Hudson Valley

On 8 October 1818 Robert Donaldson made a trip down the Hudson River from Albany to New York City, “Thought it the consummation of earthly bliss to live in one of those palaces on such a noble river under such a government.”

Things have changed some but the Hudson Valley in October is still a delightful place: fall color, beautiful views, magnificent homes (many overlooking the river) and much history. We sampled this with friends this past week from the Vanderbilt Mansion to more humble 17^th century Dutch homes. Washington Irving, the author, lived at Sunnyside, his cozy home overlooking the river. John D. Rockefeller built a beautiful mansion, Kykuit, which seems livable even today. The family commissioned Matisse and Chagall to design stained glass windows for their church, nearby.

The Roosevelt family of Hyde Park gave us a President, Franklin, and his wife, Eleanor, whom Harry Truman called ‘the first lady of the world.’ We learned at her home Val Kill that she could only scramble eggs as far as cooking was concerned. She did have a cook and would tell her that she was having 4 or 6 or so for dinner. Eleanor then went about her day around town, etc. and invited various people she encountered. And 20 would show up for dinner. She lost several cooks this way but the one that lasted the longest took the order for dinner for 6 and then made dinner for the 20 that would probably show up. Mrs. Roosevelt would take orders from her in-house guests for eggs at breakfast: scrambled, over easy, poached? Give the orders to the cook (the one that lasted) and the cook would present a plate of scrambled eggs saying she was glad everyone had ordered their eggs scrambled. The former first lady used common china from the dime store, and made paper plates fashionable. She and President Roosevelt are famous for serving hot dogs to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Val Kill.

We visited West Point and their cemetery where we looked for the grave of the brother of the man who built our house. Col. Duncan McCrae was a Confederate. His brother, Alexander Hamilton McCrae, was a West Point graduate who was killed as a Union soldier at the Battle of Valverde in the Arizona Territory in 1862. He is buried at West Point.

We measured the huge Ginko at the Vanderbilt Mansion, touted to be one of the largest/oldest in the US. It was 11’10” in circumference as compared to ours in Mississippi which measures 16’4.” And on a visit to Rokeby we found another huge Ginko, but only 8’10.” Rokeby, built 1812, is a private home still occupied by descendants of the original owner. It was a real treat---elegance and decadence, due to the reduced finances of the present owners who feel a great deal of obligation to maintain and preserve. We got a special tour as our traveling companions are related to the owners by their son’s recent wedding.

A number of places were decorated for Halloween. One spectacular show of 7,000 carved and lit pumpkins we had to miss. No tickets. They need to be procured way in advance. I especially liked one display called the ‘scarecrow invasion.’ It consisted of scarecrows decorated for the season by school children in the area.

We stayed 3 nights in a B&B in Newburg where the hostess was an excellent cook. My husband especially liked her savory quiche with zucchini sans crust.

We tried to eat at the Culinary Institute of America in one of its three restaurants but were not able to make a reservation at any of them. We did have some good food at several locations. One favorite was in Newburgh, New York---the Old Plank Road Tavern, c. 1800. It had been a tavern, house of ill repute, speak-easy and for several years now a nice restaurant which we enjoyed enough to go back a second night.

We had lunch one day at the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck, America’s oldest continuously operating inn from the 1700’s. We had a nice turkey pot pie with a big cheddar biscuit in the middle rather than a crust. I decided this was a good recipe to do since it will make good use of leftover turkey from the Thanksgiving dinner coming up, or a hearty fall one-pot meal. I used chicken thighs since that was all I had on hand. Thighs have more flavor, anyway. Pot pies are designed for the use of more flavorful fowl. If you have a bird hunter as a friend, you will be ready to go. I roasted the chicken thighs with some olive oil, salt and pepper. You can use a pie crust for a topping. I made some cheddar biscuits for a topping. Either way it will be good!

Turkey or Chicken Pot Pie

Makes 6 servings.

4 tablespoons butter

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 celery rib, trimmed, halved and thinly sliced

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 ½ cups hot chicken broth

4 cups chopped cooked chicken (bite-size)

Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat, add the onion and celery, and cook, stirring often, for 6 to 8 minutes or until limp and lightly browned

Blend in the flour, salt, thyme, and black pepper, then whisking hard, pour in the hot broth. Cook, whisking all the while, for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Set the skillet off the heat, cool for 15 minutes, then fold in the chicken.

Make biscuits of your choice then ladle some of the chicken pie in a bowl and place the biscuit on top.

Serve hot! Delicious.

