Lucindaville

Famous Food Friday -- George and Martha Washington

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0000

"States" china with Martha Washington's initials in the center.
This china was a gift from the East India Trading Company.

As I stated in the Lucindaville Abecedary, Dining With The Washingtons is a glorious book. It may look like a stuffy old academic tome from the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, but it is a breath of fresh air when you open the covers. Yes, it is a well researched scholarly book about George and Martha Washington, but the focus is about an area often overlooked in most histories – it is about the kitchen – or more specifically, how the kitchen impacts the dining room.

This interdisciplinary study starts in the kitchen and uses this space to view everything around it. It begins with the house as a focal point for entertaining such as, who came and why. George Washington’s life of public service made him a distinguished guest and those traveling through Virginia became his guests. Mount Vernon became one of the first private homes to offer its guests ice cream. In 1784 a “Cream Machine for Ice” was purchased in England for the sum of 1.13.3 pounds. It must have been a hit as three years later and expenditure of $7 was noted for another ice cream maker and the next year a full five shillings for ice cream spoons. Seriously, who wants to eat ice cream with plain soup spoon?

Ice Cream "Machine"

There is section on how everyday meals would have been prepared. While not incorporating the same pomp and circumstance of “state” dinners, the meal preparation was executed with military precision. The household staff, consisting of Washington’s slaves, began work before sunrise and ended late in the evening. A diary of the cook’s day from the 1790’s tells us that the cook, Lucy, along with her husband, Frank Lee, the butler would rise at 4 a. m. to begin work. A normal workday for Lucy would end with cleaning the kitchen at 8 p. m. When company was expected, the day would run much longer as Washington generally served his guests at 9 p.m.

Larder at Mount Vernon

Washington’s lavish meals were raised at Mount Vernon. Washington was a serious student of agriculture. He was one of the first farmers to abandon the once lucrative crop of tobacco for more farm friendly grain, which he milled and sold. A world traveler, Washington was fond of imported drink, but in his desire to “shop American” he replace imported ale with local beer. Especially fond of Robert Hare’s porter from Philadelphia, Washington was saddened when the brewery burned and wrote of his sorrow, “on public as well as private accounts.”

No book on dining would be complete without recipes. Noted food historian Nancy Carter Crump assembled a lovely collections of recipes that would have graced the tables of the Washington and translated them into a usable collection for today’s kitchens. For historical sake, here is one of Martha Washington’s actual recipes for you to try.

Take 40 eggs divide the whites from the yolks & beat them to a froth then work four pounds of butter to a cream & put the whites of the eggs to it a Spoon full at a time till it is well work’d then put 4 pounds of sugar finely powdered to it in the same manners then put it in the Youlks of eggs & 5 pounds of flower & 5 pounds of fruit. 2 hours will bake it add to it half an ounce of mace & nutmeg half a pint of wine and some frensh brandy.

Even if you could care less about history, this is one culinary romp you will want on your shelf.

Women Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:55:00 +0000

Edith Wharton, 1905

Happy 150th Birthday to Edith Wharton.

Lucindaville Abecedary

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:52:00 +0000

My favorite type of book is an abcedary. Alphabetical listing of various ideas, thoughts, places and whatever. It seems that with a new year upon us, a Lucindaville abcedary of the things we like, loved and lived for would be a great way to start the year. Given that it is nearly February, it would seem that now is the time.

Alabama wins the BCS Championship. What more can one say!

Bohemian interiors. I am not a minimalist. I am a collector. I love obsessive clutter, especially books. So there is little doubt that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Oberto Gili’s Home Sweet Home. The pages are filled with color and books and dead things and paintings and so much more.

Cats. We lost Djuna this year. She had been my cat for 17 years. Halloween, we added Trick and Treat to the menagerie.

We love books about dining. We love dining in general, but we do love a great book on entertaining. This year our favorite entertaining book was both entertaining and historical. Dining with the Washington’s was published by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. It is beyond beautiful. The over sized jacket flaps feature Martha and George Washington. There are historical lists of people they entertained. There is garden information, cooking information, info on their china and cutlery and a recipes. Food, dishes, gardens, wine, oh my.

Edwardians. We really loved the Victorians but the Edwardians are growing on us. Between Downton Abbey and the new Upstairs/Downstairs, we are immersed in all things Edwardian.

