Retro Food For Modern Times

28
Aug
2022

Twenty Years Ago Today – September 2002

categories: Cocktail, Drinks, Fish, Good Taste, Magazines, Vodka

Hello Friends!!! I’m going to be very honest here. I have a problem. I love a food magazine as much as I love a cookbook and have been collecting them for many years. Too many years it turns out as I am running out of space to keep them. They are here:

And here

And are now piling up on the floor here:

So, something needed to be done before the fussiest eater in the world calls the Hoarders team on me. And as with many problems, the solution came to me while I was on holiday and not really thinking about them. In order to help me decide which mags to keep and which to cull, I will cook out of them! And blog about it. One month at a time. In order to assess them, I am going to apply a straightforward formula – if I can build a decent three-ish course meal from any magazine, it will stay in my collection. If that is impossible, it will go into the donation box.

So shall we see what September 2002 via Good Taste Magazine had in store for me?

The Menu

It looks like this one might be a keeper! Even the selection on the menu above is only some of the recipes I would cook from this mag. But the proof of the magazine recipe is in the eating so let’s see how I went with cooking some of the items off said menu.

Pink Grapefruit & Mint Caipiroska

As much as I love a margarita, I am choosing the Caipiroska. I love pink grapefruit, I love mint and I also love the etymology of the work Caipiroska – it is basically a Brazilian Portuguese ellison between caipi- (shortened from caipirinha) and -roska meaning Russian as the spirit in a caipiroska is vodka.

These were delicious!!! Just the right amount of sugar syrup to balance out the grapefruit. And the mint made it all very fresh. If you cannot find palm sugar for the sugar syrup you could use brown sugar instead

Pink Grapefruit & Mint Caipiroska Recipe

Tandoori Fish Skewers

These were so tasty!

Now, you may be wondering where is the pea rice in the recipe? Well, I’m not that fond of a pea so I swapped that out for roti and a tomato, red onion and coriander salad. I also dropped in a little raita.

Tandoori Fish SkewersRecipe

The recipes for the other items on my menu can be found here and here

My Nigella Moment

What is a Nigella moment? You know how at the end of each episode of a Nigella tv show, you see her popping back to the fridge for just one more bite of something? Well, my Nigella moment will be one thing that didn’t make the menu but something I look forward to cooking (and eating) in the near future.

There were a few contenders in the mag:

However, the winner in this category is this corn and chive pancake with smoked salmon!

Random fun fact from September 2002

There was a little article on broad beans which contained the following bits of trivia:

Favism is severe condition brought on by eating broad beans in people who have a particular genetic enzyme deficiency. It can bring on fever, fatigue, jaundice, anaemia and abdominal and back pain!

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras banned his followers from eating broad beans. No one actually know why but theories include their flatulence inducing properties to the belief that they contained the souls of the dead. (Or maybe Pythagoras was someone with favism?)

Broad beans aka fava beans gained some pop culture cred with this statement by Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs:

I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip back in time to September 2002.

Have a great week!

14
Aug
2022

Rum and Butter Tartlets

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Baking, Canada, World Cooking

This recipe for Rum and Butter Tartlets is inspired by the recipe in the Canada chapter of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery (1972).

To Rum or Not To Rum?

The original recipe calls for Rum essence which I suppose makes these child-friendly. I remember hating rum balls, or anything else rum flavoured, as a child so I am not sure how friendly the essence version would be. We did not have any rum essence in the house so I soaked my currants in actual rum. I then added the currant soaking liquid into the pies. Did I say how delicious these were?

Rum and butter is a classic combination – seen in hot buttered rum and rum and steak!

But please make up your own mind on using real rum or rum essence. Just not red rum!

We are watching The Shining for my film club. I think it is a genius movie and one of Kubrick’s best ( Stephen King hated it with a passion) and I am keen to see what the other club members think of it.

Rum and Butter Tartlets – The Recipes

I changed the original recipe a LOT both because some things such as the amount of sugar were insane. Also…it’s Canada…why are they even using sugar when they could have had maple syrup which is a far superior sweetener IMHO!

Here is the original recipe from Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery

And here is my version:

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Rum and Butter Tartlets

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A delicious modern take on a vintage recipe.

Author: Taryn Nicole

Ingredients

Scale

70g currants
50g butter
60g cream
100g maple syrup
1 tbsp rum / rum essence
1 egg
12 sweet tart shells

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Instructions

Soak the currants in the rum for at least 1 hour.
Melt the butter. Add the cream, maple syrup, rum and currants.
Whisk in the egg.
Fill the tart shells and bake in a moderate oven (180C) until the filling was set and the pastry is golden. This was 40 minutes for me.

