Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

The following blog post appeared 10 years ago in August of 2009.  It was an ode to Julia Childs.  I just made this spinach soufflé again this past weekend.  This time there were no mistakes.  Hope you enjoy hearing again of my travails in the kitchen.

Julia Child was my Muse. I was married in 1966. After a brief honeymoon on the shores of Lake Michigan and time spent in Gatlinburg,Tennessee, we headed for Florida where my husband would be attending graduate school. Some of my constant companions in the car on the way south were my cookbooks. I was just learning to cook and it fascinated me. When Julia Child first appeared on television I was hooked. We eventually moved to Greensboro, North Carolina and I had the opportunity to take cooking classes from Irena Chalmers who had the most enticing french cooking school and shop. I bought my first copper pan and Le Creuset braising pot from her. She taught me many of the basics of French cooking and she is still teaching today at the CIA in New York City. She was also an important mentor to me, as I am sure she was to many.  But there was always Julia. I bought Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 1971.

I have been wanting to post one of Julia’s recipes all month because of her birthday on August 15th and the release of the movie Julie and Julia, but the box containing my copy of her book was in our storage building, buried behind furniture and rugs. I finally rescued it this weekend when we brought a load of furniture home for our remodeled lower level. It was good to see it again, looking worn and stained from years of constant use.

Last night I decided to make her spinach soufflé. I did not start it until 6:00. I had already brought the eggs and frozen spinach to room temperature. I was confident; maybe a little cocky. I loved the movie Julie and Julia, by the way. Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci were magnetic as Julia and Paul and the scenes of 1950’s Paris were mesmerizing. I wanted the whole movie to be about them. Amy Adams as Julie did her best, but I found her character sometimes whiny and annoying. Why couldn’t she have the joie de vivre of Julia? Cooking is supposed to be fun after all. I made my white sauce, grated the cheeses, squeezed the spinach dry and separated my eggs. One of the eggs broke strangely and I got a little yolk in the egg whites in the bowl of my Kitchen Aid. “Oh well, it was just a little”, I told myself. I added the egg yolks to the spinach mixture and turned on the mixer to whip the egg whites. I whipped and whipped and they refused to froth. It became clear to me that they were never going to whip because of the bit of yolk in the mixture. Unfortunately,  I was out of eggs. By this time it was close to 7:00. The grocery store in Lake Lure is twenty minutes away, but the gas station at the bottom of the hill is close. I ran to the car and negotiated the curving road to town. The gas station store had just closed at 7:00. I banged on the door like a crazy woman and the owner opened up for me. Unfortunately he was out of eggs. I had no choice but to continue around the lake to the Ingle’s store. I got back home at about 7:45 with a carton of cold eggs. I cleaned out the bowl of the Kitchen Aid, added the egg whites one at a time after first breaking them into a small bowl ( a good tip by the way ) and started the mixer again. The eggs immediately did what they were supposed to do. I folded them into the spinach mixture and poured the whole into my souffle dish, actually my charlotte mold. I learned a trick from Ina Garten to help a soufflé puff. Run a spatula in a circle about an inch in from the edge all the way around and the center will puff. Finally I had the dish in the oven. I was exhausted and I didn’t know if the cold egg whites would hinder the soufflé from rising. I was also a little cranky. Where had I seen that before? It was a humbling experience.

The soufflé finally came out of the oven at about 8:45, fashionably late and not as tall as I would have liked, but looking and smelling delicious. As Julia would say, “Never apologize”. We dug in with gusto.

This time I added some chopped ham to the Spinach Soufflé for our Saturday supper.  We ate at a reasonable 6:30.

SOUFFLÉ AUX EPINARDS (SPINACH SOUFFLÉ) adapted from Julia Child with touches of Ina Garten

3 Tbls unsalted butter plus more for greasing soufflé dish
3 Tbls flour
1 cup scalded milk
a pinch of nutmeg
a pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling the dish
1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
10 oz package of chopped spinach thawed and squeezed dry
4 egg yolks
5 egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 6 cup soufflé dish and sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese. Melt the butter in a heavy sauce pan and add the flour. Cook and whisk for about a minute. Add the hot milk off the heat and whisk until it is thick. Return to low heat if it does not thicken. Again off heat, add the two cheeses to the mixture. Separate the eggs in two bowls, discarding or saving one of the egg yolks. Beat the egg yolks. Slowly add the egg yolks to the cheese sauce while whisking. Add the seasoning and spinach and stir to combine.

Add the 1/8 tsp cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat them until firm and glossy peaks form. Whisk one quarter of the egg whites into the cheese sauce to lighten, and then fold in the rest. Pour into the prepared soufflé dish, then smooth the top. Draw a large circle on top with the spatula and place in the middle of the oven. Turn the temperature down to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until puffed and brown. Serve immediately.

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With the Super Bowl approaching, I wanted to make an appetizer that my husband would enjoy on his low Carb diet.  Over Christmas I made sausage cheese balls the way most people make them with Bisquick, sausage and cheese.  We both love this old standby.  I decided to experiment with lessoning the carbs by using almond flour.  But almond flour does not have a leavening agent like Bisquick.  After several attempts, I settled on a combination of almond flour, baking powder and Bisquick.  I halved the amount of Bisquick and combined the baking powder with the almond flour for the other half of the dry ingredients.

