Turkey in the Arista Style, with Tuscan Bread Stuffing

For this holiday season, I decided that I would try something different.  Christmas Eve dinner is a well established tradition in my family, with the antipasta plate and wedding soup, followed by pasta with meatballs and sausage. That tradition has produced many great memories for me going back to my childhood. 

Traditions are good, in fact, they are great.  But, at least for me, I felt that I could be missing something if I didn't take a chance and try something different. There was only one question: what to make?

Recently, my beautiful Angel's parents traveled to Italy, spending time in Lazio, Tuscany and Liguria.  I too spent time in Tuscany, which provided me with the inspiration for the dinner.  I spent a lot of time researching main courses, but I wanted to make something that everyone could enjoy.  I ultimately decided to do an Arista, which is a dish that I previously made. Arista is a roast pork dish that is quintessential Tuscan cuisine. The problem with an Arista is that it is roast pork, and, my beautiful Angel does not eat pork.  My Angel does eat turkey, so I decided to apply the ingredients and cooking techniques of an Arista to a turkey.

To be sure, there are not very many turkeys gobbling around Tuscany. (Although, interestingly, there is a highly challenged study that says the ancient Etruscans, who called the area of Tuscany their home around 900 B.C. came from Anatolia, which is currently known as Turkey.) But, the use of a rub of rosemary, garlic, fennel seed and clove pretty much made this turkey smell like a Tuscan pork roast. 

Additional Tuscan flavor and character was added to the bird with the stuffing.  I searched far and wide  on the Internet for a "Tuscan stuffing."  I came across one recipe for a Tuscan Bread Stuffing. This recipe incorporated many classic Tuscan ingredients, such as rosemary, sage and chestnuts.  The use of pancetta is also key, as its fat provides flavor at every level and stage of preparation.  

Overall, this is perhaps the best turkey that I have ever made; and, according, to my beautiful Angel, the stuffing is the best that she has ever had.  This recipe is now the Savage Boleks' standard for a stuffed turkey dinner.  This may be the beginning of a new tradition ... for now.

TURKEY IN THE ARISTA STYLE

WITH TUSCAN BREAD STUFFING

Turkey recipe adapted from Reinhardt Hess & Sabine Salzer, 

Regional Italian Cuisine, pp. 148-49

Tuscan Bread Stuffing Recipe adapted from Tasting Table

Serves many

Ingredients (for the turkey):

1 whole turkey (about 12 pounds)

4 lemons, zested

8 to 10 sprigs of rosemary

10 cloves of garlic

4 teaspoons of fennel seeds

4 pinches of ground cloves

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

1 stick of unsalted butter

Ingredients (for the stuffing):

1 1/2 pounds ciabatta bread, cut into 1 inch cubes

8 ounces pancetta, small dice

1 package turkey liver and gizzards (from 1 large turkey)

2 medium carrots, peeled and small dice

2 celery stalks, small dice

1 large yellow onion, small dice

2 sticks unsalted butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 cups turkey stock + 2 cups of turkey stock

1 cup roasted chestnuts, roughly chopped

1/4 cup minced sage

1/4 cup minced rosemary

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Prepare the turkey.  Rinse the turkey well.  Pat the turkey dry.  Separate the skin from the turkey so that you can apply the rub directly onto the meat. Combine the lemon zest, rosemary, fennel seeds, ground cloves, garlic, salt and black pepper into a small bowl.  Mix well.  Add enough olive oil to create a paste.  Continue to mix.  Once the paste has the desired consistency, apply it to all parts of the turkey, including under the skin.  Reserve some of the rub for basting. Allow the turkey to rest for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

2.  Prepare the stuffing.  Preheat the oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lay out the bread on a baking sheet and bake until dry, about 25 to 30 minutes.  Transfer the bread to a huge bowl.  While the bread is baking, heat the pancetta in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring often until the pancetta is crispy and the fat has rendered, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to the bowl with the bread.  Drain the fat into a separate bowl.  Add back 1 to 2 tablespoons of the fat to the pan and add the liver and gizzards.  Cook the ingredients, turning as needed until golden and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes for the liver and 8 to 10 minutes for the gizzard.  Transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop, then add to the stuffing bowl.

3.  Continue to prepare the stuffing.  Add a little more of the pancetta fat back to the pan.  Add the carrots, celery and onion to the pan.  Sweat the ingredients until softened, 6 to 8 minutes.  Transfer the vegetables to the stuffing bowl.   Add the butter to the pan and cook until it begins to brown and has a nutty aroma.  6 to 8 minutes.  Turn off the heat and stir in the cream to warm through.  Add the butter mixture to the stuffing bowl with the remaining ingredients (namely, the turkey stock).  Using your hands, mix the stuffing to incorporate.  Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. 

