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DEBORAH CROMBIE: In a comment last week, Hallie mentioned a recipe she'd seen in the Boston paper for a cabbage and tomato soup served with sour cream and dill. That reminded me that I used to make a similar cabbage soup called Schi, which I loved. But what, I wondered, had happened to the recipe?
First, I looked in the big, messy (I mean really messy!) three-ring binder where I stick newspaper recipe clippings and appliance instructions. No luck, although a lot of stuff fell out on the floor. But I knew I had a printed recipe, so I kept thinking about it, and eventually I remembered my little recipe notebook.
Lo and behold, there it was on the kitchen shelf, hiding in between cookbooks!
I hadn't looked at this in years!
What a treasure! It's filled with typed (on my old Smith Corona, no less) recipes, some from family and friends, others I must have read somewhere.
Here is my friend Franny's recipe for oat scones. Yum. I'd completely forgotten about those.
There was my aunt's mushroom pate, our old neighbor's Velvet Black-bottomed Cupcakes, my mom's Seafood Gumbo, and so many more.
In the very back of the notebook, I found the recipe for Schi, the cabbage soup. Eureka! But it calls for boiling beef, which these days sounds very unappealing. How our taste--and my cooking--has changed. (I'll probably make a vegetarian version.)
One recipe had a note that read, "Similar recipes in the February 1986 Gourmet," which places the little notebook in time--about three years before I started my first novel. How, I wondered, with a small child and a job, had I ever found the time to type up these carefully curated recipes and put the little book together?
Then it occurred to me that my daughter doesn't even own a cookbook. She's a good cook, but she gets Hello Fresh every week, and everything else she finds online. No newspaper clippings or hand-typed recipes!
Were we less busy in those days, before the Internet and social media? We're certainly spoiled for choice now--with a quick Google search we can learn how to prepare just about anything. But the little notebook has charm, and connections to people and a certain time in my life. I'm glad I kept it.
What about you, dear REDS and readers? Do you have a time capsule?
DEBORAH CROMBIE: Just to make certain no one has post-Valentine's Day blues, here's a little pick me up for your Sunday morning. I think I promised recently to share my French toast recipe, and this seemed like the perfect time. And no thinking about either of the evil "C" words--calories or carbs--for another day!
(A small disclaimer--the photo is not mine. My French toast never looks quite this pretty, but this has given me ideas!!)
I first ran across this recipe--or something similar, since the original clipping has long since disappeared--in a copy of Gourmet Magazine. It must have been in the 80s or early 90s, when Laurie Colwin was still with us and writing her regular column. I never missed an issue in those days.
So, with a couple of decades of slapdash adjusting, I think we can call this:
DEB'S FRENCH TOAST
About 5 slices of good grainy bread, cut in half. The bread can be a little stale. It will hold up better in the batter, and it's a great way to use up a good loaf.
Lay the half slices out evenly in a dish. I use a Pyrex 9 x 13 baking dish.
In another bowl (I use a big jug) beat five eggs with a fork until foamy.
Add a cup of milk, half a cup of cream or half-and-half (if you must, but it's better with cream, and remember, we are not COUNTING) and half a cup of fresh orange juice.
Then, put in a big splash--at least a couple of tablespoons, of really good orange liqueur. You can use Gran Marnier. I prefer one called Creole Shrubb, which is a little less sweet and has a bit of spiciness to it.
Mix the ingredients well and pour over the bread slices. Let sit for a few minutes so that the bread can soak up the batter, and make sure all the slices are well covered.
Meanwhile, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a couple of tablespoons of good unsalted butter in a large non-stick skillet. When the oil/butter mixture is foaming, add as many bread slices as the skillet will hold. Brown on one side, turn, and brown the other. Have a warmed plate ready for the first batch as you will need to do a second, adding a little more oil and butter as needed.
Add the second batch of golden toast to the warmed plate. Turn down the heat under the skillet and toss in a couple of handfuls of fresh, washed blueberries (or more.) Cook gently, stirring, until the blueberries begin to break down and release their juice. Pour the hot blueberries over the toast. Serve with warmed real maple syrup.
Crisp bacon makes this an absolutely scrumptious feast.
And after this you will undoubtedly need to take a nap...
This is my idea of the perfect Sunday brunch, served with a big pot of tea and the Sunday paper. REDs and readers, what's yours??
