A Good Dish

making food simpler

5 Ordinary Ingredients Will Make Many People Happy When You Bake These Buttercrunch Bars

Buttercrunch bars
Stoneware plate by Mike Helke

This is the time of year I usually bake a lot of cookies. Nothing too fancy because even simple cookie recipes can be delicious and friends and neighbors are always delighted to receive them. Although I can’t eat them anymore because sugar inflames my joints, I enjoy the pleasure these sweet treats bring others. A vivid childhood memory is of the annual tin of cookies gifted to my parents from a caterer, Ingrid Slattberg, who had immigrated from Sweden and made delectable baked goods. Each tin contained 7 or 8 types of cookies including melt-in-your-mouth shortbread rimmed with colorful sprinkles, vanilla/chocolate swirled sables and everyone’s favorite—rolled lacy tuiles with a dab of light green frosting at each end. Ingrid shared her recipes but my recreations have never tasted quite as good as hers were in my memory. 

I lay the pecans in a single layer
but you could use more
Boil the sugar and butter to create
the buttercrunch layer
You can smooth the chocolate on top
or leave the melted chips showing

I have participated in cookie swaps (you bake a dozen cookies for each participant and go home with many varieties), mailed cookies, baked and bagged cookies for school bake sales, served platters of them at holiday gatherings and sent dozens to office parties. Along with the requisite envelope of cash, I annually gifted cookies to our building superintendents. The most recent super started to ask me every year around Thanksgiving, when he would be getting his annual “brownies.” They weren’t actually brownies at all but buttercrunch bars, also known as turtle bars, and I’ve never met anyone who didn’t enjoy them. I think I found the recipe on a package of Land O’ Lakes butter as a teenager and have been making them ever since. An older friend (who was an excellent baker) once sent me a Maida Heatter brownie recipe with a note that said “Make these and give them away immediately!” They were that scrumptious. My advice is the same in this instance. 

Buttercrunch packed and ready
to give or mail

The recipe is a simple three step crust (flour, sugar, butter), filling (nuts covered with melted butter and sugar) and topping (chocolate chips that melt onto the hot filling topped crust). I increased the amount of filling and topping to make it more generous and added the amount of chocolate. Be careful not to cut the squares too large because this is a rich bar. No wonder it was promoted by a butter company! You can, and should, make a double recipe. 

Buttercrunch bars
Narrow plate by Mike Helke

BUTTERCRUNCH BARS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish (I use a Pyrex).

Crust:

  • 2 cups flour (all purpose is standard you could use pastry or white whole wheat or a blend)
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup (packed) brown sugar

Mix until crumbly and pat down in prepared baking dish. 

Cover the crust with a layer of pecans (or walnuts-more economical).

Set aside. 

In a small saucepan combine:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup (packed)brown sugar

Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until boiling. 

Boil one minute. 

Pour over reserved nuts/crust. 

Bake 20-22 minutes until bubbling. 

Take out of the oven and sprinkle immediately with 2-3 cups semi-sweet (or whatever type you prefer-milk, bittersweet, etc.)chocolate chips

Smooth with a knife or spatula or leave chips as they fall. 

Cool a few minutes and cut with a sharp knife, taking care not to mush the bars. 

Chill until chocolate is firm and finish cutting into squares. 

Store cooled bars in layers on waxed or parchment paper in covered tins or other lidded containers. 

Store up to one week(if you can resist eating them) or they can be frozen for a couple of months. The amount of bars will depend on the size you cut them.

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Stoneware plate by Mike Helke

MIKE HELKE makes pots that are simultaneously fun and serious. He continuously challenges the traditional shapes of teapot, plate, pitcher, even bowls, cutting, moving and adding elements into reinventions we have to wrap our heads around. They are still recognizable as teapots, plates, pitchers and bowls but presented in new ways. The pieces are clever, appealing and useful! You can find Mike’s work in shops and galleries and at his website.

Lidded Bowl by Mike Helke
Photo courtesy of the artist
2 small plates by Mike Helke
Photo courtesy of the artist
Covered tray by Mike Helke
Photo courtesy of the artist

Fresh Cranberry Sauce And Cranberry Relish Are A Breeze To Make But Hurry While Cranberries Are In Season

Cranberry relish and cranberry sauce
Porcelain serving dish and spoons
by Ingrid Bathe

Cranberries are a traditional part of a Thanksgiving meal but we eat them all year. I make the usual cooked cranberry sauce and a cranberry relish(uncooked sauce is called relish). I learned to make the uncooked version from my grandmother(1 bag of raw cranberries, 1 whole orange and 1 cup of sugar). She must have found it in her local Michigan newspaper; it turns out to be a widely circulated recipe. The only problem I’ve found is that most cranberry sauce recipes, like hers, are loaded with sugar. 