I have also found a very similar recipe from Adam Liaw

There may be a short hiatus in my posting schedule, we are about to go on a little holiday to the beautiful beach resort of Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. I am hoping for six days of sunshine, sand and great food!

Have a great week!

07
Aug
2022

Fish with with Mulligatawny Flavours

categories: Curry, Daily News, Fish, Modern Times, Sri Lanka

The Daily News Cookery Book is a stalwart of Sri Lankan Cooking, first published in 1929. My mum was given a copy as a wedding present which we still have and I have a copy of the 2013 edition which seems to be a paperback copy of the 1964 edition without the vintage ads but with all the quirkiness. This quirkiness oftentimes means it is not the easiest book to cook from. The methods of cooking can seem outdated, the measurements can be odd. So, I often use it more as an inspiration rather than something to follow exactly. This is how my dish of Fish with Mulligatawny Flavours came about. It was so tasty and delicious that I wanted to share it – and after all, it is truly revamping a retro dish for modern times!

So, I hear you ask, why not just make this as a mulligatawny? I had some really nice roti and I wanted to dip that bread into something thicker than a soup. A curry gravy seemed like the perfect thing. So, why not just call it a fish curry? I wanted to recognise the OG recipe which was for a fish mulligatawny. There are also some very non-traditional ingredients here – for instance, you would never see Thai Basil in a traditional Sri Lankan curry. However, I love its flavour, particularly with fish! Roti is also not a traditional accompaniment for Sri Lankan food – we do have a coconut roti but this is not the flaky type of bread I am referring to here.

Fish With Mulligatawny Flavours – The Recipes

And now here is the OG recipe. You can, of course, choose to make this version if you wish. Please let me know how it turns out if you do! If not keep reading for my version!

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Fish with with Mulligatawny Flavours

Print Recipe

A modern take on a vintage recipe for Fish Mulligatawny

Author: Taryn Nicole

Ingredients

Scale

4 red onions, 2 sliced, 2 chopped finely
1 sprig of curry leaves (about 20 leaves)
2 tbsp ghee or coconut oil, split
*450g-600g fish fillets (I used Rockling) but any white fish would work.
1 270ml can of coconut milk
200g vegetable stock
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp fenugreek powder
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp ginger, grated
2cm stick of cinnamon
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 10cm stick of celery cut in 4 pieces
150g of green beans, chopped (optional)
Salt

To Serve:

Lime cheeks
Thai basil or Coriander
Roti or Rice

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Instructions

Heat half the ghee or coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the sliced onions, half the curry leaves and a pinch of salt.
Drop the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are a deep brown. Take your time with this, it took me 20 minutes to get the onions as dark as I wanted them. Remove these from the pan and set aside.

Wipe the pan and add the rest of the coconut oil / ghee.
Once this is melted turn down the heat and add the chopped onions, the rest of the curry leaves, the coriander, cumin, turmeric, fenugreek, cinnamon, garlic, ginger and celery.
Cook stirring often until the spices are fragrant and the onions are softened.
Add the stock and coconut milk. Cook this mixture down until the gravy reaches the consistency of thickened cream.
Add the beans, if you are using them, to the pan.
Sprinkle your fish fillets with salt and add to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of your fish. When you turn the fish over, add the chopped tomatoes.
Check for taste – add more salt and or a squeeze of lime to balance out the flavours.
Remove the cinnamon stick and the pieces of celery.**

To Serve

Place a fillet of fish on each place, spoon over the gravy and top each piece of fish with the reserved onion and curry leaf mix.
Garnish with coriander, Thai basil and lime wedges
Serve with rice and/or flaky roti to soak up that lovely gravy.

Enjoy!

Notes

*I had 450g of fish which was three fillets however there was a lot of gravy so you could easily add another fillet in for this same quantity.

** I do not like the texture of cooked celery so I like to remove it before serving. If you are happy to eat it, chop the celery into smaller slices, as you would when making a soup and leave it in.

This is a lovely gently spiced delicate dish – the perfect response to anyone who thinks that all Sri Lankan food is blow your head off hot!

I also found myself eating the leftover gravy with more of that roti the following day and it was also delicious!

I hope you have enjoyed my updating of this old recipe!

Have a great week!

01
Aug
2022

Death on The Nile – Roasted Potatoes and Artichokes

categories: Artichokes, Dining With The Dame, Poirot, Potato, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Hello crime readers and food lovers! I’m going to kick this one off on a very personal note. Middle Eastern Food is probably my favourite style and flavour of food. I love the largesse of the many plates of food, all designed for sharing that is so much a part of the cooking of this region. So I was hugely excited to read Death on The Nile. Surely we would get some hummus, flatbread, falafel, slow-cooked lamb, maybe some baklava to finish….I was so up for this. And was bitterly disappointed. There is not much food at all mentioned in Death on The Nile. Hence we are eating Potatoes and Artichokes. The potatoes and artichokes are not a bad dish, in fact they were really tasty! Just not what I was expecting!

