But I Digress… | a blog by mari gold, on food, travel & life

Back to the Classics

Posted on February 28, 2014 by marigold

George F. Baker and a furry friend

It’s easy to walk on by the (seemingly) modest house at 67 East 93rd street but once inside, it’s sheer wow. I went to the George F. Baker House courtesy of an art group from one of the “seven sister” colleges (talk about quaintly archaic locutions!) where we were treated to a tour given by the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust. This house and its neighbor belong to Richard Jenrette of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette who lives there when he’s in New York.( Dick, as many people in the group referred to him, owns several other houses, many open to the public. Check out www.classicalamericanhomes.org for details.)

This house was built, complete with elevator, for George Baker, considered by many to be the founder of Citibank. It’s only one room wide with mostly twelve foot ceilings and connected to number 69 next door that serves as HQ for the trust. (The property closer to Park Avenue was sold for $1 by Mrs. Baker to the Russian Orthodox Church.)

Walking through, you see Jenrette’s clothes neatly hung in closets, fairly Spartan bathrooms and magnificent rooms appointed with French, English and American antiques, also collected by Jenrette. The dining room is a perfect oval including the concave doors. The entire second floor, originally built for servants, is now a library filled with books by New York authors or about NYC. It also houses a walk-in safe. The downstairs entry has wall paper panels depicting the “summer ” Olympics as envisioned during the Classical Greek era.

To stick with the classic elements, this recipe, from Saveur, is a classic tomato sauce from a child of renowned cook Marcella Hazan. The author says it takes zip to prepare; keeps brilliantly in the freezer and can be defrosted in the time it takes to boil some pasta.

Hazan Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

Makes 3 cups

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed
¼ tsp. sugar
1 (28-oz.) can whole, peeled tomatoes in juice, crushed by hand
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered lengthwise
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring butter, sugar, tomatoes, and onion, to a boil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until flavors meld and sauce is slightly reduced, about 45 minutes. Discard onion, and season sauce with salt and pepper before serving.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged classic, New York, tomato | 1 Comment

Hold Your Horse(es)

Posted on February 12, 2014 by marigold

This being the Chinese Year of the Horse, I was invited to join a group in Chinatown for a very late Sunday lunch. So many dishes appeared I lost count but recall something with vegetables and scallops, a beef dish, sautéed Chinese broccoli, a sweet and sour offering, noodles, a good rice dish dotted with tiny pieces of ham and laced with peas and more.

People born in the year of the horse are supposedly animated, active, energetic and love crowds. They become independent early (the way foals can walk minutes after birth) and are said to be both good communicators and great wits.

Although I once met the great Secretariat and shook his hoof (so to speak), he didn’t tell jokes but went out to the race course and won the Belmont stakes. It would have been impossible to ignore that horse or the way he oozed self-confidence although I didn’t find him especially witty (but then again, I don’t speak fluent horse.)

A-list names born in the year of the horse include Sandra Day O’Connor, Cynthia Nixon, Leonard Bernstein, Rembrandt, Oprah and Harrison Ford. Emulate whom you will.

Chinese broccoli

If you want to celebrate your own lunar New Year, serve Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce for its beautiful, dark green color and good nutritional value.

10 ounces Chinese broccoli (gai lan)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 slice ginger (about 1/2-inch thick)

Sauce:

3 tablespoons chicken broth or water

2 tablespoons oyster sauce (hit the Chinese grocery aisle)

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry (sherry is fine)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Wash the Chinese broccoli. Cut off the ends and cut into pieces about two inches long.
In a large saucepan, add enough water to cover the broccoli. Add the salt, baking soda and ginger. Bring to a boil.
While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the sauce. Combine the chicken broth or water, oyster sauce, rice wine or dry sherry and sugar. Bring to a boil in a small saucepan. Turn the heat down and keep warm while blanching the broccoli.
Add the Chinese broccoli to the boiling water. Cook until the stalks are tender but crisp (3 – 4 minutes). Rinse in cold running water. Drain.
Pour the sauce over the broccoli and serve.

Kung hei fat choy! Happy Chinese new year! Whinny.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged brocolli, Chinese, horse | 1 Comment

Captivated

Posted on January 29, 2014 by marigold

Think of a January Florida escape and what comes to mind? Swaying palms and white sand underfoot, right? Well, yes but also temperatures in the 60s. A friend invited me to Captiva and while the climate wasn’t exactly tropical, it was heaven compared to the polar vortex gripping New York.

