On the Food Scandal That Will Not Go Away

Talk about the proverbial tempest in  a teapot. Does it really matter whether Rachael writes her own books? All her recipes come down to 3 categories: standard fare for which numerous recipes already abound; things so obvious that no recipe is needed (microwaving bacon, scooping sherbet into dishes); and the crazy Frankenfood which is just 2 dishes mooshed together (tacosagna, anyone?) I don't feel too badly for her. With all the millions she's made from people who don't know any better, she can buy lots of Kleenex.

On the Ghost Writing Controversy

Considering all the backpedaling going on lately with indignant authors refuting a NYT article describing what it's like to be a ghost writer, I thought I owed it to the purported author of one of the volumes in question to at least look at it. So I placed a hold on Gwyneth Paltrow's homage to her her father Bruce, My Father's Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness.

Overall, I have to say that this book is attractively produced. The paper is treated with clay, which produces a shiny finish that complements photographs of the artfully presented dishes. There are serviceable collections of soups and stocks, salads and dressings, burgers, sandwiches, pasta and desserts. Of particular interest (read: filed away to make later) are the butternut squash soup, duck burger with plum sauce catsup and tuna melt with Gruyere.

Since I don't personally know Ms. Paltrow, it's impossible for me to say how authentically hers the voice in the book is. I will mention, however, that she singles Julia Turshen out for recognition more than once and in fact the two appear together in a photograph. It seems to me that this lends credence to Turshen's allegations and takes it away from Paltrow. I don't think she helps her case much by belaboring the point.

In many ways, Paltrow's book is similar to the one I'm currently editing (although Sharmagne's book has enough of a slant that the reader can easily see that it is something unique). I have to wonder whether this book would have been published had the author been someone else, or had a lot of money not been thrown at its production. I get that Paltrow enjoyed cooking with her father and for her children, but what authority does she have? What credibility? In her articulated defense, Paltrow laments "we're talking about my professional life here." Well, no. Not really. You see, dear. you are an actress. Acting is your profession. Cooking is something you do for fun, which you state outright in the book.

Perhaps it all comes down to a matter of definition, or a lack of specificity in outlining the roles of author and editor. Every author can benefit from a skilled editor – even Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe relied rather heavily on Maxwell Perkins to polish their prose.

Note: I am not weighing in here on Rachael Ray and her alleged farming out of the writing portion of her books. The last RR tome I looked at was the Get Real Meals thing, in which she railed against low-carb diets. I have to wonder what exactly she would feed a diabetic boy.

Enchiladas Juanita con Pollo, Salsa Verde y Queso

I made these last night to use some thawed chicken breasts.

Enchiladas Juanita con Pollo, Salsa Verde y Queso

1 tbs butter

2 tbs olive oil

1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3 average size)

2 c chicken stock, separated

1 medium onion, cut into ¼ “ dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

pinch of crushed red chile flakes

juice and zest of 2 small lemons (or 3 limes)

handful Italian parsley, chopped

3 c grated jack or cheddar cheese

8 taco-size flour tortillas

1 28-ounce can green enchilada sauce

In a large cast iron pan, heat 1 tbs olive oil and brown chicken on both sides. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes, or until stock has mostly evaporated. Cool, then shred the meat with two forks and set aside.

Melt 1 tbs butter with 1 tbs olive oil in the pan the chicken was cooked in. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic and continue cooking for another couple of minutes. Add cumin, oregano and chile flakes, remaining stock and lemon juice and cook until liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in parsley and lemon zest.

Preheat oven to 350; grease or butter a 13” x 9” baking dish. In each tortilla place 1/8 of the chicken mixture and cheese. Roll up tightly and place in prepared baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over all and sprinkle any leftover\additional grated cheese. Bake at 350 until salsa is bubbly and cheese is melted.

4 hearty servings.

Basic Bread Method with the Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

1 cup warm water (between 110-110 degrees, 1 minute in the microwave is usually about right)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil (veg for sweet breads, olive oil for savory or Italian)

3 cups flour

1 ½ tablespoons yeast

Combine warm water, sugar, salt and oil in the mixing bowl. Add flour and yeast. Beat on the lowest speed until dough forms a ball. Continue adding flour a bit at a time, until dough no longer feels sticky to the touch. Remove from mixing bowl and knead the dough a bit until it feels like a baby's bottom (nothing kinky here, folks, but that is the same texture I was taught to look ages ago when making bread by hand. If anyone must be blamed, it's probably Laurel Robertson).

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel or piece of plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Turn dough out onto a clean surface and punch down to remove air bubbles. Work in a little more flour, again until dough no longer feels sticky. Form into desired shape and allow to rise again, about 45 minutes.

Homemade Jam Pastries

I ran across the recipe for these today at Space & Thyme and was immediately intrigued. Of course anything homemade and still warm from the oven is going to be better than something that's been sitting in a warehouse 6 months and these wonderful pastries are no exception. Calling for 1 cup of butter may seem decadent, but it's the same amount you'd get in any 2-crust pie (not counting the filling). Plus, this yields 9 servings, whereas a pie would give you 6 or 8.

