Good Salmon Chowder makes you hear the ocean's roar

In my earliest days, my parents read to me from – among other sources – the poetic works of John Ciardi. This particular rhyme was one of my favorites, and, to this day, gets recited each time we serve chowder for supper.

Not long ago, I learned it had been put to music, so, this week, when I made my chowder, this was on my playlist. But we still had to chant the poem, sans melody, at the table.

Different moments, different rituals.

Over the years, I'd come to the conclusion that different fish flavors deserve different treatments in the stew pot, as well. A straight, sweet chowder is fine for white fish like cod, flounder, etc, but…well… I often have a surplus of salmon in my freezer, and salmon likes a little extra bite. Hence, a little smokiness and some cream cheese. If I thought capers and toasted bagels would fit into the bowl, I'd probably throw those in, as well, but a girl has to show some restraint, I guess. Sigh.

Enjoy.

Salmon Chowder

Ingredients:

3/4 lb skinless salmon fillets
3 oz pouch smoked salmon

1/4 lb bacon

1 small onion, minced

4-6 cups water, to cover potatoes

1 cup sweet corn (fresh from the cob or frozen is best) 

2-3 ribs celery (leaves included), diced

2 medium potatoes, cut into 2 cm cubes

3-4 medium carrots, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 small red bell pepper, minced and divided

8 oz cream cheese or Neufchatel

3 cups milk 

1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut bacon into 1/2 cm-wide bits, cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Set aside, reserving fat.

Clear bacon solids from pan & strain them from liquid fat. Return 1 tablespoon fat to pan, and, over low heat, cook minced onion until clear and beginning to turn golden. Remove from heat.

In a 1-gallon (or larger) stock pot, place water, 3 oz smoked salmon, corn, celery, potatoes, carrots, 1/2 of the bell pepper, and the cooked onions. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender if poked with a fork (about 15-20 minutes, usually).

Add in remaining salmon, return to simmer and allow the fish to cook thoroughly (about 5 minutes, if using fresh fish, 10 minutes if frozen). Break up fillets into bite-sized chunks.

While fish is simmering in the pot, cut cream cheese into 1-inch chunks, place a microwave-safe bowl, and, in 30-second bursts, cook until softened. Add in milk, cook in microwave another minute, whisk briskly until smooth. Stir into the stock.

Add seasoning. Allow to simmer about 5 minutes.

Garnish with crumbled bacon and remaining bell pepper.

Serve with muffins or cornbread.

Serves 6-8.

 

 

 

Buttery yeast cake: Translation from German

This just looked good, even after the bad translation. I hope to try it, soon, & find out.

Schuedi nach Grossmutters Rezept
für eine ∅ 28-30 cm Backform

Zubereitung:

Hefe in 3 Esslöffel Milch auflösen und beiseite stellen.

Restliche Milch, Butter und Zucker erhitzen, bis die Butter geschmolzen ist. Auf mindestens 38°C abkühlen lassen, sonst sterben die Hefekulturen ab.

Mehl in die Rührschüssel der Küchenmaschine geben. Milchmischung hinzugeben, sowie Ei und aufgelöste Hefe. Alles 4 Minuten auf Stufe 1 (von 4) kneten. Salz hinzugeben und auf Stufe 2 weitere 8 Minuten kneten. Zugedeckt 40 Minuten ruhen lassen.

Eine passende Tarte- oder Backform buttern und mehlieren.

Den Teig kurz entgasen, rund formen und mit den Händen in die Form drücken. Zugedeckt ca. 30-40 Minuten gehen lassen.

Backofen rechtzeitig auf 180°C Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen.

Mit dem Daumen mehrere Vertiefungen in den Kuchen drücken und Stückchen von der weichen Butter hineinstopfen. Dabei auch etwas Butter über die gesamte Oberfläche streichen. Dick mit Zucker bestreuen.

Ca. 20 Minuten backen bis er die gewünschte Bräune hat.

Schmeckt frisch am besten, ist aber auch noch 2 Tage später geniessbar.

Zutaten für den Teig (wenn möglich zimmertemperiert):

    350 g Mehl Type 550
    160 g Milch
    20 g Frischhefe
    50 g Butter
    30 g Rohrohrzucker
    1 Ei
    1 Teelöffel Salz

für den Belag:

    +/- 80 g weiche Butter
    4-5 Esslöffel Rohrohrzucker
..........................

Schuedi according to's recipe
For an ∅ 28-30 cm baking form

Preparation:

Dissolve yeast in 3 tablespoons of milk and set aside.