Farro. This has been the year of the ancient grains. Farro has been one of our favorites. We loved it our warm beet salad with blueberries. This month in Food & Wine we saw an identical recipe for farro and beets with fish. We like blueberries better!

Gizzards are the offal of champions. After sharing several gizzard recipes, we found that there are many like-minded gizzard lovers out there. Look for new gizzard recipes in the coming months.

Christopher Hitchens lost this valiant battle with cancer. We will miss hanging out in his office talking about books. Agree with him or not, his essays always made us think.

ipad. I believed that there would never be an invention greater than the ipod. I love my music and I love my ipod with a devotion that is often reserved for a spouse. That being said, this Christmas I got and ipad. I see a plural marriage in my future.

Justified. My favorite television show of last year was the faintly western, Justified. I love Timothy Olyphfant. Margo Martindale was the best television villain in recent memory, and we are beyond happy that she won an Emmy. Justified is back this week and we are hoping that it will continue its winning ways.

Kitchen equipment. This has been a year of heavy kitchen equipment. Thanks to an extensive wish list of DIY tools we now have our own grain grinder and our own sausage stuffer. While it is often hard to walk around the kitchen, it is filled with great food.

little augury. We have been reading little augury for several years now. It is still as fresh as ever. While we procrastinate about a blog entry, little augury writes about it. And frankly, it kind of ticks us off that she is so together and that she has such great taste. But we will forgive her.

Mamacita. One of the great things about blogging is the people who comment. Sometimes the comments are better than the blogs. This would be the case with mamacita. When trying to identify a piece of Victorian cutlery, mamacita suggested it might be a tater tot fork. We laughed out loud. We still laugh, not to mention, we feel that it has opened the door to a whole new field of repurposing cutlery for modern times.

New Bob Dylan Tribute. We are fans of Bob Dylan but we are even bigger fans of Bob Dylan Tributes. This year Amnesty International compiled Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International, features a full 75 tributes to Dylan. Everyone from Kronos Quartet to Miley Cyrus. For that reason alone, this is a keeper.

The Metropolitan Opera in West Virginia. The Metropolitan Opera broadcasts a live prefomance in HD in movie theaters around the country. Even in the backwoods of West Virginia one can spend an evening with Deborah Voigt's Brunnhilde.

Pigtown Design is another of our favorite blogs. WE just love the happenings in Baltimore and everywhere else the blog takes us.

Quinoa. For my birthday last year I got a five-pound bag of quinoa. It was another of our favorite ancient grains. Cook it like rice. It is nutty and easy and good for you.

Lee Radziwill. As a child, my idol was Lee Radziwill. I read once that she was “sitting on the couch looking pensive.” So I looked up the word “pensive” and set out to sit on my couch looking “pensive.” Frankly, I looked like a child turning into a seial killer. I never masterd pensive, but I still think she is one of the most beautiful women in the world.

Smocks. Last year we got interested in bringing back the smock as a necessary item of clothing. We went so far as to order a vintage smock pattern. The year we are continuing our smock canmpaign and getting out the sewing machine.

Theatre of design of Olvier Messel. We have always been a big fan of Oliver Messel, so the annoucment that there would be new book featuring his work was beyond exciting. Oliver Messel: In the Theater of Design offers up the most complet look at Messel’s vast body of work.

Unity. As in Mitford. Hey, we couldn’t do a blog retrospective without a “Mitford.” This year we are looking forward to writing about a few of the lesser known Mitford girls. It may or may not surprise you to learn that are several songs about Unity Mitford from the rather twee Indelicates(shown above) to the skinhead band, Whitelaw.

Diana Vreeland. Rumor has it, Diana Vreeland is making a comeback. for us she never left. Want to know why she is so improtant? Check out Diana Vreeland The Eye Has To Travel.

Whole Beast Butchery. Now I know that most of you are not going to attempt butchering a steer in your kitchen. But if you care about how an animal gets to your table, check out Ryan Farr's Whole Beast Buchery. One will find that there is an incredible art to cutting meat.

Xtabay. The exotic singer with the four octive voice, Yma Sumac. She was the voice of Xtabay and an excellent addition to a party music mix.

