Maggie's Farm

Re-posted  -

 Just wanted to set the record straight on the historical facts. Even worse, his name wasn't Patrick.

He was an England-born slave of Irish raiders. Since England was still Roman in 400, he really was a colonial Roman.  

The "snakes" he drove out of Ireland were the pagan beliefs. Ireland never had real snakes.

Who was Saint Patrick?

The Irish do not cook Corned Beef and Cabbage - except for American tourists

What is Irish? Shepherd's Pie is.

I happen to love corned beef and cabbage (plus potatoes) - as long as there is plenty of horseradish mustard and beer.

The real name of the meal is New England Boiled Dinner. I cook it all together in a giant pot. If the beef needs a knife, it's underdone. I think it should almost crumble.

I will make some for my Irish father-in-law tomorrow. No Guiness, though. It really does not go with food in my opinion. Heck, it's a meal in itself. In Irish pubs, they throw one or two raw eggs in it, stir it up, and call it breakfast.

(Our kids are 25% Irish, 25% Southern Italian, 40% English, and 10% Scandinavian probably via the Norman invasion. In other words, all- American. Genetic mongrelization worked well for our kids, cuz I am 90% English, around 10% Scandinavian and thus overly-inbred in New England since the 1600s.) 

Our tea-loving English friends have decided that TeaPigs have the best.

In fact, "tea-loving" fails to capture it. They believe that if they miss Tea Time, they might die. 

Most cultures in the world have some form of fried dough treat.

In the US, you have to know where to go to get a fresh deep-fat-fried donut with a hard crust. I am no fan of Dunkin Donuts' donuts because they seem like cake donuts to me. No crunch, no grease, no good. OK for a quick sugar fix.

I can't figure out whether any Dunkin Donuts are fat-fried or not. There was a time when they were made on premises by Fred, but no longer. They are made off-site and delivered early. And yes, their bagels are frozen. I've seen them delivered at 4:30 AM. Toasted, tho, they aren't terrible bagels.

I go for their bad coffee. 

The cool food court under the Plaza Hotel has a kiosk that fries mini-donuts to order.  The real deal. Great. A place in Wellfleet used to do it, but it's gone now.

It's the basic reference: The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion

I am more of a beer or wine guy, but for treats with buddies I am known to go for a whisky. That means Scotch, not bourbon. No bias, though.

I was introduced to Highland Park by Craig McDonald in Scotland.  A man who knows his whiskys and lots of other things. If you can put up with male teasing, he's good company on hill hikes in the highlands.

With the kids mainly out of the house, I began a plan in 2017 to catch up with pals alone or as couples at least twice a week. It has been great fun. As a natural introvert, I recommend it as a plan. 

I am blessed with interesting, smart, creative, and amusing pals who, like me, always have stories to tell. It's a very good thing for guys to get together, and not just in guy Bible study groups, poker, or with sports. A good reality check, laughs and tears, tragedies and triumphs. Very little politics.

Mrs. BD has been in charge of the social life in the past, but I take care of my own now. Drinks, burger, whatever. Connecting is not just for the gals. I believe that gals need gal time and guys need guy time. 

A whiskey makes guy communication more open, because guys tend to be reserved. God made spirits for a reason.

"Osso bucco" means marrow bone. 

I worked late last night, so Mrs. BD and her Dad brought me a take-out Osso Bucco from one of our favorite Italian trattorias where they had had dinner. 

I've made it several times, and have eaten it out for dinner several times too. This was the best.  Done right, the veal shank meat falls off the bone and can be cut with a fork. The jus has to be thick, flavor-packed, with no darn tomato in it. Porcinis - ok. They added a handful of small apple cubes towards the end of the long cook which added a bit of sweetness to the jus - perfect touch.  

It was on a very small bed of papparedelle - my favorite.  Just enough to grab some jus.  Since it's a northern Italian specialty, it's sometimes served on a bed of polenta or rice.  Or just plain. 

That's real Italian cuisine. My advice: Have a great one in an excellent restaurant, and then try to copy it at home. No tomato.

A chef friend brought me this canned treat from a trip to Paris. She swears it is delicious, and she is always right. It's a goose confit cassoulet. Cassoulet is peasant food, and confit is for things that would be difficult to eat without the confit treatment.

If you've made a cassoulet yourself you know how much work it is, mainly making the confit. I've done it only twice, making confit of things my friend and I shot: Snow Goose breast, wild boar sausage, wild duck leg, pheasant leg. It is remarkable how the confit process can dissolve all of the tendons in a duck or pheasant leg.

Anyway, if you want to try the canned I discovered that you can get them via Amazon, shipped from France. What can't you get on Amazon? 

Here's a homemade cassoulet, correctly finished with breadcrumbs on top. You serve it with baguette. Yes, it's a white bean casserole with sausages and confit meats.

100 classic French recipes. Every chef owns a copy of this. Lots of photos. Try the mussels in cream sauce.  The Techniques section at the end is clear, with photos.

Le Cordon Bleu: Classic French Cookbook: The Centenary Collection, 100 World-Renowned Recipes

It's a Primo. A platter like that is to serve at least 2 people from. I can be an annoying stickler about Italian food but there is a tradition to it, and a logic to it too.

A big bowl of pasta is not a meal and, in fact, it would be a terribly unwholesome meal. A small plate of pasta, like the Bolognese recipe (the correct recipe) featured today is an excellent Primo preceding a meat and vegetable course (the Secondo). Bolognese is not a meat sauce. It's a tomato sauce flavored with some meat. Typically, less meat than shown in the photo.