Heat the remaining milk, butter and sugar until the butter has melted. Allow to cool at least 38 °c, otherwise the yeast crops will die.

Put flour in the mixing bowl of the food processor. Add milk mixture, as well as egg and dissolved yeast. Knead all 4 minutes to Level 1 (of 4). Add salt and knead at level 2 for another 8 minutes. Leave to rest for 40 minutes.

Butter and flour a suitable tart or baking form.

Briefly degas the dough, round shapes and press the hands into the mould. Covered about 30-40 minutes.

Preheat the oven in time to 180 °c upper heat.

Use your thumb to push several recesses into the cake and cram pieces of the soft butter into it. Also paint some butter over the entire surface. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for about 20 minutes until it has the desired tan.

Tastes fresh at its best, but can also be enjoyed 2 days later.

Ingredients for the dough (if possible room tempered):

350 g flour Type 550
160 g milk
20 g fresh yeast
50 g butter
30 g Cane
1 egg
1 teaspoon of salt

For the topping:

+/-80 g soft butter
4-5 tablespoons cane

More cookbook adventure

I've posted the note pages for this cookbook already, but wanted to point out there are other pleasures to be found, when one looks for the most-often consulted pages… some of these look criminally delicious, if you can figure out things like oven temperature, cooking time, and the difference between a glassful and a coffee cupful…

 

 

 

 

 

"Indian meal" = corn meal. Who knew?

 

 

 

 

I suspect the English Currant Pie could use any dried fruit, though

 

 

Squash and sweet potato pies… because the holidays are approaching

 

 

 

Orange pie, for me...

 

 

Monmouth, Ill. I wonder if I know any relatives of this cook?

 

 

Cookbook Fever

One of the best things in looking through old cookbooks, IMHO, is finding the notes from cooks gone by. Sure, you can check out the official, professional-chef-tested recipes and/or quaint terminology of the printed text and appreciate qualities in those, but flipping open a really ancient tome and seeing scribbles and smears can tell you a lot about which recipes were tried more than once, and also give you insight into the person(s) who owned the book before you.  With some, it's almost as good as inheriting granny's secret recipe box. With the rest, it's at least a good excuse to flip through and imagine yourself with that person, stirring the milk for a batch of classic fudge…

I hope someday soon to have the entire book scanned for posterity, but in the meantime, have at these flyleaf/annotation pages, and enjoy.

 

Cool! Summer Means More Chicken Salad

 

Nothing fancy, this time – the weather allowed for The Bat to pop a chicken in the oven, so we threw together a variation on the usual chicken salad, tonight. Instead of the basic chicken/mayonnaise/celery/grape (which I seriously can't eat), we tried this on for size. The bird she bought was probably about half again the size of a standard rotisserie chicken, so if you're thinking about that shortcut, keep your scale in mind, and adjust the apples, onions, etc., downward a tad. Also, check to see that you get a largely-unseasoned bird, or you'll need to amend the dressing to work around the added flavor.

(I still have to take antihistamine in order to not get migraines after eating this, with its mayonnaise base, so I may need to give it a try using a sour cream or Greek yogurt dressing. Or, make my own mayo. So far, though, the Duke's makes the dill and apple actually work together, so I'm in no hurry to change it, just yet.)

Also, if you like a little more color in your presentation, you may wish to use a redder apple – I had a bag of Granny Smiths on hand, so that was what went into this. Jonathan, Macintosh, even Honeycrisp will work nicely in this, but (as with store-cooked chicken) you may want to adjust the dressing to work around your variations.

 

Apple Chicken Salad (with Dill)


Ingredients:

the meat from 1 medium roasted chicken, cooled, removed from bones and cut into bite-sized cubes (chunks will be fine)

1 large or 1 1/2 medium sweet/tart apples, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (or a reasonable facsimile thereof)

1/2 small/medium red onion, sliced very thinly

3 ribs celery, sliced thinly

1/2 cup unsalted cashews (optional)

1/4  cup dried cranberries (optional)

mixed greens

Dressing:

1 cup good mayonnaise (our family uses Duke's)

the juice of 1 large lemon (about 3 Tablespoons)

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon dill weed (more or less, to your own liking)


Directions:


In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, honey, and dill.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, apple, onion, and celery.

Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture, and stir until it completely covers all.

Cover dish, place in refrigerator for at least an hour before serving, to let the flavors meld.


If you are adding the cashews and/or dried cranberries, wait until just before serving before you add them to the salad, or offer them in separate dishes, as optional topping.

Serve on a bed of mixed greens.


Serves 8-10.