Jambalaya

There are many theories about the origin of the name jambalaya. The words “jamon” in Spanish and “jambon” in French mean ham. Most jambalayas contain ham. Some say the word comes from American Indian language roots, and means more or less, “sweep the kitchen,” a name suggesting a way of using up whatever ingredients you might have on hand.

Whatever the origins, jambalaya is a distinctly French Louisiana creation. And, though there are two main types: Cajun and Creole (with all their variations), jambalaya is not quite like a rice dish in any other cuisine.

When cool weather comes and tailgating is the thing, one thinks of jambalaya. It serves a lot of people and it is tasty. One can use whatever is available and make it as spicy as you wish.

The October issue of’ Southern Living’ had an article on John Besh. He is the owner of 12 restaurants---10 in or around New Orleans. He has a new cookbook out which is a smaller, more usable book than his others which are like coffee table books. His new cookbook called, 101 Home Cooked New Orleans Recipes, has a recipe for jambalaya. He said his family had been using this version for generations. I had to give it a try and it was delicious. It takes a little over an hour to cook, but makes a lot of jambalaya-enough to last for many meals or for all your friends eating from your tailgate.

 

Taken from October 2015 issue of ‘Southern Living’

 

Creole Seafood Jambalaya

Serves 6-8

½ lb. bacon, diced

1 lb. fresh pork sausage, casings removed

½ lb. andouille sausage, diced

3 Tbsp. lard (I used olive oil)

4 skinned and boned chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

3 celery ribs, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups converted white rice

1 tsp. dried thyme

2 bay leaves

1 ½ Tbsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. ground red pepper

1 Tbsp. celery salt

1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

2 cups basic chicken stock

1 ½ lb. raw white shrimp or other wild American shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 bunch green onions, chopped

Heat a large Dutch oven over high heat until hot, and then reduce to medium. (This will allow the heat to be uniform all over; preventing those little hot spots that ae likely to burn.) Cook bacon, sausages, and lard in the hot pot, stirring slowly with a long wooden spoon, for 10 minutes. Season chicken thighs with kosher salt and black pepper. Add the chicken to pot, and cook, stirring often, 5 minutes or until chicken is brown.

Increase heat to medium-high. Add onion to pot, and cook about 15 minutes or until soft. Add bell pepper, celery, and garlic, and cook 5 minutes. Continue stirring occasionally so everything in the pot cooks evenly.

Add rice, thyme, bay leaves, smoked paprika, red pepper, and celery salt to pot, and cook, stirring often, 3 minutes. Increase heat to high, and add tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover pot, and simmer 15 minutes.

After the rice has simmered for 5 minutes, fold in the shrimp and green onions. Turn off the heat, and let everything continue to cook in the hot covered pot 10 more minutes. Remove the lid, fluff the jambalaya, and serve.

 

Tepary Beans

We went back to Tucson this past summer and paid our annual visit to Native Seeds. I bought some more Tepary beans and talked with the clerk about cooking them. I decided to use a slow cooker and even cooked them 16 hours and these beans still do not disintegrate.

My husband was interested in trying to grow them. Tepary beans, Phaseolus acutifolius, have been grown in the arid Southwest for millennia. They “mature quickly and are tolerant of the low desert heat, drought and alkaline soils.” The cultural instructions suggest planting them “with the summer rains. If the rains are sparse, irrigate when the plants look stressed. Teparies do not tolerate overwatering.”

He decided to plant in July when we start getting less rain which I think might be a problem for early planting here in the rainy spring. He planted Santa Rosa White, an old collection from the Tohono O’odham village of Santa Rosa, Arizona.

They have produced well and we have been picking for the last month. Pods are to be harvested as they dry. The mature pods will pop open and drop seeds if left on the plant. One alternative is to harvest the whole plants when the pods are turning brown and allow them to dry and then thresh and winnow.

In 1912, ethnographer, Caro Lunholtz, found these beans cultivated in the Sonoran desert where the annual rainfall is 3” and temperatures run to 118.° This area was the most arid area in the world where rain fed agriculture is practiced. Tepary beans are the most drought tolerant legume. Germination requires wet soil although the plants will flourish in dry conditions thereafter. Too much water inhibits bean production. In 2015 the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Columbia is testing crossbreeds of teparies and common beans in order to impart the tepary’s drought and heat tolerance which could be especially helpful with climate change.

Teparies have a sweet nutty flavor that’s delicious in traditional Sonoran stews and casseroles. The have more protein than common beans, Phaseolus vulgaris, and contain higher amounts of calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium and cause less gassiness.

