Fuller on Food: Not quite antique
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 6:55 PM PDT
By Don Fuller
For The Daily News
Printable version
E-mail this articleMarilyn Stoecker, a long-time friend from our Cedar Rapids days, visited us recently. She’s fun to have around, and we have a great time reminiscing about events from our shared past and updating our lives.
We also plan excursions to local areas of interest. Since she has visited us on a number of occasions, planning new day trips is becoming hard to do without repetition. We decided to visit the Pittock mansion in Portland, a historical site that we had never visited ourselves.
Built in the early 1900’s, it was at a point in history that makes it familiar to us with its electric lights, automobile garage, and modern bathrooms, but it also reaches back to the Victorian era for its design and furnishings.
To me the most interesting part of the visit was how the mansion accommodated the daily functions of home life. Here most meals were in the breakfast room with the dining room reserved for special occasions. A butler pantry separated it from the kitchen.
I was surprised how small the kitchen was given that it served meals for the many Pittock family members. And I was taken with the kitchen stove. It was a marvel of porcelain and chrome with an enormous hood, reminding me of a triple-sized version of my mother’s old wood cook stove.
Off the kitchen was a large pantry that held canned goods and pots and pans. Beside it was a large wooden refrigerator in a smallish room. The room itself was cooled by refrigerated water pipes and was used to keep vegetables and other commodities fresh. A massive door made sure that little of the coolness escaped.
I left the area with a sense that while the building was modeled after a French Renaissance chateau, it was a 20th century building on the inside.
When choosing recipes for this week, however, I am glad to have all the conveniences of the 21st century -- including my gas grill. Even in the rain, I will gladly barbecue a steak. I think this recipe for grilled flank steak is great, and I particularly like the flavorful mushroom sauce that goes with it.
For our picnic with friends at the beach, I created a shrimp salad based on a “concept” recipe I found on the Internet. The creator did not talk so much about ingredients but about the types of ingredients you should use with shrimp, an interesting and useful idea.
My final recipes are desserts. First is a blueberry pie recipe that Donna Rolfe shared with us. She also created a whipped cream and lemon curd topping, giving credit to Connie Budge for the lemon curd recipe. We have tried both and find them, well, almost too irresistible.
FLANK STEAK WITH MUSHROOM SAUCE
Steak
1 pound flank steak
1/2 cup marinade (recipe follows)
Marinade
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as oregano, thyme, sweet marjoram, tarragon Or 2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs
1 teaspoon ground pepper
Mix all ingredients together until thoroughly blended. Place steak in a gallon sealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Let marinate for 1 hour or more turning frequently.
Mushroom Sauce
2 cups sliced button mushrooms
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup beef broth
1/3 cup dry wine, red or white
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in a tablespoon of water
In a small bowl, mix together garlic powder, onion powder, beef broth, and vinegar. In a heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add mushrooms. And sauté for 4 or 5 minutes until mushrooms begin to give off liquid. Add beef broth mixture and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue simmering mushrooms until liquid is reduced to about 1 ½ cups. Add green onions and cornstarch and bring to a boil for 1 minute. May be made in advance and reheated until hot.
Remove steak from marinade and grill or broil to personal taste. Discard marinade. Slice on the diagonal across the grain to create 1/4-inch slices. Place slices on a warmed platter and cover with reheated mushroom sauce.
— Liberally adapted from a recipe in “Cooking Light,” September 2006
SHRIMP SALAD
1/2 cup small shell pasta
1 pound medium/small cooked shrimp
6 inches English cucumber, diced small
1 rib celery, diced small
1 mango, peach, cantaloupe, or pineapple, cut into small bite size pieces
1/4 cup green onions, chopped or red onion, diced small
1/4 cup chopped black olives
Fresh herb to taste, dill, basil, or mint, chopped
1/2 cup feta, crumbled (preferably French sheep feta)
Cook pasta according to manufacturer’s recommendations. Rinse in cold water
Rinse frozen shrimp under cold water, drain and pat dry. Combine the remaining ingredients, except the feta. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the shrimp and enough sauce to moisten. Cover and refrigerate for about four hours or overnight. Before serving taste for sauce and add more if needed. Then, lightly stir in the crumbled feta.
Sauce
Zest and juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
Drop or two of hot sauce
1 teaspoon, Dijon mustard
Blend lemon juice, zest, hot sauce and mustard. Slowly blend in olive oil. Dressing should be slightly thickened.
— Adapted from a recipe found on www.kitchenparade.com/
BLUEBERRY PIE
1 baked 10-inch pie shell
4 cups raw fresh blueberries, divided
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
Place evenly 2 cups of raw berries in bottom of pie shell.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add remaining 2 cups of blueberries, sugar, and water. Cook until ingredients are well-mixed and the blueberries are soft.
Add cornstarch mixture and salt. When thick, mix in lemon juice and butter. Mix well and pour over raw berries while hot. Chill for a few hours.
— Adapted from a recipe shared by Donna Rolfe, who got the original recipe from Marie Dennis, Longview, who is now about 81 years old. Donna’s daughter Marcia used the recipe and won first prize at the fair about 39 years ago.
LEMON CURD
1 stick (4 ounces) butter
1 large lemon, grated
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
Melt butter in top of double boiler. Stir in grated lemon peel and juice, salt and sugar.
Slightly beat whole eggs and egg yolks. Then beat into sugar mixture.
Cook over boiling water, beating with wire whisk until thick and smooth. Cool. Makes 2 cups.
— Adapted from a recipe of Connie Budge, Rainier, Oregon
Don Fuller, an avid cook, retired as dean of instruction at Lower Columbia College in 1998. Readers can reach him at The Daily News, P. O. Box 189, Longview, WA 98632 or by e-mail at df1013784@uid.onemain.com.
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