IN THE KITCHEN by Pat Tanner: ‘The Windrows Cookbook’ serves up some entertaining recipes that conjure the retro dishes of the last four or five decades.
One of the things I enjoy about community cookbooks is that they often encapsulate a specific place, time or group. The newly published Windrows at Princeton Forrestal cookbook is no exception, except that its recipes capture not so much a specific place or group, as much as conjure up styles of entertaining that were popular in each of the last four or five decades.
"The Windrows Cookbook: Easy Recipes for Entertaining" is a collection of 172 recipes culled from the more than 100 residents of The Windrows at Princeton Forrestal, an active adult community in Plainsboro for those 55 years and older.
This group of seniors along with the community’s executive chef, Brian Fischer produced the book as their way of providing support to local projects of Habitat for Humanity, to which they are donating all proceeds. "The Windrows Cookbook" costs $7.95.
!["Jane]("/local/Z/ZWIRE1091/zwire/images/103001kitchen.jpg")
|
| Jane Voss, committee chairwoman for "The Windrows Cookbook," with Brian Fischer, executive chef for The Windrows at Princeton Forrestal, during a book party and book signing at Micawber Books. |
The cookbook delivers exactly what the subtitle promises. To start, the recipes are indeed easy and often can be made in advance. They make ample use of time-honored prepared foods such as cream-of-mushroom and cream-of-chicken soup, bouillon cubes, jarred spaghetti sauce, and Pepperidge Farm breads, breadcrumbs and stuffing mix.
Likewise, they are especially suited to entertaining because they deliver big-time flavor and richness, without regard for nutrition. It’s hard to imagine how this group would have made it to 55-plus if they daily indulged in the mounds of sour cream, blocks of cheese, and soy sauce by the cupful that the recipes often (but not always) call for.
Maybe it’s just these turbulent times, but I find retro food especially appealing right now, and a couple of the recipes brought me right back to my childhood in the 1950s. Cocktail franks simmered in a mix of red currant jelly and mustard, and a vegetable casserole made with cream-of-mushroom soup, Lipton onion soup mix and sour cream topped off with a can of French-fried onion rings produced a nostalgic smile.
Other recipes conjure up the early days of America’s widespread love affair in the 1960s with French food, represented by artichokes with Hollandaise, veal tarragon, filet of beef with Béarnaise on a bed of jelly, and spinach quiche. Our collective discovery of so-called ethnic foods in the 1970s and 1980s is amply represented by everything from vegetarian curry to lamb Marrakech, gumbo and gazpacho.
More recent times are reflected in The Windrows Salad, complete with goat cheese, baby greens and balsamic vinegar, as well as recipes for roasted vegetables, cold summer squash soup and linguine with broccoli rabe.
"The Windrows Cookbook: Easy Recipes for Entertaining" is available at Micawber Books in Princeton, or can be ordered directly from The Windrows at Princeton Forrestal at (800) 708-7007.
Here are three recipes that I find appealing.
PHYLLO STICKS
1 cup grated Romano cheese
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
12 sheets fresh or frozen-but-thawed phyllo
5 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1. Combine Romano cheese and pepper. Place 1 phyllo sheet on a piece of waxed paper and cover the remaining sheets with plastic. Wrap to prevent them from drying out.
2. Brush the sheet lightly with butter or margarine. Sprinkle 1 rounded tablespoon of filling over phyllo sheet. Fold sheet in half crosswise. Starting from the long, open side, roll phyllo tightly jelly-roll fashion toward the folded side. Cut crosswise into 4 sticks.
3. Place sticks, seam side down, 1 inch apart, on a large cookie sheet. Brush lightly with butter or margarine.
4. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, checking on them after 10 minutes.
(Sticks may be refrigerated or frozen before baking. If refrigerated, bake according to above directions. If frozen, bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.)
LAMB CHOPS IN WHITE WINE
6 lamb chops, from the shoulder
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1½ tablespoons flour
1 cup dry white wine
½ can beef broth
1. Rub lamb chops with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a skillet and brown lamb chops on both sides. Transfer chops to a baking dish or casserole.
2. In the butter remaining in the skillet, sauté the onion, garlic and parsley. Add the flour and blend well. Gradually stir in the white wine and beef broth and cook until sauce is thickened.
3. Pour sauce over lamb chops, cover the casserole and bake at 350 degrees or until the chops are cooked.
MAKE-AHEAD PARTY RICE
1 stick (¼ pound) butter
1 cup wild rice
½ cup slivered almonds
2 tablespoons chopped onions
½ pound sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sherry
3 cups chicken broth, reserved
Combine all ingredients except chicken broth in a heavy skillet and sauté, stirring frequently, until rice is well-coated. Pour rice mixture into an oven-safe casserole and stir in the chicken broth. Cover and bake as directed below, or refrigerate or freeze. When ready to serve, return to room temperature (if refrigerated or frozen) and bake at 325 degrees for approximately 1 hour.