The Two Fat Ladies became the darlings of TV cooking-show-watchers for their acerbic wit and outspoken defense of fine foods. The pair ranged around England on a motorcycle with sidecar, searching out the best ingredients to cook for delighted guests.
Jennifer Paterson, the motorcycle driver with neon-red lipstick and dark-rimmed glasses, died of cancer last August.Having spent her 71 years basking in the pleasure of both cooking and eating, she carried on in the hospital in exactly the manner her friends and fans expected from this feisty woman.
Patricia Llewellyn, TV producer of "The Two Fat Ladies," writes that Paterson served whisky and champagne to visitors and urged friends to send food, not flowers, so she might avoid hospital cuisine.
Registered as Lady Vita Circumference to avoid the curious, she held court in her room, offering caviar sent by well-wishers. When Prince Charles forwarded soup and ice cream from his organic farm at High Grove, Paterson stewed over whether she should return the Prince's Tupperware containers or keep them, Llewellyn writes.
While in the hospital, Paterson completed voice-overs for four new "Fat Ladies" programs, scheduled to appear beginning in April on the Food Network cable channel. The new segments, called "Two Fat Ladies Obsessions" has a companion cookbook of the same name in stores now (Potter, $30). Llewellyn provides the preface.
In the cookbook, Paterson and partner-in-cooking Clarissa Dickson Wright trade chapters, writing about and providing 150 recipes for 34 of their all-time favorite ingredients.
Ranging through salt, mustard and chile peppers, through snails, eels and the roe of various fishes, the reading of the 34 chapters is easily as much fun as the cooking and eating.
For the mainstream diner, there also are chapters on pasta, chicken, olives, lemons, coffee and apples. Every chapter begins with an essay that positively drips with the passion one or the other of the ladies feels for the subject at hand.
One chapter -- "Beef on the Bone" -- rings a bit odd to the American ear. But Britain's government banned the sale of beef with bones in the wake of the mad-cow disease business, and the ladies were not happy.
"Here in the UK, the Labor government banning on beef on the bone in 1998 not only hardened my stance against Mr. (Tony) Blair's so-called Socialist government, but it also made me realize how important beef on the bone was to me," writes Ms. Wright.
Selecting recipes was no easy assignment. Skipping the chapter on variety meats, with its recipe for Steak and Kidney Pie -- which I made once and vowed never to make again -- was no problem. But there is so much to like in the pages of "Two Fat Ladies Obsessions."
Finally, I settled on recipes with a decidedly forward-looking feel, season-wise. And why not? It feels good to look to spring, with its beautiful asparagus and lamb, and summer, with the glory of raspberries.
For the chapter on cream, Ms. Paterson noted that the rich product was widely consumed in Tudor, Stuart and Elizabethan times, in trifles, fools and white pots, as well as clotted, a particularly English manifestation, on scones and berries and fruits of all sorts.
Her recipe for Scrambled Eggs and Smoked Salmon makes sumptuous use of cream, resulting in a grand weekend breakfast or cozy supper, even though this dish was "at one time very popular as a dinner party first course, but now, sadly, seems to have lost favor."
Heavenly Rice With Spinach turns white rice into a I'll-have-seconds side dish or a vegetarian main course. Fresh Parmesan and toasted pine nuts add extra layers of flavor and texture.
Ms. Paterson also wrote the homage to lamb. When she roasted a leg of lamb, she avoided the traditional mint jelly. She opted instead for chopped fresh mint leaves, an accompaniment worth trying.
Navarin Printaniere, French for "rich spring lamb stew," also from Ms. Paterson, embraces a virtual garden of spring vegetables -- pearl onions, new potatoes, tiny turnips and carrots, plus green beans and peas.
Lamb meat -- a cut of your choice, or a combination -- is browned on high heat and then given a coating of sugar to caramelize before being slow-cooked. The stew requires several steps, but it makes a large pot and is a dish that will readily be welcomed for return appearances.