Italians seem to reserve their 4-course meals (Antipasto, Primo, Secondo, Dessert - sliced fruit usually) for special occasions. It's just too much food and puts you to sleep.

However, when we are in a food paradise like Norcia, Mrs. BD and I do their 4-course dinner (around 1 pm is dinner there) we just order one plate per course and share so we get all the tastes.  Restaurants don't mind that at all.

Main rule for pasta? Dump the wet undrained pasta into the pan with the sauce with the heat on, and swirl around. Add some pasta water if a sauce is too dry or not creamy enough. 

Maggie's Farm is a Stilton cheese place. It's our favorite artery-smoother, although there are hundreds of other cheeses we love too. We also believe that great cheeses should be served after the main course - either instead of dessert or before dessert. (I agree with that article that you can and should eat the rind of cheeses - unless coated with wax or stuff.)

Somebody you know needs a Stilton Spoon. Give them a wheel of cheese to go with it - or what good is the spoon?

I see Williams Sonoma has them. They have the proper spoon, and the cheese too. Who needs bread or crackers? You could eat it right off the spoon like ice cream. (Correction - they don't seem to have them anymore.)

Regular readers know I am no fan of pasta but if you stick with the Italian traditions (I am married to a half-Italian), the Vigilia on Christmas Eve is a fast day - meaning tons of seafood. And in southern Italy, a mean without a primi is no meal at all. 

I've never refused a well-made Linguine alla Vongole. Delicious. Those European and Mediterranean clams are small, sweet, and just right. Around here in Yankeeland, you just have to find the smallest Littlenecks you can find and if overcooked, they get too chewy.

It's how to do pasta too - cook with the sauce in the pan.  Never on top. Usually needs some of the pasta water too.

 Around the HQ, we stick with the un-Yankee, Southern Italian/Sicilian Christmas Eve fast, which means seafood. In past years, I have had the real 7 Fishes with fried baccala, steamed mussels, scungilli,  etc etc. A wonderful fish feast which it would be a stretch to term "fasting." The Catholics are very clever with their concept of fasting.

The best-known Sicilian Primi is Pasta Con Sardi - pasta with anchovies (ie small sardines) - what I term Pasta With Minnows aka Pasta with Bait.

What is an "anchovy"? Never, ever use those tinned brown over-salted anchovies that they put on cheap pizzas. Disgusting stuff, cat food for a cat you hate. If you can't get fresh anchovies (they are white)  at your local fish market, use the canned white anchovies in olive oil. Tasty. Good Italian markets have good fresh or oiled white anchovy filets.

Here's the recipe. Yes, to be authentic it needs the breadcrumbs. And here's another Vigilia favorite: Fried Baccala Balls. I've also had these with mashed potato in the cod mix to hold it all together. Nothing is more delicious.

Traditionally, you have to have Struffoli for dessert even though I find it inedible.

Truth is, in recent years we just make poached salmon with yogurt-dill sauce, to be ready to serve at room temp. after getting home from church. We typically have lots of friends over for that after-church supper.

You can go French with Bouche de Noel, or you can go Brit with Figgy Pudding.  Are there any other choices?  Oh yeah, Struffoli. I do not like that one even though it is Italian.

Struffoli:

Do not even try to make a Bouche. Order it from the bakery. They will make whatever size you want.

Bring me a Figgy Pudding. Easy to make yourself.

What do you like for Christmas Day dessert?

My favorite is a slice of turkey, some mayo, a spoonful of cranberry sauce and a spoonful of stuffing - on white bread, It has to be white bread.

Some people like Turkey hash which is ok if you use enough black pepper. Needs a ton of fresh ground black pepper to not taste like Cardboard Hash.

(BTW, Your Dry, Stringy Turkey Is Caused By Climate Change)

What do y'all like?

In Yankeeland, it's Apple Pie. Certainly after Thanksgiving, when there are always a few leftover pies, Squash, and Apple. Mrs. BD makes one heck of a good pie crust.

Apple Pie gives you the morning energy to go out in the cold to milk the chickens, feed the cows, and to get to the gym as I did this morning.

I've seen this in the past, but captured it from Salt Water New England:

To foreigners, a Yankee is an American.
To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner.
To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner.
To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander.
To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter.
And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast.

- Attributed to E.B. White, but he might have quoted it from elsewhere.

In New England, Indian Pudding is as essential a part of Thanksgiving dinner as Pumpkin or Squash Pie. Great stuff, if you like the flavor of molasses. It's not just for Thanksgiving.

It's called "Indian" because it is made with corn (maize) meal - the staple food of North American Indians. It's easy to forget that they were not mainly hunter-gatherers, but farmers with 100-acre fields. Farmers, with their main amusement being killing, raping, and torturing members of neighboring tribes. A cultural thing.

Simple rustic ingredients. No sugar? You use molasses. No flour? You use corn meal. The only trick is to make sure it is neither too firm nor too runny. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Here's a bit of the history of this dessert, with a good recipe.

It's not just for turkey. I have a friend who will not eat chicken without it.

This has a zippy flavor:  No-cook cranberry sauce. 

Many if not most classic recipes had their origins in humble peasant food.  Ribollita is a classic Tuscan peasant stew made of leftovers mostly.  No meat, beans instead.  Thickened with stale bread.

It has plenty of kale to which I am ideologically opposed, but whatever. I've made it a few times, and it is blandly good. Filling for sure. I tried it twice in Tuscany a couple of weeks ago. In Italy, lunch is typically the big meal and supper is soup or something light, but tourists like something light at lunch so I made a small study of local ribollitas.

Tasted like mine. 

The NYT has an upscale version. That's not necessary.