I had a pound of tepary beans and cooked them in the slow cooker for 16 hours. All day and night and they still were firm. What can I say? They are tough little beans! I added onions, a carrot, and some water to cover and some bacon (I did not have a ham hock) which would have been better. They were tasty!

I decided to make a soup out of them and put about 2 cups in a food processor and puree them then added some water and spices (such as  pepper, salt, thyme, oregano) then some garlic and pureed all this until the consistency was smooth and creamy.  I served this hot with some bread and it was great.

Next I made some hummus! I pureed about 1 ½ cups of the beans with ½ cup of tahnini and salt and pepper. I added some garlic for taste. It was delicious and the hit of the evening. I served with blue corn chips.

You can find many recipes on line for tepary beans. You can produce them in our climate. It is something different for you to try.

The story goes that early explorers asked the Tohono O’odham people what they were planting. They answered “t’pawi,” (It’s a bean.) They go by other names as well. Seeds for tepary can be found at rareseeds.com, seeds of change.com, or for the biggest collection go to shopnativeseeds.org/collections/tepary-beans and decide which of the 33 different tepary beans you might want to try.

Please note that they are best grown on a support like pole beans.

Po 'Boys

Po ‘Boys have inspired a variety of stories as to their origin. In New Orleans, they first became well known during the street car drivers strike in the late 1920s, when Martin Brothers Restaurant (owned by retired drivers) began giving the hungry strikers sandwiches made of whatever could be easily put in a split loaf of French bread. Some were loaves filled with fried potatoes and beef gravy. There have been many restaurants since then, that have offered a variety of Po ‘Boys as their entire menu. The bakeries in the city make a French loaf that is wide at both ends, just for making Po ‘Boys.

The most popular Po ‘Boys are the roast beef (served dripping with “debris gravy”) and the oyster Po ‘Boy (filled with hot fried oysters), but there are also catfish, shrimp or soft-shell crab Po ‘Boys. Even at the local chains of little convenience stores call “Time Savers,” the clerks make fresh hot Po ‘Boys to order, just like at the New Orleans dime store lunch counters, cafes, and sandwich shops did during most of the 20^th Century.

Tradition has it also that during the 19^th century, oyster Po ‘Boys were known as the “Peacemakers,” since they were often brought home to angry wives as peace offerings by men who had stayed our too late at night in the saloons.

We have tasted many good Po ‘Boys in New Orleans but I thought it was time to do my own at home and see how mine rated. Oyster season is back and I picked up a pint yesterday at Tony’s seafood in Baton Rouge. This is the recipe I used and tonight is oyster Po ‘Boy night!

Oyster Po ‘Boy

Serves 2

16-20 fresh oysters

1 cup flour or corn flour

1 cup dry French bread crumbs

½ cup evaporated milk

2 eggs

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

¼ tsp. cayenne

1 French bread loaf (16”-20”long)

Butter

Oil for frying

Mayonnaise or tartar sauce

Crisp shredded lettuce

Thin tomato slices

Dill pickle chips

Pat the oysters dry with a clean cloth and season them with the pepper and cayenne. Beat the eggs well and blend in the milk and salt. Gently roll each oyster in the flour and then dip it into the egg mixture. Roll it in the bread crumbs, coating it well, then shaking off the excess. Set the oysters on a plate, and when all are ready to cook, put the plate in the refrigerator to chill.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Slice the French bread in half and then horizontally. Pull out much of the bread with a slotted spoon, leaving 4 boat-shaped crusts. Butter the inside lightly and place them on a cookie sheet in the oven to lightly heat.

Heat the frying oil to 375° and put about 6 of the oysters at a time in the oil, turning them to cook evenly. When golden, remove them with a slotted spoon to paper to drain. Do not pierce with a fork.

Spread the four inside surfaces of the hot bread with mayonnaise or the Creole sauce (given below). Po ‘Boys are often ordered “dressed” which means with shredded lettuce, tomato slices and sometimes dill pickles, all arranged on the bottom layer. Then the hot oysters are laid in. Some cooks sprinkle the oysters with Tabasco before closing the sandwich. They are best enjoyed hot, as soon as they are assembled.

Creole Tartar Sauce

Makes 1 cup

1 cup mayonnaise

1 Tbsp. Creole mustard

¼ tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. salt

¼ cup very finely chopped green onion

¼ cup finely chopped parsley

¼ cup finely chopped pickles

Blend the ingredients together evenly and spread on the Po ‘Boy loaves with the fried oysters. The sauce goes well with boiled crabs, shrimp or crawfish---all types of fried seafood.

