Slow Cooker Chili

photography Elizabeth Messina

Recipe Testers,

A large number of you have been asking me for recipes for the Slow Cooker and I've been working on quite a few. Before I begin on this chile recipe I will say that I have found the Slow Cooker (i.e. Crock-Pot) to be the best way ever to make beans. I love all kinds of beans and cooking them long and slow in the slow cooker makes them perfect every time. No presoaking required. I just give the beans a good wash and then put 4 times the amount of water to beans and a healthy palmful of kosher salt (about 2 tablespoons for 4 cups of beans and 16 cups of water (1 galloon). If you want to make a smaller batch then do 2 cups of beans and 8 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt.

I love almost all chili: all beef, all bean or a mixture of the two. I make mine with beans and try to use pinquinto beans when I can get them. They are very common wherever you find Santa Maria Style barbecue but I've never found them down in Ventura. They are a cross between a white navy bean and a pinto bean. They are GREAT! Thanks to Renee's friend, Marge, giving me the great tip of where to get them in bulk in Lompoc, then Ana picking them up for me, I now have a 25 pound bag in my pantry! So I'm set for awhile. If you want to see what they look like, here is one link to a web site that sells them:

http://www.bertuccios.com/beans.php

So the day before I'm going to make chili, I make the beans in the slow cooker. Feel free to use any kind of beans you want. You can mix them as use them from cans. Just give them a good rinse if you are using canned beans. I have the 6.5 quart Crockpot. So this recipe may need to be adjusted if you have a smaller one.

I like my chili served Hawaiian style over rice or Cincinnati style over pasta. (Cincinnati chili has a dash of cinnamon in it if you want to add that too.) Or you can make it Southern Style and serve it with cornbread or San Francisco style and serve it in a sourdough bread bowl.

Slow Cooker Chili

Beans, 6 cups (I use pinquinto beans, but you can use kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, navy beans or any beans you like)

Ground Beef, 3 pounds

Kosher Salt, 2 1/2 teaspoons

Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Red Pepper Flakes, about 4 shakes

Chili Powder, 1 tablespoon

Yellow Onions, 2 diced

Garlic, 2 cloves minced

Cans Diced Tomatoes, 2 14.5-ounce cans

Can of Tomato Paste, 1 16-ounce can

Red Wine, 1 bottle (about 3 1/2 cups)

Chili Powder, 2 tablespoons

Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon

Canned Diced Jalapenos, 3 tablespoons (use 1 tablespoon if you don't like spicy food or if you don't like spice at all then use green chiles instead)

Molasses, 1/3 cup

Corn Meal, 2 tablespoons

Corn, 1 16-ounce package frozen corn or 2 15.25-ounce cans of corn

Garnish:

Fresh lemon or lime juice

Sour Cream

Cheddar Cheese

1. Put already cooked beans in slow cooker.

2. Season ground beef with 2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, ground pepper, red pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon chili powder. Then brown beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. Remove to slow cooker with a slotted spoon. You want to leave the fat drippings in the pan to saute the onions.

3. Cook the diced onion in the fat drippings from the beef. Cook onion for 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally until onions are soft. Five minutes into cooking the onions add the minced garlic. While the onion is cooking, put the cans of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine, chili powder, kosher salt, diced canned jalapenos, molasses and corn meal into the slow cooker. (Basically all the remaining ingredients except the corn.)

4. When the onions are finished add them to the slow cooker and cook on high for at least 4 hours. After 4 hours you can turn it to low and let it cook as long as you'd like.

5. Add the frozen corn or canned corn about 30 minutes before serving.

6. Garnish with sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Maili's Note: If you do not have a slow cooker you can still use all of the above ingredients in a pot simmering on the stove. The cooking time on the stove will be cut in half and it will only take about 2 hours to cook.

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing

photography Amy Albertson

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies are on of my most favorite things ever about the holidays. I eat them non-stop from November through January. We've tested countless recipes to come up with the most gingery recipe of them all. This is the home version of the professional recipe we make at my mother's bakery, The Solvang Bakery. The bakery uses a different, more sturdier recipe, that has less butter for the gingerbread houses. This is a softer version of a gingerbread cookie. You can also add minced crystalized ginger to this recipe for an extra ginger punch if you just want to make rounds. But if you roll these out for gingerbread men, stars, trees, hearts, etc. then I recommend leaving the crystalized ginger out.

Use Royal Icing to decorate them. You can buy powdered egg whites if you are concerned with using raw egg whites. Be aware that royal icing will harden when exposed to air so be sure to keep it in piping bags in plastic or in some kind of airtight container until you use it.

Unbleached Flour, 5 cups

Baking Soda, 1/2 teaspoon

Ground Ginger, 6 teaspoons

Ground Cinnamon, 4 teaspoons

Ground Cloves, 3/4 teaspoon, optional

Freshly Grated Nutmeg, 1 teaspoon, optional

Ground Allspice, 1 teaspoon

Salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons

Unsalted Butter, 2 sticks (1 cup)

Dark Brown Sugar, 1/2 cup firmly packed (light brown sugar can be substituted)

Granulated Sugar, 1/2 cup

Unsulfured Molasses, 1 cup

Egg, 1

1. Have butter softened and at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until fluffy and pale yellow. (About five minutes at medium-high speed.) Add the dark brown and granulated sugar and beat for 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low and add the molasses, beating until well combined. Add the egg and beat until well combined.

4. Add the flour and spice mixture about 1 cup at a time. Beat in each addition before you add more. Scrape down sides of bowl with spatula if necessary.

5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into four sections and mold them into thick disks (flatted ball of dough.) Wrap each disk of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to 3 days.

6. Roll cookies out with a rolling pin to desired thickness. Dip cookie cutter in flour and cut out the cookies. Use a spatula to transfer cookies to the baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake in a 350 oven for 8-10 minutes. (Check your oven. You may want to bake for 12 minutes but they truly taste better when not overbaked.) Transfer to cooling racks. Decorate after cookies have cooled.

Maili Halme Brocke

Triple Citrus Tiger Prawns with Thai Chile Sauce

Triple Citrus Tiger Prawns at

Christy Cushman's 50th

photography Elizabeth Messina

Mae Ploy Sweet Thai Chilli Sauce

(note spelling of Chilli on the bottle)

Grilling 1,600 shrimp on 3 oak pit barbecues for a wedding

Recipe Testers,

This is one of the first hors d'oeuvres we ever made for Maili Productions. At one wedding we made 1,600 of these!! These were also invented by accident. One day we were practicing some food for an even and were grilling meat and vegetables over an oak pit fire and we happened to have some shrimp lying around. It was taking awhile for the rest of the food to cook so we figured we'd put something quick on the grill. My friend, Joe, said we should put lemon, lime and orange zest on it. Then I decided to make it with Thai Chile Sauce. I'd learned about the Mae Ploy Thai Chile Sauce from our friend, Terri Anderson Buzzard, when we lived at Ft. Bragg together. Her dad had been a FOA in Thailand and her family learned to love the sauce then. Before I had to go to Asian markets to find it, but now it is on the shelves and many major grocery stores since Thai food has become so mainstream. Mae Ploy is the best brand and I have a picture here so you know what it looks like. There are other sweet chile sauces, but since this ingredient is such an important part of the sauce I highly recommend searching it out.

It is more time consuming to skewer each one and grill it. When I'm in a hurry, I've just quickly sauteed the shrimp in olive oil in a skillet and then poured the sauce over it or served the sauce on the side. So either grilled or in a pan it is delicious! They are best served warm or at room temperature. But I've also made them for picnics before where I've made them the night before and refrigerated them and then served them cold. Just remember to add the sauce just before serving. If you want to turn this into a shrimp salad then add sliced cucumbers.

Triple Citrus Tiger Prawns

Shrimp, 2 pounds of 16-20 count large, peeled and devined, tails on

Olive Oil or Canola Oil, 2 tablespoons

Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

Lemon, Lime and Orange Zest, from 1 piece of each fruit

Cilantro, leaves only for garnish

Grilled method: soak wooden skewers in water so they won't burn on the grill. Keep the tail on the shrimp. Holding the shrimp straight on one hand, poke the skewer up the tail with the other hand. So this for all of the shrimp.

Heat the grill: Real oak fire is best, but normal gas grill is fine too. You can always add wood chips to the gas grill. Season shrimp with oil, salt, pepper. Put on half the zest for cooking and save half the zest afterward for garnish.

Stove Method: heat a large saute pan to medium high. Wait for pan to heat completely. Add one tablespoon of the oil. Cook shrimp in batches. Do not crowd pan and do not overcook. Add more oil as necessary.

Remove to serving plate or tray and garnish with cilantro and remaining zest.

Thai Chili Sauce

You'll have the lemon, limes and oranges left over from zesting them for above. Be sure to zest them BEFORE you juice them.

May Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce, 1/2 cup

Juice of half a lime, 1 tablespoon

Juice of half a lemon, 1 teaspoon

Juice of half an orange, 4 tablespoons

Sugar, 1 tablespoon

Ginger, fresh, 1 tablespoon minced

Cilantro, fresh, 1 tablespoon, chopped

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. Keep refrigerated until ready to use. This will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.

Gina Salad

Red Grapes Cut in Half

Photography Amy Albertson

Figs ready to saute

Photography Amy Albertson

Silver Goat Chevre, my favorite brand

Photography Amy Albertson

Experimenting at my house with sauteing

grapes and figs together. It didn't work.

I like them better sauteed separately.

Photography Amy Albertson

Note there isn't any salad dressing.

You don't need it. The flavors from the warm

fruit work as a dressing.

(quick picture I snapped of all the salads at the wedding)

How many of you know the history of the Cobb Salad? I'll give you a quick refresher in case you forgot or never knew. In 1937 a guy named Robert H. Cobb owned the The Brown Derby. Sid Grauman, owner of Grauman's Chinese Theater, was a regular patron. Grauman had dental surgery one morning and couldn't open his mouth very wide. Grauman asked Cobb to fix up a salad and cut it up into small bits and the Cobb Salad was born. From then on, Grauman requested that a Cobb Salad be prepared whenever he came in. Word quickly spread about the creation of the salad through Hollywood and the salad is now as common to America as Apple Pie.

Many of my clients inspire food that I've create for the very first time ever in my life. Somehow something none of us ever had before is born. They are created from conversations. From the client telling me what they love and hate. And somehow the recipe just comes together in my head. The odd thing is that once it is created, it becomes part of the repetoire. Something familiar that we make all the time so it seems like it has always existed. The biggest example is Melissa Greenspan and David Azar's Roasted Dates. That recipe has been copied and copied and copied. One of my cooks went to work in a hotel and brought the recipe with her. They now make it there and others have copied it from her. The list is literally running through my head now: "Buffalo Wing" Salad for Stasia and Charlie, Roasted Cheeries for Krista Ramonas, Edamame Puree for Christy Cushman, Pulled Pork with Guava Gastrique for Bui, the Buttermilk Vinaigrette and Heirloom Tomato Salad for Mary Bonner and Hunter, Sweet Corn Succotash with Mint for Max and Day, Pecan Crunch for Harold. . . many many recipes. The point is that I never would have made any of them without collaborating on ideas or getting inspiration from my clients.