I loved the results.  Another tip for mixing the ingredients is to bring the grated cheese and sausage to room temperature before mixing them together.  Then add the dry ingredients.  All of this should be done by hand.

A friend and I spent a day in DeLand, Florida, a small inland community about 20 miles from New Smyrna Beach.  It is a vibrant community with lots of shops and restaurants.  One of my favorite shops is Anna Bananas. The subheading of the shop is Recycled, Repurposed and Reclaimed.

The owners build furniture using antique elements and creative uses of old wood.

We had lunch al fresco at a delightful restaurant (BakeChop) in a spiffed up alley.  It was a warm and sunny day; one of few that we have had in Florida lately.   The BLT on sourdough bread was great, but the chickpea salad with Brussel sprout leaves, tomatoes and red onions was a real winner.  The chickpeas were crispy and the dressing light.  I will have to experiment with duplicating this take on three bean salad.

Enjoy the Super Bowl.  Hope you give this adaptation of Sausage Cheese Balls a try.

SAUSAGE CHEESE BALLS (LOWER CARB)

1 Pound Breakfast Sausage (Hot or Mild or a combination)
8 Oz. Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Bisquick Baking Mix
1 cup Almond Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

Grate the cheese into a large bowl and bring to room temperature.  At the same time, bring the sausage to room temperature.

While cheese and sausage are resting, combine the Bisquick, almond flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

With your hands, combine the cheese and sausage until well blended.  Add the dry ingredients and roll and squeeze until the flour is fully combined with the cheese mixture.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper or use a non-stick baking sheet.

Form mixture into about 1 inch balls and line baking sheet with them.  I can get 24 balls unto the pan.  The recipe makes about 48 balls.

Bake for 15-17 minutes.

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This is my 4th of July quiche recipe.  Our annual family celebration will take place at the lake.  Since we will have 16 people staying at the cottage, I love to search out recipes that are easy and will feed a crowd.  I plan to make two of these deep dish quiches.  In place of a crust the filling includes Bisquick, which gives it more of a biscuit consistency.

We are hoping that the lake will be back to normal by then.  After two weeks of rain, the effects of Alberto, and the flooding, the lake became clogged with debris of all kinds including large tree branches.  The town has been amazing in the clean-up efforts.  Thanks to Esther for this photo.

The sausage, cheddar and green onions are a tasty start to this dish, but you could substitute many other ingredients.  Mine took longer to set in the middle than the 45 minutes specified.  You could also try this in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with a shorter baking time.  We are looking forward to the 4th of July celebration.

SAUSAGE QUICHE

1 16-0z. pkg. of Pork Sausage, cooked and drained (Can do ahead of time)
4 green onions, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs
2 cups half-and-half or milk
1 cup all-purpose baking mix (Bisquick)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place sausage in lightly greased 2-quart round casserole dish.  Top with onions and cheese.

Beat eggs, half-and-half and baking mix with wire whisk until well blended.  Pour over cheese and sausage.

Bake for 45 minutes to 60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 5 minutes.  Cut into 8 wedges and serve.

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Anytime I see a recipe with hummingbird in the title I perk up.  I love hummingbird cake with its signature bananas, pineapples, nuts, coconut and spices.  As a follower of FOOD52, I was intrigued by a recipe entered in the contest for banana recipes.  At this point I don’t know which of the entries will win, but this is a winner in my humble opinion.

I love the introduction of a fresh orange, including the pulp and zest.  It adds a moistness to the loaf.  The coconut is a fun addition.  Buttermilk is a big part of the mix and the buttermilk glaze makes everything work together. This is a stellar recipe and I hope that Carrie does well in the contest.  Keep checking on FOOD52 to see who wins.

Check out Carries recipe here.  Note that she left out one ingredient; 1 teaspoon baking soda.

Crumbly, rich cornbread always has a place of honor on my table.  My favorite is Rosa’s Cornbread which I blogged about here.  But Rosa’s Cornbread is almost too rich for most meals.  I save it for our yearly New Year’s Day celebration.  I found this recipe in a Southern Living Cookbook.  It has much less fat and more buttermilk.  Since I had a carton of buttermilk in the refrigerator that needed to be used, this was the perfect way to accomplish that.

This is a winner with its golden crust and tender crumb.

We are enjoying the restaurants in New Smyrna Beach.  I loved this wall of herbs at the entrance to The Third Wave Cafe.  The secret garden behind the restaurant is a favorite place to eat.

It is a magical spot at night.

The food is sourced from local farmers.  The chicken salad croissant is made from organic chicken, dried cranberries, orange mayonnaise, apples and mixed greens.  The evening menu includes tapas, wood-fired pizzas and full entrees like Shrimp and Grits and Shrimp and Scallop Scampi.

Forgive me for not blogging more often, but we have been very busy this winter.  Our friends will arrive for bike week tomorrow so I probably won’t be on my blog for a little while.  We return to Lake Lure the first of April.

If you like cornbread, I think you will like this one.  Hope you give it a try.

BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD (Southern Living)

1/3 cup butter
2 cups self-rising white cornmeal mix like White Lily
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs

Place butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, and heat in a 425 degree oven 5 minutes or until melted.

Combine cornmeal mix, flour, and sugar in a large bowl.

Stir together buttermilk and eggs.  Add to dry ingredients; stir just until moistened.  Pour over melted butter in skillet.

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden.  Cut into wedges.  Makes 6 servings.

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