ruthcooks

Thank you, Carolyn, for this mouth-watering report. I had sympathy for your poor feet for all that standing in line, but what an overwhelming culinary experience.

I'm making one of my favorite Christmas desserts, probably my most favorite chocolate dessert in the world, Abby Mandel's Boule de Neige (snowball) from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts. The rest of the family usually wants a chocolate souffle roll, which is great, but I like the snowball better. It's a flourless chocolate cake baked in a mixing bowl. Just before serving, you pipe whipped cream rosettes all over so it actually looks like a snowball, then cut in wedges to serve. Garnished with holly (don't eat any) it's beautiful. I'll probably make a second dessert, as yet to be determined.

I'm thinking of how yummy the marshmallows look while you're melting them in butter to make rice krispy treats. What would happen if you folded melted butter--or even better, browned butter--into the finished marshmallow recipe?

Crepes, like a great many wonderful things, were done-to-death and fell out of favor. I have always loved them, and served many variations in my catering and restaurant days in the 80s. Savory crepes were usually filled with some variation of Bechamel sauce (Mornay, Supreme) combined with seafood, chicken or mushrooms. All these were made ahead, then stuffed, rolled, sauced, baked and served as main luncheon dishes or a first course. Favorites were: Spinach souffle filled crepes with mushroom sauce Cheese crepes (gruyere cooked filling) Crabmeat crepes with browned butter and almonds Crepes soubise (served as a starch with roasts) Some favorite dessert crepes: Filled with pastry cream and whipped cream, with strawberry-raspberry sauce, served cold Baked crepe "stack" with apple and apricot fillings, flambeed, cut into wedges and served with vanilla ice cream (very boozy!) Lemon souffle crepes (these folded in quarters) with apricot sauce Rum buttercream filling, baked and sifted with powdered sugar Thanks for the article and the inspiration...I think Christmas dinner may feature crepes in some fashion.

Noah: 2 of everything pooper-scooper

My daughter keeps getting deeper into Mexican cooking, and I would like to buy her an electric tortilla maker for Christmas. The kind that also flattens the dough would be nice. Anyone have one? Brand name, please, if it works for you.

This year I am flying from PA to Illinois, where I spent the first 27 years of my life, to visit my mother who is 85. I haven't seen her since my dad died 3 years ago, although we talk on the phone every Sunday. The last time I went home for Thanksgiving, about 6 years ago, my sister picked me up at the airport, shoved a piece of paper in my hand and said, "Start making the list, we're going to the grocery." We spent two days cooking, and I was exhausted, after having anticipated being a guest that year. This time I am arriving on Sunday and have declared that I will cook if given ample notice, no marathons. The assortment of guests should make for a very interesting day. My son is driving in from Nashville with his wife and my youngest grandson, Ben, age 10 months. None of the relatives have ever met the wife or seen the baby. My sister lives about 6 blocks from my mother and will be hosting the dinner in her very small house which used to be my grandmother's and where the temperature usually hovers around 60 degrees. My sister's two grown sons will be in from Chicago and northern Minnesota, along with the younger one's girlfriend. Also her fiance, who is a religious fanatic and who I hope will not say grace or we'll all eat cold food. The fiance's unmarried youngest son may come along. Then there's my brother and his wife and grown daughter, who are mostly in a cold war with my sister. Long story. The food should be pretty much what we always had growing up: the turkey skin will not be crisp and wonderful the way I cook it, but pale and soggy and making pallid (giblet) gravy, but the turkey will taste fine. There will be sage dressing and scalloped oysters, mashed potatoes and probably sweet potatoes, asparagus casserole, a wonderful cranberry-whipped cream-chopped grapes-and-walnuts salad, riced cream cheese with cherry preserves and homemade rolls. Dessert will be 5 or 6 different pies, always pumpkin (2) and pecan, plus apple, perhaps cherry or a cream pie or two such as lemon meringue and butterscotch. I shall be the one in the long underwear holding the baby and clutching my insulin bottle.

Four favorites: all from scratch Angel Food Cake with powdered sugar buttercream. My mother made this for every family birthday over a span of about 35 years. Sponge Cake with whipped cream and either hot blueberry sauce or raspberries or strawberries A yellow cake, baked with meringue and sliced almonds on top, with a pineapple-sour cream-whipped cream filling THE moist chocolate cake with Ganache icing here I also love all those multi-layered cakes soaked with liqueurs and iced with buttercream, but don't make them much.

