New Years Eats 2011-2012

This year's downtown celebration of New Year's Eve has its usual flair, with some pluses and a bit of rearrangement. Called "Opening Night," this event sponsored by the Oklahoma City Arts Council first occurred in 1987 and has progressively grown since then and transverses most all of downtown Oklahoma City from 7 pm through and after midnight. This year, the lighted ball will rise from the rejuvenated Myriad Gardens Grand Lawn at 11:30-midnight capped with a glorious array of fireworks instead of that activity's long-standing location on Broadway south of NW 4th Street, near Kerr Park, shown in the top image. See this Oklahoman article for more information about Opening Night events. For sure, the 4-0 Thunder (currently tied with Miami for best in the NBA at this time) will be playing Phoenix at 7:00 at the Chesapeake Arena and will almost certainly extend their record to 5-0. For sure, Wayne Coyne and the Flaming Lips will perform at the Bricktown Coca Cola Events Center on December 30 and December 31, augmented by Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon, son of John. (The post-concert party for the December 31 Flaming Lips concert has now been relocated to the Okc Public Farmers Market, 311 S. Klein, due to Fire Marshall issues.) And much much more will transpire on New Year's Eve in downtown Oklahoma City.

But, this post is not about Opening Night 2011-2012 events in Oklahoma City. It is about what to EAT on New Years Day — it is about "New Years EATS."

Doug Dawgz Hoppin John   My Mom's Apple Pudding
BLACK-EYED PEAS. This, of course, is the absolute "must do" on New Year's Day, and my personal and spicy recipe may be just what you want:

DOUG DAWGZ HOPPIN' JOHN
Download or open a PDF file for this recipe here
Whatever you do on New Year's Eve, consider this to be Doug Dawgz contribution to your New Year's DAY ... but remember that grocery stores seem to run out of black-eyed peas before December 31 ... so ... buy them early! No, my recipe is not yet "historical," but, trust me, it's damn good and, one day, it will be!

It is rumored that unless you eat black-eyed peas on January 1, January 2 ~ December 31 will not bring good fortune. Why take such a chance? This recipe provides one way to avoid such calamity.
This recipe provides more such risk avoidance than you may want. But, why not just go ahead and make plenty ... share with your family, friends, and office-mates ... excess portions may be frozen for later consumption, like at such time(s) that you may feel you need a boost of good luck!
WHAT YOU NEED A giant pot ... large enough to put a small beagle in ... a pot at least 12-14" in diameter and 12" or more high, with a lid 2 pounds of dried black-eyed peas 3 pounds ham (it doesn't really matter what kind, but if fatty,cut out the fat) 3-4 ham hocks 3-4 large (18-19 oz) cans of tomatoes (depending on how "tomatoey" you want the mix to be — I use 3) 2 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce 3-4 medium yellow onions 4-10 Tabasco peppers (see General Tip — I use 10) ½ -1 tsp. salt (see General Tip) 3-6 tsp. chili powder (see General Tip — I use 5) 2 small or 1 large package of sliced almonds — this is for "crunch" 2 cups of rice(s) of choice (I like to use a mix of white, wild, and brown)		WHAT YOU DO 1. Soak dried black-eyed peas in water as directed on the bag (usually overnight), or at least 2-3 hours prior to cooking (if you like "crunchy" beans). Be sure to drain the beans in a strainer else you may get more "crunch" (and broken teeth) than you desire! (Years back, small rocks were present but less so now.) 2. Mix into the giant pot all ingredients except the rice ... mix the beans, the ham (diced into dimensions that suit you, e.g., about 3/4" square), the ham hocks, the canned tomatoes (including the water, and slicing the tomatoes in the pot), the tomato sauce, the onions (chopped), the Tabasco peppers (finely chopped), the salt, chili powder, and the almonds 3. Stir and add water as needed to cover the mixture 4. Cover & cook on low-medium heat for about 1 hour 5. Add the rice of your choice and continue cooking on low heat until the rice is done ... around 1 hour; if needed, add more water 6. Eat (at least some on January 1) and/or Freeze ... the mixture freezes and saves nicely 7. Other Things ... cornbread is good but not required for good luck.
GENERAL TIP: Seasonings can be added as the mixture cooks ... so, you might want to add less or more than what I've suggested before it's all done ... but, remember that it's easier to add seasonings than it is to get rid of them. This is particularly true for (1) salt, (2) chili powder, and (3) Tabasco peppers! It's quite OK to add as you go, to suit your personal palate!

