The Cheeseparer has a Dinner Party

An old writing friend came to town this week and I invited her and some others for a mid-week dinner.  I tried to find something everyone would like which wouldn't totally blow out our diets.  Settled on a mostly Mediterranean menu which contributed to delicious lunches.  The full fat Greek yogurt rocks, as did the special feta from Whole Foods.  Here are photographs of the meal.  The orange-mascarpone tart with pistachios was to die for.  Oranges will be cheaper than berries or chocolate desserts.  Very healthy too.  Whole Foods has a nut table where the shopper can pick out exactly the amount she needs.  No waste or extra money.   Ratatouille  is also an economical choice and can be made a day ahead of time.  The Mediterranean Diet is healthy, but not cheap to cook.  

French Toast

In French, the dish we know as French toast is called pain perdu or "lost bread."  In German, French toast is arme Ritter, or
"poor knight." 


Last Wednesday, at Whole Foods, we got totally carried away and bought French bread, Italian bread and German bread.  Two people.  Crazy.  The dinner party guests ate about two slices of the Italian, and we finally finished the loaf.  In the meantime, of course, the baguette got rather stale.  Last night I used some under the steak to sop of the juices.  Toasted it with butter and paprika first.  Quite yummy.  This morning I used the rest to make French Toast.


I don't really use a recipe.  One egg per person, and milk and cream with a pinch of salt and a spoonful of sugar to make it brown nicely.  Whisk together.  I fry it in two skillets in a mixture of canola and butter.  The yin  and the yang.  We eat it with either REAL maple syrup or with apricot syrup from The Apricot King.  Grown in the flavor zone.  They have the best apricot jam, just like my Grandma used to make.  Their dried apricots (I love apricot bars) are also the best.  It is always wonderful to find a small business with a great product line that one can enthusiastically support.  And apricot syrup is hard to find.  My granddaughter loves it.  Hell, we all love it.  French Toast, Waffles, Pancakes.  Yum!


My Dad always made French Toast for us on Sunday morning.  He used Wonder-style bread, which was the only thing my folks ever ate.   He liked it nice and soft and ate a few slices of bread with every meal.  He claimed he couldn't eat without bread.  The only exception was Chinese food which he liked with soda crackers.  Go figure.  I've noticed that what one usually remembers about the departed loved ones is their endearing eccentricities that outlive them.  Once my Dad got carried away and made his French toast out of non-dairy creamer which was a disgusting concoction.  When I visited, my parents always bought a pound of butter, as they knew I didn't eat margarine.  I always told everyone "that stuff will kill you," and with the trans fats it turned out I was right.


You will never see an "all natural"  label on margarine.     So this is one area where WE DO NOT ECONOMIZE.  Nope.  Butter is a pure, natural product.  Just don't eat too much.


One can also make croutons out of stale bread.  Or bread crumbs.  Or feed it to the Scottish Highland cattle, in the unlikely event you have a small herd in your neighborhood like we do.  Love those cows.


I  hope you eat breakfast, a real breakfast, with loved ones every Sunday morning.  We scarfed down two strips of good quality bacon each, and I am embarrassed to report we ate all of the French toast.  I can't believe we ate the whole thing.   


I put French toast in two of my novels.  My books always have at least one party scene, one naked swim, and a lot of craziness.  And lots of food and flowers. lMaybe someday a character should make French toast with non-dairy creamer.  What do you think?


 Live cheaply but well,


The CheeseParer  

Cookies Galore

I like to bake cookies occasionally.  In order that we don't gobble them up immediately, I freeze them in batches, and then when we  are in a cookie mood (when aren't we?)  I take a package out of the freezer and voila!


When I'm feeling particularly cheap, like now, when property taxes are due next month,  I look for a recipe for which I already have all the ingredients, and today, that recipe is Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) Oatmeal cookies.  Actually, I didn't have enough pecans, so I am substituting walnuts.


We're driving to New York on Tuesday, and as usual, we're packing a lunch for en route.     We like to stop in Old Saybrook (a bunch of good restaurants and a cool picnic area down by the water), and we'll have roast chicken sandwiches, a small amount of potato chips, grape tomatoes, Coke and water and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.  We always feel terribly smug knowing our lunch is way better than fast food and every bit as good as an $8.00 sandwich with drinks and cookie extra.    We also save time by not waiting for service.


I must confess that on the way home from a quick, unplanned trip to New York,  we stopped in New Haven for lunch.  The place we wanted to eat was closed at 4:00 p.m. in spite of what the guide book said, so we wandered across the street to an Argentine place.  New Haven was celebrating "restaurant week" and we had a totally fabulous three course lunch (we needed no dinner) for a song.  It would be hard to say what menu item was tastier, but we were so taken that we'll stop next time we go thru New Haven on I-95 in a state of hunger.  The restaurant is Pacifico.  Try it if you're in the area and into ethnic.   
Pacifico 


Now for that  cookie recipe


If you are at home but having a busy day, this is my cookie procedure:
1)  First pass:read the recipe and get out all the ingredients and put them together on the counter.
2)  Second pass:  measure and "prep" all ingredients
3)   Third pass:  make the dough and refrigerate if you need to 
4)  Fourth pass:  bake the cookies


Cool and divide all but a couple day's eating and freeze.  

Potato Pancakes

The house guests are here, and as always have requested a dinner of latkes or potato pancakes.  This is a last-minute high-labor dinner (4 people) that is economical and delicious and requires no preparation beforehand.  Resolve not to leave the kitchen, hell, don't leave the stove during the intense time that you're frying the pancakes.


Any cookbook should have a recipe.  I combine several recipes, using seasoning from one, onion from other, Bisquick from a third.  We like our latkes well-seasoned and thin and crisp.  I use the grater on the Cuisinart to grate the potatoes, and then wring out the excess moisture in a muslin towel.  Chop or grate the onion fine.  A clove of garlic is not necessary but ads resonance.


I like to serve thick-sliced bacon, sour cream and applesauce with the pancakes.  Something for everyone.  Fry up the bacon before you start on the latkes, and make sure your oven is on low with a heatproof platter therein.  Two skillets or grills make the process go much faster, but you really have to concentrate.


I also serve buttered broccoli (something green) with the pancakes, but that's just me.  A tossed salad would also work, but then you are setting yourself up to fry and toss at the same time, unless you have a kitchen helper who can take the salad chores off your hands.  The broccoli can be steamed early and reheated without any harm done.  For heaven's sake don't serve it half raw.


I use canola oil and butter with maybe a bit of bacon grease.  Suit yourself for the frying oil, but olive is not recommended.  Keep stacking the pancakes onto the heatproof platter in the oven until they're all done and everyone can eat together.


We are having fresh pineapple for dessert.  I'll post a photo if we happen to think about it before the platter is empty.  They're dynamite.


The Cheeseparer