Category: Food

“opens the door to what American cookery is—the coming together of cultures, identities, flavors, and tastes that celebrate what is probably one of the most diverse cuisines in the world.”

This is the second edition of The Great American Recipe Cookbook, based on the popular eight-part PBS cooking show contest in which home cooks compete using their personal recipes. It’s a diversity culled from international cultures and traditions from around the world brought to America but also native fare. Think Sausage Pierogies with Barbecue Crema, Jerk Alfredo Pasta and Pan-Seared Scallops with a Side Salad, Chicken Hekka with Wontons, and Malasadas Two Ways.

The cookbook, a collection of treasured recipes and the stories behind them are provided by an interesting lineup of cooks that includes a recipe writer, real estate developer, Midwestern soccer mom, and a semi-retired architect, homebuilder, and consultant. The diversity of their backgrounds—a first generation American born to two Guyanese immigrants, a mom who was raised in Maui, Hawai’i, a special education teacher from Cleveland whose culinary background is rooted in Southern cuisine, and a general counsel for a financial tech firm whose parents hail from Barbados—is reflected in their recipes.

Designed in a large format with glossy pages, plenty of color photos, and easy to follow instructions, this is a book for all levels of tastes and cooking skills. Ingredients for the most part are easy to find and don’t involve an outlay of cash for something that will be used only once or twice. As an example, though Bahrat Chicken Thighs with Hummus and Flatbread may sound exotic and complicated, it is a very easy dish to make with the only unique ingredient being Libyan Baharat spice.

But since that typically consists of black pepper, cardamom, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, coriander, and paprika, it can be used in other recipes as well. There are no unique ingredients in Mini Spinach B’jibin Pies, a recipe that harkens back to the home cook’s Syrian Jewish community. Basically, these are mini pies that can be made in four easy steps—the first one being to preheat the oven. All this makes it easy for home chefs to try new cuisines without a lot of complicated ingredients and equipment.

With a foreword by cookbook author Pati Jinich, whose three-time James Beard award-winning and Emmy nominated TV series “Pati’s Mexican Table” is now in its 12^th season, the book goes beyond the typical concept of American cookery and delves into what we all bring to the table.

“The phrase “American food’ often brings to mind certain classic dishes: a fried chicken recipe served up at a summer picnic or a honey-glazed ham gracing the table at the holidays,” reads the book’s introduction. “And those meals are delicious ones to celebrate, especially when we can share them with the people we love. But those quintessentially ‘American’ foods represent only a narrow sliver of what our country’s cuisine really is. We are one nation with more than one million kitchens, each with its own heritage, culture, and community—making American food an amazing mix of different culinary traditions that bring together flavors from around the country and beyond.”

In all, The Great American Recipe Cookbook (published by Ben Bella Books) opens the door to what American cookery is—the coming together of cultures, identities, flavors, and tastes that celebrate what is probably one of the most diverse cuisines in the world.

Croque Madame Mini Quiches and Dijon Béchamel

• Croque madame mini quiches
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or unsalted butter
• ½ small sweet onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 6 large eggs
• ¾ cup heavy cream, divided
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 4 ounces ham, diced
• 1½ cups shredded Gruyère cheese
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• Dijon béchamel
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup whole milk
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry sheet to about ¼ inch thick. Cut it into 9 squares. Press the pastry squares into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic is soft, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
4. In a small bowl, make an egg wash by whisking together 2 of the eggs and 2 tablespoons of the cream.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 4 eggs and remaining cream until well blended. Add the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.
6. Fill each of the pastry-lined muffin cups with equal amounts of the ham, cheese, cooked onion and garlic, thyme, and chives, then pour over the egg and cream mixture. Brush the edges of the dough with the egg wash. Bake for 15–18 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the egg mixture is set. Let cool slightly before serving.
7. While the mini quiches bake, make the Dijon béchamel. In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook the roux for several minutes, stirring constantly, until it takes on a light brown color. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, until you have a thickened and smooth sauce. Add the nutmeg and Dijon mustard and stir to fully incorporate. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper as needed.
8. Pour the béchamel over the mini quiches and serve with a fruit salad.
9. Recipe courtesy of The Great American Recipe

Cassava Pone

• 3 medium to large cassavas (about 4 pounds), peeled and cut into thirds
• 2 cups finely shredded grated coconut
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9 × 9) baking pans or 1 (13 × 9) baking pan.
2. Finely grate the cassavas, either by hand with a box grater or in a food processor with a grating disk. (If you’re using a food processor, you may need to cut the cassavas into pieces to fit the food processor tube.)
3. With a clean tea towel, squeeze the excess liquid from the grated cassava and transfer it to a bowl. Add the shredded coconut, condensed milk, coconut milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and stir to combine.
4. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, evaporated milk, and sugars until well blended.
5. Slowly stream the egg mixture into the cassava mixture and stir to combine.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish(es) and spread it out evenly with a rubber spatula.
7. Bake until the edges are set and golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25–30 minutes. Let the pone cool and set for 10 minutes before slicing.

Mini Spinach B’jíbín Pies

Recipe courtesy of The Great American Recipe

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ¼ cup cold water
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 large eggs
• 2 pounds frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup ricotta cheese
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ½ cup shredded Muenster cheese
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon chicken consommé powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, 1 teaspoon of the salt, the sugar, and baking powder. Mix in ½ cup of the oil and the cold water until uniform in texture. Divide the dough into 12 equal balls. Place a dough ball in each prepared muffin cup. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides to form a mini crust.
3. In a small skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together. Add the spinach, cooked onion, all the cheeses, consommé powder, garlic powder, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, the black pepper, and cayenne and mix thoroughly. Divide the spinach mixture equally into the mini crusts. Bake for 30–40 minutes, until cooked through. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This article originally appeared in the New York Journal of Books.