Death on The Nile – The Plot

Linnet Doyle, a beautiful heiress, is honeymooning in Egypt with her husband Simon. The two should be in the realms of newly wedded bliss however their trip has been spoiled by Linnet’s former friend and Simon’s former fiancee Jacqueline de Bellefort who is stalking the couple. In an effort to evade Jackie, the couple embark on a trip down the Nile.

On a side trip to Abu Simbel, a large rock falls off a cliff, just missing Linnet. Accident? It could not have been Jackie, she was on the boat. However, a few days later, a drunken Jackie shoots Simon Doyle in the leg. That same night, Linnet is shot dead. Again, it could not have been Jackie, after the incident with Simon, she spends the entire night both heavily sedated and under the watchful eye of one of the other passengers.

So, who killed Linnet Doyle? Good thing Hercule Poirot is also on board the Karnak to solve the crime!

We have:

A love triangle that leads to murder
Stolen pearls and a missing stole
A dodgy maid
Shady business dealings
Kleptomania
Alcoholism
A rebellious young man with communistic leanings
And Colonel Race, who we last saw in Cards on The Table joins Poirot on the Karnak

Death on the Nile – The Covers

There is not a lot of variety in the covers for Death on The Nile. They are largely images of the Karnak or Egypt. Poirot features in a few and of course, we have a few “beautiful girl in peril” pulp-type covers.

But where I ask you is the crazy? I have come to expect a few totally off-the-wall covers and was unable to anything really oddball. I also could not find any non-English covers which also seemed odd given that this is such a well-known and loved Christie novel.

The Recipe – Roasted Potatoes and Artichokes

I found this recipe for Roasted Potatoes and Artichokes on Real Simple. It was nice but I thought I could do a bit better. So there is my revamped version. You can of course keep it (real) simple and use the OG recipe

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Roast Potatoes and Artichokes

Print Recipe

A simple and flavourful side dished based on a recipe from Real Simple and inspired by Death on The Nile!

Author: Taryn Nicole
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Category: Side

Ingredients

Scale

500g chat or new potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil plus one more for dressing the cooked potatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
4 garlic cloves
I 275g jar of marinated artichokes
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Black pepper, freshly ground
5–6 sprigs of parsley, mint, chives or a combination of them

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Instructions

Par boil the new potatoes in salted water until they are just tender. This will depend on the size of your potatoes but it took me 12 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and cut them in half.
Heat your oven to 180C.
In a bowl big enough to hold the potatoes mix together the olive oil, salt and paprika. Toss the potatoes through and then place them cut side down on a baking tray.
Put them in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
Drain your artichokes and pat dry.
After twenty minutes and your artichokes and the garlic cloves to the baking tray with the potatoes. Cook for 15 minutes
Chop your herbs and add to the extra olive oil with the black pepper and lemon juice.
Remove the roasted garlic from the oven. Squash down cloves so the roasted garlic puree comes out and add this to your oil and lemon mix. Do this one by one and taste as you go so you can get the dressing to your desired level of garlicky goodness.
Once you are happy with the dressing remove the potatoes and artichokes from the oven. Place into a bowl and stir through the lemon / garlic / herb dressing.
Enjoy while reading Death on The Nile!

Notes

Adding some onion wedges with the artichokes would also work well here.

If you wanted to sprinkle a little feta cheese over the top of the finished dish would be delicious!

Any leftover garlic can be kept in the fridge for a few days and added to anything that needs garlic.

Dr Bessner’s bulk moved up and down appreciatively. “Ho, ho, ho, it was very funny that! Doyle, he tells me about it. It was a telegram all about vegetables – potatoes, artichokes, leeks – Ach! Pardon?”

With a stifled exclamation Race had sat up in his chair.

“My God,” he said. “So that’s it! Richetti!”

He looked round on three uncomprehending faces.

“A new code – it was used in the South African rebellion. Potatoes mean machine guns, artichokes are high explosives – and so on.”

Agatha Christie – Death on The Nile

If you would like to read of another instance where Artichokes were compared to weapons, click here.

