Recipes

From Richard's Anthology of Goodness, a commonplace book I kept and typeset for myself. Each recipe carries the running log of attempts that came with it. (The dates are Long Now style — five digits, so 02012-10-29 is 2012.)

Basic French Toast

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons of cinnamon (opt)
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (opt)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla (opt)
  • 8 thick slices of 2-day-old bread, better if slightly stale
  • Butter
  • Maple syrup

Directions

  1. Beat together egg, milk, salt, desired spices and vanilla until well blended. Pour into a shallow bowl.
  2. Heat a lightly oiled (butter or veggie oil) griddle or skillet over medium-high flame.
  3. Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture, allowing bread to soak up some of the mixture.
  4. Add as many slices of bread onto the skillet as will fit at a time. Fry until brown on both sides, flipping the bread when necessary.
  5. Serve hot with butter, maple syrup, and if available, fresh berries.

Notes

  • 02012-10-29: Tried 2 eggs, 2/3 cup 1.5% milk, 1 tsp cinnamon, a wheatish white bread which was not stale or dry. Wasn't cooking. Added a 3rd egg, colour improved markedly. Not quite acceptable, but geting there. Taste was bland, addition of vanilla or more cinnamon may improve it. Higher fat content to milk or using cream may also help. Had them with maple syrup.
  • 02012-11-08: Cooking in butter didn't seem to yield better results than oil. Again, not having measuring cups in Germany, I added too much milk stuff. Adding an additional egg yielded immediate improvements. Need to find a way to keep slices warm after cooking and prior to eating. Taste still a little bland. Had them with maple syrup.
  • 02012-11-27: Christine made French toast for me. She used about four eggs and only a small amount of milk, along with liquid vanilla. She got maybe four slices of bread through that amount of mix. Her's turned appropriately brown right away (at least on one side). She didn't use stale bread. Taste was still slightly bland, though maybe less so than mine. We had them with Dutch syrup, but it was not maple syrup (not sure what it was).

Bread Pudding

Ingredients

  • Old bread
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C)
  2. Break bread into small pieces, put in 8 inch square pan. Drizzle butter over bread. Add raisins, if you like.
  3. Combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread and lightly push down until bread is covered and soaking up the mixture.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
  5. Add lemon curd, if you like.

Calico Beans

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • 1 (16 oz) can pork & beans or 1 can vegetarian baked beans
  • 1 (16 oz) can kidney beans
  • 1 (16 oz) can lima beans or 1 can butter beans
  • 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
  • 6 slices bacon (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard (optional)

Directions

  1. Optionally: Cook bacon in skillet until crip, then crumble and set aside.
  2. Cook beef in skillet until no pink remains. Add onion, saute just until tender.
  3. Combine brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, mustard (optionally) in separate container, mix.
  4. Combine beef, onion, above mixture in a 3 qt baking dish or crock part.
  5. Drain all the beans, but not the baked beans, and add to the baking dish or crock pot, stirring gently to mix.
  6. Optionally: Sprinkle with bacon.
  7. Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes or cook in crock pot until heated through.

Notes

  • 02013-02-19: Made it with Derek, but had no vinegar. It still tasted okay, but something was definitely missing. Wouldn't want to forget vinegar again. That evening I looked at Mom's recipe, which shows 1 can each of kidney, lima, butter, pork & beans with 2lbs hamburger.
  • 02013-01-26: At the hostel with Franz (Eindhoven) and Julia (Munich), also Locar (Italian pizza maker). It is desirable to mix the ketchup, brown sugar, and vinegar separately as this makes a BBQ-style sauce which can then be added or used for other purposes if there's too much. Used a cast iron in the oven; this worked fine. No bacon, mustard, or salt.
  • 02013-01-08?: In Keswick with Orrisons. Probably used too much meat, gave it kind of a dry texture. Easily served five. No bacon, mustard, or salt.
  • 02012-11-10: Didn't use mustard, bacon, or salt. Used white beans instead of lima/butter beans. Used 25% concentrated vinegar, and a fair amount of it too. Used "hackfleisch", which looks a little like ground beef—maybe it is. Tasted pretty good! No bacon, mustard, or salt.
  • 02012-12-07: Didn't use mustard, bacon, or salt. used white beans instead of lima/butter beans. Used 25% concentrated vinegar, and a fair amount of it too. Used "hackfleisch". Forgot to buy baked beans, so didn't add them. Figured that ketchup is a little like whatever they add to baked beans, so I added another maybe 1/2 cup or more of it.

Eggs Benedict

Serves approximately four.

Ingredients

  • 4 egg yolks (more like six, depending on size)
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 3.5 tablespoons lemon juice (or more)
  • 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
  • 8 eggs
  • 8 strips Canadian-style bacon
  • 4 English muffins, split

Possible additions to the Hollandaise sauce:

  • 1 pinch ground white pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Two things define eggs Benedict: poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.

