More Mason Mondays: Mason Rudd, the late Louisville philanthropist whose name is on the heart and lung center at Jewish Hospital and the tennis center at U of L, is being celebrated every Monday in August with “Mason Mondays” at the Fish House, where Rudd was a regular and favorite customer.  Sales from “The Mason,” fresh cod on Jewish rye served with potato latkes, will benefit the Jewish Hospital Foundation.

Trying Again in J-town: Bruce’s Smokehouse, the spin-off of Fire Fresh BBQ, will open a new store in J-town, at the corner of Watterson Trail and Billtown Road.  The barbeque joint is set to open its new location, in the space vacated by Sir Churchill’s English Pub and Eatery, in early August.

Chef Deano is throwing a party at Equus!  Stories about his famous shin-digs abound, so his first-ever outdoor barbecue and wine tasting, scheduled for 5:30-8 p.m. next Wednesday, August 5 in the parking lot at Equus and Jack’s in St. Matthews, will certainly be met with bated breath.  Will the mayor come?  Will Deano launch into his impersonations of Johnny Cash and Coach Schnellenberger?  Corbett will be joined at the event by Green Egg Grill savant Ray Lampke (also known in grilling circles as Dr. BBQ) to cook Corbett’s 30-hour slow-cooked beef brisket.  The barbecue will be paired with zinfandel varieties.  Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door.

More to Kroger: The St. Matthews City Council will hear a presentation from Kroger about expanding the Westport Road/Hubbards Lane store at its July 28 meeting.  A Kroger spokesman said the planned 9-month expansion would swell the store by 6,000-7,000 square feet to make room for more perishable foods.  My mom always taught me to shop around the “perishable perimeter” to eat healthy, so this should be good news for everyone in St. Matthews if and when it gets finished.  Kroger wants to start work by the end of the year; Eats will keep you posted.

Check the Dictonary: Coinciding with the release of the Julia Child biopic/bildungsroman “Julia and Julia,” PBS has made a growing number of her TV episodes available for viewing online.  Check out the “Bon Appetit” collection in general, and the seared scallops with quenelles of sorbet and the shrimp and rice episodes in particular.  Yowza.

John LaFollette is a Louisville writer.

Nuts n Stuff
Spring Open House
1000 Swan St (corner of Swan & Kentucky)
Sunday, March 15
1:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.

In case you were wondering? Nuts n Stuff is the most amazing place on earth.

Just wanted to give you a heads-up. We (Jake) can barely contain ourselves.

Corbett, the owner of Equus, Jack’s Lounge and Corbett’s: An American Place, is known for using seasonal ingredients from local farmers to produce flavorful dishes. He is the only restaurateur to have two four-star restaurants in the city, and Corbett’s: An American Place was recently named to Esquire magazine’s coveted Best New Restaurants list. Corbett appears in “Secrets of Louisville Chefs” on the local CW affiliate every week, when he invites the city’s biggest names to share their secrets with the camera.

“We have been filming ‘Secrets of Louisville Chefs’ for three years and always receive requests from our live studio audience about cooking classes,” says Corbett. “This is a really thoughtful, fun and personal gift for anyone who loves to cook. It is also a great way to learn some tricks for the next time you want to impress someone in the kitchen.”

Equus is located at 122 Sears Avenue in Louisville. Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday from 6:00 to 10:00 pm. For more information or to make reservations, to schedule a class, call (502) 897-9721.

by David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant

It’s sure to get your sweetie in the mood, and you’ll be happy when the check comes and you see how much you saved by eating in. For under $50, you can use recipes from my first cookbook, Adventures in New Kentucky Cooking and the upcoming Bourbon Cookbook to whip up something as good as you’d find at any local restaurant. All the recipes are designed to serve six, so make the necessary adjustments or invite two more couples over and make a night of it. Don’t forget the roses and champagne.

To start, mix up a batch of shrubs. Raspberry shrub was one of the most popular drinks in the America of the 1800s and owes much of its popularity to the Temperance Movement, which promoted it as an alternative to hard spirits and beer. The word shrub comes from the old Arabic word meaning drink and amounted to a tart, fruit-based syrup that would be cut with cold water and sometimes alcohol to produce a refreshing summertime beverage. In Kentucky, as in most parts of the country, shrubs were also known as vinegars, no doubt because vinegar was a key ingredient used to macerate the fruit, and they could be made from a wide variety of fruits and berries. Not surprising, Kentuckians often added bourbon whiskey to their shrubs for a more potent concoction. The beautiful pink color makes this the perfect Valentine’s Day cocktail.

