Holiday Goodies

Well, it's gift giving time and I'm having the usual troubles trying to find my Dad a present. He'll get the usual assortment of lottery tickets, and some small items, but I wanted to give him something special. Mind you, we spoiled him rotten for his birthday- the NC trip, a cooler full of meat & seafood, and tickets to NASCAR, WWE, and B B King- so he's not expecting a lot anyway. Mom & I are jointly getting him a new recliner, so that's his big gift.

Anyway, he was bemoaning the fact that nobody sells good fruitckae anymore. I don't believe that there's such a thing as a good fruitcake, but my father apparently loves the stuff. He's gotten them from Harry & David, Swiss Colony, and several other places over the last few years and nothing meets his standard. Nobody knows/remembers where Gramma used to order the ones she sent him. He liked the old Hostess slices, but they haven't made a comeback this year like Twinkies and the snack cakes. So Mom suggested we- meaning I- should make him one.

Ooooooookaaay.

Do you know how many varieties of fruitcake there are? I had no idea, probably because we didn't cover those when I got my useless baking & pastry degree. I did an online search for recipes and nearly fell off my chair. It makes sense, I suppose. EVERYTHING has variations. Anyway, I eliminated the ones with really weird/exotic ingredients or that required 10+ weeks of marinating in booze. Then I crossed off the ones that called for any liquor other than bourbon or rum. I finally narrowed it down to about 5 recipes- 2 light, 2 dark, and 1 unspecified. (the difference, in case you're wondering, appears to be mostly the type of sweetener used and the variety of fruits. Dark fruitcakes tend to have brown sugar/molasses and more dark fruits like chopped prunes & dates)

After we sent the old coot off to bed last Sunday, I was telling Mom about my search. Turns out Dad likes dark fruitcakes, so that elminated 2 more of my choices. We were debating the merits of the other 3 when Mom bolted up out of her chair and ran to the kitchen. She came back a minute later, grinning from ear to ear, carrying one of her old cookbooks. It's called Platter Parade

and was the Camp Lejeune Oficer's Wives version of a Junior League cookbook. It has a fruitcake recipe that Mom used to make when I was small and was very well liked by the relatives she sent it to. I remember watching one year when I was about 6 and being scandalized that it had RUM in it. (No idea why I thought that was a bad thing)

Anyway, we discovered that it had several fruitcake recipes in it and got discouraged all over again because Mom wasn't sure which one she'd used. And then I dropped the book and the dust cover Mom had made for it fell off...revealing a handwritten index on the inside of the original color with page numbers listed and the notation "YUM!!!"
Sure enough, one of them was the fruitcake! The downside is that it makes a LOT of fruitcakes. 3-4 to be exact.

Then inspiration struck again. Why not make the full batch? I'm going to send one to Aunt Myrtle & Uncle John. One of my coworkers was moaning about trying to find one for her aunt, so she's taking one of them. Dad gets one, and since it keeps well, maybe two.

Next post may be about my adventures in fruitcake baking...

Fifty Shades Of Chicken- FL Fowler

Bwahahaha. Someone finally took the concept of food porn seriously. This is a cookbook parody of the supremely lame 50 Shades series. The recipes look doable, the writing leading up to each recipe is much better than the books it lampoons, and overall this wasn't bad at all.

Jamie Oliver's Great Britain

I've never been a big fan of Mr Oliver's, but I thought I'd give him one more try since this is supposed to be his take on classic British dishes. Bleh. The non-recipe pages are hard to read with their multi-colored print, and the recipes themselves are crammed onto their pages with small print. And the smugness I've always perceived from him just flows. I agree with Gordon Ramsay- "Every time I see him, I just want to hold him down and give him a good wash!"

Reading it was an interesting way to spend a few hours, but I wouldn't want to cook anything from it. (for the record, as much as I like Gordon, I don't want to cook any of his recipes either)

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

I love Ree's website and this book has the same familiar feel. The way she includes step-by-step photographs with the instructions for the recipes makes it very easy to follow along if you're a novice cook. The stories she tells and the gorgeous photgraphs of her family, friends, and scenery around her ranch make you feel like you're there.