Flaky Homemade Jam Tarts

The buttery crust is rich and flaky, the mixed berry jam I used as filling provided a nice complement. Homemade cherry or apricot pie filling or preserves would also work nicely! While the golden pastries cooled, I made a glaze from powdered sugar and the juice from some leftover maraschino cherries.

My son, his friend and Daniele proclaimed them far superior to those nameless toaster things in the box.

And I just realized that although very similar to my grandmother Minnie's legendary fried pies, these actually have less fat because they are baked instead of deep fried.

Thank you for posting this, Monica!

Paula Deen's Reckoning

For a psychotherapist, Dr. Cheryl Pappas seems to be rather willfully missing the point and indeed, the very reason for the backlash against Ms Deen in the wake of revealing her diabetes diagnosis. While I cannot speak for others, I'm happy to give her my opinion.

 I don't see anyone “celebrating” Deen's diagnosis. I do see people criticizing her for promoting a severely unhealthy way of eating while proudly proclaiming “I'm your cook, not your doctor,” and now she is cashing in on it. There is no rejoicing that I've seen, only the realization that the inevitable has come to pass. Call it karma. Since Deen's ascension at Food Network, she has made millions turning herself into a caricature. She has endorsed everything from cookware (logical enough, I suppose) to ham, frozen pies, bed linens and patio furniture. Oh, and don't forget the new line of plus-size clothing.

I've long been a critic of Food Network specifically because they present much of the work of their talent as “healthy” and “figure friendly” when it is anything but. When asked to provide nutritional information on their recipes, Food Network demurs, retreating behind a claim of providing only entertainment. Through this criticism, however, I've cut Deen some slack because unlike others in the Food Network stable, she never pretended that her food was good for anyone. I couldn't bear her over-the-top dirty old lady persona (Foghorn Leghorn is a more realistic Southern representative), but I suppose that is a matter of personal preference.

Of course, Deen's medical situation is her personal business and she has no obligation whatsoever to share it with others. The fact that she chose to do so now, I believe, has much more to do with explaining away her endorsement deal and protecting her brand – and her millions – than any altruistic motivation. Viewers are left with a sense that Deen would sell her own grandbaby if she could make enough doing it.

Paula Deen

I've not seen a single post where people blamed Deen for making them diabetic, or claimed that she force-fed them anything. The simple fact of the matter is that Deen and Food Network have overplayed their hand and their audience and now, Kardashian-like, must deal with the fallout. Paula needs to take her lumps like a big girl and stop whining that a few million people less are now her fans. Television and the public marketplace is no place for the thin-skinned.

To Ms. Deen, I would suggest that rather than attempting to re-define her brand by her son Bobby re-working her oeuvre into something people could actually eat, Deen should take her empire and millions and retire. The chasm between what you have been and what you need to become to survive is simply too great. The damage is done and in my opinion, it is not reparable.

While I am no sort of medical or social authority, I do have some experience with these issues. My younger son, now 18, was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at age 7. It has been a Sisyphean struggle to get him to manage his diabetes in even a marginally satisfactory way, and I have multiple ER visits under my belt to prove it. Additionally, I spent most of my life being morbidly obese and even though I managed to lose large amounts of weight several times, it always came back. Until my gastric bypass surgery in 2005. At my top weight I was larger and looked even more like Baby Huey than does Deen in the photo that accompanies her confession.

Oh, and Dr. Pappas, speaking of “practicing the art of mean,” you'll notice that my headline does not call anyone “stupid.”

Caramel Apple Cake

As a teenager, I had 2 horses. The first, Sparky, was one ornery bitch and I shared her with my older sister (also an ornery bitch, but I digress). We lived at  an old farmhouse that had many apple, pear, cherry, plum, hazelnut and walnut trees on the property.

When Sparky decided the riding session was through, it was through. Her favorite trick to end said session was to run under a low hanging branch on one of the apple trees. She would knock me off and I would suspend in the air for a moment, just like Wile E. Coyote, before landing on my butt in a big, mooshy pile of rotten apples.

Fast forward 40 years.

Both the fridge and pantry are getting a bit bare, as Daniele has been taking the car to school lately. Yah, I could take the bus, but what with the arthritis and all, don't feel much like going anyplace. Or getting up off the couch, for that matter.

Gravenstein Apples

So, casting about for ways to attack that sudden sugar craving, I decided to throw a cake together.

For those poor schlubs who do not live in an area where Gravensteins are available, sorry, my heart bleeds for you. Granny Smith will suffice in a pinch.

Note: we are NOT “apple pickin' people,” we are “picking apples up off the ground people.”

Caramel Apple Cake

2 ½ c flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ c butter, softened (10 seconds in the microwave does the trick)

1 ½ c sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 ½ c milk

2 Gravenstein apples, grated

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. In the mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Add dry ingredients and milk alternately, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir in grated apples.

Grease and flour the bottom of a 9” x 13” baking pan and pour in batter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or so...until golden brown and starting to pull away from the sides. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Caramel Frosting

½ c butter

1 c firmly packed brown sugar

¼ c milk

3 c powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add brown sugar and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Raise heat to medium high and add milk. Continue to cook until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. If necessary, add a few drops of milk so that the mixture is spreading consistency. Spread over the cooled cake.

12 servings.