Buy fresh cranberries now in season
and keep some in your freezer

This year I was determined to find a healthier option so I tried my new favorite sweetener–dates. For the cooked sauce, I simmered chopped dates in apple juice(orange works, too) and added chopped, peeled oranges and raw cranberries with a pinch of cinnamon. It gelled just fine without the sugar and tasted delicious. For the relish(or raw sauce), I simply put pitted dates, a whole de-seeded orange(I used organic because I was using the peel) and raw cranberries in the food processor(high speed blender will work) and pulsed until I had the not quite smooth consistency that I wanted. Worked like a charm!

Chopped dates are a whole food,
adding nutrients and fiber while
sweetening
Chopped oranges add a layer
of texture and flavor

Cooked sauce and raw relish keep quite a long time in the fridge and are delicious in sandwiches, with cooked poultry and meats of all kinds and with cheese. A splash of sherry or Port wine is tasty in the sauce and I think you could embellish easily with raisins, pineapple or persimmon and spices to make a chutney. Both recipes are a breeze to make so prepare multiple batches, give some to friends and stash some away to brighten a dark winter night. 

Cranberries cooking with
dates, juice and oranges
Cooked cranberry sauce

COOKED CRANBERRY SAUCE 

  • 10 Deglet Nor dates, pitted and chopped (If you use Medjool, you’ll need less)
  • 1 cup apple (or orange) juice
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Pinch cinnamon (optional)
  • 1 peeled, seeded and chopped orange (optional)
  • 1 bag (12 oz.) raw cranberries, rinsed 

Put the chopped dates, juice and water in a small to medium saucepan, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add cinnamon and orange, if using, and cranberries. Simmer until most of the berries have popped, stirring occasionally. Take off heat and let cool. Store in a glass container in the fridge until ready to use. 

Cranberry relish pureed
in the blender

CRANBERRY RELISH 

  • 1 orange, preferably organic, cut in quarters and de-seeded
  • 10 Deglet Nor dates, pitted
  • 1 bag (12 oz.) raw cranberries, rinsed 
  • Put in food processor or blender and pulse until desired consistency. 

Store in a glass container in the fridge. 

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INGRID BATHE pinches porcelain into thin, fragile-looking but sturdy cups, bowls, vases, jars, plates and serving dishes, each with the visible imprint of her touch. She doesn’t hide the seams or fingerprints so you see all the evidence of the process, the making. Bathe uses rare earth oxides in glazes on the interiors to achieve an enticing range of pale blues to purples. There is something wintry, almost icy, and appealing about these cool surfaces – not surprising as she lives in mid-coast Maine. You can find places her work is sold on her website.

Pinched porcelain pots by Ingrid Bathe
Photo courtesy of the artist

 

Serving tray with small bowls/spoons by Ingrid Bathe
Photo courtesy of the artist
Vases by Ingrid Bathe
Photo courtesy of the artist

Grate Fresh Carrots To Make An Easily Variable And Appealing Salad In Autumn And Every Season

Grated carrot salad with orange/cumin dressing
Oval bowl by Sunshine Cobb

I don’t usually make carrot salad when so many late summer/fall vegetables are still at their peak. It is more a middle of the winter, not a green in sight situation that prompts me to get grating carrots. But when life gives you carrots…. I’ll explain. We recently visited friends in mid-coast Maine who have created a huge, lush and productive vegetable garden out of their back lawn – impressive in so many ways. Not only are they growing a wide variety of vegetables themselves with their young children underfoot in the shorter Maine summer but have kept out groundhogs and other critters and had started harvesting veggies in July! We had a good catchup and coffee on their lovely deck admiring the garden and when we left, Demetri gifted us a bag of beautiful, fresh carrots.

