1. food and drink
2. desserts and baking

READERS’ CHOICE BEST RECIPES OF 2008
Spaghetti sauce and meatballs
and out-of-this-world shortbread
were a few of our favorite things
Jamie Oliver’s “Best Shortbread
in the World” earned enthusiastic
praise.
In June, after publishing Geno
Bausone’s recipe for “Old World
Style Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs,” many of you wrote to say you
found Bausone’s recipe to be the
best you ever tried.
And in July John Sunvold’s
recipe for U.S. Route 1 Pie: Florida
Key Lime with Maine Blueberries, awarded the 2008 American
Pie Council/Crisco National Pie
Championship’s Amateur Best of
Show Award, produced one of your
favorite desserts.
The recipes here are but a sampling of those that received rave
reviews from you, the readers. In
2009, you can expect to see more
quality recipes, perhaps even some
of yours.
Photos by Sue Ade/Morris News Service
Don’t let anyone tell you that
folks aren’t cooking anymore.
In addition to those people who
cook for the joy of it, the economic
realities of 2008 have brought many
others into the
kitchen, some for
the first time.
More than ever,
you are letting me
know about the
recipes you’ve
enjoyed most,
KITCHEN
what kinds of
ADE
recipes you’d like
Sue Ade
to see more of
and where other
culinary successes might be might
be found.
You are sharing cherished recipes, culinary professionals are writing cookbooks to make us better
cooks, and families and friends are
gathering to enjoy the fellowship
connected with a home-cooked
meal.
April’s recipes for “Real Long
Island Delicatessen Potato Salad,”
shared by Long Islander Marylou
Colangelo, and celebrity chef
Sue Ade, a Lowcountry resident
since 1985, is a gourmet baker and
collector of vintage cooking utensils
and cookbooks. She can be reached
at [email protected] or (843) 6830375.
Bausone Family Old World Style Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs
RECIPE COURTESY GENO BAUSONE, BLUFFTON, S.C.
SPAGHETTI SAUCE
The Best Shortbread in the World
RECIPE COURTESY “COOK WITH JAMIE, MY GUIDE TO MAKING YOU A BETTER COOK,” BY JAMIE
OLIVER, HYPERION BOOKS; WWW.HYPERIONBOOKS.COM
1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons unsalted
butter, at room temperature, plus
extra for greasing
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon superfine
sugar,* plus extra for sprinkling
2 scant cups all-purpose flour,
sifted, plus extra for dusting
⅔ cup semolina or 1 scant cup
cornstarch
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Butter a 9-inch square baking
pan. Cream your butter and sugar
together with a whisk or wooden
spoon until pale, light and fluffy.
Add the flour and semolina or
cornstarch. Mix very lightly with
a wooden spoon and then your
hands until you have smooth
dough. Transfer your dough to
a floured surface and roll it out
until it’s an even 1-inch thick all
over.* Press the rolled-out dough
into your pan, poking it into the
corners with your fingers — don’t
worry about it having to look
perfect. Prick the dough all over
with a fork, then pop it in the preheated oven for 50 minutes until
lightly golden. When it’s still warm,
sprinkle with a generous dusting of
sugar. Allow the shortbread to cool
slightly, then cut into 12 chunky
finger-sized pieces.
1 large can (29 ounces) diced
tomatoes (plain or Italian)
2 large cans (29 ounces) tomato
puree or crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
2 cups dry red (dry) wine (1 cup
for the sauce and 1 cup for the
cook)
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for
sprinkling on pork neck bones
1 teaspoon dried parsley, or 1/4
cup fresh
½ teaspoon dried basil, or ¼ cup
fresh
½ teaspoon dried oregano, or ¼
cup fresh
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon granulated onion
¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black
pepper, plus more for sprinkling
on pork neck bones
¼ cup grated Romano or
Parmesan cheese
1 pound meaty pork neck bones (4 to
5 medium) or substitute country
style ribs
Meatballs (recipe follows)
bones. In a large skillet set over
medium heat, brown neck bones
in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Simmer until meat falls away
from bones. You can either
remove neck bones, and add the
meat to sauce or serve on side.
Makes about 3½ quarts sauce.