Raspberry Bourbon Shrubs

• 4 cups fresh raspberries (frozen will work)
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• Sparkling water
• Bourbon

Simmer the raspberries and vinegar in a large saucepan for 20 minutes or until the berries have started to break down. Transfer the mixture to a blender and purée. Once the mixture has cooled slightly, strain it through a sieve to remove all the seeds and pulp. There should be at least 3 cups of juice, if not, you’ll have to add some water to make up the difference. Transfer to a saucepan with the sugar and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is thick and ruby red. For each shrub, you will need to mix together 1 part syrup with 2 parts sparkling water and a splash of bourbon. You won’t even taste the vinegar, by the way.

Read the rest and get the recipes after the jump…

Then, start off with the following appetizer using one of my favorite local delicacies, smoked spoonfish. The spoonfish, also known as the paddlefish or spoonbill catfish, is one of the tastiest byproducts of recent trends in which Kentucky tobacco farmers have turned to aquaculture as a way of diversification. This relative of the sturgeon has firm, white flesh that has become a favorite with seafood aficionados across the country.

Lewis Shuckman, a third-generation fishmonger who operates the family business at his west Louisville smokery, has won numerous awards for his smoked treats. His smoked spoonfish has also gained national recognition for its exceptional quality, and Kentucky spoonfish caviar such as that produced at Schuckman’s has received attention around the world for its exceptional quality. Paired up with savory pancakes flavored with sweet potato, the smoked fish is sure to be a hit.

Smoked Spoonfish with Sweet Potato Pancakes

• 1 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 ¼ cups cooked mashed sweet potato
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
• ¼ cup melted butter
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 cup flaked smoked spoonfish
• Unsweetened whipped cream and chopped green onion for garnish

Sift all the dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl. Combine remaining ingredients and add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Drop by tablespoons onto a hot greased griddle or skillet and fry, turning once, until browned on both sides. Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream topped off with flaked spoonfish and green onion.

After you’ve finished the appetizers and cocktails, move on to the soup, which you can make in advance and reheat to serve. Although it has a wonderfully creamy texture, there’s no dairy here, other than a bit of butter. If you want to make it vegan, use olive oil and vegetable stock instead. Now might be the time to pop the cork on that bottle of champagne.

Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4-5 cloves fresh garlic, smashed
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 cups butternut squash, diced, peeled and deseeded
• 1 cup bourbon
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 6 cups chicken broth
• ¼ cup honey
• Pumpkin seed oil

Sauté onions and garlic with the butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat until onions become translucent. Add squash and cook an additional 5 minutes. Turn up the heat and add bourbon, cooking until the liquid has reduced by half. Stir in salt, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper and cumin. Pour in chicken stock and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes or until the pieces of squash have started to break down. Add honey and use a handheld blender to puree the soup in the saucepan until perfectly smooth. Correct the seasoning and enjoy with a healthy drizzle of pumpkin seed oil.

Now, it’s time for the salad course. This creation is another take on the famous open-faced sandwich from Louisville’s celebrated Brown Hotel, and incorporates all of the main ingredients from the original, but adds the crisp crunch of iceberg lettuce and the tangy zing of bourbon and buttermilk in the dressing. Pop open another bottle of bubbly if you’re out, or switch to a bottle of sauvignon blanc if you’re in the mood for something else.

Cold Brown Salad with Bourbon Buttermilk Dressing

• 1 head iceberg lettuce
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced
• 1 small turkey breast, cooked and chopped (about 2 cups)
• 6-8 slices cooked bacon
• Asiago cheese
• Toast points

Wash the lettuce and cut into 6 wedges. Prepare the dressing by whisking together the buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, bourbon, salt and pepper. Assemble individual salads by laying several slices of tomato over each wedge of lettuce and drizzling with buttermilk dressing. Top with chopped turkey and bacon, and garnish with slivers of Asiago cheese and toast points.

