Holm Family Cookbook

Our friend Bruce Burton loves to cook for and with people, foods from scratch, that take hours and hours, such as ravioli, tamales (that's the next blog!), and the like.

Our Executive Chef

We had tasted his ravioli before, including butternut squash ravioli that just melted in your mouth, but we never had the opportunity to cook with Bruce. We finally found the time to “whip up” his Nonni’s (from Italy) ravioli. We passed out the ingredient list to friends, set aside a Saturday afternoon in the party barn, and got to work. We were making the dough, the filling, and the sauce. In hindsight, next time we may make the sauce, or filling, or both, the day before, as this was an all day process with multiple hands at work!

We really started from scratch by grinding our own meat. We had a couple of pork butts and a chuck roast that we sliced into strips and ran through the grinder.

The Meat Grinder

We didn’t follow the recipes to the tee (as usual!). We didn’t have chicken, so we doubled the pork, and for the sauce, we didn’t have canned tomatoes, we only used tomato sauce. Then the chopping began--lotsa chopping--and it had to be diced fine to fit into those delicate little pillows! Bruce’s Sous Chef, Joan (his wife!), was the chop master, with oysters, half a dozen fresh herbs, spinach, Swiss chard, onions, and, of course, lotsa garlic!

Our Sous Chef hard at work

We put our Italian friend Kristin (maiden name: Amicucci!) to work on the garlic.

The Italian Garlic Princess - Ms. Amicucci

Some of the same ingredients were used in the filling and the gravy (which we American’s would call sauce), we were working on those simultaneously. We needed to get the gravy on early so it could stew for about 3 to 4 hours. It was really amazing how much was happening on the party barn ping-pong table, multiple stations along the progress of our ravioli adventure.

Nonni's Gravy

Once we had the filling all chopped and mixed, and the gravy back in my kitchen on a slow simmer (the hot plates in the barn couldn’t cut the mustard), we got to work on the ravioli dough. Just like Mario Battali, Bruce started the dough with a pile of flour, made a well, dropped in the eggs, oil and salt and got to kneading.

Nonni's Dough

Three batches later, we were ready to starting rolling out the dough in the machine.

Once it was just about see-through, very thin, but not so thin it would tear, we placed it over the floured ravioli pan, made little divots, spooned a small amount of filling into the hole, watered the edges, and placed another layer of dough on top.

Then we used a small rolling pin to roll all the edges,

flipped the pan over onto a corn floured baking sheet, and got on to the next batch.

The final step was boiling the ravioli in a large pot of salted water. You dump the ravioli in and when they float, mission accomplished, about 5 to 6 minutes. We poured a bit of sauce on the plate, placed the ravioli on top, and poured more sauce over the top, and dug in.

My first bite was worth all the effort, these little pillows of loveliness melted in your mouth! I don’t remember ever tasting pasta that soft and velvety, I was so overwhelmed with eating that I never did get the “money shot” of the finished product! This picture doesn’t do those ravioli justice.

Nonni's Ravioli

So the next occasion you have multiple hands available, a lot of time, and the ingredients on hand, “whip up” some ravioli, it’s well worth the time and effort, and for those of you without an Italian Nonni like me, now you have a recipe!

Mangia! Nancy

NONNI’S GRAVY (SAUCE)

1 – 28 ounce can Italian plum tomatoes

1 – 15 ounce can tomato sauce

½ small can tomato paste

1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped

1 tsp. red pepper

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. dried thyme

pepper to taste

Blend plum tomatoes in cuisinart. Put in a 6-quart pot with remaining ingredients.

In cuisinart chop:

½ bunch parsley

10 large fresh mushrooms

½ cup dried mushrooms (soaked in water, squeezed and chopped, use strained liquid)

Add ingredients to the pot.

Fry:

1 pound ground beef

Chop in cuisinart to a fine texture and add to pot.

1 leg and 1 thigh of chicken

2½ cups water

1 pound boneless chuck roast

Cut big slices through the chuck but leave in one piece. Brown the chuck and chicken pieces. Cook with 2 ½ cups of water to make broth. Strain out the meat and chicken bones, add broth to the sauce and cook for 3 or more hours.

NONNI’S RAVIOLI FILLING (1/4 batch, 5 ounces = 1 dozen ravioli)

¼ pound sirloin

½ pound pork butt

¾ pound chicken (we didn’t use chicken, but more pork)

½ jar fresh oysters, chopped

¼ cube butter

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 bunch green onions, finely chopped

¼ cup celery, finely chopped

1 tbsp. Thyme and rosemary, finely chopped

½ bunch parsley, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ cup spinach, finely chopped and cooked

1 cup Swiss chard, finely chopped and cooked

6 eggs

3 tbsp. olive oil

8 ounces ricotta cheese

¾ cup Parmesan cheese

¼ cup breadcrumbs

Grind the beef, pork and chicken. Fry celery and onions in butter and olive oil. Fry the pork, then beef and chicken. Mix with the remaining ingredients to stuff the ravioli.

NONNI’S RAVIOLI DOUGH

1¼ pounds of flour

3 eggs

2 tbsp. Oil

¼ tsp. Salt

Hot water if needed, use oil in hot weather

Make a well in the mound of flour. Place the eggs, oil and salt in the middle of the flour. Mix together, kneed, put in bowl, cover and let rest for 1 hour or so. Roll out, add filling, top with dough, cut into raviolis.

Our friends the Blume’s hale from NOLA (New Orleans Louisiana), and boy do they know how to cook! We recently put our heads together during crab season, and decided it was time for a good ol’ fashioned crab boil. In the Blume's old neighborhood, blue crabs are king, in our ‘hood, it’s Dungeness all the way. So we met somewhere in the middle (that somewhere would be 99 Ranch Market in Pleasanton, this place is amazing!), and went a little overboard on the seafood.

Live Dungeness at 99 Ranch Market

We wanted everyone to feel at home, so we got a bit of everything…Dungeness AND Blue crab (we found them both live!), jumbo gulf shrimp, a pair o’ still kickin' lobster, crawdads (not so live), and of course, some okra. It was a shopping event to remember and we hadn’t even started cooking yet.

Crustacean Alert! Blue & Dungeness Crab, Crawdads, Lobster & Shrimp

For the crab boil, we threw everything in a huge pot o’ boilin’ water: corn on the cob, red potatoes, onion, lemon, garlic, artichoke, salt and pepper, and of course, a bag or two of Zatarain’s Crab Boil.

It's a crab boil with all the fixin's!

Oops, don’t forget the crab.

Fresh off the California Coast - Dungeness Crab

We made an awful mess of their kitchen, but well worth it. We decided for next season, it would be necessary to get a big gas burner for out of doors and really do things right. It was a bit too cold to rollout the newspaper on tables outdoors for the gang to crack and eat at the same time, so a few of the fellas did the crustacean crackin’ outside, and brought it ready to eat inside..

You may have read about my foray into okra last summer, the only kind of okra we didn’t cook was fried. Well, we took care of that! The fried okra was absolutely delicious, and really easy, again, thanks to Zatarain’s seasoned Fish-Fri, Crispy Southern. We had every burner going on the stove, so we brough in the electric frying pan to get the job done.

