Tag: recipes

Sausages for Sunday Gravy from DePasquale’s Sausage Company in Newton

It's been awhile since I made a big pot of Sunday gravy. So when a friend gifted me with a package of sausages from DePasquale's Sausage Company in Newton, I knew exactly what to do with them.

This was a simplified version of the Sunday specialty enjoyed in Italian American homes throughout the years. I added a bit of beef to the pot but did not take the time to make my special meatballs. (My favorite recipe for meatballs is from the 1975 edition of the The All New All Purpose: Joy of Cooking.)

I couldn't wait to taste the sausage. As soon as it was cooked through, I sliced into one and found it had the texture and flavor of a great handmade, old-style, traditional sweet sausage. I had finally found a replacement for the sausages I've missed since DiPaolo & Rossi Meat Market on Salem Street in the North End closed last year.

Both Ed and I sampled and dipped bread into the sauce as it simmered away all afternoon. Eventually, we served it with penne pasta. A great sauce needs a great, flavorful pasta. We chose the Bionaturae organic 100% durum semolina organic penne rigate.

DePasquale Tip:

They are closed on Sunday and Monday. On a recent visit early on a Tuesday morning, they didn't have sausages ready yet. In fact, their meat order had not even arrived. When they say fresh, they mean fresh! My advice is to call ahead early in the week or later on Saturday to be sure they have what you want in the quantity you need.

Sunday Gravy Recipes

I've been making this for so long that I don't follow a recipe. I just ad lib with what I have on hand. While there are as many recipes for "Sunday Gravy" as there are families who make it, here are a couple if you would rather follow a recipe than play it by ear.

From one of my most trusted recipe developers, Kenji Lopez-Alt (Author of The Food Lab): Meet Ragù Napoletano, Neapolitan-Style Italian Meat Sauce With Pork, Beef, and Sausage.

Here's one titled Sunday Sauce with step-by-step photos and the feeling of a family member teaching you how to make it.

Finally, here's a great piece from Bon Appetit that tells you how to avoid the most common Sunday Gravy mistakes.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny Cherubino and a screen shot from DePasquale's website to show the sausage in all their whole glory.

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April 27, 2016
Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins

Last week we told you a bit about Jordan Marsh the department store. This week we are remembering those wonderful Jordan Marsh Blueberry muffins.

Just as you see tourists today walking around the North End with boxes from Mike's Pastry, you once saw box after box of both visitors and locals in Downtown Crossing carrying white boxes with blue lettering filled with dozens of Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins.

Old Jordan Marsh building, side entrance off of Summer street, 1975 photo by Andrew Zalewski from the Boston Public Library print department.

The New England Historical Society explained that it was not unusual for a department store to be known for an edible specialty.

"Each department store had a signature food item: chicken croquettes were a favorite at Shepard’s in Providence, almond macaroons at Gilchrist’s in Boston. Sage-Allen in Springfield smelled like sticky buns, so spicy they almost burned the tongue. The aroma from the bakery wafted up the escalators, drawing customers into the basement. Date nut bread sandwiches with cream cheese were a favorite at G. Fox. And Jordan Marsh’s blueberry muffins were a required treat at the end of shopping trips to Boston."

Here's a Collection of Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffin Recipes

First up is the Boston Globe where this was a favorite topic with food editors across the years. This one is from the team that worked under Sheryl Julian in 2013.

Yankee Magazine offered both history and a recipe.

King Arthur Flour is another source of trusted baking recipes. Here's their version of Famous Department Store Blueberry Muffins.

The Diva of Dining offers a recipe and a bit more muffin history.

My own recipe for the muffins comes from this little book, Mostly Muffins that I borrowed a number of times from the Boston Public Library until the copy they had was literally falling apart and then disappeared. Eventually, I found a used copy on Amazon.

In my favorite version, you mash some of the blueberries to create a deep blueberry color and flavor and the sugar on top is mixed with nutmeg. Nutmeg sugar is now a constant in my pantry adding zing to everything from cereal to banana on toast.

By the way, the muffin in the top photo is fromThe Wholy Grain bakery Café in the South End and they make my favorite bakery version of this treat.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny, Entrance photo by Andrew Zalewski, used under creative commons license.

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March 30, 2016
Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins

Last week we told you a bit about Jordan Marsh the department store. This week we are remembering those wonderful Jordan Marsh Blueberry muffins.

Just as you see tourists today walking around the North End with boxes from Mike's Pastry, you once saw box after box of both visitors and locals in Downtown Crossing carrying white boxes with blue lettering filled with dozens of Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins.

Old Jordan Marsh building, side entrance off of Summer street, 1975 photo by Andrew Zalewski from the Boston Public Library print department.

