Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1961-11-16, Page 2Cook Book To End All Cook Booksl It was not Confucius, but Men- tins—another of China's gifts to Bartlett's Quotations --who said, °Fish is what I like, so are bears' Paws; but if I cannot have both, I will forgo the fish and choose the bear's paw. Similarly, I love. life and I also love righteousness; but if I cannot have both, I will forgo life and choose righteous- ness." There is no easy formula for righteousness, but the Larousse Gastronomique sets forth the re- cipe for bear's paw, a great Chi- nese delicacy, and adds a warn- ing to the gullible that some un- scrupulous Cantonese restaur- ateurs pass off water buffalo's feet for the real thing, This great compendium of cookery, a virtually last -word encyclopedia' of edibles and pota- bles, was published in France in 1938, but only last month served. up to the English-speaking peo- ples, There are 8,005 recipes — roast camel's hump, pate of larks, skewered cock's combs, lily frit- ters—as well as historical, chemi- cal, biographical, and artifactual information in staggering quan- tity. The original compiler of this mammoth literary larder is one Prosper Montagne of the world- famous French culinary trio, Es- coffier, Glibert, and Montagne. But the present translation — simultaneously published in Eng- land and America—was edited and supervised by Nina Froud and Charlotte Turgeon. Last week in Amherst, Mass., Mrs. Turgeon flipped approvingly through the pages, and said: "Ev- erything accepted in the classic cuisine is here. There are 650 hors d'oeuvre recipes alone. Mon- tagne did a fabulous job. But the difficulty in translating it was enormous. Our measure- ments are different from French measurements, and English meas- ures are different . from both. But the worst problem was terms, What we call 'variety meats' — kidneys, hearts, lungs—the Eng- lish call 'offal.' And we use 'offal' to mean the things you throw a- way. On the other hand, we use the term `blood pudding' or `blood sausage' for the dish the English call `black pudding.' And our 'blood pudding' sounds horrible to them. Showing a visitor around her kitchen, hung with beautiful an- tique copper pans (covered with Pliofilm to' prevent tarnishing), Mrs, Turgeon explained the value of a French French cookbook. "Most people who love food," she explained, "come finally to be- lieve that the best is found in French cooking. And it isn't ex- travagant. You can do more for less money cooking in the French way. The essence of French cuisine is the bourgeois cooking with a few flights of fancy. They can get more out of an onion and a carrot than we can imagine." But the Larousse Gastronomi- que is not only a cookbook. The classic cuisine is there, but so is the history of forks, the story of Honore de Balzac's marzipan shop, the fact that the Romans ftarted their banquets with dor- mice cooked in honey and poppy seeds. One finds that lion meat may be used as beef, that donkey meat is better than horsemeat, and that the cook to Wilhelm, King of Prussia, is reputed to have served Napoleon III donkey brains a la diplomate. It is, as Mrs. Turgeon admitted, a book mainly for devotees of dining who wish to become even more devoted, There is, in feet,', a recipe for an ideal way to die; The verses of Marc Antoine .De- saugiers, which translate literally to: I prey that death may strike me In the middle of a large meal, I wish to be buried under the tablecloth Between four large dishes , . From NEWSWEEK Glaciers Made The Canadian Seaway About . a million years ago, as the glaciers in Canada moved south, they broke off chunks of the hard rock of the Canadian Shield. Carrying the racks along underneath them, the glaciers slid south into the vast central plain of the continent, where, finding little resistance in the soft rock, they began to gouge it out. Under the tremendous weight of the ice, the hard rocks scraped and scratched, century after century, until they hollow- ed part of the plain into what are now the Great Lakes, Many' thousands of years later, when the last of the glaciers was retreating, its melting filled the hollows of the Great Lakes, Blocked by