Ms. Wright waxes poetic over walnuts, offering a time-consuming but elegant recipe for walnut-filled crepes.
Much simpler is Ms. Wright's berry obsession. Though she finds strawberries agreeable, "my true love is the raspberry. ... .They join asparagus, gull eggs and the first lobster as the highlights of my year," she writes.
She has a real way with these berries. Raspberry and White Chocolate Mille-Feuilles (tiny layers) can be made in a hurry with purchased puff pastry and the freshest berries you can find. Heed her instructions when melting the white chocolate, which can be more touchy than semi-sweet baking chocolate. --
Though she has gone, Paterson leaves quite a legacy with her work.
She and Wright have given us great pleasure with their TV program and have produced three other cookbooks.
SCRAMBLED EGGS AND SMOKED SALMON
8 fresh eggs
1 cup whipping cream, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
6 to 8 ounces smoked salmon
20 or so fresh asparagus tips, cooked
Chopped fresh chives
If you plan to incorporate the salmon into the eggs, dice it and set aside. The salmon may also be sliced thinly and arranged at one side of a serving dish. Dicing and incorporating makes for a wonderful flavor; serving on the side makes for a dandy presentation.
Gently warm 1/2 cup of cream. Set aside. Beat the eggs with the remaining 1/2 cup of the cream, plus salt and pepper to taste. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium to medium-high heat and add the eggs. Cook, stirring constantly, until the eggs are beginning to thicken. Add the diced salmon if you are incorporating it with the eggs. Cook for another minute or two, being careful not to overcook. Spoon the eggs onto a warmed serving dish. Pour warmed cream over them and garnish with asparagus spears and chopped chives. Serve immediately.
Note: For the asparagus, break off the top 3 to 4 inches of each spear. Reserve remainder of spear of another use. Arrange tips in a single layer in a skillet or wide-bottomed pan. Add about 1/2 inch of boiling water; cover pan and quickly bring back to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer 6 to 10 minutes. Or microwave in a casserole dish with just the water left from washing the asparagus, for 4 to 8 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the size of the stalks. Asparagus should be tender, with at least a hint of a crunch. Drain asparagus and place in a skillet with 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat to keep warm. Yield: 4 servings. By Jennifer Paterson.
HEAVENLY RICE WITH SPINACH
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 cups long-grain rice
5 tablespoons butter
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium onions, minced
2 pounds fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 teaspoon each salt, pepper
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Toast pine nuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden brown. Set aside.
Cook rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet, add garlic and onions; sauté 5 minutes or until onions are soft. Add spinach with salt and pepper and sauté until spinach wilts. Add chicken stock and cooked rice. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the rice is steaming hot. Stir in Parmesan and pine nuts. Yield: 8 servings. By Clarissa Dickson Wright
WALNUT CREPES
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
Pinch salt
1 cup carbonated water
Clarified unsalted butter for cooking
4 to 6 tablespoons light cream
2 tablespoons rum
2 3/4 cups ground walnuts
1/3 cup raisins, chopped
1 teaspoon orange zest
Mix together eggs, flour, milk, 1 teaspoon of sugar and salt to make a smooth batter. Let batter rest for 1 to 2 hours.
Stir carbonated water into the batter just before cooking. Heat an 8-inch crepe or frying pan. When pan is hot, add 1/4 teaspoon clarified butter and heat it, tilting the pan so butter covers the bottom. Pour in about 2 tablespoons of batter and gently tip and twist the pan so that the batter covers the bottom completely. When top of crepe bubbles, turn it over and cook 4 to 5 seconds longer. Remove cooked crepe. As they're made, stack with waxed paper between.
For filling: Bring cream to a simmer and add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, rum, walnuts, raisins and orange zest. Simmer over very low heat for 1 minute. Adjust texture by adding more cream or more ground walnuts.
Put a heaped teaspoon of filling in the center of each crepe. Fold in half, then in half again; sauté the folded crepes in clarified butter in a large shallow pan for a few minutes on each side. Arrange crepes, overlapping, on a warm serving dish.
