It's hard to believe the summer season's over already. Well it isn't, but this is the last issue of The Fire Island News this year, so as for you and me meeting here every week it is. Too bad, I'll miss you. My computer has crashed one of its disks and now limps along on its main hard drive. This article is probably the last thing this old machine will ever produce.
I just got word that Julia Child has passed away. I am heartbroken; I have lost a teacher and a friend. I remember when I was a volunteer cleaning up after her in the WGBH kitchen (and what a mess that was!). I was still a freshman at Harvard, and she caught me doing a bad impersonation of her. She good-naturedly lit up a Marlboro, and showed us all how "Julia" ought to be done, and had us in stitches. It was Julia doing Julia; I'll never forget that. She knew to never take herself too seriously. She took cooking seriously, however, and was a wonderful teacher and a great humanitarian. Her mission was all Americans should be able to feed themselves well.
The island is at it's most beautiful in the early fall. If I could, I'd be sending you autumn harvest recipes: making beach plum preserves (pit, cut up, bury them in sugar, simmer slowly add Certo to make it gel), what to do with herbs you've decided to cut back at the end of the season (rinse briefly, drain and cover with vinegar in a mason jar with or without garlic), how to prepare a number of pumpkin dishes, or how to use Kale, that late season specialty that makes such wonderful soups. Later in the season Striped Bass will be running, and Red Snapper, we fish 'em right off the beach here at the island, and of course I would tell you how to grill them, the wild striped bass, maybe with a lemon, mustard and pesto glaze, and the snapper, say with orange zest, soy sauce and sweet butter.
The apple crop this year in New York has been plentiful, which is great for all of us apple lovers. Apple strudels or pies or tarte tatin fill the house with intoxicating aromas. (Peel, core and cut Granny apples into eighths, make a caramel in the bottom of a non stick pan. Lay the apples carefully over the dangerously hot caramel, top with pastry dough, or puff paste, and bake till the crust is done. Careful now - it's still hot from the oven - with a big plate over the top of the pan, in one smooth movement turn it upside down and let the tarte end up on the plate apples side up. There is no way to write this, but once you practice with empty utensils, do it, you'll understand.
Every year I leave the island in late November. By then the summer crowds have left, the birds who migrate have gone, the bars and grocery stores are closed, and we really have to fend for ourselves. With everyone gone, it can get quite lonely here at that time of year, but you get to spend time with yourself. I contemplate Thanksgiving, a 'people holiday', which many of us spend here in this now desolate place, warm around a fire, enjoying red wine and one another's company. The fishing then is great too. Thanksgiving is a big cooking holiday if you are as traditional as we are at Happy House. Mr. Tom of course needs roasting slowly so as to assure his being tender. I usually buy a Butterball. They're delicious – just rub the skin well with plenty of coarse salt and pepper.
A sweet potato casserole: They need to be baked first, then cooled, peeled, beaten with a spoon - you want some pieces in it - with loads of butter, brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon, an egg and some milk, and baked again. Corn will be cooked with corn meal, Niblets, brown sugar, eggs and spices to bake up a perfect corn pudding. Cranberries are simmered with caramel sugar, citrus peel and spices till they almost start to 'pop then steeped in their syrup so they become a whole berry cranberry sauce, and are not only a perfect side dish but appear on the plate as perfect ruby red jewels. Cranberry nut bread recipe is perennially printed on the Ocean Spray fresh cranberries bag, the best, freezable treat. Brussels sprouts – everybody seems to hate them, yet they abound in the markets. Julia Child herself, rest her soul, taught me how to par boil them, then simmer them slowly, with more butter than you think safe. She didn't worry, and hey, she was 91! Eventually they absorb it, and melt in your mouth. Don't tell her, but I add a teaspoon of sugar, to cut the bitterness. A lighter version is to slice them thin, vertically, and par boil for a moment, drain and saute with butter, salt and pepper till they wilt.
I've learned a few tips in my years of cooking. Time savers are the most valuable, followed by learning how to get the most out of an ingredient.
In no particular order: Squeeze lemon halves upside down to keep the pits in. Roll the lemon first to release the juices. Garlic is your friend. To peel it easily: cut off the base of each clove, give it a sharp rap, and the paper will peel right off. Crush or chop garlic by placing the peeled clove on the board, on top of a big pinch of coarse salt, and smash it with the side of a broad knife or cleaver. An almost sideways smack is preferable to flatten out and spread it. Once flattened, a few quick chops are all you need. Bay leaves left in the flour bin, or other grain storage containers will stop the spider flies from growing there. To brown foods and keep them from sticking, the secret is leave the food in the pan without moving it around, 'till a crust forms. Cover a pot when boiling water. It boils far more quickly. A knife slices better when you draw it to and away from you instead of straight down. The blade does its work by being drawn across the food. Black or carbon steel knives are preferable for their ability to take a sharper edge, but they pit and corrode easily, so wipe them after each use. To clean a badly discolored one you can use some scouring powder and the flat side of a wine cork.
I thank each of you for reading my unorthodox scribblings every week, and for your letters of support. Writing's easy, but it's not always easy to decide what, in the whole world of cooking, is worthy of your attention. I've loved doing this. e-mail me if you have any questions (mymymichl@aol.com). Have a wonder-filled winter. Look forward to spring again, on Fire Island.