BACK TO BASICS
% COOKING >
saucefis thewasoning. NaturaUy brewed Kikkoman Soy Sauce and Italian
herb seasoning add a savory distinction to both the polenta and beefy
tomato sauce. Be sure to use a brewed soy sauce because onlyithasthe
ability to mellow sharp flavors—like tomato—plus add extra richness.
Breaasticks and an Italian salad with black olives and roasted peppers
round out this hearty meal with gusto!
POLENTA PASTICCIO ORIENT ALE
1 teaspoon Italian herb
seasoning
1 package (10 oz.) frozen
chopped spinach, cooked
and well drained
44 cup grated Parmesan
cheese
Polenta Orientale*
1 pound lean ground beef
l/i cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1*A pounds tomatoes, chopped
3 tablespoons Kikkoman Soy
Sauce
Vfa teaspoon sugar
Prepare Polenta Orientale; set aside. Brown beef with onion andgarlic
in large skillet. Add tomatoes, soy sauce and sugar. Simmer, covered, 10
minutes. Uncover and simmer 15 minutes; stir occasionally. Stir m herb
seasoning; simmer 20 minutes longer. Spread spinach over polenta, then
^Tr with meat mixture. Bake at 375’F. 15 minutes, or untd heated
through. Sprinkle cheese over meat; bake 2 minutes, or until cheese melts.
Serve immediately. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
'Polenta Orientale: Bring 1V4 cups water to boil in saucepan; stir in 4
teaspoons Kikkoman Soy Sauce. Reduce heat to medium; slowly
sprinkle in 44 cup yellow cornmeal and 44 teaspoon Italian herb
seasoning, stirring constantly. Cook and stir 5 minutes until mixture is
very stiff* Remove from heat; stir in 1 Tbsp. butter or margarine.
Spread polenta evenly in 8-inch square baking pan.
£T ROOTED IN GOOD TA!
mmm
When cool, fall days inspire nature to parade her most brilliant ward
robe, good things beneath the soil are waiting to be harvested and enjoyed
on America’s dining tables.
.Root vegetables—from familiar carrots, turnips and parsnips to lesser
known cousins such as celeriac, jicama and yucca—are the start to a
number of easy to prepare dishes that are “rooted” in good taste.
Celeriac and Parsnip Soup for example, blends four root vegetables,
Swanson clear ready to serve chicken broth, white pepper and fresh dill
into a simple soup that is sure to take the air off a crisp fall night.
Celeriac, parsnips, carrots and onion deliver the distinctive tastes of
root vegetables to this soup while Swanson chicken broth offers a conve
nient way to add the rich, full flavor of close-to-homemade stock.
CELERIAC AND PARSNIP SOUP
4 cups water
2 tablespoons lemon
juice or vinegar
1 pound celeriac,
peeled and cut into
1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons butter
or margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces
each) Swanson clear
ready-to-serve
chicken broth
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium parsnips,
peeled and cut into
1/4-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
leaves, crushed
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon all- 1 tablespoon chopped
purpose flour fresh dill
1. In medium bowl, combine water, lemon juice and celeriac.
2. In 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, in hot butter, cook
onion until tender. Add flour; cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes.
3. Drain celeriac; add to onion mixture with broth, carrots,
parsnips, thyme, pepper and bay leaf. Heat to boiling. Reduce
heat to low. Coven simmer IS to 20 minutes until vegetables are
4. Remove bay leaf. Stir in dill. Makes hbout 5 cups or 5 servings.
Calories per serving: 151.
MINUS
Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
draw us outdoors like a magnet attracts
metal. So why not pack up those warm
weather high spirits and a picnic lunch and
head for the park, the beach or the biking
trail?
This week’s recipes travel anywhere and
satisfy the heartiest appetites. The “Meat
’n’ Potato Sandwich,” for example, is a
high-energy meal in itself. To finish the
meal, pack naturally sweet, light “Spiced
Melon Balls” in an airtight plastic con
tainer. Don’t forget to pack some of your
favorite picnic snacks and disposable
plates, forks and cups. Round up the fami
ly and you’re on your way to entertaining
in nature’s most beautiful setting—the
great outdoors.
Meat 'N' Potato
Sandwich
l Lb. lean ground beef
l Lb. lean ground pork
1 Cup chopped onion
2 Eggs, beaten
2/3 Cup water
4 Teaspoons prepared mustard
y2 Teaspoon thyme
y2 Teaspoon pepper
2 Cups crushed barbecue-flavored
potato chips (measure after
crushing)
Mayonnaise
12 Slices white bread
Extra potato chips
In a large bowl, combine first nine ingre
dients. Mix until well blended. Pack into
9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350°F about one
hour, until meat shrinks away from sides
of pan. Cool thoroughly. Remove from pan
and slice. To assemble sandwiches, spread
mayonnaise on bread slices; sandwich
meat loaf and extra potato chips between
prepared bread. Serves 6.
CM
2 Lbs. lean chili meat
1 Small onion, chopped
2 Cloves garlic, minced
1 Fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and
minced
1 Can (8-oz.) tomato sauce
2 Tomato sauce cans of water
1 Tomato sauce can of beer
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 Teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon paprika
2 Heaping teaspoons chili powder
1 Teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons corn flour
Brown chili meat in a large kettle. Add re
maining ingredients, except corn flour.
Cover and simmer lVfe hours. Add enough
water to corn flour to make a thin paste.
Add to chili, mixing well. Cover and sim
mer 30 minutes. Serves 6.
Spiced Melon Bells
l Small honeydew melon, scooped into
halls
l Small canteloupe, scooped into balls
Vfe Teaspoon ground ginger '
In a large bowl, combine melon balls and
ginger. Stir. Chill 2 or more hours. Serves
5.
