The Teenage Chef

And an Important Request

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From Karyl’s Cook & Tell Newspaper Column (April 10, 1980)

Dearest Daughter,

It was sure neat to hear from you, after a long silence, even if it did take a phony postcard from the cat pleading with you to send us all the mews. I guess the PS from the dog, suggesting that he woof feel better if you would only write, helped prompt you to put pen to paper, too. Amazing what pets will do to let their human pals know they miss them.

When your letter to Jack and Perky came, I’m the one who had to do the reading. Those furry kids are pretty good writers, but they’re not so hot at reading (just give me time, though). And since Jack is off chasing crumbs and Perky is eating my oxalis plant, I’m the only one around to answer.

The part of your letter I liked best was your “important request” for some “good dinner recipes that aren’t too hard and don’t take too long to make.” That makes me feel important—a good feeling for a mother to have when her only kid lives 200 miles away and writes letters when she feels sorry for her lonesome cat. The news that you and your stepbrother have been cast in the roles (albeit unsought) of Chefs of the Evening Meal is remarkable. Your Ol’ Mom never seemed to be able to get that act together when you lived here. If it plays well up there in Cutler, will you be taking it on the road? Bravo to your stepmother, who deserves not only your cheerful cooperation and help, but my admiration for being able to get it.

So I’m pleased and proud to offer some ideas. The conditions you attach to your request make my task a formidable one. You know how I tend to think any recipe that’s really good and worth making is never “hard,” no matter how many steps are involved. And as for not taking too long, would that be somewhere between Mug-a-lunch and Julia Child’s 6-page leg of lamb?

Furthermore, from what I remember of your taste range, which begins—and more or less ends, come to think of it—with a hamburger, reaching a high point at pizza (oh, remember the days of your carefree and peer-free youth, when your food preferences were as cosmopolitan as the dog’s…when you liked squash, and yes, even beets…when Swiss chard did not make you gag?), anyway, from what I remember, the choices I can offer are a bit limited.

Nonetheless, I’ll be clipping out recipes for you as I scan the papers and magazines, or maybe kids will send Cook & Tell their favorites. I promise I will not send you the recipe for nut-rice loaf, soybean patties or French-fried tofu.

Love from the gang at Love’s Cove,

Mom

PS: Don’t forget to eat your veggies

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illustration by my mother, Karyl Bannister

Karyl’s Headnotes

Speaking of pizza, this one has no long rising time to wait for; only 30 minutes while you rustle up the sauce and topping. If you overlook the fact that this recipe has some actual mother-approved nutrition going for it (eggs! Whole wheat flour!), it might be fun to make for your brood.

PIZZA PLUS

For the Dough:

• ½ stick of butter (4 T)

• 1 c. milk

• 2 T. olive oil

• 2 pkg. dry yeast

• 2 eggs

• ½ t. salt

• 1 t. sugar

• 3 cups whole wheat flour (or half whole-wheat, half white)

For the Sauce:

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 T. olive oil

• ¼ c. tomato paste

• 3 8-oz. cans tomato sauce

• 1 T. sugar

• ½ t. salt

• ¼ t. crushed red pepper

Make the Dough

Melt butter, then heat milk in same pan to warm, not hot. Add to blender along with olive oil, yeast, eggs, salt and sugar and blend.

Add flour to large bowl and slowly pour in most of the blended liquid to make a dough with wooden spoon. You probably won’t need about a half cup of the liquid—sneak it into somebody’s French toast or the dog’s dish if all else fails.

Knead briefly (add more flour if you forgot and used all the liquid) and let rise 30 min in a warm place—like the oven preheated to 200◦ F and turned OFF when it gets to 200◦. It’ll rise nicely because of the eggs, in addition to the yeast.

Make the Sauce While Dough Rises

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Stir in tomato paste and cook 3 min. Add remaining ingredients and boil. Turn to low, simmer uncovered for 25 min.

When dough has risen, punch down and cut into two pieces with a knife. Roll each piece thin with a rolling pin to fit into a cookie sheet and a round pizza pan.

Spread with ¾ c. sauce and top with mozzarella and toppings of your choice. Bake at 400◦F for about 25 min.

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Amie’s Endnotes

When my mom wrote this for her weekly newspaper column, I was living in Cutler, a remote downeast fishing village in one of the least populated counties of Maine, the place where the sun first rises, and the fifth place I’d lived in my fifteen-year lifespan. My dad and stepmom had bought an old 25-room inn the year before, with big plans for a bed-and-breakfast that never quite materialized. Built in the latter part of the 19^th century, the inn was first called Hotel Cutler and later renamed Little River Lodge, a tribute to the time when Cutler was known as Little River.

My chef days at the Lodge were short-lived; at that point in my life, I was making more mischief than meals and any memory of mom’s pizza is as murky as the fog that surrounds this little coastal town. All the generations of fishermen, clam diggers and blueberry rakers, lost in the fog, in the place that never wanted to be found.

Little River Lodge, c. 1979

Creating a community united through food,

Amie & Karyl

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