The English Rose Resturant Cookbook

From Goodreads:
From basics such as Shepherd's Pie to artfully created recipes like Glazed Carrots and Parsnips, this homey cookbook captures the rich flavors of the British countryside. Recipes from the menu of the popular Bay Area restaurant feature entrees, soups, salads, light lunches, breads and scones, and desserts.



 
 
My opinion:
Well, being something of an avowed Anglophile and loving to eat, I had high hopes for this cookbook. My friends and I are planning an all day bash for Kate & William's wedding next spring and I was hoping to find a useful tidbit or two. No such luck. While I am not such a food snob that I refuse to use ready made foods in recipes, I do find it disheartening to find them in a cookbook of recipes allegedly served in a restaurant. I counted at least 6 in this volume including an apple pie that called for a defrosted 12 oz package of escalloped apples.
 
At least I bought it used for a low price and won't feel bad about giving it away!

Eating Well- on a Budget

I love cookbooks. I especially love cookbooks that promise me good food that I can afford and/or have the time to make. This one, while nicely laid out, did not live up to the expectations I had. The chapters were typical for an all-purpose cookbook, but the copy I had contained pages that I think may have been inserted out of order. if not, then someone fell down on the job doing layout because it was a bit disconcerting to flip through the poultry chapter and find 3 vegetarian recipes in the middle. Or to read the beef section and find a shrimp dish.



Most of the recipes in this volume were somewhat basic and I have other (sometimes better) verisons in my collection already. I did find 3 that were worth adding to my list: Salmon Rosti,Almond Crusted Pork, and a Cream of Turkey & Wild Rice Soup.


Oh, and the misplaced shrimp dish? I can't make it myself, due to food allergies, but I may pass it on to my mother. I think my Dad would enjoy it.

Gordon Ramsay's Family Fare

I love to watch Gordon Ramsay on TV and I could listen to him talk for hours, but I've just never been that fond of his recipes. I appreciate his apparent passion for food, and quality food at that, and his desire to see people use more fresh ingredients in their cooking. (something I have been trying to do better with, myself) However, I just can't see the average American family making some of these meals. There is just no way most children are going to eat Baby Squid in Tomato Sauce with Chard, for example. That's an appetizer.

For that matter, most families that I'm familiar with don't have time or inclination to sit down to meals that include appetizers, main course/sides, and dessert. Those are special occasion type meals and are usually eaten in restaurants...like Hell's Kitchen. (yes, I crack myself up- it's my review, I'm allowed to)

To be fair, both American & British measurements are included for the ingredients. But that's where reality ends with a lot of these recipes. The timelines for prep work are a nice inclusion, but show his lack of knowledge to what resources many of us have...for example, the time line for meal 7, A Classic Sunday Lunch, starts with this :

A FEW DAYS AHEAD...
Order the pigeon (you need 8-12 breasts from large wood pigeons ?!? oh sorry, you can substitute squab for the pigeon if it isn't available where you shop...riiiiight....) from your butcher or poulterer and get him to carve out the breasts. Reserve the rib of beef too.

The timelines for most of the fish dishes contain this advice:

Order the fish from the fish supplier. (get him to fillet it for you) Arrange to collect it on the day if possible, or the day before.

Um, Gordon? We're cooking AT HOME. Most of us don't have a butcher/poulterer/fish supplier. We're lucky if we have anything resembling a fresh meat counter at the grocery since most stores have switched to vacuum sealed pre-packaged meats from THEIR suppliers.

Anyway, I can tell you that while most of the meals didn't appeal to me, the instructions ARE clearly written out and the food pornographers did a wonderful job of photographing some of the dishes. Instead of assuming that everyone knows how to make various stocks or keeps them onhand, Ramsay includes simple directions for how to make & store them. The timelines are concise and helpful, if you overlook the kind of thing I mentioned above. There are also a few bonus tips & tricks listed here and there throughout the book.

Oh, and among the handful of recipes that I intend to try? Gordon's Apple Pudding, Prosciutto Sage & Parmesan Puffs, Gordon's Beef Wellington, and a variation on Salmon En Croute. Most of these looked delicious, have ingredients that I can easily get, and won't keep me in the kitchen for an eternity!