Lee White

I have a good kitchen in my condo although not as nice as the one I had in Old Lyme, where my husband knocked down walls between two rooms, then got rid of a hallway. When he was done, and with help from a carpenter neighbor, that kitchen was 24 ft. by 17 ft., the center island could hold 10 people, my 42-inch gas stove had six burners and there was a separate pantry that held all my ingredients.

Today my stove is electric and I was sure I would ruin my pots and pans, but I have not. It is just a galley kitchen, and most of my foodstuff takes up two-thirds of the hall closet.

But I have lots of kitchen counter space, the kitchen sink is almost as big as the one I had in Old Lyme and I am able, on a shelf under the bay window, to have all my small appliances close by: a big KitchenAid mixer, a Ninja that purees in a fraction of a second, a big and a little Cuisinart, a Rival Crock-Pot, two little grinders (one for spices, one for coffee) and one that has become a favorite, a 6-quart Instant Pot. It sat in its own box for a year, until a friend in Groton came to my house and showed me how to use it. 

Last week, I found some stew meat in the freezer and decided to make my stew in the Instant Pot. Originally, it makes a big mess in the kitchen and takes hours of prep and, sautéeing in a large Le Creuset first on the stovetop and later in the oven. Then it takes more time afterward to reduce the sauce. This time it took less than an hour, and most of that time was allowing the IP to get to pressure. The cooking took 35 minutes. In one pot!

Here’s the recipe:

Beef Bourguignon in the Instant Pot

A delicious dish of Beef Bourguignon. Photo by Slayschips. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Yield: Serves 8 to 10 people 

2 pounds of beef (bought as stew beef or cut from a chuck roast into 2-inch chunks)
Olive oil for sautéeing in the Instant Pot
Flour with salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
16 ounces sliced mushrooms
2 cans low-sodium beef broth
1 broth can of fairly good red wine
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed in one 2 tablespoons cold water

Open your Instant Pot and turn it to Sauté and add olive oil.  Place flour, salt and pepper in a large soup bowl. In batches, toss beef and sauté, adding more oil as needed. Place sautéed beef in a large bowl. Add onion, mushrooms and garlic, stirring, until translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes. Cancel Sauté. Pour in beef broth and red wine and stir. Add beef and stir. Turn lid on and turn on Pressure Cook to 35 minutes. Go watch television or read a book.

It will take maybe 30 minutes to start to Pressure Cook. When it is done, use a bottom of a wooden spoon to allow the steam to disappear.

When you open the lid ladle the vegetables and beef into a big bowl. Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté. When it gets hot, stir in the cornstarch and cold water and stir until thickened. Turn Cancel and add back the beef and vegetables. Season to taste.

Serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

About the author: Lee White has been writing about restaurants and cooking since 1976 and has been extensively published in the Worcester (Mass.) Magazine, The Day, Norwich Bulletin, and Hartford Courant. She currently writes Nibbles and a cooking column called A La Carte for LymeLine.com and the Shore Publishing and the Times newspapers, both of which are owned by The Day. She was a resident of Old Lyme for many years but now lives in Groton, Conn.

Lee White

With Christmas just around the corner, we are probably looking toward another different holiday. In my heart of heart, I believe that our next festive holiday, if not Easter, will be Memorial Day weekend with backyard barbecues and parades with marching bands.

I really do believe this.

In the meantime, many of us have been cooking and baking for Christmas. Perhaps dinner will be a baked ham with pineapple and brown sugar, scalloped potatoes, Brussels sprouts with bacon and, of course, pies. My friend Jean Howard, whose son, Lee Howard is my New London Times’ editor, makes an apricot pie that should be awarded medals. She evidently made one for Thanksgiving and Lee and his Libby saved a piece for me.

Jean explained that the recipe is simple, but the dried apricots are important. They must be California apricots, she explained, not the Turkish ones. I looked up the difference. The former are dried whole, without the pits, while the California ones are halved, less sweet but have are more “apricot” flavor. I found them at Trader Joe’s. 

I had never made a dried fruit pie, but I have hydrated fruits for other recipes (and for braising) and love the very intense flavor that hydrating brings to food. I also looked into other recipes and added a few fillips to Jean’s recipe. And, for me, I needed a little more sugar.

I also remembered that my friend, Rose Levy Beranbaum, also reduced fruit liquid to some pies. I also added some grated lemon and a whisper of pure almond extract.

Below is Jean Howard’s recipe for one of the best recipes you will ever make. 

Photo by Maša Žekš on Unsplash.

Jean Howard’s Apricot Pie

Adapted with love from me and Nick Malgieri

1 pound California (or slab) apricots, diced into ½ –inch dice
3 cups water
¾ cups sugar
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon grated lemon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon pure almond extract
1 prepared dough for a 8- to 9-inch pie*

Cook apricots and water to a boil in a medium unreactive pan; bring to a boil, remove from the heat and cool for about 2 hours.