glaciers to the east and north; these lakes for a time overflowed into the Mis- sissippi River system. If the Mississippi had remained the outlet of the Great Lakes, it would probably have been the Seaway route of today, as some have urged that it should be. But there was to be a change in outlet. As the glaciers continued to melt, they fell bark north into the Adirondack Mountains, free- ing the Mohawk Valley of ice. The lakes then found the Mo- hawk Valley and poured part of their overflow through it to the Hudson, If the lakes had con- tinued to use the Hudson as an outlet to the sea, the Hudson might well have been the Sea- way route of today, as some have demanded that it should be. But there was to be another change in outlet. North of the Adirondacks the glaciers resting on the St. Lawrence Valley had been so heavy that they had pushed the earth's crust below sea level. So when the last glaciers in the valley melted away, the sea rushed in. Salt waves danced in the sunlight over what is now Montreal, • Ottawa, and Kings- ton, and perhaps Oswego and Toronto as well. The St. Law- rence Valley was indeed a sea- way, without any help from man. - From "The Seaway Story," by Carleton Mabee. WINSTON HAS POOR LUCK WITH PROGENY Around a supper table at Ro- manoff's in Beverly Hills, film director Billy Wilder and his wife wined and dined with other members of the Hollywood elite. A last-minute addition to the party: British journalist Ran- dolph Churchill, Sir Winston's wandering boy, He sat beside Audrey Wilder, who suddenly leaped to her feet, lashed Churchill across the face with her napkin, threw it at him, and stalked out. Mrs. Wilder's ex- planation: "Every time I said something he'd turn to me and say either 'that's stupid' or just plain, 'Oh, shut up.' I didn't know what to do, so I just laugh- ed. Then he turned to me and said: 'You and your hyena laugh- ter.' That was the last straw." BIDE THEIR TIME — Airline stewardesses Darlene Martin, left, and Barbara Startxell bide their time beneath the nose of a jet at New York International Airport during the Air Force's Operation Sky Shield II, an air defense exercise that grounded all civilian aircraft for 12 hours. BABES IN THE WOODS — Cynthia Capodestria, hand -feeds her new four -footed friend at the animal forest in York Beach, Maine. Antlers are beginning to sprout from the head of this popcorn -loving baby elk, TABLE TALKS JaoaAHlrews. To make sure French fried po- tatoes are brown and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, soak the cut potatoes in ice water for 10 minutes, then dip in very hot water. Dry thoroughly on paper towels, and fry in the usual way. Baking potatoes rubbed with cooking oil before they are placed in the oven present a more attractive appearance, and have a better flavor, too, parti- cularly if you like to eat the skins. a r Whoever started the every- thing -in -one -dish idea should have a vote of approval from all home cooks. It probably started back in the remote ages when there was only one pot for every family and the one -dish dinner was a necessity. But, now that it isn't necessary, it's still a good idea. On a' busy day when ironing, cleaning, shopping, or other duties keep you busy or away from home until late, what's more convenient than a one -dish meal that you can prepare in a jiffy or that you have prepared in the morning, ready to pop into the oven for last minute heating? Or, if you have leftovers — a partial roast or fowl that isn't quite enough to serve—you can make an attractive and appetiz- ing dish by combining it with other good things and serving it with a salad for a crisp, tart con- trast. That's all you need with a one -dish meal. Then add a simple sweet for a finale, writes Eleanor Richey Johnston in the Christian Science Monitor. a n a Combine ham cubes with gold- en pineapple chunks and noodles in this festive casserole. HAWAIIAN CASSEROLE 4 ounces medium noodles 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons flour 1 cup milk ?4 cup pineapple juice 1 cup pineapple chunks 11/4 cups cubedham (1/ pound) 34 cup buttered bread crumbs Cook noodles in boiling salted water until tender (about.4 min- utes). Drain and