Meat George Jetson Loaf

We love us some good meat loaf. And around here it is turkey meatloaf all the way. Now, I know what you are thinking - the beef/pork/veal grind is tasty tradition, but these are modern times and healthy alternatives are the wave of the future. And so, meet my turkey meatloaf. I have "adapted" this recipe from Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa). When I say adapted, of course that means I have changed it to fit my needs and tastes. First off, she calls for the use of ground turkey breast, which I did use the first time I made it. But, from then on I started to use the dark meat turkey grind - I found it has more flavor, less likely to dry out, and a fraction of the per-pound price of the breast. Secondly, she sautes onions and mixes them in. While nice, I often omit this step due to time constraints, but have included it in the recipe. Any way you slice it, it goes great with any kind of starch, but I mostly serve it with garlic mashed potatoes. Also, as with any meatloaf worth its salt, leftovers as sandwiches are deelish.

The Jetsons (or Los Supersonicos for our Spanish friends), a space-age cartoon, made in 1962, but set in the future world of 2062. Each episode you would be invited to meet George Jetson, Jane his shopoholic wife, teenage daughter Judy and his boy Elroy. Rounding out the cast was Elroy's dog Astro (pronounced Rast-Ro) and robot maid Rosie. George worked at Spacely Sprockets where he was always on the wrong side of his boss, Cosmo Spacely who was constantly at odds with is business rival, Cogswell Cogs. Who knew sprockets and cogs would be so relevant in the future? Forget micro processors, they are going to be a thing of the past. And, how lucky was Jane Jetson? She had a maid and cutting-edge technology literally at her fingertips. A simple press of a button put dinner on the table and did her hair and make-up. Imagine if we lived in an era of such innovations - the time we would have on our hands to use other technologically advanced gadgets. And this is all set to happen only 50 years from now. I can hardly wait.

The Recipe:

2 large yellow onions, chopped
2 tblsp olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves ( or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce (I often use soy sauce)
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
5 pounds ground turkey (you be the judge)
1 1/2 cups plain dry bread crumbs
3 eggs
1/4 cup ketchup

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

In a medium saute pan, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme over medium low heat fro 10-15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool to room temp. (If taking the short-cut as I do, mix the salt, pepper, thyme, Worcestershire, tomato paste and the stock together and proceed, no waiting).

Mix the turkey, bread crumbs, eggs and Worcestershire mix in a large bowl. Shape into a rectangular loaf on an ungreased, rimmed baking sheet (I use a jelly roll pan). Spread the ketchup on top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or to an internal temp of 160.  Serves 8 to 10 (I often cut the recipe in half and it serves three with plenty for a sandwich the next day - it's the meatloaf that just keeps giving).

Bringing Home The Bacon Spaghetti Carbonara

I have now found myself one of those people I always said I would never be: a woman with a career, a child and a husband. "Having it All" in other words. As such, I have am in a conundrum,  still wanting to cook (a la June Cleaver) but needing it be simple and easy after a tiring day at the office and helping with math homework. Enter a great spaghetti carbonara recipe. Simple, delicious, and ingredients I generally have in my refrigerator/pantry every day: bacon (mmmmm), eggs, pasta, garlic and Parmigiano cheese. This recipe comes via Ruth Reichl, former editor of Gourmet Magazine (may it rest in peace), from a cookbook she wrote in 1971 living in New York and unable to find a job she liked. Which, by the way, is about as good a reason as any to write about food and cooking. Anyway, it works, and tastes likes you put more effort into that than you actually did, thus allowing one to feel as if they have it all.

play the video

Need I say more?


The Recipe:

1 Supportive Husband
1 Flexible Child
1 pound Spaghetti
1/2 pound good  thickly sliced bacon
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
Fresh ground pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. When it is boiling, throw the spaghetti in. Most dried spaghetti takes 9 to 10 minutes to cook,and you can make the sauce in that time.
Cut the bacon crosswise into pieces about 1/2 inch wide. Put them in a skillet and cook for 2 minutes, until fat begins to render. Add the whole cloves of garlic and cook another 5 minutes, until the edges of the bacon just begin to get crisp. Do not overcook; if they get too crisp they won't meld with the pasta. Meanwhile, break the eggs into the bowl you will serve the pasta in, and beat them with a fork. Add some grindings of pepper.