The friend comes complete with adorable dog who enlivened the scene wherever we went: the beach; the Sanibel Sunday market with an array of yummy local foods and gorgeous flowers; a watering hole where tout Captiva gathers for a drink as the sun sets. The pup drops her ball, someone picks it up and bingo– a new BF.

Early one morning we took a boat to Useppa Island, a private getaway with no cars and the Collier Inn where we ate lunch.

Collier Inn, Useppa Island

The island also has a step-back-in-time, old-world croquet pitch and a small museum about the island’s history which involves both magnates and native Americans (guess who came first?)

An event featuring jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and his quartet was a sold-out wow. Thirty-two years ago, when John was still wet behind the ears, he played solo at a New Year’s Eve gathering hosted by my husband. With luck, this is a link to John Pizzarelli playing I Got Rhythm. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVNVJGLVFCk

Fish is the number one item for Captiva meals. The grouper we bought was undoubtedly swimming only hours before our purchase. Herewith:

Captivating Baked Grouper

1 lb grouper (plus or minus– this recipe is very forgiving)

1 lemon

2-3 Tbls olive oil

1 T capers (or more if you, like me, are a caper fan)

1-2 shallots

1+ Tbls butter

1/4 c white wine

Preheat oven to 350. Mince shallot(s) and sauté in olive oil for 5-7 minutes. Put fish in oven-proof baking dish. Pour shallot/oil combo over fish. Dot fish with butter. Thinly slice about half the lemon and put slices on top of fish; squeeze rest of the lemon on fish. Pour wine over all and put fish in oven. Check it after about fifteen minutes–if flaky, it’s done. If not, give it another five minutes or so.

Serve with the rest of the bottle of wine you cooked with, pairing if you wish with a green vegetable (we had asparagus) and roasted potatoes. Think (fervently) of warmer weather.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Captiva, Florida, flowers, grouper | 3 Comments

Pi Are Square

Posted on January 20, 2014 by marigold

The newest kid on the NYC museum block is the Museum of Mathematics or Momath as it cutely styles itself. That and the Pi symbol used as the building’s doorknobs (above) are the cutest things about this place that left me and my companion more than a little dazed and confused.

“You shouldn’t come here and leave feeling more mathematically challenged than before,” she remarked and how right she was.

In fairness, several exhibits on the ground floor are fun, including the Coaster Rollers in which you sit and wheel yourself over acorn-like shapes

The “acorns” the Coaster Roller rolls over

that somehow permit a smooth ride; the square-wheeled trike lumbering on an angled ground and the Tracks of Galileo where you adjust a curve and race a “car” to the bottom. Fun, yes, but I couldn’t glom onto the mathematical concept behind any of them and isn’t that the point of the museum? Too many exhibits required a lot of explaining from one of the yellow-shirted staff (probably all math geeks who are thrilled to work here). Another frustration is that many exhibits are “coming soon”; fail to function correctly or are worn or missing pieces (not a good track record for an institution that’s been open only one year).

On the plus side, I loved the Human Tree (arm waving produces interesting effects) and

Human Tree–do not ask me to explain the math

the Math Square where you walk on a lighted computer set into the floor. If money were no object these would be a hoot for the home although you’d probably tire of them quickly.

Rush Hour, a traffic jam logic game played on a table, gives visitors the chance to mimic NJ’s Governor Christie and make their own little Ft. Lee.

Math and I have never been exactly close friends going back to high school when my math teacher gently suggested I quit the subject and take a fifth year of Latin to show college admissions directors I was capable of linear thinking.

Along with directions that don’t quite explain the task at hand and graphics featuring white letters on a pale gray ground, this museum might be worth the stiff admission price ($20 for an adult) for math nuts. Personally, I’ll take MOMA any day.

This is a recipe for –what else–Pie, in this case Chocolate Whiskey Pie:

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Ingredients

1 cup light corn syrup

3/4 cup light brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons whiskey

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups pecan halves

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

9-inch basic flaky piecrust, unbaked (yes, horrors, a store-bought crust. If you know how to make a piecrust, by all means go ahead but this will work fine. Let it soften just a tad and transfer to your own pie dish for that “did it myself” look.)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Whisk together corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, eggs, whiskey, and salt; fold in pecans and chocolate chips.