4.  Prepare to roast the turkey.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Stuff the turkey's cavities with the stuffing, and place the remaining stuffing in a baking dish.  Roast the turkey for about 3 hours or until the turkey's internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Baste the turkey approximately every hour with melted butter that has some of the rub mixed into it. Fahrenheit. Once the turkey reaches that temperature, remove the turkey from the oven and cover it.  Place the baking dish full of stuffing in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes to 45 minutes, or until the stuffing begins to crisp on the surface.  Remove the stuffing and set on the stove to cool.

5.  Prepare the au jus.  Drain the liquid from the roasting pan into a separator.  Pour the juices into a pot, along with 2 cups of the turkey stock. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper if necessary.  Bring to a boil under medium high heat and reduce to a simmer.  Allow to simmer until you are ready to serve. 

6.  Finish the dish.  Spoon the stuffing into a serving bowl.  Slice the turkey and place on a serving dish.  Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Chef Bolek's Chesapeake Oyster Stew

Several months ago, I got to attend the Oysterfest, which is the annual oyster-centric festival held every fall in St. Michaels, Maryland. One of the key events of every Oysterfest is the oyster stew competition.  Last year, there were six competitors vying for the best oyster stew. I got to be one of the hundreds or thousands of judges. 

After having sampled six different oyster chowders, each with its own style and character, I decided that I would create my own Chesapeake Oyster Stew.  In my Oysterfest post, I wrote about the fundamental characteristics of an oyster stew.  The point was that there are two general styles of oyster stew.  The first is a cream colored soup, with a thinner consistency, both of which are features due to the use of half-and-half.  The other style is more like a chowder, with a whiter color and a much thicker consistency, both of which are due to the use of heavy cream.  Regardless of whether you use half-and-half or heavy cream, the oyster stew should have minced vegetables (celery, shallots, etc.), potatoes, and oysters.  As for the key ingredient, the oysters can be chopped or whole (a consideration that often depends upon the size of the oysters).

For my Chef Bolek's Chesapeake Oyster Stew, I wanted to go in my own direction.  This direction has three primary components.  First, the liquid. I decided to use whole milk, which would give a consistency that would be neither too light or too heavy. It would be just right.  Second, an element of smoke. Many oyster stews have a smoky element to their flavor, which is from the bacon used in the first step. One of the stews that I tried at the Oysterfest had a very smoky character to it, and, that was one of my favorite stews.  However, for my Oyster Stew, I don't want the smoke element to be too overpowering.  I would have to be very careful with respect to my choice of bacon.  I decided on a thick-cut, apple wood smoked bacon.  Apple wood has a milder smoke flavor than other woods, such as mesquite. The apple wood bacon provided a subtle smokey flavor to the stew.  Third, I decided to use whole oysters.  I strongly believe that the whole oysters provides a better presentation, with the oval bivalves "swimming" in the broth, enticing the eyes of the person about to dive into the stew. 

For my first ever oyster stew, I have to say that this was a great success.  This is definitely going to be on my short list of recipes to make, with the only limitation being the cost of the oysters (good ones, especially the local ones, can be a bit pricey, but it definitely worth the extra cost).  A stew like this is a good way to introduce oysters to someone who has never had them before or who is unsure of trying them. 

CHEF BOLEK'S CHESAPEAKE OYSTER STEW

A Chef Bolek Original

Serves several

Ingredients:

1 pint oysters, liqueur strained and reserved

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup onions, diced
1 cup potatoes, diced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1/2  cup of milk
1/2 cup of water
2 ounces smoked bacon
1 teaspoon white pepper
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste

Directions:
1.  Fry the bacon.  Heat a pan on high heat.  Add the bacon and fry until the bacon is cooked.  Remove the bacon, dice or break into small pieces, and set aside.  Drain the pan of all bacon fat and set aside.  Return 1 tablespoon of bacon fat back to the pan.

2.  Prepare the onions and potatoes.  Add another tablespoon of bacon fat in the pan and heat on medium to high heat.  Add the onions and potatoes and saute until soft.

3.  Cook the oysters.  Add the oysters and cook gently until the edges start to curl. Remove the oysters and set aside.  Strain the oyster liqueur.

