Elm Creek Quilts [13] The Quilter's Kitchen Read online

  “His grief was probably too strong,” said Anna.

  “Perhaps.” Sylvia shrugged dismissively as if to say that a stronger, better man would have risen to the occasion for his children’s sake. Suddenly Anna remembered overhearing one of the Elm Creek Quilters mention that Sylvia’s mother had died quite young, too. Perhaps Sylvia could not help but compare Vinnie’s father to her own, a man who had apparently never disappointed his children.

  “The morning of Vinnie’s birthday arrived,” Sylvia continued. “Her aunt and a friend woke her cheerfully and told her to get up right away because the Potluck Pals were coming over for her birthday party.”

  “The Potluck Pals?” Anna echoed, smiling. “Not Vinnie’s classmates, I’m guessing.”

  “No, the guests weren’t Vinnie’s circle of friends but her aunt’s, a group of ladies who met twice a month for a potluck meal and card games. The way Vinnie describes them—shopgirls and secretaries and schoolteachers—they must have been quite modern for their time, probably rather scandalous.”

  “I like them already,” said Anna.

  “Oh, Vinnie, too. Vinnie adored them. On that day they played cards and laughed and joked, and later they turned on the radio and danced and danced. Vinnie told me it was the first time since her mother had passed that she forgot her grief. What an enormous burden to carry for such a little girl.”

  Anna nodded. It was so sad, but she couldn’t help feeling sorry for Vinnie’s father, too. Surely he would have comforted and consoled his daughter if he had been able.

  But he had not, and Vinnie had been fortunate indeed to have Aunt Lynn and the Potluck Pals.

  “On that day, Vinnie says, she vowed always to celebrate her birthday as happily as she could, to show gratitude for another year despite the hardships it had brought along with its joys.” Sylvia looked off into the distance, so wistful that Anna was tempted to ask if she were remembering lonely birthdays of her own, birthdays when she could have used a friend like Vinnie to remind her to count her blessings. But before she could bring herself to ask, Sylvia left her reverie and said, “Some years it’s more difficult to truly celebrate, but Vinnie always found a way. That’s what brought her to Elm Creek Manor.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “After her husband died, she almost broke her promise to herself, but then at the last minute she came across a brochure for Elm Creek Quilt Camp and decided to spend her birthday with us. She thought it would distract her thoughts and keep her busy, and she didn’t think she would feel her husband’s absence so keenly surrounded by cheerful, busy quilters. When we heard about her circumstances, we surprised her on the morning of her birthday with a breakfast blueberry muffin with a birthday candle. All the campers sang to her, and I wish I had taken a picture because the expression on her face was priceless.”

  “That’s why you had me serve everyone blueberry muffins that morning in August,” Anna said, suddenly remembering. “It was a tribute to Vinnie’s first birthday celebration at Elm Creek Manor.”

  Sylvia nodded. “Vinnie has promised to celebrate every birthday with us for as long as she can travel, and she’s so spry and optimistic that I expect we will be contriving new ways to surprise her for years to come.”

  Anna agreed, thinking of the Potluck Pals and how they had brought much more than tasty dishes and birthday greetings to that lonely, grieving girl so long ago. She wished that for Vinnie’s next surprise party—the surprise party that all the campers had come to expect though they never knew what form it would take—she could re-create that potluck party from so long ago. What better way to express her admiration for Vinnie’s determination to create her own happiness despite her grief, for her resolve to find something worth celebrating in life, for her refusal to let loss turn her bitter and mistrustful?

  Elm Creek Manor had so many stories, Anna thought, so many campers with tales as compelling as Vinnie’s, and she longed to know them all. Each new story showed her a new facet of Elm Creek Quilts she had never suspected, like turning the cut-glass dish over in her hands near the sunny kitchen window and discovering new patterns of light cast upon the hardwood floor.

  Tomato Mushroom Ragout

  Yield: sauce for 1 pound of pasta

  1 tablespoon olive oil

  1 Spanish onion, chopped

  3 garlic cloves, minced

  1½ pounds button mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced or chopped, stems included

  1 teaspoon dried rosemary

  ½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms, chopped

  One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, including juice

  ¼ cup red wine

  ½ teaspoon kosher salt

  Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and when it is hot, add the oil. Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, and rosemary and cook until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes. Add the porcini, tomatoes, wine, and salt and cook until the ingredients come together, 20 to 30 minutes.

  Spinach Lasagna

  Serves 6 to 8

  1 pound whole or skim-milk ricotta cheese

  2 large eggs

  1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

  1 large bunch flat-leaf spinach, chopped and blanched

  One 8-ounce box no-cook lasagna noodles

  1 pound Fontina or mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced or grated, or a combination of both

  2½ cups tomato sauce

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 9 x 13-inch pan with olive oil.

  Place the ricotta, eggs, and ½ cup Parmesan cheese in a medium-size mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the spinach and gently mix.