MY MOM'S APPLE PUDDING. This has nothing to do with good fortune, other than for your taste buds. Once you try this recipe, you may become addicted — it is that good!

      The Background Story. During many of the years after my 1961 high school graduation, I have yearned for some of what my mom simply called "apple pudding" but it's a recipe that she didn't pass along except in my memories. From time to time, I've looked for a recipe that would make this tasty dessert but all my attempts at mimicry failed. On December 26, 2011, I Googled again and found the recipe below (slightly modified here) at Carolyn T.'s http://tastingspoons.com/ archives/92 for her own mom's "Crisp Apple Pudding." Here's why I'm so bold to say that Carolyn T.'s mom's recipe is also my own mom's recipe for the same apple pudding — that and the fact that I've now cooked it and it's just as good as I remembered.

In her own blog page about this recipe, Carolyn T. said:

      I would be ever so negligent if I didn’t post one of my favorite recipes, my mother’s Crisp Apple Pudding. I’ve been making this for as long as I’ve been cooking (that began in 1962). It was written out in my mother’s small recipe journal, something she began when SHE got married in the 1930's, a recipe from her mother. And she passed this recipe on to me when I got married. * * * I believe — but I’m not sure — that this recipe came from a vintage (probably 1930's version) Betty Crocker Cookbook. Or maybe it was a Better Homes & Gardens. Did they publish cookbooks back in the 1930's? I think one time in a used book store I saw a very old, stained copy of one of those books and glanced in it, and sure enough, it looked like this recipe.

My mom, Elizabeth, was also a devotee of one or both of those cookbooks in the 1930s and 1940s and that was the clincher since she probably didn't get recipes from any other cookbooks as far as I'm aware. I'm completely confident that this is the identical recipe used by my mom who would have had one or both cookbooks in the 1930s when my older brothers were born, and, of course, on and after I was born in Oklahoma City 1943 and during my childhood years. Many years later, at the end of 2011, I thank Carolyn T. not only for the taste but for providing another remembrance of my mom via a recipe which both of our moms had in common.

MY MOM'S APPLE PUDDING
Download or open a PDF file for this recipe here

WHAT YOU NEED 1 cup flour 1 cup sugar (or 7/8 cup if desired) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 whole egg, beaten 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg 2 tablespoons butter (salted is better tasting but use unsalted if you're wanting to reduce salt) 1/4 cup water 2 tablespoons sugar 4 large or 5 small cooking apples, peeled & sliced – use firm apples whether tart or semi-sweet as you prefer Makes 6-8 Servings Per Serving, Approximate: 309 Calories; 5g Fat (15.1% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 64g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 46mg Cholesterol; 133mg Sodium

WHAT YOU DO 1.  Preheat oven to 350°. 2.  Spread sliced apples into an 8×8 or similar baking dish (here, a 5 x 9 oval baking dish is used). 3.  Sift together the flour, sugar and baking powder. Add the egg and mix well. Spread this mixture over the top of the apples, spreading evenly. Sprinkle the top with the spices and the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Very important step: Use your fingers to sprinkle the water over the top as evenly as possible (this step makes the top crusty and crisp). Dab the butter on top in small squares, as shown above. 4.  Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the top is brown. Cool for about an hour or until the pudding is at or near room temperature. Servings can be topped with milk, half & half, heavy cream, or other dairy topping. My mom could only afford milk, so that is what she used. And I loved it.

That's it! Enjoy, and Happy New Year!
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New Years 2006

This post should be called New Year's 2006-2007, but I'll know better next time!

Lots of stuff going on in downtown OKC in December ... such as ... "Downtown In December" sponsored by Downtown OKC ...


... not the least of which is the upcoming Devon Energy Oklahoma River Parade on Saturday, December 16:

Click here for River Parade pics like the one below:


BUT NO, this post isn't about those fine goings on right now in OKC.

THIS POST is about New Year's EVE AND New Year's DAY and serves as a reminder that it's time to start planning!

DOUG DAWGZ HOPPIN' JOHN
This recipe was updated in my December 31, 2011, post,
as well as to provide a downloadable PDF file.
Whatever you do on New Year's Eve (2 suggestions follow), consider this to be Doug Dawgz contribution to your New Year's DAY ... but remember that grocery stores seem to run out of black-eyed peas before December 31 ... so ... buy them now! No, my recipe is not yet "historical", but, trust me, it's damn good and, one day, it will be!

