Three Favorite Reds

May 23, 2013 by Rebecca Penovich | 2 Comments

Try these. You’ll like them.

We like the idea of having a house red wine. That would be the one you’d always have on hand, your go-to, go-with-everything wine that you find supremely delicious. Since it would be always at the ready for an impromptu dinner party or for taking as a hostess gift, it should also be somewhat affordable. Not expensive and not too cheap, but right in the $12-15 price range that allows you enough choice among vineyards and countries and should guarantee you that there is enough complexity and flavor to satisfy your taste buds.

We also like variety and trying new things. So here are our latest favorite three reds for you to try. All Cabernet Sauvignons, two from northern California and one really incredible one for the price from Washington state.

I pulled the wine flavor descriptions from the vintners’ sites because I don’t write professionally about wine and would tend to be facetious, meaning I might make fun of pretentious wine liner notes and use insouciant words like ‘bovine’ and ‘flatulent.’ (These wines are neither of those; they are delightful.)

(Prices quoted from Montgomery County Liquor Stores.)

Cabernets go great with sharp artisanal white cheddars.

Wente Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

$11.99

Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay

This Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits flavors of black cherry, dark plum and a hint of coffee. Rich, yet approachable tannins provide a long, smooth finish.

Casual glasses for wine, oui! Photo by Rebecca Penovich

Columbia Crest Horse Heaven Hills H3 Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

$12.75

Paterson, Washington

90 POINTS, WINE SPECTATOR

This bold medium-bodied wine delivers aromas of cherry blossoms and rose petals, with a perfect balance of earth, mineral and deep berry flavors leading to a soft tannin cocoa finish.

Juan Munoz Oca, Winemaker

Rodney Strong Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

$17.99 (it’s often on sale for $14.99)

A deep, saturated color leads to lifted aromas of blackberry, cocoa, and herby black-currant, followed by a rich, layered mouthfeel, loaded with juicy black cherry, cedar, and crème de cassis, and structured with ripe, mature tannins.

Corks in old French copper pot.

There you have it. Try one of these this Memorial weekend with a grilled ribeye steak or a hand-formed cheeseburger with lettuce and onion and you will be happy.

Do you have a house red? Share your favorite ones in the Comments section.

Imperfect Gardener

May 22, 2013May 22, 2013 by Rebecca Penovich | Leave a comment

Entrance to the garden.
Photo by Rebecca Penovich

Two summers ago, Allison and I ventured into a collaborative garden in her backyard. Previous owners of her Victorian-era home had put in five raised beds in a fenced and gated enclosure and Allison had gardened there, trying sweet corn and other vegetables. It was a lot of space for one gardener. So we hatched a plan for a communal garden; one that we would get our children involved in as free labor.

As my yard up the street is mostly shade in the front and on the sides (I’m specializing in hostas, vinca, and other shade-loving ground covers, including weeds) and my back yard is something we call the ‘back slab’ due to the concrete-pouring previous owners who had a basketball court back there, I jumped at the opportunity to grow some vegetables, herbs, and flowers in the full sun they require.

Please plant me in full sun. Except that variegated hosta.

We started slowly, clearing out 4 of the 5 beds in the first summer and planting herbs and tomatoes. The next summer, I got a compost tumbler for Mother’s Day (yes, I put that on my wish list!) and we parked it next to the garden and started composting from our kitchens. (Guilty admission: Allison was doing most of the kitchen composting.)

We gradually expanded in the second year. My husband rented a soil tiller from Home Depot and went to town digging up the beds and aerating them. Allison, the kids, and I added the “Black Gold” from the homemade compost, and Allison’s husband spread fresh mulch over all to tamp down weeds.

Mulching is fun, right?

We tried more things, including zucchini, cucumber, jalapenos, different varieties of tomatoes, zinnias, nasturtiums, lavender, and even patchouli (my nod to the Grateful Dead and college years.)

