thecookbook | Recent Entries

Miso Master, an American manufacturer of artisanal miso, have been in the habit of printing recipes on their inner labels; this one encircles a recipe for quick miso soup with illustrations of the manufacturing process:

At one point, though, someone at Miso Master decided to devote the inner label of Country Barley Miso to dissing the competition:

“Quick Miso”
BAG OF TRICKS

For Making Inferior Quick Miso:

1. USE ACCELERANTS like yeast and alcohol
2. HEAT MISO DURING AGING for faster maturing
3. “ALMOST PASTEURIZE” MISO so it can claim to be unpasteurized when it actually isn’t

“Quick” miso is not uncommon and, predictably, is a modern innovation. This commercially produced miso uses every trick in the book to quicken maturing, making two or three runs of inferior product to one run of naturally aged, superior miso such as Miso Master.

full_metal_ox

From The Irish Emigrant, 25 February 2000.

In which Cormac MacConnell rhapsodizes about The Feed of Bacon and Cabbage with the sort of rapturous passion a romance novelist lavishes upon the love interest.

( More. )

Source: https://archive.ph/gY3X6; https://web.archive.org/web/20021225010144/http://old.emigrant.ie/cormac/1feb25.htm (it may be necessary to scroll down.)

full_metal_ox

(Image description: a mid-century magazine illustration of a bowl of beef chop suey on rice, with recipe instructions in pastel boxes and visual directions in circles forming Chinese lanterns.)

CHOP SOUPY

Food for chopsticks—Prepare attractive pieces of everyday food, flavor it well, and share the fun of eating it in style.

CONTENTS
1 pound round steak, cut in very thin strips*
2 tablespoons salad oil
1½ cups sliced fresh mushrooms (or 4 ounce can,
1½ cups celery, sliced as shown
1 cup green pepper, sliced diagonally
4½ cup green onion cut in 1-inch pieces
1 can soup (beef broth or onion soup)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1½ cup water
Cooked rice, (follow directions on package since amounts and methods vary; usually 1 cup rice is cooked in 1 or more cups water, for 4 servings.)

In fry pan, brown beef in oil.

Add vegetables, soup, and soy sauce.

Cover: cook over low heat 20 minutes or until meat is tender (stir now and then)

Blend cornstarch and water; stir into sauce.

Cook, stirring until thickened.

Serve with rice, hot tea and fortune cookies for a happy ending.

*4 servings.

CHECK WITH MOM BEFORE YOU USE HER KITCHEN!

Here’s another example of The Cookery Of My People: a mid-century white American interpretation of Cantonese-diasporic cuisine, relying on convenience food (along with the canned broth, the rice might well have been Minute Rice.) I don’t recall whether Mom used this exact recipe, but she periodically made something similar; her version of pepper beef stir-fry used a Lowry’s powdered marinade base that’s long since defunct.

full_metal_ox

Star-Kist ad with recipe text and a small child in pirate garb.

PIRATE'S PIE:

2 6 1/2-oz. cans tuna, chunk style

3 eggs

4-oz. can sliced mushrooms

1 tbsp. chopped parsley

1 medium tomato cut in 1/4 in. slices

4 slices American cheese

1 envelope instant mashed potato mix (or 2 cups mashed potatoes)

"Beat eggs slightly and add to separated chunks of tuna. Add mushrooms, parsley. Place mix in bottom of well-greased 9" pie tin. Top with tomato slices and 3 of cheese slices. Prepare mashed potato mix (using 1/2 cup less liquid than package directions call for.) Spoon potatoes over cheese. Cut remaining cheese slice (diagonally in half) and top mashed potatoes with slices. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until potatoes are lightly browned and cheese melts. Cut into wedges and serve hot. Serves 6 generously."

This is a snapshot of The Cookery Of My People: Mom was an upper-Midwestern Atomic Age bride who worked outside the home, and so a lot of her recipes came off the Campbell Soup wrapper and the Minute Rice package. (That said, I don't recall her having made this specific tuna casserole, which seems to be a streamlined shepherd's pie with tuna swapped for the meat; the pirate theme just happened to pique my interest. Boomer-era Fun Fact: tuna pies, tuna burgers, and tuna salad used to be the catch of the day at Disneyland's Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship--which became Captain Hook's Galley when the sponsor withdrew in 1969: https://www.yesterland.com/pirateship.html)

(Note to the mods: a gluten-free tag might be useful, and this recipe qualifies.)

Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Music: "The Derelict (Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum)" by Abney Park.

underused

It was my partner's birthday this weekend. We usually have a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake), but this year I opted for something weirder: a Prince of Wales Cake.
( Read more... )

Current Mood: majestic

underused

My partner speaks fondly of his paternal grandparents. He conjures visions of a rustic cottage, wild woods, cards on the storm porch, and Blueberry Grunt cooked on a wood-burning stove.
( Read more... )

Current Mood: bubbly

underused

I've been experimenting with homemade pizza. It's an opportunity to be creative or use up what's in the fridge. Combinations are endless and you can find a million ideas online. The leftovers also make for outstanding snacks.
( Read more... )

Current Mood: cheesy

underused

There may be no better time to try a new recipe than when you have a friend nearby and nowhere to go. Yesterday, in the midst of a snowpocalypse, my mother-in-law (who does not listen to weather reports) came for a visit and we decided to try our hand at Tarte Tatin.

This French pastry was named after two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin, who ran a hotel south of Paris in the 1880s. It involves caramelising apples on the stovetop, then covering your pan with pastry before baking it in the oven. Once finished, the whole thing is turned onto a plate to reveal a sticky, golden apple tart.

As we discovered, it was fussy but not hard to make (it's really more time than skill)--and oh boy, was it ever worth the effort.
( Read more... )

Current Mood: magnifique

underused

I hope everyone had a lovely New Year's Eve. We celebrated in our usual style, which involved hanging out at home with Netflix and junk food. Today, I've got a bit of family coming for lunch, and there's what I hope will be a splendid and hearty Beef Bourguignon simmering in the oven.

Do you have any New Year's food traditions? Did you make anything particularly impressive over the holidays?

For my part, I attempted a turkey, which I brined, because Martha Stewart. It looked beautiful, but my brine was too salty by half and it kinda wrecked the bird.

Ah, well. They can't all be winners. ☺

Current Mood: experimental

underused

Right now, there are a lot of people figuring out what to do with holiday leftovers.

( Read more... )( Read more... )( Read more... )

Current Mood: efficient

underused

There are certain recipes in our family collection that are sort of a mystery.
( Read more... )

Current Mood: crisp

underused

We'd just about finished the last big box of sweet potatoes when we were gifted another.
( the search for sweet potato recipes continues... )

Current Mood: waffling

underused

This is, hands down, my favourite biscuit recipe. It uses minimal ingredients with little mess, and the buttery result goes with everything from stew to bacon and eggs.
( Read more... )

Current Mood: carb-y

underused

For those who recognise it, that title is a rip off of Dennis Lee's classic poem Alligator Pie. It's been in my head all day.
( recipe and updates )

underused

Nothing beats homemade soup --and it's always fun finding the balance between creativity and ingredients on hand. This soup was an experiment made with sweet winter vegetables (in season) and lots of fresh herbs. I'll admit, the directions after the cut are less of a recipe and more of a guide, but the combination of flavours turned out too good not to share.
( Read more... )

Current Mood: autumnal

full_metal_ox

(Source: Steven Universe #1, by Kali Ciesemier.)

Cartoon recipe for Steven Universe Bagel Dog.

(Transcript, for those not in a position to read the comic panel:

STEVEN: I can't decide! Do I want a bagel or a hot dog?
...Or both? Together?!

AN EVERYTHING BAGEL DOG!

To combine the power of BAGELS and HOTDOGS you need:

A bun
A dog
Cream cheese
1-2 thinly sliced scallions (careful!)
Garlic powder
Poppy seeds
Dried minced onion
Sesame seeds
Salt

1) HOT THE DOG! (heat according to package directions)
2) Toast the bun & schmear it with cream cheese--let it get MELTY
3) Add a pinch of each topping to taste!
4) ENJOY your decision (Steven further ponders, "...Should I add hot sauce to this?")

(Difficulty rating: 1 on a scale of 4; bear in mind that children are the primary target demographic.)

(Variant: some readers have complained that the recipe includes no actual bagel. The solution is simplicity itself: cut your hot dog in two crosswise and lay the halves in the shape of an equals sign atop an Everything Bagel as your bun.)

underused

chestnut paste in a jar next to chestnuts in shell

This is a slightly abbreviated version of a recipe I posted on the Cookbook at Imzy last fall. It's chestnut season again and I thought it might be a good time to revisit this easy and impressive treat.
( YES )

Current Mood: decadent

underused

Yeah, I said it.

( Let's not pretend you don't want to know. )

Current Mood: seasonal

underused

vanilla cupcake with blackberry buttercream

We have a blackberry bush at the bottom of our garden. That is awesome. But it never produces more than a cup or two of berries at a time (so no jam or pie) and we have to pick them just before they're sweet or the bugs, birds, and beasties get them. Figuring out how to use them is always a dilemma.

Last week it occurred to me I could use them to flavour other things, so I made a very simple blackberry syrup--and today I used it in a buttercream frosting for cupcakes.

( mmmmm )