Thai Grilled Beef Salad

Yep, I'm on a Thai food kick. A couple of nights after I did the basil chicken, I wanted to use a skirt steak that had been in the freezer a while. The evening in question was rather warm and humid, so a salad seemed like the thing.

I searched the Internet for "Thai beef salad," and got great ideas from a number of recipes I found. In the end, I used parts of a couple of different recipes. I liked the idea of marinating the steak, so I used the marinade from Thai Waterfall Beef Salad on About.com. And the salad dressing from a New York Times recipe looked quick and easy, and very tasty, so I used that as well.

A farmers' market cabbage I'd had in the vegetable bin for a week or more stood in for the salad greens mentioned in the recipes. And, needing to use up some green beans, I added those along with the red onion and cherry tomatoes.

Summertime is fresh herb time, so of course I was thrilled to be able to use several kinds in this salad. As I mentioned in that earlier post, I have a rather enormous Thai basil plant on the patio, so I had plenty of that herb on hand, and I'm growing mint, too. The cilantro was another farmers' market purchase.

I'm telling you, we went ga-ga over this dish. The crunchiness of the cabbage, the zip of the onion and hot pepper, the fresh flavor of the mixture of herbs, the delicious, limey dressing, and the perfectly grilled beef (hats off to the grill master), made for an extra-good, full-meal salad.

Thai Grilled Beef Salad
Adapted from Thai Beef Salad, The New York Times online, and Thai Waterfall Beef Salad, About.com

8 to 12 ounces skirt, flank, or sirloin steak

Marinade for steak:
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp lime or lemon juice
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Salad:
1/2 small head green cabbage, finely sliced
Handful of green beans, trimmed and cut in half
1 cup of a combination of torn Thai basil leaves, fresh mint leaves, and fresh cilantro
1/2 a small red onion, finely chopped
About 10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Dressing:
1 small red or green hot chili, minced (use more chilies if you want it spicier)
Juice of 1 large or 2 small limes
1 Tbsp Asian toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp fish sauce (nam pla, available at Asian markets; I got mine at Lee's) or soy sauce
1 large clove garlic, sliced, chopped, or minced
1/2 tsp. sugar

Combine the marinade ingredients and whisk to mix. Pour over the steak in a baking dish, turning the meat so it's coated with the marinade. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the salad ingredients. Boil the green beans in salted water for about 6 minutes, or until just tender. Drain, cool, and dry the beans.

Lay a bed of the thinly sliced cabbage on a platter. Top with the green beans, red onion, and herbs, and arrange the halved cherry tomatoes around the edge. (Alternatively, you could toss the cabbage in a bowl with the chopped onion and herbs first, and then put the mixture on the platter and add the green beans and tomatoes.)

Whisk together the dressing ingredients, and pour about half of the dressing over the salad on the platter.

Grill the marinated steak over a hot fire for about 5 minutes, or until done to your liking. Remove the meat from the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes, then thinly slice against the grain, reserving the juices. Lay the steak slices on the platter on top of the salad, mix the reserved meat juices into the dressing, and pour the rest of the dressing over the salad.

This salad served the two of us nicely, with some left over for lunch the next day.

From the Pantry: Ben & Jerry's Mission to Marzipan

And the cow rocketed over the moon. You gotta love the Ben & Jerry's ice cream names and package designs, don't you? The Beadgal tweeted about this new flavor the other day, and as soon as I saw the name, I knew it was for me, because I'm a real fan of the deliciously rich almond concoction known as marzipan. My estimable better half picked this up for me at Schnucks in Champaign (and I'm sure it's carried at other groceries in town as well).Bits of almond cookies (actually, more like crumbs of almond cookies; I wish there were larger chunks of cookie in there) and a thick, gooey ribbon of bittersweet almondy goodness—nice idea. This won't be everyone's favorite flavor, but if you crave marzipan, I think you'll like it.

P.S. If you like marzipan fruit candy, I saw it recently at World Harvest market on University Avenue.

Thai Chicken with Fresh Basil

Recently I had, shall we say, limited success with a Thai recipe (the pad see ew), but last night I redeemed myself. This chicken with basil dish was a big hit chez CT, and the verdict was that next-day leftovers were just as good.

I was on the hunt for a dish in which I could use a large quantity of Thai basil. I bought a small plant at the farmers' market a few weeks ago, and it must absolutely love its position on the patio, because it's totally out of control! It's growing like crazy and is just beautiful (and I wish I could say the same of my Italian basil, which is barely surviving this year, for some reason—have never had trouble growing it before).Now: I had planned to use the recipe that follows, from my new book Quick and Easy Thai. However, as I am wont to do, I poked around online to compare the recipe in the book with others, and I ended up following this recipe on the Temple of Thai site, mostly because I had shallots from farmers' market and the thick, sweet soy sauce I'd gotten for the pad see ew, and I wanted an excuse to use both. I am not positive that the thick soy I have is the exact type of soy sauce called for in the recipe ("the semi-sweet kind, siew dohm"), but I figured that if not, it was very similar.

