Pat Peoples' Tailgate Party

Silver Linings Playbook is an amazingly heartwarming debut novel from Michael Quick which features Pat Peoples (although in the recent movie they name him Patrizio "Pat" Solitano....not sure why that is...the movie truly is an interpretation and not particularly true to the details of the book), a man suffering from mental health issues. The book is narrated through the eyes of Pat, which is a particularly satisfying way to hear his story. 

Pat has been in a mental health facility for a number of years after he walked in on his wife, Nikki, having an affair with a co-worker and nearly beat him to death. Pat does not remember that this occurred, but believes he has just be having a period of "apart time" from Nikki and she will return to him once he makes himself a better man and husband. He believes that he will become " better" if he works out (obsessively) and does not lose his temper. His mother has convinced the institution that he should come home with her and she and his father will take care of him. This leads to many an episode which are too voluminous to discuss here. 

Although being re-united with his estranged wife is an overwhelming theme in the novel, football plays an almost equal part, and specifically the healing and growth that Pat goes through while watching football with his peevish father and while going to football tailgate parties, which he attends with his brother (although this is downplayed in the movie adaptation). And we all know what happens at tailgate parties...I don't mean (just) the drinking, but all the food at these tailgates. So as always, I started checking out tailgate parties and what is traditional food at tailgate parties... 

Tailgating parties are parties held in the parking lots of large events to celebrate sporting events, among other things, and in this case, football. Truly no football game is complete with out a little tailgating...or so I am told.  Rah! Sis boom bah! Go E-A-G-L-ES! See...I can tailgate!

The tailgate party is focused around the "tailgate" or back of a pick-up truck and usually involves cooking on a small grill or barbecue with salads, snacks and drinks. Sometimes (and certainly in Silver Linings Playbook) an entire parking lot is taken over by tailgating parties. If the tailgate revolves around football, it is a must to bring along decorative 

items likes flags and football team paraphernalia. For a true tailgate party, you need folding chairs, tables, bbq and depending on the tailgate, a cooler full of beer, or better yet, a keg! This last part certainly depends on the venue. Generally speaking you will need food that can be eaten out of hand or with as few utensils as possible...tailgates are populated with guys you know! 

Although there is a huge array of items that could be part of a tailgate party, including hotdogs, sausages, hamburgers, quesadillas, chicken skewers, chili, nachos, bean salad and the list goes on and on and on (!), I am going to focus on a bbq chicken wing and potato salad recipe. Who doesn't love a good chicken wing!

Grilled Chicken Wings
Ingredients:

4 pounds chicken wings (about 24)

Marinade:

• 1 cup white wine vinegar 
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 
• 2 tablespoons chili powder 
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco 

Preparation:

Combine marinade ingredients together and mix well. Place chicken wings in a large resealable bag. Pour marinade over top. Turn to coat and refrigerate for 2 to 6 hours.

  

Preheat grill. Remove wings from marinade and reserve marinade. Place wings on hot grill over a low fire. Grill until done (about 10 minutes each side), brushing with reserved marinade halfway through the cooking time. Serve with blue cheese sauce and carrot or celery sticks, or both!

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce:

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup blue cheese, crumbled 
• 2/3 cup sour cream 
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 
• salt and pepper to taste 

Preparation: 

For blue cheese sauce, combine blue cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic and Worcestershire cause in a bowl. Stir until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Classic Potato Salad 

Ingredients:

• Salt and Pepper
• 3 pounds (8-10) medium red or white potatoes, scrubbed
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons juice
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives

Preparation:

In a large pot, bring potatoes to a boil in salted water over high. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender when pierced with a knife, 15-20 minutes. Drain and let cool completely. Cut potatoes into 1 1/2 inch pieces.

In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, and chives. Add potatoes and otss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. 

I know tailgating isn't truly in season unless there is football...but a person can't be ready too early!

Enjoy and GO TEAM!!!!!

Garfield's Lasagna

Although one could argue that Garfield the Cat (created by Jim Davis) isn't really a literary figure (just a cartoon character), I am going to include him in this blog as an aficionado of all things lasagna. This cantankerous phat fat loves a mean lasagna, which is perfect for me since lasagna is my signature dish! 

Just in case you didn't know, Garfield was born on June 19, 1978 in the kitchen of Mamma Leoni's Italian Restaurant. He loved lasagna the day he was born and since then it has been his favourite food. He is known for his laziness, sarcasm, weight and his passion for food and since I am also passionate about lasagna, I started doing a little research on the history of lasagna. 

Lasagne is one of the oldest pasta shapes. As almost everyone knows, lasagna is a dish made with lasagne noodles which are interspersed with layers of other ingredients, often ricotta cheese, tomato sauce, meat, or spinach, spiced with garlic, onions, wine and oregano and then baked in the oven. Sounds so good, my mouth is already watering! 