Transfer apricots and water to a bowl. Set a strainer over the saucepan in which the apricots soaked and drain the apricots well, letting the liquid fall back into then pan

Combine sugar and flour and whisk the mixture into the apricot liquid. Place pan on low heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a low boil. Stir in zest, butter and almond extract. Pour liquid over apricots and allow to cool.

When ready to assemble and bake the pie, set a rack on the lowest level in the oven and preheat to 375. Roll the dough around the pie pan, saving some for some lattice, if you like. Put the pie in the oven and decrease the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until filling is simmering, about 45 minutes. 

*Seems like everyone is using a prepared dough these days, but if you would like my recipe, which my late friend, Deb Jensen, gave me, write me at leeawhite@aol.com.

About the author: Lee White has been writing about restaurants and cooking since 1976 and has been extensively published in the Worcester (Mass.) Magazine, The Day, Norwich Bulletin, and Hartford Courant. She currently writes Nibbles and a cooking column called A La Carte for LymeLine.com and the Shore Publishing and the Times newspapers, both of which are owned by The Day. She was a resident of Old Lyme for many years but now lives in Groton, Conn.

Lee White

It could be old age, or COVID, or rehabilitation with my new hip or nothing at all. But it feels as if my wonderful daughter was here for two days instead of two weeks. In any case, my new hip is perfect. My hip has given me a new lease on life. I was on my walker for a few days, onto my cane the next week and driving on the third. 

Thanksgiving was as perfect as that holiday can be without any of my family members together. My next-door neighbors and I shared a traditional meal and, for some reason, everything tasted better than it had been in other times. And, of course, there were the sandwiches. Wished I had not tossed off the stuffing by mistake.

My longest drive was to Madison, to see my sweet friends Lisa and Eric and their dog Lucy. We ate outside on a lovely day and when it got a little cooler, Eric plugged into a heat lamp. We ate Lisa’s quiche, roasted potatoes dusted with truffle oil and a bright, green salad of which I couldn’t have enough. Lisa says it is a white balsamic she gets from Fairway. Knowing her, a bottle will be in my mailbox soon.

Now the rest of the holidays are almost here.

Actually, Hanukkah started yesterday, Dec. 10, and so it is time for latkes.

Here is a recipe I have used for years. The recipe calls for using a hand grater for the onions and the onions, but I use a food processor. The only difficult part is wringing out the potato and onion water, but it is a small matter when you get to eat them.

And, by the way, latkes could be for any holiday, or no holiday itself, especially if you add these toppings from the new Food Magazine:

• pastrami, warmed sauerkraut and spicy mustard
• egg salad with chopped chives, dill and salmon roe
• hummus, chopped Kalamata olives and chopped parsley
• thinly sliced fennel and lemon juice
• ricotta, a pinch of cayenne and honey
• gravlax and crème fraiche
• warmed refried beans, shredded, pickled jalapenos, sour cream and thinly sliced scallion.

Or, at our house, two big bowls of applesauce and sour cream!

My parents told me that whether people eat latkes with apple sauce or sour cream depends on whether their ancestors are from the (richer) German-Spanish-Austrian (apple sauce) or the less-classy Polish or Russian relatives (sour cream). Mine are from the less-classy relatives, but I love and serve both.

Latkes are traditionally served during Hanukkah … but Lee White says they can be served at any time! Photo by Mark Mitchell – Flickr: Potato Latkes, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32143883

Latkes

Yield: serves 8 to 10

6 to 8 large russet potatoes
1 medium onion
2 large eggs
1/4  cup matzoh meal or flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
vegetable oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Peel potatoes and onions. Cut them into chunks that will feed in the feeding tube of the food processor. With the grating disk, grate potatoes and onions into food processor. Place grated potatoes and onions into a colander and push as much liquid out. Then (here’s the hard part), put grated potatoes and onion into a clean dish towel and squeeze, squeeze and squeeze. 

Put squeezed potatoes and onions into a bowl. Mix eggs, flour or matzoh meal and baking powder into the potatoes and onions. Add salt and pepper. 

Heat about an inch of oil into a skillet until fairly hot. Drop tablespoons of mixture into the skillet and fry, turning once. (I sometimes flatten the pancakes a bit.) Drain on paper towels.

You can keep the pancakes warm in a 250 degree oven until ready to serve, but I find that people want to eat them as soon as they come out of the skillet and drained.

About the author: Lee White has been writing about restaurants and cooking since 1976 and has been extensively published in the Worcester (Mass.) Magazine, The Day, Norwich Bulletin, and Hartford Courant. She currently writes Nibbles and a cooking column called A La Carte for LymeLine.com and the Shore Publishing and the Times newspapers, both of which are owned by The Day. She was a resident of Old Lyme for many years but now lives in Groton, Conn.