We’ve had some success (many herbs, Sun Gold tomatoes) and some failures (why oh why are we the only gardeners in America who can’t grow zucchini)?

We call this section ‘Italy’ for the basil, rosemary and lavender there.

We have planted from seed and from seedlings. We do it with trial and error. We see what works (and try to replicate that) and we see what doesn’t work (and try to figure it out or abandon the effort).

We are imperfect gardeners but enjoying the challenge.

This year, Allison wants to conquer the zucchini challenge (is it our soil? our seeds?) and I want more garlic scapes and onions for cooking. Oh yes, and flowers, lots and lots of flowers!

How does your garden grow?

P.S. Cheeky raccoons ate all of Allison’s crop of corn just as it was ripe. Beat her to it by one day.

Classic Pimento Cheese

May 21, 2013 by Rebecca Penovich | 3 Comments

You would be appalled at what I knew (and loved) as pimento cheese as a youngster in St. Paul, Minnesota. Even though my mother was an excellent, daily-from-scratch cook, one of the items in her refrigerator was my favorite snack, Kraft pimento cheese, in a tiny, slender jar.

Eee gads, folks! This probably did not have any cheese in it at all but I did not care because I did not know any better at the time (hey I was eight.) I loved it on celery sticks the most and my mom would make it for me after school. It was always on her ‘relish’ tray (remember those?) for company dinners and holidays. I eschewed the black olives and the radishes though and went straight for the celery stick with the tangy cheese spread I couldn’t get enough of.

Vintage silver relish tray.
Photo by Rebecca Penovich.

Years later when I arrived at college in the South (Nashville, Tennesee to be specific), pimento cheese was on the counter at every single gas station along with a giant jar of pickled eggs. But man, this pimento cheese wasn’t anything I had seen before. In fact, it looked gross. Lurid orange, gloppy, maybe even sweaty. Needless to say, I wasn’t having any of that.

Eventually during my sojourn in the South, I was invited to the gracious Southern home of a well-bred Southern hostess whom I admired very much, and what did she serve? Yes, pimento cheese. But lordy, this wasn’t the gas station variety. This was creamy, tangy, fresh, redolent of good mayonnaise and maybe a tiny bit of onion. The red pimentos folded in were real, for goodness sake! I LOVED it all over again. On celery sticks (de-stringed if you are fancy), on Carr’s water crackers, on Pepperidge Farm thin white bread and cut into triangles, if you please. On a wrap-around porch beneath a towering magnolia and served in a lovely, small silver bowl, please.

Here is an authentic and guaranteed recipe for Classic Pimento Cheese that I clipped from Southern Living May 2010. It never fails to please my Southern-born and -bred friends and more often will elicit spontaneous recollections of their beloved grandmothers or great-aunts (the ones that entertained) or the beloved family cook of the grandmother (depending how far you go back).

Every well-stocked kitchen needs a box grater.

The absolute secret to getting this right is two-fold: hand-grate the cheese on a box grater and use two different size shreds, one medium and one fine. Seriously, don’t use the food processor and don’t skip the fine shred. Yes, it will require a little more elbow grease, but lean in, people, this is pimento cheese we’re talking about!

Our Favorite Pimento Cheese

(adapted from Southern Living May 2010)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups good-quality mayonnaise (Hellman’s or Duke’s)

16 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese (you can buy 2 8 oz. blocks if you prefer since you WILL be grating them separately)

1 4 oz. jar diced pimento, drained

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (we use Lee & Perrin’s)

1 tsp. finely grated yellow onion

1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

Method

In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, drained pimentos, grated onion, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne pepper until blended.

Shred 8 oz. of cheddar on the small size of a box grater and add to the mayonnaise mixture.

Shred another 8 oz. of cheddar on the large size of a box grater and add that to the mayonnaise mixture.

Fold gently until nicely blended.