So now let me tell you about Gina and Lee and how this salad was born because I can promise you that you are going to want to make this and it will become your signature dish and all your friends will want to copy it. I really believe it is going to become as famous as the Cobb Salad and will eventually be in every restaurant across the country. (And if you think I'm worried about someone stealing my recipes I never am. Copy away. We all want to eat good food!) I met Gina and Lee through my friend Ann Gursey. We started planning the menu last Spring and wrote the first draft of the menu in the summer. The original salad on the menu was a yummy but as fall became closer it seemed the salad was too summery. Then Gina e-mailed and said she was craving something with figs and could we somehow put figs into the menu. Where could we fit it in? Most likely I figured as an hors d'oevures. So one Wednesday I'm getting ready to drive over to my friends house for dinner and Gina calls me and says "Did you see the cover of the New York Times? It has a Caramelized Onion, Pine Nut and Fig Tart on it." She said "What if we could take that idea and make it into pizzas and we could serve Fig Pizzas at the wedding." And then I answered, "what if I take those flavors you love in the tart and somehow incorporate them into a salad?" I said I'd pick up some things on the way to my friends for dinner and give my idea a test run. (I'm a "friend with a cooler" by the way. I often show up at my friend's house for dinner hauling along my hideous blue cooler of food.) I experimented that night and it was a hit! I liked it so much I couldn't stop eating it myself. Then I made it twelve times in a row because I just couldn't get enough and wanted to take full advantage of fig season.

It is the most delicious salad. Something about the warm fruit with the cold cheese and refreshing arugula. I DO NOT have measurements for you. This salad is a technique recipe instead of a measured recipe. I know somewhere I have extensive directions on the way I learned to caramelized onions from my French friend, Mathilde. I will try to dig those up. But I'll give you this tip. Do not add the balsamic until the onions are completely caramelized. The acid in the vinegar will stop the caramelizing process. And if your onions start to burn while they are cooking add a little water. Tip number two: I reduce the balsamic vinegar ahead of time. In fact I always have reduced balsamic in my fridge because it ends up tasting like an aged balsamic. I buy the big bottle at Costco and cook it down slowly on my stove until it is reduced by half. If you don't want to take the time to reduce the vinegar then you can skip that step and just put in the vinegar and let it reduce in the pan with the onions. I'm just telling you what I did.

Unfortunately, you can't get figs all year long. So when figs aren't in season you can still make this just using the red grapes. If you've never had sauteed grapes before you are in for a REAL TREAT! Magnifique! Amazingly delicious. In fact all the things in the salad are so delicious that you don't need any dressing.

Gina Salad

(I'm already predicting it will go from being called Gina's Salad to Gina Salad so I jumped the title progression ahead)

Yellow Onions, sliced

Olive oil

Salt

Balsamic Vinegar, reduced

Fresh Figs, quartered

Red Grapes, sliced in half lengthwise

Sugar, about a tablespoon

Goat Cheese, crumbled (silver chevre is my favorite)

Marcona Almonds

Baby Arugula, if arugula is hard to find in your area you could use baby spinach

Saute the onions in olive oil with a decent pinch of salt and cook for almost 20 minutes until they are fully caramelized. Add balsamic vinegar and cook for a few more minutes. (Onions can be made up to three days in advance and then rewarmed just before service)

Cut Figs in quarters. Cut grapes in half. I found it is prettier if you saute the grapes and figs in separate pans. When you do it together the grainy parts of the fig get all over the grapes. But if you are just making this for dinner for your family you may only want to get one pan dirty. I saute the figs and grapes each in olive oil with a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of sugar. You can saute the grapes and figs up to two hours before you need them. They hold nicely. Just let them sit warm in the pan and resaute just before serving.

Plate the salad: put the arugula down, then a mound of warm balsamic caramelized onions in the middle, then the goat cheese, then the warm figs, then the warm grapes, then the Marcona almonds.

I think I'm going to go make one right now with grapes since I don't have figs. (I really love figs. I think i'll plant a tree because I can't get enough of them!). Ask me questions if this recipe is too hard to follow.

Wreath of Gratitude, Gingerbread Houses

Wreath of Gratitude

picture I took yesterday at Gingerbread Boutique hosted by Jeanine Redell

Gingerbread Houses in the Solvang Bakery window

photography Amy Albertson

Hector rolling out the roof tiles for the gingerbread houses

photography Amy Albertson

My mom creating snowflake wreathes and peace wreathes for the first time

photography Amy Albertson

2009 Limited Edition Solvang Bakery Gingerbread House

photography Amy Albertson

My mom, Susan Halme, created this beautiful Wreath of Gratitude. The leaves around say "Thank You" in languages from around the world. You can specify the which languages or let us chose for you. (Ours of course has "Kiitos" on it which means "Thank you" in Finnish) My mom can also write the names of your family on each leaf (heart, etc.) if you want it to be a "family circle of love."

For those of you who want to try to make it at home, my mom used leaf cookie cutters and baked them on French bread racks to make the leaves curl. Then they were placed on with royal icing.

They are busy at work on all the holiday Gingerbread Houses too. I hate to write about Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa gifts before we've even had Thanksgiving because I think "Giving Thanks" and having a holiday celebrating "Gratitude" is extremely important! But I know last year I wrote about the Gingerbread Houses after it was too late for you to order and they were sold out. All of the gingerbread is made by hand; each door, window, fence, and roof. They roll out giant pieces of gingerbread and use trace around cardboard forms for each individual piece. It is a three day process of baking and assembling. So please get gingerbread house orders in by Dec 6th. Almond Butterrings, Cinnamon Apple Bread and Danish Butter Cookies can be ordered until Dec. 16th.

How to order:

Call my sister, Melissa Redell's, direct line: 805-218-2066

or the bakery's toll free number: 1-800-377-4253 (and ask for our manager Jeanette)

e-mail: solbakery@aol.com

www.solvangbakery.com

I'll send Thanksgiving hors d'oeuvres recipes out shortly.

"Give Thanks for Little and You will Find a Lot"

Speaking Out for The Truth

Dear Recipe Testers,

So on Sunday I was worthless when the library supporters showed up for the meeting. I had been crying about Joele and just couldn't rally like I should have. On Monday my sister and I went to visit Kara on our way up to Solvang with Johnny, Amy and Gage. Kara had prayed for Jeanette and felt the weight we all felt when Jeanette died. And here Kara was meeting Johnny for the first time and feeling like she truly knew his sister even though she has never met Jeanette. As we reel with this enormous pain of the loss of these children, there is something about seeing their siblings that gives us the reason to go on. The hope and happiness for the future. We have to be there for Johnny to make him happy. It is our best way to honor Jeanette. And when I look at Joele's siblings, Gunner and Holland, I know that taking care of them and seeing their laughter will help Jeff and Kara's broken hearts.

Then on the night we returned from Solvang I got the wonderful news that our friends were expecting. I can't tell you how happy that news made me! It was a joyous announcement I really needed. And then I find out Susan Klein Ochoa just had her beautiful baby boy and again there is joy and happiness in my heart! On Monday when we were making dinner, Johnny announced that he loved to cook. I never knew! He's been so helpful with groceries and whatever I need, but mostly he just plays with the girls. So we were all making dinner together and the smoke alarm went off three times (as it usually does whenever I cook--it is very sensitive) and each time it did Johnny said "I've got it" and goes to open the front door and fan the hallway door so it will stop. (You'll laugh at this. I'm typing this right now and the smoke alarm is going off as I type because Jason is making Katherine a hamburger.) Anyway, somehow Johnny saying "I've got it" and knowing what to do made me realize how a part of our family he has become. And he makes me SO HAPPY. He's a happy kid. Just like his sister, Jeanette, whose smile made everyone feel better, Johnny is there too with his sweet heart and his happy smile. And while I miss Jeanette I feel like I'm making her happy making her brother happy and it erases so much pain.

On Monday night, as I went to bed, I couldn't sleep. You haven't heard anything about the library all this time because it has remained open. I had handed off all of my research and findings to someone else, but they didn't see a need to pursue it until after the holidays since the there wasn't an urgency. There was still wrongdoing that needed to be explained but there was time still to deal with all of that. Well, on Friday the library director came in and announced that she was closing the library on November 30th! Basically immediately. So I had a plea from a dear soul to ask if there was anything I could do. And I felt guilty, like I was watching a group of bullies beat up a single kid on the playground and I was just standing by silently watching. And I know everyone will tell me that local politics is so corrupt and why even waste my time with it. But it just doesn't sit well with me to accept that as the status quo and let it go by. I still feel like when one person can speak up for something that is right it can have a snowball effect. It can create a pattern of right. Our world gets better everyday, not worse. We seem to be progressing towards equality and justice daily. When I look how far we've come in the past 40 years I realize what a huge difference one voice can make in an entire country.

And I can say this: at this stage of the game there are a lot of people involved and a lot of people who care. I'm not taking this on myself. I'll lend my knowledge and I'll write the articles telling the truth. But others can help carry the ball to the finish line. I do have a lot on my plate and I'm looking forward to a relaxing Thanksgiving week when my brothers and sister and their families will all be together. It is rare moment when all the cousins can play together and seeing their joy is the best thing on earth.

Here is the article I wrote for the newspaper on Tuesday morning. And now I can sleep at night knowing I did the right thing and took the time to write this article. I still believe justice will win in the end. I truly do. But before justice can win, you first have to speak up!

Maili

PS I taught a cooking class to our homeschool reading club today. 19 kids and their mom's. They had read books about chefs so I was the "activity" to go along with the book. It was fabulously fun and the kids used knives, cut pork chops, made cranberry sauce, made soup, learned out to fry, saute and grill. And they all did it themselves. I was really impressed! I LOVE passing on knowledge and I love seeing the kids absorb it. And we tested the vegan pumpkin puree with stewed cherries so I will send that recipe soon!

Published in the VC Reporter, November 25, 2009

Library director cries wolf, again?

The very first thing I discovered in January 2009 from reading the budget on the Ventura County library Web site, www.vencolibrary.org/libcomm.html, was that Wright wasn’t actually short at all. In fact, it was overfunded. Wright collects a little more than $1.2 million in property taxes, and around half of that money is given to Foster because Wright only needs around $650,000 to operate. It is wonderful that the property owners around Wright give half their money to help Foster, but it seems a little beyond wrong that suddenly all their tax money would be taken away and their library closed.

This information was a little hard to find because when I downloaded the Excel spreadsheet, it wasn’t apparent to the naked eye. The property tax revenue information was all contained in hidden cells. I tried to give as many people as possible the link, with the directions to click “unhide” so they, too, could see the straight facts. But most people don’t have time or go cross-eyed looking at spreadsheets. So they just had to trust that the director was telling them the library was short on funding. But the problem is that they were trusting someone who was giving them false information.