It is rumored that unless you eat black-eyed peas on January 1, January 2 ~ December 31 will not bring good fortune. Why take such a chance? This recipe provides one way to avoid such calamity.
This recipe provides more such risk avoidance than you may want. But, why not just go ahead and make plenty ... share with your family and office-mates ... excess portions may be frozen for later consumption, like at such time(s) that you may feel you need a boost of good luck!
WHAT YOU NEED A giant pot ... large enough to put a small beagle in ... a pot at least 12-14" in diameter and 12" or more high, with a lid 2 1-lb. bags of dried black-eyed peas 2-3 lb. ham (it doesn't really matter what kind) 4-6 ham hocks 3-4 large (18-19 oz) cans of tomatoes (depending on how "tomatoey" you want the mix to be) 1-2 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce (ditto the "tomatoey" comment, above) 3-4 medium yellow onions 4-10 tabasco peppers (see General Tip) 1/2-1 tsp. salt (see General Tip) 3-6 tsp. chili powder (see General Tip) 1 package of sliced almonds 2 cups of rice(s) of choice (I like to use a mix of white, wild, and brown)		WHAT YOU DO 1. Soak dried black-eyed peas in water as directed on the bag (usually overnight), or at least 2-3 hours prior to cooking (if you like "crunchy" beans). Be sure to drain the beans ... in a strainer ... else you may get more "crunch" (and broken teeth) than you desire! 2. Mix into the giant pot all ingredients except the rice ... mix the beans, the ham (diced into dimensions that suit you, e.g., about 3/4" square), the ham hocks, the canned tomatoes (including the water, and slicing the tomatoes in the pot), the tomato sauce, the onions (chopped), the tabasco peppers (finely chopped), the salt and chili powder, and the almonds 3. Stir and add water as needed to cover the mixture 4. Cover & cook on low-medium heat for about 1 hour 5. Add the rice of your choice and continue cooking until the rice is done ... up to 1 hour 6. Eat (at least some on January 1) and/or Freeze ... the mixture freezes and saves nicely 7. Other Things ... cornbread is good but not required for good luck but if you really to dazzle your company try out my chocolate ice box pie, inspired by Toddle House's pie of the same name!
GENERAL TIP: Seasonings can be added as the mixture cooks ... so, you might want to add less or more than what I've suggested before it's all done ... but, remember that it's easier to add seasonings than it is to get rid of them. This is particularly true for (1) salt, (2) chili powder, and (3) tabasco peppers! It's quite OK to add as you go, to suit your personal palate!

But ... the night before you pig out on Hoppin' John, two events are available for you to consider ...

OPENING NIGHT

Click for larger pic

Since 1987, the Oklahoma City Arts Council has sponsored Opening Night, a very successful family-oriented celebration of the New Year in downtown OKC. The Arts Council describes the event, generally:

Opening Night 2007 invites everyone to Downtown Oklahoma City on New Year’s Eve to celebrate with music, dancing, theatre and fireworks! Since 1987, Opening Night has been the way to ring in the New Year. All performances take place in non-alcoholic venues.

Opening Night is Sunday, December 31st, 2006 from 7 p.m.-midnight in 13 venues around Downtown Oklahoma City and Bricktown. This year's entertainment features more than 40 performers on 18 stages.

An Opening Night admission button allows you access to all venues, all night long. Buttons are just $8 in advance, and $10 the day of the event, with children under five admitted free. Purchase buttons starting December 13 at MidFirst Bank locations, metro Homeland stores, Mathis Brothers Furniture, or at the event.

For a map of the events, click here. For a list and the venue/times of performers, click here, and for an overall schedule, click here.

CENTENNIAL NEW YEAR'S EVE DRESS BALL

A competing event in OKC this year is the Centennial New Year's Eve Dress Ball sponsored by and located at the Oklahoma History Center at 2401 N. Laird, at the NE corner of the State Capitol Complex. For more about the Oklahoma History Center, see my prior post.

Click for larger pic

Since one can have a "Centennial Ball" only once every hundred years, this one may be hard to pass up, if one can cough up the cash and get some cool duds to wear to it!


This one's more expensive ($75 per person) and either "formal or 1907" attire is requested. If interested, click here for more information.

Most of the festivities will probably be in the event center, below:

Click for larger pic

Doug Dawg wishes A Happy and Prosperous New Year To All!
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Toddle House – Chocolate Ice Box Pie & Hash Browns

Stepping away from the present-day NBA melodrama, I slide back into the sublime – this time reminiscing about the Toddle House (I don't know about Seattle, but this popular nationwide chain was in New Orleans, also, according to http://www.fudcourt.com/loupe009.html).

