Many years ago, my mother-in-law’s niece made a trip to England. She brought two gifts back for my mother-in-law — a Bone China tea cup and saucer and a cookbook. I was the lucky daughter-in-law who got both of her English treasures after she died.
I pulled “Cook in Your Castle” off the shelf this week. After paging through the section on desserts, I finally decided on 10 Downing Street Frozen Orange Mousse, a recipe from Margaret Thatcher, who was Prime Minister at the time the book of recipes was compiled.
There were a couple of things about the recipe that worried me a bit. First, I noticed it called for gelatin. I don’t use gelatin very often. The recipe didn’t explain how to dissolve it before adding it to the mixing bowl.
I wound up putting 2 tablespoons of cool water into a custard cup. I sprinkled the packet of gelatin over the water and mixed it with a fork. The gelatin immediately absorbed the water and became an ugly, clumpy mass. I left it sit for 5 minutes and, in the meantime, heated some water in a small saucepan on the stove. Just before the water came to a boil, I removed the saucepan from the heat and set the custard cup holding the clumpy gelatin in the water that came halfway up the sides of the bowl. As I stirred the gelatin mixture, it began to dissolve and become liquid. Smooth and lump-less liquid. The mousse turned out perfectly light and lovely.
Ahh souffles. I love them fluffy and I love them dense. I love them sweet and I love them savory. Airy chocolate ones and oozing cheesy ones...But before this turns into a souffle love letter, I have to say, I don't actually love making souffles. Too much work. Tricky ingredients. Specialized equipment. All sorts of things can throw them off, the egg whites not being whipped properly, the oven temperature not quite right, overmixing, I could go on and on. But they are so tasty, every once in a while it's worth doing anyway. Because nothing quite gives the sense of satisfaction to a cook, as a successful souffle. Making a souffle is magic.
Cioppino is said to have originated among fishermen who made their dinners out of the fish and shellfish they couldn't sell in the morning. Although it has evolved into a pricey item on upscale menus, at heart cioppino is comfort food.
My love of stuffed mushrooms started when I was very young thanks to my Aunt Mary.
It wasn't until I moved to the West Coast, that I realized how many
people had been deprived of one of my favorite childhood treats - Whoopie
Pies. A New England favorite, Whoopie Pies were always part
of bake sales, school lunches, and family gatherings. And, they were
quite often the confection upon which many mother's were judged. The
variations in the pie (which is actually cake) and the sweetness and
texture of the filling can differ greatly with each recipe. My Aunt
Mary would often lament about the pies turning out too flat, or the
filling too runny. Our next door neighbor, Mrs. Ekberg, made a
memorable Whoopie Pie, with a completely unique cooked
cream filling, a recipe that she never shared, but I later discovered
the method while researching frostings for Red Velvet Cake. At home, my
sister has become the family champion of Whoopie Pies, and has a blue
ribbon from the county fair to prove it.