Not to be outdone, Mama has made several incredible dishes in the last several days. From the back of the novel, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Mama and Sis made smothered pork chops. It uses bacon and a cream-gravy, where I usually used onions and made chicken-stock gravy. Theirs was amazing! I think you could skip the step with breading the pork chop and make it with olive oil instead of bacon fat. It would be almost as good and much easier (I won't go as far as "healthy.") To go with this Southern dish, Mama and Sis adapted some of our canned goods--yams and green beans--to Southern versions. Best meal in a long time. I should've made biscuits or corned bread!
And then last night, using up some mushrooms we had and some arborio rice from the very back of the cupboard, Mama pulled a delicious risotto out of her hat! We used to make a lot more risotto, before the kids, and it looks like, judging by the enthusiasm last night, we'll be eating more risotto.
Lastly, just so I can make a contribution, I made Peanut Butter Quick Bread from a Depression-era recipe that is going around FB right now. I had shared the recipe with friends but noted I was out of peanut butter. A kind friend took pity--yes, first world problems--and bought me crunchy peanut butter, which I love (truly, it's an addiction.) So I made the bread and shared it with her. So good! So, so good.
I wonder what this coming week will find us eating. . . .
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Fudge
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, plus extra for greasing the pan
1 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
⅛ teaspoon salt (optional)
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
Butter an 8-inch-square baking pan. Line with parchment or wax paper, letting edges of paper hang over sides of pan.
In top of a double boiler or a metal bowl set over (not resting in) simmering water, combine all ingredients except nuts. Mix just until melted and well combined. (Alternatively, use a microwave on low power to melt ingredients, stopping every 10 to 20 seconds to mix well.) The mixture should be heated as little as possible. Mix in nuts, if using.
Scrape mixture into prepared pan. Refrigerate until set, about 4 hours or overnight. Lift fudge on paper out of pan and use a large knife to cut into squares.
Smothered Pork Chops
4 slices bacon
4 large thick pork chops
1/3 cup flour
salt and pepper
1 ½ cups milk
Fry the bacon first, then dip the chops in flour, with salt and pepper. Save what’s left of the flour. Fry your chops in the hot bacon drippings until brown on both sides. Turn down heat, cover, and cook till chops are tender and thoroughly cooked—about 30 minutes. Stir your leftover flour into the fat and cook until browned. Pour the milk over the chops and simmer until gravy is thickened.
Pandemic Green Beans
In pot, saute chopped onion then add green beans (fresh, canned, frozen). Heat until cooked. Add salt, pepper, and about 1 tablespoon of vinegar of your choice.
Pandemic Sweet Potatoes
Drain can of Sylvie’s sweet potatoes. Place in baking dish. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pats of butter. Bake until heated through.
Mushroom Risotto a la NYTimes
6 to 7 cups chicken, vegetable or garlic broth or stock, as needed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup finely chopped onion, or 2 shallots, minced
¾ to 1 pound wild mushrooms, cleaned if necessary and torn or sliced into smaller pieces if thick (small wild mushrooms should be left whole, mushrooms like maitake can just be separated into small pieces)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or chopped sage
1 ½ cups arborio or carnaroli rice
½ cup dry white wine, such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc
1 cup frozen peas, thawed (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, or a mixture of Parmesan and Pecorino Romano
Bring stock or broth to a simmer in a saucepan, with a ladle nearby. Make sure stock is well seasoned, and keep it simmering on the stove.
Heat oil in a wide, heavy nonstick skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add onions or shallots and cook gently until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
Turn up heat and add mushrooms. (NOTE: Mama flavored the mushrooms with marsala.) Cook, stirring, until they begin to sweat, about 3 minutes, then add garlic and thyme or sage. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat until they are soft. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Add rice and stir until grains begin to crackle. Add wine and cook, stirring, until wine is no longer visible in pan. Stir in enough simmering stock to just cover the rice. The stock should bubble slowly. Cook, stirring often and vigorously, until stock is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of stock and continue cooking, not too fast and not too slowly, stirring often and adding more stock when rice is almost dry, for 15 minutes.
Add peas, if using, and continue adding stock and stirring for another 10 minutes. Rice should be tender all the way through but still al dente. Taste now and adjust seasoning.
Add another ladleful or two of stock to rice. Stir in parsley and Parmesan, and remove from heat. Season with black pepper and serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates.
Bud's Sushi
- Prep rice
- Mix water with 1-2 tsps vinegar
- Dipping your hands into vinegar water, scoop rice and apply thin layer over a sheet of seaweed
- Lay strips of fillings (tuna, pickles, cucumber, etc)
- Using sushi mat, roll the sushi, pressing firmly
- Cut into slices and eat plain or with soy sauce
Bud's Tuna salad
- Mix about 2 spoons of mayo into the tuna and mash together
- Add in finely chopped other ingredients - namely, raw onion, gherkin slices, and celery pieces
- If desired, spread onto bread with a slice of cheddar cheese and broil for a tuna melt
Peanut Butter Quick Bread
As described by the website, "Originating from the 1932 Canadian cookbook, Five Roses: A Guide to Good Cooking by Elizabeth Driver, the Depression-era recipe went viral on Reddit around eight months ago, soon after being shared to the online food channel Glen & Friends Cooking." I used about a third whole wheat flour and crunchy peanut butter. I imagine it would also be great with almond butter, perhaps oatmeal or oat flour. I'll definitely be making it again.
2 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1⅓ cups milk
½ cups peanut butter
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix together dry ingredients.
Mix in the milk, then the peanut butter.
Scrape into greased loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour.
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