scott hutcheson

The Earth's Crust

Originally published in warm and flaky newspapers on July 10, 2008

Between the farmers markets, the weekly delivery from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, and the generosity of green-thumbed friends and neighbors, my family is getting our fill of fresh, locally-grown produce. When lettuce was bursting out of the ground, we ate lots and lots of salad. On a night when we had a seemingly miss-matched selection of vegetables on hand, a stir fry made frugal and delicious use of them all.

Along with our vegetables, we’re enjoying the colorful parade of fruits and berries making their way to our kitchen. So far, we’ve had some juicy strawberries from Southern Indiana, lovely cherries grown by an Amish family, and plump blueberries from up north. We’re looking forward to melons, peaches, and a wide variety of apples that will be available through fall. As much as I love fresh fruits in their unadulterated goodness - I’m a fanatic about baking them in a pie.

I often get asked about my favorite foods, pie included. When it comes to my favorite pie, I’m fickle. Like the old Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young song I “love the one I’m with.” So depending on when you ask me, I might offer up a different pie, usually the one I ate most recently ate. The one, when I close my eyes, I can still image on my palate. This week it was a piece (okay two pieces) of blueberry pie…aahhh blueberry pie.

Regardless of what fruit goes into a pie, the foundation is a great crust and there are as many variations on making pie crust as there are varieties of pie. Most pie makers have their own tried-and-true methods. I’ve experimented with lots of recipes and techniques and thought I had it down pat. This summer, however, I added a little trick that has made a huge difference in my pie making - fraisage.

Fraisage is a fancy-pants French term that sounds much more high falutin’ then it is. It’s basically smearing the butter into the flour as you work it, so that you end up with lots of buttery layers in your dough, resulting in a very flakey pie crust. Here is my recipe for pie dough including instructions on how to fraisage.

As much as I wish a piece of pie a day could keep the doctor away, I realize that pie is, as the new nutritionally-minded Cookie Monster calls, a “sometimes food.” As I’m toping my high-fiber cereal with fresh fruit in the morning, I’m day dreaming about a piece of warm pie ala mode

Flaky Pie Crust (for a two-crust pie)

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter
• 4-6 tablespoons cold water

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut the butter into small pieces and drop one piece at a time into the flour. Use your hands to coat the butter pieces with flour. Next, use your hands and fingers to squeeze together the flour mixture and pieces of butter until all is well incorporated, the consistency of large gravel. Next add the cold water one tablespoon at a time, mixing with hands. Keep adding water until the mixture holds together when a handful is squeezed. You may not need all the water.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and use your hands to shape it into a mound. Start at the farthest end of the mound and use heel of your hand to smear small amount of dough against the work surface, pushing firmly down and away from you, to create separate pile of dough. Continue process until all dough has been worked. Gather dough back into a mound and repeat the smearing process. The dough will not have to be smeared as much as first time. Form dough into four-inch circle, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until cold, 30 minutes to one hour. When ready to make your pie, divide the dough in half and roll out to form your two crusts.

Hot Buttered Rum

Originally published in rich and creamy newspapers on December 13, 2007

I’m not so sure if Christmas has an “official” beverage but there are a few that are strongly associated with this time of year. Eggnog, for instance, is typically not part of our non-holiday beverage consumption. When you go to Wrigley to catch a game, there is no vender, yelling, “Eggnog, get your eggnog here - cool and frothy eggnog.” The month of December is about the only time anyone is drinking the stuff.

The best anyone can tell, eggnog comes from medieval Europe and started out being called egg-and-grog (and later shortened to eggnog). It seems to be a seasonal drink just about everywhere but Australia where it is available year round. I wonder if you can get a cup at a rugby match?

Wassail is another of our holiday-only beverage. This one comes from northern Europe and is quite popular in Germanic countries. The term is a contraction of an Old North toast - ves heill. Today’s wassail is much like a mulled cider but it started off as something much more like a mulled beer. Speaking of mulled alcohol, mulled wine is yet another holiday drink.