Pour mixture into the piecrust and bake until the center is set but still slightly wobbly, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool before serving. Want to challenge eaters to divide the pie into isosoles triangles? Have fun.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged chocolate, math, MOMA, pie, triangles, trike, whiskey | 1 Comment

Cuzco in New York

Posted on January 14, 2014 by marigold

The Queen Sophia Spanish Institute, practically around the corner from where I live, is one of those little known but fabulous New York City institutions. The Institute offers all manner of programs to promote Spanish culture with special emphasis on fine arts. The current program, Alta Moda, displays work by photographer Mario Testino, apparently a boldface name to those who follow haute couture, photography or Peru. Alto Moda means “high fashion” in Spanish; the exhibit consists of huge photos of men and women wearing clothes particular to Cuzco, Peru. Every garment shown is intricate, colorful and very complicated; it must take quite a while to don any one of them. The downstairs gallery features outfits that “ordinary” people might wear for festivals while the upstairs space is largely pictures of people in elaborate theatrical costumes. All the clothes are spectacular (and, judging from the lack of wear, spanking new) but the downstairs group is easier to relate to as the models aren’t in costume complete with masks, outlandish, stylized noses, horns or bizarre wigs.

Years ago, a woman friend and I went to Cuzco. I recall little beyond drinking lots of Pisco Sours

which led both of us to buy bottles of Pisco to bring home to our husbands. One stateside sip of the cocktails and we both realized Pisco was a taste that didn’t travel well– my bottle sat around for years until I deep-sixed it. Happily, memories of Manchu Pichu (when the “hotel” housed a mere twelve guests per night and only had running water now and again) have stayed with me.

My strongest Peruvian food recollection is of sampling guinea pig at a market in the Urubamba Valley. I concentrated on the taste (chicken-esque) and not on the pet gp we looked after when our neighbors went on vacation. Don’t think I could eat guinea pig today but back then my food -consciousness hadn’t yet been raised.

Potatoes are a staple of Peruvian food (in fairness, it can’t quite be labeled a cuisine). This recipe includes chorizo, a Spanish item but so much of Peruvian history and culture is Spanish-related (though not very positive from the Peruvian POV) I thought it was worth including.

Potatoes with Chorizo (Martha Stewart)

3 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

7 ounces Spanish chorizo, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

1 1/2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 teaspoon pimenton (Spanish sweet paprika), plus more to taste (a nice addition to the spice shelf and one that’s unique)

Coarse salt

Heat olive oil over low heat in large skillet. Add and cook until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and caramelized, about 20 minutes. If onion begins to brown too quickly, add 1 1/2 teaspoons water to pan to stop the burning process.

Add chorizo and cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Add potatoes and stir to coat; cook for 10 minutes. Add pimenton and enough water to cover; increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer until potatoes are cooked through and water is reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Serve right away but if you can’t you can nuke dish back to life although you risk too-mushy potatoes.

Serve with anything other than a Pisco Sour.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged costumes, Peru, potato | 4 Comments

Let it Snow

Posted on January 4, 2014 by marigold

For once the weather persons who report on the Northeast got it right. It certainly did, reminiscent of when I was a kid and it snowed hard and frequently (by those standards, this storm was a dusting). During the famed “blizzard of ’47,” the snow was so deep Park Avenue was closed and my father and I went sledding there. For a young child it was very exciting. No cars!

I braved the incredibly frigid temperature and high winds walking to Central Park to view activities. Lots of kids and parents were sledding on the (very small) hill at 72^nd Street. In the entire group, I saw one—count ‘em—one boy with what must the height of retro: a wooden Flexible Flyer sled.

Flexible Flyer of yore

Everyone else had some variation of a plastic thing, several involving bicycle pumps so the device could be blown up.

Sled (inflated)

Talk about making a simple activity super complex! The hill was alive with parents yelling “way to go Tyler” or Taylor or Sophie.

This reminds me of a New Yorker cartoon my cousin loves: Tarzan and a pregnant Jane are in a tree.

Johnny Weismuller as Tarzab

He says “if it’s a boy we’ll call him Boy. If it’s a girl, I want to call her Madison.” (Apologies to all who have children or grandchildren named Madison or similar. The world has clearly moved on. Our oldest grandson is named Justin and for years, my husband referred to him as Jason. There you are.)

For an old-timey note, I came home, thawed out and made lamb stew. The recipe is derived from that old fave, The Joy of Cooking.

Lamb Stew

3 lbs lamb for stew (meaning with bones. Yes, there is less to eat but the whole is more flavorfull.)

