1970s " Retro" - Baked Asparagus

‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ #25   1970s  "Retro" recipes…

                                      Baked Asparagus

      Baked Asparagus…

Don’t scoff at the thought of those 1970s recipes…

I still have my favourites from “The Mother’s” cookery books!

The  thought  of mouthwatering  “Baked Asparagus” (yes! Using TINNED   asparagus!!!!! ), is  a-b-s-l-u-t-e-l-y  delumptous!...

Or Salmon blintzes   baked in cream……and fishcakes made with tinned tuna (Dolphin-friendly ),  o-or ‘Crepes Suzette’ -   these dishes..the antithesis of modern “Fusion” cuisine! ..then again , I suppose I could  translate  “ 1970s - Salmon blintzes ”  into modern  “FUSION  CUISINE”   lingo,  for any smart menu card to read as follows :

“  Individually- created  pockets-of-crepes  made  from  the  purest flour and  twice-distilled  mountain-stream  water,  gently crafted  in  a  moderate  pan , then  filled  with  a  brine-cured  salmon  mayo….”  

…and so, my  ‘1950 s’  alter-ego, the sweet , all-encompassing housewife, ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ ,  sometimes can be quite persuasive, when she is nostalgically  yearning for a 1970s  epicurean delight, and tells me that I should!  make those delectable  tinned-Salmon blintzes   !

…….we’ll keep that aside, for another time!

  … But, my intention, truly,  is rather  to treat  you  to  another delicious hors d’ oeuvre … 

- A real ‘Show-Stopper’!.....

- A “talking-point”  at any party…..

- A “May - I – have – a - second – helping - please”   delectable dish!.....

- Yes!  Truly one of my many ‘collectables’…a  1970s  Classic!

                 BAKED  ASPARAGUS !...

Mmmmmm....BAKED ASPARAGUS

INGREDIENTS :

Ingredients for Baked Asparagus

425g  can (large) of white asparagus (either offcuts , or whole )

50g (about 2 tablespoons) butter plus 1 extra tablespoon to sauté the chopped onion

½ cup flour

1 cup milk

½ cup drained juice from asparagus tin (or add more milk if not enough juice in the can)

½ cup finely chopped onion

⅓ to ½ cup grated cheddar cheese

1 cup crushed Cornflakes / Post Toasties

                    (or substitute fresh breadcrumbs)

Pinch of salt to taste

¼ teaspoon ground paprika for garnish

METHOD :

1) Reserve the asparagus liquid from the tin.

2) Chop the onion finely and on medium heat, sauté for about 3 minutes in a tablespoon of butter till glassy   - do not allow to brown!

3) Place drained asparagus cuts into a square buttered ovenproof dish. Add the sautéed chopped onion - (if using whole asparagus, cut them into bite-size pieces)

4) Make a white sauce in a heavy-based saucepan as follows:

-  On medium heat, gently melt the remaining butter.

-  Stir in the flour and keep on heat for another minute.

-  Add the drained asparagus liquid, and stir with wooden spoon, or a hand whisk till smooth.

-  Add the milk, and gently bring white sauce to the boil to thicken, then remove from heat.

-  Taste and season with a little salt.

5) Pour white sauce over the asparagus and onion in the ovenproof dish

6) Sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese over sauce in dish

7) Sprinkle crushed cornflakes on top

8) Garnish / sprinkle with the ground paprika and another pinch of salt

9) Bake in preheated oven, at 180*C for 20 minutes.

SPRINKLE WITH CRUSHED CORNFLAKES AND PAPRIKA, BEFORE BAKING

To serve :

Serve warm, as a  pre-dinner ‘starter’ ….enough as a generous starter-serving each,  for 8 people .

BAKED ASPARAGUS - SERVED WARM

*****Easy too, to make 6 individual portions  …just divide the contents equally into 6 ramekins and bake them at 180*C  for 15 minutes.

INDIVIDUAL PORTION BAKED ASPARAGUS IN A RAMEKIN

I truly hope you’ll  enjoy  this “Retro” recipe!... there’ll be more to come !

‘till next time…

     ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’

A Mother's REACTION ! ....sharing kidneys....

‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ #24   “A Mother’s REACTION…. shaRing kidneys”

  “A MOTHER’s  REACTION… ShaRiNG  KiDNeyS ” 

 

  My Jewish  genes are 100 percent…even though the lifestyle and non-beliefs are most definitely Secular !     Sometimes  those old  traditions  creep though…especially when it comes to cuisine  and  flavours , and  adding that EXTRA spoon of ‘whatever’ , onto my dinner guest’s  plate when dishing portions too!