rinse. While noodles are cooking, melt butter in saucepan; stir in flour; grad- ually add milk and pineapple juice, stirring constantly until thickened, Add noodles, pineap- ple chunks, and ham. Blend well Pour into greased lib -quart cas- serole and sprinkle with buttered bread crumbs. Bake at 350° F., 30 minutes, Serves 4. a ,, Here is a tuna casserole that calls for raw potatoes. If you want to hurry it, use cooked potatoes and reduce the cooking time 30 minutes. TUNA AND POTATO CASSEROLE 3.tablepsoons butter 3 tablespoons flour 34. teaspoon. salt Vs teaspoon pepper 2 cups milk 1 cup minced onidn 3 cups thinly sliced raw potato 1 can tuna fish (7 ounces) 1 cup rice erispies '1 teaspoon melted butter Melt the 3 tablespoons butter;. stir in flour, salt, and pepper., Add milk and, minced onion; cook over low heat, stirring con- stantly until thick and smooth" Arrange sliced potatoes and flak' - ed tuna in alternate layers in a greased casserole. Pour cream sauce over mixture. Crush cereal slightly, mix with melted butter and sprinkle over top of creamed mixture. Bake at 350° F. for about 1 hour. Serves 6. * . M Sprinkle grated cheese lightly over this casserole of mushrooms and crab meat . before you bake it. It serves 4. MUSHROOM CRAB MEAT CASSEROLE 3 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon minced onion 3 tablespoons flour 1 cup milk 1 3 -ounce can chopped broiled mushrooms 1 teaspoon A-1 sauce 34 teaspoon celery salt teaspoon dry mustard 1 cup cooked rice 1 7 -ounce can crab meat Grated cheese Cook butter and oinion in saucepan for about 1 minute, then stir in flour. Add milk, contents of can of mushrooms, A-1 sauce, celery salt, and mus- tard. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens and boils. Remove from heat. Add rice and crab meat which has been coarse- ly flaked and all pieces of car- ,tilage removed. Mix lightly but well, then pile in 4 greased indi- vidual baking dishes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 325° F, un- til cheese is lightly browned — about 25 minutes. Serve imme- diately. n, " M Add some crumbled mint leaves and chopped ripe olives to this lamb casserole and serve it piping hot. LAMB CASSEROLE 11 cups cubed cooked lamb 2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon salt 1% cups milk 2 teaspoons prepared mustard 144 cup cubed process Canadian cheese 2 tablespoons chopped pinilento 11/2 cups cooked rice 1 teaspoon crumbled mint leaves % cup chopped ripe olives Melt butter in skillet and blend in flour and salt. Gradual - Something About A New Movie Star Natalie Wood has been acting since she was 5, has 'reigned as a queen of the fan magazines, has somehow failed to get'typeoast,. and has seldom shown more tal- ent than could be stuffed into an Oscar's little toe, But 'with her sudden burst in "Splendor in the Grass" and "West Side Story," Miss Wood will almost certainly be nominated for, and may: wins Oscar himself. In a year that has' produced a shattering separation from actor Robert Wagner, the two movies have added a peculiar strain: After years of vacuous popularity, she suddenly finds herself being taken seriously. Public testimonials are more common than private ones in Hollywood, but Miss Wood gets both. "She's a very 'likable kid, and. I think she works hardest at that—she tries hard to be liked," a friend said recently, "She's not the usual Hollywood 'tough guy." Karl Malden says. "I think Natalie is an absolutely wonderful girl in every possible. way," Jerome Robbins, who is not given to careless praise, said last ' week, "She has enormous talent. She is completely ded- icated, She has an enormously sensitive face—everything reflects in it immediately. She learned so fast that she would . know a dance step before you could finish showing her. She has a lot of femininity. But there's no weak- ness there. She has' great object- ivity—she's a helluva poker play- er. A marvelous sense of humor. She can be wicked and she can be funny." The fun -loving Miss Wood once strolled through Greenwich Vill- age barefoot and playing a flute, and upon graduation from high school she sent a box of cigarette butts to the Los Angeles Board of Education, an impulsive