In some parts of the south, Hot Dr. Pepper is an much-loved holiday tradition. It is basically heated up Dr. Pepper with a slice of lemon. This particular celebratory drink is part of my own history. When I was three my mother and sister and I married into a family of eight. My new step-family drank hot Dr. Pepper on Christmas Eve. I love my step-family and many of their traditions became my own, but not this one. As far as I’m concerned, this stuff tastes like cough syrup.

There’s even a fictional holiday beverage with which many might be familiar. In the Christmas classic, It’s A Wonderful Life, Clarence the angel is dispatched to help out George Bailey. When he wanders into a bar with George, he tells the bartender he would like a Flaming Rum Punch. As best I can tell, there is no such drink but it has become part of our holiday lexicon.

My favorite holiday drink also features a bit of rum. Hot Buttered Rum is a creamy, spicy, warm delight that is perfect for the a holiday party or to sip by the tree. It can be made with out the rum and is nearly as delicious. It requires a bit of pre-work but the mixture can be kept in the freezer throughout the holiday season.

Regardless of which beverage you choose to enjoy this holiday season, or even if you stick with a year-round standby like coffee, holiday food and drink is best enjoyed in the company of friends and family. If you would like to try my favorite, Hot Buttered Rum, here is the recipe.

Hot Buttered Rum

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
• Rum
• Boiling Water

Using a hand mixer, cream together the butter, sugars, and spices then blend in the ice cream. Pack into a covered, freezer-safe container and store in freezer. When ready to serve, put a generous spoonful of the butter-ice cream mixture into a mug. Add 2 ounces of rum and boiling water to fill, stir, and serve immediately. You may want to adjust the amount of butter-ice cream mixture according to the size of the mug used. This will make enough of the mix for about 25 servings.

One Man's Hamburger Is Another Mom's Steak

Originally published in sweet and tangy newspapers on November 29, 2007

Coming from a large family, eating out was a rare treat. To make even the occasional restaurant meal financially feasible, we had to wait until a few of the oldest had left the nest. Once the numbers were cut in half, restaurant meals become a once- or twice-a-year occurrence. As more of my older siblings left home, the frequency with which we dined out increased significantly.

As the youngest of the bunch, with five years separating me and my closest-in-age sister, there was a half decade when it was just my parents and me. During this period, we ate out quite a bit, mostly Sunday night after church when we would go for inexpensive burgers or pizza with a few other families from church.  Meals at fancy restaurants remained a rarity - Mother’s Day at my mom’s favorite home-style chicken restaurant and the occasional Saturday late-afternoon drive for dinner at one of the notable restaurants in nearby towns.

Steak dinners were the holy grail of eating out - a sizzling hunk of beef, a giant baked potato loaded with butter, sour cream, bacon bits, and chives, a crisp dinner salad with thick bleu cheese dressing all washed down with iced tea. This was the steak dinner of my youth. For my parents this remains the pinnacle of dining out. When we visit each other and there is reason to celebrate, my dad will inevitably suggest with enthusiasm, “let’s get s steak dinner!”
   
For at least the last 40 or so years, when we go out for a steak dinner my mother almost always orders the "chopped steak." My dad tries to persuade her to get the filet mignon but she says something like, "Oh, I like a good chopped steak just as much as a filet." Now I understand that she orders the chopped steak because it is the least expensive entree on the menu.

The other day I was in a beef mood so I stopped by the store to check out the offering in the meat department. I had every intent to purchase a couple of ribeyes or maybe filets. As I wandered the meat counter I saw a two-pack of perfectly formed chopped steaks. I paused and thought this would certainly be what my mom would pick out if she had been with me. My quick math showed I could pay $3.00 for chopped steak, $15 for two ribeyes, or $23 for two filets. I said to myself, "You know I like a good chopped steak just as well as a filet." I bought the less expensive chopped steak. Evidently I'm becoming my mother.

