Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

If you want to try a different burger for the Labor Day weekend, this just may be one you will like. My husband has sworn off a lot of beef dishes and especially hamburgers for health reasons. Unfortunately one of my favorite foods in the world is a perfect hamburger on a toasted bun with just mustard and onions. I miss my hamburgers and when he is away I light up the grill and cook three burgers from a pound of ground beef and eat them for three consecutive nights to get my fix. Because of this, I am always looking for recipes that we both can enjoy when he is home.

Translated from German, frickadellen means “large meatballs, lightly flattened”. The recipe comes from Anna Pump of the Loaves and Fishes Market in the Hamptons and is featured in her latest cookbook Summer on a Plate. The burger is made from boneless chicken thighs and is seasoned with lemon juice Spanish paprika , cumin and cayenne pepper. After it is grilled it is topped with sauteed onions, capers, more lemon juice and minced parsley. You can serve it on a toasted bun the way I like it or as a dinner entree with a side of rice or couscous.

The actual grinding of the boneless chicken thighs takes a little time, but it can be done ahead of time. The cubed meat is placed in a food processor with a metal blade and pulsed until it is chopped. When mixed with the additions and formed into patties, it can rest in the refrigerator until you are ready to grill.

The topping is quick to assemble while the burgers are resting or on the grill. Just saute onions until soft, add drained capers and lemon juice and then garnish with parsley after adding to the finished patties.

Our family will be here for the Labor Day weekend. We have been working all summer to finish the cottage in anticipation of this special occasion, so I may not be posting for a while. Have a wonderful end of summer celebration and I will be back soon with new recipes and pictures of the “almost complete” cottage.

CHICKEN FRICKADELLEN WITH CAPER AND LEMON TOPPING

2 pounds boneless chicken thighs, skinned, trimmed of fat, and cut into large chunks
1 cup minced onion
1 cup soft fresh bread crumbs
2 large eggs
2 Tbls fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Topping:

3 Tbls olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup capers, drained
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup minced fresh curly parsley

Place the chicken in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse a few times until coarsely chopped. ( I did this in batches ) Transfer into a large bowl. Add the onion, bread crumbs, eggs, lemon juice, salt, paprika, cumin, and cayenne and, using your hands, knead until well combined. Shape into 8 patties.

To grill, brush the grill lightly with oil. Cook the patties over medium high heat for 12 minutes, turning them once.

To make the topping, in the olive oil saute the onion in a skillet over low heat for about 8 minutes until onions are light brown and glossy. Add the capers and cook 3 minutes, stirring a few times. Add the lemon juice, turn the heat to high and cook 30 seconds. Spoon the topping over the patties and sprinkle with parsley.

Printable recipe

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 fascintated 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. 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 souffle. 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 mezmorizing. 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 and 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 souffle 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 souffle from rising. I was also a little cranky. Where had I seen that before? It was a humbling experience.

The souffle 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.

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

3 Tbls unsalted butter plus more for greasing souffle 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 souffle 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 souffle 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.

Printable recipe

If you recall, one of my new favorite cookies was this one. But I have to tell you that this chocolate cookie is probably the best cookie I have ever tasted. When I took the first batch from the oven I tasted one and took the rest of it to David who was sawing wood for trim work on our downstairs renovation. The next thing I knew, there he was in the kitchen covered in sawdust looking for another. It is that good. As well it should be. It is another fabulous recipe from Peggy Knickerbocker in her book Simple Soirees. Are you tired of this cookbook yet? I’m not.

The original recipe came from Pierre Herme, the famous Parisian baker. Peggy Knickerbocker divides her time between San Francisco and Paris. She adapted this cookie from his recipe. The recipe as written relies on only the best ingredients, as it should. Unfortunately I did not have access to the very best chocolate, but in spite of that the cookies were still outstanding. It is probably wrong to offer such superlatives in describing the unique richness of these cookies, but they really are worthy of a staring role as dessert at a dinner party.

The cookies are easy to prepare. They are slice and bake cookies. You just assemble them ahead of time, roll them into two logs, refrigerate and slice and bake when you are ready to serve them. As an aside, I have to tell you how great the internet is. When I read the recipe in the cookbook, it called for only 1/4 cup flour. I knew this could not be correct, so I googled Peggy’s name and the name of the cookies and found a site that had discovered the mistake in the cookbook and corrected the measurement to 1 and 1/4 cups. I would love some input from any of you who make them. The chocolate I used is in parenthesis. If you have access to the chocolate called for, I would love to hear from you about the results. These cookies are worthy of respect.

CRISPY-CREAMY CHOCOLATE COOKIES

1/3 cup excellent quality processed, sweetened cocoa powder, such as E. Guittard or Scharffen Berger. ( I used Special Dark Hershey’s Cocoa; I know, I know; not good)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
11 Tbls. (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt or fleur de sel
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 ounces excellent quality bittersweet chocolate such as E. Guittard, roughly chopped ( I used Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate, a 4 ounce bar.) I refrigerated it before chopping.

Sift together the cocoa powder, baking soda, and flour. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer, cream the butter until smooth, add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and blend again. Add the salt and vanilla and blend for about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on the lowest speed until the ingredients are incorporated. The dough will be crumbly. Stir in the chopped chocolate.

Turn the dough onto a work surface. Press the mixture together with your hands, forming a ball Cut the ball in half and work each half into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Slice the logs into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Place the rounds on the baking sheets, 1 inch apart. If the cookies break apart, press them back together.

Bake one sheet at a time for 12 minutes. The cookies will not be firm nor appear to be done. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on the sheet on a wire rack until they are barely warm. Store the cookies in an airtight container. The recipe says it makes 4 dozen, but 2 is more like it.

