Tabu Tomato Sauce

Still away in our tropical paradise, so I thought instead of leaving anyone hanging, I would re-post another "Hawaiian" recipe from Cooking With Alice. Though not very Hawaiian, nor forbidden, but a decent tomato sauce, much like pomodoro. Mark believes Alice was going for alliteration over authentic island cuisine. Made with fresh plum tomatoes and lots of garlic. I'll give Alice that, she likes to cook with garlic and that pleases us. Served over some fresh egg pasta with a nice green salad and a crusty baguette. And red wine, gotta have the red, red wine.

"Pass The Tabu" The second of three Hawaiian episodes. After finding the cursed tiki at Mike's construction site, Bobby wears it for good luck. But bad things begin to happen to everyone who comes in contact with it. First, Bobby almost is knocked on the head by a falling picture, then Jan has a tarantula in her beach bag that almost bites Peter, then Alice throws her back out at a hula lesson. But the worst fate awaits Greg, who has a serious wipe out during a surfing contest at Waikiki and nearly drowns. All leading up to the boys discovery that the idol must be returned to it's ancient burial ground to break the bad luck streak. Little do they know the danger that awaits, and the nutty Professor Whitehead, who has nefarious plans for our young heroes. Stayed tuned to find out what happens next week...

The Recipe:

4 1/4 tsps olive oil
2 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes seeded and coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4c tomato paste
3/4 tsp salt
1/4tsp sugar
2 tblsp finely minced fresh basil

In a large saucepan heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except the basil) and simmer for 50 minutes, stirring frequently. [What follows is my favorite part of the recipe because it is so poorly written] Mix in the basil just before using. This can be refrigerated 3 days ahead of use. Don't add basil until it is to be used. Makes about 3 cups of sauce.

Hawaii Bound Oahu Pineapple Spice Cake

We are truly Oahu bound tomorrow morning, so I thought I would kick-off the trip with a little visit down Cooking With Alice memory lane. Hawaii (and the Bradys) hold special significance for us. When I turned 30, we took our first trip to Hawaii as that year we dedicated ourselves to only going on Brady Bunch vacations (the others were obviously King's Island and the Grand Canyon). And, two years ago we celebrated two 50th celebrations at once (Mark's b-day and Hawaii's statehood) with a luau extravaganza. That said, pineapple cake. Flour, eggs, oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugars (white and brown), and pineapple baked in a Bundt pan (which I had to borrow, since this is the first and probably last time I will ever make a holey cake). The best part is the icing, with among the sugar also includes rum and a lot of butter.  Of course, the recipe directions were less than complete, but that's why I love Alice, always providing me with a culinary challenge.

"Hawaii Bound" The first of the three part Hawaiian Brady Bunch epic. Mike has a big construction project he is overseeing in Oahu and takes the whole family along for the ride. Everything is coming up hibiscus for the Brady's in paradise.They take a whirlwind tour of the island, including Diamond Head and a solemn visit to  Pearl Harbor. The son of the man who owns the construction company offers to show Greg the island "sights" and do some surfing. Cindy and Bobby have a chance encounter with Don Ho. The girls all take in the shopping. Bobby even finds a cute little good luck charm at the construction site that he wears around his neck. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, it seems as if there is absolutely nothing that could spoil this idyllic family vacation...


The Recipe: (prepare at your own risk...remember it is from Alice)

For the cake:
1 1/2c oil
1/4c firmly packed brown sugar
1c sugar
3 eggs
1c pineapple, chopped (juice reserved, Alice doesn't say it, but trust me)
3c flour
1tbsp baking powder
1tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp nutmeg
1/4tsp ginger
1/4tsp allspice (which begs the question, if it is truly all spice, why do we need the other spices?)

For the glaze:
1/3c pineapple juice
1/4c butter
1/4c sugar
1/4c brown sugar
1/4c rum

Special equipment: Bundt Pan

In a medium bowl whisk the oil and both sugars. Add the eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl combine the flour and the the spices. Blend the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, then add the pineapple. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes (it took longer) or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Turn cake out onto a cake platter and cool.

In a saucepan combine the juice, sugars and the rum. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes. Cool and drizzle over the cake.