I rarely order a chopped steak when eating out but I do occasionally go for this bargain choice for home-cooked dinners. Even this frugal dinner can be jazzed up a bit with a simple pan sauce. Resist the temptation to grab the A-1 or Heinz 57 and try this sauce made with reduced port wine and blue cheese. It is sweet, rich, and serves a great accompaniment to the chopped steak.

Port Reduction with Bleu Cheese

• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 tablespoon finely minced shallot
• 1/2 cup port wine
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 1 ounce blue cheese, crumbled

In a small sauté pan heat the butter to medium-high. Add the shallot  and sauté until the shallot just begins to brown. Stir in the port, lower to simmer, and let the wine reduce by half. Add the beef stock and reduce it by half. Just before serving, increase heat to medium-high and add the Gorgonzola. Whisk until smooth. Serve on top of the chopped steak or in a small ramekin for dipping. This recipe makes enough for about two servings of beef. Double, triple, etc. as needed.

Holiday Green Beans: Hold the Mushroom Soup and French Fried Onions

The standard Green Bean Casserole is a holiday favorite for lots of families. You know the one I'm talking about with all the goopy cream of mushroom soup topped with the fried onions out of a can. I've eaten this more times than I care to remember. Here is an alternative green bean recipe. It is just as easy, maybe even easier and it's delicious.

I was taught this recipe while taking an international cooking class. This was a co-op class taught by seven international graduate students at Purdue. Each week we would meet at a different person's house, cook a dinner from their homeland, eat, drink wine, and have a great time. This recipe was prepared by the Turkish instructor.

Zeytin Yagli Taze Fasulye (Green Beans in Olive Oil)

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 lb frozen green beans
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup of water
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-high saute pan, saute the onions in the two tablespoons of olive oil. Saute until they are translucent. In a slow cooker, add all the other ingredients as well as the onions. Stir to combine. Put on lid and let cook until beans are tender - 4-5 hours. Stir occasionally and add more water if it all evaporates. This is one of those fix-it-and-forget it recipes. Use the slow cooker and free up your oven and stove for other stuff.   

Pumpkin Flatbread

Originally published in melt-in-your-mouth newspapers on October 11, 2007

With the holiday season just around the corner, many of us will have homes filled with family and friends - parties, open houses, and social visits occupying much of our calendars during the cooler months. We start this season with Halloween parties and Thanksgiving gatherings and nearly every weekend in December can be filled with holiday parties and we conclude the season with New Years festivities and Super Bowl shindigs.

With all that entertaining, many of us find ourselves cooking more and looking for foods that can hold up in buffet lines and have staying power during those come-and-go open houses. We all have our go-to favorites like the crock pot full of meatballs, the cheese log, and the vegetable tray.

Low-maintenance dishes are a must, unless you want an excuse to stay in the kitchen and away from Uncle Ned. There are lots of good fix-it-and-forget-it choices and I’ve got a new one in my repertoire for this holiday season - Pumpkin Flatbread with Caramelized Onions, Gorgonzola, and Crispy Sage. I realize this is one of those pretentious recipe titles that sounds more like a grocery list than an actual food, but I can’t come up with a better name.

Regardless of what you want to call it, this is good stuff. The caramelized onions carry plenty of sweetness and the gorgonzola adds a distinctive earthiness. The crispy sage helps bring it all together.

This is great for a buffet or open house because it is a good at room temperature as it is right out of the hot oven. Cut it into small pieces and put it on a platter and you forget about it completely. When in non-party mode, pair it with a nice-sized salad for a surprisingly hearty meal.

Pumpkin Flatbread with Caramelized Onions, Gorgonzola, and Crispy Sage

Flatbread

• 3/4 cup warm water (about 115 degrees)
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Toppings

• 4 large onions, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 8 ounces gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• 24 fresh sage leaves, washed

Fill a small bowl with the 3/4 cup warm water and stir in the yeast. Let this stand for about five minutes or until the yeast dissolves. Mix the two flours, salt, and sugar in a food processor, pulsing a few times to combine. Add the water and yeast, along with the olive oil and processes until it forms into a ball.