As you can see in the online recipe, an herb known as holy basil is called for. I don't think fresh holy basil is available in C-U (set me straight if I'm wrong), and besides, I had the aforementioned large Thai sweet basil plant out back, so that's what I used. The recipe author noted that she's included a combination of Thai sweet basil and fresh mint with good results, so I used both myself (about a cup of basil and a half-cup of mint leaves).

Oh, and I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts from Triple S Farm instead of chicken thighs, because that's what I had in the freezer. The chopped chicken breasts worked great, but sometime I'll try this dish with thighs, which I'm quite partial to.

Having given you the link to the online recipe I ended up following, I'm going to copy out here the recipe from Quick and Easy Thai, because I think it's a bit simpler and the author of that book tries to include only ingredients that you either have lying around or that you can pick up without necessarily going to a specialty grocery. So here's that recipe, in case you want to try it or just compare it with the Temple of Thai one.

Chicken with Fresh Basil
From Quick and Easy Thai: 70 Everyday Recipes, by Nancie McDermott

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
3/4 pound boneless chicken, coarsely ground or cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce or soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh hot green chilies, such as Thai chilies, serranos, or jalapeños
1 cup fresh holy basil (bai graprao), Asian basil, or Italian basil leaves or fresh mint leaves

Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat and then add the garlic and onion. Toss well, and when they begin to release their aroma, add the chicken in generous pinches. Toss well, using a spatula or slotted spoon, to help meat brown evenly and to break up big chunks to achieve a crumbly texture.

Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, water, and sugar and cook 2 to 3 minutes, tossing now and then, just until the meat is cooked and the seasonings form a thin, smooth sauce. Add the chilies and basil and toss well. Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot or warm.

Serves 4.
. . . . . . . . . . . .

A really yummy dish. I used jalapeno peppers because I had those on hand, and they weren't particularly hot specimens. If you like more heat, use serranos or Thai "bird" chilies if you can find them. I also added half a sweet red and half a green bell pepper, partly because I wanted more veggie matter in there, and partly in a clean-out-the-veg-drawer move.

I think that chopping the chicken into very small pieces, till it's almost like ground chicken (which you could easily use instead, or ground turkey), is key, because the flavors of the sauce really permeate the meat that way. As for the herbs, note that you don't have to chop or tear the basil and/or mint leaves at all; just chuck them into the pan or wok whole.

I served the chicken with steamed Jasmine rice. A squeeze of fresh lime juice and a sprinkling of sriracha hot sauce added quite a nice freshness and zing!

P.S. I'm on a bit of a Thai food kick, perusing my new book for recipes. Later this week I'll try Crying Tiger Steak with Roasted Tomato-Chili Sauce.

Weeknight Takeout: Vinny's Pizza

Update 12/2009: Vinny's has become our first choice for takeout or delivery pizza. The crust issues I mention in the post below were resolved very quickly (it was a matter of getting used to new equipment); Vinny's pizza crust is now chewy and crispy and bubbly and wonderful. ~Lisa

My mother, a second-generation New York Italian transplanted to Los Angeles in the 1940s, bemoaned the lack of decent pizza in her adopted city in those early years (actually, there was hardly any pizza to be found in L.A. at that time, if you can believe it). When, a decade or so later, a place run by former New Yorkers opened up near us, we became regulars. We'd park behind the restaurant, and the screen door would slam behind us as we entered the kitchen to greet the guys and pick up our pizza. Most often, it would be anchovy pizza, my mother's favorite. If you stood on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, you could look through the window and see one of the guys kneading the pizza dough, then throwing it up into the air again and again, expertly stretching it into a circle.

And the dough, which becomes the base of the pizza, is all important. After baking, it should be thin and foldable, chewy and with good texture, yet crisp on the bottom. The edge should be a bit puffy and browned, with charred, bubbly spots. The sauce should be a simple mixture of tomatoes, garlic, and oregano. And of course, the cheese should be good mozzarella.

Vinny's East Coast Pizzeria, which opened just days ago on Kirby Avenue (between Jarling's and the Seaboat, in the old Bagelman's and later Kafe K building), is attempting to bring New York-style pizza to our fair city. I've had pizza there twice now, and my verdict is: they get pretty close.

At Vinny's, they make the dough from scratch daily, and while perhaps not hand tossed, it is hand stretched (I saw one cook somewhat tentatively stretching the dough on his fingers; he was clearly just learning and maybe he'll work up to being able to toss it in the future!).