I have just returned from a trip to my hometown in Michigan. I apologize for the lack of posts lately, but travel and computer problems have left me frustrated with my ability to blog and comment on all of my favorite sites. What I am not frustrated about is the amazing visit I had to Michigan. There is no better place to be in the summer than Michigan. The corn fields are producing the sweetest corn I have ever tasted. The farms are cultivating apples, cherries and blueberries. The fertile dark soil makes home gardens proliferate with pole beans, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, and onions. My brother’s garden makes me so envious. I will be showing you pictures and telling you more about it in a later post. But for now I want to tell you about growing up in this beautiful place.

Our childhoods shape us in so many significant ways. I sometimes wonder why it is that things that happen to us in our early years carry such magic and nostalgia. It never seems to fade from our memories. The memories are rich with childhood innocence, but even as young as we were, there is a maturity in our thoughts that I don’t think our parents appreciated. I try to keep that in mind with my granddaughter. She is much more aware than I give her credit for. And she is creating her past and personal history on a daily basis.

I made a friend in Kindergarten. Her name was Lyla. We shared a locker. The school we attended held grades Kindergarten through 12th grade and it had marble halls, wide marble staircases and three floors. Lyla lived a few blocks away from me in a beautiful house with many rooms to explore and I remember spending nights with her and her sister Debbe. We shared so many experiences. We learned to read together in the first grade. She has just retired from a career as an English teacher. We ran away from the school bully who threatened to “beat her up” after school. I was supposed to have her back, but when confronted with Cora Mae, told her I would run and get her Mother. I think I just wanted to run. She has forgiven me for abandoning her. It actually took a little nudging to my memory to remember this incident. You see we just reconnected on Facebook. I haven’t seen her or talked to her since we were thirteen. We are renewing and reconciling our relationship. Sometimes friends drift apart but it is so comforting to come together again and complete the circle of friendship.

Lyla and I met again last Saturday at Caruso’s. Every town has a place where everyone hangs out and we had one of the best. Caruso’s Candy Kitchen is an old fashioned Soda Shop that makes the best Toasted Tuna that I have ever tasted. They have been making this sandwich since I was a young teenager and probably made it when my Mother was a young teenager. They also make their own candy and the old candy case has been in place since the store opened years ago. Nothing has changed. All of us from Dowagiac return to our roots and memories at Caruso’s. Lyla and I had so much to talk about that we could have stayed all afternoon. Our friendship has been renewed. She now looks like her Mother and I look like mine.

Lyla brought me some gifts. Among them was a tin of Auntie Cookies. The story about these cookies is another personal history. Parthenia Hutton (1861-1958) was the maiden aunt who mothered three generations of Lewis offspring ( Dood was Lyla’s Grandmother and Parthenia’s niece). Aunt Senie was a master cook. She was especially adept at making sugar cookies which she did every Tuesday for most of her adult life. These cookies are as good today as they were over a century ago.

AUNTIE COOKIES

In Dood’s own words.

Turn on oven to 400 degrees before you begin.

(If you can read, you can bake.)

1 C brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
1 Cup shortening – all margarine or 1/2 margarine and 1/2 Crisco
1 t lemon extract
Mix the above ingredients. ( Lyla uses her Kitchenaid) Or hand mixer

Then add 2 eggs, one at a time. Beat with mixer after each addition.

Next add 1/2 C buttermilk with 3/4 t soda dissolved in it. ( I think dissolving the soda is important.)

Measure 2 C flour and 1 t salt. Then sift together into wet ingredients.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment covered cooke sheet. Bake in 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle sugar on top of cookies. Enjoy.

This is a picture of Lyla and me in front of Caruso’s. So much history, not to be forgotten, in our friendship.

Printable recipe

For the past twenty years the residents of Richlands Virginia have gathered at the Little River for a community pig roast. The setting is idyllic. The Little River is surrounded by woodlands and flows gently into the larger Clinch River. For the day of the festivities, volunteers stretch netting over a section of the river to prevent errant inner tubes from flowing away. Children and teens spend the day floating over the rocks in the tubes and jumping into the river from a rope swing. Canoes are also provided. Families bring their lawn chairs and establish their vantage points along the banks of the river. Barbara and I have a very good spot.

The main event of the day is the unveiling of the roasted pig. On Friday night a deep hole is dug and a fire started. Rocks are placed over the burning fire. Collard greens are added to perfume the meat. The dressed pig and other meat, usually deer and turkeys are placed in wire cages and lowered into the fire pit. The meat is covered with wet burlap and canvas. The pit is then covered with dirt and the meat is left to cook overnight.

On Saturday at 1:00 PM volunteers start digging the meat out of the still smoking pit.

The burlap and canvas are removed.

The greens and meat are exposed. In this picture a wire cage containing turkey is being removed from the pit.

After the meat is carved it is taken to the food tables where hungry people line up for the feast. The smell of cooked greens and roasted meats draws everyone forward.

Although the pork and other meats are the stars of the show, the contributions of covered dishes by the community are not to be believed. Casseroles, salads and desserts are so numerous that even if you are at the back of the long line there is always plenty to go around.

While friends and neighbors eat alongside the river they are serenaded by a series of talented bluegrass bands.

My husband and I have been fortunate to be invited to this event for the past four years. We always look forward to it. There is something very special about the gathering of friends and neighbors, young and old to share a day of fun, food and fellowship. The ladies of the community have published a pig roast cookbook. Of course I bought one. I will be sharing some of the recipes in later posts.