The New England Historical Society explained that it was not unusual for a department store to be known for an edible specialty.

"Each department store had a signature food item: chicken croquettes were a favorite at Shepard’s in Providence, almond macaroons at Gilchrist’s in Boston. Sage-Allen in Springfield smelled like sticky buns, so spicy they almost burned the tongue. The aroma from the bakery wafted up the escalators, drawing customers into the basement. Date nut bread sandwiches with cream cheese were a favorite at G. Fox. And Jordan Marsh’s blueberry muffins were a required treat at the end of shopping trips to Boston."

Here's a Collection of Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffin Recipes

First up is the Boston Globe where this was a favorite topic with food editors across the years. This one is from the team that worked under Sheryl Julian in 2013.

Yankee Magazine offered both history and a recipe.

King Arthur Flour is another source of trusted baking recipes. Here's their version of Famous Department Store Blueberry Muffins.

The Diva of Dining offers a recipe and a bit more muffin history.

My own recipe for the muffins comes from this little book, Mostly Muffins that I borrowed a number of times from the Boston Public Library until the copy they had was literally falling apart and then disappeared. Eventually, I found a used copy on Amazon.

In my favorite version, you mash some of the blueberries to create a deep blueberry color and flavor and the sugar on top is mixed with nutmeg. Nutmeg sugar is now a constant in my pantry adding zing to everything from cereal to banana on toast.

By the way, the muffin in the top photo is fromThe Wholy Grain bakery Café in the South End and they make my favorite bakery version of this treat.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny, Entrance photo by Andrew Zalewski, used under creative commons license.

Related articles

Then & Now: 176 Marlborough Street by Developer Eben Dyer Jordan #throwbackthursday

The Dogs of the Boston Public Library Collections

Then & Now: Filene's Corner Holiday Decorations #Throwbackthursday

March 30, 2016
Want to Start Cooking? Make Soup!

Last winter, one of the staff people in our building said to me, “I would give anything for one more bowl of my Mother’s chicken soup.” Homemade soup is a food we associate with family, tradition, and perhaps good memories. Every so often, I make a batch of the clam chowder that was served at Rhode Island shore dinner halls in years past. It reminds me of fun times with my extended family.

("Rocky Point Clam Chowder" does have tomato and is thickened with crushed oyster crackers. You'll find a recipe here.)

Soup Is Forgiving

For those new to cooking at home, soup is a great place to start. In his book Ruhlman's Twenty, Michael Ruhlman quotes food writer Ruth Reichl who said, "If you've got chicken stock, you’ve got a meal.” (Among the recipes included in his twenty techniques are a few for soups.)

What's more, it doesn’t have to be chicken stock. You can make soup with water or make your own stock from what you have on hand. Some cooks even freeze their peelings and vegetable scraps until they have enough to make a vegan soup stock.

(Ed wrote about this cabbage and kielbasa soup here. It's one of our favorites. It's my quick way to enjoy the flavors of stuffed cabbage and kielbasa with a lot less work.)

Unlike fussy preparations, soup is very forgiving. If you don’t have one ingredient, you can usually substitute another. Soup cooks over low heat so it’s not likely to burn or scorch. And, it’s a great way to learn how to adjust the flavor of a dish.

If you think your cabbage soup is flat tasting, ladle some into a small bowl and add a dash of vinegar to see if it helps. If you like the result, you can add some vinegar to the whole pot. The same can be done with herbs, spices, salt, and pepper.

If you need a formula as a starting place for soup, I recommend Pam Anderson’s book, How to Cook Without A Book. She leads her chapter on soup with this rhyme, “Sauté an onion, then add vegetables, starch, and meat. Cook it in a quart of broth for a meal that can't be beat.” Then, she goes on to teach the reader to improvise around that theme.

(This roasted squash soup was made from leftovers and did not have meat added to it.)

And, even the meat is optional. Anderson starts with a recipe for pureed vegetable soup and tells readers how to prepare variations with broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, and squash.

Most of the cookbooks on your shelf will have a few recipes for soup. I Googled "soup recipes" as I wrote this and the result was, "About 18,400,000 results (0.30 seconds)."

However, recipes for soup can be used as simple inspiration or as a jumping off point. Take a look around your kitchen and see what you have on hand. Make a soup that is your own or, as in the case of the cabbage and kielbasa soup, make a soup version of a favorite dish for the flavor with a lot less work.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino, adapted for BostonZest from one of her Fresh & Local newspaper columns
Photos: ©2011-2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

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January 13, 2016
Want to Start Cooking? Make Soup!

Last winter, one of the staff people in our building said to me, “I would give anything for one more bowl of my Mother’s chicken soup.” Homemade soup is a food we associate with family, tradition, and perhaps good memories. Every so often, I make a batch of the clam chowder that was served at Rhode Island shore dinner halls in years past. It reminds me of fun times with my extended family.