Gifted garden carrots
Oval bowl by Sunshine Cobb
A section of Caroline and Demetri’s garden
Beautifully hung garden tools on their garage

Carrots, celery and cabbage are my backup vegetables. They are always available, keep for a long time in the fridge and so versatile for making salads, soups and stir fries. Our gifted carrots were plump and sweet, perfect for eating out of hand or for salad. I grated them along with some fresh ginger for emphasis, added a finely chopped apple and nuts for crunch, parsley (cilantro or mint also delicious) for green, cumin and coriander for depth, lemon juice for acidity, dates and  orange juice for sweetness and finished up with olive oil to bind it all together. The result was fresh, crisp, lively and satisfying, a carrot salad I will be happy to serve and eat in any season. Bonus – Perfect color and sweetness for Halloween and Thanksgiving!

Carrot salad with dates and apples
Red clay bowl by Sunshine Cobb

ALL SEASON CARROT SALAD

Place in a salad bowl:

  • 1 pound raw carrots, grated or finely julienned
  • 1 apple, cored and finely diced
  • 1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, cilantro or mint
  • 3-4 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
  • 1/4-1/3 cup chopped raw or toasted walnuts or pistachios

In a smaller bowl, whisk together:

  • 2 TBs fresh orange juice
  • 2 TBs fresh lemon juice
  • 1-2 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated (a generous TBs)
  • Pinch salt
  • Pinch black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp ground coriander
  • Pinch cayenne, optional
  • 2 TBs olive oil
Pour dressing over other ingredients, toss and let sit 30 minutes or more before serving.

Keeps well refrigerated for a second serving for up to 3 days. Feeds 4-8

Optional add-ins:

Grated garlic, tahini, honey, pomegranate arils or a chopped pear can replace the apple

 

Montana based artist SUNSHINE COBB makes a wide array of colorful, appealing functional pottery sold on her website, through many galleries and shops and at various ceramic sales. She is the author of two thorough, encouraging books on hand building with clay and offers online and in-person workshops around the country, hand building tools she has developed and a number of generous youtube videos she freely shares. Often stamped, carved, cut, or simply fingerprinted, Sunshine’s work is usually textured in a way that makes you want to touch and pick it up. For many years she sandblasted her glazed ware to create a soft matte surface but recently moved to a new body of work with slips and glazes in a new range of colors. Check out her website and Instagram (and this wonderful interview with Jen Allen)for more information.

Garlic boxes by Sunshine Cobb
Photo courtesy of the artist
Votive candelabra by Sunshine Cobb
Photo courtesy of the artist
Ceramic baskets by Sunshine Cobb
Photo courtesy of the artist

An Old Time Martha’s Vineyard Potato Salad Recipe With A Few Updates For Late Summer Picnics And BBQ’s

My take on Cozy’s potato salad
Bowl – Desert Sunset Gradient
by Justin Donofrio

Potato salad is one of the traditional picnic, barbecue, cookout dishes that goes so well with not only hamburgers and hot dogs but all kinds of grilled fish, sausage, chicken and meat. It is both inexpensive and filling and although tasty, balances the often spicy or zesty flavors of the marinades and sauces that accompany grilled foods. We didn’t eat a lot of potato salad growing up. We were more a cole slaw household. Occasionally my mother would bring home some deli or grocery store concoction (probably from Ron Chast’s “Coffee Shop Vats of the Jersey Turnpike” – a version of her hilarious cartoon is reproduced below) and I always enjoyed it but never really thought about making it myself. All kinds of cabbage and pasta salads sure but until recently, I never tried concocting a potato salad.

Both yellow and red boiling potatoes
work well in this recipe
Purple potatoes are an option

So why now? Well, because a friend who worked summers at Cozy’s, a long shuttered Martha’s Vineyard restaurant, recently shared her recollection of the potato salad she used to make there. She had made it so frequently that the ingredient list was seared in her memory. Amy didn’t remember exact amounts but she also said it had never been precisely measured. I gave it a try and the measurements here are my best guess. Truly I think this is a completely flexible and forgiving recipe. I used yellow potatoes just because I like them (second only to purple) but I think any boiling (not baking) potatoes would work. I enjoy hard-boiled eggs, pickle relish or chopped gherkins and sometimes dill in my potato salad, but you may have other add-in preferences. I’ve heard of people adding capers, bacon, ham, basil and chopped hot peppers. I also use more mustard and vinegar, a little hot sauce, and olive oil instead of mayo altogether, especially if it is going to sit out a while. And many of you will want more salt than I use. Cozy’s may have closed long ago but their delicious potato salad lives on! Thanks, Amy!