Crispy fried okra

Just toss the sliced okra rings in the Fish-Fri and into the hot oil, voilà! Delicious crunchy little morsels that melt in your mouth, and to dispel the myth to those in California that don’t eat okra, it wasn't slimy at all!

The only thing we didn’t need Zatarain’s for was the dirty rice, our Southern friends whipped up a batch from scratch, with a dash of Tony Chachere’s! (I cheat at home and do use Zatarain’s Dirty Rice in a box, I'm from California after all.)

We really didn’t use any recipes for this meal, just threw it all together. I couldn't write fast enough as Deana was making her dirty rice, there were too many pots and pans boilin', I'll get that recipe next time! We served the crustaceans with pounds of melted garlic butter, spicy cocktail sauce and my family's thousand island crab dressing. This was definitely a meal to remember, and to repeat!

Laissez le Bon temp rouler…in California!

Nancy

For nearly 50 years clam dip has been served at my parent's parties and family events

When I was a kid in the 1960's my parents belonged to two dinner clubs. Each month the members of the clubs would take a turn hosting a dinner party at their house. When it was my mother's turn to host "club" it was quite a production getting the house ready. I can remember using the electric floor polisher to polish the hardwood floors in the living room. The polisher was taller than I was. It had two rotating felt pads on the bottom and a long pole with handles to hold to control the polisher.  There was an electrical cord attached to the top portion of the pole and the other end would be plugged into the wall. I can remember polishing the floors a few times with no parental supervision. At least twice I lost control of the polisher (I think I may have lost control when I tried to ride it). It spun wildly around and around, the cord wound around me and the polisher. I don't remember how the polisher was stopped. Apparently I did not get hurt, but I have to wonder why as a small child I was operating it in the first place.

An Electrolux floor polisher just like the one I used to polish the living room floor

Another big job that needed to be done for the dinner parties was polishing the silver. My mother had a set of Wallace Grand Baroque sterling silver flatware that would always be tarnished when it was time to entertain. We would use silver polish and cloth diapers to polish the silver. The silver polish would always get into the ornate handles and it would take some work to get it out. While this job was tedious, it was much safer than polishing the hardwood floor.

Wallace Grand Baroque sterling silver flatware

Prior to the guests arriving, ashtrays would be set out around the house and a silver cup with cigarettes in it would be placed on the coffee table in the living room so the guests could help themselves to a cigarette. I really can't remember what my mother would serve for dinner for "club," but I do remember that a lot of highballs were served along with clam dip and ridged dip chips before dinner was served.

A cup like this would be filled with cigarettes for the guests

Highballs made of whiskey and carbonated water were served

While the highballs aren't flowing nowadays like they used to in the 60's and you won't find cigarettes at my parent's parties or our family events, clam dip is still being served. On Christmas Eve our cousin Lori usually makes clam dip for us to eat while we wait for Santa to arrive and sometimes two family members bring it to our Fourth of July family reunion. The clam dip is almost always served with ridged dip chips and is gone before you know it. Below is Lori's recipe from our cookbook.

Clam Dip

Ingredients

1 6-ounce can of minced clams

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped green onion

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Dash of Tabasco

Directions

Drain the minced clams, reserving some of the clam juice in case it is needed later. In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, green onion, lemon juice, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco. Add the clams and mix thoroughly. If the dip is too thick, add some of the clam juice and stir well. Serve with chips or crackers.

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So I have a confession to make. In the morning after "club," I would take sips of the highballs that were still on the coffee table and end tables. The highballs with the cigarette butts floating in them really didn't taste that great.

~merry~

A "BOO!" bag

Several years ago, I was in the kitchen fixing dinner and the doorbell rang. It was still light outside and the kids and I went to the front door and opened it. No one was there. We looked up and down the street, but did not see a soul. However, sitting on the doormat was a black bag and attached to it was a piece of paper with a ghost and the word "Boo!" printed on it. We opened the bag and inside there was a piece of paper that said:

The air is cool, the season fall,

Soon Halloween will come to all.

The spooks are after things to do . . . . .

In fact, a spook brought this to you.

"Boo" is a shield from the witching hour,

Just hang it up and watch its power.

On your front door is where it works,

It wards off spooks and scary jerks.

The treats that came with this crypted note,

Are yours to keep--enjoy them both.

The power comes when neighbors like you,

Will copy this and make it two.

Just a short day to work your spell,

Or a big zap will strike your tail.

And don't forget a nifty treat,

Like something cute and something sweet.

Please join the fun, let's really hear it,

And spread some treats and Halloween spirit!

The bag was also filled with candy, some wax teeth, and temporary Halloween tattoos. We followed the cryptic note's instructions and put the picture of the ghost on our front door, made two bags filled with Halloween treats and surprises, and copied the picture of the ghost and the cryptic note. We left the bags on two unsuspecting neighbor's doorsteps and rang the bell and ran. Days later, nearly every house in the neighborhood had a ghost on the front door or window.

We lived in a newly developed area and the following year we had lots of new houses and neighbors in the neighborhood, so as soon as October rolled around we booed some of the new neighbors. We've never figured out how the first person that booed us was out of sight so quickly in the daylight. My daughters would wait until dark, always dress in black, and had a plan of where to hide after running from a house they had just booed so they would not be seen.

Some of the things that we've put in the boo bags over the years have been candies (usually well wrapped so that people don't think this is a plot to poison them), Halloween decorations, glow necklaces for the kids to wear trick or treating, pumpkin candle holders, Halloween tea towels, pumpkin carving kits, pumpkins with the names of each child painted on them, and a bottle of wine for mom and dad (wouldn't want them to miss out on the fun!).  I've also used plastic buckets and plastic pumpkins instead of bags.

For years it's been our tradition to boo the neighbors and then every night until Halloween we would walk around the neighborhood to see how far and quickly the boo's spread. This year sadly for me, my oldest daughter is away at college and the younger one isn't thrilled with the thought of going alone. So, I decided to boo my workplace. The people that I work with like to have fun, so I'm hoping that they will all have a great time with it.

On Thursday I made my two boo bags and left them in front of a couple of coworker's doors before they got to work. One of the coworkers promptly put up the decorations that were in the bag and posted the ghost. I saw the other one take his bag home, I assume to show his small children.

The items for an office Boo! included pumpkin pie flavored candy corn, pumpkin carving kit, candies, flashing spider, candies, and window stick-ons

The bags stuffed and ready to Boo!

This year I found a great website that has a poem and a picture of a ghost, including a poem and ghost that can be used for the office. Downloading the poem from this website is perfect, because you don't have to find a copier to make copies of the ghost and poem--you can just download and print! The poem also mentions the website so that the people that get booed can download and print too or find out more about what just happended to them. There are also links to other blogs and stories about booing. Here is the website: http://www.beenbooed.com/

On Monday I leave for a couple of business trips, so I will be gone for two weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing how far the boos have gone when I get back!

NOTE:  Booing is not recommended for all neighborhoods, especially if you are dressed all in black and running from someone's house in the dark. Please use caution.