("Rocky Point Clam Chowder" does have tomato and is thickened with crushed oyster crackers. You'll find a recipe here.)

Soup Is Forgiving

For those new to cooking at home, soup is a great place to start. In his book Ruhlman's Twenty, Michael Ruhlman quotes food writer Ruth Reichl who said, "If you've got chicken stock, you’ve got a meal.” (Among the recipes included in his twenty techniques are a few for soups.)

What's more, it doesn’t have to be chicken stock. You can make soup with water or make your own stock from what you have on hand. Some cooks even freeze their peelings and vegetable scraps until they have enough to make a vegan soup stock.

(Ed wrote about this cabbage and kielbasa soup here. It's one of our favorites. It's my quick way to enjoy the flavors of stuffed cabbage and kielbasa with a lot less work.)

Unlike fussy preparations, soup is very forgiving. If you don’t have one ingredient, you can usually substitute another. Soup cooks over low heat so it’s not likely to burn or scorch. And, it’s a great way to learn how to adjust the flavor of a dish.

If you think your cabbage soup is flat tasting, ladle some into a small bowl and add a dash of vinegar to see if it helps. If you like the result, you can add some vinegar to the whole pot. The same can be done with herbs, spices, salt, and pepper.

If you need a formula as a starting place for soup, I recommend Pam Anderson’s book, How to Cook Without A Book. She leads her chapter on soup with this rhyme, “Sauté an onion, then add vegetables, starch, and meat. Cook it in a quart of broth for a meal that can't be beat.” Then, she goes on to teach the reader to improvise around that theme.

(This roasted squash soup was made from leftovers and did not have meat added to it.)

And, even the meat is optional. Anderson starts with a recipe for pureed vegetable soup and tells readers how to prepare variations with broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, and squash.

Most of the cookbooks on your shelf will have a few recipes for soup. I Googled "soup recipes" as I wrote this and the result was, "About 18,400,000 results (0.30 seconds)."

However, recipes for soup can be used as simple inspiration or as a jumping off point. Take a look around your kitchen and see what you have on hand. Make a soup that is your own or, as in the case of the cabbage and kielbasa soup, make a soup version of a favorite dish for the flavor with a lot less work.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino, adapted for BostonZest from one of her Fresh & Local newspaper columns
Photos: ©2011-2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

A Thoughtful and Informative Essay on Clam Chowder from Jane Lear

A Busy Season Resource: Our Poached Chicken Links

A simple mushroom and tarragon soup recipe

January 13, 2016
Vegetable Literacy Is Our Friday Link

“Vegetable Literacy” by Deborah Madison has quickly become my go-to reference when I want to explore a familiar or unusual produce item. I like it so much that I'm making it a Friday Link.

The full name of the book, Vegetable Literacy: Cooking and Gardening with Twelve Families from the Edible Plant Kingdom, with over 300 Deliciously Simple Recipes, gives a better picture of what the author has created.

Madison takes her years of expertise in vegetarian topics, divides the veggie world into twelve families, and then provides background, recipes, and kitchen and garden tips for each family member. She makes you look at the offerings at your local market in a new way.

Speaking of local markets, I decidead to buy the Kindle version of Vegetable Literacy. That allows me to call up a recipe on my phone when I'm shopping to be sure I have what I need to make it. Or, if I want to know what I might do with some parsnips or fennel, I can search for those and even have tips on buying them.

Great photography is always a bonus in a cookbook or reference book and this one has wonderful photos spinkled among its pages. The photos are by the Canal House team, Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton.

This time of year, when many readers are looking for gift ideas, this book would make a great present for many people on your list. Anyone who loves to cook or collect cookbooks would treasure this edition. Even someone like me who has far too many cookbooks considers this a major reference, must-have.

It's an ideal gift for a vegetrian or someone who has to feed a vegetarian or anyone who needs to add more vegetables to their diet to get their 5-per-day!

Deborah Madison has been my mentor on vegetarian cooking. I have well-worn copies of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Holiday Gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

December 6, 2013
Vegetable Literacy Is Our Friday Link

“Vegetable Literacy” by Deborah Madison has quickly become my go-to reference when I want to explore a familiar or unusual produce item. I like it so much that I'm making it a Friday Link.

The full name of the book, Vegetable Literacy: Cooking and Gardening with Twelve Families from the Edible Plant Kingdom, with over 300 Deliciously Simple Recipes, gives a better picture of what the author has created.

Madison takes her years of expertise in vegetarian topics, divides the veggie world into twelve families, and then provides background, recipes, and kitchen and garden tips for each family member. She makes you look at the offerings at your local market in a new way.

