June 30, 2021

Dear friends,

I feel like Hemingway writing in some jungle hut. A humid breeze cools a trickle of sweat inching down my back. The visita from my screen room is lush — waist-high ferns and shoulder-high plumes of grass, with a relentless sun filtering through the trees. Should the jungle guides light a fire and cook lunch? I think not. We will dine instead on an avocado salad that cools the tongue and sustains us for the journey ahead.

Yeow, it’s hot. I write this on Monday, and everything but the jungle and guides is true. If the temperature drops between now and Wednesday when you receive this, save the recipe for the next hot spell that we all know is coming.

This week’s recipe was born on a beach in the Bahamas in the 1980s. Tony recalls vendors crisscrossing the sand with coolers full of icy conch salad. Tony wolfed it down and has been dreaming about that salad ever since.

I don’t know if the shrimp and avocado version he made for dinner one night was a faithful replica, but I loved it. The ingredients are simple, but the precise way he cut the vegetables and the proportion of avocado to everything else were perfect. I asked Tony to make it again so I could measure and jot down the ingredients as he worked. This salad will keep you cool in the jungle, on the beach or wherever you land in this heat.

TONY’S SHRIMP AND AVOCADO SALAD

1 lb. shell-on raw shrimp, briefly cooked and peeled

2 cups chopped sweet onion in 1/2-inch dice

2 avocados in 1/2-inch dice

2 cups chopped tomatoes in 1/2-inch dice

1 1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Slice the shrimp into 1/2-inch cubes. Combine with remaining ingredients, taking care to cut the vegetables precisely. Gently toss. Cover and chill. Makes 4 servings.

GUT CHECK
What I cooked:

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, crudités with yogurt ranch dip; tuna and edamame salad; roast garlic scapes and roast cod; chicken and asparagus stir fry; shrimp cocktail; baked ginger-soy chicken legs; antipasto, Roger’s smashed potatoes, grilled ribeye steaks and lime Jell-O (Tony’s fave, on Father’s Day); venison spaghetti sauce and cottage cheese baked in a spaghetti squash half; pulled chicken, fresh green beans, burst cherry tomatoes and shaved Parmesan; asparagus crustless quiche; Sonoran shrimp ceviche; blueberry pancakes and eggs; barbecued ribs, sesame green beans and steamed new potatoes; jian bing, a Chinese crepe with egg wrapped around fried wontons skins.

What I ate in/from restaurants:

Superfoods salad with chicken and pomegranate iced tea at Aladdin’s in Fairlawn; chicken gyro from Star Pizza in Copley; a Detox Smoothie from Tropical Smoothie Cafe; a chicken Caesar salad and lemon cookie from Panera.

THE MAILBAG
From Darren B.:
(Responding to my request for his favorite recipe from his coleslaw survey): The below has been the favorite so far. This recipe was the 2012 Southern Living Cole Slaw winner submitted by Nadine Mesch from Mount Healthy, Ohio!

The first time I made the recipe I purchased two cans of chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce and proceeded to start chopping away. Halfway through the first can it dawned on me, after I of course had added them to the slaw, that maybe two cans was a bit much. Read the recipe again and realized my mistake…TWO peppers…not TWO cans. Good thing the dinner guests enjoyed spicy food.

CHIPOTLE-CILANTRO SLAW

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. sour cream

1 tsp. lime zest

2 tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground pepper

1 (16-oz.) package shredded coleslaw mix

1 carrot, shredded

2 canned chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped

½ cup minced fresh cilantro

Whisk together first 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Add coleslaw mix and remaining ingredients, and stir until coated. Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 1 hour.

Dear Darren:
That sounds delicious. It would go great with ribs or burgers and my  Elote Corn Spoonbread from June 16. Maybe that will be our July 4th picnic. What’s everyone else having?

From Karen:
I have a friend who can’t eat onions in any form.  All the ketchup in the United States is made with onion powder. 

European ketchups do not use onion powder. They use tomatoes, spirit vinegar, sugar, salt, spice and herb extracts (contain celery) spice. (I took the ingredients label home with me!)  Do you know why the European ketchup is made without onion?

Have you seen a recipe or a brand here that does not use onion in ketchup?

Dear Karen:
I have no idea why European ketchup would be different from those sold in America. Your friend could make her own or buy the no-onion, no-garlic vegan ketchup made by Fody. Ingredients are water, tomato puree, sugar, vinegar, modified cornstarch, salt, spice extractive (no onion or garlic). The ketchup is available by mail order from a variety of sources, in health-food stores and some supermarkets.

June 16, 2021

Dear friends,

Wow, has post-pandemic life been hectic. I thought we’d ease back into the swim after being vaccinated, but it has been more like being stuffed in a cannon and shot across the Big Top. I’ve had lunches, dinners, restaurant meet-ups and a couple of trips across the state. Heck, Tony and I weren’t this popular pre-pandemic.

I bet many of you are in a similar situation. We want to see — right now! —  all of the family and friends we’ve missed for so long. I’m about halfway through the list and despite the whiplash, I’m not stopping any time soon.

