 You probably think I am going to write about Negroni’s after Mr. Tucci blew up the internet with his quarantine drink. Yes, I made it and it was fabulous. In this case, I am going back a little further to the dinner scene from the movie Big Night about two brothers who run an Italian restaurant. Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub portrayed the brothers. For those who have not seen the movie, no spoiler alerts, there is a scene where a timpano is made to be the centerpiece of an extraordinary meal. Simply, it is a dish with pasta, meatballs, salami and eggs cooked to perfection inside a drum of beautiful dough. The first time Big Guy and I made this dish we did it for a New Year’s Eve celebration and we really impressed our family and friends. We successfully made it again recently. While still very delicious it certainly deserves an audience to “oh and ah” as the pasta tumbles out of the drum. So, check out Big Night and the recipe in The Tucci Cookbook. You will love it. 
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 I previously mentioned my first cookbook was The Nancy Drew Cookbook gifted to me by a childhood friend. I was a master of the whistling bagpipes crunchies by the age of 13. For the uninitiated, the crunchies were made with butterscotch morsels, peanut butter, Chow Mein noodles and marshmallows.
As I moved from my parent’s home to my first apartment with the Big Guy, I was gifted the Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer. It was a bridal shower staple in the 1980’s since this was the time before the Food Network and the proliferation of cookbooks, we see on bookstore shelves today. What started my collection of cookbooks and great interest in experimenting in my Carondelet Kitchen? Caprial’s Café Favorites written by Caprial Pence, the first female recipient of the Best Chef: Pacific Northwest by the James Beard Foundation, along with her pioneering television services on the Learning Channel in the summer of 1994. The back of the book states, “Caprial Pence has a knack for making the difficult seem not just manageable, but downright fun (and tasty, too).” I agree with that statement and have the evidence of food stains and notes in the margins of my three-book collection. At I look at them again, I remember first making roasted red pepper and lentil soup. It was delicious and became part of our annual rotation of soups. To this day, Big Guy still plants rosemary in the garden to make sure I make Caprial’s rosemary French bread. Thank you Caprial for helping to ignite my interest in cooking. You were the first chef who inspired me to be brave and creative in the kitchen.  The Big Guy and I usually keep a dozen eggs on our weekly grocery list. You may assume we are into a traditional daily breakfast, but we use them more in our cooking or for dinner. Yes, eggs are so versatile and a great go to when you just don’t have the energy to fix a fancy meal.
Today was a day we had eggs for breakfast but with a different goal in mind. We have purposely added a daily review of our refrigerator trying to note foods that need to be cooked, restyled into another meal or past its prime. We had left over bacon, bagels, and our fabulous eggs which Big Guy turned into a wonderful sandwich. So, keep an open mind when you open your refrigerator door. You may have the beginning of an unforgettable meal.  We all know it gets hot in the Lou in August, but we pumped up the heat this week with our first attempt at hot sauce. I mentioned in a previous post that Big Guy bought two habanero plants instead of our usual jalapeno plants for our city garden. Well, we got a bumper crop of these beautiful red peppers so Big Guy got to work on a recipe, so we didn’t waste them.
We remembered to ventilate the kitchen well while cooking the peppers. The result was surprising in that the heat started at zero and gradually grew to a pleasant warmth in our mouths. After waiting a week to allow the sauce to marinate, we were again surprised at how much the flavors melded into a delicious hot sauce without an extreme burn. Click here for the recipe. It is a multiple step process but so worth it in the end.  My parents worked serious jobs but were very artistic in their personal time. They both loved the theater along with hobbies that included painting for my mom and stained-glass creations for my dad. This creativity also extended into their decisions about family purchases which included my parent’s Hallcraft dinnerware by Eva Zeisel which they bought in the 1950’s. You can only imagine our surprise when Big Guy and I visited the St. Louis Art Museum and saw their coffee pot on exhibit! The phone call to my parents started with, “OMG, did you know your dinnerware is on display at the Art Museum?” We did our research and found out this coffee pot was displayed in the museum as an excellent example of midcentury modern dinnerware. So, while this set is no longer eligible for the Antiques Roadshow with the big value reveal, it is a cherished and sentimental family heirloom. So, keep your eyes open the next time you go to a museum. You may end up with a fun family story like this one!   In today’s world it seems we have lost of lot of activities that were just assumed when we went out to events. Take the cocktail party with its usual mix of appetizers and charcuterie boards. Who doesn’t love a good mix of meat and cheese?
