My Top Secret Recipe

The success of the tunnel of fudge cake got me thinking; can I make up a recipe that is worth one million dollars? I was poking around on the Pillsbury website, and yes, that is the prize for winning the bake-off. The thing is, it has to be an original recipe and it has to involve the use of pillsbury ingredients. It must involve the pop-open biscuits, their jams, etc. I decided to aim towards the Old El Paso category, since I make lots of Mexican food. The problem is, I never use Old El Paso stuff. I mean, you aren't going to find a recipe for 180 tamales on a bag of taco seasoning. At any rate, I invented something that is original, easy, and very Tex-Mex.

This weekend I made it twice, each time experimenting with the exact conditions. My taste-tester seemed satisfied by it, but I think he'd prefer I continue testing it. I don't think either test was up to snuff, but it tasted good. At any rate, it was fun to just take the weekend making food and living the American dream. You can't come up with anything more wholesome than testing recipes for a bake-off. You can't come up with anything more American than bastardizing Mexican food for money.

I'm going to try it one more time, and then send it off for peer review. (I'll have my mom and sis make it in their test kitchens.) Once I'm resonably satisfied with it, I'll submit the recipe. The deadline isn't until April 22nd, but I really don't can't imagine making this too many more times before then. I guess I'll wait until after the deadline to post it, cause I don't want anyone stealing my million dollar idea.

cucumber and radish relish

A couple of years ago I made ceviche and discovered that cucmbers are a fantastic compliment to mexican food. (I sprinkled them with ground red pepper and salt and served them with the ceviche.) I made this relish last summer to go with a bbq, but last night I served it over broiled striped bass. This can be used in any setting where you might want a relish, salsa, chutney, or dip. The cucumber/radish/heat combo is the secret, and is amenable to other herbs or flavors.

1 cucumber, chopped
6-8 small radishes, chopped
handful cilantro, chopped
juice of 1-2 limes
1-2 jalepeno peppers, roasted, peeled, and finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic very finely crushed/chopped
cumin, salt, pepper, red pepper, olive oil (to taste)

mix it all up and let it sit for half an hour, then eat.

Today is a Day of Independence

I associate today with the scene in the Wizard of OZ after the house falls on the wicked witch. All of the munchkins are celebrating, and then the mayor shows up casting a shadow on their celebration, then the munchkin says "As coroner I've thoroughly examined her, not only is she merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead." After that, the party really gets going and the lullabye league does their thing.

I'm not reaally sure why this particular reference comes to mind, except perhaps that my ex-husband kind of looks like a munchkin and maybe that got my mind going in that direction. Today a sat down with Sister Mary Lou at the Metropolitan Tribunal in Boston and she OK'd my annullment. There is still some process to be had in the church, but my part of the task is complete.

Like all the munchkins, I was celebrating when the house fell on the witch (ironically that is a good analogy for what ended the marraige). I've had a feeling of closure for quite some time, but there's something about having the church thoroughly examine the marraige and call it dead. Besides, this sets things up for the next scene, with the yellow brick road and the cowardly lion and all that.

tunnel of fudge update

Well, you will not get to see what my tunnel of fudge cake looked like. It remained intact until I brought it to Subbu's house for dinner on Sunday night. The eight of us ate about half the cake. Subbu spent the next 2 1/2 hours consuming the rest of it. I think that took a year off his life, but he said "I wouldn't have done anything in that year anyway."

Tunnel of Fudge

The Globe had a Food section exclusive on chocolate cakes, and it succeeded in putting the idea in my mind to make a chocolate cake for Valentines Day. Given our crazy schedules, that didn’t happen. In retrospect, I’m glad this wasn’t a Valentines Day cake, given the inappropriate name. According to the article, this cake “won second place in the 17th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest in 1966.” So anyway, my friend Subbu invited us to dinner on Sunday, and I asked if there was anything I could bring, then suggested that I bring dessert.

I went to the store last night to get the stuff, and found everything but the bunt pan. I was half a block from home and the road was blocked by a van that got stuck very badly in the ice. I got out and tried to help, but eventually left them with my shovel, reversed down the street, and came in from the other side. I got stuck going into my driveway, and realized that one wheel was sinking into a sludgy ice-mixture that would be basically impossible to dig out. Anyway, I got started on that, and the other folks got their van out and came to help me. With four guys pushing, they were able to get the car out no problem. I’m convinced that there is no way to get through winter without the help of strangers, which is why I helped them in the first place. This is the third time my car had gotten stuck in this icy mess and each time I got help in some form from a stranger.