Here is the property tax revenue for the Ventura City Libraries taken directly from the library budget on the county Web site:

Foster $722,266
Wright $1,217,534
Avenue $123,817
Saticoy $111,637 (Saticoy is part of our library budget)

So the biggest question on my mind is why would library director Jackie Griffin threaten to close a library that not only operates extremely efficiently with its generous volunteers, but that is also overfunded?

There is more than one reason, but one key answer will give insight as to why the chain of events transpired as they did: the county auditor’s office apparently made a simple mistake and accidentally sent Griffin an incorrect budget that still included the money from Moorpark. Moorpark withdrew from the county library system and, therefore, that money was no longer part of the county budget. The money to operate Moorpark was $650,000. It would seem that a fiscally responsible manager might double check the records before she went on a spending spree, but that isn’t what happened in this case. Moorpark’s money was spent. (Again, having absolutely nothing to do with Wright or Ventura. This was Jackie’s county budget mistake.)

Jackie explained her mistake at a Ventura County library commission meeting. All was forgiven, and the mistake seemed honest. However, it appears that Bill Fulton decided to take this mistake and capitalize on it. Both Rick Cole and Bill Fulton had meetings with Jackie Griffin, and the plan was put in place to blame the shortfall on hard economic times. Everyone would believe that and rally to save the library. They made their case, and Bill published his newspaper article and blog, and Jackie came up with the same storyline and they stuck to their storyline over and over and over again, despite serious questioning from all of the attendees at the meeting. (Fulton, by the way, is on the library commission, purportedly to represent Ventura’s best interests in library service, and also happens to be the person who brought and hired Jackie after she had been fired as library director in Berkeley. Some of the public trusted and believed them, trying to brush aside their doubts. Then Fulton and Griffin went out on a real limb and tried to close Wright and instead open a children’s library at the mall. All the documentation for the children’s library at the mall is clearly documented and was even mentioned when Jackie first announced at the city council meeting that they would be closing Wright and opening another children’s library somewhere else in Ventura.)

Everyone is aware of the hocus-pocus that happened afterward and the blatant disregard of the Library Advisory Council’s recommendations and protocol for library service in Ventura. There are endless discrepancies beyond those listed above. Personally, Griffin, Cole and Fulton have lost all credibility for me. City leaders and library directors should be trying to find ways to serve the citizens who generously entrust their hard-earned tax money to them. Instead, we have games and abuse that have truly hurt the kind and trusting people of Ventura. Griffin needs to be audited, and the politicians need to stop using the library to cry wolf. Just remember what happened to the boy.

Maili Brocke, Ventura

Cranberry Sauce - Three Ways

I love cranberries! I keep them frozen in my freezer all year long and will pop the frozen ones in my mouth as a quick tart treat. I love cranberry juice, cranberry cake and cranberry cocktails. But the one time of year almost everyone thinks of the humble cranberry in sauce form to go with their Thanksgiving turkey.

I've made hundreds of different cranberry sauces. I vividly remember the first time I learned to make Cranberry sauce from scratch: I was in the Noone's kitchen in Alexandria, Virginia and Katie Noone Hutchison had a recipe for homemade sauce for Gourmet. She put the cranberries in the pot and the sugar with some juice or liquid and they cooked until they popped. This was one of those "key learning moments in cooking" when you go "oh, that's all there to it. This is easy!" Being in that kitchen that day gave my the key technique that lead me to an entire repertoire of fruit sauces not to mention the cranberry sauce and pork shops I invented shortly after at Marianne Heilferty's. Basically, all I had to do was cook the fruit with a little sugar, a pinch of salt, a spice and some lemon juice or orange juice and I was good to go. That really is the premise of most fruit sauces!

I realize that I frequently cook with alcohol. Many of my recipes call for port, wine, brandy, vodka, etc. I did have a few requests from people who prefer to cook without alcohol. So I've included a second recipe for Cranberry Orange Sauce that does not have any alcohol in it. The third recipe is actually a relish (and also alcohol free.) While cooked cranberry sauce has a rich deep flavor, cranberry relish has a bright and light flavor. There is also this amazing Cranberry Chutney made by Wisconsin Wilderness that my mother-in-law would buy for me in Indiana. (You can now buy it on Amazon.com. I'm still working on the test versions of my own Cranberry Chutney and when that recipe is complete I'll send it out as well.)

Here are my cranberry sauce recipes, three ways. Please be sure to read the variations and options listed at the end. All the pecan lovers will want to try the optional chopped pecans in the cranberry relish. (I'm also going to test out the new format here of writing the ingredients first, followed by the amounts. Hopefully this will help when writing a shopping list. Please let me know if you prefer the recipe written this way or not.)

Cranberry Port Sauce

Fresh Cranberries, 3 cups (1 12-ounce bag)

Port, 1 cup

Sugar, 1 cup (white or brown sugar both work. Add more sugar if you like a sweeter sauce)

Lemon Zest, from one lemon

Sea Salt, a pinch

Cinnamon Stick, 1 whole

1. In a saucepan over medium high heat, combine the cranberries, port and sugar. Turn the heat to high and cook until the skin pops on the cranberries and the sugar mixture starts bubbling. After the mixture starts to bubble, cook on medium high with the mixture bubbling for at least 1 minute.

2. Turn the heat down to low and stir in the lemon zest and the whole cinnamon stick. Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken as it cools. If you'd like a thicker sauce, reheat and cook it down even more. Sauce can be made 5-7 days in advance. If you want to keep it longer than that either can it in canning jars following normal heat processing procedures for canning or freeze it.

Cranberry Orange Sauce

Fresh Cranberries, 3 cups (1 12-ounce bag)

Orange Zest, from one orange, optional

Orange Juice, 1 cup

Orange Slices, no membrane, chopped up

Sugar, 1 cup (white or brown sugar both work. Add more sugar if you like a sweeter sauce)

Sea Salt or Kosher Salt, a pinch

Cinnamon Stick, 1 whole

Star Anise, 2 whole, optional

Jalapeno, 1, minced, optional (or substitute 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes for a nice heat)

1. Combine the cranberries, orange juice, orange pieces, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Turn the heat to high and cook until the skin pops on the cranberries and the sugar mixture starts bubbling. After the mixture starts to bubble, cook on medium high with the mixture bubbling for at least 1 minute.

2. Turn the heat down to low and stir in the orange zest, whole cinnamon stick, star anise and the jalapeno. Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken as it cools. If you'd like a thicker sauce, reheat and cook it down even more. Sauce can be made 5-7 days in advance. If you want to keep it longer than that either can it in canning jars following normal heat processing procedures for canning or freeze it.

Variations for both the Cranberry Port Sauce or Cranberry Orange Sauce: The possibilities and variations are endless but unless you are making chutney, try not to include more than three of the following options. When you add too many spices or flavors the sauce tends to be muddy. In general simple is better. Chose either one solo star or chose a flavor to play the lead with only two supporting roles. So in general a maximum of three flavors. Here are a few options to get you started: candied ginger, fresh ginger, ground ginger, lemon zest, orange zest, tangerine zest, tangerine segments, mandarin oranges, cranberry juice, orange juice, dried apricots, dried cherries, dried cranberries, raisins, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, allspice, chipotle in adobo, fresh minced jalapeno, canned roasted jalapeno, dried red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, balsamic vinegar.

Cranberry Orange Relish (not-cooked)

Fresh Cranberries, 3 cups (1 12-ounce bag)

Oranges, two, peeled seeded and free of membrane.

Orange Zest, from one of the oranges, optional

Sugar, 2 cups white sugar (brown will not work as well in the food processor)

Sea Salt, a pinch

Roasted Pecans, 1 cup, chopped (optional)

1. Combine everything in food processor and hit blend. This never lasts long enough for me to know how far it will last. But I would imagine it will hold for at least three days and probably five in the refrigerator.

2. If adding the roasted pecans, stir them in just before serving so they will retain some crunch.

(Be sure to check out my recipe testers blog for my friend Alicia's Cranberry Salad recipe. www.recipetesters.blogspot.com

That is where I post recipes from friends and the recipe testers that you send to me.)

Two Cookbooks

Mark Peel, New Classic Family Dinners, Wiley, 2009

Williams-Sonoma, The Weeknight Cook, Oxmoor House, 2009

I realize I have a slight mental illness and addiction towards cookbook collecting. Truly, with my 1,500 plus collection, I would be fine if I never bought another cookbook. The even funnier part is that I so rarely cook from cookbooks. I read them all the time for inspiration and ideas, but usually start free-wheeling whenever I get in the kitchen and only check recipes as a reference once in awhile to get a ballpark idea on the direction I'm heading in. Yet I continue to acquire and collect cookbooks and cooking magazine and just love them. I thought I'd mention two of my most recent addtions.

My second-cousin, Karen Hattan, just gave me Mark Peel's New Classic Family Dinners. Mark Peel is the owner of LA's famed restaurant Campanile where they are known for their Monday Night Family Dinners. This book is gorgeous. I love the paper it is printed on, the photography, the writing and the recipes. This is one of those cookbooks where instead of leafing through and finding one or two things you'd like to make, you actually want to make something from every other page: Iceberg Lettuce with Roquefort-Buttermilk Dressing, Shrimp Louis, Linguine with Clams, Campfire Potatoes, Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts, Brined Chicken, Beef Braised Brisket, Smothered Pork Chops, Smoked Tomato BBQ Sauce, Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding, Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf, Sausages Braised in Beer with Sauerkraut, Unabased Unashamed Southern Fried Chicken (soaked in buttermilk the same way I make mine) and then of course one of my all time favorites: Santa Maria Tri-Tip Barbecue. The desserts are all homemade classics too: REAL Chocolate Pudding with Whipped Cream, Peach Melba, Plum Granita, Roasted Figs, Key Lime Cheesecake, Peach Cobbler....it goes on and on. The back has menus which most people find helpful when they don't know what salad to serve with what entree and then which dessert.

I liked the opening about the problems chefs find when they move into a home kitchen. One being that the smoke alarm goes off all the time because chefs are used to cooking at such high heat. (My smoke alarm goes off about 5 times a week in my house!) This cookbook isn't for novices. Even though the food is homemade comfort food, Mark Peel didn't take any shortcuts. He is giving you the full and complete directions on how and why his food is delicious. And it is delicious because he is making everything from scratch. To me it is the difference between homemade lemonade with fresh squeezed lemons vs. the powdered kind you buy in a box. There is no comparison. Some of the recipes are easy and all were tested in a home kitchen instead of at his restaurant. There certainly were adaptations made so the recipes work at home. But no compromise was made for quality or taste. Since I'm always going for incredible taste above everything else, I love this cookbook.