bit of nose -thumbing at tutors who wouldn't let her smoke on the ly add the milk, stirring con- stantly until sauce is thickened. Stir in mustard, Place the lamb, cheese, 'pimiento, rice, mint leaves, and olives in a 1 -quart casserole. Fold in sauce. Bake for 20 minutes at 425° F. Serve hot. „ * ,. If you' want to make a maca- roni and cheese casserole have a new look and taste, add a gener- ous amount of chopped ripe olives to the sauce. When you've poured macaroni and sauce into a buttered casserole, top with a circle of tomato slices, Bake as usual, but just before serving, sprinkle with chopped parsley. R * PORK AND APPLE SHEPHERD'S PIE 2 to 3 cups cubed roast pork 2 tablespoons salad oil 2 cans (10% .oz. each) mushroom gravy 1 teaspoon salt Few grains pepper 1 large onion„.thinly sliced % teaspoon rosemary 3 cups sliced tart apples 2 tablespoons lemon juice 3 tablespoons sugar 1 cup water 2 cups mashed potatoes Melted butter Brown pork cu'bes in salad oil, Add mushroom gravy, salt, pep- per, onion, and rosemary.. Sim- mer immer uncovered 15'minutes. Mean- while, sprinkle apple slices with lemon juice; add sugar and 1 cup water. Add apple mixture to pork mixture. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until onion and apples are tender. Thicken gravy, if desired. Turn into cas- serole, Spoon mashed potatoes around edge of casserole. Brush potatoes with melted butter or margarine. Bake in hot oven, 425° F. 12 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown. Makes 4 to 6 servings, ISSUE 45 — 1961 set, "I once asked her if she hadn't, missed a lot of normal things as a child actress,” Mal- ; den said recently, "She was about 18, and it turned out she'd never been on a simple family picnic. Can you imagine? So I got a couple of others and we ail took her out on one. She loved it," By the time "Splendor in the Grass" came 'along, however, Miss. Wood was ready to lay aside at least childish roles, "She worked like she was saving .her life," director Elia Kazan says, She knew that she had made a lot of bad pictures, that her career was in danger, ''and she wanted to right it before it was tad late. She did:" The result has obvious- ly startled even Natalie Wood. "My impression is that child act- ors tend to be extremely secure in some areas, and insecure in others," Kazan says. "Natalie's still 'a little used to being made up like a doll and having some adult come along and tell, her 'Get the hell over there and do this,." These days Natalie Wood rents a modestly -plush Bel Air house whose pale living room is dom- inated by a huge oil portra't of Natalie Wood as a defiant femme fatale, large black eyes staring dead ahead, arms folded bel- ligerently across- the plunging neckline of a black dress: Miss Wood likes her decolletage as much as the next star, but other- wise the likeness is remote, A veritable wisp at 5 feet 2, she moves at a float, flashing a quick, broad, shy smile, answer- ing questions politely and diffi- dently, There has 'been a belated at- tempt to promote her as an intellectual, "I don't know that I'd' be considered a great reader, but I admire Thomas Wolfe's writing tremendously,'.' she her- self said recently, "The poetry of it. I' guess that among writers, he was my first great love,, and your first love is something you don't forget easily. "I'm still a growing girl in some ways," she went. on. "I don't think I've had the ,oppor- tunity to be typed yet Maybe I will be, but for the moment I'm glad I'm not. People are forever trying to put me in this category or that. I guess I just don't type easily. When you get down to it, I don't think anybody does." WELL -KNIT — For wear at home, this knitted ensemble presents a glamorous chal- lenge to the hand knitter. The outfit ' combines harle- quin -patterned sweater and skirt with black knit pants and a black knit sash. AMERICAN STYLING INFLUENCE? -- The new model Russian passenger car, "Chaska," is shown in Moscow. Wings and hood have been redesigned by the Gorky •factory, and the Chaika faintly resembles some U.S. cars: Double headlamps, slight tail fins, covered rear w' -eel well, chrome body trim, smart grill, and a buggy whip -type radio antenna.