Anyway, I figured it was as good a time as any to get more of the ice out of my driveway, so I worked on that for awhile. By the time I brought my groceries up it was midnight and time to work on the tunnel of fudge. Given the strangeness of the evening, it came as no surprise to me that one of my housemates had a bunt pan, which is quite necessary for the fudge-effect. The recipe is fairly straightforward, three and a half sticks of butter, a bit more sugar, six eggs, followed by diabetes and a heart attack. I pulled it out of the oven at 1:30, and pretty much fell straight asleep. This morning I managed to get it out of the pan, which I am proud of. I’d show you a picture of my tunnel of fudge cake (the pic is from the above link), but I don’t have a digital camera. I think mine is prettier because I used the cathedral-style bunt pan. Maybe I’ll let you know if it is any good once I’ve eaten it.

Tamales

For years I've been talking about making tamales in New England. It is a traditional winter activity, which results in this warm delicious treat to share with close friends. Everyone I've mentioned this to has sounded very excited about the idea, so I hauled back dried chiles, masa, and corn husks from California, set a date, and prepared myself mentally for the challenge. My roomate Magali gets top billing for the event, since she if from Mexico City and had actually made tamales before. I held my own with general cooking ability.

We started at 9:30 am, our helpers were not sufficiently schooled in tamale-making to understand the importance of an early start, so Magali and I were on our own. Our secret weapon was the complete absence of quality control. We were making tamales for folks that have never seen one before, and we didn't have an expert in the corner on our case. I stewed the pork loin. prepared the picadillo, and softened the dried chiles. Magali started making the masa and making the filling for the sweet tamales. We realized that we would not have enough chiles, so I ran to the store for more. This cost us time, but that is all part of the learning process. I broiled the fresh chiles and the tomatillos (for salsa) while Magali made more masa. Before we started stuffing, I made the Bloody Mary’s, our other secret weapon. We used bannana leaves for the sweet tamales, which was much more difficult than wrapping with corn husks, so we had a slow start.

At this point, the first football game had started, so we moved the assembly operation into the living room. By about 3pm our first helper, Deniz appeared. We put her to work stuffing. It was my turn to make more masa, so I left Magali and Deniz stuffing while I made a mess at the masa station. It didn't take long for Deniz to understand the tamale making operation, and she became determined to earn her share. As our other guests arrived, she showed them how to fold the tamales and kept them busy. Subbu took a picture of dank dipping his hand in the masa and smearing it on the corn husk, which went along with our theme of no quality control. Meanwhile, Magali and I prepared the salsa, black beans, and rice. Before I knew it, the rest of our guests had arrived, and the first batch of tamales was steamed for consumption. By half time of the second football game, we ran out of broth, filling, and lard, so the tamale-making operation was complete. Between the tequila shots, beer, margaritas, and tamales everyone seemed to have a good time.

Pops

With my grandmother’s help, my grandfather wrote this before he died in 2001. I just recently read it for the first time. The one significant trait of my grandfather was his honesty. One could rely on him to say things as he saw them and tell a story with a reasonable amount of fairness. When he writes about his fears and his encounters with other Marines, this honesty stands out. Usually when a person fabricates, they will display themselves as a hero and their enemies as villains. There are not heroes in his story, just very young men who manage bravery when it counts. I feel connected to him through this aspect of the story because it reminds me of all the times in my life where I was touched by his honesty and perspective.

When I was young, my grandfather used to take us to the pier to go fishing. That was the thing he enjoyed doing with us the most. The rest of the time he was somewhat grouchy. In 1994 he had a quadruple bypass. We all thought he was a goner, but he pulled through. Once he started to recover from that he changed. I suppose the brush with death helped him to live each day to the fullest. He started talking about his experiences in Saipan, and wrote this. He became more affectionate and mellow. His heart never quite healed and the reduced oxygen flow to the brain resulted in dementia. The last years were hard on him and my grandmother, but he adored her to no end.

They celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1998 and my grandmother planned a huge party, which I missed. My sister Katy sent me an account of it, which included a description of my grandmother yodeling. I still have it, and will post it at some point. On Veterans day in 2005 the Memorial was erected near the pier in San Clemente in honor of the Marines. My family donated money to put his name on one of the benches, and I like to go down there and sit when I’m home.

I'm Back

I've actually been working on blogs, but I wasn't satisfied with any of them, so I figured that I would get back to them later. That never happened, so here are a few updates.