In the midst of this visiting and cooking marathon, I bought a whole pork shoulder on sale, just for the heck of it. I made a spice rub and roasted the pork low and slow overnight in our Rube Goldberg backyard smoker-oven, then wrapped it tightly in foil and finished it in my regular oven — a two-step technique I learned from chef David Russo. The final two or three hours indoors at 325 degrees makes the meat so tender it shreds.

With 5 pounds of pulled pork in the offing, I had to invite a guest and make side dishes, which is how I invented Elote Corn Spoonbread. The pork was juicy and smoky but the spoonbread stole the show. It is rich and moist, studded with whole corn kernels,  topped with chopped cilantro and cotija cheese, and shot through with tangy lime. It really does taste like Mexican street corn.

 “When can I get this recipe?” my friend, Pennie, wanted to know. At that point, all I had was a scribbled copy smudged with barbecue sauce. Here it is in polished form for Pennie and anyone else in the mood for a flavor bomb. It would be a wowzer contribution to any get-together this summer. Maybe all of them.

ELOTE CORN SPOONBREAD

1 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cup yellow corn meal

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. butter

1 cup sour cream

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tsp. baking powder

1 can (15 oz.) whole-kernel corn, drained

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Grated zest of 1/2 lime

Toppings:

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

1/4 cup crumbled cotija or queso fresca cheese (available in Hispanic stores, or substitute crumbled feta)

Few dashes of Tajin seasoning (available in most supermarkets and Hispanic stores)

Bring milk to a simmer in a fairly deep saucepan. Stir in cornmeal, salt and butter. Continue to stir until thick. Remove from heat and let cool for about an hour. The mixture will be stiff.

Mash corn meal mixture with a potato masher until fluffy. Beat in sour cream, eggs, baking powder, corn, lime juice and zest. Turn into a deep 9-inch square baking pan or casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the edges are firm and toasty.

Sprinkle top of spoonbread with the cilantro, cheese and Tajin seasoning. Serve warm, dishing up with a spoon.

GUT CHECK
Here are some of the things I cooked in the last two weeks:

Smoked pork butt, elote corn spoonbread; toasted everything bagels with smoked salmon, goat cheese, blistered tomatoes, charred peppers, prosciutto, capers and fresh cherries; tofu and asparagus in peanut-coconut sauce; roasted chickpeas with Middle East spices; crispy baked kale chips; pan-grilled cherry tomatoes in balsamic vinegar; tossed salad with goat cheese and mustard vinaigrette, pan-grilled filet mignons.

Here’s a selection of items I ate in restaurants, at friends’ and various gatherings:

A custard-filled strawberry cupcake from Palotta’s Pastries in Cuyahoga Falls, a rare treat after cataract surgery; huevos rancheros at Mustard Seed Market in Highland Square; a mahi-mahi taco and Korean barbecued beef taco at Funky Truckeria in Norton; shredded barbecued jackfruit sandwich and homemade potato chips at The Root in Massillon; oven-braised ribs with vegetables in a yummy sauce and strawberry shortcake with real whipped cream at my friend J.P.’s house on Lake Erie; street tacos from Casa del Rio Express in Fairlawn.

TIDBITS
Thank you for the encouraging notes after I announced I was reducing the frequency of this newsletter to every other week. Many of you said you can relate. Joan B. wrote, “I enjoyed your email about not cooking like you did when you were younger. I am really having a hard time cooking like I used to. I would appreciate some easier, nutritious meal ideas.”

And from L.P.: “You have no idea how affirming your explanation of slowing down was for me. You really nailed the difference two decades can make in both entertaining style and routine.”

I’m also grateful for generous responses from those such as Tracey C., who wrote, “Happy that you’re taking more time for yourself. Please know we’re grateful for whatever you care to share whenever you care to share it,” and M.M. who wrote, “Every two weeks is better than none.”

Hopefully I’ll continue sharing for a long time.

THE MAILBAG
From Anne M.:
For the wheelchair-bound reader who inquired): My favorite Latino grocery store has remodeled and some aisles are wider. Not sure about entrance. San Miguel near the post office on Cuyahoga Falls Avenue near Route 8 in north Akron.

Recently I discovered that Swenson’s has a dessert that is a piece of cheesecake wrapped in a cinnamon-sugar wrapper and deep fried. OMG.

Dear Anne:
Keep the dessert news to yourself, buddy. I’m six pounds down and counting.

From Marty L.:
I made an angel food cake, then found a recipe in my Farm Journal cookbook for a sponge cake to use the 11 egg yolks. It calls for scalded milk. I did it on the stove but wondered if it could have been done in the microwave as well.

Also, I cooled the milk before drizzling in a small stream into the eggs while the mixer was running, so the eggs wouldn’t cook. The recipe did not say whether to cool or not. What is the purpose of scalding milk? I also wondered why the cake recipe contained no salt. I used salted butter.

Dear Marty:
Scalding milk (bringing it almost to a simmer) changes the structure of the whey proteins so they absorb yeast better. It also causes the milk proteins to react differently with the proteins in flour to make the dough more supple and easier to rise.  In your recipe, it makes the sponge cake lighter and springier. Before pasteurization, milk was also scalded to kill bacteria.