Uncle Arthur's Flaming Dinner Party

Few things in life are more rewarding than purposely setting food on fire. And, when you can do a whole meal from app, to entree, to dessert and alcohol all aflame, well you are "on fire" metaphorically as a home cook. Once again, we have enlisted the help of our loyal friends Ann and Kevin (see my other blog, Cooking with Alice: Frontier Scout Fabulous Fish Fry), the only people we know who welcome a party invite that includes BYOFE (Fire Extinguisher). This time though, no stalking Mario Batali. Anyway, let's start with the very beginning, a very good place to start - cheese fondue. We went with a smoked Dutch Gouda and Emmental with pumpernickel bread for dipping. The main consisted of chicken, shrimp and pork with a variety of dipping sauces and broccoli and mushrooms as the veg side cooked in a fondue pot. For dessert we used our table top hibachi and made campfire s'mores. To accompany it all, we enjoyed the greatest flaming beverage ever to come out of Germany: fuerenzangenbowle (loosely translates to fire bowl). Say what you say. This is a German New Year's Eve tradition that we were introduced to one December 31st while staying at a friend's house in a little village near the Belgian border. Basically, in a special bowl that rests on a metal stand you warm red wine and mulling spices and then across the top lays the fuere tonge (a metal strip) where you place the zucker hut (pronounced hoot) which is a cone of sugar. That is doused with 151 rum and lit. The sugar melts into the warm wine and a delightful winter beverage is formed. It took us years, and a willing German deli in Texas, to import the fire bowl, but the effort was well worth it. Fondue, hibachi and fuere bowle - the flaming trifecta.

Paul Lynde: comic genius. As Samantha's zany, up to no good Uncle Arthur, you never knew what mess he would make next for his witch of a niece, who was desperately trying to live a non-magical normal suburban life. He was always turning up just at the wrong moment making wisecracks to the Dicks (Sargent and York) who played Samantha's befuddled muggle husband. He made his entrances by "popping" in, literally, his head in a pot on the stove or in a chafing dish on the buffet table, or even out of the toaster. Never at a loss for a corny pun or one-liner, Uncle Arthur was always laughing harder at himself than anyone else in the room. Honestly, I don't know how Elizabeth Montgomery managed to play it straight with Paul Lynde in the room. He basically cracks himself up at every turn, and I loved every minute of it.  Even though he only appeared in 11 episodes, they are among the funniest of the series. And, in his first appearance, he's not even playing the role of Uncle Arthur, but of Harold Harold, Samantha's driving instructor - because, as we know,  that's the way TV worked back then. It mattered not, he stole every scene he was in. Of course, Paul Lynde went on to be the center square on Hollywood Squares, perhaps his true star turn. Where, once again, as I look back, I am sure the entendres went right over my head, let alone the double entendres. True or False, Paul Lynde had the best laugh on 60s and 70s television? True, and X marks the spot.

The Recipe: (Smoky German fondue)

1/2 small onion

1 cup light ale (such as Warsteiner)

12 ounces grated German smoked cheese (or a smoked Dutch Gouda)

4 ounces grated Emmental cheese (or any good Swiss)

3 tsp flour

3 tbsp milk

1 tsp German mustard

Cubed Pumpernickel bread

Special equipment: Fondue pot

In a small bowl, blend the flour smoothly with the milk. Set aside. Rub the inside of the fondue pots with the cut side of the onion. Pour in the ale and heat gently until bubbling (do this on the stove top for Sterno pot). Reduce the heat and gradually stir in the grated cheeses, stirring constantly while they melt. Stir the milk mixture into the cheese mixture and add the mustard. Cook for a few minutes until thick and creamy. Keep warm over Sterno or electric. Dip with bread cubes. Serves 4.

A (Chocolate) Chip in the Metric System

I've really never met a chocolate chip cookie I didn't like, except for those dry chalking tasting kind from old lady bakeries. These come from our 1982 Betty Crocker Cookbook (for the story on this one, see the post "Rock, Cinnamon Roll and Remember"). I noticed that this recipe was referenced on two different pages, so I decided to investigate. The first, page 266, was the basic teaspoon of this, cup of that cookie recipe. But, when I turned to the second page, 362, I was gobsmacked. It was obstensively the same recipe, only converted to metrics! Betty was a teller of the future (it wasn't enough that this edition included microwave recipes) with a section of the book entitled "Metrics in the Kitchen". She advises that the metric system is coming, gradually, but there is no reason to panic (her words, not mine). It turns out that all metric measurements are divisible by 10. Whatever the heck that means. And I quote from the book of Crocker: 'All you need are metric measures and a sense of adventure'. Betty, Betty, Betty, oh, naive Betty, it's never going to happen.