2 c chicken or vegetable broth

2 Tbls. tomato paste

2 c potatoes, cut into pieces (on the thickish side)

6 carrots cut into pieces also thickish

4 white turnips, peeled and cut thickish

18 white pearl onions, peeled. (If you don’t locate that many, never mind.)

3 or so parsnips, peeled and cut thickly (if you don’t like or don’t have these, fine. The end result won’t suffer.)

I c. cooked peas (use frozen and nuke or cook your usual way)

1 c. cooked string beans (frozen and nuked or whatever)

2 Tbls fat—I used a mixture of olive and vegetable oil but oil and butter or any other fat works.

Brown meat in fat in a heavy skillet. Pour off the fat and deglaze the pan with the 2 cups broth. Add tomato paste. Put everything thus far into a heavy pot, bring to a boil and simmer, covered, while you peel the carrots, turnips, onions and parsnips.

Cook meat over medium flame one hour. Add vegetables and simmer one more hour (covering will make more juice; simmering uncovered will reduce the liquid—just check it now and again.)

Skim off fat and add the (cooked) peas and beans. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve for dinner with a salad and bread. This keeps well in the fridge or freeze half for another meal.

Another storm coming next week. Batten the hatches.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Central Park, lamb, sled, snow | 3 Comments

Hallelujah!

Posted on December 21, 2013 by marigold

George Frideric Handel

I’m sort of a Messiah groupie in that I try to go to a performance every holiday season; sang some of the work with my high school glee club and once, not so long ago, went to the sign-along Philharmonic performance where I was mortified to no longer be able to hit the high notes.

A few nights ago I heard The Messiah performed at Carnegie Hall. The name of the chorale will go unmentioned as their achievements were less than earth-shattering which was too bad given the magnificence of the raw material. And, of course, when we got to the Hallelujah Chorus, I, like most of the audience, rose to my feet.

Pause here, click on the link and hopefully you will hear an A+ rendition which you can enjoy standing, sitting or singing along

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3TUWU_yg4s

But why do we stand for this particular piece of music? Investigation reveals a story that is probably apocryphal but charming. It’s said that in 1743, King George II of Britain was so moved by the Hallelujah chorus he stood out of respect for the “Lord of Lords,” the only authority above his own. When the king stands, everybody stands. And so it goes and has gone since. However, hold-outs like those who are anti-monarchy, anti-tradition or just plain want to stay seated do just that. Personally, I find the music practically lifts me to my feet.

George II who perhaps shared a wigmaker with Handel

Although originally performed at Easter, by now The Messiah, Christmas and, at many dinner tables, ham are bound together (although it’s probably best not to sing with a mouthful of ham.)

This recipe for ham glaze is the simplest one I’ve ever run across. If you envision ham on your menu (anytime), buy one that is already cooked, preferably with the bone in as that bone will lend itself to great split pea soup later on.

You might want to score the ham to make it look beautiful and as though you’d gone to a lot of trouble. (You won’t have.) Use a large knife to make diagonal cuts all across the ham about 1 inch apart on the surface—you cut only through the fat outside, not into the meat. Then, take whole cloves and poke them into the ham where the cuts intersect. Brush on roughly a quarter of the glaze, and continue to brush some on every fifteen minutes or so. A cooked ham only needs an hour in the oven. When you take it out, tilt the pan to gather what’s left of the glaze and spoon or brush it over the ham that can now rest until you slice and serve it (or just serve—many hams come pre-sliced.) The scoring, cloves and glaze will make it a work of art, like The Messiah.

Scored and glazed ham

Ham Glaze Elayne

For a six to ten pound ham these are very rough estimates as to amounts of ingredients. Don’t fret, this recipe is very forgiving:

1 cup dark brown sugar (and if you only have light brown use that)

About ¾ cup apple cider or apple juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp ground cloves

Mix ingredients together to make a paste. If it’s not liquid enough, add more cider or juice. If you’d like more kick, increase the mustard. Simple, right? Hallelujah!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Christmas, ham, Handel, king | 1 Comment

Music, Music, Music

Posted on December 8, 2013 by marigold

Alaska’s Flag

An Alaskan friend invited me to a piano concert where fully two thirds of the attendees hailed from the 49^th state. At the end, the artist played a riff on the Alaskan state song, (apparently Alaskans all know their song—can you hum your state’s?), and regaled us with fascinating lore about the composers whose work she played.