~merry~

Over Labor Day weekend we headed out for the annual Mueller family camping trip on the Tuolumne River and Turlock Lake in Stanislaus County. This was a banner year with over 30 campers and boaters, ages 2 to 79.

The Tuolumne River in Stanislaus County

A fleet of boats are towed along, one of which is a bass boat, so there’s usually some fishin' going on. In the past, we haven’t cooked fish that often, the river is catch and release for trout, and nobody has ever been too excited about cleaning and cooking those critters at the end of the day. This year we took things a little more seriously, and I came prepared with my “tool box” for camp cooking.

I visited Green Leaf BBQ, our local specialty BBQ shop ahead of time to look into buying a 16-18” cast iron frying pan, after seeing the behemoth in use on our last camping trip. I left the store without the frying pan (it’s a specialty order) but came out with “The Brothers” Tangy Original BBQ Sauce and “John Henry’s” Wild Cherry Chipotle dry rub, upon recommendation from the owner. I was also packing a salt, pepper and garlic house spice mix that I had picked up at the Lockeford Sausage Company.

The river was flowing fast and furious into the lake and along the campsite, and fishing was good. The Mueller and Miller boys brought in a full stringer of rainbow trout, the assembly line of fish cleaning got rollin’ and the BBQ was sparked. I brought along an arsenal of ideas…

Nephew Matt and the Sangervasi cousins with the "catch of the day"!

I started by sprinkling every fish, inside and out, with the salt and pepper mix, and we tried the trout four ways:

1) I soaked two of the fish in buttermilk that I had brought up for pancakes, then dipped the fish in some flour and spice mix and fried it up on the camp stove the good old fashioned way. It came out crispy and delicious - heads began to turn.

2) We threw one trout directly on the grill, about 5 minutes on one side, flipped it, poured on “The Brothers” sauce inside and out, flipped it again after 5 minutes, brushed the other side with the sauce, cooked a few more minutes and served. At this point we won over another 3 nay-saying fish haters!

3) I laid a pair of fish individually on heavy duty tin foil, rubbed olive oil inside and out and sprinkled with a little more spice mix, stuffed the fish with sliced red bell pepper, garlic and shallots, laid a bit of the veg mix alongside the fish, wrapped them loosely and threw them on the grill, about 10 - 12 minutes each side. Now we were cooking! Another success, and another couple of skeptics were brought to the other side.

4) We rubbed the last fish with olive oil and heavily sprinkled it with John Henry’s Wild Cherry Chipotle dry rub inside and out, threw it on the grill, 5 minutes each side, and boy oh boy, this was the winner in my eyes, it was absolutely delicious! One of the 11 year-olds came over from the darkside at this point, we had the whole team eatin’ fish, and actually enjoying it.

At this point we were wondering if “fish” had another name, maybe kids would be more tolerant, and move beyond the average fish stick! Mission accomplished, my fly-fishin’ dad would be proud!

~ Nancy Calhoun Mueller

Grilled marinated tri-tip

My family and I just spent an amazing week with our cousin Becky Foster and her family at Hebgen Lake in West Yellowstone, Montana. Becky's parents have owned a beautiful log cabin that overlooks Hebgen Lake for many years. The first day we arrived was Kelsie Foster's 17th birthday. A few of the neighbors from the surrounding cabins were invited to the cabin for Kelsie's birthday dinner.  One of the neighbors brought some great sauteed green beans, another family supplied fireworks, and we provided Livermore Valley wine (a Cuda Ridge cabernet). Becky had been marinating some beef tri-tips from California for a couple of days, which her husband Harold grilled to perfection. She also made some outstanding mashed potatoes, pasta salad, and green salad.  While waiting for dinner, our daughter Laina gave the other teens henna tattoos.

Hebgen Lake near West Yellowstone, Montana

One of the henna tattoos

The teens amusing themselves before dinner

During dinner there were lively conversations and lots of laughs. We enjoyed a delicious cake from a bakery in West Yellowstone and after dinner we were treated to an incredible fireworks display that was provided by the neighbors from Kansas. What a wonderful way to celebrate a birthday!  Below is the marinade recipe that Becky used to marinade the tri-tips. It is a recipe that Becky had provided for our cookbook. I often use the recipe at home and really enjoy it. I hope you will too. 

The birthday cake

Meat and Game Marinade - Makes about 1 1/4 cups

We used to have this growing up when dad would go deer hunting. It was so good with fresh venison. About 2 pounds would be cut into 2-inch cubes, coated well with the marinade and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. It is much better if you can let it marinate overnight. You can also marinate a whole flank steak or tri tip and then barbecue it. Be sure to slice it on the diagonal. Also try dredging cubes of marinated meat in flour and frying them in oil, turning once, until cooked. -Becky Calhoun Foster

Ingredients

3/4 cup salad oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3 cloves garlic, minced (optional)

Directions

In a nonreactive pot or bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, honey, garlic powder, and garlic. Place the meat to be marinated in a glass pan or gallon sized freezer bag and cover with marinade. Let meat sit in marinade for at least 6 hours. Turn meat occasionally during marinating to ensure all sides are marinated. 

~merry carter~

In preparation for National Ice Cream Day on July 17th, we wanted to share our Granny’s famous ice cream recipe. Our cousin Lori and her family came out from Texas this 4th of July and she whipped up a batch of the strawberry ice cream for the family reunion on the Circle H Ranch.

A good time was had by all, and the ice cream was quickly inhaled.

Taking a dip in the cement pond - holding water since 1938!

Granny saved ice cream making for special summer occasions—such as birthdays, Father’s Day, or the Fourth of July.

Before she got an electric ice cream maker, the cousins would all get to take turns turning the crank on the old ice cream machine. I can remember all the cousins fighting over who would get to lick the dasher from inside the ice cream machine.

The famous ice cream dasher

Here are my favorites from Granny’s ice cream recipes.

Granny’s Strawberry Ice Cream

6 pints ripe strawberries, cleaned and hulled

2 pints heavy whipping cream

1 pint half-and-half

3/4 cup sugar

11/2 teaspoons vanilla

In a food processor or blender, process 5 pints of the berries until smooth. In a large bowl, combine the fruit with the cream, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Mash the remaining pint of strawberries with a potato masher and stir into the cream mixture. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Makes 5 quarts.

Granny’s Peach Ice Cream

8 ripe medium-size peaches

2 pints heavy whipping cream

1 pint half-and-half

3/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons amaretto

Drop the peaches into a large pot of boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and cool. Slip the skins off of the peaches, cut in half, and remove the pits. Process 6 of the peaches in a food processor or blender until smooth. In a large bowl, combine the fruit with the cream, half-and-half, sugar, and amaretto and mix well. Cut the remaining 2 peaches into 1/4-inch dice; stir them into the cream mixture. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Makes 4 quarts.

~ Lori Neely South

You may not realize this, but today is National Chocolate Chip Day, who would have known?!

An entire day set aside for America’s favorite cookie. No one has been able to discover any congressional records or presidential proclamations for the occassion, but the chocolate chip cookie is certainly deserving of the accolades.The marvelous, melt-in-your-mouth treats haven’t been around all that long. According to wikipedia.com the stories goes like this...

