| Food
& Other Important Things
Compliments, complaints and mid-summer bonanza
by Don Curto
France invades Lake Linden
Well, sort of. Two guys with a good idea, some guts and, it must be noted, some money not too far behind them have opened De la Terre, which they describe as a European Bistro. Smack in the near remoteness of the Keweenaw Peninsula on Ninth Street in Lake Linden is the area’s newest upscale eatery, sort of French, but not really French.
The building and decorating present a place that is quite charming, so much so it really seems not to fit the early twentieth century poshness of the once rich community of Lake Linden, with its beautiful Catholic church and other formerly elegant buildings. That’s where the guts come in. There are presently three basic menus: lunch, dinner and the bar menu.
The bar area is especially pleasant. None of the menus are particularly “European,” although the dinner menu has several items not usually found in the Copper Country.
I am not ready to review this restaurant yet. But I do wish the principals, Justin Dudenas (associate degree from Cordon Bleu in Portland) and Nate Little, much luck as they provide some imaginative dishes of different food for an area (all of the Keweenaw, as well as Houghton and Hancock) badly in need of it.
Going green with white stuff
We drink soy “milk” in our home, from time to time. Therefore, I am most pleased to announce to you, my readers, that SILK soy (milk), a popular brand has recently changed the color of the plastic screw cap on the half gallon size from whatever it formerly was to a new and exciting green. This is in support of making the world more “green.”
Silk Soy is Green.
Say thank you, Silk
And to all of that ilk;
Be grateful, not mean.
Remember, Green is keen.
For those of you who remember him, this is a little Edgar A. Guest salute!
The Complaint
Guindon Farms, a quite famous U.P. beef farm in the Escanaba area, has been making sales inroads in some Marquette restaurants with its “grass-fed” beef. I had tried this product many years ago. So recently at the farmers market in Marquette, I decided once again to try some of the meat offered at the small stand there. I bought some beef liver (I am a fan of good liver and onions) and a New York strip cut of “grass-fed beef.”
The steak, which weighed about a pound, cost $13.50. Even for a test, this one hurt. I won’t even try to bill it to the Monthly. Rarely have I ever discovered a food producer who can make beef liver tough and a premium, high-priced beef steak tough, ugly (three-quarter-inch thick on one end, one quarter inch thick on the other) and tasteless. There has to be a lot of tough crab grass on that farm. Fortunately, this meat is only produced for the very rich.
And a Bonanza, for some summer and autumn cooking.
Lamb Shanks with Garlic
This recipe is for four medium weight—about half pound—shanks, serving four.
4 half-pound lamb shanks, trimmed of outside fat
salt
3 tbls olive oil
15-20 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 tsp finely crumbled, dried mixed herbs (rosemary, tarragon, thyme, marjoram)
1/2 cup dry white wine
pepper
Use a heavy roasting pan with a tight-fitting lid. Salt the shanks and brown them lightly in the oil. Toss in the garlic, cover and cook over very low heat, turning the shanks occasionally, for one and one-half hours or longer to be very tender.
Use a fireproof pad if necessary—the shanks should only very gently stew in their own juices. Watch that you don’t run out of juice—check after about forty-five minutes. When the juice has evaporated and the shanks begin to sizzle in fat, begin to add a spoonful of water from time to time so that a film of liquid remains always in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with the herbs after about one hour of cooking.
As the meat approaches the desired tenderness, stop moistening with water so that all the liquid will evaporate. When the meat begins to sizzle again in fat, remove it to a plate. Pour off the fat and deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping and stirring with a wooden spoon to dissolve all caramelized residue.
Press the liquid and garlic through a sieve to strain out the garlic skins, return the liquid to the pan, reduce it some and return meat to pan. There should be just about enough sauce to coat the pieces of lamb.
Grind pepper over to taste.
Chocolate Mousse
3 ounces melted semisweet chocolate: flavor can vary by using 1 oz unsweetened chocolate. (Note: New packets of melted chocolate can be used successfully.)
4 large eggs, separated
beat egg whites until stiff.
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 tbls light rum
1.5 cups whipping cream, whipped stiff.
Melt chocolate, set aside.
Thoroughly beat egg yolks until lemon-yellow, but not too frothy.
Quickly whisk in melted chocolate, sugar and rum, blending until smooth.
Fold in gently the egg whites
Fold in the whipped cream, being thorough, but careful, until fully blended. (Be careful with this step, so you don’t lose the air that has been beaten in and make mousse into pudding)
Spoon into individual serving dishes, cover and chill overnight.
Serve with additional unflavored whipped cream, if you wish.
Cornish Games Hens in Casserole
From Milwaukee Journal, Wednesday, February 8, 1956:
Ruth Curto (my mother) file
6 Cornish Game Hens
1 small minced onion
3 tbls butter
1 cup toasted bread crumbs
1/2 tsp mixed dried herbs or poultry seasoning
6 slices bacon
1 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste
Saute onion in butter until soft; remove from fire and stir in bread crumbs, herbs and salt and pepper.
Rub birds inside and outside with salt and pepper. Fill with the stuffing and truss loosely. Arrange in iron kettle or heavy roasting pan.
Put a slice of bacon on breast of each bird and add wine.
Cover kettle or roasting pan tightly and cook in 450 degrees Fahrenheit oven for forty-five minutes.
Arrange birds on heatproof serving platter, discard bacon and brush birds with melted butter. Put birds under broiler to brown.
Skim off fat from liquid in pan and put on high burner on top of stove and reduce sauce by one half.
Pour sauce over birds and garnish with parsley and triangles of buttered toast.
Orzo with Dried Cherries and Almonds
Serves 6
1 1/2 cups Orzo
1/2 tsp crumbled saffron threads
3 tsp freshly grated orange zest
3 tbls fresh orange juice
4 1/2 tbls olive oil
1/2 cup dried cherries
3 tbls slivered almonds, toasted lightly
2 scallions, sliced diagonally
Boil orzo in six cups water with the saffron until it is al dente. Drain and refresh under cold water.
In bowl, stir together the zest, the orange juice, and salt to taste, add the oil in a stream, whisking, and whisk the dressing until it is emulsified.
In a bowl, toss the orzo, drained well, with the dressing and stir in the cherries, the almonds and the scallions.
Serve at room temperature.
Raspberry Chicken Breasts
This recipe is for two, but easily expands ad infinitum—or ad nauseum, if you prefer.
2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbls butter
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
4 tbls raspberry vinegar
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbls canned crushed tomatoes
fresh raspberries
Melt butter in large skillet. Raise the heat, add the chicken breasts and cook for about three minutes per side, or until they are lightly colored. Remove from skillet and reserve.
Add onion to the fat in the pan and cook, covered, over low heat until tender.
Add vinegar, raise the heat and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally until vinegar is reduced to a syrupy spoonful. Whisk in the chicken stock, heavy cream and crushed tomatoes and simmer one minute.
Return chicken to skillet and simmer gently in the sauce, basting often until they are just done and the sauce has been reduced and thickened, slightly, about five minutes. Do not overcook.
Remove chicken, arrange on plate, add raspberries to sauce in the skillet and cook over low heat for just one minute. Do not stir the berries with a spoon, merely swirl them in the sauce by shaking the skillet.
Pour over breasts and garnish with fresh raspberries.
Hippocrates said: “Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food.” (Could be the end of vitamin stores?)
Julia Child said: “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”
Have a good July.
—Don Curto
Editor’s Note: The preceeding quotes came from Sun Magazine.
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