4.  Prepare the stew.  Add the oyster liqueur to a pot, along with the milk and cream.  Bring the heat of the liquid to almost a simmer.  Do not boil.  Add the onions and potatoes and heat them.  Add the oysters and white pepper.  Stir gently.  Continue to cook the stew for about five minutes, or until the oysters begin to bcome firm along the edges.  Remove the pot from the heat and serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Masaharu Morimoto's Lobster Masala

There is a quote to which I can relate.  "I'm not a fighter, but in my mind I'm fighting every day.  What's new? What am I doing? I'm fighting myself. My soul is samurai.  My roots are not samurai, but my soul is."  The person who made this statement is Masaharu Morimoto.  The chef who fought culinary battles as the Iron Chef Japanese on the well-known television show, and who now is a well known chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. 

The reason why the quote resonates with me is that I too fight every day.  As a lawyer, I spend a lot of mental energy fighting on behalf of my clients, asking a lot of questions and, sometimes, even fighting with myself.  (That latter fight is the daily battle that propels me to be the best lawyer that I can be.)  Cooking is for me is a way to find solace from that fighting, but still challenge myself to do things that may seem, at least at first glance, beyond my capabilities.  

One such challenge involves Morimoto's cookbook, Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking.  When I bought the book, I read through the recipes and, to be quite frank, I felt quite intimidated.  I thought to myself that these recipes were too complicated for me.  The book sat on my shelf for quite a long time.  The challenge went unanswered ... until this past New Year's Eve. 

Morimoto Special Spice

I always make a special New Year's Eve dinner for my beautiful Angel to celebrate the past year and to look forward to the new one.  I decided to undertake the challenge of making a recipe from Morimoto's cookbook.  The dish I chose was lobster masala, which Morimoto refers to as one of his signature dishes.  The recipe reminds me of seafood dishes that I have made with crab, even like classic Chesapeake Blue Crab, with whole crabs covered in a spice mixture (such as Old Bay).  The spice mixture used in this dish -- Morimoto Special Spice -- is a wonderful combination of chile powder, paprika, cumin, coriander, ginger, garam masala and cayenne pepper.  

The difference comes in the preparation.  The lobster is not steamed, as are the crabs.  Instead, it is sauteed.  Morimoto notes that, by sauteeing the lobster, the cook is able to control the ingredient and intensify the flavor.  I actually liked this technique, which is far easier to do with lobster than other live shellfish like crabs.

Finally, I like how the dish comes together.  The vegetable accompaniment helps to provide more color and sustenance with the lobster.   Morimoto notes that the vegetables can be changed with what is in season.  This is helpful because I could not find any golden beets.  So I used some yellow squash, so that there variety of colors remained in the dish.  Moreover, the lemon cream sauce is a simple sauce to make that provides relief to those who may find the seasoning to be a little too spicy.  While I thought the piquancy of the seasoning was just fine, the lemon cream sauce still was a refreshing touch when eating the lobster.

MASAHARU MORIMOTO'S LOBSTER MASALA

Recipe from Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking

Serves 4

Ingredients:

8 baby beets, preferably golden

12 baby carrots

12 asparagus stalks

`1/2 cup broccoflower or broccoli florets

4 live Maine lobsters (1 1/2 pounds each)

6 tablespoons olive oil, as needed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons Morimoto Special Spice (see recipe below)

Lemon Cream (see recipe below)

Ingredients (for the Morimoto Special Spice):

1 tablespoon chile powder

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon ground garam masala

3/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Ingredients (for the Lemon Cream):

1 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons sugar

Juice of one lemon

Pinch of salt

Directions:

1.  Prepare the special spice.  Combine all of the ingredients for the special spice in a covered container in a cool dark place for up to 3 months.

2.  Prepare the beets.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Wrap the beets in foil and roast for 45 minutes or until tender.  When they are cool enough to handle, rub off the skins and half or quarter the beets. 

3.  Prepare the carrots.  Peel the carrots and trim to leave about 1/2 inch of the green stems.  Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add the carrots and cook for about 4 minutes, until just tender.  Drain and rinse under cold running running water.

4.  Prepare the asparagus.  Trim the asparagus to include the tips and about 4 inches of the stalks.  Use a swivel blade vegetable peeler to trim off the tough skin from the thicker part of the stems.  In another saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the asparagus and the broccoflower until just tender, about 3 minutes.

5.  Prepare the lobsters. Split the lobsters lengthwise in half down the belly.  Using a teaspoon, remove the dark "sand sack" from the inside the head, this is the only part of the lobster that is not edible.  Separate the claws with the knuckles attached and crack the claws with a heavy knife/  If not cooking immediately, wrap and refrigerate for no more than 2 hours.  The sooner you cook the lobsters the better. 