Yuzu Kosho. This year the kitchen has been filled with dishes amped up with yuzu kosho. A wonderful paste of yuzu, pepperes and salt that add a bright and sizzling heat to any dish. A bit in some oil makes a wonderfl marinade. A bit in soup gives it a bright warm kick. Food & Wine says it going to be the "it" ingrecient this year. Let'shope so as it is a bit hard to find.

zippy definition

[ˈzɪpi]

mod.
lively; active. : This is a real zippy number.

Zippy. Our descriptive word for the year. We are planning a very zippy blog in 2012.

Women Reading/Requiescat in Pace - Eve Arnold

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:56:00 +0000

Marilyn Monroe Reading Ulysses, Eve Arnold, 1954

Eve Arnold 21 April 1912 – 4 January 2012

Arnold died just shy of her 100th birthday. New York Times Obituary.

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 21:01:00 +0000

Santa Teddy and Kitty Carlisle the Red Nosed Reinkitty

and Trick and Treat and Clementine and the chickens and Lucinda wish all our fair readers a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, a Festive Festivus and a real nice Sunday afternoon.

Zippy E-mail

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:38:00 +0000

Opening e-mail is rather like opening regular mail. The title looks interesting and then one finds the e-mail to be from a pornographer or an exiled Prince who needs MY help to transfer large amounts of cash. Then there are e-mails from people one might actually know; e-mails filled with dancing animals and jokes from last century.

Yesterday I got an e-mail from my friend, Junior, who sent me some work by Canadian artist, Calvin Nicholls.

Nicholls sculpts with paper. Given the fact that I have recently been wrapping Christmas presents, and given the fact that the wrapping looks like it was executed by a blind Elizabethan monk with a drinking problem, Nicolls use of paper was quite fascinating.

Ideas That Didn't Work

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:52:00 +0000

Oh sure, ANYONE can have a live Christmas tree,

but not everyone can have live Christmas ornaments.

Much like live Nativity scenes, we thought perhaps, live decorations.

The idea was short lived.

But, definitely in the Christmas spirit.

Dish

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:42:00 +0000

Here's the dish...I, too, have a bit of dish fetish like Shax Riegler. Unlike Riegler, I never gathered them all together and sought out more to do a book. Lucky for us, he did. Dish: 813 colorful, wonderful dinner plates is just that, a collection of wonderful dinner plates. They run the gamut from old to new, plain and painted, simple and sublime. There is not a Southern girl worth her salt who can't wax poetic about the details of true Spode Christmas Tree and how to differentiate it from the numerous knock-offs.

Being a bit inspired by Dish, I thought I would share some of my plates. My family has a bit of a Haviland fetish.

This is one of a set of hand painted bird plates.

This is one of multi-colored set of luncheon plates.

This is my Haviland pattern.

My Mother's Delaware wedding china.

My great-aunts wedding china, Princess.

One of dozens of melamine Andy Warhol hors d'oeuvre plates, which I am very fond of.

For more cool plate action do check out Reggie Darling's Saucer of the Week. You can see some of the dishes feature in his book at Shax Riegler.

Spotted Dick

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:04:00 +0000

Having a reputation for being a good cook and baker, I often take requests. Recently, I received one from my friend Barbara. It would seem that Barbara's father spent many a delightful year in English boarding schools. As a child, she remembered that he spoke fondly of of a favorite pudding, spotted dick. Recently a friend mentioned spotted dick and Barbara thought it would be an excellent birthday gift for him and she enlisted my help.

Here is a bit of Spotted Dick history...

Now we all know the British speak a form of English often known as "the Queen's English" which varies from American English. One big variation is the use of the word "pudding." For Americans "pudding" is that stuff we get from Bill Cosby and Jello. For the Brits a "pudding" or "pud" is a synonymous with our word, "dessert." So when a Brit tells you they have a lovely pudding, it might be a cake, or cookie or ice cream or spotted dick.

A spotted dick is a steamed suet pudding, studded with currants and boiled in a cloth.

The first true recipe for spotted dick can be found in 1850 in Alexis Soyer's, The Modern Housewife. However, identical recipes for the dish can be found as far back as the late 1600's.

The spotted part of the dish is easy see since it is "spotted" throughout with currants.