The finished product is pretty good: thin, chewy, crusty on the bottom, becoming a bit thicker toward the edge; cut into large wedges, foldable. The outside edge of the crust, however, while approaching bubbly, was not as browned as I would have liked, and though there was a hint of puffiness about the edge, it was nowhere near having charred spots. Something is a bit off, and not being a pizza-making expert, I'm not sure what it is, but I think it's the baking that's the issue and not the dough itself.That said, I liked the pizza slices I tried, overall. They did remind me of the pizza I used to adore as a child. With time, I think Vinny's will be able to perfect their technique and produce a really good crust. It's almost there now, it just needs to brown and bubble up on the edge. The sauce tasted good, and the cheese was melty and nice but not too heavy.The plain cheese slice and the one topped with fresh tomatoes were my favorites. Keith was very partial to the pepperoni. What we both agreed you should stay away from was the steak and bacon slice. Normally I wouldn't order a slice of pizza with steak and bacon on it, but it was one of the slices of the day, so in the interests of thoroughness, I gave it a whirl. It was dry, and hard, and there was cheddar cheese on it. Enough said.

Prices for slices are very reasonable; I brought home four slices—cheese, tomato, pepperoni, and steak-bacon—for $10 even. Two slices would probably stuff you, and you'd shell out only about $4, depending on the type(s) you choose.We also tried Vinny's baked ziti; the pasta is mixed with marinara or meat sauce and topped with ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses. I found the ziti to be overcooked—not mushy, but too limp. I would have liked the pasta to stand up to my teeth better. The flavor was good, though, and the ziti came with a small mixed salad and a piece of nice garlic bread (that actually had real garlic on it!). At around 5 bucks for the 7-inch-diameter pan of ziti with a small salad and bread, you absolutely cannot beat it.

If you like whole-grain pasta, you can get whole-grain penne with marinara, parmesan, and basil for $4.25 (I assume you could also have meat sauce with your whole-grain penne).The meatball sandwich was a winner, we thought. Vinny's makes their own bread, and it's good—crispy and crusty outside, tender and chewy inside (I was offered a choice of white or wheat). The meatballs, which they make daily as well, were covered with marinara, and mozzarella was melted underneath. Three meatballs on a 6-inch sub: $3.70. (You can also get 12-inch subs.)

Vinny's may be trying to do too much. Not only do they have the Italian offerings, but they also list a variety of salads, wings, sliders, and quesadillas on the menu. Well—maybe. I haven't sampled any of those items, so I can't provide an opinion, except to say that they probably should stick to pizzas, pasta, calzones, and subs.

On one visit I called before leaving the office, and when I arrived 15 minutes later, my order was packed up and ready to go. Another time I simply went in and ordered slices of pizza, and service was quick and friendly on that occasion as well.

Vinny's, welcome to the neighborhood. Thanks for offering homemade food at very affordable prices. We'll follow your progress with interest.

Vinny's East Coast Pizzeria
401 W. Kirby Avenue
Champaign, IL 61821
217-355-4500
Eat in, takeout, and delivery available
Credit/debit cards accepted
Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Novel Food Summer 2009 Edition: An Afghan Meal

This is both my entry and the roundup for Novel Food, a literary-culinary event that Simona (of the food blog Briciole) and I started a couple of years ago. To read about the books and dishes that appeared in previous editions of the event, see the links on my companion blog, More CT.

You may know author Khaled Hosseini from his first novel (and the movie that was made from it), The Kite Runner. His followup to that book is called A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Hosseini is an excellent writer, which made reading Suns both pleasurable and intensely painful. The story, which focuses on two girls growing up in Afghanistan, is filled with characters who experience unimaginable suffering.

Loss is the dominant theme of the book: Loss of life, of course, and also of family, of dignity, of freedom, and loss of home and country. Hosseini expertly weaves a history of Afghanistan into the stories of two women's lives as he shows us how various military invasions and political and religious upheavals affect the women and their families.

The novel spans the period from the mid-1960s to almost the present day (2003). Thus, we vicariously experience the military coup of 1978 (by pro-Soviet Afghan forces), the Soviet invasion of 1979, the 10-year-long war in which Afghans opposed to the Soviet occupation attempted to drive them out, the defeat and expulsion of the Soviets, the chaos after as the various groups who had fought together against the Soviets fought each other, the takeover by the Taliban in 1996, and the ousting of that group from power in 2001.

The two main characters, Mariam and Laila, have very different early lives, but partway through the novel, when they both become wives of the same man, their lives are inextricably bound together.

[Spoiler alert! Skip down to where I talk about the food mentioned in the novel if you intend to read the book and don't want the ending revealed.]