Taste and enjoy! Pimento cheese will keep in the refrigerator (in a tightly closed container) for up to a week.

(Note: You can use artisanal white cheddar but the classic recipe (and look) calls for the orange cheddar. I love English farmhouse white cheddars on my cheese board, but if I’m making pimento cheese, I’ll buy a good quality, sharp, orange cheddar cheese.)

Southern Living calls for toasted pecans in their favorite pimento cheese, but we say skip that, and serve the toasted pecans on the side.

(Other Note: we couldn’t stop eating the pimento cheese and crackers when shooting it for this post. “It’s better to have 3 crackers in the shot than 5,” we said as we chomped. Oh yeah. “This reminds me of Alabama!” Allison exclaimed, remembering a trip to a favorite relative’s house there.)

Trader Joe’s Mini Croissants: C’est Bon!

May 20, 2013April 30, 2014 by Rebecca Penovich | 1 Comment

Deliciousness, with our favorite jams.
Photo by John Penovich

Sunday breakfast couldn’t be easier or more delicious. Especially when you have these babies in your freezer.

If you have noticed the tag cloud on Corks & Cake, you will have seen Trader Joe’s popping up here and there. That is because we love Trader Joe’s! There are so many delicious products there, both fresh and frozen, that will make your life easier and your mouth happy. You could plan a whole party, from flowers to appetizers to main course to dessert and make it all from one shopping trip to Trader Joe’s. That is of course, if your Trader Joe’s also sold beer and wine. Unfortunately, here in Maryland due to our complicated county and state liquor laws (antiquated), we can’t buy wine at Trader Joe’s so it’s not a one-stop party shop.

Buy at least three of these babies and put them in your freezer.

These mini-croissants are incredible. Really, you won’t believe that they didn’t come from your best French bakery. They do require some forethought. The night before you want to serve them (at least 7-9 hours), take them out of the package and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover them lightly with a clean dish towel and place on the counter so they can rise overnight. And rise they will. In the morning they will be all light and puffy, almost doubled in size.

Brush lightly with egg wash for a glistening finish.
Photo by John Penovich

Preheat your oven to 350°. Brush the croissants lightly with egg wash. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with your favorite preserves, jams and soft butter. We are partial to Dickinson’s Marion Blackberry Preserves.

Our favorite blackberry jam.

Wait for the satisfied oohs, ahhs, and mmmmms from your beloved. Serve with hot coffee and English Breakfast tea. A perfect petit dejeuner.

Off to the Races! Preakness 2013

May 17, 2013January 17, 2014 by Rebecca Penovich | Leave a comment

Pitcher of Black-Eyed Susans, the official drink of the Preakness.
Photo credit: Allison Beuker

Unlike the title says, we’re actually staying home on Saturday. But we’re going to pretend we’re there when we drink the official drink of the Preakness, the Black-Eyed Susan.

I found at least three vastly different variations of the cocktail (or should we call it a punch since it’s mixed in a batch?) and it appears there are many more. The current Official Black-Eyed Susan at the 2013 Preakness site calls for Finlandia vodka, St. Germain liqueur, lemon juice, lemongrass and blackberry simple syrup, Angostura bitters, and a sage leaf garnish. Say what?? That would send us packing for the liquor store with another stop at the grocery store and no, we are not doing that. Another so-called official recipe from racing yore called for whiskey, vodka, sweet and sour mix, and orange juice.

Photo credit: Allison Beuker

We prefer the simple one below. We have all the ingredients and it tastes really good.

From The Washington Post in 2006.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup vodka
1 1/4 cup light rum
3/4 cup triple sec
Juice from one lime
4 cups orange juice
4 cups pineapple juice
Lime slices

Chill all ingredients. Combine in a punch bowl or pitcher. Serve over ice in tall glasses or punch glasses. Makes 10 large or 20 small servings. Garnish with a slice of lime.