Move this to a floured work surface and knead until smooth, adding more all purpose flour, if needed, until the dough is smooth and not sticky. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm dry place to rise until doubled in volume, about an hour.

Punch down  and the dough is ready to use immediately or placed in a plastic zipper bag (quart-size is perfect) and stored in the refrigerator overnight.

When ready to make the flatbread preheat oven to 475 degrees. Heat a large skillet to medium heat and add the olive oil. Saute the onions, adding salt and pepper to taste, until caramelized. About 10 minutes.

Remove the dough from the fridge, if refrigerated, to get the chill off (handles better when not too cold) and divide the dough in half for two flatbreads. Use a floured surface, a rolling, pin, and your hands to get the flatbread very thin. Work on getting it into a 13-1/2 by 8-1/2 rectangle. Do this with both portions of dough. Transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Top each flatbread with half the onions and gorgonzola. Place in oven for 10 minutes. Remove, top with sage leaves, return to oven for an additional five minutes. Cut into pieces about 3” by 3.” As an appetizer, two flatbreads will serve about 12.

The 'ber Months

Originally published in warm and gooey newspapers on September 13, 2007

“You love Air Supply?, I love Air Supply!” Ok, so it wasn’t really the truth, but most guys, in search of romance, will establish common ground even if when it means bending the truth a little. Fortunately I did not have to live a life built on that particular white lie. The relationship didn’t last but I do have a musical-memory black hole in 1981 - eight months of nothing but “The One that You Love” and “Sweet Dreams.”

After several failed relationships, I decided to be myself from day-one of a new romance. So, when a pretty young co-ed and I spent hours getting acquainted by talking in the student union and even more hours in late-night phone conversations from our respective dorms, I told her early on that I liked Monty Python and the Three Stooges and she was fine with it. When I discovered she loved classical piano I didn’t sign up for lessons. When she revealed that her favorite time of year was the fall, I was being completely honest when I agreed. Common ground.

We took to calling these the ‘ber months -  SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER, and DecemBER. Ber months became an important time in our relationship. We had our first date in a ‘ber month. We got engaged in a ‘ber month, We even got married in a ‘ber month. Lot’s more reasons to love the ‘ber months.

We love it all - cool mornings, drives to look at the turning leaves, and the trifecta of fourth-quarter holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I know lots of people get all bent out of shape when they see Frosty and Santa showing up in stores earlier and earlier each year. Frankly, as long as I don’t see them in August, I’m fine with it. Anytime after Labor Day is okay with me. We’ve been known to unpack the Christmas music on September 1st and start watching holiday movie classics long before the temperatures drop.      

Another great part of this time of year is the change we see in the foods we eat and cook -  the season’s first pot of chili, a belly-warming stew, soul-soothing soups, apple everything, and pumpkin anything. Sure I miss the garden-fresh tomatoes and beans but a platter of roasted root vegetables is a nearly-spiritual experience.

One of the many projects I would like to undertake is to build an old-fashioned root cellar. My grandmother had one and when we visited her at her rural Arkansas home, I was always amazed when, in the middle of winter, she would venture to the cellar and returned with potatoes, carrots, and turnips nested in her upturned apron. At the time, it seemed to me that she possessed some mystical powers. We were mere mortals, having to exchange money for food at the local supermarket. My grandmother defied the seasons and commanded the elements, conjuring food at will.

I probably won’t get that cellar built anytime soon so as we settle into the ‘ber months I’ll be enjoying the last few weekends of the farmers market and eventually settle for the grocery store produce. Roasted root vegetables will be on my dinner menu several times this fall. Here is a recipe that makes a great side dish for beef, pork, or chicken. It also takes advantage of rosemary which will grow well into the ‘ber months.

Roasted Root Vegetables with Rosemary

• 8 carrots, peeled and cut
• 2 russet potatoes, washed and cut
• 2 turnips, peeled, cut
• 2 parsnips, peeled, trimmed, and cut
• 2 medium yellow onions, trimmed, peeled and cut
• 1 celery root, trimmed and cut
• 1 whole head garlic, separated into cloves, peeled
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Note: cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Remove rosemary needles from the sprig and add needles to the bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Use your hands to coat them evenly. 

Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread into a single layer. Place baking sheet in oven and roast until they are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Stir and move around the vegetables a couple of times while baking.

Get to Know Joe

Originally published in sweet and creamy newspapers on August 6, 2007

At our house we sometimes like to make homemade versions of store-bought favorites. We do this for a couple of reasons. First, we want our kids to know that there are often alternatives to the processed foods that sometimes fill our grocery cart and pantry shelves. Second, it is good feeling to know exactly what is in the food we’re eating.

Graham crackers were the very first thing we made that fell into the normally-store-bought category. We used whole wheat flour and honey for the sweetener. They were delicious and my oldest son frequently asks to  make them again. Do we always make our own graham crackers now? No, we usually don’t take the time. Store-bought graham crackers still occasionally find their way to our house. When we do, however, it is a lots of fun and we’re reminded of that fun each time we reach for one during the days that follow.

Pop Tarts was the next food we tried. Since I made them, we christened these homemade toaster pastries as “Pops Tarts.” These too were a big hit. Even the two year old found it fascinating that we had made our own. They didn’t seem to care a bit that there was no box Disney/Pixar characters on it.

This last weekend, we added to our store-bought knock-off repertoire, with Sloppy Joe sauce. It is our bumper crop of tomatoes that prompted this creation. From our garden and nearby farm stands we procured tomatoes, green and red peppers, and onions. After a quick trip to the grocery store for a few other items, we were set to go.

If you pick up a can of one of the popular brands of sloppy joe mix you’ll learn that apparently Joe enjoys gum because there are three different kinds in his version - Guar, Xanthan, and Locust Bean. There are several other ingredients with names that sound more like a laboratory supply order than a grocery list.

Our homemade sauce tasted even better than the store-bought sauce - sweet and tangy with the deep taste of fresh tomatoes. The recipe below makes enough for five meals. We used freezer bags to freeze four servings for later use. This sauce could also be canned just as you would any other tomato sauce.

If you freeze the sauce, it will thaw overnight in the refrigerator or you can submerg the sealed bag in lukewarm water for a quick thaw. Brown hamburger or ground turkey, add the sauce, let simmer, and you are in business.

We buy ground beef from local producers so a significant amount of our sloppy joe meal was grown or produced from people we know, people who live nearby. I’ll be honest with you,  cooking from scratch and using local foods isn’t always easy. It takes time and sometimes will cost a little more than foods bought from the local grocery store. The real payoff  for us is the satisfaction we get from knowing where much of our food comes from and in helping support local farm families.

Sloppy Joe Sauce

• 5 large yellow onions, diced
• 4 green bell peppers, diced
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 25 large tomatoes, skin and seeds removed, diced
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 3 1/2 cups cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups brown sugar

In a large stock pot heat the olive oil to high heat. Add the onions, peppers, and celery and sauté until tender. Soon after you begin sautéing add the salt, pepper, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, mustard, and nutmeg. sautéing with the spices, makes their flavor more intense. Next add the tomatoes, vinegar, and sugar. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for two hours. Let cool and run the sauce through a food processor, pulsing to desired texture. Can or freeze. This will make about five pints. One pint is just right for one pound of ground beef.

Serendipitous Steak

I have no idea what it is REALLY like to be my wife, but I think I may have gotten a glimpse today at the grocery store. My wife can go shopping with no specific purchase in mind, but serendipitously come across an incredible find. This thrills her to no end. Fortunately for our family's budget, Lisa does most of her shopping at thrift stores. In our area, the Unique Thrift Store at 3890 Lafayette Road in Indianapolis is her most frequent destination. She will go on a Saturday with nothing specific in mind, but come home with the most incredible buys - designer shoes for herself, great school or church clothes for the boys, and often something for me. The best part - she usually doesn't spend more than a couple of bucks per item.

