Читать книгу Food Men Love - Margie Lapanja - Страница 11
ОглавлениеWarming Up His Appetite
What love is to the heart, appetite is to the stomach. The stomach is the conductor that leads and livens up the great orchestra of our emotions
—Gioacchino Rossini, Composer
Scrumptious Soups, Salads, and Grand Sandwiches
HE LOVES…
Hamburger soup.—John Elway, Denver Bronco football great
Chicken soup with kreplach, as a cure above all…similarly, borscht, hot, for winter evenings.—Jeffrey, Illinois
Carrot soup with warm French bread and butter.—Robert, England
Greek salad and corn on the cob.—Bob, California
A Philly Cheesesteak and your apple pie.—Tim, California
Smooth peanut butter and honey sandwiches made with toasted wheat bread, served with a glass of cold milk.—Buddy, Colorado
A Super Bowl of Soup
Having known and loved athletes most of my life, I am forever fascinated at what—and how much!—these men ingest to fuel the machines they call “bodies.” Prove me wrong, but I have yet to meet a total vegetarian who holds a national title in this country; these guys like their protein and lots of it.
If his Hamburger Soup was one of his secrets to bolstering his sword arm and leading his team to two Super Bowl World Championships, I hope John Elway left the recipe with the Broncos. What was responsible for keeping this guy's unfettered charisma ignited throughout his career anyway? If he ate his way to becoming the NFL's all-time winningest starting quarterback, NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1987, and EDGE NFL Man of the Year, what was on his plate…or in his bowl?
Now that John is “retired,” I'm sure he's still stocking up on favorite fuel foods to bolster his golf game and keep the ideas flowing for MVP.com, his online field of dreams. Here is the recipe, from the man himself, for that favorite soup that John and Janet Elway and their children enjoy quite often. Touchdown!
John Elway's Hamburger Soup
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, chopped
2 to 3 pounds ground beef (chuck, round, or sirloin; your choice)
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, chopped
2 to 3 pounds ground beef (chuck, round, or sirloin; your choice)
1 garlic clove, minced
Three 15-ounce cans beef broth
One 15-ounce can tomato sauce
One 10-ounce can Rotel™ diced tomatoes and chile peppers
1 cup potatoes, diced with skins
1 cup carrots, peeled and diced
1 cup celery, diced
One 15-ounce can French-style beans
1 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon dried basil
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot, sauté the onions and garlic in butter. Simultaneously, fry the ground meat in a large skillet until browned; drain the grease.
Add the cooked meat to the onions and garlic and sauté for a few minutes. Add all other ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the vegetables are tender (approximately 30 minutes). Season with salt and pepper. Serve with warm bread.
Forget Filet Mignon and Lobster…. Bring the Chili!
If there were a Top 10 list for the foods that men love, the word chili would be emblazoned nearly at the top, right under steak, lamb chops, and lemon meringue pie. Letters flood my mailbox from men who love chili.
Craig Claiborne, culinary king, cookbook author, food editor, critic for the New York Times, and a man who could have any dish he dreamed of served to him in a heartbeat, loved chili con carne and Häagen-Dazs™ ice cream. Jack Smith of the L.A. Times and his buddy, San Francisco Chronicle's columnist Herb Caen used to try to impress each other with local haute cuisine from their respective cities and then write dueling columns about their food experiences. Herb's favorite? Dennison's™ chile con carne warmed on the stove in the can and served with a cold Mexican beer.
Chili of Champions is a winning combo of my own recipe in the book Goddess in the Kitchen; Expressed Chili is a fired-up rendition from my cousin-in-law, Bruce Miller. His has hip ingredients, like espresso coffee, but when it called for flat beer, I overruled. I say crack open your favorite beer, enjoy a sip, and pour the rest in!
Chili's a lot like sex: When it's good, it's great,and even when it's bad, it's not so bad.
—Bill Boldenweck
C hili of Champions
2 pounds premium ground beef
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 pound sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
⅓ cup brown sugar
4 to 6 garlic cloves, chopped
⅓ cup strong coffee (espresso is best)
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped
½ cup mushrooms, chopped
One 4-ounce can diced green chiles
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
Two 28-ounce cans tomatoes, chopped with juice
One 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 can or bottle of beer
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
1 pound cannellini (white kidney beans), soaked overnight and drained, or two 15-ounce cans of your favorite beans
One 15¼-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained (optional)
Tabasco, salt, and more spices as you wish
Chopped onions, grated cheese, and sour cream garnishes (optional)
In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain the grease.
Add the olive oil, cinnamon, cubed steak, brown sugar, garlic, coffee, and onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the bottom from burning. Reduce heat to medium and add the celery, all three types of peppers, mushrooms, chiles, and spices, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until everything starts to smell really good.
