Virginia Bruce's Steamed Cottage Pudding

Virginia Bruce's Steamed Cottage Pudding

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 cube butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 eggs, separated

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add well-beaten egg yolks; beating constantly, add milk. Add to this mixture dry ingredients, constantly beating. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Steam entire mixture over boiling water for 1 1/2 hours. Serve with hot chocolate sauce.

Jim Brown's Hopping John

Jim Brown's Hopping John

For the okra Creole sauce:

1 small onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tbsps. butter
4 cups okra (fresh, canned or frozen)
1 tsp. chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. thyme
One 8-oz. can tomato sauce
Dash of Tabasco
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Saute onion and green pepper in butter 5 minutes. Stir often. Add okra and cook 5 minutes, stirring. Add remaining ingredients. Cook slowly to reduce volume by one-half. Correct seasonings. Set aside.

For the beans:

2 cups dried lima beans
1 lb. salt pork, cut in 1-inch slices, leaving attached to rind
2 qts. water
1 clove garlic
Salt
Couple red pepper pods
Small bay leaf
1 cup long-grained rice

1. Wash beans and soak overnight. Cook meat in water 30 minutes. Add drained, cooked beans. Add garlic, salt, red pepper pods and bay leaf. Cook until beans are almost tender.

2 Add rice and cook 20 minutes longer (or until tender), adding more liquid if necessary. Drain and put in warm oven to fluff the rice.

3. Serve with heated Creole sauce with salt pork sliced across the top. Garnish with parsley. Serve with cornbread. Serves 6-8.

Thoughts: For traditional Hoppin' John made with black-eyed peas, eliminate Creole sauce and substitute ham hocks or bacon for salt pork. Creole sauce is an excellent base for seasoning fresh corn. Flavor with diced cooked bacon and herbs.

Helen Gurley Brown's Torrid Tripe

Helen Gurley Brown's Torrid Tripe

1 1/2 pounds honeycomb tripe
4 marrow bones, cut in 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 quarts water
1/2 cup beet bouillon (undiluted)
1 cup vegetable stock (from canned or fresh cooked vegetables)
1 1/3 cups chopped fresh (or canned) tomatoes
1 tablespoon each black strap and vinegar
1 medium onion stuck with a clove
Generous pinch each of savory and thyme
4 sprigs of parsley
1/2 small bay leaf
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup each unpeeled, diced potato and carrot
1/2 cup peeled, diced yellow turnip
3 tablespoons instant potato flakes

Wash, shred tripe; add to a large saucepan with bones, water, bouillon, stock, tomatoes, black strap, vinegar, onion, savory, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 2 hours.

Add diced vegetables; cover, simmer 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Stir in potato flakes, cook 5 minutes.

Serve as main course with fresh rye bread and sweet butter. Serves 4-6.

Geraldine Brooks' Chicken

Geraldine Brooks' Chicken

One 9 ounce package frozen artichoke hearts
1 teaspoon salt
4 boneless chicken breasts, cut in halves
1/16 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8 slices lean bacon (or salt pork cut in thin slices)
4 tablespoons sweet vermouth
2 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1. Thaw artichoke hearts completely, arrange them to cover the bottom of a glass baking dish. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt over artichoke hearts. Place chicken breasts, skin side up. over the bed of artichokes. Season with a few gratings of pepper.

2. Lay bacon slices close together on top of chicken. Poor vermouth over all. Roast in preheated 350 degree F. oven about 1 hour or until chicken is fork-tender. During roasting, spoon off excess fat, discarding.

3 Meanwhile combine chopped tomatoes, cheese and 1/2 teaspoon salt, spoon over baked chicken. Season with a few gratings of pepper. Run under broiler to brown the cheese. Serve with a mixed green salad and crisp French bread. Serves 4.

Thoughts: Score bacon slices along edge to prevent curling during oven roasting. Pour additional vermouth over chicken before broiling as desired.

Recipes by Alice Brock: Lasagne; Shrimp Curry

Alice Brock's Lasagne

For the pasta:

Boil 1 lb. of lasagna in a lot of salted water with a few tbsps. of oil. Add small quantities at a time until pasta is soft and pliable but not completely limp. Remove gently from the water with tongs (or a spoon), and let cool.

For the spaghetti sauce:

4 large onions
3 or 4 green peppers
2 cloves of garlic
Olive oil
2 large cans of tomatoes (use fresh tomatoes in season)
2 cans tomato paste
Celery, mushrooms, carrots, parsley, black olives (all optional)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
Marjoram, thyme, red pepper, sugar (all optional)

1. Chop up onions and peppers finely with one garlic clove. Cook them in 1/4-inch of olive oil until soft.

2. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and whatever else you may want to use --celery, sliced mushrooms, grated carrots, minced parsley or black olives, cut up. Add bay leaf and cover. Simmer on a very low flame for at least an hour.

3. About 45 minutes or so before you are ready to use the sauce, add seasonings and remaining garlic, chopped.

For the cheese layer:

1 lb. (or more) ricotta (or cottage) cheese
1 lb. (or more) Mozzarella cheese, grated
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup cinnamon and sugar (2 tbsps. each ingredient)
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
1/4 cup sliced black olives (or raisins)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. oregano
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tsps. snipped fresh parsley
Juice and grated rind of one lemon
3 cups spaghetti sauce

1. Mix up all the ingredients except half the Mozzarella and half the grated Parmesan cheese. Alternate layers of lasagna noodles in oiled baking dish with layers of cheese mixture and spaghetti sauce in that order.