The "dick" is much debated. Some linguists believe that the word "dick" was a colloquial term for "pudding" at least four hundred years ago. Some feel it is a corruption of the word "pudding" which was oft pronounced "puddick" and thus, "dick." "Dick" was also used to mean a hard cheese and also a leather apron, among other uses. No one knows how "dick" became slang for "penis" but it seems to have originated around 1890 with the British army possibly because a riding whip was called a "dick" and the handle bore a resemblance to the male member. So it would seem that spotted dick didn't start to garner giggles until nearly a half-century after Soyer first published his recipe.

I set out to find an authentic recipe and I looked no farther than that bastion of English history, Upstairs, Downstairs. I knew that Mrs. Bridges would know better than anyone how to make a spotted dick. She did not disappoint and soon I had my recipe. Mrs Bridges notes that,

"Recently, the pudding has been accorded middle-class airs with raisins and sultana set in a light sponge."

She would not recognize such a confection as a true English spotted dick. After considerable boiling, the spotted dick is served with a bit of custard. For Barbara's present, I included a couple of cans of Devon Custard as I am a fine baker but not the best custard maker.

By all accounts, the present was a huge hit and yes, every dick joke out there was made. I heard they actually ate it, smothered in custard like perfect boarding school fare.

Trick and Treat

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Trick

Treat

This is one of those "swamped at the holidays" seasons. I have been running around wildly from Boston to DC and places in between. So last week I was chided for not mentioning the new additions to our family.

On Halloween, I returned home to find a little kitten "trick" on my steps.

Trick and Treat eating with the chickens the day after Halloween.

I was not amused. Later I was looking out the window and thought, that kitten didn't look that fluffy... of course, there was a Treat to go with the Trick.

Two nights before I left for Boston, I heard a kitten crying. It upset my cats, and the crying got louder. I investigated and found this little "Phantom of the Opera" face staring up from the heating grate in the bathroom. Treat had managed to get into the heating ducts. I removed the duct cover and he cam up into the house. The next day I got Trick in because I was leaving and didn't want a dead kitten in my heating ducts.

After I returned, I got the duct repaired and the crawl space covered. My friend Ann was coming out for Thanksgiving and I asked her to help me tame them enough to take them to the kitty jail. Ann arrived with a gigantic bag of kitten food, matching bowls and a bag of toys. Needless to say, they did not make it to the kitty jail.

Trick trying to get to the turkey.

So here they are. I am now gradually moving toward being the cat lady of Lucindaville.

Women Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:45:00 +0000

Compartment C, Car 293 by Edward Hooper, 1938

Cocktails at the Burn Pit -- Sweet Potato Not-Nog

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:45:00 +0000

Everybody loves egg nog. I love a homemade egg nog, but one must break a lot of eggs and many people are leery of raw egg consumption. There a a few good commercial egg nogs, but nothing beats homemade. What to do?

Recently I was in an Asian market and found a bag of candied sweet potato strips. I just love candied fruit and I am always on the lookout for a new addition to moist, chewy fruit cakes. The sweet potato wedges were a delight eaten out of the package as a snack, but I kept thinking of what I could do with them. (I have no idea how they are used in Asian cooking or if they are simply a kids snack, so if anyone knows or has recipes, do share.)

I began to think the sweet potato sticks would make a fine swizzle sticks and cocktails came to mind. I thought I would make a sweet potato nog. Traditionally a nog has an egg base, but I didn't want the addition of eggs so I made a sweet potato not-nog. Not a single egg was broken in the making of this drink.

I used roasted sweet potatoes that were mashed and then strained, to give them a silky texture. I like it a bit on the warm side, so I used the sweet potatoes while warm and warmed the milk, slightly. I used the traditional whipped cream topper, but if you want a more "sweet potato casserole" version, try adding a large toasted marshmallow or making a swizzle stick out of tiny toasted marshmallows. I tend to err on the less sweet side, so adjust the sweetening to your own taste. Finally, as a caveat, I made this a drink at a time so I have not experimented with a gigantic punch bowl full of sweet potato not-nog.

Sweet Potato Not-Nog

4 ounces mashed and strained sweet potato
1 ounce simple syrup, or more to sweeten
3/4 ounce brandy
3/4 ounce bourbon
1/4 ounce orange liquor
1 ounce milk
dash of orange bitters

1 ounce whipped cream or a toasted marshmallow
1 slice candied sweet potato, optional

In a blender, mix the sweet potato, syrup, liquors and milk until smooth. Pour into a glass. Top with some whipped cream.