For the main course, try one of my most popular recipes: filets of beef marinated in bourbon. The steaks need to sit in the bourbon for a while, so make sure you do that before your date arrives. As a side, make a skillet of corn and lima bean maque choux, a Louisiana-inspired succotash. If you want, you could open a bottle of cabernet sauvignon to go with the entree, but everybody knows champagne goes with everything, so pop open another bottle and fill up your glasses. Or, switch over to a bottle of rose champagne. Trust me, it’s not the pink champagne that your parents drank on the night of their honeymoon. Any decent wine shop will have a couple of varieties of this trendy sparkling wine. And it’s pink: think cupid and roses.

Bourbonnaised Filet Mignon

• Six 4-ounce filet mignons
• 1 cup bourbon
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown mustard
• ¾ cup heavy cream

Lay the filets in a single layer in a shallow dish and pour in the bourbon and lemon juice. Place the dish in the refrigerator and let marinate for at least four hours, turning each filet over at least once to ensure an even marinade. To cook the filets, melt the butter in a well-seasoned skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the beef from the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel. Season each side with salt and rub with a bit of the brown sugar. Once the butter has started to sizzle, sear each filet for about 4 minutes on each side. Remove the steaks to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. To make the sauce, turn the heat under the skillet up to high and add the leftover bourbon marinade. Once it begins to boil, whisk in the mustard and cream and reduce the sauce by half. Correct the seasoning. Spoon over the filets and enjoy.

Corn and Lima Bean Maque Choux

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• ½ cup diced red bell pepper
• ½ cup diced green bell pepper
• ¼ cup diced celery
• 4 cups corn (about 6 ears)
• 2 cups frozen lima beans, thawed
• 1 cup bourbon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup heavy cream

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the onions, peppers and celery for 2-3 minutes. Add the corn, limas, bourbon, and salt. Cook, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the cream and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, correct the seasoning and serve piping hot with a garnish of chopped parsley.

And, for the piece de resistance: everybody’s favorite, crème brûlée, for dessert. The flavors of orange and bourbon are perfect together in this creamy, not-too-sweet finish to your Valentine’s Day feast courtesy of the Bluegrass Peasant.

Orange Bourbon Crème Brûlée

• Juice of 4 large oranges, about 1 cup
• 1/3 cup bourbon
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 8 large egg yolks
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon iodized salt
• Sugar for the top

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Whisk together the orange juice, bourbon and sugar in a heavy skillet and cook over medium heat until the liquid reduces by half and forms a syrup. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. There should be around ½ cup of syrup. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar until pale yellow and frothy, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the cream, vanilla, and salt. Add the cooled orange-bourbon syrup and continue whisking. Divide the mixture between 6-8 ramekins and transfer the individual ramekins to a large baking dish. Set on the middle rack of the oven and add enough very hot water so that at least half of the ramekin sits below the surface of the water. Close the door and bake in this bain marie for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 250 degrees and cook for another 45 minutes. Remove the hot water bath and allow the custards to cool in the water. Once they have cooled, sprinkle about a teaspoon’s worth of sugar over the top of each and caramelize under a broiler or with a kitchen torch to achieve the signature sugar crust.

So, pop open another bottle of champagne and get out that box of chocolates. Turn the light down a little more, and get out the candles. You can leave the dishes for tomorrow. I got you started; now the rest is up to you.

by David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant

Bourbon in soup? you ask. Yes, bourbon goes with practically anything, as my newest cookbook points out, so give it a try. Today, we’ve got a comforting corn and sweet potato chowder that is thick and satisfying without being too heavy. Although any bourbon will work, I used American Eagle Rare from Buffalo Trace in Frankfort. It has a creamy texture, with hints of vanilla, caramel and toffee that match up well with the main ingredients in the soup. Remember, I’m at the testing stage, so let me know what you think.

Read the rest after the jump…

Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder from The Bluegrass Peasant

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large yellow onions, coarsely chopped
• 4-5 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• ½ ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup bourbon
• 6 cups milk
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in large chunks
• 3 cups fresh corn kernels
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• ½ cup heavy cream
• Fresh cilantro for garnish

Melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add onions, garlic, salt, cumin, and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Whisk in flour and stir for 30 seconds. Slowly add bourbon, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. When the mixture starts to boil, add milk and sweet potatoes. Simmer, uncovered, over low heat, stirring often, until sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Add corn kernels and simmer another five minutes, seasoning with additional salt and pepper as needed. To thicken the chowder, whisk together flour and cream and stir into the soup. Warm through, adjust the seasoning and ladle into individual soup bowls to enjoy. Garnish with sprigs of fresh cilantro or kernels of corn if desired.

by David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant

To start, you’ll need the following:

1) 1 (16-ounce) bag of dried corn husks, which can be found in the ethnic food aisle of many stores or at a local Hispanic grocery store

You’ll need to fill a large pot with warm water and soak the husks until soft and pliable. You can also use banana leaves, but they won’t need to be soaked. Just unthaw them and cut into squares.