I'll enclose Peel's recipe for Plum Granita. (You can make granita out of any fruit at all. I've made it from Guavas, Limes, Lemons, Oranges. I know you can't get fresh plums right now, so you could always make a version with Lemons or oranges for the holidays. I'll make a note to send you one. I'm not sure why Peel keeps the pits in the plums when he first cooks them. That is the only part I'd probably skip. Put I thought I'd stay true to his recipe when writing it for you.)

Plum Granita

There's a progression of flavors in this dessert. When you take a spoonful, all you get at first is sweetness: then as it warms up in your mouth, the richness and sharp complexity of the plum flavors and the spices emerge. If you only use Santa Rosa Plums, which are more available than Elephant Heart Plums, the result will be sharper and more tannic because of the skins. A word of caution: Do not wear a white linen shirt while making this.

2 pounds ripe plums, Elephant Hearts and Santa Rosas if available, quartered (retain the pits)

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

3 whole cloves

1/4 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns

1/2 cup sugar

Zest of one Lemon

2 cups red wine, preferably a light Pinot Noir

1. Place a 9 x 11 pyrex baking dish in the freezer. Place the plums with their pits in a heavy medium saucepan. Add the vanilla bean and seeds, the cloves, pepper, sugar, lemon zest and 1 cup of wine. Bring to a simmer and simmer 15 minutes, until the plums are very soft.

2. Remove from the heat and add another cup of wine. Let sit for 15 minutes. Pick out hte pits with tongs, leaving all the pulp behind. Put through the fine blade of a food mill, or straing through a medium sieve, using a rubber spatula to push the mixture through. Strain the mixture again through a find strainer, You should have 4 cups. (Maili's note: if you don't have sieve or food mill, then you can blend in a food processor or blender if that is easier for you. Also, for those of you who want to try this in the winter with canned plums, like the plum sauce, you can use those too.)

3. Scrape with a rubber spatula the four cups of mixutre into the chilled pyrex dish and place in the freezer. Set the timer for 30 minutes. using a fork, scrape and mix the frozen ice crystals from the outside of the baking dish into the center. Return to the freezer adn set the timer for another 30 minutes. Continue to scrape the mixture with a fork every 30 minutes until you have a uniform chunky frozen mixture. (Maili's note: Once it freezes in this crystalized form it should stay that way. If you want to make it a couple days ahead then check on it at least once a day and stir it with a fork.) If you forget to scrape and the mixture does freeze solid like an ice cube, cut into chunks and use a food processor to break it up. Transfer to a container and refreeze. Allow to soften for 15 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.

The second cookbook I just acquired is Williams-Sonoma's The Weeknight Cook. This is definitely for the beginner cook, but has enough appeal that someone as advanced as me still bought it. The recipes are short and straightforward. There is a section at the beginning with Master Recipes and Basic Recipes and then the variations you can make once you've learned those. There is a Month of Menu's verses a week of Menus. (I like this Month Idea of menus a lot and think I'll try to copy it and insert my own recipes for you. So that will hopefully be coming soon from me.) The book also has charts, descriptions and lists and answers to basic questions and techniques. It has a part about Planning Ahead for Company and also how to cook by season, with seasonal produce listed and menus for each season.

Some of the recipes in the book are: Chimichurri Steak, Bourbon-Molasses Chicken, Spring Vegetable Tart, Split Pea Soup, Spicy Gazpacho, Pumpkin Pie, Rhubard Pie, Pasta with Hearty Beef Ragu, Pork Chops with Cider and lots of salads and side dishes. The recipe I'll include here is for Cheesy Chive Popovers. The unique thing about this cookbook is it has the ingredients highlighted in bold on the side of the page (to make your shopping list easier) and then has the amounts following. So I'll type it just as they have it. (Let me know if you like this style of listening the ingredients before the amounts. I may try to use it in the next recipe I send out if you like it.)

Cheesey Chive Popovers

Flour, 1 cup

Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Fresh chives, 1 tablespoon finely snipped

Milk, 1 1/4 cups

Eggs, 2, at room temperature

Unsalted Butter, 1 tablespoon melted

Gruyere Cheese (Swiss Cheese), 3 ounces coarsely grated (Maili's Note: Parmesan or Sharp Cheddar Cheese could be substituted)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Generously grease 2 non-stick mini muffin pans. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the chives. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and butter. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined (don't worry if some lumps remain.)

2. Fill the prepared muffin cups with batter to within about 1/4 inch of the rims. Place a scant teaspoon grated cheese in the center of each filled cup. Bake, without opening the over door, for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature for 350 degrees F and bake untilt he popovers are brown and fully puffed, 8-10 minutes longer. Transfer to a platter and serve warm

Makes 24 Popovers

(Maili's Notes: My guess on these, and I will test it for you, is that they would freeze well and reheat well. I'll try it and get back to you.)

My personal favorites for Thanksgiving coming soon! Maili

A Few More Favorites from the Halloween Party

Waiting in line to Bop for Apples

photography Amy Albertson

Coral in front of the Halloween Sign

photography Amy Albertson

Emma and Noah

photography Amy Albertson

Milish, Gage, Melissa and Sydney eating Halloween Snacks

photography Amy Albertson

"Bacon" shooting baskets. This is my favorite picture!

photography Julianne Fishel

The blog only lets me post 5 pictures at a time. So I just made a second entry so I could include a few more pictures! Enjoy!

2009 Brocke Homeschool Halloween Party

Melissa with one of the "Pick Your Nose" cups

photography Amy Albertson

Melissa as a Medieval Tavern Girl

photography Amy Albertson

Jason in his 70's wig

photography Julianne Fishell

Katherine as Marilyn Monroe

photography Amy Albertson

I look like I'm dancing but I was really just lighting the fire for the S'mores

photography Julianne Fishel

Recipe Testers,

Before I write about our Halloween party, I want to tell you a little more about the Gourmet magazine's that arrived from Ojai on Wednesday. In my life I have ups and downs like everyone else: I get traffic tickets, my kids get sick, my car needs something fixed. All the little hiccups and things we all have to deal with. I deal with the ups and downs of life on a whole but mostly I'm grateful for the little things: that I live in a house with heat and a washing machine, grateful for flowers as I frequently mention, grateful for kind friends, grateful we enjoy family movie night, etc. In this life of gratitude I've also been very lucky to have some very extraordinary things happen to me. Some are "coincidences" I realize, but I do seem to have a lot of those lucky "coincidences." So here is a small one. It may be no big deal to all of you, but to me if means a lot.

It was already extraordinary that through the recipe testing e-mail list Sally Hoover gave me her late-husband, Lamar Hoover's, collection of Gourmet magazines. Mr. Hoover was the managing editor of Gourmet in the 1960's. Because of Sally's magnanimous gesture, I felt that in turn I should donate the issues that Robert Jones was missing from his nearly complete collection. Robert was only missing 1963, 1964 and 1979. So I felt I should give him the 1963 and 1964 copies. Robert openly shares his library of vintage recipes, magazines and cookbooks with anyone interested that I felt this would be a place with the most access to them. (Robert has a blog of vintage handwritten recipes and vintage cookbooks he has scanned in for those of you interested: http://recipeblitz.blogspot.com/ ) I was a little sad to part with the few issues of this recent gift, but I figured I could read through them before I gave them to Robert and copy or scan any recipes I needed.

The treasure boxes of Gourmet magazines arrived via Kit on Wednesday. I couldn't go through them because of our Halloween party. So on the day after our Halloween party I laid them all out on the bed and started sorting them by year because they were all mixed up. So here is the most AMAZING COINCIDENCE! As I'm sorting through the magazines I notice there are a few duplicate issues. "Oh good, a duplicate from 1964, now both Robert and I will have a copy!" "Oh, another one." "three, this is too good to be true!"

Until finally I laid them all out and there are duplicates of the entire year of 1964 and quite a few from 1963! What are the odds!! REALLY! I know I get excited about things and I know people often say when you give with an open heart that the chain of love and giving goes on and on, but this was so direct and immediate. Clearly, I couldn't be happier. (And this collection is only from the 1960's, so I'm still looking for anyone else who happens across some old Gourmet's, like the one Rosemary Musial's found from her neighbor in Ohio! I'm still very interested in completing Robert's collection and mine. I did get some from 1947 on ebay for only $6)

One last note before I move on to Halloween. The old Gourmet magazines have hard alcohol ads on almost every page. And it was so funny that after reading through them that I felt like I needed a drink! I'll have to scan in some of the old ads and share them with you. Talk about the power of advertising!

Now, on to Halloween. This is our 3rd annual Homeschool Halloween Party. The adults have as much fun as the kids. It is a very relaxed and casual party when you compare it to my catering work. And I am the one who abhors paper plates and always uses the real thing, even for larger parties. But for 70 kids and adults, this is the one time of year I break down and use paper. This is a party without staff and the cleanup is super easy with paper plates. This year we had "Pick Your Nose" glasses and that also added an element of fun to the night. Also, it was the first time in my life that I've ever run out of the main course. I made two giant pots of chile (restaurant size pots folks!) and they were completely empty. There was still other food to munch on, but still I couldn't believe it. I think we may have had more than 70. I think I'll get a count before next year and certainly make more.

Here is my Halloween Menu. Most of the recipes are on the blog and you can click on them in the right column of the blog. (I've also recently added a picture of the Panch Puran, the key ingredient in the vegetarian chile so all of you could see it. You put the spices in whole. Also, I now add red pepper flakes to vegetarian chile to make it a little spicier. And I'm working on my ultimate beef chile recipe. That one always seems to be in development, but I'm getting closer to perfection each year. I'm on this huge kick of making beans in the crock-pot so I made the pinquinto beans for the chili in the crockpot. Separate e-mail with directions on that soon!)

Halloween Party Menu for kids and adults:

Hors d'oeuvres

Platter of Cheese, fruit, dried fruit, nuts and crackers

Orange Cheese Puffs from Trader Joe's (because Melissa loves them and their orange color looks good in the black cauldron container we have)

Edamame Beans in the pod

Olives (Lucques and Greek)

Chips and Homemade Salsa (and sour cream and salsa mixed together)

Carrot and Celery Sticks with Buttermilk Herb Dip

Main Course

Classic Beef Chili

Vegetarian Chili

Cornbread

Steamed Rice (we follow the Hawaiian style of serving chile over rice or you could do it Cinncinatti style and serve it over spaghetti or macaroni)

Garnish for chili: Sour Cream and Cheddar Cheese

Dessert

Homemade S'mores (which is also a fun activity)

Halloween Pumpkin cookies (kids decorating their own cookies, another activity)

Bopping for Apples

Halloween Candy

Beverages

Homemade Lemonade from Monica's Citrus Ranch (does anyone need a recipe for real lemonade?)

Hot Apple Cider (recipe coming)

Beer and Wine

The other activity is painting the giant halloween sign on my garage door. We cover the garage door with butcher paper. At the first halloween party I thought the sign had to be done BEFORE the guests arrived and Ashley and famly came to help me. The second year, Hannah, came to help and made a brilliant sign. This year we didn't do it until the guests arrived. And it was a blast for everyone because all the kids got to paint a different part of it. So that became it's own activity.