I would love to say that we were inspired to bring the fun home while in lockdown, but Big Guy and I tend to have a simple supper once a week with a nice charcuterie board along with our favorite bottle of wine. It’s great fun to take it outside as we sit on our front porch either talking to the neighbors or playing a game of Yahtzee. It’s the perfect low-key meal that is satisfying and has very little clean up. Win!  I used to work downtown and loved to discover new places to eat. To my surprise, it was an old place to eat that introduced me to my favorite onion soup. The older crowd may remember the restaurant at Famous-Barr called Papa Fabarre’s. Macy’s maintained the lunch counter when they took over the store by leaving its old school vibe along with many of the original furnishings including the draped booths. Unfortunately, the downtown Macy’s and the restaurant are long gone but my memory of the onion soup drove me to find the recipe. Thanks to the internet I finally found the recipe. In reviewing the recipe, I came across an ingredient I never heard of in my life. What the heck was Kitchen Bouquet?! Do they still make it? Would my local store carry it? To my delight, yes, I was able to find it in the gravy section and it appears the package has not changed much over the years. As I reached the stage in the recipe to put in the Kitchen Bouquet, I was blown away that this magic product would add a rich caramel color to the soup and raise the richness level of it to my eyes. I can confirm this recipe is an all-day event, but it is worth the time and effort to make it. It also freezes well so you can be assured of a lovely soup when the winter winds blow through the Lou.
 My Doodle has always loved to hang out in the kitchen. As a puppy, she would try to look up at the counter to see what I was cooking with love in her eyes and hope in her heart the fabulous meal was for her!
We recently had the joy of puppy sitting for Auntie Mad. While it was an instant flashback to our doodle’s antics as a pup, I saw the same look of hope for a special treat. It also reminded me of my puppy treat recipe for my old Weimaraner who loved treats for the fluffer’s next visit. It seems the list of things dogs can’t eat has gotten longer over the years. So, to all the dog lovers, here is a fun recipe to treat your special pup…dog or hydrant shaped cookie cutter not included. Dog Treats Makes approximately 35-40 treats Ingredients: 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour 1 cup Rolled Oats ½ cup Peanut Butter ½ cup Honey ½ cup Olive Oil ½ cup Water 4 tbsp. Brown Sugar Directions:
 There is nothing more peaceful than a beautiful sunset along with a special drink. At one time, Big Guy would have added a cigar while we walked the beach looking for shark’s teeth and seashells. We were fortunate my parents owned a place in Florida so we could enjoy many sunsets. In our time there, we were fond of going to the local restaurant and ordering our favorite “boat drink.” My favorite was a mango and orange juice drink. Once we returned to the Lou, I was determined to recreate my version of the drink especially for those hot summer nights. So, here is the basic recipe: Manasota Sunset 2 ounces of Tequila 3 ounces of Orange Juice 2 scoops of Mango Sorbet (*) 1-2 pours of Grenadine Pinch of Salt (*) The sorbet is used to keep your drink cool, but mango sorbet is not always easy to find in St. Louis. I have used Mango Orange Juice, or more recently, Mango Juice Bars since the popsicle stick can double as a swizzle for the drink. So, a toast to you and cool summer drinks!   Big Guy and I have spent years trying to be imaginative with our cooking. It was more difficult when we were both working full time, so we admittedly fell back on quick meals and precooked frozen items.
The one thing we were good at was to bring up the flavor profile on these meals by doctoring up the meal with a few additional ingredients. For example, if we threw in a frozen pizza, we would often add pizza spices and a little extra cheese. If we pulled out a frozen burrito, we would slice up fresh vegetables and serve it with a Pico sauce. We would add fresh fruit or granola to our yogurt. And we often pick up chicken to create exciting salads or chicken parmesan with very little extra work. There is no rule that says you can’t do this to your food. So, play and explore. As Chef Emeril Lagasse said, “It’s okay to play with your food!” And you may just discover a new and favorite meal! |
AuthorJust a super cool old couple who love to cook and eat and drink in their Carondelet Kitchen in South Saint Louis, Missouri! Archives
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