2) 1 steamer for tamales, known as a tamalera or vaporera

If you don’t have a steamer, don’t worry. You can use a large covered stockpot and a strainer or colander or bamboo steamer.

3) Tamale dough or masa. To make your own big batch, you will need:

4 pound bag of prepared Maseca Corn Flour (not corn meal)
3 teaspoons ground white pepper
3 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups corn oil
2 quarts pork or chicken broth (many prefer to use the broth leftover from cooking the pork for the filling)

Read the rest after the jump…

Combine the ingredients above until thoroughly mixed. The consistency should be similar to that of creamy peanut butter. This will make a huge batch of masa that yields 8-10 dozen tamales, depending on the size. There is also a different recipe (smaller yield) on the Maseca bag, which I find to be very good. As a third option, you may wish to buy pre-made tamale dough at your local Hispanic grocers, like La Tropicana at 5215 Preston Highway. A 2-pound container will set you back $6.95.

4) A filling. Fillings can range from sweet to savory, including seasoned beef, chile and cheese, shredded chicken, and refried beans, however, the most popular filling for Christmas tamales seems to be spicy pork. For this filling, you will need:

4 to 5 pounds boneless pork shoulder, fat trimmed
1 tablespoon kosher salt
8 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika

In a covered roasting pan, place the pork and one or two cups of water. Season the roast with the remaining ingredients and place on the lowest rack in an oven preheated to 450 degrees. Roast at that temperature for half an hour and reduce the heat to 300 degrees and cook for another four or five hours.

Once the roast pork has cooled, remove the from the pan and pull apart with two forks or your fingers, or else use a food processor to chop the meat. Season it with chopped fresh garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. Since the masa is generally somewhat bland compared to the filling, don’t be afraid to generously season the filling.

Using a spatula or your hands, spread enough of the dough to cover the top 2/3 of one side of the corn husk. You want the masa to have a thickness of about ¼ inch. If you spread the masa too thick, it will be difficult to roll up with the filling; if the layer is too thin, the pork will break through the masa shell.

To put together the tamales, add a tablespoon or so of the meat filling to each one, spreading it evenly down the center of the masa, careful to leave 1/2-inch at the top and bottom, and room on the sides for the masa to close around the meat. Starting with the side covered in masa, carefully roll the tamale and turn the right side over to the center of filling. Fold the left side over the filling, allowing the plain part of husk to wrap around and then fold the top end down over the bottom end.

With the folded side down, stand the tamales upright in a large steamer with the bottom filled with water. Pack the tamales firmly, but not too tightly, given that the dough needs room to expand. Once the pot is full, cover and bring to a boil. Once steam has begun to escape from the pot, reduce the heat to medium and steam for another 20-25 minutes, adding water as needed so the pot doesn’t go dry. Reduce the heat and let the tamales rest and firm up for ten minutes. Unwrap and enjoy with green salad, rice and fresh salsa.

Tamales will keep for two weeks in a zip-lock bag in the refrigerator, and almost indefinitely in the freezer. To serve, zap the thawed tamal in a microwave for 45 to 60 seconds. For a special treat, heat a cast-iron skillet and fry the tamales (with or without the husk) in a bit of vegetable oil.

by David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant

Every year, I bake big batches of multi-sized gingerbread stars and hang them on the tree along with simple red-and-white striped candy canes. As result, the tree always has an informally festive, almost whimsical appearance, and the house smells great.

This year I put up a second tree, and instead of clear lights, I wrapped the Frazier fir with strands of multi-colored bulbs and hung ornaments in different shades of pink and gold. To finish it off, I took wax-paper wrapped pieces of homemade taffy and wired them to the ends of the branches. The tree appears elegant and playful at the same time, and guests are encouraged to help themselves to a piece of candy. It’ll also come in handy as bait when I invite people over to take down the tree on January 6th. But I find that hanging miniature bottles of bourbon from the branches really ensures that I have a crowd to help take down the tree.