The chocolate chip cookie was accidentally developed by Ruth Graves Wakefield in 1930. She owned the Toll House Inn, in Whitman, Massachusetts, a very popular restaurant that featured home cooking in the 1930s. The restaurant's popularity was not just due to its home-cooked style meals; her policy was to give diners a whole extra helping of their entrées to take home with them and a serving of her homemade cookies for dessert. Her cookbook, Toll House Tried and True Recipes,

was published in 1936 by M. Barrows & Company, New York. It included the recipe "Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie", which rapidly became a favorite to be baked in American homes (that included the Holm family, this is by far our mother's FAVORITE cookie of all times, she was 7 at the time of publication, no wonder!).

When googling “chocolate chip cookie recipe” you discover 1,300,000 pages dedicated to the chocolate treasure, that’s a lot o’ chocolate chips!! Some of the mainstays that popped up were Betty Crocker’s “Ultimate” Chocolate Chip Cookie, Sunset Magazine’s “Perfect” Chocolate Chip Cookie, Hershey’s also had the “perfect” cookie (how's a woman to choose??). Of course Martha Stewart has a recipe, “soft and chewy” as she brings up the age old question, “thin and crispy or soft and chewy?” Land O’ Lakes Butter touts a gluten free recipe, and just to cover our bases, and there is no shortage of vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes, 344,000 vegan chocolate chip recipes can be found on google, and supervegan.com had “The best vegan chocolate chip cookie ever. Serious." And then we really need to remember the source, Nestle Toll House, the original recipe. But when it comes right down to it, we stick with our Granny’s recipe, found in The Holm Family Cookbook!!

Granny’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ione Teeter Holm

Makes 4 dozen cookies

1 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco), plus more to oil the pans

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup firmly-packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

21/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 (12-ounce) package chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375˚F and oil (or spray) several cookie sheets. In a bowl, cream together the shortening and both sugars. Add the eggs, water, and vanilla and mix until well blended. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed shortening mixture and mix thoroughly. Add the nuts and chocolate chips and mix again. Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until light brown.

Happy Baking!! Nancy

The paternal side of our family hales from the Portuguese island of Faial in the Azores, and put down roots in the San Francisco Bay Area and Livermore Valley at least 5 generations ago.

Our dad, Wayne Calhoun, and his brother Ken. They grew up fishing on the Alameda Creek in Niles, and the Arroyo Mocho at the Calhoun Ranch on Mines Road in Livermore

Our grandmother died before any of the grandkids were born, and our dad and uncle didn’t pick up many Portuguese traditions other than linguica, so we have been researching and trying out new Portuguese recipes for the last few years.

Ruth Calhoun Brown, our 99 year old family matriach, with nieces Sylvia & Noel

After spending 10 years researching, testing, and publishing our Danish family cookbook, we were in need of a change! Our cousins all bring old and new recipes to our Calhoun family reunion, some Portuguese, some not.

This year I wanted to try a few vegetarian recipes out, along with a huge pot of pinto beans and linguica, all four burners were goin’! I had purchased a couple of Portuguese cookbooks a few years back, and this year found all the recipes in Portuguese Cooking – The Traditional Cuisine of Portugal by Carol Robertson. I made a Piri-Piri sauce in advance, Fragrant Rice, Peas Algarve Style (without the linguica), and everybody’s favorite, Tomato Acorda.

Portuguese Tomato Acorda (Tomato Soup) with Piri-Piri

Acorda is a rustic Portuguese soup that includes a piece of crusty bread at the bottom of the bowl. It turned out to be an unseasonably cool afternoon, so the soup really hit the spot! It’s a very simple and healthy recipe; you probably have the ingredients in your cupboard. I am definitely not a scientific cook, not always measuring, and I’m always adjusting recipes, especially if I don’t have an ingredient or two. For the acorda, I used less olive oil, and a lot more garlic than the recipe called for, so this is my adjusted version from the cookbook.

Tomato Acorda

Serves 8

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup chopped onions

4-6 cloves minced garlic, to taste

1 28-ounce, and 1 14.5 ounce cans whole tomatoes with their liquid

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried

2 bay leaves

¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley

2 32 ounce boxes Vegetable Broth

Sliced whole wheat sourdough bread

4 cloves of garlic, peeled

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and lightly brown the onion and garlic. Add the tomatoes and their liquid, oregano, bay leaves and parsley. Break up the tomatoes (I use a potato masher) and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock and simmer, uncovered, for one hour. Stir occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Before serving, grill (for the best flavor), broil or toast slices of sourdough bread, rub a whole clove of garlic across the rough bread. Place the bread at the bottom of each soup bowl. Spoon soup over the bread. Drizzle with a bit of Piri-Piri sauce if you’re looking for a bit of added heat and flavor!

Piri-Piri

¼ cup fresh hot chili peppers

2 garlic cloves minced

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup olive oil

Coarsely chop the peppers, discarding the tops. Thoroughly wash hands, knife and cutting board afterwards. Combine peppers, salt, garlic, and oil in a glass bottle. Cover tightly, refrigerate. Use as needed.

Fragrant Rice

The aroma from the rice was incredible during the cooking process! Serves 6

1 ½ onions, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1 inch of cinnamon stick

4 whole cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon ginger powder

2 cups basmati rice (I used brown basmati rice) rinsed once and soaked for 5 minutes in water

3 ¾ cups boiling water

½ teaspoon turmeric

In a deep saucepan, sauté the onions in the butter. Add the cinnamon, cloves, salt, garlic and ginger. Gently fry for 1 minute.

Drain the rice and add it to the spices. Toss to coat with butter.

Measure 3 ¾ cups of boiling water into the rice mix. When it returns to boiling, add the turmeric, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Shut off the heat and leave rice covered for 5 more minutes before serving.

Saúde!   Nancy

Confetti eggs can make your Easter very eggciting!

Every so often I have some eggs that have really passed their expiration date and instead of throwing them away, I use them to make confetti eggs for Easter. Several years ago someone brought some confetti eggs to a Cinco de Mayo party at my house. I saw how much fun the kids had throwing them and breaking them on each other's heads that I have been making them to liven up Easter ever since.

Throughout the year I clean out the insides of the expired eggs and store them until Easter-time when I bring them out to color them and fill them with confetti. On Easter morning our next-door neighbors have an Easter egg hunt, so I bring a couple of cartons of confetti eggs with me. After the hunt, I hand them out and the kids (and some of the adult kids) have a great time breaking the eggs over each other's heads. Later in the day we have an Easter egg hunt at our family ranch in the Livermore hills and again, the eggs are passed out after the hunt for another egg smashing melee. From what I have read, most people hide the confetti eggs with the hard boiled eggs and candy, but knowing my family as I do, I think the hard boiled eggs would get smashed on heads along with the confetti eggs, so I think it is safest to leave them separate.

The confetti eggs are fairly easy to make and can be very inexpensive if you use eggs that would otherwise get thown away or you can try to preserve the shells while using the eggs for cooking. Instead of buying confetti, you can use the circles left in hole punches or shredded paper from shredders. I have been making my own confetti for several years because I don't like to use mylar confetti and I could not find paper confetti in the stores. This year I found paper confetti at Walmart in the Easter section. The tissue paper used to cover the holes is tissue paper that came in gift bags and boxes.

