Meet Me at The Buttery: The Remember WENN Cookbook
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1930s KITCHEN
























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ETHNIC FOODS

SPAGHETTI A'LA HILARY

1 package (pound) of spaghetti
Slices of salami, onions and fixings from Italian submarine sandwich, sauteed with ketchup

Cook spaghetti until tender (toss one on wall, it will stick if done). Pour sauteed ketchup sauce over spaghetti. Feeds eight hungry radio performers in quarantine.

Readers may find this a bit more palatable:

SPAGHETTI À L'ITALIENNE

¾ cup spaghetti
2 quarts boiling salted water
½ onion
2 cloves
1½ cups tomato sauce (see below)
½ cup grated cheese
2 tablespoons red wine
½ tablespoon butter

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water with butter and onion stuck with cloves; drain, remove onion, reheat in tomato sauce, add cheese and wine.

TOMATO SAUCE

½ can tomatoes or
1¾ cups fresh stewed tomatoes
1 slice onion
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Cook onion with tomatoes fifteen minutes, rub through a strainer and add to butter and flour (to which seasonings have been added) cooked together. If tomatoes are very acid, add a few grains of soda. If tomatoes are to retain their red color it is necessary to brown butter and flour together before adding the tomatoes.

FRIJOLES MEXICANO

Best for lovers heading to Mexico to be married.

1 ¼ cups pinto beans
½ tsp soda
2 small cloves garlic
½ cup diced salt pork
1 tsp vinegar
Salt
1 small onion, sliced
3 tbsp bacon drippings
Grated cheese

Pick over the beans and wash them thoroughly. Cover them with cold water, add the soda, and soak them overnight. In the morning, add the garlic and salt pork, cover and cook them slowly in the same water in which they were soaked, adding more hot water from time to time to keep the beans well covered. They should be tender in about four hours, and when done there should be approximately 2 cups of liquid. Add the vinegar, and partly mash the beans with a potato masher. Add salt if desired, together with the sliced onions. Heat the bacon dripping in a heavy pan, pour the beans in slowly, and stir them until they bubble. Cook about 10 minutes; the turn them into a greased baking dish, sprinkle them generously with grated cheese, and bake them in a hot oven (400°) for about fifteen minutes or until the cheese is melted.

CHICKEN CHOW MEIN

From that Chinese restaurant just under the Aldwych Academy of Drama.

For The Noodles
½ pound Chinese wheat noodles
¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon peanut or canola oil
Salt

For the Chicken
2 tablespoons peanut oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup canned bamboo shoots, drained and sliced
½ cup water chestnuts, drained and sliced
1 cup sliced bok choy
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
5 green onions, cut into 1½-inch long pieces
½ pound chicken, cut into bite-sized piece
¼ cup soy sauce
1 cup chicken broth
½ teaspoon sugar
1 cup bean sprouts
Toasted slivered almonds for garnish

To make noodles, cook them in boiling salted water until just al dente. Drain them, toss them with 1 teaspoon of the oil and set aside until cold. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet until very hot. Add the cold noodles and stir them gently (chopsticks or a fork work best) until heated through. Reduce the heat, stir again, cover the noodles, and let them cook about 2 minutes. Turn up the heat again, remove the cover, and turn the noodles over gently to crisp and cook on the other side. (The noodles should be crisp on the outside and hot and soft in the middle.) Salt the noodles to taste and set aside, keeping them warm.

For the chicken mixture, heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet, add ¼ teaspoon of the salt and stir, the add the bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, bok choy, mushroom, and onions. Stir-fry for 1 minute, just until the vegetables start to soften. Then add the chicken and stir-fry for 1 more minute. Mix the soy sauce, broth, sugar, and remaining salt together and add this mixture to the skillet. Bring to a boil, then cover and let steam about 1 minute. Add the bean sprouts and steam 1 minute. Put the warm fried noodles on a serving platter, top with the chicken mixture, and garnish with the toasted almonds. Serve immediately. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

SPAGHETTI WITH CLAMS OR MUSSELS

From Apulia, the home paese of Rudolph Valentino, and a favorite dish of him and his wife.

