Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 49

-s -t --J -rr I COURIER-POST SUM GOURMET 7D WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1985 In the Ferrari household, the specialties are Italian ajigg For the Courier Post "My mother's blueberry muffins became famous through Captain Noah (W. Carter Mer-breier)," says Larry Ferrari. "She once made him a batch of them and he liked them so much, he talked about them on his Captain Noah program." Ferrari, television organist and musical director for WPVI Channel 6 for 31 years, lives with his mother, Colomba, in Cinnaminson. "Idoalotof Italian cooking, but not as much as I did when I lived in Italy because Larry tries to make sauce and meatballs, and he eats that, but no spaghetti." Colomba Ferrari, who is from Gravago, Italy, and her late husband, James, were married in 1928 and settled in Boston. Although her husband was a chef at the Locke-Ober restaurant in Boston, Colomba Ferrari said her older sister taught her to cook.

"WE'REOFNORTHERNItalianextraction; and for many year, the only place I could get real Northern Italian cooking was at home," Larry Ferrari explains. "I've always enjoyed the foods, because they have a lighter taste. That part of Italy is close to the borders of Switzerland and France, so some foods such as sauces are lighter, as they are in those two countries. "The foods I've grown to like over the years are more in the French style. For instance, manypeoplelikevealparmagiana.Tome,ithas a great taste, but I think with all the cheese and tomato sauce on it, you take away the original taste of the veal.

Northern Italian cooks pound the veal very flat and thin, bread it lightly, cook it and squeeze on fresh lemon. That's how we enjoy veal." WHEN COLOMBA FERRARI prepares vegetable soup, one ingredient is her homemade pasta. The vegetables are generally steamed. She often adds tiny meatballs that have been made ahead and then frozen for use in soups or other recipes. When Colomba Ferrari makes SOUTH JERSEY COOKS Colomba Ferrari meatball soup, she includes escarole, one of her favorite vegetables for both nutrition and flavoring.

"Mom specializes in making a torte which she fills with rice.spinach or potato," Larry Ferrari says. "She has also filled it with little pieces of ham, beef or salami. It's a traditional recipe she learned from her sister." "I cook potatoes first and mix in a little milk and two eggs," Colomba Ferrari says. "Then I combine onions and sometimes chopped Italian rypan until just brown. I make the dough and fill it with the potatoes.

I brush the top of the torte with egg. Then I bake it in a large pizza pan for 20 minutes at 400 degrees." DURING OPEN HOUSE gatherings, Colomba Ferrari serves guests in the downstairs music room, which Larry Ferrari decorated. Over the brown crushed-velvet sectional sofa hang framed album covers of Ferrari recordingsmade between 1955 and 1 982, all of them gifts from a friend. The music room is dominated by a traditional walnut Hammond Elegante organ that is the heart of the Ferrari household. "I play every evening for fun and practice," Larry Ferrari says.

"This organ is the same as the one I play on my show on Sunday mornings. It combines pop, classical and theater sounds." When Larry Ferrari entertains friends in the music room, one of the most popular hors d' oeu vres his mother serves is a quick and easy to prepare party bread. "I use a loaf of small rye or pumpernickel bread and spread cheese on each slice," says Colomba Ferrari. "Then I mix together fresh parsley, slices of onion, mayonnaise and a little mustard and spread that on the bread. I put the Please see AT HOME, Page 5D 1 v.t' -v 'mm--ffh if i 7S fc K- Courier-Post photo by Curt Hudson Channel 6 organist and musical director Larry Ferrari tries a piece Potato What does your fruit bowl reveal about personality? One psychologist would find it significant that there are no bananas here.

If you'd rather buy luxuries over necessities and tend to be extravagant, then you have a grape personality. If most of the time, you tire easily and lack the coordination for sports, then you have a banana personality. If you are persistent at what you start, then you have an orange personality. If you have a high sex drive, then you have an apple personality. In the following Fruit Bowl Quiz, Vickl Gerson pairs a person's favorite fruit with the core of his or her personality.

It's fun to take and may give you some Insight into your own behavior. By VICKI GERSON Special to the Courier-Post A British psychologist, Jane Firbank, has been conducting clinical studies on how people's food choices relate to their personalities. After 10 years of research, she has recently paired a person's favorite fruit with the core of his or her personality. Here is a true-false quiz that is fun to take andcanhelpyou determine whether you have a grape, banana, orange or apple personality. 1.

You like to be pampered. 2. You like to do the chasing in a relationship. 3. Most of the time, you tire easily and lack the coordination for sports.

4. You consider yourself to be a creative, perceptive person. 5. You're hopeful that you can cut a secure, safe path for yourself in life. 6.

You're only happy when you have attention, warmth and support. 7. You recognize the fact that you have a low sex drive. TF 8. You like to look at life optimistically.

9. You find life very boring. TF 10. You'd rather buy luxuries over necessities and tend to be extravagant 11. You have powerful intuition and are aware of other people's needs.

12. You cant stay involved in a career that requires a lot of study. 13. You are persistent at what you start. Old-fashioned tricks for the perfect angel food cake Torta made by his mother, Colomba.

BY THE BOOK Soups or stews can add flavor to any meal By ANITA SAMA Gannett News Service For years, Bernard Clayton's books on bread have been cookingstandanis. Too often, though, when someone becomesa recognizedexpert in a field, they are typecast. Not Clayton. He not only wrote the definitive bread books, he's now produced their ideal accompaniment in "The Complete Book of Soups and Stews" (Simon and Schuster, With the same interesting narrative, he describes 250 soups and 50 stews. They range from the delicacy of clarified consomme to the peasant heartiness of Tuscan minestrone.