Begin by poaching the eggs. Crack the egg first into a separate container, and then boil water with a tablespoon or two of vinegar added. Now stir the water in a wide circle and add the whole egg. The slightly acidulated water will set the eggs quickly, while the whirlpool of water will keep the egg in a ball. The whirlpool concept has not always been successful for me, but I find that lowering the egg gently into the water with a ladel or measuring cup works well. Poach at a simmer for four to five minutes for set whites and soft yolks.

Hollandaise sauce is an emulsion of eggs and butter. The eggs and butter must blend at just the right temperature—warm enough to melt the butter, but cold enough not to scramble the eggs—then stay at that temperature until served. The secret? A double-boiler and a thermos. Carefully read the recipe, use a bowl set over simmering (not boiling) water, and stir, stir, stir. Hollandaise does not like to be rushed. Take the time to make sure each step is done before moving on. The double-boiler ensures the eggs won't scramble as they heat, and the thermos ensures the sauce is held at an optimum temperature until served.

Prep

  • Preheat oven on broiler setting.

Directions

  1. To Make Hollandaise: Fill the bottom of a double boiler part-way with water, or use nested posted. It's okay if the water touches the top pan. Bring water to a gentle simmer. In the top of the double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, white pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon water. It's important not to use too too much water: 1 tablespoon really is fine. Be sure to add enough vinegar that the lemon-vinegar combination is undefinable as either.
  2. Add the melted butter to egg yolk mixture 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time while whisking yolks constantly. If hollandaise begins to get too thick, add a teaspoon or two of hot water. Continue whisking until all butter is incorporated. Whisk in salt, then remove from heat. Place a lid on pan to keep sauce warm. If the sauce looks clumpy with pools of butter, vigorous whisking will make it smooth again.
  3. To Poach Eggs: Fill a large saucepan with 3 inches of water. I've also done a deep pot filled with water. Bring water to a gentle simmer, then add vinegar. I've done boiling before, it may muck up the eggs by breaking up the outsides and overcooking them.
  4. Carefully break eggs into simmering water, and allow to cook for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Yolks should still be soft in center. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon and set on a warm plate
  5. While eggs are poaching, brown the bacon in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and toast the English muffins on a baking sheet under the broiler.
  6. Spread toasted muffins with softened butter, and top each one with a slice of bacon, followed by one poached egg. Place 2 muffins on each plate and drizzle with hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with chopped chives and/or tomatoes and serve immediately.

Notes

  • 02013-01-19: Made these in Kinsale, Ireland for Tatjana (Vienna, Austria), Francisco (north Italy), and JS (Quebec). Used boiling water in deep pot to pouch eggs. Did them for about three minutes, insides still overcooked in most of the eggs, outside messed up, yolk broke in a few. Consider using simmering water next time. Hollandaise successful, discovered that quick whisking makes it beautiful again when butter begins to pool. Used 3/4 of a fresh-squeezed lemon, but it was not really enough lemon juice. Really want to experiment with other additions to the Hollandaise sauce. Read that the creamy milky stuff of the butter is not desirable to add to the sauce. Melted butter in Hollandaise double-boiler and then poured into a secondary pot, didn't find any ill-effects of this.

Turos Csusza

Ingredients

  • 1 (16 ounce) package egg noodles
  • 3 1/2 slices smoked bacon
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 1 (12 ounce) container cottage cheese
  • salt to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly-salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes; drain well.
  3. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp; drain, crumble, and set aside.
  4. Place the drained noodles in a large baking dish. Stir the sour cream into the noodles. Spoon the cottage cheese evenly over the top of the noodle mixture. Sprinkle the crumbled bacon over the top; season with salt.
  5. Bake in preheated oven until the cottage cheese softens, 3 to 5 minutes. Maybe as much as 15.

Notes

  • Cottage cheese does not exist in Hungary; they use "túró" (hence the name) which is a slightly curdier version of what you buy in the US as farmers' cheese. We don't mix the pasta with sour cream, rather the cheese itself, and top it with the sour cream before putting it in the oven. Alternatively, the sour cream is mixed in with the cheese. Trust me, it is the right cheese that really makes this dish.
  • 02012-12-18: Had it in the Boci Tejivó. It was excellent
  • 02012-12-22: Veroushka makes it for me. A little too dry. Cottage cheese didn't seem to break up into a smooth sauce. She didn't use the oven at all.

Cory's Pistachio Fruit Salad

Ingredients

  • One regular size cool whip
  • One can of fruit cocktail
  • One can of crushed pineapple
  • One or two bananas
  • Enough shaved coconut to mix in
  • One package of pistachio instant pudding
  • Coloured marshmallows (optional)

Directions

Drain juice from fruit cans. Mix everything together.

Notes

  • 02014-08-04: Made of potluck and folk jam at Robin's house. Dylan Linet said it was so good I shouldn't be allowed to bring it again. Everyone took second portions. Never had such good compliments on a dish before.