Despite years of bombings, near-starvation, brutality of all kinds, lack of proper medical care (one of the more gruesome scenes involves a doctor performing an emergency Caesarean section on Laila with no anaesthetics, because no supplies are available at the one hospital in Kabul that the Taliban allow women to be treated in), the deaths of her parents, the murder of her friend Mariam, and her own near death, Laila, who ultimately finds refuge and a quiet life in Pakistan, chooses to return to Afghanistan. The country where she was born and that her parents refused to leave, even after they had lost their two sons in the war against the Soviets.

But it isn't mere homesickness or nostalgia that has Laila thinking of Kabul so much these days. She has become plagued by restlessness. She hears of schools built in Kabul, roads repaved, women returning to work, and her life here, pleasant as it is, grateful as she is for it, seems . . . insufficient to her. Inconsequential. Worse yet, wasteful. Of late, she has started hearing Babi's voice in her head. You can be anything you want, Laila, he says. I know this about you. And I also know that when this war is over, Afghanistan is going to need you.

Laila hears Mammy's voice too. She remembers Mammy's response to Babi when he would suggest that they leave Afghanistan. I want to see my sons' dream come true. I want to be there when it happens, when Afghanistan is free, so the boys see it too. They'll see it through my eyes. There is a part of Laila that wants to return to Kabul, for Mammy and Babi, for them to see it through her eyes.

And then, most compellingly for Laila, there is Mariam. Did Mariam die for this? Laila asks herself. Did she sacrifice herself so she, Laila, could be a maid in a foreign land? Maybe it wouldn't matter to Mariam what Laila did as long as she and the children were safe and happy. But it matters to Laila. Suddenly, it matters very much.

"I want to go back," she says.

So, in 2002, Laila returns to Afghanistan to help rebuild her country.

Laila finds it strange to be back in Kabul. The city has changed. Every day now she sees people planting saplings, painting old houses, carrying bricks for new ones. They dig gutters and wells. On windowsills, Laila spots flowers potted in the empty shells of old Mujahideen rockets—rocket flowers, Kabulis call them. Recently, Tariq took Laila and the children to the Gardens of Babur, which are being renovated. For the first time in years, Laila hears music at Kabul's street corners, rubab and table, dootar, harmomium and tamboura, old Ahmad Zahir songs.

The novel ends on a very tentatively optimistic note. All Laila decides she can do is move on, keep working to improve conditions, and hope that the country remains stable and her homeland will once again be a safe and happy place for her and her children.

(Khaled Hosseini, the author of A Thousand Splendid Suns, was born in Kabul and moved to the United States in 1980. In 2006 he was named a U.S. envoy to the United Nations Refugee Agency. To learn more about the situation in Afghanistan through the author's eyes, visit his Web site and blog.)

* * * * *

Food is much mentioned in this novel, so finding culinary inspiration was not difficult. For this event I chose to make lamb kebabs, spinach with rice (or sabzi, which Mariam makes for her husband on more than one occasion), and a tomato chutney.

For the kebabs, I used beautiful lamb shoulder chops from Country Cottage Farm in Fisher, IL (available at the Urbana farmers' market). I simply cut the meat off the bones to end up with boneless lamb.See how the lamb pieces look in the marinade. I mixed the marinade ingredients in a bowl, then put the lamb into a zip-lock bag and poured the marinade over:I used very thick and wonderful Greek yogurt which I procured at Strawberry Fields.Lamb Kebabs
From Afghan Food & Cookery, by Helen Saberi

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 cup live, natural yogurt (optional)
Salt and black or red pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
2 pounds boneless lamb, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
8 ounces lamb fat (optional) or 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 lavosh, chapati, or nan breads

Mix the lemon juice, crushed garlic, yogurt (if using), salt, pepper, and coriander (if using) in a bowl. Add the lamb and lamb fat or oil. Mix well and marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Preheat the grill. Thread the meat onto the skewers. (The cubes of meat should be alternated with the fat, if used.) Grill, turning frequently, for about 15 to 20 minutes until browned and cooked.

Place the bread on a large dish, remove the kebabs from the skewers and place them on the bread. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, garnish with the tomato, onion, and lemon, and fold the bread over to keep the kebabs warm. The extra bread is cut into pieces and served separately. In the following dish, I used Swiss chard instead of the spinach, because there was no spinach at farmers' market but there was great-looking rainbow chard. I removed the ribs from the larger chard leaves.Spinach with Rice
From Afghan Food & Cookery, by Helen Saberi

2 pounds spinach
8 ounces leeks, scallions, or garlic chives
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 tablespoon fenugreek (optional)
1 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
1 tablespoon powdered dill weed or 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)
Salt and black pepper
1 green chili (optional)

Chop the spinach into small pieces and wash thoroughly. Drain well. Cut up the leeks, scallions, or chives and wash carefully.

