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Foodstuffs
Martha Mary (O'Brien) Marion's Recipe Box, circa 1960
Too Much of a Good Thing?
Oktoberfest, Munich, 2005
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The Secret to Perfect Crepes...
When Amira (left) was home for the holidays, she and good friend Malika
Middlebooks (right) stumbled upon the key to perfect crepes: prepping the
batter with with both a hand-operated whisk AND an electric mixer. An amazing, if not
revolutionary discovery that led to the absolute best crepes this side of Latin Quarter...
Don't be mistaken. This is no taco but made with lots of butter. Ooooh nooo.
Bottom line: It's all in the mixing-whisking combo.
The polar opposite of a packet of Quaker oatmeal,
microwaved and gobbled down on the run...
Marlagh Lodge, Crebilly, County Antrim, Northern Ireland - If you
REALLY want to start out your day properly in these parts, you opt for the
Bushmills Porridge. Old-fashioned steel-cut oats, brown sugar to taste, a goodly
pour of Bushmills whisky, and adequate heavy cream to bring it all together.
Helps keep the chill off the bones every time. wom
Now you, too, can make bread like Matt. Click the loaf above for complete
instructions. Or, if you're too lazy to click, just call/email Matt.
-Update-
BreadMeister Matt.
Matt's production early last Wednesday morning before he was forced to stop and head off to his real job -- teaching.
3/7/09 - The latest report from Maryland is that Matty has fully mastered the art of breadmaking and is now in business! Astounding news, considering the lad made his first loaves just a week ago with mixed results (see just below).We're not completely surprised, of course, as Matt has always been a quick study. But still, this was somewhat unexpected. You can order Matt's bread by emailing him at... MMARION@wcboe.org.
(Mention my name, W. O'Brien Marion, and get 10% off orders of $50 or more.)
First Attempt?
Saturday, Feb 28, 2009 - Got this cell-photo and the cryptic message "First attempt at bread" from Matty O just past midnight on Friday. Of course, I was shocked by the results, as I thought I had passed along all my tips in a vivid, unmistakable manner. Yet, these chilling loaves were the end product?
(Then again, you can't judge a book by its cover.)
Still waiting to hear how the bread-heads tasted. wom
Good to the last crumb...
Cafe au lait and beignets (AKA, French doughnuts), Cafe Du Monde, New Orleans, LA, February 2009.
Coffee at this historic cafe is mixed with chicory, a holdover from Civil War days when there were shortages
of just about all staples. You can buy a can of their house coffee at a grocery store or specialty shop near you and give
it a shot (I blend it with Starbucks in a 2/4 ratio -- it's rich and dark and strong, very good stuff). The beignets, by the way, are
dangerously delicious. We had to get out of town to avert addiction. wom
Here's what the Cafe Du Monde writes on its cans: "In a drip coffee pot or percolator use one heaping tablespoon of
Cafe Du Monde Coffee and Chicory per cup of water. Mix freshly brewed coffee with equal amounts of hot Homogenized milk
or to suit taste." (Note: Be sure to use "Homogenized" milk and not that scary "Unhomogenized" stuff.)
-REAL comfort food-
The world's going to rack and ruin, but Hormel's mystery meat Spam is churning 24/7 to meet the demand. BUT: Who eats this stuff? And if YOU ate it, would you admit it publicly? Incidentally, Veveeta sales are skyrocking too....
According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Meatless Monday is a national health campaign to help Americans prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer - four of the leading causes of death in America.
However, what I didn't see mentioned on the site was anything about how cutting back on meat is also very good for the environment.
Click here for more info on this topic from a eco-conscious blogger.
Bottom line: Cutting back on your meat consumption by participating in Meatless Mondays is good for you and America. So...just do it.
Some of us remember Fishy Friday when we abstained from meat because we had to.
A little background...