My culinary quests…my cooking varieties….are vast and variable and  do not adhere to Jewish law/lore…

A mountain of my kichel

So one Friday evening, with  The Mother  as guest at our table, while enjoying the ‘far-better-than-homemade’ suburb-of-Sea Point JewishDeli delights of gefilte fish, sweet chopped herring, chopped liver decorated with chopped boiled egg – the hard-boiled yellow yolk separate from the hard-boiled egg white – just for aesthetic purpose,  chrain (horseradish) too – a choice ‘nog al’  of white(strong) , and red (with grated beetroot), and of course, My  homemade kichel, I spoke of ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ ,  and the progress of readership and the amazingly far reaches she had achieved: from Russia to Malaysia …besides the conventional U.K to New Zealand, Oz to USA…Germany to France….and L-a-t-v-i-a too!

 The Mother   is a strict Critic of my ramblings and my sometimes too convoluted style, and when I showed her the ‘Blog’ about  a  PORK CHOPS    recipe…she absolutely fLinCHeD !

 …The colour drained from those cheeks of stylish blush , the eyes: -  a-twitter, for a split second were as round as saucers,  a loud inhaled GASP  heard!…and  Her  sheer reaction, ‘My M’‘, sitting across the dinner table from  Her  , did show was quite comical ! ...unintended, but so!......and thus  Her  hiccups began!

And so?....should  I write of sheep’s brains, …or tripe,……or how to prepare ram’s penis?  - a recipe from traditional Jewish Yemenite cuisine -  No! …after all, who knows if any of that   is KOSHER?!!  …not to even think of the appetite appeal!!!

…And come-to-think-of-it…. A leg of lamb is not supposedly kosher, as it is part of the ‘hind-quarter’… so?.. , is that ram’s  penis  comf’tably  kosherly “kosher” ?   ..huh !

So, I’ll revert to my childhood, and the occasional “OLD FASHIONED”  treat  that, until a few years back, I’d totally forgotten about…a delectable dish rarely proffered in this modern era.  Yes, whom of ‘ You ‘  have sampled the flavour of lamb KIDNEYS-ON-TOAST!

And so! ...when ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’   is on a quest to purchase 7 lamb kidneys at BloodyPack’nPiyClaremont supermarket ,  and discovers a choice of none, corners  ButcherBoy,  and won’t leave his counter until 7 plump kidneys are miraculously found…welllll, cut out from the yet-to-be-portioned meat. They know to clean and trim them, as a service, too.

                              

And so to recipes…..   

 LAMBS’ KIDNEYS  – ON TOAST  

A feast of lambs' kidneys-on-toast

To some of ‘ You ‘, this might seem a little out of your comfort zone – but go-on, worth a try!    7 kidneys are enough as a meal for 2, plus leftovers…or generous too, for 3 servings.

 Ingredients:

7 kidneys

1 cup milk (for pre-soaking)

50g ( about ¼ cup BUTTER)

4 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon Bisto (optional) …this is brown gravy powder..you could substitute some beef stock powder

½ teaspoon white pepper

½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

2 tablespoons brandy

 ½ cup boiling water

Further salt and white pepper to taste – if necessary!

Slices of toast for serving – ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’   traditionally prefers white toast for this dish.

 METHOD:

1) As ‘a-shortcut-slightly-spoilt-and-uncomplicated’   cook,   I make sure first that my “mise en place” (pronounced “ miz ɑ̃ plas “ ), is done!  - it’s a French phrase - literally means:  "putting in place" -  ….I suppose it’s the  ‘pre-preparation’

~ Remember  to  prepare  your  “mise en place”… think  ahead of  what  dishes,  utensils and ingredients  you’ll  need for your  ‘prep’ , as you won’t  want  to  be  handling cupboard  doors and clean  dishes  when  your  hands  are  busy  with  kidneys!~

2)  With a thin non-serrated flat-blade sharp kitchen knife, slice each kidney, length-wise, in half.  I use a “paring” knife.

3)  Remove the white fat with same knife.

4)  Slice kidneys into small squares, about 1 ½ cm  to 2cm square

5)  In a glass bowl, soak these cut kidneys in the milk for at least 30 minutes – (this removes much of the “ever-so-slightly-unpleasant” smell of raw kidneys! )

*** If I remember, I do so the day before and leave soaking in a GLASS bowl, overnight in the fridge –covered with clingfilm.

6)  Drain the kidneys

7)  In a separate bowl, mix the flour, Bisto/beefstock powder, salt, white pepper, and coat the cubed kidneys, scoop up the kidneys and shake off excess seasoned flour (set aside to use with the cooking process)

8)  In a large frying pan, gently melt the butter, add the kidneys, and stir to brown them…just about 2 minutes on high-ish heat

9)  Add the brandy, stirring as not to stick

10) Sprinkle the remaining seasoned flour into the pan, stir around, then…

11) Add the boiling water, taste to see if need more salt and white pepper, then cover with a lid,…simmer on LOW  heat for 15 minutes.

Serve on slices of toast. Mmmmmmmmmm……..

A mouth-watering dish -  kidneys-on-toast

Till nest time...

'COOKINGWITHMAVIS’

"...To arrange an orange"

‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ #23      “…To arrange an orange”

 As the years progress, ANYTHING with the flavour of orange turns my tastebuds into a tizzzzzzzz!

