You are here: Home / Frug We started this week’s series of Big Food posts with the smörgåsbord. That was prefaced by very short explanation of flourishing–in the classical sense. Today we’ll see how Jeff Smith interprets living well. From The Frugal Gourmet by Jeff Smith (1984) [All emphases mine] THE HORS d’OEUVRES BUFFET The cocktail party is a very American
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THE CHICAGO HOT DOG Don’t talk to me about hot dogs in other cities. I have tasted them. The best ones in the country (Oh, New York City, forgive me!) are in Chicago. The Windy City does not have many hamburger stands like most cities do … but it does have four thousand hot-dog stands,
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Not trying to one up the Frug, but I can see frying up some good Italian sausage and including that in the balls. From The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian: New and Old Worlds, Simplified for the American Kitchen, by Jeff Smith and Craig Wollam (1993) In the fanciest food shops in Italy or just at
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Strange to see how a good dinner and feasting reconciles everybody. Samuel Pepys (1633-1803) The better the salad the worse the dinner. Italian Proverb Both quotes precede this recipe from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine by Jeff Smith (1986). He goes on to say– Salad and Wine: Great problem here. Vinegars are great for
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The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China, Greece, and Rome by Jeff Smith (1989) COLD ASPARAGUS GREEK STYLE “This is so refreshing and so delicious and so utterly Greek! Asparagus is cleaned, blanched, and chilled, just as you do for the Cold Asparagus Chinese Style. A dressing is prepared of 2 parts good Greek
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The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China, Greece, and Rome by Jeff Smith (1989) COLD ASPARAGUS CHINESE STYLE “This is a lovely dish for a first course or a real hit when served later in the meal.Clean the asparagus and leave it whole. Bring a pan of water to boil and add a tablespoon
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The companion post to the Focaccia recipe. And when you get to Whole Foods (below) keep in mind this was originally posted in April 2016. I happened to be in The Palmer Home Thrift Store the other day and I spied a book I didn’t know existed– a crappy old cookbook titled The Frugal Gourmet
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This was originally published in April 2016. The crust for Rustic Pizza from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines (1989). … an interesting bit of history. When chestnuts were near free, the locals in the Old World used them to make flour. The flour was not suitable for what we call bread but it
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Reposted from April 12, 2016. This white sauce is part of the filling for Rustic Pizza from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines (1989). The Frug claims that Béchamel sauce is was being used in Greece 150 years before the French were using it. Basic White Sauce 2 cups milk3 Tbsp. peeled and chopped
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We had this again not too long ago. It’s marvelous. And for some unknown reason, getting a lot of hits today. Recipe: Baked Onions Originally published on December 12, 2018 If you have never cooked such a dish for your family, get ready for a surprise. They are going to love it! Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet
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I agree with The Frug that you wouldn’t want to have this every day, but it might be fun to try. From The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American by Jeff Smith (1987) “This is the correct spelling, and if the descriptions of the Cortez party are correct, then this is the drink. When the Aztecs were
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It’s a Frugal Gourmet bread. Recipe here. I should figure out how to convert it to a bread machine recipe. Or not. Ancient Roman Bread UPDATE Published on August 15, 2016 by Marica Gone the sun Bread is done. Ahem. “We are quite sure that when the Romans invaded Greece they had their eating habits changed dramatically. The
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Why yes, I am recycling content. It’s cold and my brain is frozen. Recipe: Potato Gnocchi Lidia Originally published on January 26, 2016 As I said, I was a bit disappointed in this dish. It was tasty, but it just didn’t work as a main dish as I had anticipated. We had it with a nice
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This soup really is worth the effort of making your own Brown Soup Stock. Trust me. It’s time consuming, but you yourself aren’t involved too much at all. Recipe: The Frugal Gourmet’s French Onion Soup Published on January 12, 2016 [Individual photos here.] This soup, made with a proper beef stock, will not have that salty flavor
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It’s Marica Cooks Monday and as I have made this many times, I thought I’d get a jump start on things. With a salad, it is a fabulous supper. Breakfast the next morning, too.
Originally published January 2019 Marica Cooks Monday! This was quite good. By necessity, I substituted sherry for the marsala. Beef Stew with Marsala Serves 8 or 9 Print Recipe INGREDIENTS 3 lbs lean stewing beef 2 tbsp olive oil 2 yellow onions, peeled & chopped 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 cup dry white wine 1 cup Marsala wine 2 oz dried mushrooms, soaked in 1 1/2 cups warm water for
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I mentioned yesterday that almost all of the Top Ten posts here at Big Food etc. are recipe posts. Better Homes & Gardens Dill Pickles comes in at #9, and as I doubt too many folks have an overabundance of cucumbers right now, we’ll pass on that. This French Onion Soup is ridiculously easy to
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Marica Cooks Monday! Rustic Pizza Serves 4-6 as a main dish Crust Use Focaccia dough pressed into a 10-inch round cake pan or ovenproof skillet Filling 1/2 cup chopped ham 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup cream cheese 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped 2 cups Basic White Sauce, enriched with 2 egg yolks Salt
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The crust for Rustic Pizza from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines (1989). … an interesting bit of history. When chestnuts were near free, the locals in the Old World used them to make flour. The flour was not suitable for what we call bread but it did make a flavorful baked pulse, of
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This white sauce is part of the filling for Rustic Pizza from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines (1989) The Frug claims that Béchamel sauce is was being used in Greece 150 years before the French were using it. Basic White Sauce 2 cups milk 3 Tbsp. peeled and chopped yellow onion 1 bay
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