6.   Cook the lobsters.  Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a very large skillet over moderately high heat.  Add 2 lobsters to the skillet, meat side down, arranging the claws against the surface of the skillet.  (If the lobsters don't fit, use 2 skillets or cook them one at a time.)  Saute until the tail meat is golden in color, 2 to 3 minutes.  Turn the lobsters over and season the exposed meat of the lobster generously with 2 tablespoons of the Morimoto Special Spice.  Add additional oil and cover the skillet.  Cook until the lobster meat is opaque when pieced and the shells are bright red.  About 3 minutes.  Remove to a platter or large plate.  The claws will take 2 to 3 minutes longer.  Tent the lobsters with foil to keep warm.  Repeat with 2 more tablespoons of oil the remaining 2 lobsters, and 2 more tablespoons of the Morimoto Special Spice

7.  Prepare the cream sauce.  In a chilled bowl, using cold beaters, whip the ream with the sugar until soft peaks form.  Add the lemon juice and salt and whip until stiff.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.

8.  Finish the cook.  Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the same skillet.  Add the cooked beets, carrots, asparagus and broccoflowers.  Toss over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes to warm through.  Arrange the vegetables around the lobsters and serve with the Lemon Cream Sauce on the side.

ENJOY!

A (Non-Traditional) New England Clam Chowder

I am back.  It has been several months since I have posted anything on this blog.  I have been cooking, although not as much as I would like or with the experimentation that fuels this blog.  The problem is that I have not been writing blog posts, because things have been very busy around here.

Still, the recipes mull around in the back of my mind.  One such recipe is this New England Clam Chowder.  I made this chowder for the Savage Boleks Super Bowl Party, as the dish representing New England.   

Indeed, clam chowder is a quintessential dish in New England.  The history of the dish can be traced back to at least the 1700s, but it rose to prominence in the region in the early part of the 19th century.  The chowder gained a wider audience when it was described by Herman Melville in the classic, Moby Dick.  Melville described clam chowder served by Trys Pot, a chowder house in Nantucket, Massachusetts.  Melville wrote in some rather tasty terms:

However, a warm savory steam from the kitchen served to belie the apparently cheerless prospect before us. But when that smoking chowder came in, the mystery was delightfully explained.  Oh, sweet friends! hearken to me.  It was made of small juicy clams, scarcely bigger than hazel nuts, mixed with pounded ship biscuit and salted pork cut up into little flakes; the whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt. 

Fast forward one hundred and sixty six years and you find myself getting ready to make a big pot of New England Clam Chowder for my family and friends.  While I have made clam chowder in the past, this dish represents my best effort to date. And, after much thought, I think there are two reasons for that.

First, I decided to alter the recipe in one major way.  The original recipe, which I got from Bon Appetit called for cherrystone clams, which would be chopped into "bite size pieces."  I bought littleneck clams, which are smaller than cherrystone clams (you get about 7-10 littleneck clams per pound, while you get 6 to 9 cherrystone clams per pound).  Given they were smaller, I decided not to chop the clams.  This left small, whole clams in the chowder.  Something that I think would be reminiscent of, albeit slightly larger than, the "hazel nut" sized clams described by Herman Melville.

Second, I decided to use hickory smoked bacon, rather than just plain old bacon. This choice goes against convention.  Traditional clam chowders are made with salt pork, which is not smoked.  Most restaurants substitute un-smoked bacon.  The rationale behind the use of un-smoked bacon is that one wants to enjoy the brininess of the clams, which could get lost with smoked bacon.  Given I decided to keep the clams whole, rather than chop them into pieces, I decided to take a risk and use smoked bacon.  I think the risk paid off, because it added another layer of flavor to the chowder.

In the end, I think my family and friends enjoyed this chowder.  I certainly liked this chowder a lot.  So much that the thought of writing this blog post persevered even through the most busiest of times.  There are other posts like this one, although they will have to wait for another day.

NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves many

Ingredients:

10 pounds of littleneck clams, scrubbed

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

8 ounces bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 celery stalks, minced

1 large onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

6 cups clam juice (or reserved broth from steaming clams)

2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups heavy cream

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

Flat leaf parsley, chopped

Oyster crackers

Directions:

1.  Steam the clams.  Bring clams and 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.  Cook until clams just open, 8 to 10 minutes (discard any that do not open).  using a large slotted spoon, transfer clams to a large rimmed baking sheet; set broth aside.  Let clams cool slightly, pull meat from shells and discard the shells.  