Remove the garlic from the bacon pan. If it looks like too much to you, discard some, but you're going to toss the bacon with most of its fat into the pasta. When it is cooked, drain the pasta and immediately throw it into the beaten eggs. Mix thoroughly. The heat of the spaghetti will cook the eggs and turn them into a sauce. Add the bacon with its fat, toss again, add cheese and serve. Serves 3.

Nonie's Meat Sauce

Once in a while, if you are extremely lucky, a recipe comes along that transforms your life. Nonie's Meat Sauce is one of those recipes. About 12 years ago a friend showed me how to make it. She had learned from her friend, who was Nonie's granddaughter (and then she told two people, and so and so on...). Apparently, Nonie was a delightful old Italian grandmother who really knew how to cook. The ingredients are simple enough (steak, tomato sauce, an onion, butter and bouillon) but when combined they are heaven. Now, don't be put off by what you read next, but it takes four hours to make. I can't stress enough how it is sooooo worth it - and it is not four active hours, basically you need to mash the sauce with a potato masher every hour on the hour for the first three hours and then every fifteen minutes for the last hour. The smell that will waft through your kitchen during that time is to die for, and so is the taste when you are done. I often also make gnocchi at the same time, but it also goes well with angel hair pasta. Honestly, I would eat it off of a spoon out of the pot, it's just that good. It also freezes well (is there anything this sauce can't do?), so you might want to make a double batch. You'll thank me.

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Never having met Nonie, I can only imagine her as a sweet little old Italian woman who was always cooking and wanted everyone to eat, eat, eat. But when one ponders the grandmothers of TV shows past, the same image is not easily congered. For instance, take Granny on "The Beverly Hillbillies". I only remember her making opossum stew in the ce-ment pond. And, given the hard times of the Great Depression, Grand Ma Walton (really, you need the name of the show?) probably only ever made ketchup soup. Just as unappetizing, Grand MaMa on "The Addams Family" seemed singly capable of recipes using eye of newt as an ingredient. And finally, Endora on "Bewitched" only ever made trouble, mostly for Darren, but sometimes for everyone. I'll stick with my favorite grandmother, Nonie, the one I don't know, with the awesome sauce.


The Recipe:

1 pound sirloin tip or round steak, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 stick of  unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
3 15oz. cans tomato sauce (use good sauce, don't cheap out)
1/3 cup olive oil

In a large pot, saute the onions in the butter and oil until soft. Add the steak and brown. Stir in the tomato sauce and bouillon and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Simmer for four hours, mashing with a potato masher (or ricer) every hour for the first three hours and then every 15 minutes for the last hour.
Serves 6-8.

Note: When mashing at the first two hours there will still be chunks of the beef, but by the third hour hour they should be broken down and the onions cooked into the sauce. Mash each time for about two or three minutes. This is your lucky day.

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be In My Kitsch-en

As you may have noticed I have established a Monday/Thursday posting pattern for "In My Kitsch-en" - or maybe you haven't and just were lucky on those days to find me. Whichever, I am announcing a Tuesday only posting. I have taken a new job at the Detroit Institute of Arts and although we will still be eating, and I will definitely still be cooking, the time for writing about it will be limited. Even though it may not seem like it, this activity can be rather time consuming. So, that said, look for me on Tuesdays. Also, if anyone tries any of the recipes I have posted, please let me know what you think or what went right or wrong. I really want to know.  I have lots of good recipes coming, they will truly be worth the wait. So Tuesday is now synonymous with food and fun, more than just a tue-fer, TGIT.

"If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium" was another one of those Channel 7 movies I adored. A great 60s romantic comedy starring Ian McShane and a pre-Bob Newhart Suzanne Pleshette as tour guides on a whirlwind European bus tour full of ugly Americans. Norman Fell, Peggy Cass, Michael Constadine, Marty Ingalls (aka Mr. Shirley Jones) and a host of other great comedic actors of the day round out the cast. McShane plays a cad hopelessly pursuing Pleshette while the tour bus scours the countryside visiting cities like Rome (Thursday) and Venice lickety split. But as a kid, seeing the sights a girl could see from Mid-West heights via this film was enthralling. I also love the scene where Murray Hamilton (think the guy in Jaws who says it safe to go into the water) tries to order a custom made pair of Italian shoes from a shoe maker who speaks no english. He wants tan, so he rubs a piece of brown leather with a piece of white leather to illustrate his point and after he leaves the shop, the shoe maker picks up the Sears catalog and orders him a pair of two-tone shoes. Yes, that was comedy to me at age 10. The lesson I learned was to never see Europe by bus. So of course on my first trip, we put over 2,000 miles on our rental car racing from one city to the next in two weeks time leaving me to say "Wenn es Dienstag ist, muss dieses München sein." (rough translation: if it's tuesday, this must be Munich)