  To assemble the lasagna: Put three noodles across the prepared pan. Add one-third of the ricotta-spinach mixture, in dollops, on top of the noodles. Sprinkle with one-third of the Fontina cheese and then top with about ¾ cup tomato sauce. Repeat twice and then add another layer of noodles, another of sauce, another layer of Fontina cheese, and finish with the remaining Parmesan cheese.

  Cover with aluminum foil, press down to tighten the layers and transfer to the oven. (If storing, cover with plastic wrap instead of foil. You can refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 months.)

  Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil, and bake until the sauce is bubbling and the top is lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.

  Spicy Meatballs

  Yield: 18 large meatballs

  ¼ cup panko bread crumbs

  ¼ cup all-purpose flour

  1 teaspoon kosher salt

  ½ teaspoon black pepper

  1 slice white bread

  ¼ cup whole milk

  1 to 1¼ pounds ground beef

  1 large egg, beaten

  ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

  2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

  Grated zest of ½ lemon

  ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves

  1 teaspoon dried basil

  1 teaspoon dried oregano

  1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

  2 tablespoons olive oil

  Place the bread crumbs, flour, salt, and pepper on a plate and mix well.

  Place the bread and milk in a 4-quart bowl and set aside for 5 minutes.

  Squeeze the milk out of the bread, discarding the milk. Using your hands, break the now mushy bread into small pieces. Add the ground beef and mix until the ingredients are well combined.

  Using the back of your fist, create a crater in the middle of the meat mixture. Add the egg, cheese, onion, grated lemon zest, parsley, basil, oregano, and pepper flakes and combine until the mixture is well blended. When you think it’s done, mix for another minute or two.

  To make the meatballs: Using four fingers, take a piece of the meat mixture big enough to fill the palm of your hand, slightly larger than a golf ball. Press your hands together and start to roll the mixture by gently putting some pressure in the middle. It should form a slightly flat meat
ball 2 inches across. Dredge all sides of the meatballs in the panko mixture.

  Have ready a large paper-towel-lined plate. Place a 10-to 12-inch skillet over medium heat and when it is hot, add the olive oil. Place as many meatballs in the pan as you can without crowding them. Sauté until deeply browned on all sides, about 8 minutes in all. Remove the meatballs from the pan with a slotted spatula and place on the prepared plate to drain. Serve immediately.

  Italian Garden Salad

  Serves 6 to 8

  For the dressing:

  ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

  ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  1 small garlic clove, minced

  ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

  ½ teaspoon anchovy paste

  For the salad:

  1 bunch arugula, torn

  1 bunch frisée, torn

  1 head endive, chopped

  1 small head radicchio, chopped

  1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

  To make the dressing: Place the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Cover and refrigerate up to 1 week.

  To make the salad: Place the ingredients in a large salad bowl, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of the dressing, and gently mix. Serve immediately.

  Panzanella

  Serves 4 to 6

  2 cups cubed day-old Italian or French bread

  2 medium tomatoes, diced

  1 English cucumber, halved and thinly sliced

  1 red onion, halved and diced

  1 red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, diced

  ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

  1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves

  ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves

  2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or put through a press

  1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

  1 teaspoon kosher salt

  ½ teaspoon black pepper

  2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  Place the bread, vegetables, and herbs in a large mixing bowl.

  Place the garlic, vinegar, salt, pepper, and oil in a bowl and mix well. Drizzle over the vegetables, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.

  Olive Bread

  Yield: 2 large rounds

  12/3 cups warm water

  1 package active dry yeast (0.25 ounces = 2¼ teaspoons)

  1 tablespoon sugar1 tablespoon kosher salt

  2 tablespoons olive oil

  3¼ cups all-purpose flour

  ½ cup graham or whole-wheat flour

  2 tablespoons cornmeal

  2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

  1½ cups very coarsely chopped green or black olives

  Place the water, yeast, sugar, salt, and oil in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. While the mixer is running, add the flours. Knead on low speed until the dough starts to come together and then increase the speed until it is firm and smooth, 8 to 10 minutes in all.

  Line two baking sheets with parchment or wax paper. Sprinkle with cornmeal.

  Divide the dough into 2 pieces, shape into balls, and transfer to the baking sheets. Press the balls down and line each with half the rosemary and half the olives. Re-form the balls into loaf shapes, pressing the olives into the dough. Cover with damp towels and set aside until the loaves have doubled in size, about 2 hours.

  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

  Transfer the baking sheets to the oven and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

  Chicken Casserole

  Serves 4

  7 to 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and dried with a paper towel

  1 teaspoon kosher salt

  ½ teaspoon black pepper

  ½ pound button mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced

  1 small head fennel, chopped

  2 carrots, chopped

  2 celery stalks, chopped

  1 Spanish onion, chopped

  3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

  1 teaspoon dried thyme

  1 teaspoon fennel seeds

  2 cups dry white wine

  2 cups chicken broth

  ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

  Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Place a skillet over medium-high heat and when it is hot, add the thighs, skin side down, and sear until well browned, about 4 minutes per side. Using tongs, remove the chicken, and set aside on a plate.

  Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Reduce the heat to low, add the mushrooms, fresh fennel, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, thyme, and fennel seeds and cook until the vegetables are soft and golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the wine and chicken broth, return the chicken to the skillet, raise the heat to medium high and bring to a low boil. Cook, turning the chicken halfway, until the meat falls away from the bone, about 1 hour.

  Cool, then skim off and discard the fat. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Reheat by placing over medium heat and cooking until warmed throughout, about 10 minutes. Serve garnished with the parsley.

  Fruit Salad

  Serves 6 to 8

  1½ cups cantaloupe, cut with a melon baller

  1 cup honeydew melon, cut with a melon baller

  1 cup seedless green grapes

  1 cup hulled fresh strawberries

  1 cup fresh blueberries

  1 cup diced fresh pineapple

  1 cup fresh raspberries

  1 banana, thinly sliced

  ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, left whole

  Place all the ingredients in a bowl, toss, and serve immediately.

  Sour Cream Cake

  Serves 10 to 12

  1 cup whole milk

  ¾ cup poppy seeds

  ½ cup sour cream or whole-milk yogurt

  1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

  1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

  11/3 cups sugar

  3 large eggs, at room temperature

  2 cups all-purpose flour

  1 tablespoon baking powder

  ½ teaspoon kosher salt

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a standard Bundt pan.

  Place the milk and poppy seeds in a small saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Add the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix well.

  Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle and beat until light, fluffy, and a pale lemon color, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl before each addition. Add 1 cup of flour and beat well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add half the reserved poppy seed mixture, continuing to beat.

  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the baking powder, salt, and the remaining 1 cup of flour and beat well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, then add the remaining half of the poppy-seed mixture and mix well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pour into the prepared pan.

  Transfer to the oven and bake until the top is just golden and a knife inserted comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.

  Pot Luck Punch

  Yield: 12 cups

  4 cups grapefruit juice

  4 cups orange or tangerine juice

  2 cups pomegranate juice

  2 cups cranberry juice

  Pour into a pitcher, stir well, and refrigerate up to 5 days.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Harvest Dance

  Sylvia washed the cut-glass dish and took it to the parlor for safekeeping, unwilling to risk damaging it in the carton with the other glassware or, worse yet, misplacing it in the discard box. When she returned to the kitchen, Anna had finished emptying the cabinet—towels and washcloths that went straight into the trash—and had moved on to the next. It was stuffed full of plastic storage containers, bottoms and lids arranged in no discernable pattern.

  “Potlucks were once very popular around here,” Sylvia remarked as she returned to the kitchen with another stack
of brown paper for wrapping glassware. “The older generations sometimes called them ‘covered-dish suppers,’ but they’ve always been a part of the social life in the Elm Creek Valley.”

  Anna began sorting the plastic containers and lids into piles, determined to recycle any pieces that didn’t have a match. “It sounds like your mother enjoyed potlucks.”

  “Not just my mother, but all her friends and neighbors going back generations.” Sylvia examined a dusty champagne flute for flaws, nodded her approval when it passed inspection, and wrapped it carefully in paper. “My Great-Great-Aunt Gerda wrote about an event in Creek’s Crossing called the Harvest Dance.”

  “Where’s Creek’s Crossing?” asked Anna.

  “Just down the road,” Sylvia said with a teasing smile, then explained, “That was the original name for the town of Waterford, before the Civil War. The annual Harvest Dance was the highlight of their social season. In her memoir Gerda wrote about—oh, I believe it was two such occasions, one in 1857 and another a year later. In mid-November, after the work of the harvest was complete and before winter set in, families from throughout the valley would celebrate with a dance and covered-dish supper in town. Each lady wore her finest dress and brought her tastiest recipe to be sampled and evaluated by nearly everyone of her acquaintance. In addition to the feasting, there was music and dancing for hours and hours. I daresay the ladies were evaluated on the dance floor as well, since the Harvest Dance offered excellent opportunities for courtship.”

  Anna sat cross-legged on the floor, her work momentarily forgotten. “How did Gerda measure up?”

  Sylvia shrugged and placed the wrapped champagne flute in a small box marked “Fragile” in bold letters. “By her own account, she was an excellent cook and only crumbs remained of any dish she brought to any gathering. Her sister-in-law—my great-grandmother—was a gifted seamstress, so I’m sure Gerda’s dress passed muster as well. However, she was not an elegant dancer by her own admission, and she was plain and rather unlucky in love. Even so, she recorded her memories of those Harvest Dances in great detail, so they clearly made quite an impression on her, even if she didn’t win a young man’s heart on the dance floor.”