2.  Make the base.  Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat.  Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon begins to brown, about 8 minutes.  Add celery, onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add reserved broth (or 6 cups of clam juice), potatoes, thyme and bay leaf.  Bring chowder base to a simmer.  Cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.  

3.  Add cornstarch slurry.  Stir cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl to form a slurry.  Stir slurry into chowder base.  Return to a boil to thicken.

4.  Finish the dish.  Remove base from heat.  Discard bay leaf.  Stir in reserve clams and cream  Season with salt (if needed, because the brininess of clams varies) and pepper.  Divide chowder among bowls and garnish with the parsley and serve with oyster crackers.

ENJOY!

Mushroom Bolognese

When one thinks of a Bolognese, it is a sauce made with onions, celery, tomatoes and cheese, with meat.  Beef, pork or lamb.  One never thinks of a vegetarian Bolognese and a vegan Bolognese gives me the shivers.  A true Bolognese has been on my short list of dishes to make.  However, because Clare does not eat beef, pork or lamb, that dish has to wait for a night when I am only cooking for myself.  

In the meantime, I decided that I would make a Bolognese recipe that Clare would eat.  I found a recipe by Sarah Grueneberg, a Top Chef contestant, which provided a good starting point.  The one thing that caught my attention was the use of a variety of ingredients at the outset ... not just onions, carrots and celery (which are usually found in Bolognese sauces), but also parsnips and turnips.   Grueneberg's recipe also calls for the use of dried porcini mushrooms and king oyster mushrooms.  The latter mushrooms are chopped with the vegetable mixture, while the former provide the "meat" in the dish.

I decided to alter the dish in a few ways.  First, there was the mushrooms.  Rather than use porcini and king oyster mushrooms, I used a combination of portobello, oyster and shiitake mushrooms.  I decided to use half with the vegetable mixture and keep half sliced to serve with the pasta.  The substitution of these mushrooms for the porcini created another issue.  This led to the second substitution.  Grueneberg relied upon the water from rehydrating the porcini for the sauce.  I needed something in place of that liquid.  This was not really a problem at all.  I used about 1 cup of vegetable stock in place of the porcini water.

The third substitution involves the pasta.  Grueneberg uses spaghetti in her recipe.  When it comes to a Bolognese, I think that a flat pasta is better, because it shows off all of the elements in the sauce.   Fettuccine would work well with this recipe; however, if you can find pappardelle, that is the pasta of choice.  Its wide flat noodles provide the most space for the Bolognese sauce to cling to the pasta. 

Finally, the recipe calls for the use of 1/2 cup of wine.  Given that I was making a Bolognese sauce, a wine from Emilia-Romagna -- the region where Bologna is located -- would have been the ideal choice.  I could not put my hands on a non-sparking wine from the region, such as a Sangiovese di Romagna.  So, I went with a Sangiovese wine that is a lot easier to find ... a Chianti Classico from Tuscany.

MUSHROOM BOLOGNESE

Adapted from a recipe by Sarah Grueneberg 

and available at Food & Wine
and some other recipes

Ingredients:
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped
1 celery rib, coarsely chopped
1 medium parsnip, chopped
1/2 small turnip, chopped
3 ounces of shiitake mushrooms, sliced
4 ounces of portobello mushrooms, sliced
3 ounces of oyster mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine (preferably Sangiovese)
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon minced rosemary
1 1/2 pounds of pappardelle (or fettuccine)
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Prepare the vegetable base.  Pulse the onion, carrot, celery, parsnip, turnip and one-half of the mushrooms in a food processor until finely chopped  In a large pot, heat the oil.  Add the vegetables, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 20 minutes. 

2. Make the Bolognese sauce.  Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until fragrant, about 5 to 10 minutes.  Add the wine and red pepper, and cook until the wine evaporates.  Add the vegetable stock, cover partially and cook over low heat, stirring until thick, about another 25 minutes.  Add the cream, rosemary and 1/4 cup of grated cheese and simmer for 5 minutes. 

3. Cook the pasta.  Heat a pot with salted water until it boils.  Add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.  (Generally, dried pasta takes several minutes while fresh pasta only takes about 1 to 2 minutes.)

4.  Finish the dish.  Add the warm pasta, butter and 1 cup of water to the sauce and toss, stirring until the pasta is well coated.  Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Strawberries in Madeira and Cream

"Arcadian Dainties." According to David DeWitt, who wrote Founding Foodies, that is the name given by Thomas Jefferson to a recipe of Strawberries in Madeira and Cream.  DeWitt cites a source who noted that, in the late eighteenth century, cultivated strawberries were one of the fruits cultivated at the gardens of Monticello.