Perilous Beef Sirloin Tips with Smoky Pepper Sauce

There are perils and pitfalls to trying a new recipe, and it can often spell disaster. I was prohibited during "Cooking with Alice" to try anything new, so I now have a backlog of recipes that I have torn from magazines (mostly while waiting at the orthodontist's office) that I am now plowing my way through. This one intrigued me because I will make anything that calls for roasted peppers. Oh, and beef. Beef and roasted peppers with barbecue sauce, yum! It turned out to be a winner and found itself added to a permanent page in my recipe book, while others are not so fortunate. I found only one omission in the instructions but have remedied that with a note to myself  for future use. The recipe itself also suggested serving the beef and peppers with couscous or mashed potatoes - I went with wide No-Yolk egg noodles (still watching the cholesterol post-Alice) and it was scrumptious, simple and delicious.

Oh course, when I think of disasters, I think of one thing: the Channel 7 4 o'clock movie theme weeks. Anyone growing up in Detroit during the 70s remembers the daily afternoon movie (no slight meant to Rita Bell or Bill Kennedy). They had Ape Week, Monster Week, but my personal favorite was always Disaster Week. The line up would always include The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, The Poseidon Adventure, Airport and it's sequels '75, '77 (not to be confused with Match Game '77) and the Concorde (this one I did not personally remember but my pop culture partner in crime Mark did). The basic plot was the same, only the location, be it a plane, skyscraper, cruise ship or the entire state of California changed. And, it seemed as if George Kennedy was in all of them, but that could just be my imagination. Anyway, there would be a mix of Hollywood stars (Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, Paul Newman) along with has-beens of the day (Shelly Winters, Ernest Borgnine) all struggling to survive some tragedy while surrounded by death and destruction. Ultimately, the plane lands, the ship is righted, the fire goes out and the ground stops shaking and we are reminded that there's got to be a morning after.

The Recipe:

1 1/2 lb beef sirloin tip steak
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 12 to 16 oz jar roasted red and/or yellow peppers
1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Trim meat and cut into 1 inch cubes; sprinkle with paprika. Drain and cut up peppers, reserving a 1/2 cup of the liquid (if necessary, add water to equal 1/2 cup). In a 12 inch skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add meat and brown. Remove from skillet (and drain off juices) and keep warm. Add peppers and liquid to the pan. Add the bbq sauce and cook uncovered  5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently until sauce is slightly thickened. Return meat to pan, heat through. Serves 4.

Aunt Jenny's Minestrone Soup

I made this minestrone soup from Alice's Brady Bunch Cookbook a few months ago, but it was so good and the weather has turned cold so thought it warranted another go. The first thing anyone attempting to cook out of that "cookbook" learns (as any faithful follower of my other blog, Cooking with Alice, would know) is that most of the recipes are severely flawed and generally taste bad. I mean bad. This one stands out because it was actually delicious. I can count on one hand the number of recipes from that book that I would make again and obviously this is one of them. The only change I made (and yes, it seems I am compelled to always change something - I have no idea why I can't just follow a recipe but it is possibly a problem with authority) was that Alice added Italian sausage, and as much as I love Italian sausage, the soup didn't need it. It is flavorful on it's own with just the veggies and pasta. Soup is good food.

Alice called it Aunt Jenny's Minestrone Soup after the episode "Jan's Aunt Jenny" (even though, presumably she was the Aunt of all six Brady children). Anyway, this is yet another identity crisis for sad sack middle child Jan. She finds an old photo of a girl who looks just like her (because it is) and discovers it is a picture of her mother Carol's eccentric Aunt Jenny, played by comic great Imogene Coca (see Sid Caesar and "Your Show of Shows"). Jan is anxious to meet Aunt Jenny until she sees a current photo and realizes she might grow up to look like a kook, like Imogene Coca. Ultimately, Aunt Jenny comes for a visit and Jan learns that true beauty may lie from within, like Imogene Coca. It is no secret to me why  Eve Plumb (aka Jan) refused to do any of the early reunion shows like "The Brady Bunch Hour" - she is probably still dealing with the trauma of the original series. 