When I was making this enormous decision to homeschool Melissa, I felt like I was making the best decision for my daughter but there were so many unknowns. I never imagined that not only that she would thrive more than ever, but that the other homeschool Mom's would become some of my best friends. It has been such a double-bonus. And miss Katherine, who is back in public school and loving it, says she's 60/40. 60 percent public schooled and 40 percent homeschooled. So she gets the best of both worlds. In the future I'll try to share some of my favorite parts of homeschooling because many of you, whether you homeschool or not, can still make the best parts a part of your lives too.

I'm going to make a sincere effort to get as many Thanksgiving recipes up as soon as possible. I'm also going to start getting the recipes from the wedding last week into a home kitchen form. You are all going to flip over "Gina's salad" which is warm figs and sauteed grapes over caramelized onion with goat cheese and arugula and marcona almonds. If you've never sauteed grapes before you are in for a huge treat! The whole salad may be one of the best things I've ever made. And even if you can't get figs in your area at Thanksgiving, you will be able to get grapes and all of the other ingredients.

And remember that November is the month for Giving Thanks! I'm giving thanks for my vintage Gourmet magazines and many other things!

Thoughts

Hi Recipe Testers,

Many of you may remember the movie, Four Weddings and a Funeral. My life has been Six Funerals and a Wedding. All of you know about Jeanette, but in this week alone there were three funerals. Our beloved Jeanette's on Saturday, Debi Stull's sweet dad on Monday and Christy Cushman's dear mom on Tuesday. I'm still thinking of Ninette's Mom, Vincent's Dad, and Lady Anne's sister. And I only have to go back a few weeks before that to think of Ashley's Dad and Bill's mother. The waves of sadness as we think about those we love often hit us at odd times. One little thing: a smell, a food, a song, will remind us of all that we love about someone and then feelings come flooding forward. My heart is a bit heavier these days and I sometimes feel like tears are hiding right behind my eyelids almost as if my eyelids have an extra weight on them. But I do keep finding beauty and happiness in many things: Melissa Madeline's birthday at Legoland Monday, the beautiful wedding on Saturday, our annual Halloween Party tomorrow. All of these happy things that make us go forward. And every time I see beauty in nature, like the sun shining on the water as I drove back to Ventura today, I think of all the people I love that are not with us physically, but are in spirit and in our hearts.

The thing about death is that you never actually get over it. Anna Brady died over 20 years ago. And just as I typed her name I started to cry! 20 years have past and the mention of her name still makes me cry. Of course that first year was the worst. I had so many nightmares over and over again. It just couldn't be undone. Every time I look at the sun and see it shining down on me, I think of Anna. Or when I see Grass Mountain I think of Anna. And so life is changed. It is never quite the same as it was before. It doesn't mean we can't find all sorts of joy and happiness in everyday, because we can. I'm not miserable, but just mention the person I miss and my eyes tear, my throat chokes up and my heart hurts. But even though it causes pain remembering the loss, the fact that I can physically feel it makes me know she is still with me. That she isn't gone because we can still "physically feel" them in our heavy hearts. And I can have my moment and remember the person and then go forward. It seems the best to face grief head-on instead of hiding from it. To get the tears out and let them fall and say how you feel. Then you can go forward.

I was standing in line at Trader Joe's today and somehow from talking to the checker I found out that her husband died in a car accident 5 years ago with her son. The son survived. And I listened to her tell me different things she does with her son from fishing to ice hockey and how proud she is of him. And then she said he spends every Sunday with his grandmother, because her husband was the grandmother's only child. So even though she missed her son, she can be with her grandson every Sunday. And there I am crying for this grandmother I never met and this woman in the grocery store whose name I don't even know. But as I'm rolling my cart full of groceries away the woman said "but my daughter just had a baby so I have that happiness in my life. Happiness still comes after the very worst things."

On Saturday, Jason and the girls went to Jeanette's funeral. The Chaplain from Children's hospital, Vikki, gave the eulogy. She told the story of Princess Jay and Prince John who lived in the Kingdom of Ventura. Their fairy Godmother, known as Auntie, came to take care of the Prince and Princess. Then when Princess Jay when she was five years old had to go into the dark forest and battle a monster called Cancer. Then she went to stay in a castle in another kingdom (the hospitals)....and so the story went on as a fairy tale and everyone there was weeping but story helping everyone, especially the children, cope with this senseless loss.

I have so many recipes to send you from Thanksgiving food to just great fall recipes. Then I need to send you every recipe from the wedding on Saturday because it was some of the best I've ever made. I worked really hard on every recipe and was worried because the wedding was Vegan. I didn't want people to say "well, it was good for Vegan food" I wanted them to say "this was the most delicious food I've ever had at a wedding" and have no clue it happened to be Vegan. And they did. Today I've been cooking for our annual homeschool Halloween party tomorrow and I want to send you that menu as well. And while my life is a mixture of sadness, happiness and food, I don't want to paste the recipes here now with the obituaries.

So I'm ending with prayers for all of our loved ones, those recently lost and those lost long ago, but who are still in our hearts. We must be filled with gratitude for the Blessings and beauty we are showered with everyday. Life is short and we must cherish each moment, because it is the moments that mean so much.

Love, Maili

PS And the FIRST response I got from the recipe testers to this e-mail was from Ray, with the joyous news that Dan's baby boy just arrived! Just the happy response I needed!

From the Ventura County Star:

We are deeply saddened by the passing of 14-year-old Jeanette "Jay" Orrantia who left us on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 14 after a 9-year battle with cancer.

Jeanette was an absolute inspiration to all who knew her. Her family, classmates and the entire community were touched by her extraordinary grace and courage in the face of adversity. She unknowingly motivated others to follow her lead and stay strong regardless of life's difficulties. Jeanette's undiscriminating kindness toward both humans and animals, and her gorgeous smile, touched so many who desired to know the secret to her unwavering positivity. She was a difference-maker, she was beautiful inside and out, and she will never be forgotten.

Jeanette will be forever missed by her beloved brother Johnny Orrantia and "Auntie" Rosemary Shorr. She is preceded in death by her father, John Orrantia III. She is survived by her mother, Tammy Hatfield of Bakersfield; grandmothers, Yolanda Dimas of Las Cruces, N.M. and Janice Brown of Bakersfield; grandfather, John Orrantia II of New Cuyama; great-grandmothers, Rosella Ayala of Ventura and Jean Lopez of Bakersfield; and many aunts, uncles, cousins and others who loved and supported Jeanette from near and far.

"You were the brilliant star that cascaded from the sky and landed in our arms. You illuminated our world for a short but wide swath of time and became the fabric of our lives. Inspiring us to keep moving ahead, you carried your unparalleled strength and light like a torch on this crazy, beautiful path. You never knew how amazingly stunning you were to the eyes, minds and hearts of all you met along the way. Those left behind in your stardust will forever shimmer in the glitter of your all-encompassing love, one-of-a-kind style, and zest for life. Rock star, superstar, SUPERNOVA... how blessed we are to have been warmed by your rapturous glow. We love you, Jay" -Alyssa-

Jeanette Orrantia: a middle schooler's tale of utter courage

MONDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2009 12:51 IAN MARIANI

Osteosarcoma. For most, this multisyllabic medical term probably means absolutely nothing. I can imagine the assumptions going through the mind: a skin condition, a new medicine, or for those of you in Foothill's Bioscience Academy, you might be closer, something bone related.

Osteosarcoma is in fact a rare form of bone cancer.

Osteosarcoma--for you a medical term, but for Jeanette Orrantia, it was a term that wasn't just in her eighth grade biology textbooks atAnacapa Middle School, but a term that she thought about on a daily basis. Why? Because Jeanette was diagnosed with this cancer when she was 5 years old.

Just think about that. At five years old, most of us could barely understand that you weren't supposed to punch our little siblings or climb to high places. At five, Jeanette had to understand that she had bone cancer. In the beginning of life, she had been handed a death certificate. Jeanette's father was murdered a number of years ago, and her mother has been out of the picture for even longer than that. Jeanette was raised by her great aunt Rosemary, who left her job just to care for Jeanette, thus eliminating their income.

Jeanette, or Jay as she liked to be called, first had cancer in her right leg. The doctors removed the knee joint and tibia and replaced it with a rod. In December, she was going to have that leg amputated above the knee and receive a prosthetic knee and lower leg. That way she would be able to bend her leg and play sports. Unfortunately, in December, Jeanette was in Children's Hospital for her pre-op and the doctors found a fast growing tumor. This time though, it was in her left leg. The leg was amputated soon afterwards.

To say that Jay was dealt a bad hand would be an understatement. Most of us cannot imagine the turmoil of just one of these problems, let alone taking all of them in one package. But as I look through all the posts to the Facebook page in her remembrance, I see a common theme. They all, no matter how well they knew Jeanette, talk about how she was always smiling.

I first met Jay at the Anacapa Middle School garage sale to raise money for her treatments and her expenses. The event was called "Make Every Day a Jay Day," a tribute to Jay's constantly smiling face and positive attitude. My godsister attended Anacapa Middle School with Jay from 6^th to 8^th grade, and her family was the reason why I was involved that day.

I can remember it fairly vividly. Very early in the morning we loaded up rented moving vans with old coaches, tables, toys, cabinets, and everything else we had collected and caravanned across town to the Anacapa parking lot. We opened the loading docks and pulled everything out. There were workout machines, mirrors, clocks, and clothes. Oh the clothes. There was so much stuff.

Up to that point, I had heard the stories about Jeanette the same way you hear stories about starving children in Africa, in a way that makes you sympathize with them, but not necessarily make a personal connection to the story. That was, until the day had gotten underway.

The scene looked something reminiscent of a swap meet. Sprawling furniture sets, racks upon racks of clothes, rusty electronics, and a throng of people wading through it all looking for those hidden treasures. I had found my treasure for the day, an old broken Spanish guitar with two strings meekly strung on its neck, and paid $5 to put it safely in the front seat of the moving van to avoid the prying grasps of others.

The day was scorching compared to the bundled morning where we were setting out the furniture, and I had already taken a massive fall testing out a BMX bike with flat tires for which I had the bruised ribs to prove it. My day had been uncomfortable to say the least.

And then I met Jay.

She showed up with her aunt and brother, her crutches steadily holding her frail body up as her bandana rippled with the little cross breeze that there was that day. She was saying hello to everyone. My godsister gave her a feeble hug as they talked about whatever preteen girls talk about. I remember the complexity of the moment in my mind.

Here was the girl that this whole event was for. Here was the girl that was the reason we were here. Here was the girl who was braving the worst circumstances I had ever heard of, standing there, smiling. Let me repeat that. Smiling. Suddenly my ribs didn't hurt so much.

Jay died from flu complications on Wednesday as a result of her chemotherapy's detrimental effect her immune system. My godsister, like the many people who knew Jay, was devastated. The news was not the kick in the stomach like an unexpected death of a family member, that kick we had gotten long ago when we had first heard her circumstances or first met her. No, this was a different kind.

