Posts Tagged ‘Silver Palate’
Soupah’ (Could a Been a Chowdah’) Bowl
Better get my BlogtimOregon on again already. One meager post in January–here’s to keeping up with New Year’s resolutions. We made the Silver Palate’s ever-reliable “Chili for a Crowd” for the game. This is not your everyday chili. It’s got a unique Dijon mustard-olive-dill-Italian sausage-enhanced tang. We served it with two versions of cornbread: a maple syrup-enhanced one and another with whole kernels, inspired by the Baltimore food blog Coconut & Lime. Added some polenta to the mix to amp up its texture. And we chased it down with Oregon Trail Brown Ale, fresh from the 2.5-gallon beer pig.
Too bad I didn’t realize how appropriate chowder would be this year. Food52 had a cute Manhattan vs. New England Clam Chowder breakdown. Ironic that Manhattan wins hands down in my book. With a coughing baby needing attention, I barely watched a minute of the game. I don’t pretend to care about football, or any professional sports for that matter, but it’s hard to ignore America’s second biggest food holiday, worts (spelling intentional, prounced “wert” my KLCC editor reminds me) and all.
Vintage Chicken Marbella
The legendary Chicken Marbella recipe from The Silver Palate.
The Silver Palate Cookbook and I were both born in 1979. So it’s not surprising that this is the cookbook I most associate with my childhood. It was often out in the kitchen, especially when my parents, budding gourmets (and sometimes gourmands) were having a dinner party. Co-authors Julee Russo and Sheila Lukins taught them how to make crème fraîche, Hollandaise sauce and pesto. We all especially loved the book’s vegetable purées: the creamy, nutmeg-kissed broccoli one and the tart beet and apple purée I made as a girl for my parent’s wedding anniversary dinner. And I know folks still swear by The Silver Palate‘s carrot cake and banana cake recipes.
But I’d never tried the cookbook’s signature chicken Marbella. When Sheila Lukins died in 2009 at the age of 66, this was her legacy recipe we kept hearing about; how it defined dinner parties of the growing yuppie class in the 1980s. I finally had a chance to try the dish tonight, when my mother-in-law made it, with a spirit of nostalgia. The marinade/sauce has that addictive salty-sweet-tart flavor of prunes, olives, capers, vinegar and brown sugar. I do remember once having some cold balsamic chicken breast salad with dried apricots and olives that invoked the flavor’s of this dish. But balsamic vinegar is a noticeable omission in the original Silver Palate. Red wine and white wine vinegar, even sherry vinegar, yes, but balsamic had yet to appear on the scene.
The Simplicity of Soup: A Meaty, Tangy Chili for the Ages
I have nothing but praise for this “Chili For a Crowd Recipe” from the venerable Silver Palate cookbook. We had it at an inauguration party, and I couldn’t wait to recreate it. Ah, The Silver Palate, that bible-like tome for those nouvelle foodies coming up in the 1980s. Fond memories of my parents peering over its sauce-splattered, dog-eared pages. I think I made our host feel old, referring to it as “my parent’s cookbook.” What will be our generation’s Silver Palate? Let’s hope it’s more Mark Bittman, and less Rachael Ray.
Chili demands cornbread: I made this rosemary/olive oil one from the Baltimore food blog Coconut & Lime. I halved the chili recipe and substituted brined kalamata olives, per our host’s directive. No need to drain the tomatoes– you’ll want that broth. The Italian sausage adds bite, but it did call for too much ground chuck, and not enough beans, for my taste. I might do ground turkey (or lamb and white beans!) next time. I can’t believe we’ve had beef two weeks in a row. Sinners, repent! At least tomorrow we are going to a soup lunch, sponsored by the statistics department, that’s a fundraiser for the Oregon State University Food Bank. Let’s hope they have vegetarian options:)
BaltimOregon to Maine 