See for yourself - they are practically identical cousins!

The Recipe:

1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced (I say dice it, Alice said slice it)
4 large carrots, peeled and diced (or use thawed frozen diced)
1 bulb fennel, chopped
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced (white, waxy ones are best, although Alice didn't specify)
1 green pepper, diced
3 medium zucchini, diced
5 cups beef stock
5 cups water
1 20 oz can plum tomatoes, with juice (chop them up, although Alice doesn't say this. Trust me)
2 tblsp oregano
1 tblsp basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
1 8oz package of small shell pasta
1 14oz can of white kidney beans, drained

In a large stock pot heat the oil and saute the onion for 10 minutes or until soft. Add the carrots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. One at a time add the fennel, potatoes, peppers and zucchini, cooking each for 2 minutes before adding the next. Add the beef stock, water, tomatoes with juice, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Stir in cheese and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 1/2  hours. The soup will be thick. Increase the heat and add the pasta and the kidney beans. Stir occasionally until the pasta is cooked, about 15 minutes.
Makes 8 servings.

Thanksgiving "Pop" Corn Pudding

Thanksgiving, can't get more American than that. Not even our neighbors to the North can get it right, celebrating a month too early. About 7 or 8 years ago I discovered this little recipe for corn pudding and it has been a holiday staple ever since. It is simple (frozen corn, milk, eggs) and tasty, and can even be made the day before and just reheated prior to eating to ease the burden of the day. I always host/cook dinner at my house, ever since my mother relinquished her duties 15 years ago. I must also say, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing are flat out my favorite meal and always the best thing my mother made when I was growing up. The woman knows how to make gravy, let me just say that. She is also famous, or infamous depending on your position, when it comes to her stuffing. It basically consists of  herbed bread cubes (dried), bulk pork sausage, celery, onions, chicken broth and the pan juices from boiling the neck of the bird. Over the years, I have tried to recreate how she does it all, with pretty good success, especially since none of her "recipes" are written down or have any exact measurements. It's more like 'add the broth until it's moist'. But the corn pudding is my addition to my mother's Thanksgiving dinner. Try it, you'll like it.

On a day devised merely to give thanks, I suggest a cornucopia of the finest Thanksgiving episodes TV has to offer. First, you've got to watch the Peanuts in "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving". It remains unclear to me why all of the children have been left alone to fend for themselves on the hoilday, but Snoopy rises to the occasion and is a master chef when it comes to his popcorn and toast dinner. Then, if you haven't already, watch the "WKRP in Cincinnati" turkeys can't fly episode - empty your bladder first, just a word of warning. Then, you can move on to "The Brady Bunch" and the Un-underground Movie episode depiction of the first Thanksgiving, "The Bob Newhart Show" when Emily goes out of town and Bob, Howard and Jerry get drunk and order chinese food. A hilarious TV moment when Bob slurs the order and says Moo-Goo-Goo and wonders if he's ordering chinese baby food. Another good one is the "Cheers" Thanksgiving at Carla's that ends up in a food fight (there are times when that could actually happen here). And finally, the "Friends" episode where everything completely goes awry and Joey ends up with a turkey on his head. Forget the football, give thanks to classic TV.

The Recipe:

30 oz. frozen corn, thawed
3 cups milk (2 + 1)
4 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Puree half of the corn and two cups of the milk in a blender until almost smooth. In a large bowl, whisk eggs with the sugar, flour, nutmeg, and salt. Then whisk in the pureed corn mixture, along with remaining corn and cup of milk. Pour into a 9x13 or other shallow 4qt baking dish. Bake 40-45 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and very loosely set.  Serves 10.