When my mom told me Wednesday afternoon, I choked because I realized that the world had just lost the most courageous girl I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

When I think back to that garage sale, I contemplate what people meant by "make everyday a Jay Day." What is a Jay Day? Is it smiling in the face of sadness? Is it pushing to survive unimaginable odds in the face of certain peril? Or is it the challenge to make each day worthwhile? I personally believe it is the latter of the three. And so this column is my Jay Day for your consideration.

The only question remains. How will you live your Jay Day?

Our Annual Halloween Party

All photographs by Elizabeth Messina

For the past few years we've hosted an annual Homeschool Halloween Party sometime during the week before Halloween. Here are some pictures I thought you would enjoy. You can copy the ideas and designs for your own party or you can order them from my mother's bakery, The Solvang Bakery 805-688-4939.

I'll be making regular chile, my famous vegetarian chile and cornbread. All of those recipes you can find on the links to the right on the blog.

Happy Halloween!! Maili

November 2009 issue of Rachael Ray

November 2009 issue of Rachael Ray's Magazine

Marianne Brocke's tip is in the margin to the left

Tips for every room in the house

My tiny picture on page 144

Recipe Testers,

I just told my sister that I wasn't sure how I could possibly even write the next recipe testing e-mail after Jeanette's death. Writing about food/recipes seemed so insignificant compared to Jeanette and her life. I do want to wait about a month to write about the grief process and some of the steps and things that happened. The hardest moments are in the early morning and when I go to bed at night. During the day I am "doing things" and have to keep going forward taking care of my kids and doing all the things that keeps life so busy, which actually help. Although sometimes I'm caught of guard and I burst into tears making breakfast one morning. Binding all of your responses in a book for Rosemary is as much a healing process for me as it is for her and I truly thank you for the beautiful words you wrote.

Cindy Guy and Lisa Harvil are planning the reception for Jeanette at Poinsettia Elementary school. It will be right after her Funeral Mass on Saturday. I can't attend the funeral because I have a wedding to cater. Jason and the girls will videotape it for me. I told Lisa I would get the plates, napkins, flatware and cups. So I went to Costco to pick up those things. While I was wheeling to the front of the line I saw the new Thanksgiving issue of Rachel Ray. I immediately knew it was the issue I was interviewed for. It is strange for me to write about the article during this sad time. But then I thought if I waited then you would miss it and the Christmas issue would be out. So I'm happy and excited to be in the magazine, but it was bittersweet to see it while shopping for Jeanette's funeral (when I wish I was actually shopping for her birthday party instead!)

My picture in the magazine is very tiny. You may need a microscope to see me on page 144. They interviewed me for almost two hours for the article and I'm sure we sent 10 or 15 long e-mails back and forth about entertaining tips for Thanksgiving. So it was funny to see how little they used. They also interviewed 3 other nationally known caterers and event planners: Peter Callahan from New York, Mindy Weis from Beverly Hills and author of Real Life Entertaining, Jennifer Rubell. You can't tell from the article who gave which tip, so I thought I'd tell you the ones I submitted that made the magazine. I didn't scan in all the pages of the article since it was 8 pages long. I just put in a few.

The first one actually is not mine, but my mother-in-laws, Marianne Brocke. Her tip was "We know you can set the table. But this is a perfect 'get it out of the way' task. Just top the plates with wax paper to keep dust off." (pg. 136)

My tips were:

"use fruit or foliage from the backyard for centerpieces"

"E-mail invitations. Unless the invite is to your wedding, e-mail is fine."

Ask friends and family coming to Thanksgiving to bring something. Thanksgiving was a "community meal" and the meaning of Thanksgiving is sharing. It is about family and friends cooking together. I elaborated even more on that but this statement got turned into: "Make a call to Amy-yes, she can bring something."

"Make lists" was turned into "Write this list"

"Put lots of extra toilet paper in the bathroom"

"Greeter (see: best friend, energetic child) to answer the constantly ringing doorbell while you finish dinner." (this quote came about when I used to have my best friends and neighbors in Georgia, David and Lizette Evans, answer the door whenever I had dinner parties. That way I didn't have to stop what I was doing in the kitchen. Lizette would open the door and give them the warmest welcome ever and David would instantly fix them a drink. It was such a joy hosting parties and having David and Lizette help me.)

"Liquid, not bar soap"

"Empty trash"

"Bar in living room to draw guests out of the kitchen"

So that is it for my contribution to the magazine article. I will start sending out Thanksgiving recipes at the beginning of November. I'll actually post some past pictures from our annual Halloween party since some of the decorations may give you ideas.

I'll end with a quick note about Jeanette. Johnny and I have been sending text messages almost daily. After some back and forth he asked me how I was feeling. I told him okay and that Katherine usually cried at night and that Melissa cried in the morning. Johnny texted back "tell the girls Jeanette is in their hearts."

Jeanette Orrantia

"Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, love is stronger than death."

The Most Beautiful Moments - Vincent's Dad

Vincent's wife, Dariah, shared this picture last week and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. I have had three dear friends lose their parents in these last two months. I realized, now at age 41, that the majority of my friends only have one parent left. The loss of loved ones is by far the hardest part of getting older. Vince and I were in a cooking class together in high school. We were divided up into teams and Becky Hausner, Boo Scarpati and Vincent Martinez and I were on the same team. I have such happy memories of those times cooking with him. Vincent now is both a musician and professional photographer. Below are his words about his father and I wanted to share them with all of you as a tribute to both of them.

"Last Jam Session"

Vincent Martinez and His Father,

Theodore Michael Martinez

"Surreal doesn't even begin to describe this moment. There has always been a guitar playing in my life. It all started with this man, and I am certain at one point in time these roles were reversed. There is also significance to the 1953 Guild guitar in this picture. It belonged to my dad's brother Ruben, his widow gave it to my dad to keep. Right before my dad's last heart surgery, dad gave it to me and I knew why, he didn't expect to survive. I looked him in the eyes as he went to the O.R. and said, "you know I will see you again" and thought and you will play Ruben's guitar.
On this night hearing my uncle Cesar play and sing "Tu y Las Nubes" to my dad for the last time I was transported back to warm summer nights in our yard sitting, listening to the three of them playing and singing and laughing. It was a connection the three brothers shared for decades.
Last night, as I plugged in my bass and thumped those first few notes of "Lay Down Sally" I realized something, I have always know what tradition meant, but I now know how it feels." --Vincent Martinez

Our Sweet Jeanette and other kind things

Recipe Testers,

I just got off the phone with Rosemary, Jeanette's great aunt. Jeanette has been doing splendidly so you haven't heard much from me about her. Her cute hair grew back, she's been going to school and everything has been pretty wonderful. Her doctor at City of Hope recommended that she start chemo again. More as a preventative to prevent tumors from growing. Jeanette cried for a long time when she heard this news. The hardest part for her is losing her hair. She has the most beautiful hair and even though she is still so beautiful without it, you have to realize that she is in middle school. This is a time when kids are already so self-conscious about their looks. And she just wants to be a regular kid. She can overcome the part about her missing leg. That isn't her challenge. Her challenge is beating this cancer for good. And the side effect of losing her hair while trying to beat it is so tough. I wish they could have waited a few more months before they started chemo again, but I have to keep remembering they are trying to beat unbeatable odds and lengthen her life. And we still have her here at age 14 and that is a lot to be grateful for!

So she had the chemo last Monday. Unfortunately, she ended up with that horrible flu that is going around. The one with no fever, but headaches and lots of muscle pain. It is going around in all the schools, so she easily could have gotten it there. The flu turned worse and Rosemary had to call 911 to take her to the hospital last night. Her doctors at City of Hope thought it was too far for her to make the trip there and told Rosemary to call the ambulance immediately. So Jeanette is here at our local hospital and they gave her WONDERFUL treatment. They got her hydrated right away, gave her platelets and things are looking up. The only sad part is that they won't allow any visitors outside of Rosemary and her brother. We can't go see her even though she is right down the street. She is in good care and her neighbor, Lisa, is one of her nurses. We've seen so many miracles with this little girl and I just wanted to say a prayer of gratitude to all of you who pray for her. And please pray to get her over this little hump. She appreciated all the birthday cards so much. If any of you want to drop her a line, here is her address again: Jeanette Orrantia, 2001 Ramelli, Ventura CA 93003

Then this week, I've been having all these dreams that Joele is healed. They have been the most beautiful dreams. I don't know what they mean, but Kara and Jeff and another friend have been having similar dreams. So we continue to pray for a cure for Nieman-Pick and Tay-Sachs. Kara and Jeff are the most extraordinary examples of faith to me. Their deep faith brings such peace.

Then there is a video I really want to share with you. Many of you may have seen this on the news when it happened. It is about the autistic basketball player, Jason McElwain. I've seen it about 100 times. It brings me ENORMOUS joy. Of course, since my daughter, Melissa has Asperger's, which is on the autism spectrum this is especially meaningful to me. No matter what happened to you today, traffic tickets, spilled milk, meltdowns, this video will make you cry and smile and you'll feel terrific after watching it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZtU676jA_k&feature=related

I've also been doing a great job at updating your recipes on the recipe tester list and I put Italian wedding soup on the blog from a request I got from Tammy.

www.recipetesters.blogspot.com (your recipes. recently added are Laura's Chilaquiles, Lizette's Green Bean Bundles, Karen's Sausage Casserole, Olliebollen aka Dutch Donuts, and more)

www.themailifiles.blogspot.com (my recipes and stories. Italian wedding soup and the End of Gourmet recently added)

And speaking of the End of Gourmet, I'd like to share what I consider a small miracle of the recipe testing e-mail list. We've seen the big ones with Jeanette and then the small ones in flowers blooming and kids singing. But this one has me moved to tears. One of the recipe testers, Kit, is someone I've never met. She was put on the recipe testing list after all of those passionate e-mails I sent out about the library. She's been making lots of the recipes, most recently the chicken and prunes and took the leftovers broth from the chicken and prunes and added turnips and sausage and made a wonderful second soup out of it. But that isn't the miracle. That is just a tip I'm going to copy. The miracle is that she is friends with the widow of one of the former editors of Gourmet magazine. The friend has been looking for someone to give her husband's collection to and she would like to give it to me. I ALMOST FAINTED!!! I COULD BARELY BREATHE! The only condition is that I never sell them and only give them away since she is giving them to me. My friend Robert Jones, has a close to complete collection of Gourmet magazines starting from 1957. He is missing 1963, 1964 and 1979. So even though I feel like I've just been given the Hope diamond, I thought the most magnanimous thing to do would be to help Robert complete his collection. Then I can have the other precious volumes which will keep me more than busy for an age!! Robert wanted to extend an invitation to any of you who are interested and passionate about food. He is a Vintage Recipe Preservationist and is doing such valuable work. He loves sharing and said anyone is welcome to come and see his cookbook library and magazine library. (His makes my 1,500 cookbook collection look miniscule!) I have posted his web sites and e-mail at the bottom of this page if any of you would like to contact him. I'm still so happy about all of this that I'm OVERFLOWING with GRATITUDE!!