Anyone who wasn’t music major may not know much (or anything) about Franz Xavier Mozart. Franz, known as Wolfgang, was the youngest of Wolfie Sr.’s six children. He was also a child prodigy but, unlike his father, highly introverted. This Wolfgang taught music as well as composing numerous sonatas and piano concerti but never reached his father’s heights.

Franz Xavier Mozart

After Chopinina, better known to me as the music of the “white” ballet, Les Sylphides, we heard several works by Louis Gottschalk, an American composer born in New Orleans to a Jewish father from London and a Creole mother. Poor Gottschalk was rejected by the Paris Conservatory because he was from America, “a country of steam engines” where it was thought culture never reared its head.

My other recent musical interlude was a fabulous “songfest” at Julliard, one of those little known NYC treasures. The evening featured vocal arts students and alumni celebrating the centenary of Benjamin Britten. Julliard offers an enormous range of free or modestly-priced programs ranging from chamber music to jazz to drama and dance every month; for more information go to news@juilliard.edu

The Julliard School at Lincoln Center

Tonight I plan to sing Christmas carols at NYC’s Brick Church Mid-way through this annual ceremony, highlighted by a chorus of tots from the Brick Church nursery school, the trees lining Park Avenue are lighted. Some years it rains, sometimes it snows, tonight anything might happen. Sleigh bells ring….

When I think of Alaskan food, my first thought is salmon but you presumably know how to handle that one. Instead, here is:

Halibut Caddy Ganty

Legend has it that this recipe was created during the 1020s in the small fishing village of Pelican, Alaska by Caddy Ganty, wife of a fish packer. I gather this dish is served all over Alaska and the Pacific Northwest ,where it is sometimes called Halibut Olympia. This particular version won an award from the James Beard Foundation in 2010.

Serves four generously.

2 pounds fresh Alaskan (or other) halibut fillets, approx 1 inch thick, skinned and cut into 3 x 4 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 Tbsp Kosher salt
3/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs

1 to 2 Tbsp butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup mayonnaise
2 cups sour cream
2 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle halibut pieces with salt, place in a large high-rimmed dish and add wine. Cover, refrigerate and marinate 2 to 3 hours (no longer or the wine will start to break down the fish.)

Butter a baking dish large large enough to hold halibut pieces in a single layer. Pat fish dry, toss lightly with bread crumbs and place in baking dish.

In small bowl combine chopped onion, mayonnaise, and sour cream. Spread the mixture evenly on the halibut, covering fish completely.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes. The top should be lightly browned and bubbling and the fish flaky.

If you like, top with finely chopped dill or chopped scallions.

Serve whistling Alaska’s Flag, the state song. If you invite an Alaskan for dinner, chances are he or she will sing it for you. (If you invite Sarah Palin, skip the fish as she will bring a freshly shot moose.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alaska, halibut, Mozart, piano | Comments Off

Hare Today…

Posted on November 24, 2013 by marigold

My netsuke

When I first married, friends of my parents gave us an ivory netsuke (‘net-ski’) of a pot-bellied man with a pack on his back. We thought it delightful but didn’t have a clue as to what it was. Fast forward to my marriage to Joel, then an Asian art dealer, who taught me about netsuke and a great deal else.

Invented in 17^th century Japan, netsuke are part the system that enabled men, whose clothing lacked pockets, to store items like tobacco, money, medicines or other small items. Typically, men placed their belongings in a small stack of highly decorated boxes called inro, held together by a cord and secured by a netsuke that served as a sort of toggle. A bead, known as an ojime, went on the cord between the netsuke and the inro and slid up and down, both to keep the stash together and get at something in one of the boxes. (Women had to carry small items in their kimono sleeves which must have meant much more organizing—no surprise there.)

The book, The Hare with Amber Eyes, recounts the history of 264 netsuke that celebrated potter, Edmund de Waal, inherited from his uncle who lived in Japan. These tiny figures traveled over a fair share of Europe, were probably confiscated by the Nazis and finally resurfaced in London. If you have somehow avoided reading the book, do yourself a favor and get a copy.

Hundreds of pieces of De Waal’s pottery were on view about six weeks ago at a New York gallery, each piece painstakingly arranged by De Waal off-site and then tweaked at the gallery by the artist with a team of associates. De Wall’s work is minimalist to an extreme; most pieces are small and rendered in neutral whites, grays and black, some with a touch of gilt.

Work by De Waal

I found the overall effect soothing when I badly needed a little calm and deliberately avoided thinking how easily the fragile masterpieces could be reduced to shards. My hands, and those of other gallery-goers, were by our sides or in our pockets to ward off any potential bulls encountering china.

