Toast

Beans and the Pot

I acquired my one quart bean pot some time ago, after what was probably an excessive amount of fussing . I was under the spell of an article by John Thorne in Serious Pig, in which he thoroughly explored the yankee baked bean traditions, beans, recipes, and vessels. He convinced me that the pot was important, and would produce better baked beans, over time, as it mellowed. Since it was to be a kitchen treasure akin to the cast iron frying pans I'd been nurturing for years, I did not select it lightly.

I wanted something which would make about a quart of baked beans-enough for several suppers for myself, or sides of beans for 8 people. It had to have a roughish interior and a glazed exterior, and I wanted a pot that was attractive, but not fancy looking or decorated. Had I found something mass produced that looked and felt right, and didn't cost the earth, I would have been quite happy. I didn't see anything like that though, so I wound up ordering a handthrown "yankee style" beanpot from the dancing moon pottery , and then waiting a month for it. This is a one woman pottery, and the bean pots are not made until the orders come in. Thus, you can wait from 4-6 weeks to get one!

These pots are "replicas" of "old style yankee bean pots of the 17th and 18th [and 19th and early 20th as far as I can tell] centuries", but are made with all lead free glazes. I am very fond of mine, and like to imagine that it is mellowing since I got it nearly 10 years ago. If I am fooling myself, it is a pretty harmless deception, I guess. It is a satisfying object in large part because of its extreme ordinariness. So if you are looking for a similar pot, and can find a mass produced one of the same classic sort, I'd snap it right up. If you can't find one though, the potter,Susan Babine, is still making the excellent and classic pots, in several different sizes. They are the traditional bi-color brown and tan, the 1 qt size now costs $42, having gone up in price like everything else, and there is a shipping charge.(John Thorne and food historian Karen Hesser opine that a solid brown is the true old style-but the bicolored ones say "beanpot" to me.)

I do not have an absolute and invariable recipe for New England style baked beans, though I make them with some regularity, and don't ring too many changes. I have learned two things the hard way though. They are first, that the beans themselves must be soft enough to eat before you put them in the pot to bake, or they won't be any good, even if you cook them forever. Secondly, do not put anything acidic (vinegar, tomatoes, etc.) into beans unless they are as soft as you want them to be , because all softening will be instantaneously halted. The second thing has a corollary, of the silver lining variety. That is, if your beans are on the brink of being too mushy, you can add some vinegar and save them.

The following is how I made the beans this time; many minor variations are possible, though the structure is the same.

I used:

navy beans 2 cups (other beans like great northerns are fine, I like the littleness of navy beans)
salted fatback with rind 1/4 lb
onion 1, peeled and stuck with a clove
molasses, or Alaga syrup 3/4 cup
powdered mustard 1 tsp dissolved in 1/4 cup water
brown sugar 1/4 cup
salt and pepper to taste
a small amount of rum (a J.Thorne contribution of great merit)

Soak beans in water to cover, by 1", overnight. Drain. Put beans and fatback in a large heavy pot with water to cover. Preheat oven to 250. Bring beans to boil, turn down to simmer, and cook until the beans are tender, but not mushy. Add Salt and pepper to taste. Drain beans and pork, saving cooking liquid. Put the beans, pork and the rest of the ingredients in a one qt. beanpot. Bring the cooking liquid back to a boil, and pour in just enough to almost cover the beans. Cover and cook in the preheated oven about 6 hours. Remove lid and cook for another hour, or until the liquid has thickened. Remove the onion and fatback. You can cut up a bit of the fatback into tiny cubes and put it back in with the beans if you like that sort of thing. I do, but many do not.

Have this with some coleslaw and cornbread. Leftovers reheat nicely, as I expect you know. Actually, Boston Brown Bread is the traditional accompanyment. I've never made it, as the cornbread is so nice. Perhaps I should try making some. There is a recipe in the Thorne book.

Food Bound: Cookbook Reviews and a Recipe

Quite a few people, including me, will be reviewing and discussing some cookbooks, and other food lit. on Food, Bound,a new site at the The Well Fed Network. I have two cookbook reviews posted at the moment, one of the Ruhlman/Polcyn collaboration Charcuterie, and the other of Nick Malgieri's A Baker's Tour. In a follow-up post to the latter, you'll find a recipe for a Sicilian Cheese Pie, with a Brioche Crust, as pictured on the left. Come see.