Confetti Eggs

Supplies needed

Raw eggs, fresh or past expiration date

Knife or other object with a sharp tip

Water

Food coloring or Easter egg color

Vinegar

8" x 11" piece of paper folded in half

Piece of tape

Paper confetti (you can also use the circles from hole punches)

Tissue paper

Scissors

White glue

Paintbrush

Friends and family that would appreciate an egg smashed on their head

Directions

Making the Hole in the Eggs: Remove an egg from the carton. Puncture the bottom of the egg and carefully chip away at the shell until you have a hole between the size of a nickle and a quarter.

Cleaning Out the Egg: Puncture the membrane and pour out the contents of the egg.

Wash out the egg.

Coloring the Eggs: You can use this color formula to color the eggs or just use an Easter egg coloring kit. If you use this color formula, follow these directions for each color used. Mix 3/4 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, and 6 drops of food color in a glass cup.

Place the empty egg shell in the food color mixture. Leave it in the color formula until it gets to the desired color. Remove the egg shells from the color formula and let them dry. Instead of dyeing the eggs, you can also use Sharpie pens to decorate them.

Filling the eggs with confetti: Fold the 8" x 11" peice of paper in half and roll into a funnel shape. The hole in the bottom should be small enough to fit into the hole in the egg and large enough for the confetti to pass through. Use the piece of tape to keep it in place.

Place the funnel into the hole of the egg and pour the confetti into the funnel to fill the egg.

Cutting the tissue to cover the hole in the egg: Make a fold in a piece of tissue paper that is at least double the size of the hole. Continue to fold the tissue until it is a long strip as seen in the photo above. Cut off one square from the strip and the cut a circle from the square. You should now have several circles.

Covering the hole: Mix water with the white glue. Start out with 1 part water, 1 part glue and adjust as necessary. The glue mixure should be watery enough to easily paint onto the egg and adhesive enough for the tissue paper to adhere to the egg. Place one of the tissue paper circles over the hole and the glue and press down the edges. Glue down any loose edges. Place the finished eggs back in the carton tissue paper side up so that the glue can dry and the eggs do not get stuck in the carton.

The Finished Eggs. Notice the eggs that were decorated with Sharpies instead of being dyed.

Smash the eggs on some unsuspecting person's head!

~merry~

Many of the families of Danish heritage I know make aebleskivers for special breakfasts. It's very common to find aebleskivers being made on Christmas morning at the homes of these families. The Rasmussen family of Pleasanton would host a large New Year's Eve party every year and start making aebleskivers for the revelers after midnight. At my house it's aebleskivers with a side of linguisa on Christmas morning to keep up with our Portuguese and Danish heritage traditions.

Aebleskivers - The Danish Pancake

Most of these families of Danish descent have cast iron aebleskiver pans that have been passed down the generations and I wouldn't be surprised if there are families that have been divided from fights over grandma's cast iron aebleskiver pan. I bought my pan at William-Sonoma and it works just fine for me.

A couple of weekends ago I made aebleskivers for breakfast for my daughter Whitney and her friend that had spent the night. Her friend is a swimmer and always has a voracious appetite. I couldn't make the aebleskivers fast enough to keep up with the demand. They loved the aebleskivers I filled with Nutella. My daughter Laina grabbed  a few aebleskivers on her way out to a school event and my husband ate a few. By the time I was done cooking and cleaned up the mess, they were all gone and I didn't get one!

Left: Aebleskivers almost ready to turn. Right: Aebleskivers turned.

Below is the aebleskiver recipe that's in our cookbook and was submitted by our cousin Carol Jorgensen Miller.

Aebleskivers

This recipe was given to me by my dad, Stanley Jorgensen, who always made aebleskivers at Christmastime. Now we make them for our grandchildren on Christmas morning because they were one of our children's favorites. Aebleskivers are cooked over medium heat on the stove in a special Aebleskiver pan.

Carol Jorgensen Miller

Ingredients

3 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Butter for oiling the pan

Applesauce, nuts, jam, raisins or other fillings

Maple syrup, jam or powdered sugar

Directions

Beat the egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl. Add the sugar, salt, and buttermilk and mix

well. Sift together the flour, soda, and baking powder and combine them with the egg mixture. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Gently fold them into the egg flour mixture.

Heat the aebleskiver pan over medium heat and butter it, being careful not to burn yourself. The batter will sizzle when added. Fill each hole of the pan 2/3 full. Cook until bubbling, then add a tablespoon of applesauce or other fillings on top of each one.

Turn the aebleskivers with a fork or small knitting needle and cook the other side until

medium brown. Serve with butter and maple syrup or jam, or generously sprinkle with

powdered sugar.

Merry's note: When I make Aebleskivers and fill them, I fill the holes less than 2/3 full. I drop the filling in the middle and cover the filling with a little batter.  Since I don't knit or crochet, I use a shisk kabob skewer to turn mine.

Danish Proverb:

"Kryds ikke vejen når du ikke kan finde ud af køkkenet"

Translation: "Don't cross the road when you can't find your way out of the kitchen."

Not sure what it means, but I reckon there's alcohol involved. Those Danes love their schnapps.

~merry~

I'm worried, is this enough dessert???

Our family has never been shy when it comes to dessert - as the 1960's table above paints quite a picture! As we were gathering recipes for the cookbook, we realized we had as many dessert recipes as all the other sections combined. Some of the mainstays from the table pictured above include Sophie's Danish Cookies, Gingerbread Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cowboy Cookies, Oatmeal Crisps, Russian Tea Cakes, Rosettes, and Spritz (I think our all time favorite) pictured below with the recipe. All of these recipes, and many, many more our found in The Holm Family Cookbook.

Spritz Cookies

Granny carried on the Danish tradition of celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve by inviting friends and relatives for lunch. She served traditional foods such as her famous Danish pickles,open-face sandwiches, and spritzkage or butter cookies. This is her recipe. She used a cookie press (we still use her's, shown in the picture below), which is needed for these cookies. In the evening, the Holm children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren opened presents and sang discordant carols. Ione’s granddaughters have carried on her tradition of making spritz cookies at Christmastime. In true Holm fashion, they make a party out of it. Makes 5 dozen cookies.

 - Ione Teeter Holm

21/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

3/4 cup sugar

Dash salt

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Sift together the flour and baking powder. In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well mixed. Add the dry ingredients, a little at a time. Put the dough in a cookie press using the 1/8-inch ridged cookie design disk and press the dough out onto cool, unbuttered cookie sheets.

Bake until set but not brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cut the strips into 3-inch lengths while they are still hot.

The End!

During the holidays I often make peanut brittle or English toffee to give as gifts. I also make canning jar bread, which is pumpkin or zucchini bread made in wide mouth canning jars and sealed. People really seem to appreciate receiving homemade gifts and for those people that have everything, consumables are usually the best gifts. I have already made six batches of peanut brittle to give as gifts during this holiday season.

