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Monday, June 12, 2023

Coconut-Coffee Cream Dessert Recipe by Ruth Paget

Coconut and Coffee Cream Dessert Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Serves 4 

Ingredients: 

-1 tablespoon water 

-2 teaspoons instant coffee 

-2 cups heavy cream 

-2 tablespoons sugar 

-1¾ cups coconut macaroon crumbs 

Steps: 

1-Mix water with coffee until dissolved. 

2-Stir 1 cup cream, sugar, 1 cup macaroon crumbs, and coffee together in a bowl. 

3-Beat remaining cup of cream until it holds a shape. Then, mix the cream gently into the coffee and macaroon mixture. 

4-Pour this mixture into 8 cupcake holders and sprinkle the remaining macaroon crumbs over the coffee-macaroon mixture. 

5-Place in the freezer and freeze for 3 hours or until firm. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France


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Saturday, June 10, 2023

Connecticut's Go-To Food by Ruth Paget

Connecticut’s Go-To Dishes by Ruth Paget 

Lovers of French cuisine and American classics alike can find delicious recipes to make in The Connecticut Farm Table Cookbook: 150 Home-Grown Recipes from the Nutmeg State by Tracey Medeiros and Christy Colasurdo. 

Connecticut citizens highly value and support organic produce, artisanal cheese from Vermont, free-range meat production, and using wild fish from rivers and the ocean in its cuisine, which is very French by choice, but solidly American at the same time. 

I would like to focus on the highly nutritious and relatively inexpensive American dishes in The Connecticut Farm table Cookbook, because it has become easier to obtain organic ingredients at farmers’ markets and supermarkets. 

One of the first go-to recipes for value in this cookbook is red flannel hash. Cubed potatoes and beets are baked in this recipe with rosemary and olive oil. Then, onions are sautéed along with the vegetables. Finally, goat cheese goes into this mix to be melted, adding a tart taste to the sweet beets. Another dish that plays off different flavors and textures against each other is the arugula and endive salad with apples, celeriac (celery root), caramelized walnuts, and cider vinaigrette. That long title does not include the blue cheese in the salad, which adds a tart finish to the peppery arugula, bitter endive, sweet apples, crunchy celeriac, bitter-sweet walnuts, and acetic vinaigrette. This salad is very filling thanks to the medley of flavors and textures. 

Other salads in this cookbook are simpler, but pleasing such as:  

-kale salad with sour cherry vinaigrette -beet and carrot slaw with raspberry vinaigrette 

-salt-roasted beets with blood oranges, pistachios, and goat cheese salad 

A puréed cauliflower soup in the cookbook is enriched with cream cheese and milk in addition to broth. 

Other puréed soups could be made this way notably broccoli and cabbage. Some notable vegetable main dishes include: 

-fennel-Parmesan fritters with greens in buttermilk-bacon dressing 

-sautéed Swiss chard with fresh ricotta cheese 

The Connecticut Farm Table Cookbook provides recipes for several elegant dishes that you can make for weekend lunches: 

-pan-roasted New England pheasant breast with shallot-cranberry purée, braised red cabbage, and Madeira sauce 

-chicken and blue oyster mushrooms with sherry cream sauce 

-Atlantic cod with wild rice and corn griddle cakes and garlicky kale 

-Connecticut River shad with sorrel sauce 

Finally, high-calorie dishes like these merit a dessert like lavender cookies for dessert. There are many dessert recipes, but I think lavender cookies and tea are appropriate for a New England finish to any of these meals.

Cooks who enjoy contrasting flavor combinations will find a lot to like in The Connecticut Farm Table Cookbook: 150 Home-Grown Recipes from the Nutmeg State by Tracey Medeiros and Christy Colascurdo. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France


Click for Ruth Paget's Books




Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Oatmeal Cookies Recipe by Ruth Paget

Oatmeal Cookies Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Makes 24 Cookies 

Ingredients: 

-1 cup softened butter 

-1½ cups brown sugar 

-2 beaten eggs 

-1/2 cup buttermilk 

-1¾ cup flour 

-1 teaspoon baking soda 

-1 teaspoon baking powder 

-1 teaspoon cinnamon 

-1 teaspoon nutmeg 

-3 cups rolled oats 

-1/2 cup raisins 

-1/2 cup chopped walnuts 

Steps: 

1-Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2-Combine butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in the eggs and buttermilk. 