Paula Wolfert's Prune and Apple Tart with Filo Rosettes

It is difficult to come up with a title for this lovely dessert which doesn't make it sound chef-y and/or fussy. Ms. Wolfert calls it a "Prune and Apple Pastry Cake", but to my mind there isn't anything very cake-like about it. It is really more of a pie. The only thing which makes it a little tricky, is that it requires 30 "prunes in armagnac," which must be made at least 2 weeks earlier. It is terribly pretty, without looking excessively shoppy or done up, it smells heavenly, and is a dreamy combination of flavors and textures. I would feel happily spoilt if someone made one for me.

I have been fooling around with prunes according to PW's recipes in her splendid new edition of The Cooking of Southwest France, for some weeks, so I actually had the prepared prunes in the house. I had some friends coming to dinner, and an otherwise easy menu: Pork Rilettes on toast and some olives (already made), My mother's party chicken dish with roasted veg (easily assembled), salad (ditto), and crusty bread (bought). So I had time to do this tart, and I was not sorry I did.

Whenever I make a PW recipe, I try to follow it exactly the first time. This takes a certain amount of discipline, as ideas come to mind while cooking, and they always seem brilliant at the time. But her recipes are very carefully thought out and planned to lead to particular flavours and textures. I like to get an idea of exactly what something is supposed to taste like, before I vary it in any way. So I tried to adhere as much as possible to her directions, and I was very pleased with the fragrant result, with its crisp, soft, and chewy textures, and exotic not-too-sweet- sweetness.

If you would like to try this, and it is really not terribly hard- just needs a little planning- you will first need to make some prunes in armagnac. The recipe for these (and directions for making prune and armagnac icecream!) can be found on Paula Wolfert's website. You will also need some prepared filo dough, unless you are a strudel maker. PW recommends purchasing a thicker-than-ordinary-filo strudel type dough, if possible. Though I live in a smallish and provincial city, I am lucky enough to live near a Turkish deli (Turquoise, on Murray Ave, here in Pittsburgh), which stocks a thicker "country style" filo-8-10 sheets to a pack. But PW says you can use standard filo too.

This is what you need for the tart (minimally adapted):
apples (I used Pink Ladies) 2 1/2 lbs peeled , cored and sliced
sugar 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsps
lemon zest 2 thin strips
a vanilla bean, split
prunes in armagnac 30, in 5 tbsps of their syrup
melted clarified butter 1/3 cup
orange flower water 1/2 sp
armagnac 2 tsps
strudel or filo leaves, thicker "country style" filo, if available.
confectioner's sugar or sanding sugar

Preheat the oven to 400F. Get a 12 to 15 inch quiche or pizza pan ready, buttering it lightly all over.

First, cook the apples with the sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest in a heavy pot, over a low heat, until quite soft. Set aside to cool. Cut up the prunes and put them in a bowl with 1/4 cup of their syrup. In a third bowl,mix 2 tbsps of the butter with the remaining 1 tbsp syrup,1 tbsp sugar, the orange flower water, and the Armagnac. Arrange these bowls in your work area, with the rest of the butter in a fourth bowl with a pastry brush.

Unwrap your filo leaves and cover with a damp towel to keep moist. Brush the first leaf with butter, fold it in half length-wise, and butter both sides. Set it in the pan, with one short end at the center, and the other hanging over the edge. Do the same with the next leaf, and overlap it,and the rest of the leaves, each just slightly over the preceding leaf, moving spiral-fashion round the pan, so that the entire bottom of the pan is covered and flat, and leaves hang over the outside all around. There is an excellent line drawing in the PW book, which is very much clearer than this wordy explanation. The overlap in the center is thick, while on the outside, the leaves just touch.

Now, arrange the cut-up prunes in a 10" circle in the center. Drain the apples, and place on top of the prunes. Sprinkle the orange-flower mixture over the exposed inside of the leaves. Start with the last leaf added and flip the bottom over to the top side. Roll it loosely, like a crepe-paper rose, and set the rosette atop the fruit. continue around in order, setting the rosettes on top pf the fruit loosely, to more or less cover the entire top. Work quickly, and handle the leaves lightly so that they do not dry out, or tear. You can push them around quite easily to cover the surface, so don't feel you have to pull hard on the filo!

