese and their special dressing.  Friends kept testing and believe that the dressing is a combination of mustard and mayonnaise. 

One can not leave Florida with out having grouper.  I prefer mine grilled and the Phillippi Creek Village Restaurant and Oyster Bar.  The restaurants sits on the edge of the creek and dining is in the Old Florida tradition.  Phillippi Creek Oyster Bar is actually the converted winter home of the Phillippi family and has changed little since being built in 1604.  His ship the “Philly P” is said to have gone down off Island Park during Hurricane Maria in 1619 and supposedly on moonlit nights a ghostly vision of the ship can be seen sailing up the creek without a paddle.

For my entire trip, the days were warm and sunny and the skies were cloudless and there is nothing quite like the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico.      

 

                                                         Grilled Grouper

4 (6-ounce) grouper fillets                                                                                     2 teaspoons olive oil         1/2 teaspoon salt                                                                                                                                                                 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper                                                                  lime wedges                                                                                              cooking spray

1.  Rub fish with olive oil, psrinkle with salt and pepper.                                       2.  Heat a large nonstick grill pan over medium high heat; coat pan with cooking spray or heat grill at same temperature and spray grill with cooking oil.                  3.  Add fish, cook 5 minutes on each side or until flakes easily when tested with a     fork.                                                                                                                  4.  Serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4                                                                     Taste and Tales of Florida

Comfort Food

Spring is coming!!!  It has been a long cold snowy winter.  This tree is between 6-7' tall and the snow is almost as tall.  Sorry I haven’t been in touch.  I have been working hard on my next cookbook, Taste and Tales of New York.

During these long cold days there is nothing like a little comfort food that makes us feel warm.  I have had this Hamburg Loaf recipe since my grad school days at Florida State University.  It was given to me by one of my classmates, Roberta Maddox.  It a delicious moist meatloaf and its secret ingredient is chopped apple.

 

Hamburg Apple Loaf 

1 egg beaten                                                                                                       

¼ cup milk                                                                  

¾ cup bread crumbs                                                    

¼ cup chopped onion                                                  

2 medium apples-peeled, cored, and finely chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt

⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1½ pound ground beef

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine all ingredients except ground beef.
3. Add beef, mixing well.  Pat into loaf pan.
4. Bake at for 1¼  hours.

 Glaze for Top (optional)

¼ cup ketsup

1 teaspoon dry mustard 

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 tespoon ground nutmeg

1. Combine the above ingredients, and spread over meat loaf.
2. Bake an additional 15 minutes.

From the Taste and Tales of Massachusetts                                

 

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies - 12 Days of Christmas Cookies

 

Christmas is now upon us and instead of 12 days it is now 8 days of Christmas Cookies.  These are a favorite of my neighbor Peter.

 

Canberry Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup  butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups old-fashioned Oatmeal

1 cup dried cranberries, soaked in

1 cup orange juice

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In a medium-bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

3.  In a large bowl cream butter and add sugar and brown sugar; combine well.

4.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

5.  Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; blend well.

6.  Fold in the oatmeal and cranberries. 

7.  Drop by rounded teaspoons on ungreased baking sheet.

8.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden.  Cool 1 minute on baking sheet for a few minutes; move to wire rack.

Yields:  4 dozen

 

 

Norwegian Kringle - 12 Days of Christmas Cookies

Here we are on the Monday before Christmas with five days left and only 7 cookies so far - so instead of the 12 Days of Christmas, it is going to be more like the 8 Days of Christmas.  To put it mildly, I misjudged my time and all that needed to be done.  I'll do better next year.  Besides making all these cookies - dozens and dozens of them, the question became what to do with all the cookies.  I'm really becoming quite inventive.

Below is a recipe given to me by friends in Florida who got it from a friend from Norway.  They are delicious and last fairly well if kept in an air tight container.  I leave mine on the porch where the cold seems to keep them fresh.

Norwegian Kringle 

 1 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

1 tablespoon water

Blend together.  Press on a 10 x 14-inch baking sheet.  Dip your fingers in cold water to help you press the mixture in place.  It can be done, it takes time and patience.

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1 cup flour

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat water and butter to the boiling point, remove from heat; add flour.  Stir until smooth.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Add almond extract.  Spread on pie crust.  Bake for 45 minutes.

Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Mix together until smooth.  Spread on the cooled Kringle.  Cut into 1-inch squares.  This cookie is very rich!

 

Gingerbread Cookies - 12 Days of Christmas Cookies

Aren't they the cutest.  My dear friend Berneice of Sugar D.L.s made them for me.  Fun to eat one appendage at a time.

Gingerbread Men Cookies 

1 cup butter softened

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ cup water

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1 cup regular molasses

5 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1½ tablespoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground allspice

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 (16-ounce) package confectioners sugar

3 egg whites, whipped into a soft meringue or

  3 tablespoons meringue powder

6-8 tablespoons warm water

White sparkling sugar (optional)

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed in a large mixing bowl with a mixer until fluffy.
3. Stir together ¼ cup water and soda until dissolved; stir in molasses.
4. Combine flour, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.
5. Add to butter mixture alternately with molasses mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Shape mixture into a ball; cover and chill 1 hour.
6. Roll to ¼ -inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a 4-inch gingerbread man or woman cookie cutter.
7. Place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.
9. To make icing, combine confectioners sugar and water.  Fold in the soft meringue.  Spoon icing into a small heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Snip a tiny hole in 1 corner of bag; pipe around edges of cookies. Sprinkle icing with sugar, if desired.

Note: Sparkling sugar can be found at cake decorating and kitchen shops or through King Arthur.  Meringue powder is also available through King Arthur.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies - 12 Days of Christmas Cookies

These are my all time favorite cookie.  Besides me, my neighbor Sean and my nephew Karl also rank them high on their list.  They are really double chocolate with a touch of orange juice.

The hardest part is coming up with the mint chocolate chip.  :Last year Nestle had them once again so I stocked up buying about 3 dozen bags.  This year I bought some at Targets, but when I went back they no loniger had any.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

2¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 ( 10-ounce) bag mint chocolate chips

1 (12-ounce) semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a medium size mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl beat butter until soft and creamy.  Add granulated and brown sugar, combine thoroughly.  Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time. 
4. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; add orange juice and combine.
5. Fold in bags of mint chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
6. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets.
7. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

 

Yields 4 to 5 dozen.

 

 

Rose Kennedy's Sugar Cookie - 12 Days of Christmas Cookies

 Sugar Cookies can be very versatile.  They can be rolled and cut into reindeer, Santas, Christmas Trees, Angels, Wreaths, and a many other symbols of the holiday season.

My dear friend, Berneice of Sugar D.L.'s made the cookies on the left for me.  She makes the most awesome cookies.  They can be found at Fresh Acres in Springfield, MA.

This recipe can be found in the Taste and Tales of Massachusetts.

Rose Kennedy’s Sugar Cookies

 ½ cup unsweetened butter                               

 ¼ cup sugar                                                     

 3 egg yolks                                                      

½ teaspoon vanilla                                           

1 tablespoon milk

1¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

 

1. Preheat oven to 375° degrees F.
2. Cream butter until light and gradually add sugar.
3. Add egg yolks, vanilla, and milk; beat thoroughly.
4. Sift dry ingredients and add to batter in batches.  Mix well, but do not overmix.
5. Place on unbuttered cookie sheets by teaspoons.  Press down using fingers.  If desired, sprinkle top with color sprinkle.
6. Bake in oven for about 8-10 minutes until edges are golden.

 Yields:  36 cookies