Serving suggestion: Scallop top of melon
halves and serve balls in melon halves.
The Lipton Kitchens have created just the menu—a romantic dinner for
two featuring Bistro-Style Chicken and Vegetables. Bistro Chicken is a
variation on pot-au-feu, a French bistro dish that traditionally calls for
chicken or other meat with a combination of hearty, winter vegetables, slow
cooked in a rich and savory broth. This version uses instant soup mix and
the microwave oven to add speed and convenience.
For dessert, serve an impromptu fruit pudding made by topping cubes
of pound or angel food cake with canned, pitted sweet cherries. Serve with
heavy cream or half and half if you like.
Don’t forget candles, fresh flowers and soft background music to create
a setting reminiscent of a French bistro. Bon Appetit!
BISTRO-STYLE CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES
teaspoon pepper
bay leaf
medium white turnip,
peeled, halved, sliced
medium leeks, cut and
cleaned*
whole chicken breast
(about S4 lb.), split, skinned
1 medium parsnip, peeled Vi
and halved lengthwise 1
2 small red potatoes, halved 1
2 medium carrots, cut into
1-1/2-inch chunks 2
2 envelopes Lipton* Lite
Chicken Florentine Cup-a- 1
Soup* Instant Soup
1 cup water
In 3-quart oblong baking dish, arrange parsnips, potatoes and carrots.
In small bowl, combine instant lite chicken florentine soup mix with water
and pepper; add bay leaf, then pour over vegetables. Microwave covered at
HIGH (Full Power) 6 minutes. Rearrange vegetables; add turnip, leeks and
chicken bony side up. Heat covered at HIGH (Full Power) 10 minutes or
until chicken is almost done, turning chicken and rearranging vegetables
after 5 minutes. Let stand covered 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf. To serve,
arrange chicken with vegetables on 2 deep dinner plates. Pour juices over
chicken and vegetables. Garnish, if desired, with chopped parsley. Makes 2
servings.
*To prepare leeks: Cut off tops and roots leaving 2-inch green top. Cut
in half lengthwise to 1-inch of bottom of leek. Turn; repeat so top of leek is
quartered. Wash thoroughly.
Paula WoHmrf't
Bistro-Style Steak With Peppertoms
Culinary historian and cookbook author
Paula Wolfert has a passion for traditional
foods with gutsy, intense flavor. One of her
favorites—Peppered Beef with Courvoisier
and Raisins—is an updated version of the
bistro classic, "steak au poivre,” from her new
book, Paula Wolfert's World of Food. In this
delicious steak dish, the piquancy of the pep
percorns is softened by the silky cognac
soaked raisins added to the sauce. Ughtly
drizzled over the peppered steak, the cognac
enhanced sauce provides rich flavor without
being too heavy.
PEPPERED BEEF WITH
COURVOISIER AND RAISINS* j
Serve* 2 f<
2 boneless shell steaks, trimmed
of fat (about 7 ounces each,
Vi-Inch thick, at room
temperature)
Coarse salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
I Vi tablespoons golden raisins
2 tablespoons Courvoisier
Cognac
4 teaspoons mixed, very
coarsely crushed black and
white peppercorns
W cup water or unsalted meat
stock
I teaspoon Dfjon-style mustard,
preferably extra strong
1 Vi tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter,
cubed
Watercress for garnish
Season steaks with salt; rub with Vi table
spoon oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap;
refrigerate until 30 minutes before cooking.
Dry steaks with paper towels. Rinse raisins
under warm water until soft; drain. Soak
raisins in Courvoisier for 30 minutes. Spread
half the peppercorns on paper towel. Firm
ly press steak into peppercorns. Spread and
firmly press remainder on top of meat. Let
stand 20 minutes.
Heat remaining oil in nonstick skillet; sear
steaks 2 minutes per side. Regulate heat so
peppercorns don’t burn. IVansfer steaks to
rack set over plate; cover with foil tent.
Four off fat and any loose peppercorns in
skillet. Add raisins and Courvoisier; warm
and ignite. When flames die out, add 'A cup
water; bring to boil, scraping any browned
bits from bottom of skillet. Add mustard,
cream and any meat Juices that have ac
cumulated around the beef; bring to boil. Add
butter; shake skillet over medium heat until
smooth sauce forms; adjust seasoning; pour
over beef. Garnish with watercress.
©1988 Harper & Row
Versatile Stable
Pasta: A Quick Dinner On Shelf
it there were an aware for “Moat
Versatile Pantry Staple,” the winner
would very likely be that old standby,
pasta. A box of fettucine, linquine,
rigatoni, macaroni—you name
it—truly means dinner on the shelf.
In supporting roles, certainly,
would be the ubiquitous chicken
breast, along with such flavor
makers as olive oil and garlic. And
last but not least. Carnation
evaporated milk. Its smooth con
sistency makes it a perfect, quick
base for sauces. And its lower-calorie
counterpart*, evaporated lowfat or
skimmed milk, are just as
reliable—with fewer calories to boot.
Enter the star: Creamy Chicken
Fettucine with Snow Peas and
Walnuts. This colorful concoction,
subtly seasoned with white wine or
vermouth, olive oil, garlic, and basil,
makes its entrance within just a few
minutes. First, use a wire whisk to
make the easy sauce, with butter,
flour, and smooth evaporated milk.
Stir in the wine and set aside.
Once the chicken has been briefly
sauteed, snow peas, mushrooms, and
carrots get a quick stir-frying the
Oriental way. In fact, a wok could be
used in place of a large skillet to
prepare this dish.
To serve, arrange the pasta either
on a generous platter, or divide it
among three or four dinner plates.
Spoon the sauce over the top, and
sprinkle on chopped walnuts. Garnish
with fresh basil leaves or slices of
green onion.