Links to The Christieverse

Christie has a short story also called Death on The Nile. We will come to that one in due course.
Miss Van Schuyler says to Poirot that she has heard of him from a mutual acquaintance, Rufus Van Aldin. He was a character in The Mystery of The Blue Train
The death of Mr Shaitana featured in Cards on The Table is mentioned. It is said that it occurred a year earlier.
Poirot mentions a case in which a red kimono was found in his luggage. This refers to Murder on the Orient Express
Poirot also speaks of attending an archaeological site which references Murder in Mesopotamia

The Film

Of course, we were not going to talk about Death on the Nile without mentioning the Kenneth Branagh film of the same which was released this year. We saw it in the cinema and, although the reviews have been universally bad, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was not a fan of Kenneth Branagh’s Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express; this has not changed. But I thought the film looked beautiful. The scenery was spectacular and really made me want to go to Egypt to see those sights for myself. I also loved its over-the-top opulence. And I thought Gal Gadot and Emma Mackey were both perfectly cast.

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Death on The Nile

Lots of booze here and not much food!

To keep things neat, next up we are going to read the other Death on the Nile, the one contained in Parker Pyne Investigates. Will I get falafel and hummus this time round? I’m both doubtful and hopeful!

24
Jul
2022

Taste Testing Reuben Sandwiches

categories: Sandwiches, United States of America, World Cooking

A little while ago, we were talking about sandwiches and one of my readers said that her favourite sandwich was a Reuben. I had to confess that I had never eaten one. I was not even 100% sure what the ingredients for a Reuben were! However, for it to be someone’s favourite, and a discerning person (after all, they are a reader of this fine blog) at that, I was sure that it would be a pretty good sandwich. So, I decided to make one!

The History of The Reuben

First things first though. Why is a Reuben called a Reuben? There are a few versions of this story but the one we are going with is that the Reuben was invented in the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha Nebraska when a gentleman called Reuben Kulakofsky asked for a sandwich with corned beef and sauerkraut during one of his weekly poker games. The cook added some Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing and encased the lot in between some slices of rye bread. The sandwich became popular locally when it was added to the lunch menu at the Blackstone. It became popular nationally after winning the National Sandwich Idea Contest in 1956.

The Rick Reuben – 8/10

My first attempt at this classic American sandwich was a recipe from the classic but not at all American Rick Stein. Why? I was reading his wonderful book Rick Stein at Home when I got the idea for this challenge. Rick suggests using salt beef in his recipe. I used pastrami in mine. I’m not sure I have ever seen salt beef in my local deli.

This was delicious. I LOVED this sandwich! BUT it was lacking something. Every picture I had seen of a Reuben had a bright orange dressing and the Rick version of the dressing consisted mostly of white ingredients It did have some tabasco but I would have had to put in a whole bottle of tabasco to achieve the vivid orange I have seen in pictures. And that is a step too far even for a chilli lover like me! As a result, I felt I was missing the true Reuben experience on this one.

The Toasted Reuben – 8.5/10

My second attempt at a Reuben was a toasted version which came from the May 2022 issue of the Australian Women’s Weekly Cooking Magazine which I bought around the same time as I was reading the Rick Stein book. Coincidence that both contained a recipe for a Reuben? I think not.

This one used pastrami and the addition of Sriracha into the sauce gave me the orange colour I was craving. I also liked the splash of Worcestershire sauce in the dressing on this one. And it was toasted. so the cheese got all melty and delicious.

Now, the recipe below was intended to be made in a pie-maker. I do not have one of these so I made it as an ordinary sandwich.

The Bought Reuben – 9.5/10

So far, I was pretty happy with both Rebens that I had made. However, never having eaten one I had no point of comparison. How would my homemade version stack up against a Reuben made by a professional? So, one lunchtime I popped into a cafe in the CBD that specialises in American-style sandwiches and bought one of their Reubens. The Bowery to Williamsburg Reuben won on the slow-cooked brisket pastrami. That was sensational. Also even though I bought posh sauerkraut instead of the reg supermarket stuff, the B2W sauerkraut had a funk that was both delicious and disturbing. The cafe is a good 20 minutes walk from my office and as I was short on time I ordered my Reuben to go. As I was walking back I began to smell something not entirely pleasant wafting about me. I soon realised the odour was from the very funky sauerkraut and, thankfully not from me! This was delicious!!!! Bright orange dressing, swiss cheese and a pickle on top completed the deal but that brisket pastrami? Heavenly! BTW, The first photo in this post is the B2W Reuben.

My Reubens tasted pretty similar to the one from Bowery to Williamsburg. The difference really was in the quality of their meat. It was warm, it was smoky and tender in the middle and a little bit crunchy on the ends. It was sooo good.

You may be wondering why I only rated it a 9.5 when it was so good? Well, it cost a very hefty $17 dollars which is a LOT, even if t was huge! I had half of it for lunch that day and took the rest home for dinner! I’m both glad and somewhat relieved that Bowery to Willamsburg is quite the trek for me. I could easily become addicted to their Reuben which would not be great for my bank balance. Having said that, I might pop in there this week because writing about their Reuben is making me really want one!

Have a wonderful week everyone!