You Gotta Be In It To Win It

After losing out on FoodTV's "Next Food Network Star" contest last year I vowed never to try another. The $1,200. spent to have the entry videotaped stung, but my hopes for becoming a celebrity television chef were squashed like compactor trash when a congratulatory phone call from the network executives never came. Yes, I really thought me and the kids had a shot with our show "Family House Party!" It was an expensive lesson; but just like NY Lotto says, You Gotta Be In It To Win It!So, for the last several months I licked that $1,200 wound, figuring my plate was full enough without having the additional worries of stardom. After watching a rerun of "The Secret Life of French Fries" I was about to turn the TV off, and heard the promo:" You could be the winner". Oh no, I thought, here we go again. I felt all rationale drain out of me like bathtub water and Mrs. Hyde, the sweepstakes maniac, was all ears."Enter the Haagen-Daz contest and maybe your flavor idea will win." I tossed and turned with conflicted thoughts but finally fell asleep to visions of sweet victory. The only problem was, I had to have a videotaped entry in the mail by the next evening to beat the deadline. Another damn videotape! What ever happened to the lost art of the essay? I bargained with myself that this one would only cost the price of a mini-8 cassette. I grabbed my daughter's camcorder, plugged it into the sign post outside because my kids had used the battery in some science project, and stood outside waiting for traffic.

To one passerby I yelled (with the camera rolling) "What do you think would make a better ice cream, Apple Strudel...or Macaroni and Cheese". To the next victim I hollered a choice between Apple Strudel and Garlic Bread. I got more laughs than answers. Beings this is Woodstock, and folks walk the streets with neurotic agendas, one guy wouldn't play the game stating it was "an inappropriate question". Geez, it wasn't like I was asking him for an opinion on Roe vs. Wade. But I was getting into it, so I threw on an apron and dragged the camera downtown, hoping I'd find an electric receptacle and more willing players.

I changed my approach and told people (off camera) that I was helping one of my kids with a homework assignment. The tactic worked and I soon had a crowd.

"Hey, UPS man, what do think would taste better in ice cream, Apple Strudel or Chicken Soup". Not so surprising; he went with the apple! I ripped the tape from the machine, ran it down to the P.O., and felt like a winner.

Epilouge: They haven't called yet. But there's always tommorrow.

APPLE STRUDEL ICE CREAM

2 1/2 apples, peeled and cubed
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 quart heavy cream
2 packages Dream Whip Topping Mix
1 box instant vanilla pudding
1 quart plain yogurt
1 pint half and half
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 pre-made or frozen pie crust

Bake pie crust according to package directions. Cool shell and then break into small pieces, not crumbs. Measure 1/2 cup of broken pie shell, set aside. In a saucepan, combine apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Heat, stirring, until apples soften and are well coated, but not limp. Refrigerate for 1 hour. In a large bowl, manually whisk together cream, Dream Whip and pudding. (Do not use an electric mixer!). Whisk in yogurt until well blended. In a blender, thoroughly combine half and half, granulated sugar and vanilla. Whisk blender ingredients into yogurt mixture. Stir in apple mixture, nuts and pie shell. Pour into ice cream mixer prepare according to machine directions. Makes 8 cups. Serves 16.

Who's in the Soup Kitchen

Consider how presidents have manipulated the image of soup itself--serving, as it does, to symbolize both poverty (the soup kitchen) and the common man. Herbert Hoover was, to his sorrow, forever linked to the image of soup lines, symbol of depression America, but FDR turned those tables into a triumph of solidarity when he instituted Tuesday Soup Nights in the White House. (Franklin Roosevelt liked Martha Washington's original crab soup, but with a splash of Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry in it.) Here's First Lady Eleanor, just down from Hyde Park in an oh-so fashionable cloche, doing the honors at a soup kitchen.

Martha Washington’s Crab Soup

1/2 pound fresh crab meat (or 1 cup canned or frozen)
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
3 hard boiled eggs, mashed
Grated zest of 1 lemon
4 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sherry
Dash Worcestershire

Boil crabs in salted water to get meat (if using fresh). In a large saucepan, combine butter, flour, eggs, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Boil on low heat and pour milk in slowly. Add crabmeat to milk mixture and gently cook for 5 minutes. Add cream and remove from heat before it reaches a full boil. Add sherry and Worcestershire. Serves 2.

Recipe Riddle - September

In honor of National Chicken Month! This one is so easy I can't, in good conscience, provide the answer. Hint: think Comfort Food.