Heat the oil and fry the fenugreek (if used) for a minute or so, then add the leeks and cook until soft and nearly brown. Add the spinach and continue to fry, stirring continuously until it reduces. Then turn the heat down, cover the pan with a lid, and simmer until the spinach is cooked and the oil comes to the surface, about 10 to 15 minutes. At this stage, add the ground coriander, dill or cilantro, lemon juice, if used, salt and plenty of black pepper and the chili if used. Cover again and cook until any excess water has evaporated and the spinach becomes creamy and soft.

Serve with rice.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
This is the final product: kebab meat, rice, greens, and bread (I used freshly baked whole-wheat pita from Strawberry Fields instead of nan or chapati):A very tasty meal indeed. If you don't want to heat up the kitchen at all, Mrs. Saberi notes that a green salad is a good side dish for the kebabs.

Now, on to see what the others who took part read and cooked.

---

Nupur, of One Hot Stove out of St. Louis, read a memoir by Diana Abu-Jaber called The Language of Baklava. Sounds promising, yes? Nupur made an upside-down rice and eggplant dish that you must see; it's really something. She also mentions a handful of other "foodie" memoirs that you might like to read (I want to check out Nigel Slater's Toast, for one). Thank you, Nupur, for playing along!

---

Sandi, of Whistlestop Cafe Cooking, was inspired by blogger Julie Powell's Julie & Julia to make a Julia Child recipe for lemon sorbet. Man, does that look delish (I love lemony things).

Sandi was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the Julie & Julia movie, which she gives a thumbs-up to. Sandi, you'd better resubmit that post to my Julia Child event! Thanks for taking part.

---

Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, whipped up a gorgeous Singapore sling slush ("it's a girl thing") in honor of W. Somerset Maugham's story The Letter. The slush looks divine; pink and refreshing, and just right for a summer's day. Many thanks, Susan, for taking part in our event.

P.S. Maugham's story was made into a movie with Bette Davis that you must get hold of and watch; it's a classic noir melodrama.

---

Finally, Simona, my partner in this event, went back to our roots by making lunetta, a beautiful bread with sesame seeds, inspired by an Andrea Camilleri mystery novel called Rounding the Mark. I can't get enough of Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano or the food that he eats in those books. Simona also tried her hand at several other types of bread, including panini with black olives, and a challah. Well done, partner! Zounds, that was a lot of baking. Thanks for doing this event with me.

---

This is only half of the roundup of books and the dishes they inspired; be sure to visit Simona's part of the roundup for the other half. There is some fun and yummy stuff over there (not the least of which is a Mad Hatter's tea party that you must see).

Thanks again to everyone who cooked from books! See you next time.

Black Dog Smoke & Ale House Twice-Baked Potato Casserole Recipe

Here's another recipe from a local restaurant/bar. This time it's the twice-baked potato casserole from the Black Dog, C-U's newest BBQ joint. You may remember that I did a review of the place back in February.

Michelle of Champaign requested this recipe just recently. What, you say?! I requested a recipe months ago and I haven't seen it yet!

Well, since I haven't been able to pry some of the older requests out of local chefs' hands, and since Mike at the Black Dog was kind enough to share it with me yesterday when Keith and I were there chowing down on pulled pork, I'm going to skip ahead in the order and give you this one. I'm still hoping I may be able to get some of the older requests, so keep watching.Now, the recipe serves 25 to 30 people, so if you're not cooking for a very large crowd, you're going to have to play with it and cut it down. But I have faith in you.

Twice-Baked Potato Casserole
Courtesy of the Black Dog Smoke & Ale House

10 pounds new potatoes
12 slices bacon, cooked
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
4 cups sour cream
8 green onions, sliced
1 cup milk
1/2 pound butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil new potatoes until cooked through. Chop the cooked bacon into small pieces. Put the potatoes and bacon into a large bowl. Add the Cheddar cheese, sour cream, onions, milk, and butter, season to taste with salt and pepper, and mash everything together until well blended. Spoon the mixture into a baking pan and bake at 350 °F for 35 minutes.
. . . . . . . . . . . .

And there you have it! Pretty simple, eh? Many thanks to Mike at the B.D. for sharing the recipe; we appreciate it.

Oh, and tomorrow (Saturday, July 18), Mike will be serving smoked local, free-range chicken at the Black Dog. So if you can make it over there, you'll be able to enjoy chicken raised by local farmers and great sides like red-cabbage cole slaw, pit beans, sweet potato fries—and of course, the twice-baked potato casserole.

The Black Dog Smoke and Ale House
201 North Broadway Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
217-344-9334
Open Monday through Saturday at 11 a.m. Closed on Sundays. (Note that starting this fall, the B.D. will be open 7 days a week.)

Have a favorite dish at a local restaurant that you'd like to have the recipe for? E-mail me at champaigntaste AT gmail DOT com and I'll do my best to get it for you.

Fourth Annual Julia Child Event Coming Next Month

I hereby announce the fourth annual Julia Child Birthday Celebration, in which food bloggers and others honor the life and work of an American icon.