According to www.atlantatimemachine.com,

Toddle House was formed in 1932 by Fred Smith – his son Frederick Wallace Smith started Federal Express.

To this day, the diner chain is revered by many posters on the internet. For example, from a poster at www.roadfood.com,

As a sailor stationed on board the USS Mississippi home ported in Norfolk in the late 40's and early 50's I would stop at the Toddle House in Norfolk at the end of every liberty. On board our ship we were blessed with eating powdered eggs, for breakfast. My deal was eggs sunnyside up, sometimes 4ea and bacon. They cooked them in a small frying pan in butter then turning them out on the griddle then on your plate. The Toddle house saved me from starving for eggs for 4 years. When I settled in Oklahoma City, there was a little Toddle House on N. Walker about 12th Street. There I discovered chocolate ice box pie!! That was great. I miss the Toddle House.

Toddle House also provided the venue of more serious history. From www.crmvet.org comes this image and description (circa 1963-64) by Danny Lyon, Memories of the Southern Civil Rights Movement, credit Edwynn Houk Gallery:

A Toddle House in Atlanta has the distinction of being occupied during a sit-in by some of the most effective organizers in America when the SNCC staff and supporters take a break from a conference to demonstrate.

As far as I know, Oklahoma City's Toddle Houses were not the the setting of any civil rights sit-ins (but other restaurants were, a post for another day yet to come).

When coming to Oklahoma City for those exhilarating debate trips during 1959-1962, not only did we stay at the Park-O-Tell and eat at the Lincoln Boulevard Chicken-In-The-Rough, when the debate trip destination was Oklahoma City University, we'd also partake of the fine food at the Toddle House diner located on NW 23rd somewhat near the OCU campus on the south side of NW 23rd.

If you are lucky enough to be able to find them, the Vanished Splendor series published between 1982 (Vol I) and 1985 (Vol III) by Abalache Book Shop Publishing Co, Okc, written and assembled by Jim Edwards, Mitchell Oliphant, and Hal Ottaway (as to Vol III) are all incredibly helpful for learning obscure historic detail as to both images and facts. Sad to say, the books are out of print. But, Vol III of the series provides the only image I've been able to locate of this venerable presence of Toddle House in Oklahoma City.

From Vanished Splendor, Vol 3, Item 507, comes this image:


Describing this postcard, Vanished Splendor's text reads:

The “Toddle Houses” were a national chain of small cafes specializing in breakfast. Each tiny outlet was built to the same plan, and contained no tables, but merely a short counter with a row of stools. At one time there were three Oklahoma City locations: 1307 North Broadway, 329 Northwest Twenty-third, and 1221 North Walker. Former customers still remember the fluffy scrambled eggs prepared in a special way. Payment was on the honor system: customers deposited their checks with the correct amount in a box by the door on the way out. In business in Oklahoma City some thirty years, the Toddle Houses closed here in the 1960’s.

Why is this Toddle House significant to me? The answer is simple – its Chocolate Ice Box Pie!!! Oh! If you've not had the privilege of letting this scrumptiously firm-but-creamy pie mesmerize your mouth's taste buds yearning for nirvana, you've missed out on one of the finer experiences (excepting, of course, your husband or bride, children and grandchildren) that you could possibly have had in this or any other lifetime! Well, maybe that's too much hyperbole, but you get my point.

Over the years, I've not been able to locate the "real" recipe (maybe until yesterday, below). I've had to settle with this one which I've fine tuned to make as closely as possible to my taste buds' recollections:

This recipe is for 2 pies (recommended); halve the ingredients for only one pie.

Ingredients

• 2 nine inch pie shells (make your own if you must; but Pillsbury’s are great)
• 2 ½ cups sugar
• 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• ½ tsp. salt
• 5 cups whole milk
• 8 egg yolks
• 6 one-ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate
• 2 tbsp. real butter
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp. almond extract (this is my innovation – probably 2 tbsp. vanilla is more "pure")
• 2 cups of whipping cream

What You Do

• Bake Pie Shells: bake your pie shells in the oven, per the supplier’s recommendations (as said, I like the Pillsbury pie shells – they are nice and flaky); you want the pie shells done by the time the next steps are finished; don’t overcook – you want them to be light-tan, but not more brown than that

• Combine 1st Ingredients: sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, in a medium saucepan

• Combine 2nd Ingredients: in a separate bowl/pan, beat the milk & the egg yolks

• Combine & Heat 1st & 2nd Ingredients: mix them together (using your wooden spoon) in a sauce pan until fairly smooth; stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture becomes thick and at full boil; then, continue stirring and boil for an additional minute; remove from heat