There are three theories about the origin of lasagna, one being from the Greek work "lasagne" which means a flat sheet of pasta dough cut into strips. Another theory is that the word lasagne comes from the Greek word "lasana" meaning "trivet" or "stand for a pot" or "chamber pot"...kinda yucky. The Romans borrowed the word "lasanum" meaning "cooking pot" and the Italians refer to the dish in which the lasagne is made. The food has taken the name of the serving dish. Phew! The last theory is that this dish is a development of the 14th century recipe "Loseyn" but although this dish is layered, it did not use tomatoes.

Although I am not Italian and many people would say that my lasagna is not as good as their "Nonna's", below is my tried and true lasagna recipe. I will stick by it forever. The secret is making your own sauce....and the secret to making your own sauce is canning your own tomatoes....which I do with my whole family. So now you know all the secrets and your lasagna will give any "Nonna's" a run for her money!

Lasagna: 

1 1/2 - 2 liters tomato sauce (recipe below)
3/4 box of oven-ready lasagna noodles (I prefer the flat - not rippled - noodles)
475g container of ricotta cheese 
1-1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese (shredded)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese 

1. Preheat oven to 500F.

2. Spread 1/2 cup of tomato sauce over bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Cover with a layer of noodles. Using a tablespoon, drop half of the ricotta evenly over the noodles. Do no spread. Spoon half of the sauce mixture over top. Sprinkle with a handful of mozzarella. Add another layer of noodles, ricotta, sauce and mozzarella. 

3. Top with a layer of noodles and press gently into sauce. Evenly sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and sprinkle with Parmesan. 

4. Seal tightly with foil and place in oven. Reduce heat to 400F and cook for 20 minutes. 

5. Remove foil and bake until lasagna is hot in the centre, from 20 to 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Sauce:

1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped 
1/2 lb mushrooms, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 liters canned tomato puree
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
tomato paste (to thicken if desired)

1. Heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add green pepper and continue to sauté until onions are clear and peppers have softened. Add mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms have expelled their liquid. Add garlic and sauté for about 1-2 minutes. 

2.  Add tomato puree and all spices. Bring to boil then simmer partially covered for about 1 hour. If not thick enough, add 1-2 teaspoons of tomato paste and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Season to taste. 

Note: You will likely have more sauce than is needed for the above lasagna recipe. It freezes well if don't use it all up!

Hope you enjoy the recipe and remember, you can always have a second (or third) helping of lasagna because according to Garfield, "Diet is 'die' without the 't'". 

Buon appetito!

Mma Ramotswe's Bush Tea

Is it possible to fall in love with a country you have never been to nor have very much in common with? Because I think I have. Alexander McCall Smith introduced me to the serene and beautiful country of Botswana and, most importantly, to the traditionally built detective Mma (Precious) Ramotswe, lover of bush tea. McCall Smith writes the charming series "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" which takes place in his adopted home of Botswana where bush tea is the answer to just about any situation. Mma Ramotswe, Botswana's only lady detective, drinks bush tea so often in these books that I just had to know what it is...and why it is so good at getting people to truthfully answer questions! Other than her love of Mma Potokwani's fruit cake and some boiled pumpkin, Mma Ramotswe's clear devotion to bush tea...not "ordinary" tea (why would you want that?!) is so profound I just had to learn more about it, and, of course, find out where I could get it.

So after a little sleuthing, this is what I discovered about the wonderful bush tea... Bush or Redbush tea is actually a colloquialism for Rooibus tea. Rooibus bushes, the plant this fermented tea comes from, are only grown in the small Western Cape of South Africa. Rooibus is chopped, bruised and left to ferment in heaps. Once complete, the Rooibus leaves turn from green to its infamous red colour while drying in the sun before being consumed. Mma Ramotswe prepares her red bush tea just as one would prepare black ("ordinary"!) tea, with a good helping of milk and sugar. It can also be prepared using lemon and/or honey.

I now have to admit two things. One, I couldn't believe that Bush Tea was the same thing as the now main stream Rooibus tea and two, up until doing my little research on Bush Tea, I had never had Rooibus tea...I was a regular Earl Grey drinker. So I started shopping for and tasting Rooibus tea.

I started by going David's Tea...I figured that their loose leaf varieties would be a great place to start although certainly not a great place for service but that is another story entirely. I enjoyed the regular red rooibus I ordered (in trying to emulate the tea that Mma Ramotswe enjoys, I don't want to have any flavoured red rooibus).  The tea was mild and sweet with a distinct honey aroma. A very enjoyable and relaxing tea indeed.

Since I did not order the tea with anything in it, I returned to my office and poured the brewed tea into a mug and added milk and sugar...what a difference! The tea took on a new dimension, as if it now became a delicious dessert with feel good effects. I now realize what Mma Ramotswe was talking about when she said that a cup of bush tea makes everything better. She is totally right. Mma Ramotswe....you may have already converted me! I can't wait to try more!

On a trip to Ottawa I found a lovely tea shop in By Ward Market, an interesting and eclectic market with a multitude of interesting vendors. This tea shop, Maple Leaf Teas, boasted at least a dozen rooibus teas. I purchased some loose leaf organic rooibus...again nothing flavoured...although they did mention that their blueberry rooibus was their best seller. At a ratio of one teaspoon per tea cup, I was incredibly excited to try my new tea. Upon my return home I made this lovely tea and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Once again, this sweet aromatic tea has won me over. I don't think that I will be able to have "regular" tea again.

I tried to find rooibus at Teavana (owned by Starbucks, I believe) and they don't carry any unflavoured rooibus. So no luck there! My search continues.

When I was visiting a small nutrition store in my small home town, I was lucky enough to discover that they carry a brand of bagged Rooibus tea. I, of course, purchased some and I drink at least two cups of this organic, caffeine-free tea each day. Delicious!

Interestingly, I have not been able to find unflavoured rooibus in many "main stream" tea shops....generally speaking I regularly find vanilla flavoured rooibus at these places. If any of you know of a place to find brewed rooibus, please let me know.

I have also been researching tea brands that sell rooibus tea in supermarkets and the like and I was excited to discover that Tetley makes "plain" rooibus tea...however, it is only available in the U.K.....much too far a trip from Canada in order to get some tea!!!

Well, Mma Ramotswe...you were right. Bush tea is better than ordinary tea! I am officially converted! I will continue on my journey to find tea shops with this delicious tea.

Cheers for tea time!

P.S. Mma Ramotswe enjoys her tea with cake. Especially fruit cake from Mma Potokwani, the matron of the orphan farm. Look for my future blog with fruit cake recipes (I swear it will be better than your grandma's fruit cake!!!).

Tlhôla sentle!

Jim ("Qwill") Qwilleran's Pasties

According to Jim "Qwill" Qwilleran of Lilian Jackson Braun's cat caper mystery series, "The Cat Who...", cats are a man's best friend. Especially siamese.

Qwill, a salt-and-pepper, luxuriously mustachioed crime reporter who lives in Pickax, Moose County ("400 miles north of nowhere") happens to have two high-maintenance siamese, Kao K'o-Kung (named after a 13th century Chinese artist), most commonly known as Koko (a male) and Yum-Yum (a female) who not only help him solve crimes, but are also gastronomes that have a special taste for all foods not cat food. Qwill's taste for food generally starts with someone else cooking for him and he has many female characters ready and willing to cook for him at the drop of a hat.

But Qwill also enjoys regularly going to restaurants for his meals. The restaurants in Moose County have some unusual names...the one featured today being The Dimsdale Diner (doesn't that sound sunny!), which makes pasties as its specialty. Moose County used to be a successful mining town and the miners (just like Cornish miners throughout history) took meat and potato pasties to work with them. Qwill tried one for the first time at the Dimsdale and didn't particularly like it, but he kept coming back for more and his taste for them improved. Pasties are mentioned in so many of The Cat Who books that I thought I must try one (I haven't ever had one before).

For those of you who don't know, pasties are half-moon baked pastries with crimped or forked edges which are filled with meat, potatoes and veggies. They can go by the name Cornish pasty in Europe or British pasty or just pasty in the U.S. The Cornish pasty is Cornwall's national dish and has Protected Geographical Indication (a fancy way for saying you can't call it a "Cornish" pasty unless it is genuinely originating in that region).  Cornish pasties will always have swede, which is turnip, and the American pasties (the ones out of Michigan anyway) will have carrots and often be served with ketchup. The pasty's origin is unclear although they have been mentioned in fiction and cookbooks throughout the ages.

Although these originated in Cornwall, they became very popular with miners in Michigan. They are so popular there, in fact, that there is a pasty festival each year in mid June. This year PastyFest 2013 is being held in Calumet, Michigan on June 29th. Maybe I will have to make the drive south of the border to check it out! But don't worry, in Redruth, Cornwall there is a Mining and Pasty Festival too! This year it is being held on September 6-8. I wish I could make it to that one!!!!

I know, I know....I can envision your eyes glazing over. Get to the recipe already Miss Foodie!!!! Sorry about all that information but I find it interesting that something so seemingly simple has so much to tell.

Finding a proper Cornish pasty recipe was not without difficulty. Although The Cat Who series takes place in the United States, I wanted to go back to pasty roots and find a Cornish pasty recipe, as opposed to a Michigan based recipe. Below is the best recipe I found and liked. Hope you like it too!!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/8 Cups all - purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 Cup butter, diced
• 1/2 Cup water
• 1 1/4 lb rump roast, cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 Small turnip, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp milk

1. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Add butter, and rub to the consistency of coarse crumbs. Mix in water. If dough is sticky, add more flour.
2. Roll dough out until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out six circles, each about 5 inches round. Do not stretch the dough.
3. Mix meat and vegetables together, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cover half of each pasty base with the filling. Moisten pastry edges, fold pastry over the filling. Press edges together with a fork. Transfer raw pasties to a baking sheet, brush tops with milk, and make a small slit in each top to allow steam out.
5. Bake at 450 degrees F ( 230 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake for 35 minutes.

I certainly enjoyed these simple half-moon pastries, although one person that tried them said that they needed more "gravy" inside. I guess you will be the judge on that.

Enjoy your meal!!