A meal can start with the tangy avgelemeno of Greece and end with the sweet chocolate soup from chocolate's capital Hershey, Pa. Clayton seems to have found every soup imaginable. Hiscollectionof stews is less impressive, but since many of the soups have a whole-meal capability, the balance seems even. The marvel of his recipes is their organiza tion. Each begins with a list of ingredients, description of special equipment, if needed, and then, at the left of the recipe, the time needed for each step.

With this method, a cook can look ahead and plan either a whole day or at the very least the whole meal. SINCE THE RECIPES are so well organized, the results are usually delicious. No wonder his books are favorites. Who can argue with someone when he makes you look so good in the kitchen? It's worth having this on the shelf soup is always appropriate, either to makean ordinary meal special or to be a meal in itself. Because it is truly "Complete," Clayton's Book of Soups and Stews is the only soup book you'll ever need.

The vinegar in this lentil soup sharpens the taste of the lentils and rescues them from the muddiness some people don't like. Lentil Soap pound slab lean bacon, in H-inch dice 1 cup each, finely chopped: rutabaga, carrots, celery, onions, leeks Salt, if desired (use sparingly the meat will contribute saltiness later) 2 cups pound lentils, washed, picked over 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 6 cups chicken stock 6 cups beef stock Sachet d'epice (1 clove, 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 crumbled bay leaves, teaspoon black peppercorns, teaspoon thyme leave, teaspoon majoram leaves, teaspoon savory leaves, tied in cheese cloth) 6 parsley stalks tied with string 1 meaty ham bone or 2 ham hocks pound smoked sausage, cut up, to garnish cup finely chopped fresh chives. Dice the bacon and put into a large (5- to 6-quart) soup pot Cook the bacon over medium heat to release the fat and crisp the pieces, about 8 minutes. Don't let them burn. Beginning with the rutabaga, peel and chop Pleas see SOUPS.

Page 4D 14. Most of the time, you thrive on competition, but you possess plenty of self-discipline. TF 15. You prefer convenience to decor. 16.

You have a high sex drive. 17. You are prone to jealousy, but you hate clinging partners. 18. Usually, you participate in sports and have lots of hobbies.

19. Your main goal is happiness and personal fulfillment 20. You are a dynamic, driven-to-succeed individual who hates personal failure. Special to the Courier-Post Angel food cake is an enduring standard that grandmother probably served regularly. With its simple formula that uses no shortening, the cake is quickly mixed, easy to bake and, gussied up with a few decorating tricks, it can take pride of place on any dessert tray.

Here are some hints for successful angel food cake from Edward Bradley, head of the educational department at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. All mixing utensils and pans must be spotless. Whip theegg whites toa sof peak (mixture should drop slightly from a finger) with a clean whisk. Do not overheat egg whites or cake may collapse. Use cake flour and fine sugar for best results.

1 4 (about 70 degrees). Scoring: If you answered true to questions 1 8, 9, 1 0, 12; you have a grape personality. If you answered true to questions 3, 5, 6, 7, 11; you have a banana personality. If you answered true to questions 4, 13, 14, 18, 19; you have an orange personality. If you answered true to questions 2, 15, 16, 17, 20; you have an apple personality.

Analysis: A grape with a sensation of taste and juiciness, and only a hint of texture, gives maxi-Please see A FRUIT. Page 5D Basic Angel Food Cake 13 egg whites at room temperature 5V4 teaspoons finely granulated sugar I3) teaspoons cream of tarter Vt teaspoons salt teaspoons vanilla flavoring 1 cup cake flour 1 Vfe cups finely granulated sugar stage, taking care not to over beat. Blend together the first sugar, cream of tarter and salt. Add the mixture carefully to the egg whites and beat until the medium-peak stage is reached. Add the vanilla while beating.

Sift the cake flour and second sugar together. Add gradually to the beaten egg white, folding in gently so that no volume is lost Pour the mixture into an ungreased tube pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes. The top should spring back when touched. Remove the pan from oven and invert, but DO NOT remove the cake from pan until it has cooled. Makes one 10-inch cake.

Chef Bradley suggests these variations on the themeof angel food cake, guaranteed to provide star dressing for this favorite. Coconut Angel Sprinkle 2 ounces shredded, toasted coconut around the sides and on top of the baked cake. Lemon-Lime Angel Add the zest and juice of 2 lemons and 2 limes to the batter. Berry or Cherry Angel Stir 2 ounces coarsely chopped cherries or sliced strawberries into batter. When baked, frost with buttercream or whipped cream and decorate with berries.

Rainbow Angel Color one quarter of the batter pink, one yellow, one green and leave the remaining quarter white. Spoon alternate colors into tube pan fwr a variegated effect Daf od il Angel Hold back some of the white batter. Fold in 2 or 3 egg yolks and drop alternate spoonfuls of white and yellow batter into the pan. (Information for this story is reprinted by permission from Taste Magazine. publication of the Culinary Institute of America 1 rf' WtiKftS4 Sprinkle a little cold water in pan then shake it out before filling and baking.

Before pan goes in oven, bang it lightly on a flat surface to knock out any excess air. Pourbatterintoungreasedpansandplace in a preheated oven as quicky as possible after mixing. Invert thecake and pan immediately after removing from oven. Lea veovernight, if possible, to reduce shrinkage. Remove the cooled cake by tapping the bottom of the inverted pan.

Theshape and plain textureof angel food cake gain new zest and flavor with the addition of fruit grated nuts, or a bit of fruit-flavored liqueur, says Chef Bradley. "Try baking sections of different colors for a rainbow effect," suggests Bradley. "Then slather on a thick buttercream or whipped cream and top with strawberries or any other fruit in season. There's no end to the possibilities, so go ahead and have fun." Angel food cake can be varied with fillings, frostings, fruits, even colors,.