Cooking Irish can also be found at Pinterest and PETITCHEF.
My cousin from Long Island and my sister from Annapolis came for an end of the summer visit. We drove through the Adirondack mountains visiting many of the small lake towns and stopping for lunch in Saranac Lake. Then on to Lake Placid and Whiteface. We took the gondola ride up the mountain to view Lake Placid and the surrounding area. It is a beautiful trek. My cousin Ellen was a little apprehensive about the ride up the face of the mountain, and I was encouraging her with brave comments of past exploits. I had taken the gondola up Masada in Israel and chairlifts up mountains in the Northeast during the fall foliage season. But when we got on the gondola and the door shut and we started with a jerky movement, the gondola ride in Switzerland between peaks of the Alps instantly came back. I remembered how afraid I was, and I remember swearing that I would never get on another one. I tried to calm myself saying this was only going up the mountain, not between mountains so we would never be that far from the ground. It only worked to a certain extent. I was glad to get back on the ground and again vowed never to get back on another gondola. I guess my fear is twofold. I am becoming more and more afraid of heights as I get older, and my trust in the cables and machinery is not as it once was due to the economy. I just keep wondering when was the last inspection and how thorough was it. And I keep remembering that American pilot in Italy who flew into the cables of a ski gondola. I could not get that accident out of my mind all the way up and all the way down.
The Cavalese cable car disaster of 1998 occurred on 3 February near the Italian town of Cavalese, a ski resort located in the Dolomites. The disaster, which led to the death of 20 people, occurred when a U.S. military plane cut a cable supporting a gondola of an aerial tramway.
The pilot of the military plane, Captain Richard J. Ashby, and his navigator, Captain Joseph Schweitzer, were put on trial in the United States and were found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide. Later they were found guilty of obstruction of justice and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman for having destroyed a videotape recorded from the plane and were dismissed from the Marines.
This event and the acquittal of the pilots put pressure on the international relationship between the United States and Italy, where it is known as the Strage del Cermis or Massacre of Cermis, Cermis being the name of the nearest mountain.
Here is a picture my brave sister Paige took of my cousin Ellen and me desperately holding hands coming down in the gondola at Whiteface and a photo of Masada from a gondola going up the mountain in Israel in the mid-80s.
Ellen and I coming down Whiteface in the gondola
Masada 1985
Gingered Chicken Cakes with Cilantro-lime Mayonnaise
GINGERED CHICKEN CAKES WITH CILANTRO-LIME MAYONNAISE [Makes 20]
Ingredients For Cakes:
2 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, and halved
2 tbsp. of fish sauce or 1 tsp. of anchovy paste
1 inch of fresh ginger, chopped
3 scallions, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp. of salt
¼ tsp. of tabasco sauce
Ingredients for Topping:
4 tbsp. of quality mayonnaise
½ cup of cilantro, finely chopped
Juice of one lime
2 tbsp. of diced mango for garnish [See tip below.]
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°. For cakes, place all the cake ingredients into a food processor or blender; pulse until finely minced. Divide the mixture into 20 pieces. With wet hands, shape each piece into a ball and flatten into a cake. Place cakes onto a greased baking sheet and bake until cooked through and golden, 12 minutes. Cool to warm or room temperature. For topping, combine the mayonnaise, cilantro, and lime. Spoon topping onto cakes. Garnish with diced mango. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: for variation use pork instead of chicken and lemon grass instead of ginger for another Asian-inspired mini cake.
Tip:
To dice a fresh mango, find where the flat side of the large seed is by rolling the mango on a work surface; it will settle on a flat side. Cut the peeled mango lengthwise on both sides of the seed so the knife just misses it. Put each mango piece cut side down and cut it lengthwise into slices and then dice.
Eggplant and Pine Nut Fritters with Roasted Tomatoes
EGGPLANT AND PINE NUT FRITTERS WITH ROASTED TOMATOES [Makes 20]
Ingredients For Fritters:
2 tbsp. of quality olive oil
1 medium eggplant, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp. of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp. of rosemary, finely chopped
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, beaten
¾ cup of Romano cheese, grated
1 cup of mozzarella cheese, diced
1 cup of dry breadcrumbs
½ cup of pine nuts, roasted and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
20 small arugula leaves for garnish
Ingredients for Topping:
2 plum tomatoes, halved
1 clove of garlic, sliced
1 tsp. of balsamic vinegar
½ tsp. of honey
½ tsp. of finely chopped rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°. For fritters, heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Stir fry diced eggplant until soft and golden, 10 minutes. Drain and cool on paper towels. Roast pine nuts by putting the nuts into an ungreased small skillet for a few minutes to release the oil and flavors. Do not burn. Cool. Combine the cooled and drained eggplant with the garlic, parsley, rosemary, beaten eggs, Romano and mozzarella cheeses, and cooled pine nuts. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide the mixture into 20 even portions, and shape each into an oval. Place the ovals onto a greased baking sheet. Bake until golden, 10 minutes. Cool to warm or room temperature. For topping, put the tomatoes and garlic into a baking pan. Drizzle with vinegar and honey, and sprinkle with rosemary salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until softened, 20 minutes. Cool and place in a food processor or blender. Pulse until smooth. Spoon topping onto cakes. Garnish with arugula. Serve warm or at room temperature.
How are we doing on that end of the summer cocktail party? I can see the smile on all of your guests' faces!
