Feb
1
2010
from The Belle Grove Plantation Cookbook
Serves 8
- 2 strips lemon peel, each 4 inches long
- 1 1/8 teaspoons salt
- 2 lbs. broccoli
- 1 lb. rigatoni or rotini
- 1 lb. fresh mushrooms
- 4T olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 6 medium tomatoes
- 2 bunches green onions, trimmed
For basil dressing
- 1 C lightly packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 to 3 small cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ¼ C grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons pine nuts
- ½ C lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Fill a large kettle or Dutch oven with water to 2/3 capacity, bring to a boil, and add lemon peel and 1 teaspoon salt. Meanwhile, separate broccoli florets from stalks and break into bite-size pieces. Peel stalks, cut into 2-inch lengths, and cut each length into ¼ inch thick julienne strips. Drop prepared broccoli into boiling water and cook until tender but still crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a colander and run under cold water. Add rigatoni to boiling water and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain in a colander, run under cold water and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Wipe mushrooms with damp paper towels, trim stems, and cut in half. In a heavy skillet over high heat, saute in 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 to 3 minutes. Season with 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Core tomatoes and cut into 8 wedges each. Slice green onions into short lengths, using both green and white parts.
Make a basil dressing: Combine basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, ½ cup olive oil, lemon juice and ½ teaspoon salt in container of blender or food processor. Whirl until blended but still coarse in texture. Salad may be made ahead to this point and refrigerated separately, tightly covered, until an hour or less before serving.
Gently toss rigatoni, lemon peel, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, green onions and basil dressing in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 30 minutes. Remove lemon peel, season with more salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.
Jan
28
2010
My first book and its about that other passion of mine - sports car and formula racing.
Portraits of Legendary Motorsports Heroes at Watkins Glen, by Fred Hoyle. Available online at lulu.com
My passions include food, the Finger Lakes, and sports car racing. A post from July 2009 brought them all together in one experience when my wife and I packed a great picnic and enjoyed it during the Glen Nationals at Watkins Glen International. Since then I put the wraps on an 18-month project of collecting, editing, and restoring images created by my friend Kathie Meredeth, a retired editor from Messenger-Post Media, who early in her career reported on and photographed the racing scene at “The Glen.”
Portraits of Legendary Motorsports Heroes at Watkins Glen is a 28-page collection of photographs of, and commentary on, some of the world’s greatest race car drivers who raced at The Glen, primarily from 1968-69: Mario, Jackie Stewart, Bruce McLaren, Dan Gurney, Jacky Ickx, Graham Hill, and more. A friend of mine thought how ironic that the photographer becomes writer and the writer photographer… how true, but a good team none-the-less.
This was a labor of love, a project meant to be simply a gift for someone who enjoys The Glen more than I. But through the opportunities provided by social media combined with the latest technology in digital printing I’ve become a self-made author, publisher, and book retailer all in one courtesy of Lulu.com.
If you have a similar passion for historic racing, or know someone who might, then buy it! 
Jan
2
2010
'Julie & Julia' starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams
Last night I watched “Julie & Julia” the story of Julie Powell aspiring to be a writer who, along with inspiration from her husband, designed and executed a year-long challenge to cook all 524 recipes from Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Julie’s blog about her daily cooking exploits launched her from obscurity in the blogisphere to stardom. For as long as I can remember I’ve been a fan of Child – for her humor, wit, culinary skill, and most importantly demystifying the French palette for America.
“Julie & Julia,” thanks to the great performance by Meryl Streep, breathed new life in Child’s legacy. Just visit your local bookstore and you’ll find new printings of Child cookbooks including “Mastering” but with new merchandising that leverages the movie’s success to sell the books. This is a good thing if for one reason alone: a new generation is learning to cook great meals from scratch, for some, like they never have done before. And with a little luck they’ll reap the true blessings of these great meals… the fellowship of friends and loved ones.
Child taught great technique and shared invaluable insights in all of her books. French cooking is as difficult or as simple as you want it to be. I like keeping it simple; one of my favorite dishes Potatoes Anna relies more on attention to detail and use of a few quality ingredients than complexity or marathon cooking times. Regardless of how much butter Child instructed to use, her recipes are healthy eating (in moderation) when compared to our contemporary food-stuffs of processed and packaged meals. “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” is an enormous volume of work that may intimidate new comers to French cuisine. Later cookbooks by Child make her knowledge more approachable:
- “The Way to Cook”
- “Julia & Jacques Cooking At Home”
- “Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime of Cooking”
And the movie? I liked it but not because I cared about Julie, her story really didn’t interest me, but for the magnificent performances by Streep and Stanley Tucci who portrayed Julia’s husband, Paul. Their life together is epic unto itself for their trials and tribulations, love for each other, and their lifetime of journey of discovery. If you feel the same then I suggest picking up a copy of “My Life In France” by Alex Prud’Homme, a memoir of Julia and Paul beginning with their move to Paris shortly after World War II.
Bon appétit!
Dec
24
2009
Some news from A Food Experience.net - I am now writing for Examiner.com as the Finger Lakes Food Examiner. I’ll still be blogging here for sure, but I’ll also be writing new content and re-purposing AFE.net content for Examiner.com. Some of the topics between the two sites will be similar, in fact some may be the same. But articles that are more first-person, longer in length, or a little more creative will only be available at AFE.net. Examiner.com content will be short, tight, and most important, informative.
Dec
24
2009
In a pinch for a host/hostess gift, a dish to pass, or a simple gift during the holidays? Try this easy recipe for mini pumpkin cranberry bread. I was able to crank out 15 of these in short order the other evening. The only suggestion I would add is make sure when filling the pans you leave at least an inch at the top, otherwise the batter will bubble over the edge while baking. Visit BedandBreakfast.com for the recipe or follow along below:
Mini Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
Total preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves: 20
- 3 cups flour
- 1 3/4 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 15 oz Libby’s Solid Pumpkin
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
Combine flour, spices, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and juice in small bowl until blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and stir until just moistened. Fold in cranberries. Sp0on batter into 5 greased and floured 5×3 small loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes - remove to wire rack to cool.
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