ICALLION PANCAKES
These little cakes are best cooked in a moderate amount of oil or clarified butter. Other vegetables can be added or substituted for the scallions and/or ginger; corn and herbs work well. You do have to be aware of the liquid nature of the vegetables you choose so you don't dilute the batter.
Makes 1 quart batter, enough for 24 to 28 cakes, depending on their size
4 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
4 cups milk
4 teaspoons salt
1 pinch cracked black pepper
3 cups all-purpose flour
V2 pound (2 sticks) butter 1 large bunch scallions, chopped A 2-inch piece of fresh gingerroot, peeled and minced
Ч2 cup peanut oil or clarified butter
1. Combine in a large bowl the eggs, egg yolks, milk, salt, and pepper. Beat well.
2. Sift the flour into another bowl. Make a well in it and whisk in the egg mixture.
3. Heat a large skillet and add the butter. Stir it around allowing it to get foamy and slightly brown. Toss in the chopped scallions and saute quickly. Add the ginger, stir, and remove from the heat. Mix the ginger, scallions, and butter into the batter.
4. To cook, heat a skillet until fairly hot. Add enough oil or clarified butter to just coat the bottom of the pan. Spoon in about 2 tablespoons (Vs cup) of batter per cake and fry until golden on both sides.
fjTTLE VEGETABLE PANCAKES
These are terrific with sour cream and caviar or as an accompaniment to an entree.
Makes approximately
IV2 quarts batter (48 pancakes)
1 pound cleaned and coarsely chopped 6 eggs
vegetables of your choice, especially 3 egg yolks
ones with good body (carrots, broccoli, 2 tablespoons chopped basil or other
parsnips) herbs as desired
5 cups Chicken Stock (page 240), or % cup flour
substitute water with 1 tablespoon salt Salt and pepper to taste
Peanut oil for frying
1. Cook the vegetables in the chicken stock until slightly overcooked. Set aside.
2. Strain off stock into a saucepan and reduce until glazy, about V2 cup. (This step is optional.)
3. Put the cooked vegetables (and glaze if you made it) into a food processor and process entirely.
4. In a large bowl beat the eggs and yolks together. Add herbs. Whisk in the flour and the vegetable mixture. The mixture should be somewhat thick. (You will be able to judge this by pan-frying.) Season to taste.
5. Get a skillet hot. Add enough peanut oil to just coat the bottom of the pan and add the batter in 2-tablespoon (Vs-cup) portions. Fry until golden and crisp on both sides.
T have vivid recollections of the lushness of summer in the lake 1 country of Illinois-My childhood in the 1950s, replete with sights and smells, food and gardens. I remember Sundays and the church women, with their strong bodies and hearty laughter, bringing their cookies, cakes, and pies to the "congregation" hour in the basement of our Methodist Church after the Reverend Fletcher gave his sermon. After that my family and I would go to Grandpa Ray's house on Ray's Lane, and my mother would talk and listen to him while he loaded up our car with enough corn, tomatoes, peas, beans, carrots, and strawberries for a week from his incredible garden. My sisters always knew they could find me hiding up in his apple trees eating ' the tart, small, red apples the horse couldn't reach, or on rainy days in his huge handbuilt old barnlike house staring at the collection of stuffed animals he had shot on his property over the past fifty or sixty years. Predators once, trophies now.
I remember little of my mother's cooking, for she went out to support us when I was just ten and our grandmother, "Nana," took over the preparation of meals. But I can vividly recall canning and jelly-making times with my mother. I think her almost messianic zeal for it must have been born during the Second World War, when it seemed everyone had a victory garden.
In the next few pages we will discuss some foods for your larder. If you put in a little time and effort on a rainy day, or while waiting for the telephone repairman, you will be vastly rewarded. Whether entertaining friends or merely grabbing a bite for yourself, there is a resource here that can take you from something ordinary like cheese and crackers to something extraordinary like duck sausage with jalapeno pepper jelly in a warm tortilla. With the jelly and the sausage done weeks ahead of time, what could be simpler?