Greene on Greens & Grains, A Cookbook of Stories
As you may or may not know Beans Cookbook Legacy shares the wonderfully diverse and vast collection of cookbooks that my dear mother Lill-Sie Knower, affectionately called Bean by all who loved her, amassed in her lifetime. Bean was an amazing cook; imaginative, fearless, a master of seasoning, innovative, inspired, gracious and adventurous. Her spice cabinets (yes plural) held herbs and spices from around the world. Her pantry was always abundantly stocked, her cookie jar was never empty, and dinner invitations were coveted. Need a copper pudding mold, or an aebleskiver pan (for forming round Danish apple-filled pancakes), or perhaps a tagine for a Moroccan dish? Bean had one. Even beyond her cooking though her greatest gift was for making people feel welcome, cared for and loved. Here on this blog I choose a cook book to share and highlight, reminisce about Bean and then cook one recipe from the book to share with you. By making one recipe that I have never made before it keeps Beans adventurous spirit alive. Try something new!
There is something about holding a cook book physically in your hands and perusing the pages, taking your time, perhaps with a cup of tea in one hand, leafing through until something sounds good. Bean would sit for hours in her sunroom surrounded by stacks of cook books, coffee mug in one hand, reading cook books as if they were novels. Treasured were the ones she'd find in antique or thrift stores, the ones with notes and comments written in the borders, the ones with the stains, with dog-earred corners. Those were the 'loved' cook books, the ones that became old friends.
A friend and I were discussing just the other day the current habit it seems of online cookery blogs to make you read through a lengthy, usually completely unrelated story before you get to the actual recipe, which is all the way at the end. All the while you are dodging pop-up ads, cooking videos, and suggestions as to where you can buy the ingredients. Really? Honestly if its too much work to get to the recipe I'm gone. And in a cook book I'm not constantly interrupted by someone trying to sell me something!
Part of the charm of a cook book though is the story. We both agreed we preferred a cookery book that was not just a cold, how-to manual. We like some back-story, an author who shares their triumphs and their fails, the history behind a recipe. Well the cook book I chose for this post is just such a cook book, Greene on Greens & Grains, by Bert Greene. This is a cook book one can read like a novel, it does not surprise me that Bean had this one in her library.
Bert Greene, cook book author and food columnist for the New York Daily News from 1979-1988, was also the co-founder of a gourmet take-out in Long Island called The Store. All in all he published six cook books. This book was actually a memorial edition combining Greene on Greens and The Grains Cookbook along with a memorial in the center of the book entitled Remembering Bert. It was published by Tess Press, an imprint of Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc. New York, NY by arrangement with Workman Publishing Co. Greene on Greens was first published in 1984 and The Grains Cookbook was published in 1988 posthumously. This combined edition came out in 2000. There are over 850 recipes in this book.
In reading the first section on Artichokes one immediately is introduced to Bert's welcoming and friendly manner, his passion for food. He tells you the story of his first experience eating an artichoke at a formal dinner party and his delight at being able to use his fingers to dip each delectable leaf in warm hollandaise sauce. As he said that "experience altered my culinary perceptions forever." Each section is dedicated to a vegetable-from artichoke to kohlrabi to zucchini. Each starts with an introduction which includes history, a personal story, preparation tips, and "what to look for' in buying the vegetable. Then he shares a wonderful and varied assortment of recipes; corn had 15 recipes that included his own Amagansett Corn Salad to Amish Corn fritters to a New Mexico Hopi Corn Tart which I will have to make when the local sweet corn is in season.
On to the grains section of the cook book he begins with the statement that "For food, like love, must never be a joyless experience" explaining that you would not find a single recipe in his book that was not delicious. No grain recipes that are strictly good for you but devoid of taste would pass muster for him. He was against "joyless consumption". One can feel the happiness in his recipes. From barley to triticale, (pronounced trit-a-KAY-lee) one of which honestly I had never heard of, he covers everything you need to know about grains.
So since this is two cookbooks in one I decided to make one recipe from each rather than just my usual one. From the Greens side- I made his Green Timbale. French for a baked and molded dish this recipe intrigued me and I just happened to have a big bunch of Swiss Chard, which I adore. From the grains side I made an oatmeal bar cookie because...honestly I wanted a sweet treat! Personally I've never actually been a fan of oatmeal cookies but Bert raved about this recipe and it has chocolate in it. Sold!
Green Timbale- A Swiss Chard Custard
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 pound Swiss Chard (or Collard Greens), leaves and stems chopped separately (about 2 cups leaves and 1 1/2 cups stems)
1/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream (I actually used 3/4 cup in total of half & half)
1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Jarlsberg or Gruyere Cheese
5 eggs, slightly beaten
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion; cook 2 minutes. Stir in the Swiss Chard stems; cook, covered, for about 15 minutes until tender. Stir in the chard leaves, cook covered until tender, about 3 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high and remove the cover. Cook, tossing constantly (I used tongs) until all liquid is evaporated. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add it along with all the remaining ingredients to the greens mixture. Mix well. Pour into a well-buttered mold dish (1 1/2 qt) I used a small bundt pan, you could also use a springform pan or a souffle dish. Place the mold into a roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the pan to half the depth of the mold. Bake until set and a knife comes out clean. About 45 minutes to one hour. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge to loosen. Invert onto a platter.
Mildred Schulz's Chocolate Dreams
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chunks, or chips
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugr
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and generously butter a 7" x 11" pan (preferably not glass). I actually used an eight inch square pan which seemed perfect. Melt the chocolate. In a large bowl combine the oats with the brown sugar and mix thoroughly. Pour the melted butter over the top, then stir in the melted chocolate and the corn syrup. Mix thoroughly once more. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth with a spatula. Bake until the top bubbles up, about 15 to 20 minutes. Allow the pan to cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Cut into small bars and let them cool in the pan until they hold their shape. Remove to a rack and allow to cool thoroughly.
These worked up fast and easy and were chocolatey and delicious with a nice chew to them. I'll concur, dreamy.
"Warm and gentle", "a great human being", "unpretentious", "big in size, generosity, laughter and knowledge", and my favorite, "a big bear of a man who drew people to him with warmth and grace." These and many more remembrances of Bert hint at the man. Even Julia Child wrote, "...and thank heaven he didn't take off without leaving us his last word-this splendid typically perfectly wonderfully Bert Greene book." Sounds like he left quite a legacy himself.
In conclusion at the back of the book there is a mail order source listing quite a few companies that mill whole grains, flours, cornmeal, as well as vegetable and herb seeds. Checking the list many are still in business. So all in all I would say this is a gift of a cookbook that will keep on giving. It seems fitting to end this post with Bert's own words..."With that out of the way, have a big helping of Greene on greens.”
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