Finally, I want to share the fact that one of recipe testers has THE MAILI FILES listed as a source for her cookbook exchange club. I realize that this isn't such a longshot, since she is on the list, but I still liked being "an official source" for recipes. I also want to encourage you to make recipe exchange clubs of your own. You could do this as couples or as a girls night out. My current favorite girls night out is my book club. I just love that night and look forward to it. I think a recipe exchange club would be a close second, if not a tie for first. I just love what we all learn from each other and the warmth and caring that come from sharing our lives and stories. And I think book clubs and recipe exchange clubs can do that.

My sister and her family stopped by on their way home from the Jason Mraz concert last night. Jason has a song called "Live High" My sister was in tears telling me how wonderful his concert was and how he wrote some of his best songs at The Gratitude Cafe in San Francisco www.cafegratitude.com I'm listening to the song right now so I'll end with the lyrics "Live High, Live Mighty, Live Righteously"

I'm so grateful for all of you!

Maili

"The art of being a gourmet has nothing to do with age, money, fame, or country. It can be found in a thrifty French housewife with her pot-au-feu or in a white-capped chef in a skyscraper hotel. But where it exists, the practitioner of this art will have the eye of an artist, the imagination of a poet, the rhythm of a musician, and the breadth of a sculptor. That is the subtle amalgam of which the true gourmet is compounded." From the introduction to the first Gourmet Magazine, January 1941

Example of e-mail my friend sent out for her Monthly Recipe Exchange Club.

You've been invited to join our Recipe Exchange! We will meet the third Wednesday of every month. See below for recipe assignment that corresponds with each date. You must show up with your recipe essentially completed and ready for tasting by the 10-12 of us. It only needs to be a sample size portion (for instance if making chicken, you do not need to make twelve chicken breasts, just enough for us each to try a little) You must also bring your recipe copied 12 times so that we can all leave with a copy. The host will provide a signature cocktail with recipe as well.

Some people may want to bring their best dish...some people may want to cook new things they've always wanted to try but were afraid their family wouldn't want to eat. It is not a competition...just a plan to get us all out of the rut of cooking the same things over and over!

Let us know if you're in!

Oct 21 Welcome! APPETIZERS
Nov 18 HOLIDAY HITS (Show off your best Stuffing, Brisket, Gravy, Pie, Latke)
Dec 16 Start Early...It's SLOW COOKER/DUTCH OVEN Night
Jan 20 Who Doesn't Love CASSEROLES (or SOUP)
Feb 17 On Assignment...THE FANNIE FARMER COOKBOOK (You will be given a recipe from her book to make)
Mar 17 Good Morning...BREAKFAST Time
Apr 21 Viewers Choice...THE MAILI FILES (Choose a recipe from her blog to bring)
May 19 EXOTICS/FOREIGN FLAVORS...Dig deep in your spice cabinet, show off your heritage
Jun 16 Cool off with SALADS

FROM MY FRIEND ROBERT JONES, PLEASE E-MAIL HIM IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE A PART OF HIS RECIPE LIST OR CLICK ON HIS WEB SITES.

From: Robert Jones

Date: October 11, 2009 3:34:02 PM PDT

Subject: Blue Marble Bounty and Recipe Blitz Updater - 2009-10-11

Hey Everyone,

Keeping you all up to date about the happenings and recipes I have been posting. Here is a weeks worth of updates.

Here is a breif glance where you can just go check out what you like. Let me know what more you would like to see, as I am always taking requests.

It has been a good couple of weeks with the Annual Book Sale at Earl Warren. I found all kinds of good stuff and am sharing some of it here.

Make your own ketchup! http://bit.ly/284YOW

Bored of canned soup? Try this: http://bit.ly/j0OXv

Brown Derby Grapefruit Cake! http://bit.ly/1zGJQf

Slot Machine of Canned Soups 1946 Style http://bit.ly/QLMx7

Treasured Recipes Of The Old South http://bit.ly/3eG2aX

Saag Paneer Recipe For Terrie http://bit.ly/2oTCk

Old World Treat Snail Broth! http://bit.ly/hOKAw

Cooking Lesson # 4 - Shepherd's Pie http://bit.ly/3Gizb2

~News~

Have you guys heard of my friend Maili's site? Check out http://themailifiles.blogspot.com/ She has several blogs attached, and is rocking the world!

The St. Mark's-in-the-Valley Book Faire is in its 39th year. We will have around 20,000 volumes and some "special" books (rare, first editions, etc.) The basics are: Festive opening is Thursday evening, October 15 from 5-8:30 pm with wine and hors d’oeuvres. The admission for that special evening is $10. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 16-18 the Book Faire is open 9 am-4 pm. They are in Los Olivos - the largest building in town - on the corner of Nojoqui Avenue and Alamo Pintado Avenue, one block from the flagpole and next door to Mattei's Tavern. http://stmarksepiscopalchurch.com/ I think Brian and I will be getting up early to hit this up on Saturday! Anyone else? I chatted with Reverand Randall, and he assured me that cookbooks were a plenty.

When I was in Colorado a few weeks ago I found a delicious Tea Shop in Boulder. Check out www.KuChaTea.com. Amazing teas!

Do you Twitter? Become a BMB Twit follow me as "Eudaemonius"

If you have a minute, check out one of the Google ads. This helps pay for the sites, and keeps the action rolling

Thanks Everyone,

Hope you enjoy!

R-

Should you have friends that would like to be added to the weekly update, please just have them email me at eudaemonius@gmail.com and have them ask for the updater.

Italian Wedding Soup

Tammy just requested this recipe from me on Facebook. It is one of my most favorites! Amy and I tested the Koshary for the 3rd time this afternoon, so I'll try to post that by the weekend. Sorry for the delay.

Italian Wedding Soup

Makes 6 Quarts

I first had this soup at the Farmer’s Market when we lived in Blandon, Pennsylvania. I was addicted to it and bought it every week. I was determined to learn how to make it. After much examination I realized that the secret is the tiny tiny pieces of minced up chicken that float in the bottom and give the soup so much extra flavor. If you don’t have time to make your own stock, then you can use Swanson’s Natural Goodness that doesn’t have any MSG. However, the whole point is that if you make a roast chicken, you can eat it for dinner, make chicken salad with the leftovers and mince some up for the soup that you make with the leftover bones. If this all sounds like too much work for one night of cooking, then freeze the bones from your roast chicken and make the soup later. Maili

6 quarts homemade chicken stock or low-salt chicken broth

¾ cup cooked chicken, minced

2 lbs. ground pork shoulder

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 egg

½ cup bread crumbs

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup orzo pasta or other small soup pasta

3 cups shredded swiss chard, center stem removed, cut into smallpieces (spinach can be substituted)

1. In a large bowl mix ground pork, sea salt, parsley, oregano, black pepper, egg and breadcrumbs. Gather about a teaspoon of the mixture and gently roll into a meatball.Place finished meatballs on a lined baking sheet and refrigerate.

2. Heat stock to a high simmer, add minced chicken and gently drop in meatballs and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in orzo pasta, let simmer 5 more minutes.

3. To finish add swiss chard check seasoning and serve.

Notes from Maili: Whenever I make soup I make the largest pot I can. That way, after going to the effort you have plenty for your family, and plenty to give to your friends and neighbors and then some leftover to freeze for a quick dinner a few weeks later.

Soup, Italian Wedding Soup, Draft 4, edited by Maili Halme Brocke, Maili Productions Cookbook February 9, 2005

The End of Gourmet

Gourmet Magazine, June 1968

The month and year that I was born

The Magazine of Good Living

There is nothing better than the taste of food

grilled over a real fire

October, 1993

I was obsessed with making this sugared fruit.

I still make it and learned how from this cover.

December 1988

The famous Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake.

It became my signature dish at Thanksgiving.

Recipe Testers,

I had been meaning to write about how I learned to cook from the pages of Gourmet magazine for some time now. I NEVER in a million years would guess that I would be writing this on the day after they announced the closure of the magazine. Stunned is the word I feel. Actually, I'm not stunned I'm in complete denial. I think that somehow someone made a huge mistake and that they will wake-up tomorrow and say "we've changed our minds." So the truth is that it hasn't sunk in and I really think I'm not believing it. Then on the other hand, I'm having similar feelings to the way I felt when Western Union closed. When I was in college, my parents still sent money to me via Western Union and I even received a telegram from Western Union when I got married. But as the computer age and credit card age came, Western Union was no longer needed. So it closed after years of prosperous and necessary service.

Is that same true about Gourmet magazine? Is it no longer needed? From what I understand they still retained their million readership base, but had lost 50 percent of their advertising, which made the magazine no longer profitable. And while I looked forward to my issue each month and its beautiful pictures, I realized that I often did my search for recipes on-line. Even some of the treasured Gourmet recipes that are safely secure in my white notebooks. Often I would just type their title in Epicurious's site and reprint the favorite recipe. Recently I had been watching the free full episodes of Diary of a Foodie on Gourmet.com's web site. Will the web site close as well as the magazine? I understand Epicurious.com will still be up because Bon Appetit is still standing. (Epicurious has all the recipes from both Gourmet and Bon Appetit and you can easily search for them. As you can see to the right of my blog, it is one of the recipe links I frequently use when researching a recipe.)

My grandmother had always subscribed to Gourmet and so did my mother and my aunts. It was as if all the Gourmet subscribers belonged to a private little club. I remember someone telling me how much he loved to cook. Whenever anyone tells me that I usually ask them what kinds of things they like to make. He answered "You know, Plum Glazed Turkey, things like that." I immediately answered "Cover of Gourmet 2002?" I suppose I remember Gourmet covers like a sports fanatic remembers a winning shot.

I began cooking from it's pages when I was 13. I remember having my mom drop me off at the store and asking the produce manager what a clove of garlic was. One of the first things I made when I was 13 was a leg of lamb studded with garlic. (Mind you, at this point, I'd still never made a hamburger. But a leg of lamb, no problem.) When I was old enough to drive a car, I'd go to El Rancho Market with my Gourmet in hand and ask for help in ordering and finding certain ingredients. El Rancho also had a real live butcher who could wait on you, so I could get any cut of meat or fish that I needed.

I have every issue of The Best of Gourmet books on my shelf. 2007 was the last year they published those compilations of the years best recipes. You'd think with the books I wouldn't need the magazines too, but I still bought both since the cookbooks only had the recipes and not the articles nor the travel pictures and journals. I know the Noone's have all the old magazines bound in their basement. The Noone's just moved from their home in Alexandria and I'm hoping so much they they saved all the old issues or gave them to Katie. Marianne Heilferty inherited her uncle's collection of Gourmet magazines when he passed away. She so generously gave me the one from the year and month of my birth. It meant a lot to me to have it. Much to Jason's chagrin, I have an enormous magazine collection. I try to go through them and cull out the best recipes and put them in my white notebooks. But there are some issues I just can't bare to part with and now I'm so happy I've saved them. I just got the real treasures out of a box in the attic and am so grateful they are intact. The magazines then were so big and thick. Easily twice or three times as thick as the last issue of Gourmet I just received. They were truly educational tomes on great cooking.