Tins filled with peanut brittle and ready to give as gifts

The thought of making candy used to scare me as I mistakenly thought making candy would be a very long, complicated process. I have since discovered that as long as you can follow instructions and read a thermometer, you can make candy. In most cases it is not a long process. The peanut brittle that I make takes less than an hour. The English toffee is a two step process because you have to wait for the toffee to cool before you put the chocolate on it, but in total it too takes less than an hour and the outcome is very impressive.

The recipe that I use for the peanut brittle is from our cookbook. The ingredients are very common and you probably have most of them in your pantry, with the exception of the raw Spanish peanuts. Many grocery stores carry the raw Spanish peanuts during the holiday, but if you can't find them at a grocery store, try a health food store. Here is the recipe with very detailed instructions.

Mimi's Peanut Brittle - Serves 12

Equipment needed:

Candy thermometer

3-quart pot

Silicone or heat resistant spatula--don't use metal utensils or you could burn yourself

Measuring cups and teaspoon

14-inch by 20-inch baking sheet

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup hot water

Pinch of salt

2 1/2 cups raw peanuts - Spanish peanuts work well

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

The Peanut Brittle Ingredients

Instructions

Lightly butter the baking sheet. I don't have 14-inch by 20-inch baking sheet, but I have a 10-inch by 16-inch pan with sides. The sides are important if you don't have the larger cookie sheet--without the sides the hot molten candy will spill onto your counter.

Lightly Buttered Cookie Sheet

Before you start cooking, be sure to measure out the baking soda and vanilla into separate containers. If you have to take the time to measure them out later, the peanut brittle will burn.

In the 3-quart pot, combine the sugar, corn syrup, hot water, and salt. Mix well. Cook over high heat until the mixture reaches 300 degrees F or the hard crack stage. It will take at least 15 minutes from the time the sugar mixture starts to boil until it reaches 300 degrees.

The Boiling Sugar Mixture

Slowly add the raw peanuts to the boiling sugar mixture and stir in the peanuts. Reduce the temperature to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture turns a soft yellow. Note:  This is the trickiest part of making the peanut brittle. Adding the peanuts to the mixture will reduce the temperature of the sugar mixture. The peanuts will become a cluster that you will need to keep stirring and mixing or the peanuts will burn. It is important to maintain the 300 degree temperature. Keep mixing the peanuts until the peanut cluster loosens up and all of mixture is boiling again. It is easier to stir the peanuts if you don't have the thermometer in the pot at this time, but be sure to make sure the temperature doesn't get too hot or too low.

Once the sugar mixture has turned a soft yellow and the peanuts have become a shade darker, stir in the baking soda and the vanilla, and still well until it is all mixed in. The mixture will boil up to the top of the pot. This is why it is very important to have a 3-quart pot--to prevent the candy from boiling up all over the stove.

The Yellow Peanut Brittle Mixture Boiling Up to the Top of the Pot

Continue to stir well or the bottom will burn. Turn the candy out onto the baking sheet and spread the peanut brittle mixture into a thin sheet. When cool, break it into pieces and store in an air-tight container.

When I give the peanut brittle as gifts, I put the peanut brittle it into quart-size or sandwich-size ziploc bags and put the ziploc bag into decorative tins. One batch of peanut brittle will yield about three 12-ounce quart-size bags or four sandwich size bags.

Peanut Brittle Turned Out onto the Lightly Buttered Cookie Sheet

The Peanut Brittle Broken Up into Bite Sized Pieces

~merry~

Blessed are those who can give without remembering, and take without forgetting.

 ~ Princess Elizabeth, Asquith Bibesco

In Northern California, when the chill hits the air, not only is it crab season, it’s pheasant hunting season. When we were young, all the males in the Calhoun family would head out to hunt pheasant in rice fields outside of Yuba City on Thanksgiving weekend, and would usually bring home a boat-load of pheasant. Below is our Uncle Ken and Aunt Vivian Calhoun’s recipe for pheasant.

Calhoun kids with Grandpa Reg

Wild Pheasant

Here is a recipe for preparing wild pheasant. I think three pheasant serve eight people nicely. I have used five pheasant, doubled the recipe, and served sixteen. The recipe also works well with chicken. Be sure to use the broth left in the bottom of the roasting pan to make gravy. A little California wild rice alongside is great, too.

3 pheasant, cleaned and cut into pieces

Olive oil for frying

Flour for dredging

2 cups chopped green onion

2 cups chopped celery

2 cups chopped fresh parsley

1 cup low-salt chicken stock

11/2 cups sauterne or sherry (or any dry, white wine)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Flour the pheasant pieces. In a frying pan over medium heat, brown the pieces on both sides. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the green onions, celery, and parsley. When the pheasant pieces are browned, transfer them to a 2- to 3-quart ovenproof casserole with a lid, and evenly cover them with the vegetable mixture.

In a small bowl, combine the chicken stock, sauterne, salt, pepper, and paprika. Pour the mixture over the pheasant. Cover and bake for 2 hours. Check occasionally to make sure the broth does not boil away. If it does, add a little water or wine, or both. Bake until meat is tender and cooked through.

Ken and Wayne Calhoun with a boat-load of ducks

On the news last week, the long awaited announcement on the Pacific Coast finally came - "a bountiful crab season is open" - woohoo!! Then I received my Chowhound email with a list of Go-To Spots for Dungeness Crab, that included a great list of Bay Area restaurants sporting crab on the menu - from Vietnamese to the classic crab steamed with butter to Chinese Salt & Pepper Crab served at the R & G Lounge in Chinatown. I’ve had the Salt & Pepper Crab on my “to eat” list since I saw it on Anthony Bourdain’s trip to San Francisco on No Reservations a couple of years back.

Below is the family recipe from our cookbook for crab dressing, to serve with freshly steamed crab. I'm getting ready to whip up a batch and get crackin'!

Crab and Dressing for a Crowd

Serves 15 to 20 as an appetizer

Our Uncle Richie would bring ice chests full of fresh crab to Christmas Eve gatherings and would be busy cracking them from lunch until dinner. This is the dressing he served with the crab. The recipe makes about 3 cups of dressing.

2 cups mayonnaise

1 cup ketchup

2 teaspoons Worcestershire

10 to 12 large, cleaned, cooked, and cracked Dungeness crab

In a mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce, and blend well. Serve the dressing in small bowls along with the crab.

"Is this enough crab??"

- Niece Nancy the Crab Nosher

Somewhere along the line while self-publishing our cookbook, maybe year 9, our designer/editor recommended that we test all of the recipes since we now would be publishing the book for the public. So now we had to divvy up the 240+ recipes. We knew we couldn’t do it ourselves, so we emailed out to our family and friends all across the U.S. asking for their help, and what cooking skills they possessed. There were some difficult items: pickles, pies, chow-chow, recipes from the 1800’s, cakes, adult beverages (why didn’t I get that section?!), even rattlesnake. It just so happened that our cousin killed one in his yard, so even that was tested! I had a frozen turkey in my freezer, so I offered to test my Uncle Ken’s BBQ Turkey Marinade, his "special way" of marinating and BBQ'ing turkey. That was one of the best decisions I ever made, it took a few days but was soooooo worth it. That turkey was the absolute best I had ever eaten, the meat was so tender, hard to describe, it was like velvet, unbelievable.

