Rye Cooks

Pop on Over

This is the first day of summer, for this family here in Rye, NY.   Solstice was a couple of days ago, with that gorgeous moon, but this is the first morning without review sessions, final exams, musical performances, or class parties.

I am making popovers for breakfast to celebrate.  Well, my two teenagers are sound asleep, and will not wake up until long after the air deflates and the warmth is gone, but my youngest and her sleepover friend will happily enjoy with butter and probably some raspberry jam.

The recipe was photocopied out  an older cookbook, I am not sure the name, but on the very same page (596-597 fitting together on one standard size copy paper) are recipes for Milk Toast, Croutons, Yorkshire Pudding and Corn Bread, under the heading of Quick Breads.  No photos.

This is not sexy Giada cooking, but it is worth knowing.  Although I have never felt the need for milk toast, my husband is a happy man upon hearing the two words "Yorkshire Pudding", a food item about which I was always unclear, thinking forever that it was a thick dessert-y concoction.  Now that I know it is a bread-y item, cooked in pan dripping of roasted meat, I wonder how I missed this yummy (distinguished, of course, from healthy), side dish for so long.

Popovers:

"Forget what you've read elsewhere.  The secret to making good popovers is to start them in a cold oven"

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 Tablespoon melted butter

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly, without overbeating.  Half-fill buttered muffin tins (or custard cups...) Put them in a cold over and set the heat for 450 degrees.  Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 12-15 minutes.  Test one to be sure it is done by removing it from the pan.  It should be crisp outside and moist and tender inside.

Crunch Time

Yeesss!  We finally finished the third show and we are on air on the public access channel in Rye.  But you can only see us on the big screen if you live in town, so use the link below if you want to take a peek.

 http://ryeny.swagit.com/play/03162011-157/0/  

The theme was around getting ready for a big night out, the Rye TV awards ceremony was held that night.  We had a bit of primping to do, and of course, dinner still had to get on the table.   

I promised to post the recipes we used on the episode so here they are:

Quick and Easy Waffles...........by Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything

Canola oil for brushing on waffle iron (I use Pam)

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, but I put it in)

Brush the waffle iron with oil, or use Pam and preheat it. Combine the dry ingredients.  Mix together the milk and eggs. Stir in the butter and the vanilla.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry.

Spread a ladleful or so of batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3-5 minutes.  Serve immediately or keep warm for a few minutes in a low oven.

 

Then we made pot pie, as it was easy to make early in the day, for re-heating later. This recipe came from the back of the box of Pillsbury pie crust.  I will post that next time, because even I can see this is long enough for now.  More importantly, click on the link and tell us what you think!

 

 

Waffling

With renewed energy, we have been working hard to bring you the third episode of Rye Cooks, on Rye's public access channel (that's either 76 on cable or 33 if you have Verizon). You'll also be able to watch on your computer, I'll provide the link and hopefully you will be able to just click on that tv icon on the right hand corner.

When we first realized that we have been at this for a year, we were a bit disconcerted.  Did we think we would have had 12 shows in 12 months? We had so very many ideas and tons of forward momentum.  It would seem that (almost) 3 shows does not really meet our goals.  But there was so much more to this than we could have imagined.

Our skill set has grown exponentially in the past year.  Suzy learned all kinds of technical applications, and I have learned that being engaging is more important than getting all your ingredients right the first time.

Luckily, being human and imperfect is what is I am good at. There are so many other blogs and tv shows that will tell you how to get everything just right. On professional television, they do lots of takes, they have staff to clean up spills, and they have big teleprompters that the hosts read from.  I know, because I went to see both Rachael Ray and Martha Stewart during the past year.  

They also have people who run out with little brushes to fix skin imperfections that have cropped up during the breaks(Martha), and when something doesn't work, they do it again, keeping the studio audience clapping just like we never saw the bit just a minute ago (that's more Rachael). Being part of those studio audiences would have been fun for me anyway, but checking out how they get it done it made it much more interesting.

We have interviewed lots of people around Rye, even if we haven't used any of that information on the show, it has been valuable.  We've talked with the man in charge of the food service in all the Rye City Schools. We spent time with the woman in charge of education at the Rye Historical society and had a fascinating conversation about cooking over an open hearth. For a crowd. We've met fabulous people at RyeTV and the Rye Middle school, took part in an awards ceremony and earned our very own Margie, and yes, there were other entries.

The title of this post does not refer to any lack of dedication to giving you an entertaining look at food and people of Rye, it refers to the fact that we made waffles a while back for a cooking segment to be used in our upcoming show, the audio was poor, so we did it all over again. This time it worked out really well and hopefully you will see it soon on Episode 3!

 

 

The Baking Throw Down

Another snow day.  Well, the tease of merely a "delay" for the elementary school so that a broken pipe could be fixed, and then an early dismissal for the rest of the school district.