I’ve heard some people say they don’t like putting edible things on their tree for fear of attracting ants or other sweet-toothed insects, but I’ve never had a problem with bugs in the many years I’ve been hanging cookies and candy on my trees.

Pets, on the other hand, are a different story.

Read the rest after the jump…

I remember one year I baked dozens of extra-large gingerbread boys and girls. After dusting them with confectioner’s sugar, I hung them all over the 12-footer in the front parlor. The tree looked spectacular and I was very proud of myself, but toward the end of the evening I noticed that some of the gingerbread men hanging from the bottom branches had mysteriously become double amputees. Thinking their legs had just succumbed to the laws of gravity and fallen down into the abyss of presents below, I didn’t think much of their tragic loss until I spied a trail of powdered-sugar foot prints leading into the next room. I followed the track and at its end I found our little schnauzer, Bess, with crumbs and confectioner’s sugar in her beard and a very large grin on her face.

I suppose I could always avoid hanging cookies from the bottom branches – the ones she can reach – but I don’t have the heart. Bess is 15 years old now and every year she looks forward to her Christmas tree. Such is her degree of shamelessness and entitlement now that she doesn’t even bother gently working the gingerbread ornaments off the branches when everyone else has left the room – instead, she brazenly walks up to the low-hanging temptations and snatches them off in full view of all assembled. I guess you could say she’s a little bitch.

Decorate your tree with cookies and your pets will love you. You can also hang doggie biscuits if you’re worried about Fido’s nutritional intake. Forget about the cat, though. Cats and Christmas trees don’t mix. I had to find out the hard way one year when I hung a pair of jingle bells stuffed with catnip from one of the branches. It took days to clean up that mess. Silly me.

Don’t forget about your outside trees, either. Birds love suet balls rolled in seed, but there’s any number of other goodies for winged creatures that you can find in the pet aisle.

Here are some things your human friends might like when you decorate your tree:

• Miniature popcorn balls
• Cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans tied to branches with a bit of gold ribbon
• Strings of cranberry and/or popcorn
• Hard candies wrapped in cellophane such as starlight mints, butterscotch discs or cinnamon lozenges
• Fresh red and green pears
• Clove-studded oranges and tangerines, or lemons and limes (pomander balls)
• Dried fruit such as prunes and apricots
• Whole, unshelled nuts like walnuts or pecans

Use your imagination and chances are, you’ll start hanging edible goodies on your tree for years to come. But don’t be too imaginative. I had a foodie friend who one year hung salamis and other hard sausages from his Christmas tree. Truth be told, it looked sort of gross, not to mention perverted. For that reason, I recommend hanging sweet treats from your holiday tree and no meat products.

Here’s a good website with some Scandinavian-inspired recipes for things to hang on your tree:

Merry Christmas from David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant

When it comes to tamales, you could say it’s a family thing. Every bite becomes a memory of your mother, abuelita, or your favorite aunt, and each smell brings back recollections of long and happy hours in the kitchen preparing the corn batter – known as masa – and creating tiny packets of holiday flavor. You could say the ritual of preparing tamales is as integral to south-of-the-border  festivities as cranberry sauce is to the holiday turkey in the USA. In Hispanic households throughout the region, you can count on the same night-before-Christmas ritual playing out year after year: first, everyone attends a midnight mass and after church, they return home to savor the tamales prepared earlier in the evening. Recipes are passed from one generation to the next, and the tradition lives on.

But, never fear: if there’s no Tia Maria branch in your family tree, you can still enjoy homemade tamales this holiday season. On Saturday, Dec. 13, I’ll be demonstrating the fine art of tamale making in a hands-on class offered at Los Monitos at the Mellwood Center at 1860 Mellwood Avenue from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

We’ll be enjoying a glass of sangria and getting our hands dirty in homemade masa before we put the tamales together and steam them in corn husks and banana leaves. Aside from traditional spicy pork, we’ll be making bean-and-cheese tamales, and either chicken or sweet tamales. Los Monitos students pay $35 for the class, and non-students will pay $40. If you bring a friend or spouse along, they get $10 off the price, so that should average out to around $30 per person. There are still a few openings for the class, so call (502) 893-0933 and reserve your spot now. Check back in a couple of days, and I’ll post some recipes for you. Hope to see you this Saturday at Los Monitos!

by David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant

In the countries that observe it, the Feast Day of St. Nicholas is a time when the saint secretly delivers gifts to good children as they sleep at night on December 5th. Most often, shoes are left out and (hopefully) filled with sweets and small gifts the next morning. Bad kids might find a lump or two of coal, or an old potato or a bundle of sticks.