We were having some friends a couple of weeks ago, and two of us had frozen turkeys, so we decided to try out one on the gas grill, one over charcoal. I have to admit, needing two gallons of wine for the recipe, I didn’t choose any of our fine Livermore Valley wines for the marinating, I went with “the box”. This time I used a large canning pot and a large roasting pan for the marinating vessels, cleared out the refrigerator in the garage and got started the process started.

Don't be fooled by the size of the Heineken, it was a mini kegger!

We tried something a little different on the charcoal grill this round, a friend sent me up some hickory chips to smoke with the turkey, recommended using beer in the pan while we bbq'd it, and we laid strips of hickory bacon across the top during the first portion of cooking. We did baste both turkeys during the process, the charcoal bird with beer, the gas grill turkey we basted with the wine marinade. Once again, it was worth the wait, both turkeys were so moist, full of flavor and absolutely delicious! Two carcasses for soup were all that remained, and just enough white meat for two sandwiches!

BBQ turkey with hickory chips & bacon

Uncle Ken’s BBQ Turkey Marinade

I use this marinade when I cook turkey “my own special way.” Ken Calhoun

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage

Cloves from 1 large head garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped

½ cup salt

2 tablespoons pepper

1 gallon white wine

Juice from 3 lemons

1 cup olive oil

In a large bowl, combine the sage, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix in the wine and lemon juice, then whisk in the oil.

Ken’s Special Way

An extra refrigerator makes this easier. The turkey soaks in the great flavors as it marinates. I use a sixteen-pound turkey or smaller. A bigger bird is ok, but cooking times will be different. Depending on weight and heat, figure about twenty minutes per pound. Please don’t overcook the bird—use a thermometer to be safe. If you use a gas grill, a three-burner grill with the middle burner turned off is great. Cook at 325˚F to 350˚F.

BBQ turkey on the gas grill with wine marinade

Put a large plastic bag inside a tall plastic bucket or container. Pour the marinade into the bag. Place the turkey in the bag, pull up the sides, and tie the top, trying to submerge as much of the bird as possible. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 days, turning once a day.

When ready to cook, prepare an indirect fire on a charcoal grill. Place the bird on the grill, cover, and cook for about 3 to 4 hours. There is no need to baste the turkey while cooking. Add more charcoal as needed (about 18 to 20 briquettes every hour) to maintain an even heat. The turkey is done when your thermometer reaches 165˚F.

- Niece Nancy

On a recent trip, my husband Troy and I had the opportunity to visit several different areas along the central coast of California. We started the trip on Thursday night in San Luis Obispo. The hotel, San Luis Creek Lodge, was within walking distance of the renowned San Luis Obispo Farmer’s Market.

Potpourri of Peppers at the San Luis Obispo Farmer's Market

We cruised the market and stopped at Creekside Brewery for a brew and bite. Many items on the menu were made with the beer. I ordered the beer sampler which featured a beer brewed by the Cal Poly brew crew. The house salad was ample and the brisket sliders were filling.

Beer Sampler at Creekside Brewery in San Luis Obispo

Friday and Saturday were spent in Pismo Beach at the Kon Tiki. The hotel has a view of the ocean from every room. Next door is Steamers, a restaurant that is part of the McClintock group in the SLO area. The Bowers family gathered at Steamers for dinner on Saturday night. We filled the Captain’s Room and ordered from the banquet menu.

Our dinner at Steamers included, bruschetta, house salad, garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables. Entrees were halibut and filet mignon. All food arrived as ordered and was very tasty. Our server, Jared, was very accommodating – especially for the group of 10 unruly pirates he had to wait on. To add to the festivities, I ordered a German Chocolate “pirate” cake that creatively decorated from the Arroyo Grande Bakery.

Pirate Cake from the Arroyo Grande Bakery

Our final leg of the trip was up the coast to Monterey for two nights at Casa Munras. The quaint room with a fireplace was perfect for the overcast weather. Esteban’s Restaurant on the premises had a happy hour all day Sunday featuring Tapas at half price. Troy and I shared dates wrapped in bacon, stuffed with blue cheese. I can still taste them! Also delicious was the beet salad, but best of all; the fresh, warm pitas served with olive tapenade, olive oil and humus.

The grand finale meal was at The Portola located inside the Monterey Bay Aquarium. With breath taking views of the Monterey Bay, the sustainable food on their menu was creatively presented.

The Portola Restuarant Inside the Monterey Bay Aquarium

I chose the Monterey Bay Farm Raised Abalone, panko crusted, accompanied with Swank Farm Fresh Puree, Watsonville strawberry jam and a shaved fennel, cucumber, radish salad. My choice of beer was Anchor Steam – a beer l enjoy with seafood. Wanting more fresh fruit; I also ordered the Summer Fruit Salad with thinly sliced peaches, black berries, raspberries, house dried apricots, Point Reyes blue cheese, baby lettuce and dressed with Marshall Farm Honey Vinaigrette. Troy chose the sea bass with house made herb pasta, roasted baby beets, English peas, heirloom cherry tomatoes, pea tendrils, mustard, sabayon, buerre blanc and herb oil. He accompanied the meal with a Big Sur Golden.

Panko Crusted Abalone and a Shaved fennel, Cucumber, and Radish salad

Sea Bass with House Made Herb Pasta

Sea Otter in Monterey Bay

~Susie Calhoun

Summer time means fair time for the Holm family. The annual Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, CA, has played significant and varied roles in our lives. Many of us have been exhibitors at the fair. As a small child, I remember going to the fair to see my grandfather’s hay on display. It was at the same fair that I saw an “iron lung.”

Because agriculture has been such a large part of our lives, the Junior Livestock Show and Auction is the event in which most Holm family members have participated. The Holms, Calhouns, Neelys, and Carters have all exhibited market lambs, beef cattle, and horses, with many of their 4H and Future Farmers of America projects being sold at the Junior Livestock Auction. Dick and Ione Holm were ardent supporters and stayed late into the evening, bidding on and buying not only their family’s animals, but also their friend’s. We continue to honor Dick and Ione by sponsoring an award in their name each year. Bob Holm continues the tradition of buying at the auction and has been buyer of many champion lots. Numerous family members help host the Junior Livestock Booster’s annual barbecue.

Livestock is not the only area in which the Holm family has competed for prizes and won! Tilli Calhoun and Nancy Mueller both have won prizes in the Fine Arts and Photography Department. Petra Holm has wowed the judges with her beautiful knitting and crochet.

For some of us, the fair has been a place of employment. I began working at the racetrack, where Hank Neely would often enjoy an afternoon. Merry Carter, Wendy Howe, Nancy Mueller, Patsy Neely, and I have all spent summers working in the Competitive Exhibit Department, working with everything from art to wine, and pies to pigs.

Gelato was a main staple during the 2010 fair. Matt the owner of Colossal Gelato likes to use local produce…It is made fresh daily. At the Alameda County Fair he used fresh ollalaberries, blueberries and blackberries from Brentwood for Berry Mountain, Fresh Blood oranges for Blood Orange and fresh cherries for Cherry Chocolate Chip – he invited in the fair manager’s family to learn how to make it. He also had frequent buyer cards available – buy 5 get one free. His next stop on the fair circuit is Santa Maria, so you can only imagine how delicious the strawberry will be!!