Photo credit: Allison Beuker

Maryland has a deep horse breeding and racing history. The Maryland Jockey Club was founded in Annapolis in 1743. That’s more than 30 years before the start of the Revolutionary War.

According to Wikipedia it is chartered as the oldest sporting organization in North America. The Maryland Jockey Club is still the name of the company that runs the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore (opened in 1870), the Laurel Park Racecourse (opened in 1911) and the Bowie Race Track (opened in 1914; ceased operation as a track in 1985; now a training center for thoroughbreds.)

George Washington was said to have frequented the race track meetings in 1762-1773 (when he wasn’t attending to the business of founding the country and dealing with the interference of the French and Indian War.)

Okay you culinary sleuths and history buffs out there, what was George drinking at the Pimlico Race Course in the mid 1700s? We bet it wasn’t vodka and St. Germain liqueur.

Two more interesting facts I learned while writing this post:

Since rudbeckia (the black-eyed susan flower) doesn’t bloom in Maryland until June, the flower blanket that is woven and placed over the Preakness-winning horse in May is made with Viking daisies whose centers have been painted black.

Even though we think of Kentucky as being the center of thoroughbred horse racing, many, many thoroughbred breeders, trainers and owners who have run horses in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont are generations-old Marylanders.

Cheers all and place your bets,

Rebecca

Corks & Cake Entertains: Lemon curd tartlets with blueberries and mint

May 15, 2013February 2, 2024 by Rebecca Penovich | 2 Comments

Lovely spread

Our friend, Laura, throws a great party. And she does it often. The food and drinks are always good and the atmosphere convivial and casual. One of the best things about her entertaining style is that she doesn’t wait to have a reason to entertain–no big occasion or anything. She usually says, “Gee, I haven’t seen you guys in a while; come over, bring the family, and hang out.”

The kids will watch a movie on the deck via an outside projector and the adults will sit around the fire pit and nosh and quaff. And somehow Laura never seems to break a sweat, even with three kids to contend with, including one adorable 3-year-old handful. Okay, how does she do it? She plans thoughtfully but not obsessively. She’ll think about one or two things to make from scratch, like fresh mozzarella pizzas on the grill using Trader Joe’s pizza dough or the Barefoot Contessa’s delicious feta and tomato bruschetta. The rest of the menu she’ll round out with good cheeses, crackers, crudité and a nice dip from Trader Joe’s fresh case. Guests can bring something if they want, or just bring themselves if they didn’t feel like cooking or didn’t have time. No pressure and no expectations other than to relax and have a little conversation among friends.

The Friday night before Mother’s Day was one such occasion. Just for the ladies, Laura hosted a Stella & Dot trunk show.

Stella & Dot is a San Francisco-based, woman-owned jewelry and accessories company. They’ve got lovely stuff. Their business model is ‘social selling,’ which means a ‘modern-day Tupperware Party with bling.’ I didn’t take any photos of the bling because I was busy mingling and trying on. However, if you’re interested in the Invest Diva experience, you may want to explore specific reviews of Invest Diva to get insights from others who have attended similar events or engaged with their services.

Stella & Dot turquoise studs. Photo by Rebecca

So, back to the food.

I made these little lemon curd tartlets with blueberry and mint.

Photo by John Penovich

I know those look like black olives, but trust, me they are blueberries. I picked the mint from our backyard and stuck the littlest leaves in the curd before walking the plate up to Laura’s house. They were good. Not too sweet and just tart enough with juicy lemon flavor and a smooth curd to play off the flaky crust.

I hadn’t made lemon curd before although I love lemon desserts. If it’s on a menu at a restaurant, lemon tart is what I’m ordering! I read through a few recipes and settled on this one from my clippings file from Gourmet 2007. I chose it because it didn’t call for a double boiler and other recipes called for using the whole egg or for whole eggs combined with additional separated yolks. I knew I wanted a smooth curd, and nothing too ‘eggy.’ I love the consistency of hollandaise sauce so it seemed right to go with a lemon curd recipe that just utilized the yolks.