I'll close with two of my favorite recipes: The Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake became my signature Thanksgiving Dessert. The Wild Rice Salad with Dried Apricots and Cranberries also became an entertaining staple and everyone asked for that recipe as well. I usually used Lundberg's Wild Rice Blend when I made that salad.

As for my denial, I have this glimmer of hope that someone somewhere will decide to buy the rights to the magazine and the whole lot and continue publishing. And while I'm waiting for that to happen I will continue to surround myself with the stacks of Gourmet magazines I have amassed over the past 30 years. (Speaking of denial, 3 people e-mailed to tell me the news of the closure and I still had to go and read 5 different news feeds before I would even begin to believe it. I was SURE they had the wrong name and the wrong magazine!)

PS Here is a link to the first edition of Gourmet for those of you who are interested

http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/10/first-premiere-issue-of-gourmet-magazine-january-1941-vol-1-issue-1.html

Then here are two of my favorites from these past 30 years:

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Sour Cream ToppingGourmet | November 1990

For the crust 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup granulated sugar 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled For the filling 1 1/2 cups solid pack pumpkin 3 large eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, cut into bits and softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon bourbon liqueur or bourbon if desired For the topping 2 cups sour cream 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 tablespoon bourbon liqueur or bourbon, or to taste 16 pecan halves for garnish Make the crust: In a bowl combine the cracker crumbs, the pecans, and the sugars, stir in the butter, and press the mixture into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a buttered 9-inch springform pan. Chill the crust for 1 hour. Make the filling: In a bowl whisk together the pumpkin, the egg, the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the ginger, the salt, and the brown sugar. In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the cream cheese and the granulated sugar, beat in the cream, the cornstarch, the vanilla, the bourbon liqueur, and the pumpkin mixture, and beat the filling until it is smooth. Pour the filling into the crust, bake the cheesecake in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the center is just set, and let it cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Make the topping: In a bowl whisk together the sour cream, the sugar, and the bourbon liqueur. Spread the sour cream mixture over the top of the cheesecake and bake the cheesecake for 5 minutes more. Let the cheesecake cool in the pan on a rack and chill it, covered, overnight. Remove the side of the pan and garnish the top of the cheesecake with the pecans.

Wild Rice SaladGourmet | February 2000

We couldn't have an American potluck dinner that didn't include at least one thoroughly native dish. The wild rice, hickory nuts, and dried cranberries in this salad are a nod to the potluck's origins. Yield: Serves 12 Active Time: 25 min Total Time: 1 1/4 hr 1 pound wild rice For vinaigrette: 1/4 cup fresh orange juice 3 tablespoons chopped shallot 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup long-grain white rice 1 1/2 cups water 2 cups hickory nuts or chopped pecans, toasted 1 1/4 cups chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 3/4 cup dried apricots, thinly sliced 3/4 cup dried cranberries Rinse wild rice in a sieve under cold water, then combine with cold water to cover by 2 inches in a 5-quart pot. Simmer, covered, until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Make vinaigrette while wild rice is simmering: Whisk together juice, shallot, vinegar, mustard, and garlic. Gradually whisk in oil until emulsified and season with salt and pepper. Cook white rice: After wild rice has been simmering 20 minutes, boil white rice and 1 1/2 cups water in a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, uncovered and undisturbed, until steam holes appear on surface, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to very low and cook, covered and undisturbed, 15 minutes more. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Assemble salad: Rinse cooked wild rice in a sieve under cold water and drain. Stir together rices, vinaigrette, nuts, parsley, dried fruit, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature. Cooks' note: Salad keeps, covered and chilled, 3 days.

Elizabeth Messina's Fall Pictures

"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine"

Apples

Grapes, Figs and Roquefort

good morning

Poilane

all photography by Elizabeth Messina

I know most of you can tell that Elizabeth Messina is my favorite photographer by the frequency that I put her pictures on my blog. She just sent these pictures to me as a little gift to celebrate the season. I'm putting them up in my office so I thought I'd share them with all of you. Enjoy!

Pork Tenderloin with Pecan Cornbread Stuffing and Cider Cream

raisins soaking in brandy

completed stuffing

pork before it is trussed

me trussing the pork

trussed pork

All Photos by Elizabeth Messina

Recipe Testers,

This is one of those things that is just delicious. Every single element of it is fabulous on their own, but combined they are exceptional. I keep trying to figure out how to make this easier for the home cook. This recipe has been tested four times, but I'm still looking for feedback from you on how to make the descriptions and steps more clear. So please ask questions or make comments. This isn't a quick and easy recipe and perhaps more for the advanced cook, but it is one of those things that is worth the time. If you do want to take a short-cut than don't stuff the pork. Just make the pork by itself and serve the stuffing on the side. (Jason wanted extra stuffing anyway!) But instead of looking at this as work think of it like this: Fall is here with it's wonderful crisp and cool weather, what is more comforting than turning on a warm stove and baking bread and sautéing apples and roasted pecans. This is what you call satisfying work. (But if you have picky kids they may pop your balloon of happiness, like mine did when they wanted the pork PLAIN without the stuffing!) Thankfully, other kids and other adults thought this was about the best thing ever. My neighbors, Rob and Kelly, haven't been able to stop talking it since I brought the test batch over. And the sauce is exceptional. I'm making a short intro story here because the recipe is fairly long. I'm especially proud of this because, like the dates and some of my other best recipes, this one just came right out of my head. There wasn't a recipe to adapt or change. This was just some flavors that I thought would be really yummy together. My grandmother did tell me, when I told her I first made it, that she always soaked her raisins in brandy. So that part I got from her. For those of you who don't want to cook with alcohol you can soak the raisins in apple cider. (you may also be able to sub apple cider for the wine in the beurre blanc. I haven't tried that before, but I think it might work.)

Pork Tenderloin with Cornbread Stuffing and Cider Cream

Make the cornbread. You'll only need about half the pan of bread. I'm writing this first because the recipe will be easier if you start with this step. (look up Auntie Colleen's Cornbread on the right side of the blog.)

for the stuffing:

2 cups crumbled cornbread

1/2 cup sultanas (golden raisins)

1/2 cup raisins

3/4 cup brandy (apple cider could be substituted)

1 cup chopped pecans, roasted (notes on roasting nuts to follow)

2 cups diced apples, (you can peel or not)

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 cup diced yellow onions, (about a quarter of a large onion

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, optional

2, 3 or 4 1-pound pork tenderloins (2 will feed 4-6, 4 will feed 8-12)

Cider Cream Beurre Blanc recipe to follow

1. Make the cornbread if you haven't already. Soak the golden raisins and regular raisin in a bowl with the brandy and set aside.

2. Roast the pecans. Every oven size is different. In the toaster oven it is different from the large oven. In general, 350 for about 8 minutes is right. But in a smaller oven they may burn more quickly. Keep an eye on them. They are done when they smell right. But as soon as they start to smell right then are a few seconds from about to be burned. So keep an eye on them. Since I'm famous for burning nuts (the downside of multi-tasting) I recommend buying twice the amount you need so that you still have extra after you burn the first batch.

3. Get a large bowl out and put water and two lemons in it. This will keep the apples from turning brown as you peel and dice them. Peel and slice and large dice the apples. If you want you can leave the skin on. Your choice. Put them in the lemon water after you slice them.

4. In a large saute pan, over medium-high heat, saute the onions in the 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of canola oil. Put a pinch of kosher salt or sea salt on the onions. Saute for about 2-3 minutes.

5. Drain the apples from the water and add apples to the saute pan. Cook apples for about 2 minutes. Add 2 tablspoons dark or light brown sugar. Add another pinch of salt. Cook for another minute.

6. Drain the raisins, but save the brandy. You will need it later for the sauce. Combine everything in one large bowl: cornbread, pecans, apples and onions, raisins, chopped parsley. Set stuffing aside.

7. Get the pork tenderloins. Trim silverskin and fat. Now you're going to butterfly them. It is kind of like making the second two swipes in the z from Zoro. You go in at a 35 degree angle, then flip it over and go slice straight across. I wish I could draw a picture on the blog. It's not that hard. It sounds harder than it is. (Skip this part if you just want to put the stuffing on the side).

8. After the pork is butterflied, season well on both sides with olive oil and kosher salt. Put the stuffing in the butterflied pork.

9. Tie it up. I feel like I need a diagram for this too. If you know how to knit it is similar to casting-on. If you don't knit it is just a slip knot. I'm attaching a youtube video until I can make my own. Only you can't flip the meat on it's end like she does. You need to keep it flat and just gently slide the string under it or the stuffing will all fall out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqZm9Q2G_R8 This is one of those things like riding a bike. Once you learn how it isn't hard at all. You just kind of need someone to show you and get the feel of it.

10. Make the Cider Cream Beurre Blanc. (recipe follows)

11. If you want to take the easy route just put it all in the oven. Start the oven on 400 for 10 minutes. Then turn it down to 375 and cook for 20 minutes more. Remember pork should be a little pink. Trichinosis hasn't been a problem since the 70's and even if it was still a problem all of it is killed at 135 degrees. So there really isn't a need to overcook the pork and dry it out and make it taste like leather.

12. So since I often don't take the easy route and just take the best tasting route, I decided to sear it on the grill and then finish it in the oven. You can hold it for quite awhile under aluminum foil until you are ready to serve it.

13. Remove string, slice pork and serve with Cider Cream.

Cider Cream Beurre Blanc

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup sweet or dry white wine (I've used both and they both work in this recipe, tell me if you need names)

1/2 cup apple cider

1 tablespoon minced shallot or onion (I often don't have shallots so i just use onions)

1/2 cup heavy cream.

2 sticks unsalted butter (or 3 if you'd like a little more:-) cut into 1 tablespoon pieces

2 tablespoon of brandy leftover from raisins

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. In a saucepan over medium high heat, put the apple cider vinegar, the white wine, the apple cider and the shallot or onion. Reduce it all the way down. The French term is a sec. You're basically going to let it cook all the way down until there is a thin layer at the bottom of the pan and the bubbles are kind of big and slow instead of little and fast.

2. Add a half cup heavy cream and reduce by half.

3. Once you have reduced the liquid then start whisking in the butter. You have to do this one tablespoon at a time. You don't just want melted butter, you want it to emulsify into the sauce. Having the cream in the sauce will already help stabilize it. But add the tablespoons of butter one at a time whisking constantly until they are incorporated.

4. Add the brandy and salt. Serve. It will hold for a few hours, but be sure to keep whisking it and checking on it. Whisk while reheating just before service.