This year the event will be even more exciting, what with the Julie & Julia movie coming out around the time of Mrs. Child's birthday and the cookbook giveaway here on CT.That's right—our local Barnes & Noble store in Champaign has generously donated a beautiful hard-cover copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking to the event! They have a little display set up where you'll find Julia-related books, so if you've been meaning to read, say, My Life in France, Julie & Julia, or the JC bio Appetite for Life, give our local store some love by buying your copy there.

Thus, we have a two-pronged thing going on for the event this year.

If you want a chance to win the Mastering the Art of French Cooking book:

• Leave me a comment on this post by August 13, 2009, at midnight CST.
• Tell me that you'd like the book and share thoughts about or memories related to Julia Child.
• Include your name (it can be just your first name) and the city and state you live in. (The giveaway is limited to people currently living in the United States, Alaska and Hawaii included.)
• On August 14, we'll put the names of all who leave comments that include the information described above into a hat, and we'll choose the lucky winner of the cookbook at random.

If you want to take part in the birthday celebration by cooking:

1. Make a dish or dishes of your choice from one of Mrs. Child's books.
2. Write up a post about it on your blog, referencing the event and linking to this announcement, by August 13, 2009, at midnight CST.
3. Send me an e-mail with "Julia Child Event" in the subject line (champaigntaste AT gmail DOT com).
4. Include in the e-mail a permanent link to your post, your name, and your blog's name.
5. If you don't have a blog but want to take part, simply do #1 above, take a photo if you can, and send me an e-mail telling me about your experience cooking the dish. I'll include your photo and/or story in the roundup post.

On August 15, the anniversary of Julia Child's birth, I'll publish a roundup post with links to all the submissions, so everybody can see what everybody else cooked and we can all celebrate together. I'll also announce the winner of the cookbook. (If you win the cookbook, I'll ask you to send me your full name and mailing address at that time so I can send you the book.)

Let's get in the mood by watching the trailer for the movie, shall we?

I hope you'll take part in this year's event in some way, whether by cooking or simply by sharing your thoughts about Julia Child (or both!). She was certainly an influence on my life; the year that she died, I almost felt like I'd lost a member of my family. I know lots of other people felt that way, too; she was a much-loved figure in America for such a long time, not to mention what she did for American cuisine.

If you'd like to see the roundup posts for the past JC events, here are links to them:

• Julia Child Birthday Celebration 2006
• JC Event 2007
• JC Event 2008

Bon appétit!

Prairie Fruits Farm Goes Whole Hog

Last night, my friend Shirley and I had the pleasure of attending a special dinner at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery, which is located just 10 minutes north of Urbana. I went to one of these on-farm dinners last year; on that occasion lamb was the star of the show. This year, on this evening, it was pork.

And not just any pork, but pork from a heritage-breed pig raised by Stan and family at Triple S Farm. Thus, every dish served at the dinner—every dish involving the noble pig, that is—was made from Triple S Farm pork.

We arrived at Prairie Fruits Farm at the 4 p.m. start time to find guest chef Paul Virant (of Vie restaurant in Western Springs, IL) setting out platters of homemade mortadella garnished with pickled artichokes and giardiniera made from farmers' market veggies,dishes of fromage de tetes torte (a head-cheese concoction baked inside puff pastry),and trays of crostini, made from bread baked at Vie, accompanying bowlfuls of cherry mostarda (an Italian fruit-and-mustard condiment).A stunningly delicious start. We tried not to gorge ourselves, as we knew that, oh, five more courses were coming. As we polished off the appetizers, Chef Paul treated us to a peek inside the enormous smoker where the third-course entrée (porchetta) was cooking. When others moved off for a tour of the farm, Shirley and I whipped out our folding chairs, set them under a shady tree, opened a bottle of rosé, and sat down to chat awhile.

Then dinner was announced, and, since there had been rain earlier in the day and the forecast for the evening was uncertain, we ate at prettily decorated tables in the barn.First up: the soup course. Each diner was given a bowl in which were placed a pork-liver dumpling, fresh and preserved turnip slices, bits of pickled garlic, and a sprinkling of PFF's Moonglo cheese. The (very professional) servers then came round with silver pitchers and poured the herby, savory pork broth into the bowl.The second-course salad consisted of Blue Moon Farm's lettuces, arugula, and sugar-snap peas, and Nickles Farm pickled snow peas, accented by a preserved green garlic and herb vinaigrette and PFF's Caprino Romano.And then out came the porchetta. Trays of the succulent grilled pork were passed around, as well as bowls of ham with PFF Romano and green beans, Blue Moon Farm tomatoes baked with a scallion and basil salsa verde, and red Russian kale with pork jus.Throughout the meal the servers kept our baskets filled with freshly baked bread from Vie so that we could slather on the incredible butter that was set out in crocks. The butter was made at PFF from Kilgus Farmstead cream.Impossibly, there were still two more courses to go. We had lovely plates of three varieties of PFF cheese accompanied by bits of preserves (made from PFF fruit, of course) and delectable honeycomb (yep, honey is made at the farm, too).As if this all weren't enough, the capper was a mixed-berry clafoutis and bowls of mousse made with PFF chèvre. Have you ever had fresh chèvre mousse? Neither had I. It was rich, creamy, frothy, not real sweet—difficult to describe, easy to eat spoonfuls of with the clafoutis.As a bonus, Chef Paul gave us all the recipe for the chèvre mousse, which I will, of course, now share with you, in case you'd like to try it. (If you don't have a kitchen scale, now might be the time to invest in one! Otherwise, you can convert the metric measurements and come pretty close that way.)