The story of St. Nicholas begins with his birth in what is now Turkey. After his parents died when he was still young, Nicholas sold his possessions and gave his inheritance to the needy. He became a bishop at a rather young age and gained renown for both his generosity to those in need and his kindness to children.

During this time, many priests and bishops suffered persecution under the Emperor Diocletian, and St. Nicholas was imprisoned. Although he was eventually released, he died later on December 6, 343 AD. The day of his death is celebrated each year in memory of his life and deeds.

Read the rest and peep the tasty recipe after the jump…

In addition to the giving of small gifts and treats, countries around the world celebrate this feast day in a variety of ways. Most involve the telling of tales encouraging children to behave and respect their elders. In France, for example, there is the wonderful and appetizing tale about the two children who wandered away from home and became lost. What happened to them? A butcher lured them to his shop and they ended up packed in a tub of salt. But, thankfully, St. Nicholas intervened and the boys returned home safe and sound in the end, no doubt cured of their wanderlust. Over time, the butcher has evolved as an evil sidekick to St. Nicholas. In France, he is Père Fouettard, who carries switches and threatens children as he follows St. Nicholas around. In Austria, where I used to live, he was known as the Grampus, a hairy, hunched-over, little devil creature who loved to accost passersby with his deadly little bundle of sticks. In Switzerland they call him the Schmutzli.

It was the Dutch who brought the celebration of St. Nicholas Day to America during the early days of the colonization of North America. The Dutch name for St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas, eventually morphed into Santa Claus and the 1822 poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clark Moore, established the time of St. Nicholas’ annual visit as being Christmas Eve in America. Soon thereafter St. Nicholas evolved into the Santa Claus that we all know and love today, complete with his sleigh drawn by eight tiny reindeer.

Given that St. Nicholas Day falls smack dab in the Christmas season, it can be celebrated as a part of the Christmas festivities for the children and adults alike. A visit from St. Nicholas on his horse – his original way of getting around – can give everyone a taste of the big visit from Santa Claus that’s right around the corner. It will also add to the mystery and magic of the season for the children. If you don’t have a horse and old-fashioned cardinal’s get-up, make some gingerbread for your friends and family instead. Here’s my favorite recipe:

CHOCOLATE BOURBON GINGERBREAD

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/4 cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup bourbon
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and continue mixing. Once the molasses has been incorporated, add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Mix the dry ingredients together and add to the butter-and-egg mixture. Add the mustard, vanilla extract, buttemilk and bourbon and mix well. Be careful not to over mix as this will produce a tough cake with air tunnels. Pour the batter into miniature cake pans, a large charlotte or souffle pan that has been buttered and dusted with flour. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes and turn the cake upside down and out of the pan onto a serving plate. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy.

by David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant

Sponsored by the Woman’s Club’s Committee of Culinary Arts, the event starts at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, December 5 and features tastings of favorite dishes from well-known hobby chefs such as Charlie Hawkins, Bob Gunter, Joseph Binca, Travis Miller and arts impresario Bradley Broecker. I’ll be there hawking samples of one of my most popular appetizers – pecan chicken salad canapes – and it should be a good time for all. John Barrett of Woodford Reserve will lead a bourbon tasting, and Rebecca Oliver of Four Graces Winery in Oregon will conduct a wine tasting. Sangria tastings will be provided by Janice and Dennis Watts. There will be live entertainment as well and those attending the “Real Men Can Cook” night will receive a bound collection of the recipes as well. The price is $35 per person, and you can call 634-9437 for more information. In case you can’t make it, here’s my recipe for Pecan Chicken Salad Canapes:

Pecan Chicken Salad Canapes

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped pecans
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 medium shallots, finely diced
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
24 slices of crusty white bread

Combine the chicken, pecans, mayonnaise, shallots and seasonings and mix well. The consistency should be thick and spread-like. (If you like, add more mayo, but I use it as a binding agent here, not as a flavoring agent.) Toast the bread and top each slice with 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture. Garnish with fresh parsley sprigs, slivers of tomato, or pecan halves for a festive touch. Enjoy.

by David Dominé, The Bluegrass Peasant