Our next stop on the fair circuit is the Amador County Fair in Plymouth, CA,  July 29 - August 1, my husband Troy Bowers happens to be the CEO. Through a fair connection, I was invited to go on a blind date with Troy - what good fortune - I married him! Troy’s father, Bates, was the fair manager and his mother, Jean, was the secretary of the Kings District Fair in Hanford. (The fair must run deep in our blood!)

We have not often entered baked goods in the county fair, but our longtime family friend Howard Bettencourt has. He graciously gave us his award-winning pie recipe to include in our cookbook. His pies are a remarkable sight—and delicious. (It looks best when it's whole, before they cut into it for the judging!)

Howard’s Blue Ribbon Boysenberry Pie  

Howard Bettencourt has been entering pies in the Alameda County Fair for more than 15 years and he has a box of blue and gold ribbons to show for his efforts! He is famous for his crust, which he rolls out between sheets of wax paper, rather than a floured countertop. He says avoiding the extra flour keeps the crust tender.

Pastry crust

2½ cups sifted unbleached or all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup butter-flavored Crisco

5 tablespoons cold water

Filling

4 tablespoons instant tapioca

4 cups fresh boysenberries

1½ cups sugar

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

To make the crust, in a medium bowl mix together the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or a pair of knives, cut the shortening into the flour. Add the water all at once and mix with a fork.

Then pull the dough together with your hands. Divide the dough in half and roll out 1 piece between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Line the bottom of an 8-inch pie pan with the dough. Set aside.

To make the filling, grind the tapioca in a coffee grinder to break it down. In a bowl, mix the tapioca with the berries, sugar, and lemon juice and toss well. Pour the fruit into the uncooked pastry shell. Roll out the second piece of dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper and cover theberries with it. Press the edges together to seal, then crimp them. Cut vents in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake for 30 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350°F and continue baking until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Let cool before serving.  Makes one 8-inch 2-crust pie

~ Susie Calhoun

"Fair time is fun time!!"

In addition to his marinated fava beans, our cousin Chris brought some Portuguese style shrimp to our Calhoun Family Reunion in May. With garlic, wine, red pepper, and cilantro, these shrimp really have a great flavor. And, to add another dimension of flavor, Chris brought a swamp sauce dip for dipping the shrimp. The shrimp tasted great with or without the swamp sauce. The recipe for the shrimp and swamp sauce are below.

Read more about the family reunion, the Calhoun family’s Portuguese heritage, and Chris’ marinated fava beans by clicking here.

Cousin Chris

Portuguese Style Shrimp

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced (about ½ cup)

1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped (about 1 cup)

1 bay leaf

3 cloves garlic, crushed

¼ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

½ cup vinho verde or other white wine

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 pounds large uncooked fresh shrimp (approximately 21–25), rinsed and in the shell (out of the shell also works)

½ teaspoon coarse salt or to taste

2 tablespoons butter

Directions

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden brown. Stir in the tomato, bay leaf, garlic, and red pepper. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until mixture is soft and tomatoes are partially dissolved, about 15 minutes. Pour in the wine and stir. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, add the cilantro, shrimp, and salt. Mix and cover. Simmer 3 minutes or until the shrimp are tender.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a serving dish and cover. Melt the butter into the broth, then strain or puree the broth. Serve the broth mixture on the side as a dip.

Chris’ Special Swamp Sauce for Dipping the Shrimp (not Portuguese)

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons grainy mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon whole oregano, crushed

3 cloves garlic, minced

Cayenne to taste

Directions

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Curta que a vida é curta.

Enjoy every moment because life is short.

~merry~

Tomorrow is the official start of summer, which means…. potato salad season! Most families have their own adaptation (as do we!), but maybe you want to try something new, healthier, quicker or classic?! I’ve seen dozens of p-salad posts across the e-universe over the past couple of weeks, and here are a few I found that are worth checking out:

The recipe that got me started on this potato quest was “Garden Potato Salad,” posted on facebook by The Food Network, it was the addition of cucumber that caught my fancy.

If you are just starting out, Cooking Light is featuring 5 Potato Salad recipes, and one being “Potato Salad 101.”

Chow.com is sporting an article, “Perfect Potato Salad, Five Creative Takes on this Classic Side Dish” with a very unique “Marinated Purple Potatoes.”

I think we can trust Better Homes and Garden with a “Classic Potato Salad.”

Tyler Florence can introduce you to “The Ultimate Potato Salad.”

A food blogger that I enjoy following, Heidi, at 101 Cookbooks, has a great “Grilled Potato Salad Recipe.” Her game plan: throw as many of the salad ingredient as possible on the grill, whip up a simple vinaigrette, toss and enjoy.

Then I happened upon “The World’s Easiest Potato Salad” using fresh thyme leaves, this sounds like it is right up my alley.

I found an interesting twist at huggingthecoast.com, from the folks at Serious Eats, “Grilled Sweet Potato Salad.”

My family is partial to our grandmother’s potato salad. What made it unique was her homemade French dressing that she mixed in. Our cousin, Lori Neely South would help Granny make large batches of potato salad, the recipe was never written down, but Lori was familiar enough with the ingredients that she was able to figure out the ingredients for our Holm Family Cookbook. The recipe calls for five pounds of potatoes and serves a crowd of about twenty. For Easter and the Fourth of July, Granny always used twelve to fifteen pounds of potatoes.

An excerpt from Granny’s diary read: “July 4, 1971. Nice day. Up at 6 to make 14 lbs. salad. Dick over to lay fire sprinkler, etc. Rich took me over to put oilcloth on tables, etc. G & Ben not here. 90 of us, very good day, home about 9.”

4th of July at the Circle H Ranch, original painting by Tilli Calhoun

Granny’s Potato Salad

Serves about 20

French dressing

1 cup salad oil

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons lemon juice

4 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Spice Islands paprika

1 teaspoon dry mustard

Salad

5 pounds red potatoes, cooked and peeled

Salt and pepper

5 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

Best Foods mayonnaise

Miracle Whip salad dressing

To make the dressing, combine the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt, paprika, and dry mustard in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Cover and shake well.

Thinly slice about 3 potatoes and put them in a mixing bowl. Add a dash of salt and pepper, sprinkle with the dressing, and mix well. Add approximately a 1/4 cup of the celery and 1/4 of the red onion; mix again. Add approximately 3 heaping tablespoons of the mayonnaise and 2 heaping tablespoons of the Miracle Whip salad dressing; mix again. Transfer this batch to a large mixing bowl. Repeat this same process until all the potatoes are used, being sure to mix the batches together as they are added to the larger mixing bowl.

Chill for 1 to 2 hours before serving.

This recipe and many more can be found in The Holm Family Cookbook. If you don’t have your own copy, you can purchase it right now at https://shop.wentevineyards.com/SHOP.AMS?LEVEL=BOT&PART=8713 " target="_blank">wentevineyards.com!

Enjoy our long-awaited summer!

Nancy