I just realized this is my last day to feature a recipe from the January/February 1981 issue of vintage Cuisine magazine. Where did those months go? It seems the older one gets, time really does fly by in a flash. Here it is almost March. There is still time for a rich and warm savory tart to enjoy for an appetizer or even a dinner. It’s one of those stick-to-the ribs meals because we can almost bet for some colder days ahead, especially here in the Midwest.
In this issue, James Beard award winner Perla Meyers has three delicious menus. Menu One is a Roast Pork Flamande served with broccoli timbales in lemon sauce, salad Provençale, and poached pears in orange sauce. (cover photo) Menu Two is Sautéed Chicken Breasts in Lemon Cream, served with a Mediterranean onion soup, parslied rice pilaf, and apple pudding for dessert. Menu Three is Roast Duck á la Normande, Romaine and Cress Salad, Cabbage and Bacon Tart, and Persimmon Parfait for dessert. I loved the ingredients in the cabbage-bacon tart and decided to make it.
Look how lovely it turned out! It was also delicious.
Yum!
Other recipes and articles in this issue included those from Oaxaca for a tortilla soup, tamales with a mole filling; enchiladas verde; red snapper Veracruz; chilled roast beef; chicken in a pumpkin seed sauce; baked bananas with raisins; and a fresh coconut flan. Marian Burros highlights a traditional Italian dinner recipe from Guiliano Bugialli starting with crostini, pasta with four cheeses, veal shanks in a white wine sauce with arborio rice, steamed cauliflower in wine; and a pear tart.
An innovative Seafood Choucroute dinner from Barbara Conwell features crudités and ripe aged Munster cheese; sauerkraut with fish; French and dark rye breads; and Alsatian apple tart. Another menu is a rustic Alsatian Choucroute dinner with a shrimp and leek salad; a mix of kielbasa, bratwurst, pork loin, and bockwurst, with small new potatoes; and a molded caramel custard for dessert.
There are New York, Boston, Houston, Chicago, and Canadian restaurant specialty recipes to make at home like a Bloody Mary Soup, veal, fish, pasta, lamb, pork, and delectable Polish doughnuts that are heavy on the cream and citrus. The last article is all about international cooking of lentils by Barbara Karoff, with recipes like Egyptian lentil soup; Lebanese lentil soup; Armenian lentil salad; lentils with ham; lentils with pasta; and curried lentils.
This issue has an abundance of recipes, all waiting to try. Where to begin? How about the cabbage and bacon tart?
- 9"-by-2" Tart Shell (or your favorite recipe)
- 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- Pinch salt
- ¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into ½" pieces
- 4 to 6 Tablespoons ice water
- 1 small head cabbage (about 2 pounds), quartered
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ pound slab bacon, finely diced
- ½ cup finely minced onion
- Salt
- Ground white pepper
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup shredded Swiss cheese
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Make Tart Shell: Combine the flour and pinch of salt in a large bowl. Cut in cold butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually add ice water, mixing with a fork, just until mixture cleans sides of bowl. Gently gather into a ball; roll around on floured surface to coat lightly. Refrigerate, wrapped in plastic wrap, 30 minutes or longer. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into a ⅛" thick circle. Roll pastry onto the rolling pin, and unroll into a 9-by-2- inch tart pan. Gently press into pan without stretching, then roll pin over pan to remove excess dough. Pierce bottom in scattered places with a fork; refrigerate 10 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line pastry with foil, then fill with dried beans or rice to prevent shrinking and puffing up. Bake on a baking sheet for 10 minutes. Remove foil and beans; then return to oven and bake until pastry is crisp and golden, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack and set aside.
- For Filling: Discard outer leaves of cabbage. Cook quartered cabbage pieces in boiling salted water over medium heat, partially covered, until crisp-tender, about 20 minutes. Melt butter in large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add bacon; sauté until browned but not crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon. Drain off all but 2 Tablespoons of drippings; add onion and sauté until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Return bacon to pan.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. When cabbage is cooked, drain, core and cut into thin shreds. Measure 3 cups of the shredded cabbage and add to bacon-onion mixture. Cook, covered, over low heat until the cabbage is quite limp, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and white pepper. Beat eggs and cream together in medium bowl until pale yellow.
- Spread cabbage mixture in prepared tart shell; sprinkle with Swiss and Parmesan cheeses. Pour in cream mixture. Bake until custard is set and top is browned, about 30-35 minutes. Cool on wire rack 20 minutes before serving. Serves 6-8.
Sounds delicious but then I love cabbage, and yes,bacon, too. Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to try it. Tasty cooking makes for a happy home!! Blessings.
Agree, Kim. Thanks for writing.