2. Sprinkle Mozzarella and remaining Parmesan cheese over the top. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F. for about 1 hour (or until brown and bubbly). Serves 6-8.

Alice's Thoughts: "You must use oregano and basil, but try some marjoram, thyme, or whatever. I like a few shots of red pepper and 1 tablespoon or more of sugar. Keep tasting, stirring and experimenting." Alice suggests the addition of seafood in the basic cheese layer (omitting the cinnamon, sugar and raisins), by mixing in 1 cup of minced clams, shrimp or lobster meat, or cooked chicken and some finely chopped sauteed onions. For spinach layer, defrost 1 package frozen, chopped spinach, squeeze until dry and rechop and saute with 2 chopped onions, 3 minced cloves of garlic, 1 pound ground beef or sausage meat.

Alice Brock's Shrimp Curry

For the shrimp:

If you buy shrimp in their shells, they can be cleaned before or after boiling. Just peel the shells off with your fingers and a beer can opener or a small knife, scraping out the black vein that runs down the middle of the shrimp. Boil raw (or frozen) shrimp in salted water. You may add some lemon juice (or 1 teaspoon vinegar) and sliced onion to the water if you want to.

Raw shrimp should be done in 2-5 minutes; frozen shrimp in 2 to 8 minutes. Don't overcook them. After they are cooked, saute shrimp lightly in curry sauce.

For the curry sauce:

1 large onion
1 large apple
4 or more tbsps. butter
3 tbsps. flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Dash of ground ginger
2 (or more) tbsps. curry powder
About 2 tbsps. sour cream

1. Grate onion, peel apple and saute in butter gently until soft. Slowly add flour and mix well. Add broth (or other liquid) a little at a time and simmer until smooth and thick.

2. Now add ginger, curry powder, stir in sour cream. You can stop right now, or you may add any of the following: hot pepper sauce, red pepper, sherry, chopped chutney, grated lemon rind, dry mustard or poppy seeds.

This sauce is also great on chicken, rice, vegetables, or eggs. 

Recipes by Carl Brisson: Nam-Nams; Potato Salad

Carl Brisson's Nam-Nams

Cut lean bacon into thin slices. Cut those in half, lengthways, then across, thus making four long narrow slices. Take large stuffed olives and wrap one of the bacon slices round each olive, fastening it securely with a wooden toothpick. Just before serving, fry these in deep hot fat, and drain on white paper in the oven for a minute or two. Serve piping hot without removing the sticks.

Carl Brisson's Potato Salad

Boil 1 lb. new potatoes. While still hot, slice or halve (if the potatoes are tiny) into a basin containing two minced onions, two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, seven tablespoonfuls of olive oil, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, half a teaspoonful of pepper, a heaped teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of milk and half a teaspoonful of prepared mustard. Mix well together. Chill before serving.

Recipes by Jimmy Breslin: Veal Marsala; Vegetable Soup

Jimmy Breslin's Veal Marsala

1 1/2 lbs. veal scallopini
Seasoned flour
3 tbsps. butter
3 tbsps. fine-grade olive oil
1/2 lb. fresh mushroom caps
1/2 bottle Marsala wine
2 tbsps. fresh lemon juice
1/2 lemon, cut in thin slices
Freshly minced parsley

Dredge scallops (thinly sliced and pounded) lightly with seasoned flour; set aside. Heat butter and olive oil in large skillet; saute mushrooms on both sides, lift out. Quickly reheat skillet, add a little more olive oil, if necessary. Brown scallops quickly on both sides. Reduce heat; add enough Marsala (about 1/2 bottle) to cover scallops. Add mushrooms and lemon juice. Cover, simmer slowly 10-15 minutes. Watch closely so meat does not stick to the bottom. Remove lid. Cook down pan juices to thicken. Serve at once with hot cooked rice. Spoon pan gravy over meat and rice. Garnish with thin lemon slices sprinkled with minced parsley. Serves 6.

Thoughts: Jimmy's favorite veal can be made many ways using white wine in place of Marsala, omitting mushrooms and gently seasoning with finely grated lemon rind to add a pungent touch.

Jimmy Breslin's Vegetable Soup

2 lbs. cross-cut short ribs, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 envelope Lipton's onion soup mix
About 4 cups water
6 carrots, peeled, cut in pieces
1 rib celery, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 fresh tomatoes, cut up
1/2 small head cabbage, shredded

In large saucepan place meat, soup mix and water enough to cover meat. Bring to boil, cover. Reduce heat, simmer 1 1/2 hours. Skim off fat that floats on top. Add carrots, celery and tomatoes. Cover, cook 20 minutes. Add shredded cabbage. Cook 5 to 10 minutes longer. Serves 4-6.

Thoughts: For a "soupier" version, add more water and double the amount of meat and vegetables. Correct seasonings, adding more soup mix. Turnips, potatoes, spinach, peas and beans make interesting additions. Makes an excellent beginning to a midday soup-and-sandwich lunch.