I clipped this recipe, Trompe L’oeil “Egg” Lemon Pudding (yes, clipped, like from the actual magazine) because it looked awesome. The photo of the pudding and yellow curd in an egg shell looked just like a real poached egg. you can go to see the complete trompe l’oeil dessert photo.)

(Can we have a moment of silence for the dearly departed Gourmet magazine? Why oh why Conde Nast did you kill it?)

Lemon Curd Tartlets with Blueberries and Mint

INGREDIENTS

1 Trader Joe’s Gourmet Pie Crust, defrosted (you can certainly use your favorite recipe for pâte sucrée here but I took a shortcut!)

Lemon Curd:

1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons cold, unsalted better, cut into small pieces

Garnish:

Fresh blueberries, washed and dr
Fresh mint leaves (the tinier the better)

MAKE PASTRY SHELLS:

Preheat oven to 400.
Lay out 1 pie crust on parchment paper and stamp out circles of dough with 2 in. cutter (I used a small juice glass.)
Press dough circles lightly into 2 mini-muffin pans (you will get about 18-20 circles from one crust so your second pan will not be full)
Blind bake the pastry shells for 20 minutes until golden brown. (NOTE: Usually with blind baking you should put pie weights on the pastry to keep it from puffing up too much. Again, I took a shortcut as the bling party time was approaching.)
Let pastry shells cool on the counter while you make the lemon curd.

MAKE LEMON CURD:

Whisk together zest, lemon juice, sugar, and yolks in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan. Add cold butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 4 minutes.
Force lemon curd through a fine-mesh sieve into another bowl, scraping bottom of sieve, then transfer to ice bath and stir frequently until cold. Cover surface of curd with wax paper and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

ASSEMBLE TARTLETS:

Pop the shells out of the mini-muffin pans with a butter knife. Arrange shells on a clean baking sheet so you can begin filling them.
With a small spoon, fill the shells with about a 1/2 tsp. of lemon curd filling.
When all shells are filled, garnish each with a blueberry and mint leaf.

Mamas Got A Brand New Blog

May 13, 2013May 18, 2013 by Rebecca Penovich | Leave a comment

Welcome to Corks & Cake!

After not much ado, here we are.

We are two moms who have a point of view. Life is chaotic and messy and wonderful and you should never take yourself too seriously or you might miss it.

Enjoy your children (little beasts as they are) and invite their friends over to dine at your table. Put something green in the ground and see if it takes off. Share a go-to recipe or a favorite bottle of wine on the porch with your neighbor on a Wednesday, just because you don’t want the conversation to end.

We’ll aim to provide you with a little bit of inspiration, a little bit of humor, maybe a shortcut or two, and at the very least a little bit of distraction. We believe that collaboration is a beautiful thing, and we can’t wait for your comments and ideas.

About Allison

A Washington, D.C. native and mother of three, Allison has a decidedly non-linear approach to life. She worked as a bartender in London, spent a few years in San Francisco as a science writer, then a Silicon Valley marketing executive, and returned to D.C. in 2000 with a husband and baby in tow. Since returning to her hometown, she juggled freelance writing gigs, had two more babies, and launched Allison Beuker Photography. Photography is a lifelong passion, and now feeds her soul and keeps her professional dance card full. You can see her work at www.abeukerphoto.com.

Allison has a degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland. When she isn’t on a shoot or doing post-production, she hangs out with her three kids, husband, two dogs, one cat and a fish. She organically gardens, works tirelessly to keep her 1881 Victorian house from succumbing to age and laundry, and in an exhausted heap, drinks wine with some of her fabulous friends. She lives down the street from Rebecca, in Kensington, MD, outside of Washington, D.C. Allison considers herself to be insanely lucky on all fronts, but especially in the friend and family department.