Reduce the heat to low and add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beer; cook for a few minutes. Stir in the baking soda (the chili will bubble and boll for a few seconds). When it's done acting up, add beans and simmer uncovered for 1½ to 2 hours or until beans are thoroughly cooked. (Note: If you are using cooked, canned beans, add them after the chili has cooked for about 1½ hours.) Add the corn if desired.
Tune up the chili with Tabasco, salt, and more spices to suit your taste. Serve with favorite garnishes like onions, grated cheese, and sour cream, and be sure to have some crackers, corn bread (see recipe on page 16), and rivers of ice-cold beer on hand. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
HE MUST HAVE BEEN STEWED
In the early twentieth century, chef Auguste Escoffier, one of the most prolific chefs to ever oversee a soup, declared that a proper consommé has not only meat in the broth but at least sixteen vegetables as well (although most countries other than France used approximately six).
I guess that dismisses his own country's darling, Gratinée Lyonnaise, otherwise known as French onion soup; one lowly onion simmers in that pot.
Spooning Up Memories of JFK's Soup
I've decided, after interviewing hundreds of gastronomes, that guys who grew up either in cold climates or near seaboards, lakes, streams, or even trout ponds are more passionate about eating soup than are hot-house, land-locked gentlemen. It's a whimsical theory, but I do know that Mike Love of the Beach Boys, who grew up in Surf City USA, favors sumptuous homemade soups over most other entrées!
Born and bred in New England, near Cape Cod, President John F. Kennedy loved the sea and any connection to it. It is no surprise that he loved seafood, particularly a hearty New England fish chowder that he would request several days in a row while at the White House. In fact, in 1961, First Lady Jacqueline submitted a recipe for the fish chowder to the Congressional Club Cook Book, which is still in print today. If clams and oysters and seafood be the foods of love, Kennedy was smitten. In honor of a true chowder man, I offer my best recipe.
An empty stomachis not a good political advisor.
—Albert Einstein
Noble New England Clam Chowder
A favorite of President John F. Kennedy
1¼ pounds (3 to 4 medium) potatoes, diced into ½-inch pieces and parboiled
4 cups half-and-half
3 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons clam base (found in specialty food stores)
2 teaspoons sugar
½ cup flour
¼ cup butter, melted
Three 6½-ounce cans chopped clams, drained; juice reserved
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh chives, chopped
Dice and parboil potatoes until al dente.
Using a large bain-marie or double-boiler, heat to a hot simmer the half-and-half, milk, garlic, clam base (see The Inside Line on next page for a substitution), clam juice (strained from the can), and sugar.
In a small bowl, combine flour and butter to form a roux. Add about ½ cup of the chowder concoction to the roux, blend well, and then whisk the roux into the large pot. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the chowder begins to thicken. Add the clams and potatoes and simmer for another 10 to 12 minutes until the potatoes are tender (but take care not to overcook the potatoes).
Season with salt and pepper and garnish each serving with fresh chives. Makes 4 servings, fit for a true New Englander and president.
THE INSIDE LINE
Clam base can be found in most specialty food stores. However, to make a homemade clam base, simply puree the contents of a 6½-ounce can of clams with 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons lemon juice; use 2 tablespoons of this base for the recipe.
May the saddest day of your future be no worseThan the happiest day of your past.
—Irish proverb
It All Started with Chicken Soup
Chicken soup has the power to cure colds and cold hearts. It is our birthright to slurp the golden broth when its magic is needed to soothe the soul and comfort the senses. Mm…Mm…good….
Tom Lagana, the author who cooked up Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul, another serving from the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series, sent me his story and favorite recipe:
Do you know what I eat for breakfast? Chicken soup. As a little boy I hated breakfast foods and simply refused to eat. When I started kindergarten, my mom finally stumbled on to something I would eat for breakfast. The tradition has continued into my adult life.
In light of her father's love for her soup, in Newman's Own Cookbook Nell Newman says of dad Paul, “Give my father a hearty soup, a can of beer, and a bag of popcorn, and he is as close to heaven as he can get. He does handstands over my chicken soup.” I have never known a wise man to turn down something made with love. So get out your spoons and enjoy this simple version of a heartwarming, immune-boosting staple.
Tom Lagana's Original Chicken Soul Soup
3-pound whole fryer chicken
6 to 8 cups water
1 garlic clove, diced
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
½ cup carrots, diced
½ cup leeks, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper (salt optional)
Rinse the chicken and remove excess fat. Place the chicken in large Dutch oven, add the vegetables, and add enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 90 minutes. Remove from the heat and remove the chicken. (You may debone the chicken and return the meat to the soup if you wish.) Serve steaming hot, garnished with parsley and ground pepper. Serves 6.
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast.