3 cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 pound fresh mussels or clams
Spaghetti for two

Sautée chopped garlic in olive oil, then add chopped tomatoes and slowly boil the combination into a sauce. When ingredients are well combined, add whole, fresh mussels or clams still in the shell and cook until tender. Throw away any that don't open after 10 or 15 minutes. Add spaghetti cooked "al dente" or to diners' taste, mixing well with garlic and tomato sauce.

VICHYSOISSE

A Grace Cavendish favorite!

2 large baking potatoes
4 large leeks
1 medium celery stalk
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper (to taste)
1 cup heavy cream or sour cream
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives

Peel, then slice the potatoes lengthwise. Trim, wash, and chunk both the leeks and the celery stalk. Thin-slice potatoes, then leeks, onion and celery. Transfer sliced vegetables to large heavy saucepan, add broth, cover, and cook until vegetables are mushy, 20 to 25 minutes. With small strainer, scoop vegetables from broth into clean bowl. Chop finely. Add 1/2 cup hot broth and blend until smooth. (A beater may be needed to do so.) Stir back into pan, add half-and-half, salt and pepper, and bring just to simmering. Cool to room temperature, then smooth in heavy cream. Cover and chill several hours or overnight. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed. Ladle into small soup bowls and top with snipped chives.

MINESTRONE

A Bella's Restaurant specialty.

3 medium-sized potatoes, sliced
3 small onions, chopped
¼ head cabbage, shredded
3 qt boiling water
1 tbsp salt
3 small tomatoes, diced
1 medium can kidney beans
1 cup chopped green celery
1 small clove garlic, minced
#189; tsp minced parsley
Salt and pepper
¼ lb tube-shaped or elbow macaroni
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Cook together for 10 minutes the potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and cabbage in boiling water and salt. add the macaroni and cook 15 minutes longer, after which put in the kidney beans, celery, and garlic and cook until the celery is tender. Serve in bowls with Parmesan or Romano sprinkled on top to taste and Italian bread on the side.

 

Victory Foods

HUNGARIAN GOULASH

2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cups sliced onions
1½ pounds beef chuck or round cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pint home-canned (or one 15-ounce can) tomatoes
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp salt
¼ cup water
2 tbsp flour
Cooked buttered noodles or boiled potatoes

Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat in 5-quart Dutch oven. Add onions and sauté until golden. Remove onions to a bowl. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in same Dutch oven and brown beef cubes on all sides. Stir in tomatoes, paprika, and salt. Spoon onions and any drippings from bowl over meat. Cover and simmer 1 to 1½ hours or until beef is tender, adding water if necessary.

Serve over noodles or with potatoes.

SOYBEAN CHILI

¾ cup dried soybeans
¼ cup diced salt pork or slab bacon
½ lb ground chuck
1 medium onion, chopped (½ cup)
1 pint home-canned or 1 15-oz can tomatoes
2 cups water
1 tbsp ground chili powder
½ to ¾ tsp salt

Before making this recipe, you should have already picked through the soybeans, discarding discolored ones and foreign material. Rinse soybeans and place in a medium bowl with cold water to cover and refrigerate 6 to 8 hours. Drain, add water to cover, and cook until tender—1½ to 2 hours.

To prepare chili, sauté salt pork in large heavy saucepan until browned. Add ground chuck and onion; sauté, stirring occasionally, until well browned. Stir in drained, cooked soybeans, tomatoes, water, chili powder, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Serves 4.

PORK CHOP SUEY

2 tbsp vegetable oil

½ lb boned pork, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1 cup thinly sliced green bell peppers
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup thinly sliced onions
2 cups water
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp corn starch
3 cups hot cooked rice

Heat oil in a 5-quart dutch oven. Add pork and sauté over medium heat until lightly browned on all sides. Sir in celery, bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions, sauté, stirring constantly until vegetables are lightly browned. Add 1¾ cups of the water and bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook 15 minutes. Combine remaining ¼ cup water, the soy sauce, and cornstarch. Stir into pork mixture and cook, stirring constantly until thickened. Serve over rice. Serves 4.

 

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