recipes Archives - Page 54 of 60

PawPaw Cream Pie

October 3, 2015July 1, 2023

I made this pie twice this year. Once with very ripe fruit and once with the ripe
but firm and white flesh seen above. I strongly recommend the latter.

If you are lucky enough to find some farmed paw-paws then this pie will be a crowd-pleaser. Otherwise there is an admittedly disappointing (bitter) aspect to this recipe. This pie is delicious but you may pay the price when you get that bite with the lingering bitterness. (Note: some people aren’t as sensitive to this bitter taste. For me it is quite strong!)

At the 2015 Ohio Paw Paw festival I inquired to the growers association
representative as to why the paw paw pie I’d first made a few years ago had
these bitter spots. I had a few theories – the pulp close to the skin, the
heat from the custard, the stage of ripeness. She informed me, as had Andrew Moore in his OLP interview, that this is just the gamble we take with wild fruits.

This recipe is adapted from my favorite banana cream pie formula – the custard is lightly flavored with alcohol such as vanilla extract or bourbon, the fruit is laid under the custard and its strong flavor permeates the custard above.

I used Cherry Bounce for flavoring and the result was subtle but tasty.

This recipe marks the end of paw paw season on Old Line Plate. I will be tossing the seeds into the woods at Wyman Park so that one year some day maybe I won’t have to leave the city when I want to make this pie.

Recipe:

Vanilla Wafer Crust

1.75 cups crushed vanilla wafers

scant ½ cup of sugar

½ cup melted butter

Combine all ingredients and press into bottom and sides of a large pie dish. Bake at 375° for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Pie filling:

pulp from 1 or two large just ripe paw paw fruits
1/3 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
3 cups milk, scalded
3 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tsp flavoring eg vanilla, rum, brandy
2 tb sugar
baked pastry shell
optional: 1 packet gelatin

Combine cornstarch, 2/3 cup of sugar and salt in a double boiler or suitable pot, mix well. If you want to serve this as a stiff chilled pie later, you can add some gelatin at this point.Otherwise, the pie has a pudding-like texture. Gradually add milk over medium heat, stirring or gently whisking constantly, just until thickened.

(When I want to add additional flavoring I put it in while the custard is cooking and add a small remaining amount later)

Beat egg yolks in a bowl, whisk in about ¼ of hot custard mixture and then add back to custard in double boiler. Cook until thickened and bubbly.

Remove from heat, stir in butter and flavoring.

Spread paw paw pulp over pie crust and cover with custard.

Beat egg whites (at room temperature) until soft peaks form, gradually add sugar until meringue is stiffened – spread over custard, sealing to edges of pan. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned. Serve pie warm or chilled.

Tomato Catsup

September 23, 2015January 13, 2019

What does one do if they have too many tomatoes and no plans for an afternoon? Must be time to make a condiment.

Catsup, Ketchup… most people think tomatoes when they think of ketchup. In truth, the Tomato is a newcomer to the ketchup game, with previous recipes involving anything from walnuts to mushrooms to cucumbers.

I had hoped to make one of those sooner or later but the tomatoes became a pressing need before I got the chance.

With the assistance of a preserving-experienced friend, we worked from various recipes – primarily Mrs. B.C. Howard’s. Since I’ve already written all about her, we’ll have to focus on the ketchup for a bit.

The original aforementioned catsups derive from Chinese fish sauce variants dating to the early 1700s. Mushroom catsup in particular is called for in many of my old recipes as part of meat flavoring or as a component in sauces. Apparently tomato catsup hit the scene about a century after those sauces.

By the time of the 1881 publication of this recipe, tomato catsup had even been available in bottled form for over forty years. However, it seemed to experience a surge in popularity in the early 1900s – so much so that public health concerns were raised.

Books about ketchup report a number of companies bottling the condiment in Maryland. One brand, Fort Cumberland Catsup bottled in Cumberland, Maryland raised the ire of the FDA in 1914 for peddling “a filthy, putrid, and decomposed vegetable substance to wit decomposed catsup.” The catsup was destroyed by the US Marshall.

Over time the ketchup market has come to be dominated by consistency, ushered along by fears of benzoate and the new era of food purity.

A 2004 article for the New Yorker by Malcolm Gladwell explores the aftermath of this consistency. Even today as “artisinal” versions of foods from Triscuits to mustard have become ubiquitous in our kitchens, ketchup remains on the fringe of the zeitgeist.

Our ketchup-making neither affirmed nor refuted the supremacy of the thick, sweet ketchup made by Heinz and their imitators. What we made was a 19th century seasoned, somewhat thinner product with a LOT of vinegar-y zip. I think I would have preferred cider vinegar instead of white, but the vinegar bite is not a weakness. This ketchup will combine nicely with some fruit for a bar-b-que sauce, and makes a good alternative for hot dog lovers who are not too fond of ketchup. After letting it mellow for a week or two we tested it on hot dogs and it was described as a “mustard-like ketchup.”

Mrs. Howard calls for tomato ‘catsup’ in “Bouilli,” “Beef-Steak with Tomato Catsup,” “Brown Sauce” and “Liver” so this may not be the last you see of this ketchup.