—Psalms 63:5
All Dressed Up and Ready to GO
Move over Paul Newman, The Madge has arrived. Blender in hand, he is ready to give you a whirr for your money. Not to say Newman's Own™ salad dressings are shabby—far from it; they are the best you can buy. In the introduction to Newman's Own Cookbook, the tale is told:
For years, Paul Newman and his longtime buddy A. E. Hotchner filled old wine bottles with their homemade salad dressing to give to friends as Christmas gifts.…A smashing success, Newman's Own products have generated more than $100 million in after-tax profits, all of which have been donated to charitable and educational causes.
Every cent.
The Madge, a.k.a. former pizza baron and self-styled kitchen god Mark Englund, has promised to give me all after-tax profits of every recipe of Madge's Own I make and give away. What a scam! I'll never see a cent, but the dressing, which can be used in place of (and I quote) “any cheap old salad dressing,” tastes priceless.
Madge's Own Salad Dressing
2 cups red wine vinegar
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup warm water
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1½ teaspoons sugar
1½ teaspoons garlic, minced
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon green onion, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor and torch! Makes a bit more than a bottle of Newman's Own. Adorn your favorite salad and enjoy!
Some people have sexual dreams,but I dream about salad.
—Paul Newman, Newman's Own Cookbook
Give ‘Em a Helluva Salad, Oscar
Why certain foods hit the superlotto taste bud jackpot in some men and barely affect, if not deflect, others is a perpetually unfolding mystery. Tastes developed from what your momma made, what your childhood feel-good favorites were, and what you used to live on (like tuna fish salad-potato chip sandwiches) when you first left home.
Did you grow up in a northern climate, southern atmosphere, or in another culture altogether, like New Orleans? What regional, ethnic, or local influences were sprinkled into your meals? One man may dream of hot hushpuppies and their toasty taste, while another gets wistful when he thinks of that apple pie his old girlfriend used to bake.
An all-time favorite of President Harry Truman was Waldorf salad. The original Waldorf, a blend of apples, celery, and mayonnaise, was dreamed up in 1893 by the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel's maître d'hôtel, Oscar Tschirky, a.k.a. Oscar of the Waldorf. As time passed, cooks “tainted” the original recipe with all sorts of improvisations—walnuts, raisins, pecans, and grapes. This is truly a salad worth tasting, but may Oscar forgive me.…I messed with it even more. What the hell, the buck stops here.
If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
—Harry Truman
With-It Waldorf Salad
A favorite of President Harry Truman
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ pound cooked turkey, cubed
¾ teaspoon Madras curry powder
3 large, crisp apples, cored and diced
Juice from a wedge of lemon
4 medium stalks celery, diced
1 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
½ cup white raisins
¾ cup mayonnaise (Hellmann's™ or Best Foods™, the only kind)
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
Salt to taste
1 small head Boston lettuce, washed and dried
Fresh parsley sprigs
Pecan halves, lightly toasted
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Sprinkle curry powder over the turkey and sear in the hot oil for a minute or two. Set aside. In the meanwhile, place all the pecans (separate the halves from the pieces) on a baking sheet and toast in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes, until golden.
Place the apples in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Fold in celery, chopped pecans, and raisins. Spoon the mayonnaise over this mixture and sprinkle with nutmeg, pepper, and salt; fold in. Add the seared turkey pieces and toss lightly. Refrigerate the salad mixture for 1 hour.
Arrange lettuce on salad plates and spoon the salad onto the lettuce. Garnish with parsley and pecans. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.
Hail to the Caesar
Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed,
That he is grown so great?—Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
I know, I know. The first Caesar salad had nothing to do with the great Roman emperor (although I still like the idea of Cleopatra, queen-of-Egypt-and-goddess-by-proxy, conquering Caesar's heart and empire by simply purring, “If you give me your armies and their general, I'll make you a killer Caesar salad”).
This hands-down all-time men's favorite superstar salad was tossed by a man—an Italian man, Caesar Cardini—for a man—his brother Alex, a visiting Italian Air Force veteran—in Tijuana, Mexico, at a Fourth of July party for a bunch of men way back when in 1924. This great Caesar quickly threw some in-house foodstuff together and presented it to the party as the Aviator Salad. Brother Alex called it “Caesar's.”
Considering the quote, it probably wasn't meat at all that grew Caesar so great, but grilled portabello mushrooms, which pack a great protein punch. And remember, the secret to making a kick-ass Caesar is to always mix the dressing in the bowl.
The Creator while forcing men to eat in order to live,tempts him to do so with appetite andthen rewards him with pleasure.
—Brillat-Savarin
Portabello Caesar Salad
3 to 4 large portabello mushrooms, caps sliced into ¼-inch pieces, grilled
4 to 6 anchovy fillets
1 heaping tablespoon garlic (4 to 6 cloves), finely minced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Juice from 1 lemon
2 egg yolks
⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