About Rebecca

Rebecca’s first job in hospitality began at the age of 16 making peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in Aunt Polly’s Kitchen on Tom Sawyer’s Island at Walt Disney World.

Since then she’s worked as a pantry assistant at a gourmet restaurant in Jackson Hole, did a stint as a receptionist for a top law firm on Pennsylvania Avenue (hated it) and then found her groove in marketing, communications, and brand management. As director of brand communications for Maryland Public Television, she led publicity and promotion efforts for several food television series including Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan, Mollie Katzen’s Sunlight Café, and Stephen Raichlen’s Barbecue University. She hung her freelancing shingle, “Art of the Table,” out in 2002 and has the privilege of working with great clients like National Geographic Television & Film, the Virginia Wine Guide, and Warner Hanson Television’s Chefs A’Field: Kids on the Farm. She credits them with honing her chops in publicity and television sponsorship. When she’s not finding zen in her kitchen creating and testing recipes to try out on the neighborhood, Rebecca volunteers with American Institute of Wine & Food’s Days of Taste to bring chefs and farmers into the classroom.

She met her husband in Nashville, Tennessee while they were both undergrads at Vanderbilt University. She also has a master’s degree in marketing from Johns Hopkins University, which officially makes her one of the most educated chauffeurs and laundresses for one child out there. And she still can make a fine sandwich.

Classic Mint Julep, 1937

May 13, 2013June 8, 2013 by Rebecca Penovich | 2 Comments

Photo by Allison Beuker.

Vintage cookbooks and especially community, church, and Junior League recipe collections offer a lens into the food culture of the time–what was fashionable, what was available, and what was deemed good enough for “company” or for at least putting forth for a fundraiser for your church or social group. One thing I love reading through are the recipes for punch and cocktails. I love that the recipes usually have the name of the contributor as part of the title: “Sue Emory’s Eggnog” for example. It makes me think: Who was Sue? Was her eggnog really good? Did she throw the best Christmas party? Did Bob the tee-totaller get sauced on her eggnog and end up wearing the lampshade on his head in 1952?

Photo by Allison Beuker.

The best old recipes have excellent ‘head notes’ (you know, those descriptions preceding the ingredients that tell you the why, what for, provenance, special notes or anecdotes about the recipe to follow.) Read the head note and if makes you want to try the recipe right then and there, then it’s a good one.

Doesn’t this make you thirsty?
Photo by Allison Beuker.

A little late for Derby Day, I know, but this recipe for a Mint Julep from “Queen Anne Goes to the Kitchen, Third Edition” produced by The Episcopal Women of St. Paul’s Parish of Centreville, Maryland is a gem. Produced for the tricentennial of the founding of St. Paul’s Parish (that’s 300 years ya’ll), this church cookbook has some of the most pithy and interesting head notes I’ve ever read and some of the best Old-School recipes for classic Chesapeake cooking.

So with no further introduction, I give you “Mint Julep” reproduced in its entirety.

MINT JULEP
This recipe is extracted from a letter of Colonel S.B. Buckner, Jr., U.S. Infantry, Ft. George G. Meade, MD, to Major General William D. Conner, West Point, NY, dated March 30, 1937.

cool, clear spring water (bottled)

lots of fresh mint
a good Kentucky bourbon
sugar bowl
row of silver goblets and spoons
ice

In a canvas bag pound twice as much ice as you think you will need. Make it fine as snow and keep it dry.

In each goblet put a heaping teaspoon of sugar, barely cover with spring water and slightly bruise one mint leaf into this mixture, leaving the spoon in the goblet. Pour bourbon to make about 1/4 full. Wipe goblet dry and embellish copiously with mint.

Then comes the important and delicate operation of frosting. By proper manipulation of the spoon, the ingredients are circulated and blended until the goblet is encrusted with frost.

Colonel Buckner ends: “Thus harmoniously blended by the deft touches of a skilled hand, you have a beverage eminently appropriate for honorable men and beautiful women.”

