The Edible Cocktail Created by Prohibition.

Once again, we are going back in time to the Prohibition Era (1920-1933) and the banning of alcohol throughout the United States.  While most legitimate restaurants and bars were suffering the loss of income, illegal bars, called speakeasies, offered clientele liquored drinks and food.  Speakeasies usually did a consistent business due to payoffs of local law enforcement and corrupt politicians.  While barrels of hooch were rolled down ramps into the illegal bars’ basements, local constabulary looked the other way.

All the glassware inside legal bars were gathering dust, and there had to be a way to use them to entice customers back.  In 1806, The Balance and Columbian Repository formally defined the cocktail as a stimulating drink made with spirits, sugar, water, and bitters.  The mid-1800s to Prohibition is considered the "Golden Age" of mixology, where bartenders experimented and developed classic cocktails, many of which are still popular today.  With Prohibition, cocktails made with alcohol were banned, however, foods served with cocktails were not.

Did you ever order fried shrimp, oysters, clams, or any other type of seafood that was fried?  Typically, two sauces are offered, tartar sauce and cocktail sauce.  Cocktail sauce?  There is no alcohol in cocktail sauce, right?  Correct, however, the shrimp cocktail originated in the United States, you guessed it, during the Prohibition Era.  Martini glasses were used to serve the sauce with extra-large shrimp, or oysters, draped over the rim of the glasses.

Initially, cocktail sauce contains five ingredients: horseradish, lemon juice, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.  Depending on the area, brown sugar, onion powder and/or garlic salt might be added in.

Now wait, is cocktail sauce the same as shrimp sauce?  Again, depends on the area, and what folks call the red, ketchup based, spicy sauce.  Anyone ever go to Long John Silver’s?  The sauce they call shrimp sauce is actually called cocktail sauce in the majority of areas.

Shrimp sauce is mayonnaise based, and while similar seasonings used in cocktail sauce might be added, it is not unusual to have a sauce that is simply a mixture of mayonnaise plus ketchup.  Sound familiar?  Yes, in Utah, this is called “fry sauce”, and happens to be pretty tasty when dipping hot, crispy French fries into it. 

Homemade Cocktail Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup ketchup

3 Tbsp. prepared horseradish*

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1½ tsp. hot sauce**

Preparation:

In medium size bowl, combine all ingredients thoroughly; chill until ready to serve.

Makes 1 and 1/2 cups.

Notes:

*Prepared horseradish is a mixture of shredded horseradish root, vinegar and salt; good brands are Bookbinders, Woeber's or Gold's.  If vinegar and salt are not wanted in the sauce, use pure grated horseradish instead, remember though, it will be spicy enough to take your breath away.

**Tabasco is the typical hot sauce used for making cocktail sauce.

 

I have mentioned before that Roy and I enjoy date night on Saturday evenings, mainly with pizza, “finger foods” like Buffalo wings or mozzarella sticks, or anything easy to make and eat while watching a movie.  This past weekend though, in preparation for this article, my maternal grandmother’s Depression Era glassware featured: shrimp cocktail, crab cocktail and crispy whole wheat “cocktail” crackers loaded with goat cheese, honey and chopped walnuts.  Talk about an elegant and sophisticated display.  While the extra-large shrimp was easy to purchase, not so much with the crab.  Ended up using imitation crab meat which is basically fake crab.

 

Shrimp Cocktail Party Platter

 

 

What is Imitation Crab Meat?

Imitation crab meat, often called krab or kani, is a processed seafood product made from a white fish paste called surimi, which is then shaped and flavored to resemble crab meat.  What exactly is surimi?  The main ingredient, a paste made from minced fish, typically Alaskan pollock, which is washed, deboned, and minced. To make the surimi paste firmer, it is combined with binders like starch (potato, wheat, or corn), egg whites, or sometimes soy.  Artificial or natural flavors, including crab flavoring, are added to mimic the taste of crab. Food coloring, often orange or red, is used to create the characteristic color of crab meat. Other ingredients that are common additions are water, salt, sugar, and preservatives.

 

After reading all that, well, does not sound very appetizing, so if you are lucky enough to be able to purchase real lump crab meat, do it!  Oh, you will love this little extra bit, the next day, I made Alfredo sauce and egg noodles, threw in remains of the shrimp and imitation crab.  Added a side of steamed and buttered broccoli cuts, and lunch was delicious!

Now you have new ideas for spoiling yourself, or others, not just for a date night, but a “hey, I deserve to spoil myself tonight” meal.  Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour 

 

A Calzone By Another Name.

Now growing up in an Italian neighborhood, in Brooklyn, New York, I certainly know my Italian food items, especially when it comes from a pizzeria.  Therefore, I know what a Calzone is and what it normally consists of; anything else is simply another name.  Just because you take some dough, wrap it around a bunch of ingredients; doesn't make it an authentic calzone.  Take, for example, the Croatia dish, Burek, which consists mainly of meats and some vegetables; this is a meat pie, not a calzone.

Now in town we have two "pizzerias"; remember, I'm a pizza snob, so that is why I've put pizzeria in quotes for them.  Wagon Wheel Pizza has a menu item called a "turnover" made with pizza dough, consisting of meats, vegetables or a combination and very little cheese. Thankfully they have the sense not to call it a calzone. The other place, Thatzza Pizza has a menu item called a calzone which I have not personally tried. However, I know people who have and they have said in certainty that what Thatzza Pizza calls a calzone is, in reality, simply a meat pie.

The recipe I'm posting today is called "Italian Flag Meat Pie".  The "Italian Flag" part of the name refers to the ingredients being of the colors of the Italian Flag: green, white and red.  Roast beef is the meat ingredient and the cheeses used are Goat and Provolone.  Since I'm not using the traditional pizzeria combination of Ricotta, Mozzarella and Provolone, well there you go, it's not a calzone, it's a meat pie.  One other change, not using pizza dough, but pie crust; flakier, crispier and sweeter dough than pizza style.

Italian Flag Meat Pies

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup each of diced onions, red bell peppers and mushrooms
1 cup each of diced tomatoes and steamed asparagus
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp Italian herbal mix
1 tsp salt
1 lb. cooked meat or poultry (diced steak, ground beef, shredded chicken, diced pork, etc)
4 oz crumbled goat cheese
flour
4 ready-made pie crusts, room temperature and cut in half
8 slices provolone cheese
water
2 eggs
2 Tbsp water

Preparation:

 

 

 

 

 

Heat oil, on medium-high heat, in large skillet; sauté onions, peppers and mushrooms for 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, asparagus, garlic, herbal mix and salt; cook another 2 minutes.  Add meat and goat cheese; mix thoroughly and turn off heat.

  

 

 

Preheat oven to 450F; spray baking sheet with nonstick baking spray.

 

 

Sprinkle flour on board, place half of a pie crust on top; place one slice of provolone cheese in center of one side of crust. Center a half to 3/4 cup of mixture from skillet on top of cheese.  Dab water along edges of crust, fold one side over filling and press edges together.  Roll dough up along edges to further seal; cut a small slit in center of each pie; place on baking sheet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beat eggs with 2 tablespoons water and brush all over pies; bake for 15 - 20 minutes; until pies are golden brown.

 

Makes 8 pies.

Mary Cokenour

Macaroni and Cheese That Even Paula Deen Would Envy.

Even though I make a mean Macaroni and Cheese, I'm always trying to improve my own dishes. Most of the time it's to impress my husband, Roy, who is a hard working man and a most excellent husband indeed. To surprise him after a long stint at work, I decided to make one of his all time favorites, Beef Brisket, but what side to go with it was the question. Something that would complement the beef, mix well with the spices of the rub and the barbecue sauce I added onto the meat afterwards, something rich and satisfying; nothing else would do, but homemade macaroni and cheese.

Now I named this version of my mac n' cheese "Heart Attack Mac n' Cheese" for a very good reason; anyone who tried it out said, "Eat this mac n' cheese everyday, and you'll end up having a heart attack!"  Oh they loved it for sure, but once they learned what the ingredients were, out came the statement.  I used a friend as a guinea pig, who shared some with her son; she asked if there was anyway she could get more.  I considered that request a great complement in itself, so of course gave her another container full.  The amount you get from the recipe I'm going to post is enough to share with lots of folks.  By the way, I break a rule on making the Roux by not using equal parts fat with flour, but once you taste this, forgiveness is easily given.  One more thing, as I'm making the sauce I'm also cooking up the elbow macaroni; that way it all comes together piping hot and fresh.

Ready for a heart attack?

Heart Attack Mac n' Cheese

 

Ingredients:

16 Tbsp salted butter
1 cup flour
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp fine sea salt
1 tsp paprika
4 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup crumbled goat cheese
2 cups shredded, extra sharp Cheddar cheese
6 cups cooked large elbow macaroni

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, melt the butter on medium-high heat (make sure to watch and not let burn or brown); begin whisking in the flour until well incorporated.  Continue whisking for five minutes as the roux begins to turn a golden color.  Add in the black pepper, sea salt, paprika, heavy cream and milk; bring to a boil. 





Immediately add in the Monterey Jack cheese and begin whisking until smooth; add in the goat cheese, whisk until smooth; repeat with the Cheddar cheese, but one cup at a time.

If you took my advice and cooked the macaroni while making the sauce, drain it, but put it back into the pot it was cooked in.  Once you begin adding the cheese sauce, the heat from the pot will keep it from clotting around the drained pasta.

 

 

 

Mix it all together gently; you don't want to smash or break apart the macaroni.  Now serve it up and enjoy; and we found out that even eaten cold, it was delectable!  Servings?  Good question and I'm going to estimate 12 to 16; while I could only eat a half cup before going into "this is so good!!!" shock, Roy was able to eat a whole cup full and still want more.


I made fried chicken a couple of days later, and you guessed it, this was a perfect side dish.  Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour