Fete Worse Than Death (9781101595138)

by Bishop, Claudia

  Division, Jams and Jellies

  ~Tompkins County Cherry Jam~

  15 pounds of pitted dark, sweet cherries

  Juice from 8 large lemons, with 2 peels reserved

  2⁄3 cup water

  101⁄2 pounds cane sugar

  Wrap the cherries and two lemon peels into a large piece of cheesecloth. Put the lemon juice and two-thirds cup water into a large pan. Cook under very low heat for about thirty minutes. Remove bag and put cherries into pan, with the sugar. Bring the pan to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat. Let stand. Skim foam from surface. Pour into hot, sterile Mason jars. Cover with a layer of hot paraffin.

  Division, Pickles and Relishes

  ~Pickled Carrots~

  1 pound peeled carrots, cut into evenly sized strips

  3⁄4 cup white wine vinegar

  3⁄4 cup water

  1⁄2 cup white sugar

  1 teaspoon pickling spices; mixed dill seed, peppercorns, and flaked garlic

  Simmer carrot sticks for ten minutes in boiling water. Pack into clean, sterilized jars. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan and oil. Pour over carrots in jars. Proceed with canning process.

  Division, Condiments, Sauces, and Marinades

  TIED FOR FIRST PLACE:

  ~Marge Schmidt’s Tomato Catsup~

  8 quarts of tomatoes, chopped, but not peeled

  8 medium sweet onions, peeled and sliced into medium widths

  2 long red peppers, cleaned and sliced into chunks

  3⁄4 cup dark brown sugar

  Simmer the vegetables until soft. Push through a coarse sieve or process through a food mill. Add dark brown sugar and set aside.

  SPICE BAG

  1 tablespoon each:

  whole allspice

  whole cloves

  mace

  celery seed

  black peppercorns

  stick cinnamon

  dry mustard

  minced garlic

  chopped bay leaves

  cayenne pepper

  2 cups white wine vinegar

  1 pinch Kosher salt

  Wrap all these ingredients in cheesecloth bag. Simmer in the tomato mixture until the amount of tomato is reduced by half. Remove the spice bag. Add two cups of white wine vinegar and a large pinch of Kosher salt to mixture. Simmer for ten minutes. Proceed with canning process.

  ~Citrus Vinaigrette~

  Juice of 1 lime or lemon

  1 cup pure olive oil

  1/3 cup red wine vinegar*

  1 pinch finely ground black pepper

  1 pinch Kosher salt

  *To make red wine vinegar, add 1 cup of red wine to 4 cups of white vinegar. Combine all ingredients, shake well and store.

  Division, Salting, Smoking, and Drying

  ~Harland Peterson’s Pork Butt~

  1 large pork butt, 6 to 8 pounds

  Several handfuls of Peterson’s Pork Salt*

  Rub pork butt well with salt mixture. Smoke for six to eight hours in a smoker stocked with apple wood chips. Remove pork butt from smoker and shred well, discarding fat. Add two cups of Marge Schmidt’s Tomato Catsup. Mix well and simmer in a large pot for ten minutes.

  *PETERSON’S PORK SALT

  1 cup Kosher salt

  1 tablespoon smoked Hungarian paprika

  1⁄4 cup finely ground green peppercorns

  Division, Pies, Fruit and Berry

  No award given this year, due to unsportsmanlike behavior of participants.

  Division, Pies, Other

  ~Miriam’s Luscious

  Lemon Meringue Pie~

  1 cup superfine sugar

  2 cups water

  1⁄4 cup flour

  3 tablespoons cornstarch

  1⁄4 teaspoon salt

  3 yolks, whisked to a smooth consistency

  1 tablespoon butter

  1⁄4 cup lemon juice, plus grated lemon peel

  9-inch piecrust, baked in a 375-degree oven for eight minutes*

  Heat water and sugar in a pan until the mixture is clear. Combine flour, cornstarch, and salt, then whisk into the water and sugar mixture. Turn heat to medium and whisk until the mixture thickens to a thick, opaque pudding. Remove from heat. Whisk in egg yolks and put pan back on low heat for one minute, whisking all the while. Whisk in butter and lemon juice and when mixture is smooth, remove from heat. Let cool while you prepare the meringue.

  MERINGUE

  7 egg whites at room temperature

  1⁄4 cup superfine sugar

  Beat egg white to glossy peaks, adding sugar in a thin stream as soon as the mixture thickens. Spoon lemon custard into pie crust. Smooth meringue over top of the pie with a rubber spatula. Make sure that the edges of the pie are sealed. Sprinkle grated lemon peel over top and bake at 315 degrees for ten to fifteen minutes, or until meringue is nicely browned.

  *PIECRUST

  (It is a truth universally acknowledged that it is better to buy piecrust than make it. But Miriam Doncaster plays fair—and she made this herself.)

  2⁄3 cup shortening, such as Crisco

  2 tablespoons chilled butter

  2 cups flour

  1 teaspoon salt

  4 tablespoons water

  Cut shortening and butter into flour with a pastry cutter. Sprinkle the dough with the water. Form into a ball. Roll out with a rolling pin. Makes two nine-inch piecrusts.

  Division, Cookies and Bars

  ~Claudia’s Ambrosia Cookies~

  1 cup salted butter, slightly cool

  3⁄4 cup dark brown sugar

  3⁄4 cup white sugar

  2 eggs

  23⁄4 cups flour

  3⁄4 teaspoon baking powder

  3⁄4 teaspoon baking soda

  1 14-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips

  1 cup toasted coconut flakes

  1 cup chopped pecans

  Cream the butter and sugar together, which will be a pain, because the butter is cool. The resulting mixture should be light in color and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat them well in. Mix the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together. Combine butter/egg mixture and flour. Beat at low speed until well combined. Add the chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and chopped pecans. Chill dough for an hour.

  Drop by tablespoonful on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F for twelve to seventeen minutes. Doneness will depend on your oven and on the size of the cookie.

  Division, Fry Off, Sweet

  ~Cider Fry Cakes~

  2 eggs

  1 cup sugar

  1 cup sweet apple cider

  5 tablespoons melted shortening, such as Crisco

  4 cups flour

  4 teaspoons baking powder

  1⁄2 teaspoon each cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, grated lemon rind, cloves

  Beat eggs and add sugar slowly while beating. Stir in milk, apple cider, and shortening. Mix all dry ingredients, and then add to the liquid mixture. Fry in deep fat at 375 degrees F until golden brown. Frost with cider glaze.*

  *CIDER GLAZE

  1 cup confectioner’s sugar

  1 tablespoon melted butter

  1 tablespoon heavy cream

  Enough apple cider to make a medium thick glaze

  Division, Fry Off, Savory

  ~Double-Fried Potatoes~

  1 pound firm white potatoes (do not use baking potatoes or any mealy potato)

  1⁄2 cup flour seasoned with a heavy pinch of Kosher salt

  Cut potatoes in squared-off quarter-inch strips. Place in bowl of ice water for about thirty minutes. Drain potatoes and roll carefully in paper towels to dry. Fry in 350-degree shortening until pale brown. Remove from fryer. Heat shortening to 375 degrees. Dredge the potatoes in peanut oil, then in the seasoned flour. Fry until golden brown, then dredge in Kosher salt.

  Division, Cakes and Cupcakes

  ~Julie’s Amazing All-Occasion Cake~

  You will need five nine-inch-round pie pans for this cake.

  7 cups cake flour

>   8 teaspoons baking powder

  2 cups salted butter

  4 cups sifted white sugar

  2 cups full-fat milk

  16 egg whites

  2 teaspoons rum

  Mix the flour and baking powder and set aside. Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture. Pour in the milk, beating continually. Beat the egg whites to soft, glossy peaks. Carefully fold egg whites into batter. Add the rum. Pour into greased pie plates and bake at 375 degrees F for twenty-five minutes. Let cakes cool. Frost with 7-Minute Icing* and decorate.

  *7-MINUTE ICING

  4 unbeaten egg whites

  3 cups sugar

  10 tablespoons cold water

  1⁄2 teaspoon cream of tartar

  Blend all ingredients in a sauce pan. Put sauce pan over boiling water, and beat with electric beater for seven minutes.

  Touring the Finger Lakes

  Many readers have e-mailed me to inquire about the actual location of Hemlock Falls and Summersville, where Quill and Austin McKenzie have their adventures. They lie somewhere between the real-life villages of Trumansburg and Hector in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. If you check out the map, Hemlock Falls is on the lower northwest side of Cayuga Lake (or would be, if it existed). I’ve located Summersville on the lower southeast side of Seneca. Savvy readers will notice right away that I needed to relocate Dresden to the southeast side of Seneca; for that, I hope you will forgive me!

  With its gorges, waterfalls, freshwater lakes, and rich farmland, the Finger Lakes region is extraordinarily beautiful. At the time I write this, the region’s vineyards are producing some of the best Rieslings in the world. The area has bountiful peach, apple, and cherry orchards, cheese- and homemade-ice-cream-producing dairies, and wonderful organic farms that grow a cornucopia of vegetables. Our jellies, jams, and relishes are unique.

  We don’t have an annual Finger Lakes Autumn Fete; we do have summerlong festivals showcasing our area’s rich food and wine bounty. We have wonderful places to stay overnight, even lovelier than the Inn I created for Meg and Quill. And there is a place much like my fictional Bonne Goute Culinary Academy; it’s the New York Wine & Culinary Center, on the shores of Canandaigua Lake. Interested readers can search the Internet for the Finger Lakes Tourism Bureau.

  Believe It or Not,

  There Is an

  Underwater Weapons

  Naval Testing Facility

  I’ve lived in upstate New York for more than thirty years—and to my amazement, the United States government created an underwater weapons testing facility on the shores of Seneca Lake. It’s tucked away in the little town of Dresden. The facility never tested nuclear weapons—that’s a function of my imagination—but the site exists and is in operation as of this writing.

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