Strawberries were not the only thing that "abounded" at Monticello.  If the fields may have been full of strawberries, the wine cellar was stocked with Madeira, a fortified wine produced in the Madeira Islands of Portugal.  Traditionally, the wine was made with Sercial, Verdelho, Bual and Malvasia grapes, although other grapes were introduced into the production over time.  During the late eighteenth century, Madeira had become the wine of the new United States. It is reported that Madeira was used to toast the Declaration of Independence, and that many of the "Founding Fathers," such as George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and, of course, Thomas Jefferson, were enthusiasts of the wine.

However, it is a "Founding Mother" who is entitled to the credit for this recipe.  According to DeWitt, in his book Founding Foodies, Abigail Adams wrote in 1798: [a]fter walking in the garden we returned and found the table spread with 6 or 8 quarts of large ... strawberry, gathered from the vines with a proportional quantity of cream, wine, and sugar.  This quote is the recipe for Strawberries in Madeira and Cream, which served as the dessert for our wine club dinner. 

STRAWBERRIES IN MADEIRA & CREAM

Recipe from Dave DeWitt, Founding Foodies at p. 205

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
2 cups Madeira
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped

Directions:

1.  Prepare the strawberries.  In a bowl, combine the strawberries with the Maderia, and mix well.  Marinate for two hours.  Drain the strawberries and place in 4 bowls.  

2.  Finish the dish.  Sprinkle sugar lightly over the strawberries, and top with a dollow of whipped cream.

ENJOY!

Classic Clam Chowder

According to David DeWitt, in his book The Founding Foodies (which is a very good book), seafood chowders were a "signature dish" of the colonial period in the New England region.  Chowders were usually made with fish, such as flounder or pollock, but cooks also used shellfish such as clams and lobsters.  The basic recipe called for rendering fat from salt pork, the creation of a "roux" that was thickened with flour, ship biscuits or saltine crackers, and the addition of milk.  Once the base was completed, then the seafood, whether fish or shell fish, would be added. 

This recipe comes from The Founding Foodies and it was a recipe that we made for our Wine Club dinner, A Colonial Dinner in New England.  According to DeWitt, the recipe is based upon one written by Mrs. N.K. M. Lee.  The recipe was published in 1842 and, in describing the recipe, Mrs. Lee wrote "[t]his Receipt is according to the most approved method, practiced by fishing parties in Boston harbor."

DeWitt notes that a couple of substitutions from the original recipes.  First, those recipes traditionally used salt pork, although that may be hard for some people to find.  DeWitt substituted bacon, which has become more common in modern versions of clam chowder.  Second, the recipe calls for the use of steamer clams.  DeWitt suggests that larger, Quahog clams could be used for a more robust flavor.  Cherrystone clams (younger Quahogs) could also be used.  If you do not have access to clams or do not want to shuck them, then DeWitt suggests using 2 cups of canned chopped clams.  For this recipe, I bought Cherrystone clams, but they were rather small.  So I doubled the number of clams (4 dozen).

CLASSIC CLAM CHOWDER

Recipe from Dave DeWitt, Founding Foodies at p. 199-200

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1/4 pound bacon, chopped fine

1 cup minced onions

4 cups diced potatoes

3 cups water

1/2 cup crushed plain crackers

2 dozen steamer clams, removed from their shells and chopped, with their juice

2 cups heavy cream

3 cloves (optional)

Salt, to taste

Ground black pepper, to taste

Paprika, for garnish

Directions:

1.  Render the bacon and saute the onions.  In a stewpot, saute the bacon until the first fat is rendered, then add the onions and fry until they are golden brown.

2.  Cook the potatoes.   Add the water and the potatoes, and simmer until potatoes are cooked but still firm.  

3.  Continue to cook the chowder.  Add the crackers and clams, salt and pepper, and cloves (if you are using them), and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. 

4.  Heat the cream.  In a separate pan, heat the cream but do not allow it to boil. 

5.  Finish the dish.  Add the heated cream to the chowder, stir will, and simmer, uncovered for another 10 minutes.  Serve in individual bowls sprinkled with a little paprika for color.  

In the end, the clam chowder recipe was very good and I think everyone enjoyed the dish.  I will definitely make this recipe again, although I may try some other variants of clam chowder first. 

ENJOY!