After the pick up, a few kids assembled at our house, which happens kind of rarely.  We don't have a finished basement, attic space or any sort of "playroom" that affords privacy. When the kids were young, I equated heading down into one of those basement rooms to watch the kids play as a form of parent purgatory.  Now, the thought of that degree of privacy just seems wrong. "Heyyy, I just thought I'd throw in some whites, anything I can get you guys?"

What we do have is ingredients.  And a double oven.  So, the kids split up into teams, one made a Sour Cream Coffee Cake, from Bon Appetit, the opposing team made Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies.  I voted for the coffee cake, even though they were both delicious.  

I love this coffee cake.  It makes a big enough recipe (baked in a 13 X 9 pan) to feed a crowd.  It is perfect when we are invited to someone's house for brunch or for a ski weekend.  

I just checked my recipe so I could quote you the right magazine, and I can't believe it is from 1987.  I tore out a page from a magazine more than 23 years ago.  Was I really thinking about coffee cake way back in my senior year of college?  

Generally, I feel about 28 years old so stuff like this comes as a bit of a shock.  Well, it is nice to have a teenage daughter whose friends come over to bake.  They even did a stand up job of cleaning up today.

Jelly Donuts

In past years, we would pick up the kids on the last day of school and head out to the Atlantic Terrace in Montauk, NY.  Otherwise known as The End.  Montauk is the laid back, shoes not always required, part of the east end of Long Island. I did recently read in the Times that even Montauk is becoming an address to have. Hard to believe, but I digress.

My focus here is the Montauk Bake Shoppe.  Inexplicable, that extra pe.  Anyway, the most amazing jelly croissants are sold here.  Or really, jelly twists, with some of the extra crispy sugar getting caught in the twist.  The jelly is a lurid pinkish red.  It is almost unappetizing in its brightness.  However, one bite and you can lose your mind in the sensational taste.

A good friend is currently out in Montauk and (hilariously), called me for DIRECTIONS to the Montauk Bake Shoppe.  I did my best (it's a little past that bookstore, not yet at the really big surf shop) and I truly hope we did not lose cell phone contact when I answered YES, I would love you to bring some home for me.  YES!  I will pick up your newspapers, water your plants, etc, just bring me back some of those psychedelic jelly twists!!

So, Eat a little something

 

This past weekend was a big event for my sister's family.  She, her husband and two boys live in Maryland, and the rest of us are here in the northeast. 

We drove down on Friday and participated in what we called the "Chicken Dinner" at her synagogue. The chicken was really tasty, and more importantly, it was a simple way for all of the people who traveled to be together and share a meal.

Early the next day, we watched and listened as my nephew delivered a near-professional Torah reading, done so melodiously, that although many in the audience would not have recognized a mistake, we all knew it was spot on.

Then on to the big party, big cake, dancing and party gifts for all.  Afterward, their house for more food and talk.  Leaving that get together, it was almost funny to hear people were asking "Will I see you at the brunch tomorrow?"  Many of us had eaten more in the last 24 hours than should be legally allowed. 

But the after- party and the brunch were just excuses to sneak in more socializing; the mix of relatives and long time friends just wanted a few more laughs together. Sometimes the food is the star, and sometimes it is just a conduit.

Croissants and French Toast, Patisserie Salzburg

Croissants from Patisserie Salzburg on Purchase Street.  ©Suzy Allman

Mother's Day morning, waiting for the teens to get up and start cooking.  But I'm thinking about breakfast yesterday (see pictures).

Saturday morning.  Patisserie Salzburg is open, and I have a pile of rhubarb at home, because it's hard to pass it up when it's sold in town.  My father always grew a big patch of it in his upstate New York garden, and we had strawberry rhubarb compote starting in early summer.

Here's a fantastic, easy weekend breakfast, for Mother's Day or any other reason:

1. Get your warm croissants at Patisserie Salzburg.  Grab a Viennese coffee, just because;
2. Get your strawberries and rhubarb stalks (five of them) at June and Ho, or anywhere else;
3. Cut the croissants in half down the spine and split them.
4. Dip them into a mixture of four eggs, a good shake of cinnamon and a little vanilla;
5. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a pan and fry the dipped croissants on each side until they're puffy and golden.
6. Serve with strawberry-rhubarb compote (below), whipped cream or plain yoghurt, or fresh sliced-strawberries.

The rhubarb stalks at J&H are huge.  For the compote, cube the stalks and throw them in a saucepan with a pint of chopped-up strawberries, 3/4 cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of any citrus juice you have around (orange juice, lime aid, lemonade).  Boil and simmer this until you have a nice hot compote to pour on your french toast.

Stirring strawberry-rhubarb compote; croissant french toast with strawberry-rhubarb and cream.  ©Suzy Allman