Speaking of local markets, I decidead to buy the Kindle version of Vegetable Literacy. That allows me to call up a recipe on my phone when I'm shopping to be sure I have what I need to make it. Or, if I want to know what I might do with some parsnips or fennel, I can search for those and even have tips on buying them.

Great photography is always a bonus in a cookbook or reference book and this one has wonderful photos spinkled among its pages. The photos are by the Canal House team, Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton.

This time of year, when many readers are looking for gift ideas, this book would make a great present for many people on your list. Anyone who loves to cook or collect cookbooks would treasure this edition. Even someone like me who has far too many cookbooks considers this a major reference, must-have.

It's an ideal gift for a vegetrian or someone who has to feed a vegetarian or anyone who needs to add more vegetables to their diet to get their 5-per-day!

Deborah Madison has been my mentor on vegetarian cooking. I have well-worn copies of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Holiday Gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

December 6, 2013
Vegetable Literacy Is Our Friday Link

“Vegetable Literacy” by Deborah Madison has quickly become my go-to reference when I want to explore a familiar or unusual produce item. I like it so much that I'm making it a Friday Link.

The full name of the book, Vegetable Literacy: Cooking and Gardening with Twelve Families from the Edible Plant Kingdom, with over 300 Deliciously Simple Recipes, gives a better picture of what the author has created.

Madison takes her years of expertise in vegetarian topics, divides the veggie world into twelve families, and then provides background, recipes, and kitchen and garden tips for each family member. She makes you look at the offerings at your local market in a new way.

Speaking of local markets, I decidead to buy the Kindle version of Vegetable Literacy. That allows me to call up a recipe on my phone when I'm shopping to be sure I have what I need to make it. Or, if I want to know what I might do with some parsnips or fennel, I can search for those and even have tips on buying them.

Great photography is always a bonus in a cookbook or reference book and this one has wonderful photos spinkled among its pages. The photos are by the Canal House team, Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton.

This time of year, when many readers are looking for gift ideas, this book would make a great present for many people on your list. Anyone who loves to cook or collect cookbooks would treasure this edition. Even someone like me who has far too many cookbooks considers this a major reference, must-have.

It's an ideal gift for a vegetrian or someone who has to feed a vegetarian or anyone who needs to add more vegetables to their diet to get their 5-per-day!

Deborah Madison has been my mentor on vegetarian cooking. I have well-worn copies of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Holiday Gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

December 6, 2013
At the Market: Edible Boston Winter 2014 Issue

If you are like me, you shop in quite a few places that advertise in Edible Boston, so pick up the new Winter 2014 issue with the photo of Cutty's homemade bagels on the cover.

Inside, you'll learn more about the creation of this new menu item at the popular Brookline sandwich shop. Elsewhere in this issue, you will tour a knife factory and a cheese cave.

You'll find profiles of a group of small artisan food businesses that you may want to add to your holiday shopping list – Bonnie's Jams, Caramels de Bouchard, Pure Pastry, and many more.

Under Edible Reads you'll see a collection of cookbooks and food books to put on your wishlist or check off someone else's.

And, as always, you'll find a few recipes you must try and profiles of people you'll love knowing more about.

Publisher Ilene Bezahler encourages her readers to support local businesses when they do their holiday shopping. I'd like to also encourage you to support Edible Boston by subscribing or giving the gift of a subscipiton to a food loving friend or relative.

You can also buy the Edible cookbook – Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods or find more local food in The Boston Homegrown Cookbook.

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Artwork: Courtesy of Edible Boston

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

November 21, 2013
At the Market: Edible Boston Winter 2014 Issue

If you are like me, you shop in quite a few places that advertise in Edible Boston, so pick up the new Winter 2014 issue with the photo of Cutty's homemade bagels on the cover.

Inside, you'll learn more about the creation of this new menu item at the popular Brookline sandwich shop. Elsewhere in this issue, you will tour a knife factory and a cheese cave.

You'll find profiles of a group of small artisan food businesses that you may want to add to your holiday shopping list – Bonnie's Jams, Caramels de Bouchard, Pure Pastry, and many more.

Under Edible Reads you'll see a collection of cookbooks and food books to put on your wishlist or check off someone else's.

And, as always, you'll find a few recipes you must try and profiles of people you'll love knowing more about.

Publisher Ilene Bezahler encourages her readers to support local businesses when they do their holiday shopping. I'd like to also encourage you to support Edible Boston by subscribing or giving the gift of a subscipiton to a food loving friend or relative.

You can also buy the Edible cookbook – Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods or find more local food in The Boston Homegrown Cookbook.

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Artwork: Courtesy of Edible Boston

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

November 21, 2013