| A favor, please! We are thrilled to announce that The Classic Catering People has once again been nominated for The Baltimore Sun’s Readers’ Choice Awards! Thanks to our incredible team members, clients, vendors, venues, and the entire community, we were honored to be voted Baltimore’s Best in the 2022 & 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards. We deeply appreciate everyone who voted for us and helped us achieve this recognition. It is truly a team effort, and we are forever grateful to all those who support us along the way. We hope to keep this streak going and continue to serve you with excellence and dedication.We would be so grateful if you could vote for us and your other Baltimore favorites. You can vote every day until June 7th at 5:00 pm. Thank you for being an essential part of our journey!  Looks like what?! The story of glass gem corn transcends far beyond the hype of the online community. The corn with its rainbow-colored, opalescent kernels which resemble glass beads became an internet sensation 12 years ago. The three to eight inch ears are stunning, the ultimate ornamental and edible as well, popped or ground into meal. Like tickets for a Taylor Swift concert, the available seed packets quickly sold out when its picture went viral and buyers were found reselling the precious seeds for inflated prices. Glass gem corn was developed by Oklahoma farmer and corn breeder, Carl White Feather Barnes. Barnes was part Cherokee and a gifted seed selector and saver. While experimenting and growing some older types of corn, he recognized that some of his plants matched the ancestral varieties that had vanished from the crops of the Native tribes who had been relocated to Oklahoma. Discovering these seeds renewed a piece of cultural identity for the tribes. Asked where the seeds came from, Barnes replied “Spirit”. He believed that “the seed remembers” and carries within it language and story. Seed selection and saving was once common practice and as a result genetic diversity was abundant. But during the 1900’s, agricultural practices changed and crop diversity drastically dwindled. Of the 307 corn varieties that were available for purchase in 1903, only 12 cultivars were present in the USDA seed bank 80 years later. The story of the glass gem corn begins with a man looking for his roots and listening and practicing a tradition. It continues with a renewal. And awe. And an invitation to rejoin a practice of connection to land, community and natural diversity. That’s a “sensation” we hope is here to stay.  Tastes like what?! Plants tend to do the darnedest things which is how this strange fruit earned its name the miracle berry. The oval-shaped fruit grows on an evergreen bush that originates in West Africa. Its flesh is mildly sweet and its seed is discarded. When eaten, a protein in the fruit appropriately named miraculin transforms sour flavors into sweet for sometimes as long as one hour. The miracle berry is known worldwide and many cultures have their own relationship with it. In West Africa, locals used the berry as a sweetener and for medicinal purposes. In the United States, the FDA has labeled it a food additive and while it is legal to grow it, its commercial success is currently unlikely because of issues of perishability and various lobbying interests, even though it is grown commercially in Japan and Taiwan. The medical world has experimented with the berry’s potential to help patients with diabetes or undergoing chemotherapy. It is also a source of vitamins C, A and E as well as essential amino acids. On a lighter note, the culinary curious have chronicled their miracle berry tasting events or “flavor tripping” parties with a flight of sour foods transformed into sweet tasting treats. Unfortunately, we have no first-hand experience with the berry to share nor plans to feature it on our menu anytime soon. Still, when life hands you lemons you might do well to remember the transformative power of the miracle berry.  |
From Our Library, Harriet’s Book Picks: My Life in Recipes: Food, Family and Memories by Joan Nathan  Joan Nathan’s My Life in Recipes Food, Family and Memories combines memoir and cookbook doubling the bounty of her fascinating new book which spans her lifetime and includes partial histories of her and her husband Alan’s European ancestors. Nathan believes that her early memories of food were a love language and that our food traditions shape who we are. This book is her “attempt to show how a meaningful life can be led through pursuing, tasting, testing and sharing recipes.” Each recipe in the book is inspired by a memory, a meeting or Nathan’s extensive travels. Starting with the Old World of her grandparents and her childhood homes in New York and Rhode Island, her story includes her time living in Paris, Israel, Cambridge, Martha’s Vineyard and Washington DC. Her research and insatiable curiosity connected her with people around the world, food celebrities, writers, politicians and locals with a story to share. David Ben-Gurion, Marilyn Monroe, Diana Kennedy, M.F.K Fisher and Julia Child share space in the book with Sara Yaech, a Cuban woman who published a book on eggplants and Marg Mraz and her spreadable Champlain honey. Likewise, the over 100 recipes range from the familiar such as one pot chicken matzo ball stew and black and white cookies to the lesser known like Vietnamese morning glory salad and Turkish celery root albondigas. My Life in Recipes is a big book in pages (over 400) and in scope. The chapter names are stops on a productive life filled with love and meaning, family, food and an adventurous quest to share knowledge and traditions, pausing along the way to break bread with friends new and old. Joan Nathan’s latest book is a heartfelt narrative, full of appealing recipes and culinary traditions from around the world. Summer Reading Bonus:    My reading pile often includes a healthy dose of mystery novels especially when the locale is set in an upcoming travel destination. Not surprisingly, some of my favorite series feature food obsessed protagonists. If you want to pack your beach provisions with a few tasty reads, I recommend a few of my favorite authors and their insatiable sleuths. Food is so essential in these series, that all three series have produced cookbooks. Martin Walker’s Bruno, Chief of Police series is set in a small village in the south of France. Bruno always finds time for a fine meal and it is impossible to not crave the breakfasts and dinners this amateur chef whips up in his kitchen with produce from his garden and seasonal provisions from his friends at the local farmers market. Inspector Salvo Montalbano is Andrea Camilleri’s crime solver in Sicily and appreciates a fine meal with a sense of reverence that touches on the spiritual. Lastly, Louis Penny’s Inspector Gamanche’s enjoyment of food is legendary as is that of the small community of villagers that live in Three Pines. The local bistro is a star in its own right with its inviting fireplace and its uncanny knack for serving just what you want to eat. The series’ fans include well-known cookbook author, Dorie Greenspan, who created a cookie for Gamanche after meeting Louise Penny in Paris when she was researching the city for her novel All The Devils are Here. Cheers to taking the time to read and relax and savor the summer. From our Kitchen: Crab Fluff Chef Rebecca Ellers One of my favorite summer memories is crabbing with my family on the Eastern Shore. We loved spending those sunny days on the dock, catching crabs and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. Steaming the crabs with corn was always a treat, but our absolute family-favorite was our friend’s recipe for crab fluff. The taste of it brings back all those wonderful summer days and the joy of being together. There’s nothing quite like savoring that delicious crab fluff with a cold iced tea and corn on the cob. Ingredients: Crab Ball1 pound lump crab meat1 cup mayonnaise1/2 cup plain bread crumbs2 tsp yellow mustard2 tsp Worcestershire1 egg2 tbsp minced parsley Fluff 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp Old Bay 2 eggs 2 tsp mayonnaise About 1 cup milk Oil for frying Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain crab, remove moisture by gently squeezing the meat. Add mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, minced parsley, yellow mustard, Worcestershire and egg and mix together. Add 1/2 To 3/4 cup of crab at a time. Combine gently with your hands, try to keep the lumps intact. Form crab balls by gently rolling & tossing the crab meat with your hands. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 400 degrees. To brown the tops, place under broiler for 1-2 minutes. For the fluff batter:In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and Old Bay. Combine eggs and mayonnaise in a small bowl.Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Slowly stir in milk until the batter is the consistency of pancake batter. Coat crab balls with batter one at a time. Drop gently into oil heated to 325 degrees. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until brown. When done place on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce if desired. Click here to print the recipe. |
June 1, 2024
June 2024: Sensational