Note: I often cut the recipe in half for smaller crowds or when serving other vegetables. It can also be made and baked up to two days in advance. Cool completely, cover and refrigerate. Reheat in a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Identical Cousin Calzones

Calzones are an easy and tasty alternative to ordering pizza. The best part is that everybody gets to put what they want in them, at our house it is usually whatever is left over in the fridge (salami, ham, peppers, mushrooms, etc so no two are exactly the same) and loads of mozzarella cheese. Keeping with the traditional method, no sauce goes in them, but is served on the side for dipping. I used to make my own dough, but I have begun buying my pizza dough at Trader Joes (I know, I don't know how I would live without that store), and at $1.09 for a 16 ounce dough ball, it is too good to pass up. When my daughter and I recently made these, it was uncanny how they came out looking exactly the same, even though we each made our own they were filled differently on the inside. As fun to make as they are to eat.

As a side note, I would like to welcome my Russian readers. Thank you for discovering "Cooking with Alice" and now reading this blog as well.

Identical cousins, a kooky idea that was employed on numerous shows, Ann B. Davis as Alice/Emma on "The Brady Bunch", Carolyn Jones as Morticia/Melancholia on "The Addams Family", to name two. Now, what about  "I Dream of Jeannie"? Well,  it was Barbara Eden as Jeannie and her evil twin sister (also known as Jeannie because there was apparently a shortage of creativity on that set), although she also occasionally did have a cousin who caused trouble as well - that show had it all. But, when strictly speaking of identical cousins, the stand outs for me are of course "The Patty Duke Show" and "Bewitched." Both shared the same producers (as did Jeannie), who obviously thought doubles were such a good idea they used the technique over and over and over again. The difference was that Patty Duke's overall premise was two identical cousins, Patty Lane from New York, and Cathy Lane from Scotland. Bewitched, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, had Samantha (the good witch) only occasionally bothered by Serena (the bad witch).  My husband's cousin had a baby and named her Serena and my first reaction was "who would name their child after the evil cousin on "Bewitched"?! Nevertheless, the gimmick remains the same: one with blonde hair, one with dark hair, highlighting the yin and the yang between the two look alike characters, and asking the viewers to suspend all common sense that it could actually happen. Yet, as a child, I was mesmerized by the "technology" that allowed Patty, Elizabeth, Barbara, Carolyn and Ann B.to be in the same room with themselves. And when Serena would show up, cleverly "disguise" herself as Samantha, and cause trouble for Darren when he had an important advertising account that Larry Tate was counting on, boy was that comedy.  Patty Duke, however, wins for best theme song with lyrics, describing the cousins identities as follows: "Where Cathy adores a minuet, the Ballet Russes, and crepe suzette, our Patty loves to rock and roll, a hot dog makes her lose control -- what a wild duet! Still, they're cousins, identical cousins and you'll find, they laugh alike, they walk alike, at times they even talk alike -you can lose your mind, when cousins are two of a kind". A hot dog makes her lose control, that cracks me up. For the record, my cousin Kathy does not even remotely resemble me.

The Recipe:

16 oz. pizza dough, cut in half
Mozzarella cheese
Salami/Pepperoni/Ham/Peppers/Mushrooms/Pineapple (whatever strikes your fancy)
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 oz. of tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface (I have a most excellent bread board that I use) and cut in half. Set aside one half and punch down the other, lifting and stretching it into a thin circle. Fill with cheese/meat/veggies and fold over, sealing edges by pressing with a fork. Repeat with second dough piece. Brush each with the egg and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and the cheese begins to ooze. Serves two, whether you look alike or not.

Book'em Dan-O Pu-Pu Platter

Ah, the pu-pu platter. It is a culinary salute to all 50 states, but mostly Hawaii. This is commonplace here, to have an all hors d'oeuvers dinner with a few Mai Tais to wash it down. Now the good thing is that it is never the same meal twice as I mix it up every time. Basically we are talking about pigs in a blanket, chicken wings with various sauces, pot stickers (funny story about the first time I made these from scratch, it was also the night I went into labor, but I thought it was the food, not the baby - that's a mistake you don't make twice), fried mozzarella balls, spring rolls, etc. Pretty much anything. A lot of the aforementioned I buy already made, but the mozzarella balls I make myself. My daughter first had them at at the Italian restaurant at EPCOT a few years ago and fell in love at first bite. She of course expected me to be able to recreate the recipe when we got home, but it was more challenging that I anticipated. Fresh mozzarella balls (bocconcini), egg, bread crumbs, oil - seemed easy enough, but I just couldn't get it right. Then, my savior Gourmet Magazine (god, how I miss it) had a recipe in the "Last Touch" page and voila (I'm sure there is an Italian word for that but oh well) perfection! Turns out I was making two big mistakes. First, my oil wasn't hot enough (easily remedied by a candy thermometer) and second, I needed to dip and coat the balls twice in the egg and crumbs instead of just once. Finally getting it right was enormously satisfying, just like a good platter of pu-pu.