Sprinkle and drizzle the remaining butter over all, and dust with the sugar. Set in the oven, bake 12 minutes and turn the heat right down to 350. Cook another 20-30 minutes or so until golden. Set on a rack to cool, and sprinkle with some more sugar. When cooled, sprinkle with a bit of confectioner's or sanding sugar.

This is a pretty pastry, and it smells even better than it looks- very souk-y, fragrant and mellow. Also, it tastes just fine.

Something Out of Nothing: Roundup

Many thanks to all who sent me their favorite recipes for low funds, empty cupboards, and hard times. When I set out to gather these goodies last month, I was a bit nervous about doing this wrap up, as I do not, in any way resemble a computer wizard. Please let me know if I have mistakenly left out or mis-linked your entry, and I will fix my mistakes. I hope didn't make too many.

I also hope that the starving students, hardup artistes, and all of us who are, from time to time, struggling a bit to make ends meet (yet somehow managing to wander the internet) will find sustainance and pleasure here. I, for one, intend to make use of these contributions. My earliest browsings lead me to believe that it would be a good idea to keep plenty of beans, tuna, rice, olive oil and pasta on hand. You certainly can make a lot of different things from these fine, not too costly pantry staples! There are a lot of other worthy ingredients and agile brains at work here too.

Note: Initially, I planned to divide the posts into many categories, to make the list handier. I found, however that some recipes fit in many categories, and others in none, really. So I have simplified the categories into 3 groups: 1. Vegetarian 2. Meat, Fish, Game or Poultry 3. Sweets. Be advised that the vegetarian category contains items which are not technically vegetarian (they call for meat stock, or some such) but could be adapted without much trouble, by vegetarians. I thought of having a pasta, noodles, rice category, but everything in it belonged somewhere else too. Have a good time browsing.

VEGETARIAN (OR ALMOST VEGETARIAN) FEASTS

Stacey of justbraise sent three recipes, one of which was this colorful and inexpensive pomelo salad.

Ulrike of Kuchenlatein made some excellent red lentil sticks.

Patl of Up A Creek Without A Patl made a whole wheat pasta with homedried tomatoes that looks beautiful in its pretty plate.

Baking Soda of Bake My Day made a winter carrot soup which I am planning on fixing for myself shortly.

anapestic made a complete dinner, of which these "Mesopotamian" Black Beans with Grits are the main course. Stay tuned for dessert.

Farmgirl Susan has the most luscious Garlic Lover's Bean Soup on Farmgirl Fare

zp of i hate the new yorker submitted two entries. This one for cream scones, without the cream, would be good for breakfast, or on the side with some of the other offerings.*photo below

From long ago, out of my own hippie past and the less distant past of my blog, I offer Digger's Cabbage soup (vegetarians can skip the pork chop), to feed a multitude for almost nothing, and another favorite:

Muhjadarrah, which I adore.

Recommended by a reader, rather than the redfox herself, my daughter's Lentil Snacks from the hungry tiger.

A classic Pasta with Shallots and Oil comes from lee, of Welcome to My Pantry, a woman after my own heart, who is big on preserving.

A number of submissions, not in the form of blog postings, offered some fine ideas in this general category. These included, and I quote:

From reader-friend Lynn D.:
Lentil Stew with Spinach and Potatoes
"I use water instead of stock, have successfully used whatever potatoes I have on hand (including yams), frozen spinach would do in a pinch or chard could be substituted (not kale, I think). I think the feta is essential, but you need very little; yogurt might do as well. I realize I'm not a blogger, but I can't help jumping in."

Lynn also sent a link to an excellent recipe for Pasta with Chickpea Sauce. She likes to top this with breadcrumbs toasted in olive oil.

From June, who has just now started her own blog (check it out), Risotto:
"I assume a store cupboard, with half used packets of things that have lost their labels. And may be past their sell-by dates. In which case risotto - if you have homemade chicken stock dilute it by half with water because otherwise it is too strong - and add anything you like. An onion certainly, some spring vegetables (Risotto Primavera), mushrooms (Ai Funghi), or some bacon ( I give up), or jerusalem artichokes ( oh yes - topinambours!), and all the way up the scale to scallops and lobster. But be sparing. Risotto is a minimal dish. Too much and it's a salad.