French Farm Table

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:14:00 +0000

I wanted an old French farmhouse table that I could use and abuse. An unfinished long, narrow, sturdy workhorse to cook on, eat on and work on.

Something like this. Eight feet long, 34 inches wide and priced at $8500. Well as much as I love it there is no way I am going to fork over $8500 for a table to beat up. So I decided to build a table to fit my unique needs. Well, actually, I designed the tables(s) and got Jon to build them.

While I wanted an 8-foot table, the truth is, I don't need an 8-foot table every day. A permanent table would have been cumbersome and I would have tired of it easily. I needed a table for the kitchen, because I never have enough counter space when I am canning. I needed an eating table, but I like to eat in the kitchen as well as the den as well as the living room, and frankly, dragging a table around is a pain. I know because I have moved my dining table on numerous occasions. I also need a work space, depending on the project, I need a sturdy desk for the computer and books.

My solution was to build two four foot tables, put them on wheels and make them out of inexpensive, thick-cut pine. That way I would have an 8 foot table or a big square table. I had it made narrow (30inches) so that it would move comfortably through my narrow doors. If I want the table out of the way, I can just move it to the porch! If I need more space in the kitchen, I can just move it in. If I need to work and eat-- I am covered.

After much debating over the raw wood, which I wanted to simply oil with some butcher block oil, I have decided to seal the table first, then add the butcher block oil. After that, I just need 100 years of grime.

A "Cheesy" Christmas Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:50:00 +0000

Give a friend a log of goat cheese and they have a nice appetizer.

Give them a share of Belle Cheve from Kickstater and they have a share in Belle Cheve.

Belle Cheve is a fromagerie in Elkmont, Alabama. The original owner wanted a nice French goat cheese and got herself some goats and the rest is history. Well, actually, the story takes its modern turn away from Alabama. It seems that Tasia Malakasis stumbled across some Belle Cheve in New York City where she found herself transplanted from Alabama. She was so impressed with cheese that she decided she wanted to return to Alabama and make cheese.

This is the point in the story that everyone has from time to time. That, "Hey, I'm going to quite my job and start a food company on a farm a thousand miles from where I am now and all will be fine" moment that most people have and quickly forget about. Malakasis refused to forget. She called Belle Cheve. She begged to work there. She begged to learn how to make cheese. She showed up. She offered to buy the place.

Her dogged endurance paid off and soon, she was making an extraordinary goat cheese sought out by chefs and consumers far and wide. The story hits a bit of a bump in the road, however, because the lease on the land where all those lovely Alabama goats roam free is up and the landowner will not renew the lease.

Belle Cheve needs its own place. That is where Kickstarter comes in. Kickstarter is a way to garner funding from people out there in the real world. So be one of those people.

If you are one of the 1% out there and need a tax right off... send Belle Cheve $100,000 and get cheese for life.

If you are one of the 99%, give goat cheese as a gift... not just the cheese but a chance to keep this great dairy alive and milking.

A "Wilder" Christmas Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:53:00 +0000

At a loss for what to give the gardener in your life?

For those of you in the upper 1% may we suggest hiring a full-time gardener, or two, to keep your property in tip top shape. But do try to keep them in a legal age range as this band of gardeners seem a bit on the young side...

For the other 99% who need a great gardening idea for Christmas, might we suggest the recently launched Wilder Quarterly. Let's just say this is not your grandmother's gardening magazine. It is after all a quarterly, so it has that journal feel to it. The articles are really, really useful. Seriously, detailed instruction on how to build your own cold frame. A visit to the Vinegar Hill House for a lesson in fermentation. A visit to filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's secret garden.

There are mushrooms, bulb planting, soil additives and rather fun chicken coops.

Wilder Quarterly is definitely a keeper! And a giver. The biggest problem with Wilder Quarterly... the second you finish the first volume, you begin to linger longingly at the mailbox for the next installment. Be forewarned.

We Will Be...

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:27:00 +0000

...watching the Alabama-Auburn game.

Hope everyone had a glorious Thanksgiving and to our friends across the pond, a lovely Thursday. Swamped as of late, but planning to be remarkably productive in the coming weeks.