Now, when I think of Hawaii, I think of one thing: Hawaii Five-0. As a kid I loved watching this show, seeing the exotic locales and the seedy underworld of our 50th state. It was like a travelogue and a scared straight intervention neatly wrapped in a one hour package. The main characters were Steve McGarret and his trusty side kick Danny Williams, whom he affectionately referred to as Dan-O. As Hawaii State Police,  they were charged with cleaning up the crime in Honolulu. Their nemesis was a mastermind criminal named Wo-Fat, but they occasionally came up against minor no-goodniks, like Chicken, played brilliantly by a pre-MTM and Love Boat Gavin MacLeod. Amidst the backdrop of the beautiful beaches and tropical sunsets were drugs, murder and prostitution. The funniest part, if you watch an episode today (which I highly recommend), is that the filming apparently required any car scene with McGarret and Dan-O  riding together that they be seated directly next to one another - McGarret driving and Dan-O essentially in the middle of a giant '70s Mercury bench seat. They look like they are on date while chasing down the bad guys (I guess the island spirit will do that to you). No matter what obstacles they faced, in the end McGarret always got his man, and delivered his line: "Book 'em Dan-O". Be there, Aloha.


The Recipe:

Special Equipment: Deep- fat or Candy Thermometer

About 5 cups vegetable oil
1 lb. drained marinated small mozzarella balls, patted dry
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup plain bread crumbs
Marinara sauce for dipping

Double coat the mozzarella by dipping in eggs, then crumbs and repeating. Transfer to a sheet of wax paper. Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil in a  3 1/2 to 4 quart heavy sauce pan to 360 degrees. Working in small batches, lower balls into oil with a slotted spoon and fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Return oil to 360 degrees between batches - that's the tricky part. Makes about 3 dozen.

WKRPumpkin Muffins

I am a huge fan of pumpkin: pumpkins muffins, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream - you name it. What disturbs me is that something like 96% of all the pumpkin consumed in the U.S. is canned, so why do we think of it a seasonal item if virtually none of us are using fresh and canned pumpkin is available year-round? This is a question that has always perplexed me. Really, why is there no pumpkin pie on the 4th of July? As a result, I make these pumpkin muffins all the time and any time and they are a family favorite breakfast as well as a snack. The recipe comes from the 1974  Bantam paperback version of the Betty Crocker cookbook, complete with a retro chic cover with pictures of a fondue pot and some sort of cheese mold with olives and crackers on it.  This was my first cookbook and I received it in the late 80's from my Uncle Dan when I moved into my first apartment in New York. Honestly, though, I don't think I have ever made anything else out of it other than these muffins, yet this book has stayed with me all of these years. It  boasts to have over 1600 of the world's most thoroughly tested recipes, which is comforting, but clearly it only takes one.

Now, all that being said, pumpkin still reminds me most of Thanksgiving. And Thanksgiving, as far as TV is concerned, has only one truly great episode - WKPR in Cincinnati's turkey drop (okay, I love it when the Peanuts have the dinner of toast and popcorn around the ping-pong table too,  but for comedy sake WKRP wins). The premise is that the station's owner, Arthur Carlson, has a brilliant promotional idea to give turkeys away the day before Thanksgiving in a shopping center parking lot. The plan goes awry when they decide to drop the live turkeys from a hovering helicopter with roving reporter and Buckeye Award winning newsman Les Nessman on the ground reporting what turns out to be carnage. Two great TV lines are uttered, the first by Les, "Oh, the humanity" which was made famous by the radio reporter witnessing the Hidenburg disaster and the second by Mr. Carlson, "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."  True TV gold, '....in Cincinnati'.