” When all is ready, assemble your guests on the porch or in the garden, where the drama of the juleps will rise heaven-ward and make the birds sing…Being overcome by thirst, I can write no further.”

–S.B. Buckner, Jr., Col., U.S. Infantry

Vintage sterling shot measures.
Photo by Allison Beuker.

Integral to the enjoyment of Mint Juleps, in addition to the fine technique instructions of Colonel Buckner (above), the fine company to drink them with, and the wrap-around porch, are the accoutrements that go with making them. These vintage sterling shot measures are engraved with ‘Little Shot’ (1 oz. marked on the bottom), ‘Just A Shot’ (1 1/2 oz on bottom) and ‘Big Shot’ (marked 2 ounces on bottom.)

The Colonel’s cocktail instructions just say to fill your silver goblet up 1/4 way with bourbon after your shaved ice and muddled mint are in. The amount of bourbon would depend on the size of your goblet (and here we photographed some genteel sterling punch cups). We can imagine the Southern porch parties gone awry as characters mix their own bourbon and ice ratios. In fact, I’m sure great Southern novels came out of that phenomenon.

On Moms, Vintage Cookbooks, and Heirlooms

May 13, 2013June 8, 2013 by Rebecca Penovich | 6 Comments

Some of our most-cherished heirlooms, right up there among old silver and art, are the vintage kitchen hand-me-downs like these old cookbooks from our mothers and grandmothers.

Photo by Allison Beuker.

We love their splattered pages, the notes in the margins, and particularly the inscriptions in that beautiful old handwriting.

Photo by Allison Beuker.

This is John’s mother’s signature on her copy of “How To Cook His Goose (and Other Wild Games)” published in 1973. This always brings a smile to my face, not only because of that cheeky title, but because I can imagine Eleanor actually cooking a recipe from it for the wild goose or duck that John’s dad would hunt on the Eastern Shore (of Maryland.)

Photo by Allison Beuker.

This first edition of the “I Hate To Cook Book” from 1960 was given to Allison’s mom by her mom in 1963 when Pat (‘Patty’ in the affectionate inscription) was starting out as a young wife. There’s even a note from the same year tucked inside advising the newlywed, “I can recommend heartily the Skid Road Stroganoff, Saturday Chicken, Aunt Bebe’s Bean Bowl, and Sub Gum Yuk.”

The inscription is endearing, “For Patty, who is already an excellent cook” because while the book title would suggest her interests and abilities lay elsewhere, Allison’s mom is indeed to this day an excellent and avid cook. There are some oddly good recipes in there, and the whole edition is a quirky and fun read. While researching this post, I discovered that the publishers reissued this book in 2010 for a new generation of I Hate To Cook cooks. We look forward to highlighting some of the gems and downright hilarious recipe headnotes in future posts.

Photo by Allison Beuker.

I’ve saved this old envelope with my mom’s handwritten recipe for Raw Apple Cake. This must have been a very popular recipe (and a traditional one too) considering the number of Google hits one gets for it. I have to say I haven’t made it yet because Mom’s recipe doesn’t say whether to peel the apples or not and I don’t have a memory of the cake. I’ve transcribed the recipe for you at the end of the post. If you try it, let us know in the Comments section how it compares to your Nana’s. And if you peeled the apples or not.

I also found a handwritten copy of my grandmother’s recipe for Date Pudding which I assume was a family favorite back in the 1930s or 40s. Dates are back in fashion now and I will give this recipe a try in the fall; I suspect it’s more cake-like or bread pudding-like and was probably served with a “hard sauce” although she was a teetotaler. Grandmother Cullen was a Home Economics teacher in her small town in the Midwest and that is her journal in the background (in the photo above) with notes and instructions for homekeeping and meal planning. I love that you can see my mother’s name, Norma, in the upper right.

