Friday, October 27, 2017

Reminiscing Recipe Columns


10/11/17 Cook’s Corner
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Betty Kaiser

I became a fan of recipe columns as a young mother of three in the early years of the 1960s. Today, I still find it exciting that in this era of so-called hard news, major newspapers from Baton Rouge to San Diego offer readers a respite that everyone can enjoy—recipes and articles that are all about enjoying food preparation and ways to help them.

Flourless Chocolate Cake
The cookbook, “Dear S.O.S.: Thirty Years of Recipe Requests,” was written by longtime editor Rose Dosti, former award winning food writer and veteran Los Angeles Times reporter. In her retirement, she has written eight or more books but this was the first. I recently opened it again and I am finding it as inspiring as ever. The L.A. Times published it 25 years ago but for this former Angeleno it brings back wonderful memories of great restaurant’s ideas for home cooked food.

Now called “Culinary S.O.S,” the recipe column that debuted in the Times in 1961 had a long history before that in the Daily Mirror. It originally began in the 1930s. Then, the audience was mostly stay-at-home housewives and their cooking choices were limited by the selection in markets. Out-of-season fresh fruits and vegetables were virtually unavailable. This was before frozen foods were readily available and canned goods were pantry staples used in all kinds of cooking. There was even a Fruit Cocktail Cake that is still a popular potluck dessert today.

Along the way, readers began to write in to S.O.S. and request favorite recipes from popular restaurants or ones they had lost or maybe remembered from a by-gone era. There was an entire news staff that gobbled up the recipes and found answers to their questions. One editor was just the tip of the iceberg. The support staff consisted of an entire L.A. Times based test-kitchen of home economists and writers.

Beginning in the 1970s and into the 1990s Rose Dosti was the “Culinary S.O.S.” editor for the Times readership. She would seek out the city’s best restaurants and include them in her columns. Many of those restaurants are now closed—The Brown Derby, Scandia, The Bistro—but they sure left tasty memories and their creations are part of the L.A. culinary history.

Rose’s tenure at The Times saw big societal changes. First there was a health movement that craved granola, nut burgers and Flourless Chocolate Cake. It is still a popular dessert in gluten free diets. Then, a growing ethnic population added more diversity to the mix. Recipes from the Latino, Japanese, Vietnamese and Korean populations were requested and published. Also, more women entered the work force. They were cooking less and needed some insights into current recipes.

Thirty years ago, here in Oregon, I was thrilled to discover The Oregonian newspaper’s Recipe Box. All the years they delivered to Cottage Grove, I clipped many a recipe from their pages. This week I went online and found a Fall Apple and Chicken Salad from 2016. Check it out at: http://recipes.oregonlive.com/. I think you’ll like it.

The L.A. Times continues to put out a weekly food section. Last week it included a whole treatise on “Pie crust 101: Tips and tricks for taking your crust to the next level.” As usual, I picked up a few pointers. I may have been a professional pie maker at Kaiser’s Country Diner but I’m not too old to learn new tricks. Someday I’ll share my foolproof pie crust recipe.

Today’s recipe is for a Flourless Chocolate Cake, described as a dense ‘fallen’ cake made from an aerated chocolate custard. This Martha Stewart microwave recipe is a lighter version of the famous cake from Misto Bakery in Torrance, Calif. The original calls for 8 eggs, 2 pounds of bittersweet chocolate and 1-1/2 cups of butter! Martha says, “Chocolate lovers will adore this dessert. The edges and top develop a delicately crisp crust while the center remains moist and fudgy.”  Enjoy!


FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
 6 large eggs, separating yolks and egg whites
 1/2 cup granulated sugar
 Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees with the rack in the center. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch Springform pan. Set aside.
Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until completely melted. Let cool slightly. Whisk in egg yolks.
 In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add granulated sugar, and continue beating until glossy stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture; then gently fold in remaining egg whites.
Pour batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and is set in the center, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack; remove sides of pan. Serve at room temperature, dusted with confectioners' sugar. Serve with whipped cream, if desired. Serves 8

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 
Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes 
that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.