The Recipe:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar (although, I use slightly less and they are still good)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted ( I use reduced fat margarine with excellent results)
1 egg

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin pan with 12 muffin cups. Mix all ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy. Fill cups 2/3 full. Bake 18 to 20 minutes. Immediately remove from pan and cool on a rack. Makes 12 any time of year muffins.

Appealing Banana Cupcakes

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip...yes, that's right I'm cookin' from Mary Ann's Gilligan's Island Cookbook! Followers of my other blog, Cooking with Alice, had to know it wouldn't be long before I started a three hour (culinary) tour. Even though there are no fewer than 17 coconut cream pie recipes, I decided to go bananas, as there seemed to be an abundance of both on the island. These are billed as cupcakes, but they seem more muffiny to me, or perhaps more accurately,  like banana bread in a cup, especially since they have no frosting. They are good though, and the recipe was complete and easy, the proportions and timing were spot on - things not often said about Alice's Brady Bunch Cookbook. Not bad for a farm girl from Kansas.

"Voodoo Something to Me," just the third episode into the series (surprisingly, 95 more followed along with three TV movies, including the one where the Harlem Globetrotters visit the island - Go Trotters!). Don't confuse this episode with the one just called "Voodoo" where a witch doctor makes voodoo dolls of all of the castaways and then wreaks havoc (my personal fav). No, in this one the supply hut is being raided and in an effort to determine the culprit, the Skipper believes voodoo magic might be involved. The Professor, being a man of "science" dismisses the notion and insists there must be another explanation. Meanwhile, Gilligan falls into a mud hole and takes off his clothes to bathe in the lagoon when a chimp (the real thief) takes his clothes and puts them on, as undomesticated jungle chimps tend to do. The other SS Minnow passengers assume that Gilligan has been turned into a chimp (you know, cause of the voodoo). Finally, Gilligan emerges from the jungle wearing a well-placed leaf and tries to explain, but the chimp has the ship's flare gun and is pointing it at everyone. Gilligan cleverly saves the day, trading the chimp a banana for the gun. Phew! That was close, I think I'll make like a banana and split.

The Recipe:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar (I used less and they were still sweet, just like Mary Ann)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup soft butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 4)
2 eggs
 1 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the butter, banana, eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, until the ingredients are blended and the mixture is smooth. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Makes 24 cupcakes (muffins/cups o' banana bread)

Green Eggs and Ham

I did not make Green Eggs and Ham. Not in my kitchen, not in my house. Not outside, or sitting with a mouse. No, I did not make the Green Eggs and Ham - but I did  eat them up, yum. Even though I didn't make it, I wanted to share my favorite breakfast spot, The Fly Trap Diner in friendly, fashionable Ferndale, Michigan. It's a funky little place, that probably seats less than 40 people, including the counter, but the food is all fresh and prepared in an ecclectic style. I first went there two years ago with my friend Melissa and her daughter Jenna and it was love at first bite. The green eggs and ham are really an egg scramble with pesto and cheese, three pieces of grilled ham (hmmmm ham, almost as good as bacon) and some fried herbed potatoes. It also comes with a side of toast and their sourdough bread is to die for. And good coffee, how could I forget that?  They also have a dish called the Cowboy Curtis, a little salute that any Pee-Wee Herman fan will get. Ah, now you know why I like the place. It exudes kitsch right down to it's retro salt and pepper shakers (mostly vintage and mis-matched) and the music is always good, usually late 70s early 80s underground, punk, ska type stuff. Now you are saying to yourself, that sounds like your house Joan. And yes, I will say in response, I feel very much at home there.

The Recipe:

There is no recipe, why are you even looking down here?!
Note: if you go on the weekend, be prepared to wait in line ( and do wait, it is worth it). They were featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives a few years back.