An (easy) Japanese recipe seems appropriate here. For a cultural mix and a nice twist, these beans would make a great Thanksgiving vegetable.

Sesame Green Beans

(serves 2- 3 but easily multiplied for more)

8 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed

2 Tbls soy sauce (low sodium if you wish)

1/2 Tbs. miso paste

1/2 Tsp red pepper flakes

4 cloves garlic, minced (or less for the garlic-averse like me)

1 Tsp grated fresh ginger root

1 Tbls sesame seeds, toasted just long enough to make them give off a scent

Steam beans (or nuke them—be sure they end up crisp/tender.) Drain well and move beans to a serving bowl.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, miso paste, red pepper flakes, garlic and ginger. Pour over the green beans and toss to coat. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Enjoy Thanksgiving, Hannukah or whatever comes your way. I will be toasting Joel, turkey-meister extraordinaire.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged beans, ivory, Japanese, women | 3 Comments

Some Like It Hot!

Posted on September 29, 2013 by marigold

These chilis have their own cellphone!

No, not the hysterically funny Billy Wilder movie with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, but rather a great exhibit of chili peppers at The Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown, N.J. The peppers are growing in a series of raised beds, complete with a cell-phone guided tour. Each species is identified both by its common name, as in Habanero pepper, as well as its place on the Scoville scale which measures peppers as to how hot they are; for instance, a garden-variety green bell pepper measures 0 units.

Jalepenos–handle with care

A jalapeño can be rated anywhere from 2500 to 8000 units, probably depending on the particular variety. For peppers on the top of the scale, only the cement-mouthed need apply.

Peppers notwithstanding, the Arboretum is a glorious spot that made me feel I was miles away from civilization but is actually just off a major traffic artery. The one hundred twenty seven acres include the family home, a modest Colonial Revival Mansion I’m glad I don’t have to heat.

Around it are immense lawns, nature trails including one labeled in Braille, a special garden kids work in during spring and summer and innumerable other gardens with well-identified trees, shrubs and plants. There are educational programs like an upcoming Halloween and Thanksgiving Centerpiece Demo (great for those who get sick of cornucopias); Grow Great Garlic; a garden lovers’ book club; Gingerbread Tips in preparation for a holiday craft fair and gingerbread house show and a zillion other offerings for kids and adults. At almost any time of year, one could spend a very pleasant time here and thank the Frelinghuysen family whose summer farm and carriage house (filled with a collection of beautifully maintained carriages) became the Arboretum.

Of course a recipe for this post has to include chili. (I suppose it could be leaves or grasses in keeping with the garden theme but somehow…) Herewith:

Jambalaya

3 Tbls. canola oil

2 onions, chopped

1 green pepper chopped into small dice

1 red or yellow pepper chopped into small dice

2 stalks celery chopped

6 cloves minced garlic

½ lb. thick bacon, fried and chopped

2 lb. smoked andouille sausage sliced ¼ inch thick (if hard to come by, substitute 1-2 lbs. sweet Italian sausage sliced ¼ inch thick although andouille is more authentic)

5 cups canned tomatoes with their liquid

3 cups chicken stock or water

3-4 cups raw rice

2 cups parsley chopped

1 tsp chili powder (I know, this isn’t a specific chili but there you are)

1 tsp dried thyme

½ crushed red pepper flakes

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Hot red pepper sauce like Frank’s (or use Tabasco)

Salt and pepper

2 lbs shrimp raw or frozen, peeled and deveined

Put the oil into a deep heavy pot over medium heat. Add onions, both colors of diced peppers, celery and garlic and sauté until onions are softened, about 10 minutes.

Add the cooked bacon, sausage (uncooked), tomatoes with their liquid, stock or water, rice, parsley, chili powder, thyme, crushed red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce and a dash of the hot red pepper sauce.

Bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook 25 minutes. Check; if rice seems dry, add more stock or water. Then stir well and add the shrimp, cover and cook a few minutes more until shrimp are hot (if already cooked ) or pink (if raw) . It’s done when rice is al dente and shrimp are pink

It’s not the work of a minute but it feeds 8 or more people and makes a great impression. Serve with a dry white wine, a green salad and some good bread as it yields juices that deserve to be mopped up. If you’re a huge fan of hot food, up the amount of hot sauce

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged chili, peppers | Comments Off

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