Women Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:32:00 +0000

La Lectrice soumise by René Magritte, 1928.

This is the perfect representation of my face when I realized Thanksgiving was Thursday.

Canned Clementines

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:57:00 +0000

Confiture of the weekend: canned clementines. Clementines are back and usually sold in jumbo bags or boxes. Generally, no matter how bad the scurvy, it is daunting for one person to consume all those clementines in a reasonable amount of time, leaving a plethora of tiny oranges that seem to multiply overnight. What's a girl to do. Well, can them, of course.

It is really quite easy, if not a bit tedious, as one must first peel all those little teeny oranges. After about, two, the sticky white membranes get all mashed onto your fingers and the process slows and becomes messy, so be sure you have a bar rag of some type to try and keep the hands free of goo.

Then, stuff jars with clementines, make a simple syrup, pour over the clementines in the jar, screw on a lid and process for 10 minutes.

Some people like to break up the clementines into sections to get more in the jar, but these German Leifheit jars are constructed in the funny triangular shape which allowed for a snug insertion of whole clementines. The simple syrup had a bit of spice. Rather than give you strict measurements, as I do not know how ravenous your desire for clementines was, so I have no idea how many were laying on your counter.

MEASUREMENTS

After peeling all the clementines you are planning to use, stuff them(whole or sectioned) into jars. Now, count the number of jars. Fill one jar with plain water while it is stuffed. Pour that water off into a measuring cup. Multiply that amount of water by the number of jars and that will be the amount of water for this canning job. (So, if you get 1/2 cup of water out of your clementine stuffed jar and you have 4 stuffed jars, you will start with 2 cups of water.)

This past week we have been reading Brad Thomas Parsons' wonderful book, Bitters. Since we have never been a huge fan of cloying sweetness, the idea of a little bitterness gains rave reviews. While our bar is set up with your basic Angostua, Peychaud and orange bitters, we also keep a nice celery on hand for that special kick to our Bloody Mary's. We are enamored of The Bitter Truth's homage to Jerry Thomas' bitters recipe, Bittermen's Burlesque is another fave as is The Bitter End's Memphis. But I digress....(and so should you by reading our Cookbook Of The Day post on Bitters.)

Back to the clementines which, I might add, got their name from my cat "Clementine" whose lovely orange mane was the first inspiration for clementines. But again, I digress...

BACK TO THE RECIPE:

While my "simple syrup" started out simple, it became more complex. I added a sachet of mixed spice and finished it off with shot of orange liqueur and a dash of orange bitters.

Lucinda's Canned Clementines

28 clementines, peeled
1 1/2 cups water (see the note for measuring)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon grains of paradise
1/2 cup orange liqueur
6 dashed of orange bitters

Peel and remove as much of the white membrane as possible. Fit the clementines whole or in sections into canning jars.

Take the spices and wrap them in a piece of cheesecloth and tie off. In a small saucepan, add the sugar and water and stir until the sugar is just dissolve. Add the spice packet and bring to a boil. Remove the spice packet, making sure to drain any excess syrup back into the saucepan. Add the orange liqueur, the bitters and stir.

Pour the syrup over the clementines, leaving a 1/8 inch of rim. Wipe clean the jar rims and screw on the lids, hand tight. Process in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Remember to time from the point the water boils. Sometimes with a syrup base, it will weep through the lid a bit, don't worry if that happens.

If, by chance, you find yourself some leftover syrup, consider yourself lucky. Just pour it in a little container and stick it in the fridge. Then you can add it to carrots, sweeten tea, make vinaigrette, the possibilities are endless.

More Famous People with Chickens

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:34:00 +0000

Jane Fonda

Sam Neill

Self-Portrait with Chickens, William Huggins, 1858.

Miley Cyrus

Self-Portrait, Robert Rauschenberg, 1954

My Own Personal...

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:19:00 +0000

Harry Lowe and I have this game. It is a kind of "fantasy football" for people who don't give a crap about professional sports. Ours is a kind of "Fantasy Household Staff." We list the staff we would most like to have. Harry Lowe and I agree that, if money were no object, we would have drivers. Someone to sit and wait till we wanted to go somewhere. Then we could sit in the back, sip coffee, listen to tunes, nap, and arrive at our destination without ever once looking for parking.