As a child I feared two things: nuclear annihilation and the metric system. Having been absent the day fractions were taught, I feared all math, and the notion that inches and feet would be no longer sacred the hell out me. In a way, nuclear war seemed more attractive, at least there would be no math involved - everybody is just dead. But with metrics, we would still have to worry about nuclear war. And, it was never couched that it would be like language in Canada - French or English, your choice. We were converting and that was that. Apparently the demise came when the US government realized Americans weren't interested or just just too lazy to divide by 10. Many businesses adapted the system to further global trade (because it enhanced our ability to be competitive internationally), but the rest of us were left to our own devices, in this case inches, feet, pounds and tablespoons. Any way you slice it, kids today are just plain lucky. Their biggest fear is a hotel room that doesn't have Nickelodeon on the TV or being unable to find their USB cable. Little do they know the fate we narrowly avoided to make their future brighter. And let's not even talk about that zip code extension thing....

The Recipe:

Special Equipment: A sense of adventure

250 mL granulated sugar
250 mL packed brown sugar
150 mL shortening
150 mL Margarine or butter, softened
2 eggs (thankfully an egg is an egg no matter what)
10 mL vanilla
5 mL baking soda
5 mL salt
2 packages (170g each) of semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Mix sugars, shortening, margarine, eggs and vanilla thoroughly. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Drop dough by rounded 10mL about 5 cm apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until light brown, about 8 to 10 minutes (luckily times weren't changing). Cool slightly before transferring from cookie sheet to cooling rack. About 42 cookies.

Movin On Up to the East Side Dishes

Sometimes side dishes are almost as important as the entree. In our house, we rely on three mainstays to compliment the main course: Carolina rice, garlic mashed potatoes and pepperonata. I'll start with the rice, as this is no ordinary grain. Carolina Plantation Aromatic Rice, to be exact, is a delectable brown rice that I got turned onto a few years ago on a trip to South Carolina. The Low Country is known for great food, and in1996 some folks decided to bring back a long tradition of rice production. The taste and the aroma are like no other, and you will certainly never go back to white or even basmati. You need to order it on line at carolinaplantationrice.com, and don't be dismayed by the cost - it is worth it. Goes well with any meat and is to die for when drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar. My second side might come as a surprise to many of you, as it is not just garlic mashed potatoes, but instant garlic mashed potatoes. I know, I know, but every foodie has their vice, and this is mine. Of course, they are Trader Joe's Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and selling at $1.99 a box, a real steal. Try them before you judge me. Oh, and I should note, they recently changed the preparation instructions and I disagree with the amount of milk called for. They say 1/2 cup, I say 2/3 cup. A word of warning, though, Joe apparently thinks mashed potatoes are a seasonal item, so you can only get them in fall and winter, causing me to stockpile and then ration for mashed potato-worthy entrees. Finally,  there is pepperonata. A very nice Italian woman named Giovanna Cappi (who also taught me to make pasta) taught me this recipe. Basically, it is orange and yellow peppers sauteed in oil and garlic and then pureed italian tomatoes are added. It is delicious over fresh egg pasta and goes well with any grilled meat, but especially with rosemary pan roasted chicken (you'll just have to wait, that's a totally different post, totally).

Bygone TV shows and their awesome theme songs. You memorized them as a kid and hum then as a forgetful adult. A lot of shows had catchy tunes, like Hawaii Five-O, Get Smart and the Munsters, but the ones with lyrics stand head and shoulders above the rest. Namely, The Jefferson's and Movin' on Up (sung by Roxy Roker, now known as Lenny Kravitz's mother), Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch, Laverne and Shirley, Mary Tyler Moore, Good Times and The Addams Family (which also required the extra talent of snapping your fingers). I remember them all like it was yesterday: Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, of the story of a man named Brady. Da da da da Neat, da da da da Sweet, da da da da Petite. Schlemiel, schlemazel, hasenfeffer incorporated, it's you girl and you should know it, cus we finally got our piece of the pie. So join us here each week my friend, you're sure to get a smile. TV theme songs, ain't we lucky we got 'em? Good times.

The Recipe:

4 mixed peppers (orange and yellow)
4 tblsp olive oil
1 garlic clove
4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped OR Pomi Italian Chopped or Strained Tomatoes
salt (many pinches)

Halve the peppers, remove the seeds and membranes and cut into large pieces. Heat oil in stock pot or dutch oven with garlic. Add peppers and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, season with salt and cook for 20 minutes until thickened. Remove garlic, serve over pappardelle.
Serves 4-6 as an ooky spooky uptown deserted isle side dish.