When we were growing up in Dearborn in the early 1960s, we were all vegetarians...every Friday. That's because as Catholics, we we forbidden by church doctrine from eating meat that day. In fact, eating meat on Friday was a SIN. So instead of sinning, we ate fish sticks -- which is what we should have been forbidden from eating. After all, what are they? Heavily-breaded and rectangular-shaped, unlike any creature wandering about the deep blue sea...Baked until as dry as dust yet still possessing a pervasively unpleasant fishy smell.... Slathered with a mayo/pickle relish/lemon juice sauce to mask the powerfully fishy flavor...Fish sticks were solely responsible for our being unable to utter the now common cry, "TGIF!" We hated Fridays -- at least, Friday dinners.
Then in 1966, Pope Paul VI via Vatican II -- a gigantic liturgical lallapalooza that made sweeping changes throughout the chuch -- decreed "Oh what the hell...go ahead, eat meat legally, for godsakes. We can't have hell clogged up with people who are good by nature but hate fish sticks and are sick to death of macaroni and cheese. So go ahead, eat your meatloaf and burgers on Friday. May God be with you."
The timing couldn't have been better. McDonalds were popping up on every other corner (kind of like Starbucks today), and thanks to Pope Paul VI, and Ray Kroc, we left fish sticks behind forever....
Or are you...?
World Food Crisis.
Paris patisserie, December 2006
CLICK HERE to read an informative article about how some Americans are responding to the current food shortage that severely threatens some 36 countries around the world (21 in Africa). An estimated 20 million children are at risk, a mindblowing number. While we here in the U.S. struggle with escalating gas prices, the sub-prime mess, and the war in Iraq, others have a far more challenging problem: how not to die of malnutrition.
What can you do? CLICK HERE.
An Autumnal Touch.
How do you package a loaf of pumpkin-date corn bread in the middle of Fall? Just as Julie does it: a common plastic bag, your basic twine, and three maple leaves tied into the knot, the utilization of which makes all the difference. It has been said that presentation is everything -- that's absurd, of course -- but it is half the battle, and Julie most definitely has the lock on that gene in our family. The above loaf was left behind for us on her recent visit to A2 and was (continues to be, for that matter) superb, toasted and slathered with butter, and accompanied by a morning mug of java. WOM
St. Paddy's on Grandmont, 3/17/07
The Perfect Pasty
We told everyone that we were going up to the Keweenaw to do some "genealogical research" and for some "R&R." In reality, THIS is the reason we came. Made with chopped or cubed beef (or chuck steak), potatoes, onion, turnips, salt and pepper and topped with butter or ketchup (or both), the pasty is the original "Happy Meal" (that is to say, if you're not happy after eating one of these things, you're hopeless). We've been indulging daily at Toni's Country Kitchen, a couple of blocks from our B&B, the unanimous top choice of the locals for pasties in Laurium, and I'm beginning to salivate this very moment at the thought of our impending visit there.... Lots to report on the family history front. We have hit the virtual Motherlode here and will begin posting our findings soon, but first things first: Time for that pasty.... WOM, 10/18/06
Beef Barbecue
Those of you who like hearty, no-frills 50's food will appreciate this dish, directly from the original Martha Mary Marion Ancestral Recipe Box (shown above). The actual recipe -- catsup stains and all -- is shown below in the questionable handwriting of Grandma Martha. (Fortunately, for most other forms of communication, she stuck to her typewriter.) Mom often made this for us in her pressure cooker, including one memorable time when the top blew off and launched a goodly amount of the stuff straight up to the ceiling, where it stuck like red stalagtites and then began dripping back down onto the stove. (Needless to say, having witnessed that event, I have never included a pressure cooker in my own personal lineup of cooking implements.) This savory recipe was most recently utilized by one JP Marion, who created a batch for the '05 Rose Bowl gathering, the only thing that day that left a good taste in our mouths, Michigan having lost a heartbreaker to Texas. Note below the use of the now-archaic term for margarine, "oleo" and the failure to specify the suggested beef cut to use ("meat" is all that's indicated). For manly gatherings of carnivores and infidels, this concoction is an ideal choice.