Not My Mother's Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is truly the ultimate comfort food. It has made quite a comeback in recent years and even has become "gourmet" for the foodie set. I have to say that I am not all that comfortable with lobster in my mac and cheese, but that's just me. But it clearly is now retro chic. Anyway, my family lore has it that my mother always made the very traditional, from scratch, Mueller's recipe with cheddar cheese, milk, flour, butter and ground mustard. I say this is lore, because as the youngest of six, all she ever made for dinner when I was growing up were reservations. So once my older sister taught me that 1950s method I stuck with it for many years. Then, about two years ago, my BFF Anne introduced me to Martha Stewart's Perfect Macaroni and Cheese (Martha's name, not mine). This revolutionized my take on the traditional. Martha uses about six pounds of white cheeses (Swiss, Gruyere, pecorino Romano to name a few), milk, flour, butter, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper so it has a bit of kick. She also includes a breadcrumb topping. Liking this, but needing to simplify and economize, I have now created mine own version, greatly reducing the cost of cheese (I use Trader Joe's Cheddar and Gruyere Melange or sometimes white cheddar and Gruyere separately or sometimes whatever white cheese I happen to have on hand) and I skip the bread crumbs. I also leave out the cayenne because my Julia child thought it too spicy. So, it is the same, but completely different. If you like Martha's take, Google it. If you want a simple, inexpensive any night of the week version of the ultimate comfort food, try mine.

This seems to me to be the kind of thing Richie Cunningham's mother (aka Mrs C.) would have made on "Happy Days." Especially since I sometimes use Wisconsin white cheddar and the show was set in Milwaukee, although it could have been anywhere wholesomevlle 1955. And, it's good any night of the week (Sunday, Monday, mac and cheese, Tuesday, Wednesday, mac and cheese....rockin all week with you). Before they jumped the shark and Joanie loved Chachi, you could just imagine the Fonz bellying up to the dinette in the Cunningham kitchen to enjoy a plate of Mrs. C's mac and cheese. This show was quite possibly my favorite spin-off from "Love, American Style". Come to think of it, it may have been the only one. Ayyy.

The Recipe:

3 tblsp butter or margerine
2 3/4 cups of milk
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups grated cheese (Gruyere and white cheddar)
12 oz pasta (elbows, shells, penne or whatever you have on hand)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water. While the pasta is cooking, in a small (3/4 - 1 qt) saucepan heat the milk on medium heat. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook while whisking for one minute. Slowly pour the hot milk into the flour/butter mix while continuing to whisk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly until the mix becomes thick and bubbly. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Then add all but about 1/4 cup of the cheese, stirring until melted. Pour the cooked and drained pasta into a 1 1/2 - 2 quart casserole and add the cheese mixture, stirring well. Then add the remaining 1/4 c of cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes. Serves 4.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie is a staple at our house. This recipe was originally cut out of the Detroit Free Press 15 or 20 years ago and was based on the pot pie they used to make at the Hudson's Department Store restaurant. As any Detroiter  knows, Hudson's has been gone for many years, and has had three incarnations since then (Dayton's, Marshall Fields and now Macy's) so I have no idea if they still make it. But I do, at least once a month, or whenever we have rotisserie chicken, the next day with the leftovers. This recipe just has a top crust. I use the Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets. I have tried other puff pastry, including Trader Joe's, but have found the PF to be the best. You will also need four individual casserole dishes (1-2 cup capacity). Mine are Pyrex and are so old, I don't even know where they came from, but I suspect they were the result of a late-night Home Shopping Club purchase in the 1980's.

I call this the "Ghost and Mr. Chicken" pot pie in honor of the unsung actor of his generation - Don (or should I say Donald?) Knotts. A true comic genius, and not just for his work on the Andy Griffith Show and the aforementioned film, but also let's not forget The Reluctant Astronaut, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, all of the Apple Dumpling Gang movies, The Shakiest Gun in the West and the pinnacle of his career (at least for me) Scooby Doo. Just hearing Scooby say "Don Knotts" makes me chuckle. Now, some of you are like "hey, what about Three's Company?" and I will say that once Norman Fell was gone, I no longer watched that show. But, for you Mr. Furley fans, this one's for you too.

The Recipe::

1 sheet frozen puff pastry. thawed
3 tbs butter (or margarine - I go back and forth)
1/4 c flour
2 c chicken broth (fat free works great)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked
1/2 c frozen peas and carrots, thawed
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

In a medium skillet, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook for one minute, whisking. Add the broth, whisking until smooth. Heat to a boil and cook until thickened (about 2 minutes). Season with salt and pepper, add the chicken and the peas and carrots. Divide evenly among the casseroles. Cut the pastry sheet into quarters, make 2 one-inch slits in each piece, and place on top of each casserole. Bake for 20 or until pastry is puffed and golden (like the Oscar statue that Don Knotts never received).

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