Recipe:

1 peck tomatoes
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons salt
1 pint vinegar
½ tablespoon cloves
½ tablespoon allspice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 bunch thyme & parsley
2 garlic cloves

Take
a peck of tomatoes and squeeze through a thin piece of muslin so that no
seeds get through. Add a dessert spoonful of cayenne pepper, two
table spoonfuls of salt, one pint of vinegar, half a tablespoonful of
cloves and allspice mixed, two sticks of cinnamon about three inches in
length a bundle of thyme and parsley tied together and two cloves of
garlic chopped as fine as possible. Simmer for four hours, steadily and slowly.
After filling the bottles with catsup, put two inches deep of sweet oil
in each bottle. Rosin the bottles the more effectually to exclude the
air. [Modern cooks follow canning procedures]

Recipe from Fifty Years in a Maryland Kitchen By Mrs. B. C. Howard

Blanching tomatoes for easy peeling

I love canning outside and enjoying the weather

Steaming Crabs

September 18, 2015January 13, 2019

Crab season is finally in full swing for those of us who cling to the ‘late-summer through Thanksgiving is crab season’ principle. In my opinion, September is a great time to enjoy crabs because the weather is usually amazing, the last of the corn and watermelon are demanding to be eaten, and the frenzy of summer fun times is finally over.

This is the time when you can really kick back and appreciate the crab.

Warning: this post is FULL of my opinions.

First off, let me address southern naysayers who declare that steamed crabs have no flavor. Well, the flavor of a crab comes from the crab, not from all the spice. If I want to enjoy a bunch of spices (and I often do) I will get some cheap shrimp, rice, etc. When I shell out (ha) for crabs I want to taste the succulent crab meat.

Furthermore, I do not like to dip crab in butter for this same reason. Or vinegar! God, I’m getting worked up now… steamed even.

Not many people steam their own crabs anymore. You can get great crabs all steamed up for you at no extra cost, saving the kitchen space demanded by a gigantic pot, keeping your fingers intact, and avoiding the horrors of killing a live animal before your eyes.

Aside from the experience and the excitement of your meal possibly giving you the attack you rightly deserve, the main difference in home-steamed crabs is going to be the seasonings.

I’m not as Old Bay-crazed as advertising directed at me seems to believe – I like J.O., Obrycki’s, all the other crab seasonings… J.O. is the one used by crab houses for the most part. So it is interesting to actually steam some crabs with Old Bay and taste the difference.

Beer versus vinegar: I don’t want to impart any sour taste so I stick with *flat* beer. Vinegar is more popular in places with a history of temperance such as Smith Island.

Live crabs: Don’t submerge them in water but do keep them cool and wet. A wet cardboard box works well. They are prone to escape so watch out, keep the box folded closed. And mind your fingers.

Corn: I like grilled corn but steamed corn is pretty good too, especially when it’s in season and freshly picked.

A
dozen crabs and six ears of corn is a lot for two people but you can scrape
off the extra corn and pick the extra crab meat and put it into your
morning omelet or tomorrow’s soup.

Recipe:

1 dozen live male crabs
1 flat beer
½ cup crab seasoning

Put a can of flat beer and some water in the bottom of a steamer pot, to just below the rack. Put in your live crabs and then season them (that is the part that feels cruel somehow). Turn on the heat and steam for just under a half hour. Crabs will be red and hot.

Old Wye Mill Spoon Bread

September 11, 2015January 13, 2019

Recently, en route to Chincoteague, we made a stop at the “Old Wye Mill” in Wye Mills. We arrived just as this historic mill was winding into production, producing the week’s run of corn meal, grits or flour.

This mill has been “nearly
continuously grinding grain since 1682,″ and nearly a century after that produced flour
that fed George Washington’s army during the
Revolutionary War.

The mill changed hands many times amidst all the turmoil and growth in the region, grinding wheat, rye,
corn, oats, barley and buckwheat. Damage from hurricanes threatened the structure in the 1950s. By this time, the mill’s historical significance was recognized and the mill has since been supported and/or operated by government, community, Chesapeake College, the Maryland Historical Trust, finally passing into the hands of the Friends of Wye Mill who operate it now.

According to the miller, they have supplied corn meal to various nearby restaurants including the historic Robert Morris Inn. Although they also sell wheat flour, buckwheat flour, and grits, the corn meal is the most irresistible to take home. To really enjoy the taste and texture of this milled corn meal, I opted to make a spoon bread as a dinner side.

Wye Grist Mill exterior

The gears of the mill just starting up in the morning

Images from Wye Grist Mill

Recipe:

1 Cup water-ground cornmeal
2 Cups cold water
2 tb butter
1 Teaspoon scant salt
1 Cup half & half
3 eggs

Put corn meal and water over low heat and stir until quite stiff. Melt butter into hot meal then add salt and milk or cream. Beat eggs until very light. When batter is slightly cooled, beat in the eggs. Bake in a well greased baking dish in 350° oven for 45 minutes or until firm.

Recipe adapted from “Maryland’s Way”

*there is no beer in this cornbread. I was on vacation.

