Friday's Fave Foods***Liver Pate & Robert Mondavi RIP

In honor of the fabulous Robert Mondavi, who passed away this past week at his home in Northern California, I am again featuring a classic from Bottles & Bins.

Chicken Liver Pate***Mrs. J. A. Canet, Mill Valley, California

1lb. chicken livers

1 small whole onion & 1 stalk of celery

1 small bay leaf and 1/8 tsp thyme

1/8 tsp rosemary and 2 sprigs of parsley

1/4 cup soft butter

3/4 cup of (Charles Krug) Chablis

1 cup chicken broth

1 tbs green onion, chopped fine

3/4 tsp salt & 1/2 dry mustard

Combine livers with whole onion, celery, bay leaf, herbs, parsley, 1/2 cup of wine and broth. Bring to a boil, the simmer until livers are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain: chop coarsely, then put through fine blade of food chopper (processor). Blend with butter, chopped green onion, salt, mustard and remaining wine until mixture is smooth. Add a little more sine or drained liquid from cooking livers if you like a softer pate' Store in a covered jar for several hours or overnight (to blend flavors) before using. Makes 1 pint.

NOTES: Best served with water crackers, baked pita chips, or bake sourdough rounds. And wine, of course!

Liver is a highly absorbant organ meat, so when you simmer them with all those whole ingredients, they will absorb the mingling flavors. Also, in this case I would seek out organic livers.

I know some of your will be completely grossed out by this, but if you ever get a chance to taste a duck/goose/chicken pate, I think you will be converted. It really is some good stuff!

Friday's Fave Foods----Figs

Tennessee Mountain Fig Tree



In about a month or so, the first crop of figs will appear on the fig trees down south. What to do with all those figs, besides let the birds eat them? Once again, I turn to "Joy Of Cooking" for answers!

Baked Figs With Ricotta*****"Joy Of Cooking"

Preheat oven to 350

Combine in a small saucepan:

6 TBSP sugar

1/2 cup water

Bring to a boil, cover, and boil until the sugar is dissolved and the the syrup is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in:

1/2 cup sweet or dry Marsala

Snip the stems from

8 fresh figs

Quarter the figs from the top down almost to, but not through, the bottoms. Press up from the bottom to spread the figs open and place in a shallow baking pan. Spoon the Marsala syrup over the figs. Bake until the figs are tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, mash together:

6 TBSP of ricotta or marscapone cheese (2 oz)

6 TBSP of heavy cream or milk

1 tsp of sugar

When the figs are done, place them in serving dishes and dab some of the cheese mixture into the center of each fig flower, and spoon the syrup around. Serve warm or at room temp. Garnish, if desired with

Shaved bittersweet chocolate

Friday's Fave Foods***Turkey Tetrazzini

On Fridays, I'm not always quite sure where I'm going to go with these recipes. I tend to get on a theme and roll with that for awhile. Right now, my theme is the Faculty Center. I'm about to pull a dish for the summer for which I am going to hear alot of flack about, because it's popular when done right. However, it is too heavy to be summer fare. It will be back on the fall menu. I must confess that the recipe we use is rather utilitarian. It works well (most of the time) and is based on this on this original.

Turkey Tetrazzini***"The Joy Of Cooking" by Irma Rombauer**

4 cups of cooked pasta --spaghetti, macaroni or egg noodles

Creamed turkey *

1 1/2 TBS of unsalted butter

8 oz. of sliced mushrooms, or 2 1/2 cups

1/2 C of slivered or sliced almonds, toasted (see notes)

1/2 C of grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Butter a 13 x 9 " baking pan or other shallot baking dish

Heat in a medium skillet over medium high heat until the foam begins to subside: butter

Add and cook, stirring until tender, about 5 minutes: mushrooms

Stir the mushrooms into the creamed turkey*

Cook until tender in a large pot of boiling salted water, 8oz of pasta (should yield 4 cups cooked)

Drain pasta well and stir into turkey mixture along with the toasted almonds.

Pour mixture into baking pan and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Makes 6-8 servings

Creamed Turkey or Chicken (raw poultry)

3 1/2 lbs of turkey or chicken parts or 1 1/2 lbs boneless

Place in Dutch oven and add: 2 cups of chicken broth

Pour in just enough water to to cover the pieces.

Bring to simmer on high heat, then reduce heat so that the poaching liquid barely bubbles. Partially cover and cook until the meat releases clear juices when pierced by a fork, 25 to 30 minutes for chicken parts, 8-12 minutes for boneless. Remove the meat from the stock and let it cool long enough to handle. If using chicken parts, remove the skin and bones and discard. Cut or shred the meat into bite size pieces. Skim the fat from the stock with a spoon (hint: you wont have any if you use skinless boneless pieces).

Melt in a large sauce pan over medium low heat:

1/2 stick of unsalted butter

Add and whisk until smooth, 1/3 C of all purpose flour

Cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add 2 cups of the chicken stock, and whisk until smooth. Then whisk in 1 1/2 cups of whole milk, half and half OR light cream.