A great find makes her positively giddy. Although I appreciate her hard work at stretching the family budget and finding first-class items from other people's throw-aways, this is not the way I enjoy spending my Saturdays.

The equivalent experience for me is to cruise through the grocery story, looking for nothing in particular, and finding something unexpected. I actually do this a lot. When I travel, if I'm early for a meeting, I sometimes check out the local grocery store. I keep a cooler in the car, just in case I find something perishable.

Other times it is familiar territory where I stumble upon the unexpected, like last night at my local grocery store. With Lisa and the boys out of town for the weekend, I was on my own for dinner. This usually means something for the grill. A quick trip to the meat counter and there it was - a flat iron steak. My grocery store never has this cut of meat, but they did yesterday and it was priced at just a couple of bucks per pound. This is what gets my endorphins surging, a serendipitous steak purchase.

When I got home, I got everything prepared. First, things first - an adult beverage (gin and tonic). Next, I prepped the steak with a good coating of my all-purpose BBQ rub. I don't use this on other steaks like ribeye or filet but I love it on a flat iron. I wrapped it in foil to set for about an hour. Next, I moved outdoors to got the grill area ready.

For this cut, I like to start with indirect heat and use water-soaked wood chips (hickory and mesquite) for some smoke. My grill has a side fire box for smoking. I use this when I'm smoking something large like a turkey or pork shoulder but for small jobs, I just build the fire on the right end (opposite of the smoke stack) of the grill so I can use indirect heat and then move the steak above the heat to finish it off. This is the technique I used last night. I smoked the steak for about an hour and then moved it over the heat for about five minutes per side.

When you are ready to serve, you slice a flat iron against the grain. Some salad greens, the steak, and I was set for the night. This cut is also great in a salad or to use for a steak sandwich. So, look for a flat iron. You can't beat the flavor and the price.

Pop's Tarts

Originally published in the Lebanon Reporter on April 19, 2007

My kids beg for Pop Tarts. If our cart gets within two isles of the breakfast foods section their pupils dilate, their arms reach out, and they begin their attempts at parental manipulation. It’s funny how I have to remind them several times a day to say “please” and “thank you” yet when lobbying for something they really want, they turn into young masters of manners.

When “please” doesn’t work, they resort to the movie-tie in tactic, trying to convince me that pastries with a Disney Pixar character on the box are somehow even more delicious than the run-of-the-mill tart. Sometimes I give in, most of the time I do not.

I consider myself an enlightened parent when it comes to the helping my kids make food choices. We’ve taken a cue from the newly improved Cookie Monster who learned a couple of years ago that cookies are a “sometimes” food while carrot sticks are an “anytime food.” We don’t use this exact tactic at our house, but things like Pop Tarts and Happy Meals are the exception rather than the rule. These are treats to be enjoyed on occasion.

I have other food-aware friends for whom all foods of the junk and fast varieties are completely off limits for their kids. In know other families that subsist almost entirely on processed and convenience foods. These foods are fast and seemingly cheap, so it is tempting to rely on them to feed ourselves and our kids. We’re somewhere in the middle of this continuum, trying to make the best processed food choices (some are better than others) and getting creative with our made-from-scratch meals.

Every now and then, I attempt to make a homemade version of a convenience-food favorite. Last weekend when my wife and kids went out of town, I set out to experiment with a homemade toaster pastry. They turned out pretty well and when my kids returned, they where honestly as happy that I made these than they would have been had I bought a case at the supermarket.

Next time I make them, I’ll do it while they are home and enlist their help. My boys love to help in the kitchen and there is no better way to instill your own food-osophy then when you are engaged in making what you eat.

From a calorie perspective, these tarts are no better, I’m sure, than the grocery store version. They are still “sometimes foods” but I controll the list of ingredients - sugar, not high fructose corn syrup, real butter, a bit of whole wheat flour mixed in with the all-purpose. Will we ever again buy Pop Tarts in the store? Probably. We now, however, have another choice and when time and energy allows, we’ll make these again.

