Daddy's love of Mom's cookery inspires culinary recollections

With Father’s Day just past, I thought about some of the things about my own Daddy that I have always loved: One of them was his never failing enthusiasm for Mama’s cooking. Her simplest offering brought about praise and he always and ever bragged about her culinary talents. One of his favorites for a company dinner was her “chicken-fried” steak – wherein the meat was dredged in flour before frying, just as chicken was always prepared in the ‘30s. However, Mom used the technique with many meats, as well as fish and some veggies – notably eggplant.

When the sophisticated Italian “Veal Piccata” made its debut on the culinary scene, she merely smiled and said she’d been doing it for years – but without the capers.

Recently I ran across a recipe for chicken Piccata that featured Meyer lemons, and decided to share it, with the caveat that one can use the technique with an amazing number of featured choices.* Here’s the basic recipe.

‘Your Choice’ Piccata

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbs. unsalted butter, divided

1/3 cup Sauvignon blanc or other dry crisp white wine

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

2 Tbs. capers, rinsed, drained

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Sprinkle your choice of “cutlets” evenly with the salt and pepper; place flour in a shallow dish; dredge cutlets in flour on both sides. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the four cutlets and sauté 2 minutes; turn over and sauté 1 minute longer**; remove from pan. Add wine to pan and bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits, cooking for 1 minute or until nearly evaporated, then add water and return to a boil. Cook until broth mixture is reduced to 2 Tbs., then stir in lemon juice and capers. Serve evenly over ‘cutlets’ of choice. Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 4 servings of 1 cutlet, 2 Tbs. sauce and 1 Tb. parsley.

* Cutlet choices: Chicken or turkey breast, veal, hamburger patties, cube steak, ham, venison, halibut, sole, cod, ahi, trout (halved), bass fillets; eggplant slices, zucchini, firm tofu, firm-fresh grated potato patties, large onion sliced into 1/4-inch rounds.

** Depending on your choice of cutlet, times may differ; fish cooks faster than meat, etc. Use a sharp tined fork to test for perfect doneness. Enjoy!

With crisp apples gleaming from market bins, a good “go-with” for a piccata of any ilk would be my Mother’s apple salad. Here’s her recipe dating from the 1930’s.

Mama’s Apple/Cheese Salad

Firm, crisp, tart apples (1 for each person)

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup diced cubes of sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup chopped celery

1 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice

Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip salad dressing*

Wash and core the apples and don’t peel unless the skin is tough or damaged. Slice, then chop into half-inch dice. Place in a bowl and toss with the vinegar or lemon juice, then add remaining ingredients and stir in dressing to your taste.

* Mother usually made boiled dressing beforehand and let it chill for the salad, but mayo works just fine.

Here’s a special bonus - another heavenly memory from the old cast iron skillet. This works for breakfast, brunch or supper; a winner!

Oven Apple Pancakes

(4-6 servings)

2 large, firm cooking apples, peeled, cored sliced

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

4 tablespoons butter

3 eggs

½ cup whole milk or light cream

½ cup flour

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss apple slices with the maple syrup and lemon juice and set aside. Melt the butter in a medium cast-iron skillet and remove from heat.

Beat eggs and milk in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. In another bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon and salt and whisk in the egg mixture until smooth.

Return skillet to heat and sauté the apples in the remaining butter over high heat. Toss and turn with a spatula for even cooking; don’t let them get mushy. After 2-3 minutes, spread them evenly over the bottom of the skillet and slowly pour on the batter. Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes until very puffy and lightly browned. Serve in wedges immediately (it will fall soon like a soufflé) directly from the pan and drizzle with warm maple syrup or cream.

Valle Novak writes the Country Chef and Weekend Gardener columns for the Daily Bee. She can be reached at bcdailybee@bonnercountydailybee.com or by phone at 208-265-4688.