Increase the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly. Remove the pan from the heat, and sue a wooden spatula or heat-proof rubber spatula to scrape the bottom of the sauce pan and whisk vigorously to break up any lumps. Return the pan to the heat, whisking, and bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in cooked poultry along with 2 to 3 TBSP of cooked sherry. Cook for one minute more. Remove from heat and season to taste with:

several drops of lemon juice

salt and ground white or black pepper

2 to 3 pinches of ground nutmeg (optional)

******************************************

Notes: You can use left over cooked pasta and left over cooked chicken or turkey for this recipe, just modify. I would still poach cooked poultry for about 2-3 minutes, and let it sit in stock to absorb some flavor, and some tenderness. In this case I would also use canned stock. Can also subsitute the grated Parmesan for shredded cheddar. I use this recipe in this modified manner during the holidays with left-over turkey. I usually make several batches, and freeze for those cold winter nights when I'm too tired to cook dinner!

This dish was created in the 19 century by the great French chef Auguste Excoffier in honor of the legendary opera star Luisa Tetrazzini, according to

**Irma S. Rombauer. The "Joy of Cooking" is, hands down, the best cookbook I have ever used. She knew her stuff!

Friday's Fave Foods---Lemon Bars

what a lemon bar should look like

Hollander and Friends....this is for you, should you find this link!!!!







I hardly know where to begin. I was exposed to a blog that is all about one of the restaurant units I manage on campus! It is rather tongue in cheek. They like to crucify the food, but I notice in their blog, they rarely go elsewhere, and when they do they are quite critical as well. The thing they like to write about the most is our lemon bars. I don't blame them. Our cooks take what should be a straightforward recipe and screw the h@ll out of it. Unfortunately I do not supervise these cooks, and when I take my complaints about how the food is prepared, (or not) to the person who supervises them, or even to the person that supervises the supervisor, NOTHING happens. Also, I am not allowed to speak to the cooks about it because it is "out of my realm of supervision". It makes no sense. I often speak with them anyway. It is ridiculous! This may soon change, as we are in shake-up mode right now. Politics!







Anyway, their blog is funny, and I am glad I found it! Lemon bars are the very first thing I learned to bake as a child of about 12, so I take issue with "professional" people that mess it up!







Lemon Bars*** Better Homes & Gardens "New" Cook Book







6 TBSP butter or margarine



1/4 C granulated sugar



1 C all purpose flour



2 eggs



3/4 C granulated sugar



2 TBSP all purpose flour



1/4 tsp finely shredded lemon peel



3 TBSP lemon juice



1/4 tsp baking powder







Grease 8x8x2 inch baking pan. Beat bitter for 30 seconds; add the 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 tsp of salt, beating till fluffy. Stir in the 1 cup of flour. Pan dough onto the bottom of pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, beat eggs, add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 2 TBSP flour, lemon peel, lemon juice, and baking powder. Beat 3 minutes or till slightly thickened. Pour over baked layer. Bake in 350 degree oven 25 to 30 minutes longer, or till light golden brown around the edges and the center is set. Cool. Sift powdered sugar over top. Cut into squares. Makes 16.







Notes: Be careful about greasing the baking pan. The grease can be absorbed by the dough, which will make the whole thing greasy and just plain yucky!

Why I Do It

First arrangement of the year. David Austin roses (pink), common country roses (red), fern, and honeysuckle. The red roses and honeysuckle are wild, but they smell so good! Most roses are difficult to grow in these parts, but the David Austin seem to do well, with little care. I love flowers. That is why I garden. That is why I do it.

Friday's Fave Foods---Pan-Fried Stuffed Squash Blossoms

I am still on a West Coast roll, so I'm just going with that. Have you ever heard of Chez Panisse? It's a cafe and restaurant in Berkley California that was founded by Alice Waters in the 1970's. Considered the birth place of California Cuisine, and started the national movement in the food industry of using only fresh and local ingredients, blending for optimal taste and creativity. There were and are many restaurants in the Bay Area that grew out of this entire concept. For four years, I worked at one of these, and that is the first time I saw squash blossoms being used as food...it was awesome! Warning: this recipe is time and labor intensive (but totally worth it if you are in the mood).

Pan-Fried Stuffed Squash Blossoms---Chez Panisse Cafe

12 squash blossoms with stems

1 cup of Ricotta Filling*

olive or peanut oil for frying

salt and pepper

flour

fine cornmeal

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Trim the stems to 3" and brush the blossoms clean. Using a pastry bag, stuff each flower with about 2 1/2 tsp. of the ricotta filling, twisting blossom closed after filling. Into a wide cast iron pan, pour 2" of oil, and heat to 375 degrees. Roll each blossom in a seasoned mixture of flour and corn meal; then dip into beaten egg mixture, and again briefly into flour mixture. Fry 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

*Ricotta Filling

1/2 lb. of ricotta

1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

salt and pepper

pinch of cayenne

2 TBLS of chopped mixed herbs; basil, marjoram, thyme, and parsley (fresh)

1 egg, lightly beaten

Mix all ingredients except egg; taste for seasoning, add egg, mix again.

Notes: I always think of this as the West Coast version of fried green tomatoes! Also, check out the artwork of David Lance Goines. His work is very distinctive, and collectible!