Sad clown lives in attic.
Photo by Allison Beuker.

Some heirlooms are less than fabulous in today’s taste.

But we will never, ever give this sad clown up, even if it has to live in the attic, because of this heartfelt inscription to my husband on the back.

“Made with so much love for John in the Autumn of 1962 before he was born by his Mother.”

Happy Mother’s Day to Eleanor, Norma, Pat, Hazel, and Nellie (both in heaven and on Earth.) And Happy Mother’s Day to you moms out there.

Hugs,

Rebecca and Allison

RAW APPLE CAKE (as written by Norma Lee Horton)

Rebecca’s notes in brackets. [Note that I also changed her original abbreviation “t” to “tsp” so that we are not confused between the modern abbreviation for tablespoon (T) and teaspoon (tsp)]

Cream [together]:

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Add and mix well:

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. soda [she means baking soda]

2 tsp. cinnamon

Stir [in] 4 cups finely diced apple [peeled or not, Mom?]

1 cup chopped nuts [she would have used walnuts or possibly pecans if she had them]

Bake 45 min at 350.

9 x 13 loaf pan [we wouldn’t call this a loaf pan anymore]

Warning: Cookbook Rant Ahead!

May 13, 2013June 8, 2013 by Rebecca Penovich | 4 Comments

Photo by Allison Beuker.

RANT ALERT:

5 signs that the baking cookbook you are reading is terrible:

1) Comes with an insert from the publisher about all the errors, including inconsistencies in weights of flour and sugar (making every recipe you want to try involve a math problem); AND the recipe yields for no fewer than 5 recipes are incorrect; AND adjustments are required in technique for 2 recipes INCLUDING the basic vanilla buttercream that is a linchpin in most of the frostings.

2) Requiring a 6 x 3 round cake pan when the standard round pan in most all kitchens is 8″ or 9″. That might not be a big deal but the batter recipes are all formulated for 6″ and no notes about what to do volume-wise if you want to make a 9″ layer cake. Arrg.

3) The first step in the recipe is to look at ANOTHER cake recipe in the book and bake that and freeze it. Then the next 18 steps are make simple syrup, lemon curd, lemon buttercream, slice your 6″ cakes into 4 layers….(head spinning now.)

4) Most of the recipes require you to start 2-4 days ahead. (What?!)

5) List of NECESSARY equipment according to the REQUIRED reading in the intro includes: heavy-duty stand mixer w paddle and whisk attachments (check), microwave (check), medium and fine mesh sieves (well, one of of 2 check), bain marie (I can makeshift one, check), double-boiler (nope but could try to makeshift one), several heatproof rubber spatulas (have only 2, check), a supply of disposable cardboard cake boards (WTF!), a spackle blade (WTF!!), and the absolutely essential revolving cake stand with a note from the author that no way, no how will your cake look like the picture unless you have one of these to cut your layers and frost/spackle.

O good God–forget it!

Corks & Cake

celebrating food and family with vintage flair

Author Archives: Rebecca Penovich

Three Favorite Reds

Wente Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

$11.99

Columbia Crest Horse Heaven Hills H3 Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

$12.75

Rodney Strong Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

$17.99 (it’s often on sale for $14.99)

Imperfect Gardener

Classic Pimento Cheese

Our Favorite Pimento Cheese

Ingredients

Method

Trader Joe’s Mini Croissants: C’est Bon!

Off to the Races! Preakness 2013

Corks & Cake Entertains: Lemon curd tartlets with blueberries and mint

Lemon Curd Tartlets with Blueberries and Mint

INGREDIENTS

Lemon Curd:

Garnish:

MAKE PASTRY SHELLS:

MAKE LEMON CURD:

ASSEMBLE TARTLETS:

Mamas Got A Brand New Blog

Classic Mint Julep, 1937

On Moms, Vintage Cookbooks, and Heirlooms

Warning: Cookbook Rant Ahead!

RANT ALERT: