Kate Hart - Dish It Out: Feeding the Lasses

First published in 2005 by Conari Press,

an imprint of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

York Beach, ME

With offices at:

368 Congress Street

Boston, MA 02210

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2005 Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/ Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

Acknowledgements on page 64.

ISBN: 1-57324-259-4

Typeset in TheSans, SignPainter, Ogre, Pike, and Cafe Mimi by Jill Feron, FeronDesign

Printed in Hong Kong

C&C Offset

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You know, I love to talk about food I'm going to eat while I'm ALREADY eating.

GRACE, FROM WILL & GRACE

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon lukewarm water

1/8 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper, if desired

butter or cooking spray

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, water, and salt together until blended. Add a dash of pepper if desired.

Heat 1 teaspoon of butter (or use cooking spray) in a 7- to 10-inch nonstick omelet pan or skillet over medium-high heat (the pan is hot and ready when a drop of water sizzles in it). Pour in egg mixture.

With an inverted pancake turner, carefully push the cooked portions at the edges of the omelet toward the center so the uncooked portions can spill over and reach the hot surface of the pan. Tilt pan to spread the uncooked portions of the egg mixture as necessary.

When the top of the omelet is thickened and no visible liquid egg remains, fill it with your filling of choice, if any. With the pancake turner, fold omelet in half. Let the omelet cook in the pan for 30 seconds to a minute more. Invert it onto a plate with a quick flip of the wrist or take the mellow route and simply slide it onto a plate. Makes 1 incredible omelet.

Omelets cook so quickly that the filling should be selected and prepared before starting the eggs. My friend Michael, a.k.a. Doc Omelet, suggests trying a whatever's in the fridge omelet or one of the international or custom combos below:

THE GREEK: Olives, feta cheese, spinach, onions

THE MEXICAN: Salsa, onions, chilies, avocado, sausage or bacon

THE JEWISH: Kosher salami, cheddar cheese, onions

THE ITALIAN: Italian sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, onions

THE GARBAGE CAN: Anything... broccoli, onions, sprouts, carrots

THE DUKE: Caviar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 cup water or milk

butter

2 cups blueberries, well washed

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

applesauce

sour cream

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, add the water, and beat again. Gradually add the salted flour to the eggs, stirring constantly to make a thin, smooth batter.

Lightly grease a 6-inch skillet with butter and place over a mediumhigh flame. Pour about 1/2 cup of the batter into the skillet. Fry until the blintz begins to blister and the edges curl away from the skillet; the top of the blintz may be slightly moist. Turn out, fried side up, by inverting the skillet over a wooden board. It may be necessary to tap the edge of the skillet against the board.

When the blintzes are all fried, sprinkle the blueberries with sugar and flour. Place 1 tablespoon blueberries in the center of each blintz (browned side up). Fold over one side of the dough to cover the filling, then overlap with the other side of the dough. Tuck both sides under so that they almost meet at the back center. Again fry in butter until lightly browned on both sides. Serve hot with applesauce or sour cream. Serves 6.

To eat a Cookie Dough Pancake you have to glide into a fairly naughty state of conditional anarchyyou are challenging the breakfast establishment when biting into this territory. Raw cookie dough at breakfast? Forbidden! Yet, when enveloped in a hearty, wholesome breakfast pancake, with mom or dad or the little angel sitting on your shoulder flipping it, it transcends all restriction and becomes one of the most fun-to-eat foods in the universe.

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unbleached white flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

oil for griddle

powdered sugar, optional

maple syrup

3/4 cup cookie dough, homemade or packaged

In a large bowl, beat the buttermilk and egg together. Add the melted butter and salt and mix well. In a medium bowl, measure out the flour and blend the baking soda and baking powder into it. Add the flour mixture to the buttermilk and mix everything together.

When you are ready to make the pancakes, lightly grease a griddle or pan and heat on medium heat. Without stirring, ladle batter from the bottom of the bowl and pour onto the griddle forming 4-inch pancakes. Drop 1/2- teaspoon measures of cookie dough onto the pancakes. When the surface of the pancake is covered with bubbles, flip it and cook for another minute.

Dust with powdered sugar or serve with real maple syrup. Makes a dozen 4-inch pancakes.

Take some of your favorite fruitswhatever is in season: apples, oranges, pears, peaches, berries, cantaloupe, or watermelon. The more fruit, the better. Slice them up into a bowl. In a tall cup, alternate fruit layers with vanilla or plain yogurt. Garnish with a dollop of chocolate sauce or whipped cream and a sprig of mint. Get a big spoon and dig in!

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup reserved

1 cup garlic cloves, cut in halves or quarters

1/2 cup each balsamic vinegar and soy sauce

1 tablespoon crushed garlic

black pepper to taste

5 cups thickly sliced or quartered mushrooms

5 cups chick peas, cooked, drained, and ready to go (canned work just fine)

1 1/2 cups roasted red peppers

1 cup capers

1/2 cup caperberries (like capers but bigger, with long stems; available in gourmet shops and some grocery stores)

1 tablespoon oregano

1 1/2 cups chopped Kalamata olives

Roast garlic cloves in the 1/4 cup reserved olive oil until slightly golden in color, about 10 to 15 minutes at 400F. Set aside to cool. Save the oil.

Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, 1/2 cup olive oil, crushed garlic, and salt. Separately, add the remaining ingredients together in a large bowl. Divide cooked garlic cloves in half and add to mix with half of the garlic oil. Save the rest again to adjust for taste before serving. Pour dressing over the vegetable mix and toss gently but well. Chill and serve. Serves 10 to 12.

1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce

4 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons powdered sugar

3 teaspoons cornstarch

1 Anaheim chili, seeded and finely minced

2 tablespoons oil

1/2 turkey breast (approximately 2 1/2 pounds), boned and skinned and diced

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 large Bermuda onion, thinly sliced