In an 8-quart saucepot (preferably with a heavy bottom), over
medium heat, sauté ¼ cup onion and 3 cloves chopped garlic,
in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cook
onion and garlic until tender; do
not let garlic burn. Add diced
tomatoes and tomato puree (or
crushed tomatoes); stir. Add
remaining ingredients, except
neck bones and meatballs. Stir
tomato mixture well, bring to
low boil, then lower heat and
simmer. Salt and pepper neck
MEATBALLS
1 ¼ pound ground beef (chuck)
1 ¼ pound ground pork
1 pound ground veal (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried basil, or ¼ cup
fresh chopped
½ teaspoon dried parsley, or ¼
cup fresh chopped
¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
¾ cup finely chopped onion (about
½ of a large onion)
5 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup Italian style breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated Romano or
Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
In a large bowl mix together the
beef, pork and veal, if using.
If you are not using veal, use
enough beef and pork to equal
3½ pounds. Add remaining
ingredients, mixing thoroughly.
Store in refrigerator for at least
2 hours (preferably overnight)
before forming into balls.
Brown well, then add to sauce.
Cook meatballs in sauce, about
20 minutes, or until cooked
through.
Kitchen Ade note: Using
about ¼ cup of meat for each
meatball will yield about 25
meatballs.
Real Long Island Delicatessen Potato Salad
RECIPE BY LYNNE AND SAL MARINELLO, COURTESY MARYLOU COLANGELO, SMITHTOWN, N.Y.
Kitchen Ade note: *Domino
brand premium pure cane
granulated sugar was used for
this recipe with excellent results.
I found rolling the dough an unnecessary step. After you have
made the dough, the dough can
simply be pressed evenly into the
pan.
U. S. Route 1 Pie: Florida Key Lime with Maine Blueberries
BY JOHN SUNVOLD, WINTER SPRINGS, FLA.
CRUST
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Mix all ingredients together and
press mixture in a 9-inch pie plate.
Bake in a 375-degree oven for 20
minutes, or until brown. Allow to
cool down to room temperature.
KEY LIME LAYER
2 (14-ounce) cans of sweetened
condensed milk
2 large eggs (use pasteurized eggs)
¾ cup key lime juice
Mix all of the ingredients and pour
the mixture in the cooled pie shell.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15
minutes. Remove from oven. Chill
the pie in the refrigerator for 2
hours.
BLUEBERRY
PRESERVES LAYER
Spread ¾ cup Smucker’s® blueberry preserves on the top of the
key lime layer. Cover fully from
crust to crust. Do not let preserves
touch the crust, as it may get
soggy with contact. Chill.
WHITE CHOCOLATE
MOUSSE LAYER
2 ½ cups heavy cream
¼ pound white chocolate, broken
into small pieces
Bring ½ cup of cream to a boil over
medium heat. Add white chocolate
and stir constantly until the chocolate is melted, and the mixture is
combined. Remove from heat and let
cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. In a large
bowl, beat the rest of the heavy
cream with an electric mixer on high
speed. Beat until soft peaks form.
Slowly add the white chocolate mixture and continue to beat until stiff.
Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Top the blueberry preserves layer
with the white chocolate mousse.
Garnish with fresh blueberries and
grated lime peel (for color). Chill for
2 hours. Serves 8.
POTATOES
OIL/VEGETABLE MIXTURE
10 pounds small red potatoes
(Do not substitute with other
varieties of potatoes.)
In a small mixing bowl, combine:
⅓ cup vegetable or corn oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup finely shredded fresh
carrot
Scant ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
Boil potatoes in lightly salted water until tender; do not overcook.
Drain. While potatoes are still
warm, scrape with a knife. Chill
potatoes, then slice thin.
BRINE MIXTURE
2 cups water
1½ cups white vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
1 ⅓ cups sugar
Combine ingredients in a medium
saucepan and simmer until sugar
is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Set
aside to cool slightly.
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
2 quarts Hellman’s Real
Mayonnaise (no substitute)
Finely minced fresh parsley, for
garnish
Paprika, for garnish
Place chilled, sliced potatoes in
a large plastic container with a
tight-fitting lid. Pour combined
oil/vegetable mixture, then the
brine mixture, over potatoes.
Shake container slightly to dis-
tribute ingredients, being careful
not break up potato slices.
Marinate potatoes for at least 8
hours, or overnight, turning the
container a few times to evenly
distribute brine mixture over
potatoes. After the potatoes are
marinated, drain potatoes over
a pot to reserve liquid. Return
drained potatoes to the plastic
container and gently fold in mayonnaise, mixing thoroughly, but
carefully. If mixture seems dry,
add some of the reserved brine
liquid until potato salad is of
desired consistency. Garnish with
minced parsley; sprinkle lightly
with paprika.
Kitchen Ade note: Recipe may
be halved.