My cousin from Long Island and my sister from Annapolis came for an end of the summer visit. We drove through the Adirondack mountains visiting many of the small lake towns and stopping for lunch in Saranac Lake. Then on to Lake Placid and Whiteface. We took the gondola ride up the mountain to view Lake Placid and the surrounding area. It is a beautiful trek. My cousin Ellen was a little apprehensive about the ride up the face of the mountain, and I was encouraging her with brave comments of past exploits. I had taken the gondola up Masada in Israel and chairlifts up mountains in the Northeast during the fall foliage season. But when we got on the gondola and the door shut and we started with a jerky movement, the gondola ride in Switzerland between peaks of the Alps instantly came back. I remembered how afraid I was, and I remember swearing that I would never get on another one. I tried to calm myself saying this was only going up the mountain, not between mountains so we would never be that far from the ground. It only worked to a certain extent. I was glad to get back on the ground and again vowed never to get back on another gondola. I guess my fear is twofold. I am becoming more and more afraid of heights as I get older, and my trust in the cables and machinery is not as it once was due to the economy. I just keep wondering when was the last inspection and how thorough was it. And I keep remembering that American pilot in Italy who flew into the cables of a ski gondola. I could not get that accident out of my mind all the way up and all the way down.
The Cavalese cable car disaster of 1998 occurred on 3 February near the Italian town of Cavalese, a ski resort located in the Dolomites. The disaster, which led to the death of 20 people, occurred when a U.S. military plane cut a cable supporting a gondola of an aerial tramway.
The pilot of the military plane, Captain Richard J. Ashby, and his navigator, Captain Joseph Schweitzer, were put on trial in the United States and were found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide. Later they were found guilty of obstruction of justice and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman for having destroyed a videotape recorded from the plane and were dismissed from the Marines.
This event and the acquittal of the pilots put pressure on the international relationship between the United States and Italy, where it is known as the Strage del Cermis or Massacre of Cermis, Cermis being the name of the nearest mountain.
Here is a picture my brave sister Paige took of my cousin Ellen and me desperately holding hands coming down in the gondola at Whiteface and a photo of Masada from a gondola going up the mountain in Israel in the mid-80s.
Ellen and I coming down Whiteface in the gondola
Masada 1985
Gingered Chicken Cakes with Cilantro-lime Mayonnaise
GINGERED CHICKEN CAKES WITH CILANTRO-LIME MAYONNAISE [Makes 20]
Ingredients For Cakes:
2 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, and halved
2 tbsp. of fish sauce or 1 tsp. of anchovy paste
1 inch of fresh ginger, chopped
3 scallions, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp. of salt
¼ tsp. of tabasco sauce
Ingredients for Topping:
4 tbsp. of quality mayonnaise
½ cup of cilantro, finely chopped
Juice of one lime
2 tbsp. of diced mango for garnish [See tip below.]
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°. For cakes, place all the cake ingredients into a food processor or blender; pulse until finely minced. Divide the mixture into 20 pieces. With wet hands, shape each piece into a ball and flatten into a cake. Place cakes onto a greased baking sheet and bake until cooked through and golden, 12 minutes. Cool to warm or room temperature. For topping, combine the mayonnaise, cilantro, and lime. Spoon topping onto cakes. Garnish with diced mango. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: for variation use pork instead of chicken and lemon grass instead of ginger for another Asian-inspired mini cake.
Tip:
To dice a fresh mango, find where the flat side of the large seed is by rolling the mango on a work surface; it will settle on a flat side. Cut the peeled mango lengthwise on both sides of the seed so the knife just misses it. Put each mango piece cut side down and cut it lengthwise into slices and then dice.
Eggplant and Pine Nut Fritters with Roasted Tomatoes
EGGPLANT AND PINE NUT FRITTERS WITH ROASTED TOMATOES [Makes 20]
Ingredients For Fritters:
2 tbsp. of quality olive oil
1 medium eggplant, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp. of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp. of rosemary, finely chopped
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, beaten
¾ cup of Romano cheese, grated
1 cup of mozzarella cheese, diced
1 cup of dry breadcrumbs
½ cup of pine nuts, roasted and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
20 small arugula leaves for garnish
Ingredients for Topping:
2 plum tomatoes, halved
1 clove of garlic, sliced
1 tsp. of balsamic vinegar
½ tsp. of honey
½ tsp. of finely chopped rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°. For fritters, heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Stir fry diced eggplant until soft and golden, 10 minutes. Drain and cool on paper towels. Roast pine nuts by putting the nuts into an ungreased small skillet for a few minutes to release the oil and flavors. Do not burn. Cool. Combine the cooled and drained eggplant with the garlic, parsley, rosemary, beaten eggs, Romano and mozzarella cheeses, and cooled pine nuts. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide the mixture into 20 even portions, and shape each into an oval. Place the ovals onto a greased baking sheet. Bake until golden, 10 minutes. Cool to warm or room temperature. For topping, put the tomatoes and garlic into a baking pan. Drizzle with vinegar and honey, and sprinkle with rosemary salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until softened, 20 minutes. Cool and place in a food processor or blender. Pulse until smooth. Spoon topping onto cakes. Garnish with arugula. Serve warm or at room temperature.
How are we doing on that end of the summer cocktail party? I can see the smile on all of your guests' faces!
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