My all time favorite is Corn and Celery Chowder, especially when served with little "cracklings" of salt pork on top. I like cream soups and think many brothy ones are made better by thickening with a bit of buerre manie. Other favorites: Potato soups for comfort: the simple potatoes-onion-milk-butter version of my maternal grandmother or the browned pork-potatoes-onion of my paternal grandfather. Vermont Cheese: no beer in this one Hungarian Gulyas: a hearty beef paprika soup-stew, served with cornbread French Onion with a twist: No stringy cheese and soggy bread for me, I serve mine with buttery homemade croutons and freshly grated Parmesan. Lamb and Barley: since hardly anyone I know eats lamb, I make this often to get my lamb fix. It's posted on my website--you'll find it under the recipe archives here

I just added another of my favorite sides, Onions au Gratin, to the recipe file. I'm glad you liked the creamed spinach, Seth...no bacon in this one! When making creamed spinach with no bacon, I use lots of sauteed grated onion and some sour cream in a bechamel. A new favorite of mine is Maple Syrup Pie, only three ingredients plus the pie shell and whipped cream. The shell is pre-baked and the filling is cooked on top of the stove the day you serve it. I got it from the NYTimes, however, so can't print it here. It's in my file of "Ten Best Recipe Finds of 2002," which I e-mail to people who send me their friends' names for my mailing list. I'll send the file to any e-Gulleteer for the asking, just PM or e-mail me.

Onions au Gratin Serves 8 as Side. Though I love onions in most ways, I'm not fond of creamed onions. This gratin is the onion dish of the gods, really good with prime rib roast as well as on the Thanksgiving table. Usually I cut the onions in half (not many onion lovers in my family), add some Swiss cheese to the other half of the sauce and make another gratin of green beans. 4 lb white or yellow onions 5 hard cooked eggs Pepper, white or freshly ground black or white Sauce Supreme: 3 T butter 4 T flour 1 c rich homemade chicken stock 1 c half and half or light cream Salt, white pepper and grated nutmeg Topping: 1 c soft bread crumbs 4 T butter Cut the onions roughly into eighths and cook in boiling salted water until tender. Drain well and chop finely. Chop the eggs finely. I often chop eggs with my pastry blender, which is lots easier to wash than the processor. Works for the onions also, if you are cutting the recipe in half. Make the sauce as for Bechamel, and season with salt, white pepper and a touch of nutmeg. For the crumb topping, melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the crumbs. Cook, stirring, over medium heat for a few minutes, but don't let them get brown. Assembly: Stir the onions and eggs into the sauce and taste for seasonings. Turn into a buttered 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 inch square casserole dish. Top with crumbs. May cover and refrigerate until ready to bake. Bake at 375 degrees until bubbly and crumbs have browned. Length of time will range from 30 minutes to an hour, depending upon whether casserole is still warm or cold. Keywords: Side, Easy, Vegetables ( RG732 )

Onions au Gratin Serves 8 as Side. Though I love onions in most ways, I'm not fond of creamed onions. This gratin is the onion dish of the gods, really good with prime rib roast as well as on the Thanksgiving table. Usually I cut the onions in half (not many onion lovers in my family), add some Swiss cheese to the other half of the sauce and make another gratin of green beans. 4 lb white or yellow onions 5 hard cooked eggs Pepper, white or freshly ground black or white Sauce Supreme: 3 T butter 4 T flour 1 c rich homemade chicken stock 1 c half and half or light cream Salt, white pepper and grated nutmeg Topping: 1 c soft bread crumbs 4 T butter Cut the onions roughly into eighths and cook in boiling salted water until tender. Drain well and chop finely. Chop the eggs finely. I often chop eggs with my pastry blender, which is lots easier to wash than the processor. Works for the onions also, if you are cutting the recipe in half. Make the sauce as for Bechamel, and season with salt, white pepper and a touch of nutmeg. For the crumb topping, melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the crumbs. Cook, stirring, over medium heat for a few minutes, but don't let them get brown. Assembly: Stir the onions and eggs into the sauce and taste for seasonings. Turn into a buttered 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 inch square casserole dish. Top with crumbs. May cover and refrigerate until ready to bake. Bake at 375 degrees until bubbly and crumbs have browned. Length of time will range from 30 minutes to an hour, depending upon whether casserole is still warm or cold. Keywords: Side, Easy, Vegetables ( RG732 )