Olive oil potato salad
a la Cozy’s (RIP)

COZY’S POTATO SALAD

Amy’s instructions from memory:

  • Boil, peel and cube potatoes 
  • Grate a carrot
  • Dice an onion
  • Chop some celery
  • 1 capful of white vinegar
  • 1 tsp yellow mustard
  • Salt and pepper
  • Celery seed
  • Parsley
  • Mayonnaise

My version:

Combine in a large mixing bowl:

  • 2 lbs boiled potatoes, like Yukon Gold, cut in bite-sized cubes-4-5 cups
  • I medium to large carrot, grated-about 1 cup
  • 1 medium onion, finely diced (yellow, Vidalia or red)-about 1 cup
  • 3 stalks celery, diced or thinly sliced-about 1 cup
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • Whisk together in a smaller bowl:
  • 1-2 TBs white or cider vinegar
  • 1-2 TBs yellow or Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp celery seed
  • 1 tsp salt 
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  •  2 TBs olive oil (or 1/4 cup mayo)

Pour dressing over vegetables and mix well. 

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 6-8 servings

Optional add-ins:

  • Chopped pickles or pickle relish
  • Chopped hard boiled eggs 
  • Capers
  • Scallions
  • White wine
  • Crumbled bacon
  • Finely diced radish
  • Fresh or dried dill, basil or toasted caraway seeds
  • Hot sauce or cayenne  
Desert Sunset Gradient Bowl Verso
by Justin Donofrio
Roz Chast’s New Yorker cartoon

 

A Light, Refreshing Fresh Start Cocktail Might Be Just What You Need

Fresh Start cocktail
Porcelain “Hoofer Cup”
by Brooke Cashion

It has been a stubbornly hot summer during which national and global affairs have been completely depressing. And although we thought we were being fastidiously careful, I came down with Covid just after moving to a summer rental and spent 3 weeks in isolation drinking water and soup and trying to get well while feeling pretty depressed. I recovered (so, so grateful for vaccines), realized how lucky I was and longed for an actual cocktail. Although a temporary reprieve, a fizzy iced drink, like a cold swim or an air conditioned movie, can take the edge off the heat and the news. Fortunately, while browsing the new cookbooks at the local library (don’t you always browse the cookbooks?), I came across a drink recipe called a White Noise I thought might do the trick. 

Choose the Elderflower liqueur
of your preference
Choose either Lillet Blanc or
Cocchi Americano Bianco

Found in a fun-to-read book called Northern Hospitality by Andrew and Briana Volk, owners of a Portland, Maine cocktail bar, the White Noise combines two of my favorite summer liquors – elderflower liqueur (I love St Germain in hot weather cocktails)) and Cocchi Americano Bianco (a citrusy fortified wine simultaneously sweet and bitter) – with bubbly water and a twist. I used Lillet Blanc because we had it and we were out of Cocchi (I didn’t want to overstock our temporary bar), added bitters and both fresh lime and grapefruit juice, not just a twist. This combination ticked all the boxes: light, refreshing and easy drinking. The bitters, lime and grapefruit cut the sweetness and added freshness. And, as the Volks suggest, this is a drink which is easily scaled up to a pitcherful to serve at a gathering; You just multiply by 6. I will call my version a Fresh Start. A bonus—the Start is low alcohol so it is easy sipping during the dog days.

Fresh Start cocktail
Porcelain “Hoofer Cup”
by Brooke Cashion

FRESH START COCKTAIL

Stir together:

  • 1 1/2 oz Elderflower liqueur 
  • 1 1/2 oz Lillet blanc (or Cocchi Americano Bianco)
  • Dash Angostura bitters
  • 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice
  • 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
  • 4 oz bubbly water

Add ice and garnish with a grapefruit or lime twist or slice. 

Interior of porcelain “Hoofer Cup”
by Brooke Cashion

 

BROOKE CASHION creates large, undulating vases, candlesticks and other “vessels” as well as lively slipcast and pinched cups perfect for sipping. Her wiggly forms and colorful painted and  textured surfaces make her pieces fun to use or to contemplate. She explains her process:”My shapes spring from molds I take of simple forms which I use as a jumping-off point for relentlessly exploring the many possible expressions of the shapes….I take apart the conventional components of the vessel and re-compose to question what it all boils down to, and how something grows from there.” Find Brooke’s work on her website or at Clay Akar or at Artstream Nomadic Gallery or on Instagram.

Spiral Vessel
Photo courtesy of the artist
Vase #1
Photo courtesy of the artist
Glimmer Dimmer w/ Snuffer(candle holder)
Photo courtesy of the artist