You can't go wrong with a peach pie


9/13/17 Cook’s Corner
Betty Kaiser

The Willamette Valley grows the most delectable varieties of peaches you’ll find anywhere. Some work best for canning while others are better eaten fresh.  My very favorite eating-out-of-hand peaches are the Suncrests. Their texture, color and flavor are also great for canning. Sadly, they are semi-cling and it can be tough to get them to release their seeds. Veterans are also good for canning but not my favorite to eat unadorned.

Right now, Early Elbertas are on the market. They are a great all around peach. They peel easily with just a few seconds in boiling water. Add a little lemon or Fruit Fresh to cold water and they keep their color when immersed. They taste great sliced on cereal or ice cream; baked in a cobbler or processed in a canner.

My 2017 peach canning quota is tucked away in the cupboard and now I’m having fun trying out new recipes. Sometimes they don’t work out like I expect. Recently, I baked a proclaimed “Incredible Peach Pie.” One of its bragging rights was that it makes its own crust.” Its 11 ingredients included coconut and pecans. And it was good. But I couldn’t taste the peaches. They disappeared into the crust. Bummer.

My conclusion is that you cannot go wrong with an old-fashioned peach cobbler topped with a rolled pie crust. Another favorite is a berry-peach Pie. Our garden currently overflows with blackberries and raspberries, so I combine them with peaches covered with a crumb topping in an open face multi-berry-peach pie. Yummy.

Today’s final recipe is a tried and true, simple fresh peach pie with a gelatin filling. I had completely forgotten about this recipe until my husband’s recent birthday. Chuck loves pie. He was thrilled when a friend brought over that famous fresh peach pie. Topped with whipped cream it is always delicious.

Winter is on the way so I encourage you to bake a peach pie or two in the coming weeks. Enjoy!

COUNTRY PEACH COBBLER RECIPE

FILLING
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup cornstarch
8 cups fresh peaches (sliced)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract
1/4 cup melted butter

Pastry:
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup shortening
4 tablespoons ice water
1/3 cup melted butter for topping
1/4 cup sugar​ for topping

Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Preheat oven to 400° F.

Filling: Combine sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch; toss with peaches. Add the almond or vanilla extract and the 1/4 cup melted butter; set aside.

Pastry: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut shortening into the flour mixture until it is the consistency of cornmeal. Gradually add ice water, stirring, just until the dough holds its shape. Roll out on a floured board and cut into strips.

Pour the peach filling mixture into the prepared baking pan. Criss-cross dough strips over the filling and brush pastry generously with remaining butter. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is brown. Serves 10.

BERRY PEACH COBBLER
Fruit Filling
3/4 cup sugar                                                                            
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
3 medium peaches, peeled, sliced (about 3 cups)
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat oven to 450° F. Grease 2-quart glass casserole with butter.
In 2-1/2  quart saucepan, stir together sugar and 2 tablespoons flour. Stir in berries, lemon peel and juice. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Spoon fruit mixture into baking dish.

Topping:
½ cup flour
½ cup quick oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold butter

In medium bowl combine the dry ingredients with a pastry blender. Mix in the butter with your fingers until the mixture comes together and you have big crumbles.

Sprinkle the crumbles evenly over the fruit. Bake 35-45 min. or until filling bubbles and top is golden brown. Cool at least 14 min. before serving. Top with vanilla ice cream. Serves 6.

FRESH PEACH PIE
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 package (3 ounces) peach gelatin
3 cups sliced peeled ripe peaches
1 pastry shell (9 inches), BAKED
Whipped cream, optional

 

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and water until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbly and thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved. Cool.

Arrange peaches in BAKED crust; pour filling over peaches. Chill for 2 hours or until set. Serve with whipped cream if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 
Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes 
that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.