Here's a great Chicken Maryland, which I always thought meant fried chicken in a cream sauce, although I've seen some pretty weird combinations under the name. Season well and flour chicken parts as though you were going to fry them. Place in a single layer in a large baking dish. Pour over half and half cream until the pieces are almost covered, being sure to moisten the tops. Bake, uncovered, for about 2 hours at 325 degrees. The tops get crusty and the meat is unbelievably tender having been baked in the milk/cream. The liquid will curdle, just throw it in the blender or processor and you have wonderful chicken gravy.

Creamed Spinach with Bacon Serves 6 as Side. I first started making this after tasting a similar dish at Colonel Sander's original restaurant west of Shelbyville, KY. The Colonel and his wife used to stand in the yard of their home next door to the restaurant and greet diners there. The Colonel's menu included four entrees: fried chicken, steak, country ham and lobster. With these, he served mashed potatoes and gravy and SEVEN vegetables, passed family style. One such combination I had there was the creamed spinach, tomato pudding, mock oysters (eggplant), carrot souffle, corn pudding, green beans and Harvard beets. Instead of fresh spinach, you may use one 10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, but it won't be as good. Sometimes I add the onion, sometimes not. 1 lb fresh young spinach 4 slices bacon 2 T butter 2 T flour 1/2 c milk 1/2 c heavy cream Salt and white pepper 1 T grated onion (optional) Wash the spinach, remove stems and drop in briefly into a large pot of salted boiling water over high heat. When it returns to a boil, drain in a sieve and let sit while you make the sauce. If you are using frozen spinach, let it come to room temperature, you don't need to cook it. Fry bacon crisp and drain on paper towels. Melt the butter in a 1 or 1 1/2 quart saucepan over medium heat. If you are using onion, add now. Add flour, cook and stir for several minutes to remove raw taste. Add milk and cream, salt and white pepper, and stir with a whisk until it boils. Lower heat. Crumble the bacon into very tiny pieces and add. Squeeze the spinach well, with hands or in a ricer or however you prefer, and add to the sauce. Leave over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. For best flavor, refrigerate overnight and reheat. Keywords: Side, Easy, Vegetables, American ( RG730 )

Creamed Spinach with Bacon Serves 6 as Side. I first started making this after tasting a similar dish at Colonel Sander's original restaurant west of Shelbyville, KY. The Colonel and his wife used to stand in the yard of their home next door to the restaurant and greet diners there. The Colonel's menu included four entrees: fried chicken, steak, country ham and lobster. With these, he served mashed potatoes and gravy and SEVEN vegetables, passed family style. One such combination I had there was the creamed spinach, tomato pudding, mock oysters (eggplant), carrot souffle, corn pudding, green beans and Harvard beets. Instead of fresh spinach, you may use one 10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, but it won't be as good. Sometimes I add the onion, sometimes not. 1 lb fresh young spinach 4 slices bacon 2 T butter 2 T flour 1/2 c milk 1/2 c heavy cream Salt and white pepper 1 T grated onion (optional) Wash the spinach, remove stems and drop in briefly into a large pot of salted boiling water over high heat. When it returns to a boil, drain in a sieve and let sit while you make the sauce. If you are using frozen spinach, let it come to room temperature, you don't need to cook it. Fry bacon crisp and drain on paper towels. Melt the butter in a 1 or 1 1/2 quart saucepan over medium heat. If you are using onion, add now. Add flour, cook and stir for several minutes to remove raw taste. Add milk and cream, salt and white pepper, and stir with a whisk until it boils. Lower heat. Crumble the bacon into very tiny pieces and add. Squeeze the spinach well, with hands or in a ricer or however you prefer, and add to the sauce. Leave over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. For best flavor, refrigerate overnight and reheat. Keywords: Side, Easy, Vegetables, American ( RG730 )

Being of the school that says "there's no such thing as too much butter", I have made both the spinach and the scrambled eggs with lots of butter. The eggs were heavenly (I served them in a cream puff "dish") but I was not impressed with the spinach because the long, slow cooking developed its bitter flavor. I make my creamed spinach with Bechamel and BACON, sometimes with fresh spinach but usually with frozen chopped spinach squeezed and not cooked further before adding to the sauce. Better the next day. Edit: On request, have posted this recipe in the eGullet files.