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RJ's Greasy Chicken
The remarkable document below, placed in Martha Marion's much-revered recipe file box more than three decades ago and completely forgotten, would have been lost to all future generations of Marions were it not for the recent opening of that box by Master Chef WO Marion, who at the time, was in search of archaic Atkin's recipes. This gem was among a handful of surviving Marion Family recipes found in that box...as was the Barbecue Beef classic, previously discussed. Handwritten by scullery cook RJ Marion in his childish scrawl (note spelling of flour as "flower" and cheese as "cheeze" and notes to self on "Gravy?" and "Liver" and "Gizzard"), the recipe, with its whole stick of butter and greased baking pan, would easily rate as Atkins' material, were it not for the corn flakes' breading.
Bantry Bay Brown Bread
In the elegant, inimitable (and marginally readable) calligraphy of Julie Janusch, this recipe depicts a hearty brown bread that is designed to help all decendants of ancestors hailing from Bear Island, County Cork (and friends and family of said descendants), make it through the cold, damp, dog days of winter which, at this point (end o' February), we are all wanting to go to the devil. Until then, we must eat, drink, and be merry, and Bantry Brown Bread is a positive step in this direction...
Peach Parfait Pie
This is classic: We get a look both at MMM's inimitable scrawl (on the envelope) and at her typewriting style, which involved ploughing ahead even if that meant skipping a letter or two here or there. We also get a glimpse at her sense of humor: In this brief note to lifelong friend Mary Steiner, Martha passes along a "...real light simple dessert t (sic) file in that beat-up book of yours."
Puerco Pibil
Okay, okay, so this is Mexican (from the Yucatan) and not really a Marion Classic, but who knows? Maybe some day it will be. Besides, it makes such an impressive presentation. The bottom line: pork butt, sliced into 2" cubes; then marinaded in an orange & lemon juice/white vinegar/tequila concoction that's infused with the flavors of habanero pepper, garlic, cumin, allspice, and cloves; given a deep, rich, red hue, thanks to the liberal use of achiote seeds (aka annotta seeds); and slow-baked for four hours in a pan lined and covered (sealed) with banana leaves. Quite an amazing experience all around, both making and then savoring this dish, which is typically served piled enticingly on a bed of white rice. Aye, Chihuahua!!!
Failsafe Turkey Recipe
Julie contributed this just in time for T Day:
-14lb to 24 lb Turkey
-1 cup melted butter
-3 bags stuffing
-1 cup uncooked popcorn
-Salt/pepper to taste
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-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Brush chicken well with melted butter, salt, and pepper.
-Fill cavity with stuffing and popcorn. Place in baking pan with the neck end toward the back of the oven.
-Listen for the popping sounds.
When the Turkey's ass
blows the oven door open and the Turkey flies across the room, it is Done.
Post Mortem
Dressed, tressed, baked, browned, and downed -- the ultimate fate of this holiday fare. Now for those hot turkey sandwiches doused in gravy...followed by the club sandwiches, chili, tacos, casserole, quiche, salad, hash, pie, croquettes, jerky, and finally the soup. It ain't over 'til it's over.
Leftover Turkey Recipes
The Day After (The Best Day)
It's the chef's day off: No cooking, no carving -- just heating and eating Thursday's now flavor-infused menu items. That's part of what makes the day after Thanksgiving so good. And then there's the classic open-faced hot turkey sandwich with your choice of bread (above, potato-grain), a liberal side of stuffing, and, for color, a dab or two of cranberry sauce (and, certainly, mashed potatoes, if you please), all heavily drenched in savory brown gravy. Has to be on the Top Ten Homemade Meal list.
Amira's Irish Breakfast
Served of a St. Paddy's morn, 3/18/04. A surefire way to prime the gullet prior to moseying off to gain some book-learnin'.
A tribute to the end of Summer '06
As the last full day of summer plays out, we offer this gem -- a version of Mozzarella e Pomodoro -- expertly created by cucina artiste Alayna in the Warrington Drive test kitchen at HF2006. It featured her succulent homegrown tomatoes and intensely aromatic and flavor-rich basil; hand-selected mozzarella (chosen personally by Alayna herself); extra-virgin olive oil (none of that run-of-the-mill virgin stuff); a slutty little basalmic vinegar (to counterbalance the extra-virginity of the olive oil); and freshly-shaken pepper and Caspian Sea salt...Wow! Thanks for the memories, Alayna and the Summer of 2006....
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