Yes, milk can be scalded in a microwave. And you were right to cool the milk slightly to prevent the eggs from cooking. I think your instincts also were correct in using salted butter. Although some cake recipes do not call for salt, in my opinion salt almost always heightens the other flavors in the recipe.

From Mary D.:
During the early months of the pandemic I bought a jar of Red Star active dry yeast. Do you know the conversion from instant yeast to this type?

Dear Mary:
Use the same amount of yeast. Merely dissolve the active dry yeast in some of the liquid (warm) from the recipe before adding it to the dry ingredients. Basically, active dry should be proofed; instant need not be because the particles are smaller and dissolve more easily.

June 2, 2021

Dear friends,

My grand dessert idea started as a mango-ginger soufflé glace that incorporated an Italian meringue and had a yummy sauce, but that plan quickly went south. Friends were coming to dinner for the first time in a year and I had to clean the house and buy a side of salmon and make a sauce and pick fresh mint from the back yard. Yes, I started days in advance and Tony helped. But still, it was all I could do to make a simple frozen chocolate mousse.

I just don’t have the oomph for such sustained activity anymore. I remember when I would test/create four recipes in an afternoon and review a restaurant that night. I remember when I not only made an appetizer, entree and dessert for a dinner party, but a sorbet palate cleanser, a salad with maybe marinated and baked goat cheese and homemade croutons, and homemade French bread. Yikes.

My recipes have gotten easier as the years have piled up. With occasional exceptions, that’s how I cook these days and I suspect many of you do, too. That’s fine. But to my chagrin, even that is sometimes too much. Therefore, this column will be slowing down, going from weekly to every-other-week publication. Many thanks to my publisher, Mimi Vanderhaven, for allowing me to do this. I hope you, my readers, don’t mind too much, either.

This week’s recipe is for that frozen chocolate mousse. It was a real treat even if it wasn’t mango-ginger.

FROZEN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

3/4 lb. good-quality bittersweet chocolate

2 cups whipping cream

2 eggs

4 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Whipped cream for garnish

Cocoa powder for dusting

Break up the chocolate and place in a large bowl. Heat three-fourths cup of the cream to a simmer and pour over chocolate. Let stand a few minutes, until chocolate is soft, and whisk until smooth. Let cool.

In a stainless steel bowl, combine the eggs, yolks, sugar and vanilla. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and beat with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until thick and warmed through, about 8 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan and let cool.

Beat the remaining 1 1/4 cups cream until it holds soft peaks. Fold the cooled egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the whipped cream until no streaks remain. Divide among six ramekins. Freeze at least three hours or overnight.

Place frozen mousse in refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Top with whipped cream and lightly sift cocoa powder over the whipped cream. Makes 6 servings.

GUT CHECK

What I cooked last week:
Grilled salmon with cucumber-dill sauce, French potato salad with garlic and mint, and  frozen chocolate soufflés with sparkling wine and a dry rose;  a steak and asparagus stir fry with blistered cherry tomatoes and steamed rice.

What I ate in/from restaurants, etc.:
A choucouterie board from my friend, Joan; Chinese jian bing — crunchy crepe and egg packets — with a salad with citrus dressing and berry-fruit gelatin at my friend Susan’s; a chorizo omelet, craggy wheat toast and fruit at the Green Marble in East Liverpool; roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw and a roll from the Circle Restaurant in Deerfield; a cup of tomato soup and a Southwest salad with chicken at Panera.

THE MAILBAG
From Daniel H., Highland Square:
What is (in your opinion) the best Mexican/Latin-American grocery store in Summit County? I’m in a wheelchair so it has to be accessible.

Any other stand-out ethnic grocers would also be great! I need to finally get out and do some good cultural shopping, cooking and eating!

Dear Daniel:
Good luck with finding a Latin-American store with wide aisles and an accessible entrance. It’s too bad so many country-specific  groceries are packed to the gills, with stuff spilling into the aisles. Even regular stores like Drug Mart pile products on cardboard end caps that scrape the sides of a wheelchair or motorized scooter, which I sometimes use.

That said, I don’t survey the local food scene as carefully as I once did. Retirement has its benefits. Most of the time I pop down to La Michoacana Mexican Market at 1448 Copley Road in Akron, both because it is closest to me and because it has a decent selection of produce and refrigerated items such as nopales and cotija cheese. The aisles aren’t terribly crammed but you might want to call to ask about accessibility: 330-864-0565.

Does anyone else have a favorite ethnic market to share with Daniel?

From Darren B.:
Have been on a coleslaw kick lately — have tried some great recipes but was talking to my wife and she mentioned the coleslaw from Jack Horner’s was always so good. Just wondered if you had the recipe. Thanks.

Dear Darren:
Now, that’s a blast from the past. I lunched at Jack Horner’s in downtown Akron a few times early in my career but don’t recall the coleslaw. Chicken house coleslaw, yes. Jack Horner’s, no. If anyone else has the recipe, please share. Meanwhile, Darren, how about sharing the best recipe so far from your coleslaw kick?