This Po ‘Boy sandwich was delicious. My husband said it was one of the best he had had, but a bit messy! Not such a big price to pay for good food.

Devon Again

We just returned from our 8^th Devon Conference; this time in Anderson SC. It was on the family farm of a doctor who had gotten into grass-fed beef and Devon cattle because of health issues.

 One grass farmer writing in ‘The Stockman Grass Farmer’ noted their journey with their customers in the grass-fed beef business.  They noted that “in about 2001 studies came out about the health benefits of grass-finished beef including containing more omega-3 fatty acids and more conjugated linoleic acid, a type of fat found to reduce heart disease and cancer risks.” They further noted how consumers’ concerns change over time. “The biggest concerns used to be that it was organic, free of antibiotics and hormones. Now the main concern that gets expressed to us is livestock handling, and how the animals are killed.” Stressless slaughter is important in getting the best beef, not just for feeling good.

At the recent conference we had Susan Duckett of Clemson University give her results in testing grass vs grain finished beef. She noted tenderness to be the same with comparable animals using the Warner Brazler shear force as a measure of tenderness. In conducting taste testing, she notes that Americans have been raised on grain finished beef and find the grass-finished beef to taste of more beef flavor or an off flavor. South Americans (where she also works) say the opposite. She also did some comparisons of forage that the steers were finished on, finding that finishing on alfalfa was a preferred forage. Beef may be like wine; terroir and what is growing there is important.

Dr. Duckett also noted that antioxidents were 280% higher in the grass-fed; beta carotene, Vitamin A, was 54% higher; B vitamins, riboflavin, 104% higher, thiamin, 194% higher. The cancer fighting compound, CLA, conjugated linoleic acid, was 49% less in grain-fed and the precursor, TVA, was 11 fold reduced in grain-fed. There is a 2.7 fold increase in Omega-3 and the ratio of Omega-3/Omega-6 is 1.6 in grass vs 5.4 in grain. The Lyon Heart Study showed a 76% decrease in mortality over two years with a ratio of <4:1.

She had a table showing the ratios of Omega-6:Omega-3 in various foods. Wild caught salmon was the best, followed by greens, farmed salmon, grass-fed lamb, grass-fed beef.  But even grain-fed beef out performed chicken and pork but the chicken and pork in the study was not pastured but factory farmed and fed a lot of grain.

Why Devon? Everyone knows Angus. Their breeders have done a good job of ‘branding.’ Red Devon USA is out not only to save a heritage breed that we have come close to losing in America, but to convince you that this is the breed for ‘gourmet beef on grass.’

Devon is one of the oldest cattle breeds in existence. Records of the Red Devon cattle in the county of Devon, England date as early as 23 B.C. Devons made their way to America with the Pilgrims in 1623. Their hardy foraging ability, their rich milk providing for the sustenance of both calf and family, and their docility and strength adapting them for use as oxen made the breed quite useful and it remained so until after WWII and the grain-finishing feedlot. Today interest in a healthy beef product, producers are looking for the right animals to use in grass-finishing. It is their carcass value, fertility, maternal ability, longevity, genetic purity, disposition, hide value, and adaptability that is attracting the grass farmer.  As the consumer you want a good eating experience. A recent study by Dr. Robert Harrell, a Dothan cardiologist with the help of his son, Alex, a New Orleans chef, was conducted in the Florida panhandle. They compared 4 breeds that had been grass finished together. The South Poll scored highest with 537, but the Devon was a close second with 535; Wagyu/Angus scored 503 and Black Angus 438. One British writer noted recently, “Red Ruby Devon beef is recognized in the UK as being amongst the finest beef that you can buy. The brand is recognized by consumers and many of our country’s leading Michelin chefs in some of the very best London restaurants.” And the British know their beef!

Even the fast food chains are getting in the business. Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. are offering a grass-fed burger. Those who have tasted the burger do not think it tastes any better than the other. But with it you get a choice. I am going to give it a try.

This recipe made with grass-fed beef is tasty and worth doing. It is from the October issue of ‘Southern Living’ and it makes use of the slow cooker (which I like in cooler weather) and this is a wonderful Bolognese, which is easy.

 Slow-Cooker Bolognese Sauce over Pasta

Makes 6-8 servings

1 medium-size yellow onion, finely chopped

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

2 lb. grass-fed beef

1 Tbsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

½ tsp. ground black pepper

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 bay leaf

½ cup red wine

2 (28-oz.) cans whole peeled tomatoes

2/3 cups heavy cream

1 lb. pappardelle pasta or wide fettuccine

Freshly shaved or grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Sauté first 3 ingredients in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 8 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and tomato paste; stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Transfer to a 6-qt. slow cooker.

