Recipes by Eva Marie Saint: Chicken Shoyu Yaki; Pizza Hamburgers

Eva Marie Saint's Chicken Shoyu Yaki

4 pounds cleaned broiling chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
1 small clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons minced ginger root (scrape before mincing) (or 1/4 tsp. ground ginger)
1/8 teaspoon monosodium glutamate
A few gratings freshly ground pepper

Place chicken pieces in a shallow glass baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients for the sauce, blending well. Pour over chicken pieces. Marinate chicken six hours, turning several times. Remove chicken from marinade. Place chicken pieces in a shallow baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Roast in 375 degree oven 1 1/2 hours or until the chicken is tender. Baste often during roasting. Remove to heated platter. Serve with steamed wild rice and avocado salad. Serves 3-4.

Thoughts: I've tried keeping ginger in my fridge immersed in sherry and vodka, uncovered in the veggie drawer, and tucked inside a bag -- paper or plastic. I've also frozen the unpeeled root. The winner for flavor and longevity: refrigerated in a self-sealing bag with all the air pressed out. To store a large chunk (called a hand), buy ginger that isn't wet, moldy, or withered; leave the peel on and blot off any moisture. It should keep for a couple of months. To use, simply cut off a "finger" of ginger, re-bag the rest, press out the air, and reseal.

Eva Marie Saint's Pizza Hamburgers

3/4 pound lean ground beef chuck
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup canned pizza sauce
1/4 cup tomato sauce
3/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
A few gratings freshly ground pepper
4 English muffins, split in half
Sweet butter
4 ounces shredded Mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese

Saute meat in olive oil in heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring often to keep meat crumbly. Cook about 5 minutes until meat is brown. Add pizza sauce, tomato sauce, and seasonings, blending well. Cook over low heat, stirring, about 10 minutes until sauce is thick; set aside. Spread muffins lightly with butter, brown lightly under the broiler. Spread each muffin round with meat sauce. Top with shredded Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Run under broiler until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Serve at once. Serves 4.

Sabu's Spicy Coconut Chicken

Sabu's Spicy Coconut Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts

Marinade:
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon pepper

Stir marinade ingredients together. Reserve as much marinade as you will need for sauce and refrigerate. Never "reuse" marinade for sauce after it has come in contact with raw protein as some older recipes recommend.

Put marinade in a large Ziploc bag suitable for marinating. Add chicken breasts making sure they are covered with the marinade. Refrigerate.

Next day take out breasts, grill until the chicken reaches a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees.

In a saucepan, heat reserved marinade until smooth. Use on top of chicken.

Recipes by Ann Rutherford: Chicken Matzo Ball Soup; Jazz-in-a-Basket

Ann Rutherford's Chicken Matzo Ball Soup

For the soup:

1 cleaned stewing hen, weighing 4-5 lbs.
3 qts. water
1 tbsp. salt
1 whole onion
1 bay leaf
2 carrots, peeled
4 celery tops

Wash chicken thoroughly. Trim off excess fat (save for making schmaltz). Cut chicken into quarters, place in deep stock pot and cover with salted water. Cover and simmer. Add onion, bay leaf, carrots and celery tops. Simmer until chicken is tender (about 2 1/2 to 3 hours). Skim off fat. Remove chicken, serve on platter (or serve later). Strain soup and refrigerate. Remove congealed fat on surface and reheat. Taste to correct seasonings.

For the matzo balls:

3 eggs, separated
3/4 cup matzo meal
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tbsps. melted schmaltz

Beat egg whites until stiff. Beat egg yolks until lemon-colored; fold yolks into whites, then fold in matzo meal, salt and pepper. Stir in melted schmaltz; let stand 5 minutes. Drop from tablespoon into boiling chicken soup. Cook about 15 minutes (or until matzo balls are thoroughly done). Serves 8.

Thoughts: Schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) gives wonderful flavor to the matzo balls. Schmaltz can be omitted without disastrous effects. Follow recipe as given but refrigerate dough one hour before forming into balls with hands slightly dampened with cold water. Balls may take slightly longer cooking time.