I fixate during Winter, on every orange peel that I waste…knowing that I REALLY should, prior to peeling, grate the living daylights off every pith, and save all that gloriously fragrant oily rind…scoop it off my grater, and into one of many miniature freezer-containers, to keep for the “ what-if’ s ” in Summer, when oranges just aren’t readily available, and I might need a tablespoon-or-two of  glorious rind  as flavouring!

But do I ? ....do I   have the patience to stop all that I’m  doing? … or to delay the taste gratification of juicy peeled orange segments downing my  gullet, by grating BEFORE  peeling  those  glorious globes?

Well, just occasionally, do I  manage to get that sequence right!

...seldom, but sometimes, I   have the willpower to grate the rind for “freezer hibernation”, mmmmm…yes! ...for summer storage! ...meanwhile, let me introduce you to one of my favourite  adaptations of orange and almond decadence……

And so to recipes…..

 Whole Orange & Almond Bundt cake…  

A Bundt baking tin is a heavy, fluted ring pan.

Whole-orange and almond bundt cake

Texture and moisture are the immediate sensations that make this cake so deliciously scrumptious!   Don’t expect a light and fluffy featherlight cake, ‘cos this isn’t it!

This is the kind of cake you proffer just a sliver, as a sliver is a sample slice, ample to savour!     I use both butter AND oil in this recipe – butter for flavour, and oil to keep this cake moist. 

Heavy, and textured, full-bodied with chunky pieces of tangy orange rind and the crunch of toasted almonds, together with a hint of almond flavour mixing with the tangy orange rind makes each piece very “more-ish”!  Mmmmmmmmm……….

A slice of heavenly, heavy, moist orange and almond bundt cake

INGREDIENTS:           

2 whole large oranges, with the peel-and-all… pips removed

6  ‘jumbo’-size eggs (‘extra large’ will do too)

250 g  butter (1 cup)

90 ml  sunflower oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups cake flour

1 cup semolina

4 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped almonds (without the skins)

¼ teaspoon almond extract 

Coarsely chopped whole oranges

Lightly toasted chopped almonds

The Glaze :

½ cup water

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons marmalade

2 tablespoons apricot jam

 METHOD:

Bundt tin filled with thick orange/almond cake batter

1)  Measure a cupful of slivered / chopped almonds and gently toast in a dry frying pan on medium heat, …keep on shaking them around so that they don’t get brown, letting them change only slightly in colour.  You’ll know when it is enough as the heat brings out the aroma!

2)  In a Pyrex glass jug, melt the butter and oil gently, on low in the microwave, or in a small pot on the stove, just enough to gently melt the butter – then leave to cool a little.

3)  Cut the oranges into quarters, and blitz by short pulsing in a food processor (you could chop by hand into rough pea-size pieces) – you don’t want to blend to a purée!

4)  Grease the bundt tin ( I spray with ‘Spray ‘n Cook’)

5)  Into a bowl mix together the flour / semolina / salt / baking powder.

6)  Preheat oven to 180 ° C

7)  In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar well.

8)  At medium speed, add the melted cooled butter/oil mixture.

9)  Add almond extract.

10)  Fold in a few spoonfuls of the flour mix and alternate with a few spoonfuls of the chopped orange (starting and ending with the flour mix).

11)  Fold in the cupful of toasted almonds, then gently pour batter into the bundt tin, and bake @ 180  ̊ C for 60 minutes …or until a sharp knife inserted, comes out clean – it might need a further 7 minutes only.

12)  When ready, remove from oven and leave to cool for ½ hour.

13)  With a spatula or small round-tipped knife, gently prize the edges of the cake from the central funnel and the sides of the baking tin.

14)  Quickly invert, turn tin upside down, and place on a baking rack to cool further, and when cooled for at least 1 hour, gently try to lift the bundt tin off the cake.

15) Spoon the warm glaze over the cake.

 To make the glaze  :

- In a heavy-based pot, bring the sugar and water to the boil

- Add the marmalade and apricot jam,

- Stir till thickens

- Leave to cool about 20 minutes

- Then spoon over the cake

- You can scoop up excess glaze that escapes under that rack, and put it again and  again , onto the cake!

Voila!   …Cut thin slices of heavy moist dense whole orange and almond flavours to tantalize your tastebuds! ….it’s   HEAVEN !!!!

 - c'est  la meilleure chose jamais !   ......    - is  the best  thing  EVER  !   

Moist, textured, crunchy Whole-orange and Almond bundt cake

                           ……OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOrange….

To view ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’s   previous blogs,  just scroll up to the top right, and click on the previous YEAR… or any month, to see….

-  ” Crisp Creamcheese ”  , 

-  “  …‘Mavis’ s  Breasts ”   ,…. 

-  “ To Eat an Artichoke”   , …

-  “ Jewish Chicken Soup”   ,…

- “  Preserved Goose ”  , ….

And my favourite:

…all about YOU  , is blog #13 : –

“ Behind the Scenes ”  …and more !

Till next time….

     ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’