If you don't have homemade chicken stock use water, never a stock cube. Try to have it bubbling on another ring so you add the hot stock to the fried rice and onions, a ladleful at a time. Let the rice absorb the stock. Add another ladleful. Towards the end of the cooking time - about half an hour - it seems to take an age to get to the right al dente/creamy/soupy concentration. There is no right way, just the way you like it. Me, I like mine creamy."

or this solitary feast:
"... totally selfish, luxurious, toothsome, lipsmacking solitary dish fit for Lucullus, lash out on a bottle of Lea & Perrins ( keep the rest for Bloody Marys), grate enough cheese, mix in enough L&P, toast a slice of decent bread on one side only, turn it over, pile on the cheese mixture, and grill until bubbling. Eat all by yourself and swear you will never reveal the secret."

Cate, of Sweetnicks made both a macaroni salad and bean tostadas in this category. She rounded out the whole budget dinner with a Gorilla Bread. Catch a glimpse of that one in in the Sweets section below.

Denise of What I'm Cooking Now, submitted a Portabella Mushroom Stuffed with Warm Lentil Salad, a party dish.

Ramya, of Cooking within My Grasp" tells us that eveyone, rich or poor, will benefit from eating green gram sprouts, sprinkled with lemon, and tells us how to make them.

Kimberly of Music and Cats made one of my all time favorites, a beautiful Split Pea Soup.

MEAT, FISH, AND POULTRY DISHES

Stacey of Just Braise offered her Sole in Swiss Chard, and two other contributions noted here.

School Bloggie was inspired by the Jamie Oliver's way with ingredients, when she concocted this Chicken Wings with Roasted Veg, which is not only flavorful, but easy.

Strawberry of Scream for Sourcream Timbits spent a great deal of time making a perfectly gorgeous ciabatta, and then making it into a tuna sandwich to die for.

Tania, the cook behind the delightful Candied Quince, made an Herbed Bowtie Pasta With Tuna.

Lisa of La Mia Cucina, made the recipe that everyone asks her for, Linguini with clam sauce.

Pamela of Posie's Place used her market leftovers to create Thai Style chicken, Prawn, and Glass Noodle Soup. Mmm.

Pheasant does not usually appear among the poverty-stricken, but Emma, of the Laughing Gastronome has used leftover pheasant in her Pheasant Galette. And it could be made with leftover chicken, or any other roasted bird, if that's what you have on hand. I, however, am pleased to have a reasonable excuse to buy a pheasant, with my leftovers plan in place.

Another contribution from Stacey at Just Braise-some highly succulent-looking Pomegranate Molasses Shortribs with Broccoli Rabe.

From Third Shift in Las Vegas an arrangement of leftovers is plated beautifully, and tasty, too.

Little Bouffe, who is a bit of an expert at making something out of very little, made a delcious-looking and sounding chicken do-piaza (or chicken with double onions).

Sam of Becks and Posh made Crostini with a Chicken Liver Spread, an excellent starter, and she notes that chicken livers are only $2.00 per pound!

Riana of Garlic Breath made a celery mazoh ball soup with her leftovers. She even made her own mazoh meal.

Nina of Sweet Napa made a Chicken Adobo, which looks and sounds rich and flavorful.

SWEETS

This event coincided nicely with the Chocolate Lady's own annual using-everything-up-to-get-ready-for-Passover event. She literally emptied her cupboards and made these enviable"Bottom of the Bag Poppyseed Muffins"

Cate, of Sweetnicks, even made a Gorilla Bread to go with her complete budget dinner.

To finish off his complete dinner, anapestic made a Bread Pudding with Blood Orange Yogurt Sauce, which he calls, in true anapestic fashion, a "Red-Headed Stepchild of Something for Nothing."

I am very fond of Apple Crumble and this one, from Spicehut looks like a fine example.

Whew! I hope I got it all. Please let me know if I didn't. Enjoy.