• Add chocolate squares, butter, vanilla and almond extracts: in the same pan, with no external heat, add these ingredients, stirring with your wooden spoon until the chocolate and butter is melted and the mixture is smooth

• Pour Mixture Into Cooked Pie Shells: this is a no-brainer; you might want to use a spatula to make the top of the pies relatively flat, but it’s no big deal; cover the pies with plastic-type-wrap to seal moisture, and put them in the fridge; they need to remain there until they are cold/cool (if you don’t, the whipped cream (next step) will “melt” and you don’t really want that to happen)

Next-To-Last Steps

• Disingenuously Offer Another Person To Lick the Pan: remnants of the mix will still be in the cooking pan; if you’re into being generous, allow someone else to do this, or, if you’re not, lick it yourself – it will be their gain or your loss; this has nothing to do with the recipe

• Whip the Whipping Cream: “real” chocolate ice box pies don’t use “canned” whipping cream – but do what you must; to do the real deal, whip the whipping cream, adding about a teaspoon or a bit more of sugar, with/in your mixer until the whipped cream is “very firm” (not in any way “runny”); cover it with plastic or other wrap and stick in the fridge while the pies cool

• After the pies are cold, remove them and the whipping cream you've made from the fridge; spread the whipping cream over the top of the pies with a spatula; garnish the top, if you like, with curls of raw chocolate (use your potato peeler); cover with plastic or other wrap & stick ‘em back in the fridge.

Important Last Step

• Discourage your company from eating the pies; tell them it is not what you had hoped for, with profound apologies; later, when they're gone, eat the remainder or keep it in a safe place until you are ready to do so.

The above is my recipe. But, yesterday, I found what may be the "original" recipe, I don't know. From www.journalnow.com comes this recipe for the Toddle House Chocolate Ice Box Pie:

Toddle House Chocolate Pie (they left out "ice box" – Toddle House never did)
By Michael Hastings
Journal Food Editor

Suzanne H. Chambers' request for Toddle House Chocolate Pie and Mrs. Harris' Pound Cake prompted a flood of responses from our readers. Judging by the dozens of letters we received, these two are among the favorites printed in the Winston-Salem Journal over the years.

2 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup plus 6 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup cocoa
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ½ pints milk
2 ½ egg yolks
¾ teaspoon vanilla
Baked pastry crusts
Whipping cream

1. Sift together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt into bowl of mixer. On medium speed, add half the milk and mix thoroughly. Add egg yolks; mix thoroughly, being careful that mixture does not foam.

2. Place remaining milk in top of double boiler over boiling water. When milk is scalding hot, add chocolate mixture. Stir with wooden spoon and cook until the consistency of whipped cream is reached.

3. Put in bowl of mixer on medium. Allow to mix (just until combined). Cool. Add vanilla and mix for 5 minutes.

4. Cover with wax paper and completely cool before placing in refrigerator. Use 1 pound and 8 ounces of filling in each pie shell. Top with whipped cream. This should make 2 to 3 pies or more.

I've not tried the above, being quite content with what I've achieved, but there it is for those that want it! I'll probably try it sometime.

Hash Browns

For those of you who might have been taken with Toddle House's hash browns every bit as much as I am with its chocolate ice box pie, here's another recipe I found for that yesterday morning at www.roadfood.com:

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

WSJ Living Food Recipe SwapArchive
Hash Browns 'Toddle House'

By Michael Hastings
Journal Food Editor

The following recipe for hash browns, requested by Charles Eldridge of the Zephyr community near Elkin, was sent in by Cheryl Dinkins of Yadkinville.

Dinkins got the recipe from her stepfather, Bill Johnson, who used to operate the Toddle House restaurant in Winston-Salem. Dinkins said her stepfather told her that the secret is to use prebaked potatoes.

Toddle House Hash Browns
Baking potatoes
Vegetable oil
Paprika
Salt and pepper

1. Bake potatoes. When done and cool enough to handle, peel and dice.

2. In a saute pan over medium heat, put about 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or enough to prevent potatoes from sticking.

3. When oil is hot, measure 1 cup diced cooked potatoes, add them to pan and sprinkle with enough paprika to give them a nice color.

4. Flip and fry potatoes until golden brown. Serve hot with salt and pepper to taste.

Once you've eaten of these sumptuous treats, you may well forget about the Okc-New Orleans-Seattle drama!

Or not!
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