3-In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, rolled oats, raisins, and chopped walnuts together and blend well. 

4-Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture and blend well. 

5-Drop spoonfuls of the oatmeal dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool cookies on rack. 

Source: Rose Pennington – Circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France


Click for Ruth Paget's Books




Outrigger Salad Recipe by Ruth Paget

Outrigger Salad Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Serves 4 

Ingredients: 

-1 quart cottage cheese 

-2 cucumbers cut in half with seeds scooped out 

-1 cup peeled and deveined shrimp cooked in Zatarains Creole Seasoning 

-1 cup crabmeat cooked in Zatarains Creole Seasoning 

-4 cooked asparagus spears to be used as outriggers 

Steps: 

1-Spread cottage cheese on a platter to be used as “the sea.” 

2-Mix shrimp and crab together and stuff cucumbers.  

3-Place cucumbers on the cottage cheese in a row. Place asparagus spears across the cucumbers as the outriggers. Chill until serving. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France


Click for Ruth Paget's Books




Coleslaw Aspic Recipe by Ruth Paget

Coleslaw Aspic Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Serves 4 

Ingredients: 

-1 (1-ounce) envelope gelatin 

-1 cup cold milk 

-3/4 cup Miracle Whip 

-1/4 cup sour cream 

-1 teaspoon mustard 

-1 teaspoon celery seed 

-1 teaspoon grated onion 

-1 teaspoon salt 

-1 teaspoon pepper 

-2 cups finely shredded cabbage 

-1 cup finely shredded cabbage 

-1 cup peeled tomato wedges 

-1 cup cucumber cubes 

Steps: 

1-Soften gelatin in milk and dissolve over boiling hot water in a double boiler. 

2-Combine Miracle Whip, sour cream, mustard, celery seed, onion, salt, pepper, and gelatin together in a bowl. Blend well. 

3-Chill until slightly thickened. Add cabbage to gelatin mixture and pour into a 6½-inch mold. Chill until thickened. 

4-Unmold gelatin. Surround gelatin with endive, tomato wedges, and cucumber cubes. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France


Click for Ruth Paget's Books




Fruit Salad Platter Recipe by Ruth Paget

Fruit Salad Platter Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Serves 6 

Ingredients: 

-1/2 peeled and sliced honeydew melon 

-1/2 peeled and sliced cantaloupe melon 

-1/2 peeled and sliced pineapple 

-2 peeled and sectioned oranges 

-2 peeled and sectioned grapefruit 

-1 sectioned and cored red apple 

-1 cup stemmed and halved strawberries 

Steps: 

1-Cut segmented fruit into thirds. 

2-Place fruit on a large serving platter and mix. 

3-Serve with plain yogurt and honey on the side. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France


Click for Ruth Paget's Books




Tuna Biscuits Recipe by Ruth Paget

Tuna Biscuits Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Makes 12 biscuit sandwiches 

Ingredients: 

-2 cups sifted flour 

-2 teaspoons baking powder 

-1 teaspoon baking soda 

-1 teaspoon salt 

-1/2 cup butter 

-3/4 cup buttermilk 

-1 (5-ounce) can drained tuna 

-butter and cream for brushing tops of biscuits 

Steps: 

1-Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2-Sift dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add butter and mix with a fork until crumbly. 

3-Add buttermilk and mix quickly with a fork to form a soft dough. Knead dough lightly 20 times. 

4-Roll dough to ¼-inch thick. Cut 24 biscuits with a 2-inch cookie cutter. 

5-Place a teaspoon of tuna in the center of 12 biscuit circles. Top with the remaining biscuit circles and gently press down. 

6-Brush the tops with buttermilk or cream and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France


Click for Ruth Paget's Books