Ann Rutherford's Jazz-in-a-Basket

1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms (or 1 can, 6 to 8 ozs.)
6 ribs Florida celery
3 ears Florida corn
1/3 cup onion flakes
3 tbsps. water
6 tbsps. butter (or olive oil)
2 cups sliced zucchini
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp. parsley flakes
2 tsps. salt
2 tsps. basil leaves
1/2 tsp. thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup dry red wine

Clean and slice fresh mushrooms (or drain canned mushrooms). Rinse and trim celery ribs; cut into 1-inch chunks. Cut kernels from corn (makes about 2 1/2 cups). Set vegetables aside. Rehydrate onion flakes in water for 10 minutes. In a large saucepan (or Dutch oven), melt butter (or olive oil). Add onion and saute 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute 2 minutes longer. Stir in celery and zucchini; saute 2 minutes more. Stir in corn, tomatoes, parsley, salt, basil, thyme and black pepper.

Cover and simmer 5 minutes (or until vegetables are crisp-tender). Stir in red wine. Heat only until piping hot. Arrange vegetables in a basket lined with aluminum foil. Makes a terrific side dish to serve with barbecued chicken or steak cooked over the coals. Serves 6-8.

Recipes by Jane Russell: Iceberg Puff; Ranch-Style Eggs

Jane Russell's Iceberg Puff

2 heads iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup salted water
3 tbsps. butter (or margarine)
2 tbsps. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/8 tsp. white pepper
3/4 cup half-and-half (or light cream)
4 eggs, separated

Core, rinse and drain lettuce; store in refrigerator in plastic crisper (or disposable plastic bag). Coarsely chop enough lettuce to measure 8 cups, lightly packed. Place in large kettle with salted water. Stirring often, cook, covered, about 5 minutes (or until barely crisp). Drain. Melt butter in saucepan; blend in cornstarch, salt, marjoram and pepper. Stir in half-and-half and cook, stirring, until mixture comes to boil and is thickened. Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Fold prepared lettuce (about 2 cups) and egg yolks into white sauce; fold in whipped egg whites. Turn into greased 2-qt. souffle dish (or casserole). Place dish in pan of hot water and bake in preheated 350 degrees F. oven for 1 hour. Serve at once. Serve with chilled white California wine. Serves 6.

Jane Russell's Ranch-Style Eggs

For the ranchero sauce:

2 tbsps. vegetable oil (or butter)
2 tbsps. chopped white onion
1 clove pressed garlic
Good pinch of marjoram (about 1/2 tsp.)
1 tsp. red chili powder
1 cup (8 oz. can) tomato sauce
1 tbsp. minced parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Saute onion in vegetable oil (or butter), add pressed garlic, marjoram, chili powder, tomato sauce, parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until sauce is slightly reduced and flavors well-mixed. Set aside.

For the eggs:

4 eggs
2 tbsps. bacon fat (or butter)
4 fresh (or canned) tortillas
3 tbsps. vegetable oil
Avocado or chorizo (or other pork sausage)

Fry eggs sunny-side up (or turn over lightly) in bacon fat or butter. Cook tortillas in hot lard, turning once, drain on absorbent paper. Top each tortilla with an egg, spoon ranchero sauce over eggs. Top with avocado slice (or serve with chorizo or other pork sausage). Serves 4.

Paul Rubinstein's Bigos

Paul Rubinstein's Bigos

6 dried European mushrooms (available in gourmet shops)
1 cup cold water
1 large yellow onion
3 pounds sauerkraut
3 green tart cooking apples
1 pound 12 ounce can stewed tomatoes
1 cup light brown sugar
15 peppercorns, crushed
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 large bay leaf
1 tablespoon thyme
1 1/2 cups diced kielbasa (Polish or Hungarian garlic sausage)
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3/4 cup cooked diced beef (or cooked lamb, veal, pork, wild hare or venison)
1 cup cubed salt pork (or bacon)
Liquid as needed (beer or Madeira wine)

Soak mushrooms in cold water two hours. Cut peeled onion in half, place in deep skillet over direct flame, cut side down, cook 5 minutes to brown, remove. Wash sauerkraut, squeeze out liquid. Add to cooking pot: sauerkraut, mushrooms (including liquid), peeled, cored, diced apples, tomatoes, brown sugar, peppercorns. garlic, onion (chopped), bay leaf and thyme. Cover, simmer very slowly several hours. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. Add diced meats and salt pork. Stir, simmer 1 1/2 hours longer. Add liquid as needed. Cool, refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving. Reheat, serve with steamed potatoes and cold beer. Serves 8-10.