Almost forty years ago, I had a dessert at the Luisiana Restaurant in Monterrey, Mexico I've never forgotten. It was a version of baked Alaska but involved no cake or pastry. The dessert was baked/served in special stemmed metal "sherbet glasses" that appeared to be filled with green foam. Under the thin, sugary green meringue was a scoop of vanilla ice cream and fresh melon cubes and strawberries. It didn't crash or burn, but fascinated me nonetheless. On this same trip I had my first authentic Caesar salad at Cardini's, which has never been equalled in any other restaurant. Upon our return home from Mexico, I was ill for about six weeks with what I thought was a lingering case of the "revenge." It turned out to be not Montezuma's, but Christopher's, who was born the next April.

Re: Jell-O While many cuisines include sweet or sweet sour elements (Italian agrodulce, German sauerbraten, Chinese sweet and sour, e.g.) Americans have a sweet tooth to beat all. Consider these “sweet” American salads: pickled beets, cole slaw, marinated cucumbers, applesauce, greens with hot bacon (or Russian or Thousand Island) dressing, pineapple and cottage cheese, cranberry sauce or a piece of melon or other fruit. Making a box of Jell-O and dumping in some canned fruit or a grated carrot is an easy way to provide that sweet taste Americans love and crave. It’s easy to be a snob about Jell-O, since most of it is just plain bad, but I grew up eating it at least five times a week and there are a few recipes that I still love and occasionally make. If you’ve never had a true fruit “jelly”, as it used to be called, make one with fresh or frozen juiced raspberries, and you’ll see why Jell-O was invented. In other words, you’ll “get it”, at least as a dessert.

The local grocery had Snapple for $8.88 a case last weekend, picked up two cases of Diet Peach Tea, to which I am practically addicted. The regular peach tea is better, of course, but I don't waste my sugar ration on something you drink.

Most acceptable is my house is a warm salad of brussels sprouts, mandarin oranges and toasted walnuts in a sweet-sour dressing. Better get out the grocery list.

My absolute favorite is a cookie called "Ladybugs" which I've found at a couple of upscale deli/gourmet food stores. The raspberry version is two thin chocolate cookies sandwiched with a generous layer of raspberry cream, then dunked in a thick layer of chocolate. I don't know the company name, as there is never a box lying around the house. They're expensive and come 8 to a box. There's a peanut butter version I haven't tried and don't plan to, but you might like it.

In the 34 years I lived in the South, I heard many comments about butterbeans. Some people said they were baby lima beans, and others swore they were a completely different bean. Once, I found some fresh at the farmer's market and couldn't tell myself what they were, even though I am familiar with baby limas. If they are lima beans, why are they called butterbeans? And if not, why can't I find them as butterbeans in grocery stores or seed catalogs? Or does butterbean refer to the size or age of the bean rather than the horticultural classification? Hope you can clear up this puzzlement for me, and thanks for your participation.

Add 19 more for me...found another closeout web site. Also had to pre-order Nicole Aloni's new book and found Bill Neal's reprints.

The topic of soul food never crossed my mind, as no one ever said to me: "macaroni and cheese, good ole soul food" the way they said, time and again, "macaroni and cheese, good ole Southern cooking". Interested parties might refer to: www.chitterlings.com where macaroni and cheese is listed as a soul food, also. My guess is that soul food (in Harlem or other non-Southern locations) originated when the emancipated slaves traveled away from the South, taking their entire cuisine with them. This is different than a single recipe or food being assimilated into the geographic mainstream. By all means, ask Joyce White about soul food.

My ex-MIL always cooked according to whose diet she was trying to control: low cholesterol for her husband (who rebelled by only eating steak when he ate out) and portion controlling the entire family when her youngest daughter tended to gain weight. Margaret loved mashed potatoes, so there were hardly enough to go round; that way Margaret couldn't have seconds. For years, I cooked wonderful meals when my in-laws visited. They would come in the door, get out their bourbon and peanuts and crackers and munch away. When the food went on the table, it was, "Oh, that's so rich" and "How many calories?" and "You DO use fat-free sour cream, don't you?" Evidently their empty calories didn't count. I got sick of being told I went to too much trouble, so one time I cooked nothing at all. Nada. You should have seen the shocked looks, but I never heard those comments again.