Mrs. Kitching’s Clam Chowder

September 3, 2015January 13, 2019

To further emphasize my status as an unqualified Maryland food appreciator, I will confess that of all the seafood offerings at crab houses, I’ve consumed “New England” clam chowder the most in my lifetime.

My love of crab came slowly (and I still haven’t caught the craze for oysters) but I will never turn down a cup of clam chowder.

I finally had the chance to visit Smith Island recently. On a beautiful day we took a ferry ride from Crisfield to the Ewell community. The ferry passed by bird-inhabited marshlands, abandoned fishing shacks, and osprey-crowned channel markers. Finally we pulled in through clusters of boats and crab pots, past a bakery advertising Smith Island’s famed eponymous cake, and disembarked to wander the island and provide a novel feast for isolated mosquitoes.

In many ways, Smith Island feels much like an Eastern Shore fishing
community in the summer. Waving at passing cars (or golf-carts as the case may be) is mandatory.
The air is infused with the soothing yet faintly fishy salty marsh
smell, plus heaps of humidity. Island cats either duck under porch steps
or glare back with indifference. Mosquitoes and biting flies descend eagerly.

It is the quietness that gives
indication at the isolation of Smith Island. This is a place that has
been losing population and land for decades, for environmental, economic
and cultural reasons. The tourism industry provides what is surely to some a reluctant alternative to the booming seafood industry that once supported nearly all of the families here.

After a day spent walking around Ewell, visiting the museum there, and viewing a short film about life on Smith Island, we went to the Bayside Inn Restaurant to have a soft crab and of course a slice of cake.

Pomegranates, Smith Island

On our way out, I inquired about where Mrs. Kitching’s Restaurant used to be. As it turns out, the building that housed it had burned down.

Frances E. Kitching closed her famous restaurant in 1987, and passed away in 2003, but her book, “Mrs. Kitching’s Smith Island Cookbook” can still be found everywhere in that region and her legacy and her cooking are very much a part of the tourism industry of Smith Island.

“[Mrs. Kitching] began preparing food in her home for linemen installing electricity in
the 1950s and ended up operating a world-famed boardinghouse where
guests and islanders ate Maryland tidewater cuisine.

Food critics from The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and
The Washington Post, along with writers from travel and food magazines,
beat a path to her table, but Mrs. Kitching remained unfazed by all the
fuss.

There in her old-fashioned dining room, they ate platters of
french-fried jimmy crabs, crab loaf, clam and oyster puffs, pan-browned
wild duck, baked rock fish with potatoes, stewed crab meat and
dumplings, corn fritters, broiled flounder, fried apples, broiled red
drumfish, pickled carrots, oysters and, of course, crispy fried crab
cakes…

Mrs. Kitching spent all but three years of her life on her native Smith
Island, 10 miles off Crisfield in the Chesapeake Bay, where she was born
Frances Evans.

[She] often puffed a cigarette before going to work in her
kitchen and never wore an apron. And she offered simple, straightforward
advice for the novice when sauteing soft crabs: Use a well-seasoned and
oiled cast-iron skillet.” – Baltimore Sun

“The best thing you can do to a crab is let it be,” according to Mrs. Kitching. And that tells me she is a cook after my own heart.

And so I decided to entrust Mrs. Kitching with these clams we picked up at the Chincoteague Farmers Market. I’m a big fan of Chincoteague clams (to hell with the oysters) but these are a little different.

These clams were farmed on Chincoteague. I proceeded with caution, knowing the high salinity of Chincoteage Bay clams. Usually, no additional salt is required when using clams and their liquor. When it’s Chincoteague Bay clams you may need to leave the liquor out altogether (or save it to use sparingly.) I used these clams and their liquor, adding no salt.

We paid a visit to the aquaculture farm. The role of shellfish farms like this is an interesting topic which we’ll have to explore further soon. This is the new food system and therefore a part of Maryland cuisine.

I liked this recipe and its light use of milk as opposed to cream. I did not feel the need to add extra salt. A dash of Maggi might have been nice. I had some greens and some corn so I chopped them up and added them. As a result, the chowder tasted strongly of corn.

“Why bother,” you may ask, “making these authentic recipes and adding random things to them?”

My answer is that there is nothing more authentic than using what you have.

Recipe:

24 clams
2 large onions or shallots
water for boiling potatoes
4 large potatoes
1 quart milk
1 Tablespoon butter
salt (optional)
black pepper

Before using any clams, discard clams that do not close their shells when tapped. Soak the clams in clean water, changing the water a few times, then place them in a plastic bag. Put the bag into the freezer for a few hours. Before use, thaw clams for about 30 minutes. This facilitates opening the clams. When the shells are open, slip a paring knife inside and cut the meat out and discard the shells. Chop up the clams finely reserving the juice. Dice the onions and add them to the clams. Boil the potatoes and mash thoroughly. Add the mashed potatoes to the clams and onions. Heat the quart of milk just short of boiling and add to the clams, onion and potatoes. Simmer in a soup pot and salt to taste. Just before serving add pepper to taste and stir in the butter. Serve piping hot.

Recipe adapted from “Mrs. Kitching’s Smith Island Cookbook”