Fresh Chèvre Mousse
Courtesy of Paul Virant, Vie restaurant

100g egg whites
34g sugar
152g fresh chèvre (whipped)
200g heavy cream (whipped)
40g egg yolks
34g sugar
1 t powdered gelatin

Make meringue with egg whites and first quantity of sugar. Whip until soft peaks form.

Cook egg yolks and second quantity of sugar over a water bath until thick. Add gelatin and whisk to dissolve. Remove from heat.

Whip chèvre until smooth and soft. Whip heavy cream until it reaches soft peaks. Fold yolk mixture into whipped chèvre. Fold in whipped cream. Fold in meringue.

Portion into desired dishes and refrigerate until set.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
I'm not sure how we got up from our chairs after eating the final course, but somehow we made it. What an experience. Kudos to Leslie, Wes, and everyone at PFF for starting these on-farm dinners to showcase locally produced food and for packing each new season with delicious surprises.

Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery
Old North Lincoln Road, just north of Urbana, IL
Visit the Web site for details about farm operations and dinners.

The dinners sold quickly this year, and there are seats left for just one ("An Illinois Fish Tale," featuring Illinois River Paddlefish and Southern Illinois freshwater prawns—yum. You can read about the guest chefs for that dinner on the chefs' Web site).

Road Trip: Shapiro's Deli-Cafeteria in Indianapolis

So, you're in the heart of Hoosier country, and you need a nosh. What to do? Easy. Head to Meridian Street, in downtown Indianapolis, where you'll find a gen-u-wine Jewish deli. A couple of friends and I did just that over the Fourth of July weekend. Shapiro's has been serving food in Indy since 1905. Since 1905. You can read the fascinating story of this business and the family that runs it on their Web site.When you walk in, you'll see the deli up front. Then, to the right of the deli, the large cafeteria beckons. The first items you see when you grab a tray and get in line are the desserts: cakes and pies galore.As you run your tray down the line, you see so many different dishes it makes your head spin. My head was spinning so fast I forgot to take photos, so I'll just have to try to describe the scene for you.

In the sides-and-salads category: Potato salad. Chicken salad. Tuna salad. Cottage cheese. Bean salad. Deviled eggs. Marinated mushrooms. Pickled herring. And so on. And so forth.

Then it's on to main-dish options like corned beef, roast beef, stuffed cabbage, meat loaf, beef stew, spaghetti with meatballs, and baked chicken. (And hey! They serve Swiss steak on Sundays!) We all went with the stuffed cabbage. Ground beef and rice are wrapped up in cabbage leaves, and the whole schmeer is baked in a sweet-ish tomato sauce.If you get a main dish, it comes with "two hot vegetables." So for my vegetables, I got, ahem, macaroni and cheese and a potato pancake. Yeah, I starched it up, what can I say? If you wanted an actual green vegetable, you could choose from spinach, boiled cabbage, and green beans.

And don't even get me started on the sandwiches. Obviously, there are corned beef and pastrami. Housemade, to use the parlance of the day. And smoked salmon, kosher salami, roasted turkey, chopped liver, and baked tongue, to name a few more. Let me just say that these are the largest sandwiches on the third rock from the sun. You must have one on Shapiro's own rye bread.

Feeling puny? Have a nice bowl of chicken or matzo-ball soup. Feeling hearty? Eat some borscht!

I love the children's menu ("for our guests age 12 and under"). For $2.75 you can get a kosher hot dog or corn dog, spaghetti, grilled cheese, or chicken. If you want a side with that, add $1.00 (baked beans, fruit cup, mac and cheese, etc.).

Yeah, they pretty much have your kosher food needs covered at Shapiro's. If you don't live close enough to nip in on a regular basis, do as I did and take a cooler with you. That way, you can stock up, in the deli, on meats, breads, and desserts to take home.

