The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 118

BELGIAN FLAVOR Continued Making good mashed potatoes is an art Our policy it to serve you to as to make a definite contribution to your further success and well being. Every Officer and Employee fully realizes the importance of personalized services, tailor-made to fit your individual needs. PITS ffto Soalr of fYfeedf Service 4rh and troadwoy Berdttaw Rd. at Tayiarsvitt Id. Fifth end Mortal Highland and Baxter MmOM fiM Doil hutraiK CmpmHn Mmfew Hiatal SytlMi it seems a bit foolish to go over the details of fixing them.

But since a male gourmet made the statement that "a cook is only as good as her mashed potatoes," we thought it would be wise to go over some of the details again. Our male informant insists on beating the potatoes after mashing, saying that this increases whiteness as well as improves the flavor. We went a step more with our potatoes and added an egg or two and put them in the oven to brown. That isn't necessary, only we like them that way. But here is the basic mashed potato recipe.

Mashed Potatoes 6 medium-vised potatoes 2 tablespoons butter '12 cup hoi milk 1 teaspoon salt 18 teanpoon pepper 2 eggs (optional) Pare potatoes, cover with boiling water and cook in covered saucepan for about 30 minutes or until tender. Drain. Dry off over very low heat for a few minutes, shaking them constantly. Mash and add butter, milk, salt and pepper. Beat until creamy.

If you use the eggs, beat them in and add at the time you add the seasonings and beat well. Tile on your platter, making a shallow dip in the middle and brown lightly in the oven. The temperature doesn't make too much difference, we use a 375 temperature, but a higher one will not make a whit of difference to the potatoes. Now for a few extras from the detail department. We read, or someone told us, that starting our potatoes to be mashed in cold water and bringing them to a boil, and cooking until tender has great possibilities.

The idea is that the potato cooks all the way through more evenly. Sometimes you know, potatoes become mushy on the outside before they are tender clear through. And again, we say, nature can play tricks on us. She doesn't make potatoes all the same size. One way to get around this is to cut the larger ones to match the smaller ones.

We add hot milk gradually, crushing the potatoes first. You want the potatoes not dry but be careful. Don't transfer the potatoes to a bowl, but beat them right in the pan they were cooked in and then set over hot water to keep them snugly warm through the period of waiting to be served. To give an extra color of brownness, brush the top of the potatoes with an egg yolk beaten with a tablespoon of water per egg. Mashed potatoes always makes me think of a story.

Years ago, the businessmen went home for lunch or perhaps they called it dinner. This one particular businessman was very fond of mashed potatoes. But the idea of a masher or any kind of a beater being used on his mashed potatoes was enough to make his skin creep. This was at a time when man reigned supreme. When he left his place of business, he would call home, and his dear wife would start patiently shaking the kettle of potatoes.

Shake, shake, shake she would go until her husband's horse and buggy would hit the driveway. By this time the potatoes would have been seasoned and just as he liked them. Would you do this shake, shake, shake process rather than using the electric beater, today? Ruth A. Matson, in her "Cooking by the Calendar," wrote about squashes, and in particular about their names. Squashes, she reminds us have such interesting names.

To give you some of them there is cocozelle, cymling, pattypan, scallop, butternut, crook-neck, straightneck and zucchini. Any of these are so tender and delicately flavored, they shouldn't be over-cooked. Pick the ones you can puncture with your thumbnail. Snip off the stem end, and cut them into as little boiling salted water as will keep them from burning. We used the combination of the straightneck yellow (summer) squash and the zucchini.

Cook rapidly, and shake or gently turn the slices for even cooking. The simplicity of serving is what is so good for these two squashes. Many things may be done with them, but we send our vote of melted butter, salt and pepper with a heavy hand on the pepper. We have used a pinch of oregano, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Do your own experimenting with the seasoning, but don't overlook the family of squashes.

The salad is a simple salad. All it is, is a pooled round of cantaloupe with the center filled with pieces of Belgian endive. Serve with a simple, fresh-tasting French dressing which has the addition of a little sugar and much lemon juice. Cherry pie always brings forth verse. Some of them are quite familiar.

This one I picked up and thought you might like this to add to your collection. Thry had a cherry pie Betidei mm currant wine: And every guest brought something That tumptuou they might dine. Again we went to the Belgian Cookbook for the pastry of our cherry pie. It's a tender pastry, something like a cookie pastry. There they call it Pate Sablee, and is very rich.

Pate Sablee or Sand Porte Pastry 14 pound butter 1- 12 cupi flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 14 cup vanilla sugar 2 egg yolks Mix all ingredients together, using fingers, until dough feels like modeling clay. (That's the author's description and it seems so apt to us.) Pat into bottom and 2 inches up on the sides of a 10-inch spring form pan. Fill and bake it 35 minutes at 375. For the true Belgian Tarte aux Cerises, follow these directions. Tarte Anx Cerises 2- 12 pounds sour cherries 1 cup sugar 1 recipe sand torte pastry 14 cup confectioners' sugar Remove pits and stems from cherries.

Tie 12 cup of pits in a small cloth and place in saucepan with cherries. Add sugar and 4 tablespoons water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool.

Discard pits. Drain cherries thoroughly. Save the juice for other needs. Place drained cherries in unbaked sand torte pastry. Bake 35 minutes in a quick moderate oven, 375.

Cherries will look shriveled. Remove outer rim from spring mold. Cool torte. Loosen carefully from bottom of form. Slide gently onto cake platter.

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