AFTERTHOUGHTS: The stew only improves with reheating. It will keep in refrigerator at least a week.

Recipes by Gena Rowlands: Oven Pilaf; Youvarlakia

Gena Rowlands' Oven Pilaf

1/4 cup butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 cup long-grain rice
1 1/2 cups water (or consomme)
1/2 cup golden mushroom soup
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

I. Melt butter in skillet and saute onion until transparent. Add rice and cook a few minutes.

2. Add boiling water (or consomme) with mushroom soup, salt and pepper; mix well. Turn into a well-greased 1 1/2-quart casserole. Cover and bake in preheated 350 degrees F. oven for about 30 minutes. (Rice should be moist.) Serve as side dish with youvarlakia. Serves 4.

Gena Rowlands' Youvarlakia

2 tbsps. butter
2 large yellow onions
1 can water
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 cup rice (uncooked)
1 large can tomatoes
1 1/2 lbs. top round steak
2 tsps. fresh mint (or dried), crushed
2 beaten eggs

1. Saute 1 chopped onion in butter until onion is golden. Add tomatoes, water, salt and pepper to taste, and sugar. Simmer about 30 minutes (or volume has reduced by one-third). Stir often.

2. Trim fat from steak and put through grinder twice with remaining onion. Add crushed fresh (or dried) mint, eggs and rice. With hands form meat mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls.

3. Drop meatballs into boiling sauce. Cook 10-15 minutes (or until rice is cooked). Add water so meatballs won't stick to pot. Serves 4. 

Recipes by Dan Rowan: Baked Apples Cointreau; Vegetable Tombe

Dan Rowan's Baked Apples Cointreau

4 Golden Delicious apples
Handful large raisins
1 tsp. finely grated orange peel
Few drops orange juice
1/16 tsp. ground cinnamon (or mace)
1 tbsp. Cointreau (or brandy)

Wash and core apples, cut off top-third of the peel. Place each apple core-side up in individual baking dishes (or muffin tin). Stuff each core with a few raisins mixed with orange peel, orange juice and cinnamon (or mace). Bake in preheated 375 degrees F. oven until skin begins to break. Serve alone or heat Cointreau (or brandy) slightly, pour small amount over each apple and ignite to flame. Serves 4.

Dan Rowan's Vegetable Tombe

Few drops of vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped spring onions
1/2 cup chopped celery (few leaves thrown in)
2 cups peeled fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped potatoes
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 bay leaf
1 small clove garlic, pressed
Salt and pepper to taste
2/3 cups liquid (water or chicken bouillon)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place a few drops of vegetable oil in skillet (or saucepan). Rub most of oil off with absorbent paper towel. Add vegetables and seasonings. Cover and cook over low heat about 30 minutes, stirring often. Add liquid, cook about 45 minutes (or until reduced to a solid). Correct seasonings. Serve hot, generously garnished with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, as side dish to cold roast chicken or turkey. Serves 2.

Thoughts: Tombe refers to "tomber," an old French cooking term (meaning literally "to fall"), describing a way of cooking meat in its own juices so that it reduces to a syrupy consistency. Tombe also refers to any substance like onion or shallot moistened during cooking with liquid, then boiled down to a solid consistency. Dan's tombe can be the beginning of a host of late summer slimmers made with assorted vegetables (regularly or organically grown): eggplant, zucchini, cabbage, spinach, green pepper, snap beans, yellow squash, Swiss chard or mushrooms. Vary seasonings with mint, parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, or marjoram; seasoned salt or condiments (Tabasco, Worcestershire or soy sauce).