Pop’s Tarts

Pastry:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup spreadable fruit (I used strawberry)
• 1 egg yolk, beaten with two tablespoons milk

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk

Optional:

• Sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor combine the butter and sugar then add the eggs, one at a time. Sift together flours and baking powder and add to the butter and sugar, pulsing until a soft dough ball forms. Chill for one hour. Turn the dough onto a large floured surface and roll to the thickness of a pie crust, about an eighth of an inch. Use a knife to cut out rectangles that are about 6” x 5”, roughly the size of two Pop Tarts side by side. Spread about a tablespoon of fruit over 1/2 of each rectangle, staying way from the edges. Fold dough over the preserves, push down at the edges, and trim up the edges with your knife. Place tarts on a greased cookie sheet and brush w/the egg yolk milk mixture. Bake for about 25 minutes or until just beginning to brown.

Combine the powdered sugar and milk to make a thin frosting, Use a pastry brush to apply to each pastry. While the frosting is wet, you may also want to top with sprinkles. This will make about 16 tarts. Wrap in foil and store in refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to four months. When ready to eat, toast like you would the store-bought kind. Frozen tarts may need a little extra time.

Apples & Barley with Irish Cream

Originally published in the Lebanon Reporter on March 15, 2007

Faux Irish Pubs, that’s what I call them. These are the places found in suburban strip malls and they have names like Shandy O’Grady’s with menus that offer goofy selections like Lucky Chicken Fingers with a Pot o’ Gold Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce.

I’ve never been a big fan of these places. It seems like Irish pubs should either be in Ireland or in cities with century-old Irish traditions - cities like Boston and Chicago’s Southside.  Whenever I do happen to find myself at one of these knock-offs, I feel like I’m in Disney’s Epcot and I fully expect to see an animatronic leprechaun around each corner. In my more youthful, childless days I spent a few Saint Patrick’s Days in these places. Despite the Hollywood set-like surroundings, I had a good time…I think. Some of those memories are a bit fuzzy.

Lately, March 17 has been spent at home with the family - no green beer, no Irish drinking songs. We do, however, usually try to make some Irish-inspired food and talk a little about Irish traditions. When it comes to Irish foods, we seem to get stuck in the same rut each time St. Patrick’s Day rolls around - corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew. As delicious as these are, this year I was looking for something different.

As a food writer, I take note of food-related factoids and curiosities that others might whisk aside as they set their sites on the core of a story or the moral of the tale. Such was the case a few years ago when I was watching some docudrama about an Irish family enduring all manner of hardship. During one piece of narration the phrase “barley and apples” was uttered and it planted itself firmly in my brain. Barley and apples sounded nearly poetic – simple, straightforward, a no-nonsense dessert.

I had forgotten about barley and apples for months until I began to think about this column late last week. This is my third Saint Patrick’s Day writing for this paper so I had already exhausted my two-item Irish cooking repertoire. Just as I began to panic, wondering what new Irish delicacy I would have to master well enough to confidently include it in this column, I remembered the apples and barley.

I did a bit of research and found remarkable consistency in the many recipes I discovered but couldn’t seem to locate where it was first mentioned. Irish history revealed these two crops – barley and apples - were grown by lots of Irish farmers. I’m sure this was a situation in which people were making do with what they had on hand.

The recipe I developed departs significantly from the ones I found. I guess that makes it a Faux Irish Recipe. This is a substantial dish, heavy and flavorful. Without the whipped cream it would even be great for breakfast. Give it a try. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Barley and Apples with Irish Cream

• 1/2 cup uncooked pearled barley
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1-1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream

Prepare the barley according to directions. This can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator. In a sauté pan on medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon, and cook until the apples begin to soften. Stir in the cooked barley and lemon juice, cover, and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until all moisture is absorbed.

This can be served warm or at room temperature. When ready to serve, whip the cream, incorporating the sugar and Bailey’s at the end. Serve Apples and Barley in a bowl and top with the whipped cream. A mint leaf makes a nice garnish. This makes four to five servings.