The ComplEAT Kitchen

Welcome to the Tip of the Tongue Newsletter! Thanks to new subscribers and regular readers, especially readers who are recommending Tip of the Tongue to their friends and subscribers!

On Sunday there is always this free newsletter, The Compleat Kitchen, about what is going on in my food and drink world, at SoFAB, at the SoFAB Research Center at Nunez Community College, and other sundry things.

Watching: My friend and fellow Substack writer, Micki Maynard of Culinary Woman and Intersection, Everything That Moves, recommended to me one of her favorite television food shows. I was unfamiliar with K-Foodie meets J-Foodie. But I trust Micki. And I watched. It is delightful, informative, and fun! I haven’t watched every episode, but I look forward to doing so. The subtitles are easy to read.

I have learned a lot about the differences between Japanese food and Korean food. The show is from Netflix Korea, which is very prolific. The show is in Korean. The premise is that the Japanese actor, Yutaka Matsushige, the star of TV Tokyo’s series, “The Solitary Gourmet,” and Korean You-Tuber, Sung Si-kyung, eat together and discuss and explore the food of each other’s countries. The foods are different, although many of the ingredients are the same. And along the way we learn about the food-cultural differences of each country. I have enjoyed watching how they use chopsticks differently.

Sung Si-kyung is the younger man, and it is interesting to watch him defer to his elder. And I learn the most when they and the chefs explain the food to the visiting foodie and to the audience. It is definitely worth watching.

Reading: I have been reading all sorts of things lately. I have been enjoying Broad Fork by Hugh Acheson. It is full of recipes for all sorts of vegetables.

This book has lots of new ideas about vegetables, which is always welcome. And most of the preparations are fresh and light and not drowned in cheese or heavy cream. I am particularly drawn to the artichoke recipes.

Writing: I had a lovely lunch on Friday with 2 food writers, Cele and Lynn Seldon. We ate at 34, the fairly new restaurant where A.J. Lagasse cooks that reflects the family’s Portuguese heritage. There are lots of things I would like to be able to write about during the trip to Wisconsin, including all of the influences of the Hmong people, the Mennonites, and the Pennsylvania Dutch. And, of course, there is cheese. I am hoping to return with new ideas, having the same old thing disrupted by new ways of thinking.

Cooking: I am working on a menu for a dinner party in Wisconsin later this week. I am anxious to see what kind of produce is available now or whether it is too early in the season. I’ll be cooking in a friend’s kitchen, meeting new people; and renewing acquaintances with others. I will share it when I get it finalized. There will be Bananas Foster.

The SoFAB Culinary Research Center at Nunez Community College: Unpacking a box of donated books at the SoFAB Research Center at Nunez Community College we found a real treasure. The Mount Vernon Cookbook: A Selection of Tested Recipes prepared by the Ladies of The First Baptist Church. The book is from Mount Vernon, Missouri and it is dated 1895. It is lovely to thumb through the pages of this book. The penmanship of the owners is beautiful and memorializes part of the history of the book.

Somehow this book came into the possession of Mr. and Mrs. A.S. Hurley in Sage, Wyoming. Their names are signed on a blank front page of the book. Their signatures are dated 1903. Yet another signature, also from Sage, Wyoming, is from Annie Whalen. On yet another blank page is the inscription, “Compliments of Sister Ruth Sedwick to Lottie Lee. Wishing you a long life of prosperity and happiness.” This inscription is undated.

It is exciting to read this book. It tells us so much about mores, what was considered important, and even how people wrote in the late 19^th century. As we go about our lives in the 21^st century, the book is a veritable time machine. Interestingly the names of the women who contributed are actually stated. For example Mrs. Dora Boyd is listed instead of Mrs. John Boyd. It makes me wonder when Mrs. John Boyd came into use, because 20^th century community cookbooks list the names of women contributors under their husband’s names. It is an obstacle to research.

Here is a contribution from Mrs. Anna Case. As with all of the recipes in the book, there is no ingredient list. The recipes are written in the old style, assuming that the reader already knows how to cook. The recipes are just intended to inspire the imagination. I hope that it inspires you.

Stuffed Eggs

Boil six fresh eggs fifteen minutes, remove the shells, cut them into halves, lengthwise. Take out the yolks, mash them fine and add a tablespoonful of finely chopped ham, a dash of cayenne, and a tablespoon of melted butter. Mix all well together and fill back into the whites. Press the two halves together firmly, but gently. Dip into eggs, then into bread crumbs: then again quickly into the eggs, then back into the crumbs and then fry in smoking hot fat.