Arriving just a wee bit late:

Lovely Steamed Chicken Buns from tokyoastrogirl at Tuna Toast look to me like they were worth waiting for.

and wait...I somehow failed to post the second of zp's contributions, which belongs with the fish dishes, "We Could Call Her 'Tuna'" thankfully not named after her little sister.* see photo below

Sam's first email was lost. It would have been a great pity to miss his entry from sweet pleasure: plaisir sucre. His beautiful poached pears were made from from what he had in the kitchen already. And he even used the poaching liquid to make another treat-go see.

Better late than...you know. Spanish Roasted Potatoes are courtesy of the Culinary Muse, who also explains why she loves her cast iron skillet.

Somehow I missed out on this entry from Kai, of Bucaio, my Filipina blogging-by-mail partner. Her delectable-looking Arroz con Tres Leches is a Panamanian Sweet.

I couldn't resist adding one more. Madeleine Kamman's great grandmother's Scrambled Eggs with Dandelions are so elegant and delicious, and they are practically free. Marie Charlotte was a skilled practioner of cuisine de misere, or says Ms. Kamman, the art of making "something from nothing"!

*And here we have a photo from zp, 5 months later. It has both of zp's contributions, in one picture. Got to love an attention span this long. Follow the *s back up for the recipes.

Side of Slaw

The baker/writer/teacher and bread maven, Peter Reinhart, once ran a small restaurant and wrote a cookbook with the recipes he served there. This cookbook was called Sacramental Magic in a Small Town Cafe,, and it contained the perfect coleslaw recipe. There is nothing really unusual about this slaw, which is quite traditional, and has no secret ingredient of any kind. It is a classic American coleslaw of the mayo type, but the proportions are perfect and fail safe.

My daughter had a friend whose father consistently made the most satisfying coleslaw, and he told me that it came from this little book. Before I had these ratios to refer to, I made a similar kind of coleslaw. I didn't have a rule of thumb -I went by eye and nibble, and added or subtracted ingredients at whim. This earlier coleslaw of mine was never horrible, but sometimes it was much nicer than other times. Now my standard coleslaw is "just right" all the time, and never the source of disharmony in a meal. There are many other perfectly good slaws-including the classic vinagrette type. I like a lot of them, as well as numerous other cooked and raw cabbage dishes. And I love fennel slaw. But if you want the classic diner-side coleslaw, this is the recipe for you.

There are some foods which absolutely beg for this sort of slaw-on-the-side, in my view. These include homemade baked beans, fried fish and chips, fried or spicy steamed shrimp, pulled pork, fried chicken, and main dish chowders. It is great with other diner-esque dishes, hamburgers, meatloaf, liver and onions, grilled cheese, mac and cheese- the lot. Its cool creaminess and accompaying crunch perfectly set off that which is hot, soft ,chewy,fatty and/or gooey. It is insanely wonderful with barbequed ribs, and very nice indeed with a pastrami sandwich on rye. I like it heaped on a split and fluffed baked potato in its jacket, for any easy, cheap supper.

Personally, I prefer to make my slaw with cabbage I have shredded finely with a knife. I have had it, however, with grated cabbage, and it is good that way too.Once I made it with cabbage cut into 1/2" squares, and it was nice and looked somehow fancier.

To make P.R.'s perfect slaw, you need:

1 large cabbage, shredded or as you like
finely diced onion 1/2 cup
mayo (Hellman's, not homemade, for this recipe) 1 1/2 cups
cider vinegar 1/4 cup
granulated sugar 1/2 cup
freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp
salt to taste

Mix everything together, and let it sit from 2 hours to overnight, chilling. Taste for salt and pepper before serving. Keeps 2 days in fridge. Then it goes watery, and isn't as nice. This is the fifth recipe ever added to Volume One of my little notebook of recipes to keep. I've been making it a long time, and it has never failed me.

Note: A couple of new food blogs to check out: Try Little Bouffe. If you thought your kitchen was inadequate, see what she does with no real kitchen at all. And have a look at June's brand new Bread,Water, Salt, Oil.., for some good food writing with a real sense of place.

Noodge: If you are thinking about submitting a post to the Something Out of Nothing event, but have not yet done so, please send me the permalink by email today. I'll be starting to work on a roundup tomorrow.