Note: Crepes may be served with powdered sugar or chocolate sauce. To make Quick Orange Sauce, combine 1 cup of thawed frozen orange-juice concentrate, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons light rum and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Heat to dissolve sugar; drizzle warm sauce over crepes. Yield: About 24 crepes. By Clarissa Dickson Wright
RASPBERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE MILLE-FEUILLES
1 pound frozen puff pastry
12 ounces white chocolate
2 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped
3 pints raspberries
Powdered sugar for sprinkling
Thaw puff pastry according to package directions.
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to a large rectangle and trim to 18 by 12 inches. Cut into three strips, each measuring 12 by 6 inches. Place each pastry strip on a baking sheet and leave to stand for 10 minutes. This is important, because puff pastry bruises easily and the standing time allows it to recover from the rolling out. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake the pastry for 15 to 20 minutes or until it is well risen and golden brown. Cool on wire racks.
Break up the white chocolate if it is in bar form. Gently melt the white chocolate, either in a bowl set over simmering water (the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl) or in a microwave. To microwave, put white chocolate pieces in an absolutely dry microwave-safe bowl. Using low power, microwave for 1 1/2 minutes, then stir. Continue microwaving on low in 30-second increments, stirring after each. When white chocolate is melting but still has some lumps, finishing melting by stirring, allowing the melted chocolate to melt the remaining little pieces. White chocolate burns very easily so be careful with it.
Assemble the mille-feuilles by placing one pastry rectangle on a plate and pouring a third of the white chocolate over it. Spread with a third of the whipped cream and add a layer of raspberries. Repeat the layering with the other two pastry rectangles, arranging the last of the raspberries in a pretty pattern on top. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar.
Cut into 6 pieces to serve.Yield: 6 servings. By Clarissa Dickson Wright.
NAVARIN PRINTANIERE
3 pounds boneless lamb
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt, black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
2-1/2 cups lamb or beef stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 plump garlic cloves, minced
Fresh rosemary sprigs
2 bay leaves
12 small pearl onions
12 new potatoes, peeled
12 baby turnips, quartered
12 young carrots, quartered
2 cups green beans, cut into 3-inch pieces
1-1/2 cups shelled peas
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
You may mix lamb cuts if you wish. Remove excess fat and hard bits of skin. Bones may be added to stew for flavor and removed before serving. Cut lamb into 2-inch pieces; blot with paper towels.
Heat olive oil in a big skillet until very hot, then brown lamb cubes rapidly on all sides. Do not crowd pan, but brown a few pieces of lamb at time, removing them with a slotted spoon into a waiting flameproof casserole. When all lamb has browned and is in the casserole, sprinkle with the sugar and toss over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the sugar has caramelized. Season with salt and pepper and add the flour. Toss and cook to brown the flour, mixing it well with the lamb.
Remove any fat from skillet, then pour in stock. Bring to a boil, scraping any goodies from the pan as you do so. Pour over lamb in the casserole. Add tomato paste, garlic, herbs and, if necessary, additional stock or water just to cover the meat. Bring to simmering point; then cover and cook for 1 hour. If you prefer, you may cook the lamb in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes.
Pour contents of the casserole into a colander or large strainer set over another pan. Remove any bones and return the meat to the rinsed-out casserole. Skim fat from the stewing liquid, season to taste and pour back over the lamb.
Cut a cross on base of each onion; add to casserole with potatoes, turnips and carrots and mix with lamb and sauce. Bring contents of the casserole to a boil; then lower heat, cover and simmer until everything is cooked, about 45 minutes.
Prepare the beans and peas by dropping them into a pan of boiling water and cooking 5 minutes; drain and rinse under cold water. Add them to the lamb stew 5 minutes before serving. By Jennifer Paterson in "Two Fat Ladies Obsessions."
Carole L. Philipps is home editor of the Cincinnati Post.