Prices are reasonable, and the value is fantastic because portions in the cafeteria are enormous and this is real food. A pastrami sandwich will set you back $10.15. Smoked salmon sandwich: $11.55 (remember: largest sandwiches on Earth). The stuffed cabbage dinner is $10.50. Swiss steak goes for $13.80. Meat loaf: $9.45 (remember: dinners come with two large sides and two thick slices of rye bread topped with dill pickle spears). A bowl (not a cup, a bowl) of soup: $4.30.

If you buy meats in the deli to take home, you'll spend some money. A pound of corned beef or pastrami goes for $15.99. However, bread prices are very reasonable. A half-loaf of rye, which is the size of most normal loaves of bread, costs only $2.95 (the full loaf, which could make sandwiches for a small army, is $5.10). And they have bagels, of course: $1.25 each or $8.95 for a dozen. You can also take home whole pies and cakes, cookies, cheeses, and more.

I wish I'd gotten a photo of one of Shapiro's sandwiches, but, as you saw, I indulged in the stuffed cabbage dinner. My thought was to take home the ingredients and make my own sandwiches. Here's a shot of the last of the pastrami on the rye bread.After I took the photo I topped the pastrami with Swiss cheese and Plochman's mustard and warmed it up in the toaster oven. I can't tell you how delicious the pastrami and corned beef were. You must have the experience for yourself, because I would hate for you to miss out on this wonderful food.

Is it too shmaltzy to say that I heart Shapiro's? Don't be a shlub! Go eat there soon!

Shapiro's Deli and Cafeteria
808 South Meridian Street (downtown and very easy to get to off the Interstate; here's a map)
Indianapolis, Indiana
317-631-4041
Open 6:45 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day
(There are now also locations in Carmel, IN, and at the Indianapolis airport.)

P.S. If you go to Shapiro's, you might see a celebrity. Or two.

P.P.S. Many thanks to my friends Stubearto and Shirley for making the trip so much fun. On the way to Indy, we listened to a radio show produced by Uni High students for which Shirley was interviewed. The show was about the women's liberation movement and how it played out in Champaign-Urbana. The students ended the show with one of that movement's anthems. So now, somehow, I'll always associate Shapiro's with "I Am Woman"!

Swiss Steak

Many's the time Keith has told me about this dish, which his mother used to make when he was just a wee lad in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The dish gets its name not because it's a Swiss dish but because it involves a process known as "swissing," in which a relatively tough cut of meat (such as round steak) is tenderized via pounding or rolling (as through a cuber). Keith remembered his mother in the kitchen, pounding the steak with a mallet before cooking it. And he pined for the finished product—tender steak in a thick sauce.

When Swiss steak was served at their house, it was always accompanied by a certain kind of floury side dish; thus, even though the authors of The Joy of Cooking, where I found the following recipe, advise serving mashed potatoes on the side, I went with noodles (Reames brand thick noodles, available locally at Schnucks and Jerry's IGA).Swiss Steak
From The Joy of Cooking, by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker

Preheat the oven to 300 °F.

Trim the edges of a 3/4-inch-thick, 2-pound round steak. Rub with 1/2 clove garlic. Pound into both sides of the steak, with the edge of a heavy plate or a mallet, as much flour as the steak will hold. Cut it into pieces or leave it whole. If left whole, gash the edges to prevent curling.

Heat in a large, heavy casserole 1/4 cup bacon or ham drippings. Sear the steak on one side until brown. After you turn it over, add 1/2 cup finely chopped onions and 1 cup mixed finely chopped carrots, peppers, and celery. Do not allow them to brown.

Add 1/2 cup strained boiling tomatoes and 1 cup stock. Cover the casserole closely and place in the oven for 2 hours or more.

Remove the steak to a hot platter. Strain the drippings. Degrease the drippings and make pan gravy. Pour the gravy over the steak. Serve with mashed potatoes.

To make pan gravy:
Use 2 tablespoons drippings from meat. Blend 1 or 2 tablespoons flour into them. Stir with a wire whisk until the flour has thickened and the mixture is well combined and smooth. Continue to cook slowly, and stir constantly while adding the degreased pan juices and enough milk, water, stock, cream, or beer to make 1 cup. Season the gravy with salt, pepper, fresh or dried minced herbs, grated lemon rind, etc. You may strain the gravy, reheat, and serve it.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
I didn't strain the sauce and make the pan gravy, as advised in the recipe, because the sauce looked pretty good with the vegetables in it and because I didn't feel like fooling with it. I don't think Keith's mother did that step, either, because he said he remembered a thick sauce with bits of vegetables in it.

Keith pronounced the dish wonderful, and every bit as good as his mother's—high praise! It was very gratifying to make a dish that brought back so many pleasant memories for him.

You may also be interested in Elise Bauer's mother's recipe for Swiss steak on the Simply Recipes site. The sauce in that recipe is more tomato-ey, and their version of the dish looks simply delish.