Add beef to skillet, and cook, stirring often, 7 minutes or until crumbled and no longer pink; drain. Stir in kosher salt and next 5 ingredients. Stir in wine, and cook, stirring occasionally, 7 minutes or until almost all liquid evaporates. Add to slow cooker, and stir to combine.

Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid. Using your hands, crush tomatoes, and break them apart. Add to slow cooker; stir to combine.

Cover and cook on LOW 6 hours. Stir in cream. Check sauce; it should be thick and creamy. (If soupy, uncover and cook 30 more minutes. If dry, stir in reserved canned tomato liquid, 1 Tbsp. at a time, to thin sauce.) Discard bay leaf.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well. Toss together pasta and 4 cups sauce. (Reserve remaining sauce for another use.) Spoon into serving dishes, and sprinkle with desired amount of cheese. Serve immediately.

Fried Rice

Who doesn’t like fried rice? I love it even when it is not so great from the take-out Chinese restaurants. I cooked fried rice a lot when my children were young. It was a great way to use leftover rice and other ingredients in the refrigerator.

 Basically the definition of fried rice is a dish of steamed rice stir-fried in a wok, often mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, and meat. It is often served as the penultimate dish in Chinese banquets, just before dessert. It is said to have existed since 4000 BC and always an element of traditional Chinese cuisine; it was spread to Southeast Asia by nomads.

Every country seems to have its own version of fried rice. Even in China fried rice varies from region to region. In the Fujian region of China, the sauce for fried rice is thick, including mushrooms, meats, and vegetables. In the Khmer region the rice includes fried sausages, garlic, soy sauce, and herbs and eaten with pork. The Yangzhou fried rice is the most popular fried rice in China and is served with shrimp, scrambled eggs, along with barbecued pork. It is called “special fried rice” or “house fried rice”.

American fried rice is actually a Thai invention using hot dogs, fried chicken and eggs used as side dishes or mixed into the rice with ketchup. Apparently, this was served to GI’s during the Vietnam War, and now has become popular and commonplace throughout Thailand.

I got interested in the fried rice history when I read an article in the September “Bon Appetit” magazine. The editor-in-chief of the magazine, Adam Rapoport, lives in New York and orders a lot of Chinese delivery and fried rice is always in the mix. He tried to duplicate it at home but always found he used too much soy sauce or not enough, and it was usually more clumpy than crispy. So he called his friend, Danny Bowien, who has soared to success with his classics at his Mission Chinese Food restaurant in San Francisco and New York and asked him how to make really good fried rice.

I decided to try this fried rice even though it was made with some kettle-cooked potato chips and some beef jerky, but I found it was delicious. You can use any type of beef jerky, or use leftover short ribs or spareribs or leave out the meat.

Here are some things you should know before trying the recipe:

You do not need soy sauce. Season your rice with salt and a dash of sugar. (Fried rice is slightly sweet; you’ve just never noticed).

Warm, freshly made jasmine rice is your best bet. It is better than the leftover take-out stuff.

Don’t skimp on the oil.

Finish with chicken broth to deglaze the pan.

From September 2015 issue of “Bon Appetit” Magazine.

Beef Jerky Fried Rice

Serves 4

3 Tbsp. grapeseed oil (can be found at Walmart)

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 beaten large eggs

3 cups cooked jasmine rice

1 tsp. raw sugar

½ cup chopped white onion

½ cup crushed kettle-cooked potato chips

½ cup sliced beef jerky (I used Applewood smoked and it was great)

½ cup sliced scallions

Salt to taste

2 Tbsp. low-sodium chicken broth

Toppings: sliced red onions, torn cilantro and more potato chips

Heat the grapeseed oil in a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over high heat. Cook the mushrooms, cooking until just brown, about 1 minute. Pour in two beaten eggs and stir vigorously for 10 seconds; add the cooked jasmine rice. Pat down the rice and spread it out in an even layer, breaking up clumps, then vigorously toss everything together. Continue the process until grains dry out and separate, about 3 minutes.

Add the sugar, and then the onion, potato chips, and beef jerky. Then add the sliced scallions and add salt to taste. Cook, tossing, until onion is slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Pour the chicken broth around the edges of the skillet; cook, tossing rice, until broth evaporates. Served topped with the onions, cilantro, and potato chips.

Try this! It was delicious.