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 out in the world. Tip of the Tongue, my podcast, appears on Monday. Tomorrow the podcast I did with Betty Fussell will drop. Be sure and listen to this 98 year old food historian. We can all learn a thing or two about aging. And one or two more print issues appear during the week for paid subscribers.

Cooking: Tomorrow I have to give a cooking demo for a class that I am teaching. The class has 19 people in it, so I have to be sure to make enough for 19 people. Today I shopped for the class, and now I am prepping. The classroom is not made for a demo, so we are all going to cram into the little kitchenette space that is designed for the staff of the Community Center where the class is held. I am trying to balance actually demonstrating with just assembling and warming the dish. Everyone in my class is a cook. That is why they are taking the class - The History and Influences of New Orleans Cuisine. So I have chosen to assemble and just talk about the cooking that was done to prepare. I really believe that everyone will get it. And being able to taste the final outcome will make it all make sense.

Travel: There is little out-of-town travel this week, but lots of driving the car from one end of New Orleans to the other. I have to meet someone at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum for a private tour. I have to drop off many books to a distribution center. There is a dinner on St. Patrick’s Day - I am sure with corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, Irish Soda Bread, and lots of Irish whiskey. I am going to be a judge in a limoncello contest on St. Joseph’s Day and will no doubt eat a few cookies at various altars that I visit along the way to the judging. A fun week ahead.

Watching: I would like to encourage all of you to watch my son, Mark Normand’s special on Netflix that drops this Tuesday, St. Patrick’s Day. I am looking forward to seeing what he has to say. The name of the special is None Too Pleased.

I would love to hear what you think. He has a YouTube special, Out to Lunch, that has millions of views. You can watch that one too. It came out during the pandemic.

Gardening: We had a terrible wind storm during the week that knocked over many pots in the garden. Several of them did not make it, but a cracked open and much of the soil is lost. We had a pair of nice size terracotta pots that have been waiting to be put to use. These pots have a lower center of gravity and seem more likely to not fall over in a gale. They have been replanted with the big plants from the old pots. But these pots required some companion planting so we went to the garden center. We found some nice begonias with burgundy foliage. Now those planters are in front of the house in a spot of welcoming.

While we were at the garden center we bought herbs. So now we have rosemary, mint, parsley, cilantro, thyme, sage, and oregano growing along with the green onions and leeks. I am making plans for the basil as it grows. You can never have too much basil.

And I am waiting for the Japanese plums to finish ripening. It seems that one or two could be eaten, but sometime next week I think I will be picking ripening fruit to keep the birds from stealing it all. It makes great jam.

SoFAB Culinary Research Center at Nunez Community College: In 1949 the fifth edition of the Bohemian-American Cook Book by Marie Rosicky was published. It is an English translation of a book that was first published in Bohemian and compiled by Marie Rosicky. Her daughter, Rose Rosicky, translated it and had the book published. We are fortunate to have a copy of this historic cookbook in the SoFAB Culinary Research Center at Nunez Community College.

American cooking is less labor intensive the Bohemian cooking. When the book was written those labor-saving devices had not been invented or may not have been available in Bohemia. (Bohemia makes up more than half of the current country – the Czech Republic.) It is an interesting historical cookbook. It is directly translated from the original Bohemian, so it gives a Bohemian point of view. Yet it is available in English for all of us to read. All of the recipes are named in English as well as Bohemian. The book is an example of how American cuisine is enriched by the contributions of the great mix of people who have come here and whose descendants now call it home.

I have selected a recipe for a chocolate layer cake, since Bohemian pastries are famously rich and delicious. The recipe is written in an old-fashioned narrative style. And as always this book can be perused at the Research Center.

Chocolate Layer Cake No. 1

Skladany cokoladovy dort

Cream together half a cup of butter with one and a half cups of sugar, add three beaten yorks, two-thirds of a cup of water, three cups of flour with two teaspoons of baking poweder and finally the beaten whites and vanilla flavoring. Pour into layer-cake tins and bake. (I suggest that you butter and flour the cake pans and cook in a preheated oven, preheated to 350F. Cook for 35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan. Remove from the pan. Do not ice until the cakes are cool.)

Filling: Half a cup of sugar, half a cup of syrup, half a cup of milk or cream, a teaspoon of butter, boiled together five minutes, then add five tablespoons of grated chocolate. Boil until thick, then add a few drops of vanilla and when cool spread between the layers.

If you would like a tour of the Research Center or if you have books or other materials to donate, please get in touch. I just love showing people around to see our treasures.

We are always looking for volunteers at the SoFAB Culinary Research Center. Are you interested in helping us sort pamphlets, inventory collections, and create a searchable database? It’s a great job for service hours for high school or college, or for someone who loves books and ephemera. Or you may want to do a field trip with a class. Please send me an email at lizwillia@gmail.com if you are interested.

Thanks to all of you who have visited, donated, and volunteered at the Research Center. You are the beating heart of the Research Center.

If you would like a tour of the Research Center or if you have books or other materials to donate, please get in touch. I just love showing people around to see our treasures. And if you are inclined to volunteer your time, we will always welcome you. There is much to do.

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I would love to hear what you have to say.