Orts & Reports: the dinner party, drug-free cakes & more!

All the News That’s Fit to Eat in 3 Small Bites

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The MEN in MENu: Coquilles Saint-Jacques

From omelettes to oysters, subscriber Rob W continues to create masterpieces in his island kitchen. This year was no exception.

After our previous cooking challenges, I scrapped the notion of double-daring him on any dish—seafood or otherwise—and sat down to savor the exquisite Coquilles Saint-Jacques he and sous chef extraordinaire, Sandy, whipped up on a sultry September evening.

The feast kicked off with a sampling of bread sticks, grapes, berries and prosciutto-wrapped melon on the porch (we islanders do love our porches). As the sun slowly sank across the bay, we migrated to the kitchen to observe the hosts in action. While Rob sautéed the scallops, Sandy prepared a salad of spinach, almonds, strawberries and red onion. The dinner, served with a grainy baguette, was as elegant as the dining table.

the apps; the chefs; the meal; the sunset

I can’t lie: the dessert I brought wasn’t nearly as sumptuous as the meal. I’ve been on a cast iron kick all summer, whipping up cobblers, Dutch babies, and spoon bread in my trusty skillet, so the Apple Cranberry Crumble recipe on my “To Make” list seemed the perfect way to slowly slip in a taste of fall flavor. And yet…it was not.

The takeaways? First, apple cranberry chutney is not an ingredient you want in a dessert. And second, vanilla ice cream fixes everything.

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Vintage Eats: Baking with Soda Pop

I’ve been dying to try this 7UP Bundt Cake recipe for months now and what better venue to test it than at a summer potluck? Intrigued with using carbonation as a leavening agent, further research confirmed that yet again, I’m late to the party. Southerners have been baking with soft drinks since the 1950s.

More intriguing: 7UP soda, originally named “Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda,” contained the mood-stabilizing drug lithium citrate until 1948. Presumably, the company replaced its original product-naming team when it rebranded.

my cake, pre-potluck

Lithium or not, it was heavenly. And obviously would have been a better choice for the above-mentioned dinner party.

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Here’s an old recipe from the Cook & Tell archives I’ve made since my early twenties. In those days, I worked at a Pepsi-Cola bottling plant in Brewer, Maine, and even being caught with an empty Coke can in your vehicle was a fireable offense. Let’s just say I did not bring this cake to office parties.

This cake calls for both baking soda and Coca-Cola, which you’re probably aware once contained cocaine. While I love chocolate in almost every form, oddly enough, I’m not a huge fan of regular chocolate cake. This one, though, is of my all-time favorites.

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COCA-COLA CAKE

In large bowl, sift together:

• 2 c. flour

• 2 c. sugar

• 3 heaping T. cocoa

• ½ t. salt

Bring to a boil and pour over dry ingredients:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

• 1 c. Coca Cola

• ½ c. oil

Add in:

• ½ c. buttermilk

• 2 unbeaten eggs

• 1 t. soda

• 1 t. vanilla

Beat until smooth then fold in:

• 2 c. miniature marshmallows.

Turn into greased 9 x 13” pan. Spread marshmallows around evenly. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350° F.

ICING

Using same saucepan, bring to a boil:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

• 6 T. Coca Cola

• 3 heaping T. cocoa

Remove from heat, then add:

• 1 1-pound box confectioners’ sugar

• 1 t. vanilla

• Optional: 1 cup chopped walnuts & 1 cup shredded coconut

Mix until smooth. Add a little buttermilk if it’s too stiff. Spread evenly over hot cake. Cool before cutting.

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Cathy Cooks…and Tells

From the “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” files, Cathy McC, another islander/subscriber, has been busy testing vintage Cook & Tell recipes, starting with Chicken Divine.

“It really WAS divine!” Cathy writes. “And in other special news, I ordered another copy of [your mom’s] cookbook on Amazon, so I could pay the gifting process forward, and my second book is SIGNED by your mom! So excited!”

Her most recent culinary endeavor was last month’s Lingering Linguine. “I’m telling everyone I created this linguine dish,” she says. “Even better Day Two!”

MIA: Cathy's porch

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Quick Bite: The Cook & Tell Recipe Index, usually updated after each new issue if I remember, can be found here:

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For more fun in the kitchen and beyond, find me on Instagram!

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Your Pantry Pal,

Amie