My friend, Ann, wants a cook, like Oprah. Well, not "Oprah" to actually cook, but a cook/nutritionist who would make tasty snack and meals so Ann would eat properly.

Maids often come up on this list, as do gardeners, handymen, and caretakers.

Recently, I saw a headline that stated:

Daniel Boulud's Personal Forager Gets Cookbook Deal.

A personal forger! Who knew. Now everybody wants one. Clearly it won't be long till the poor people will have nothing to eat as marauding Yankee foragers descent on the South and take all our ramps, kudzu flowers, morels and god know what else.

Tama Matsuoka, Boulud's personal forager, and his chef de cuisine Eddy Leroux are preparing a book tentatively and appropriately entitled: Foraged Flavor.

Now the whole roster on my Fantasy Household Staff list has to change to add in my personal forager. The upstairs maid will have to go.

Bucatini with Chicken Livers and Gizzards

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:08:00 +0000

Not wanting to shock those people just cannot abide organ meats, we tempered this post with a photo of the Tomato Bread we made to accompany the bucatini.

Now for the offal...

Even as a child, my favorite part of the chicken was the gizzard. In D.C. last week, I stopped by Eastern Market and found a beautiful fresh bucatini which one doesn't often find fresh. Bucatini is a pasta that can stand up to anything and passing my favorite poultry vendor, I knew just what would top that fresh bucatini. I bought some chicken lives and gizzards. As they came from a reputable vendor, the gizzards were clean and neat. The problem with cooking a dish with livers and gizzards is the vast difference in cooking times. Chicken livers cook in a minute or two but the gizzards need a good hour of simmering to get them tender, or as tender as a gizzard gets. Personally, the chewiness of gizzards doesn't bother me. If you are cooking this dish for a crowd, however, dropping the gizzards in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes would be the way to go.

Bucatini with Chicken Livers and Gizzards

1 pound bucatini
1/2 pound chicken gizzards, cooked till tender
1/2 pound chicken livers
1 tablespoon flour
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
several sage leaves, chopped, with additional leaves for garnish
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup cream
salt and pepper

In a small saucepan, add the chicken gizzards and cover with water and simmer about an hour until somewhat tender as gizzards will never get that tender.

Roughly chop the cooked gizzards and dredge with the livers in the flour.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil as you begin the sauce. Fresh pasta will take about 2 minutes, dried pasta will take about 10 minutes. You will want your pasta to be ready as the sauce is finishing. The sauce will take about 10 minutes to finish, so start the dried pasta now.

In a large skillet, add the oil and saute the onion for a minute or two. Add the gizzards and liver, being careful as chicken livers are notorious for making the oil pop. cook for about 2 minutes and add the sage. Cook another minute. Add the chicken stock, stirring to reduce. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the cream, stirring to incorporate and cook for about 1 minute.

Drain the bucatini, reserving a bit of the water, and add the pasta to the skillet with the sauce. If the sauce seems too thick, add a bit of the pasta water to loosen it. Garnish with the extra sage.

Even the squeamish might dig into this pasta. If not, more for me!

Etiquette Wednesday -- New York Times

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:03:00 +0000

Who could resist this article from the New York Times about the demise of manners in the South. It is those damn Yankees coming in and being all rude and such. From now on, you over-paid, raised-by-wolves sports yahoos better remember that a man always gives up his seat for a lady.

The Snows of October

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:02:00 +0000

Seriously?

If I wanted snow in October I would have moved to Denver or

Alaska or some Scandinavian country. OK, it wasn't a lot of snow, but it was October!

Mummy's Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:09:00 +0000

Happy Halloween

Autumn's Bounty

noreply@blogger.com (Lucindaville) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:59:00 +0000

Since word is out that I cook, I get a lot of food related gifts, from snapping turtles to homemade wine. A couple of weeks ago, a truck pulled into my drive way and Dina carried in 3 enormous bags of apple and 6 equally enormous bags of pears. I immediately stared making preserves. I cooked and cooked.

I made apple jam with Chinese 5 spice. I made apple butter. I made apple preserves with Bourbon soaked currants.

I pear preserves with white balsamic. I made pear and ginger preserves.

I went to DC for several days and left a huge pile of apples and pears that I didn't get to. Even after the raccoon came in and at his fill of apples, I still have more to do. Clearly I need a big old commercial kitchen!