Favorite summer recipes from Rutgers faculty, staff Archived article from May 31, 2004   Summer specialties With the summer upon them, university employees find themselves with more time to indulge their hobbies - and their taste buds. A few faculty and staff members share their most special or delicious recipes. The thrill of the grill The scent of wood smoke, a cool breeze drifting through the pines, a perfectly seared steak - that's the ultimate barbecue for French department chair Rick Lockwood. But since building an open fire in one's backyard is often frowned upon in the New Jersey suburbs, Lockwood settles for an environmentally correct gas grill. Still, the idea of a meal cooked outdoors is undeniably romantic for Lockwood. Rick Lockwood Photo by Nick Romanenko "It's just nice to be outdoors," he says. "In New Jersey, evening is often the nicest time of day, when it's not so hot. The long summer evenings are perfect for sipping some wine or a beer and sharing a meal with family and friends." Lockwood has been cooking outdoors - on a gas grill, with charcoal, over embers in a firepit - since he was a teen. His family spent summers at a cabin in Connecticut and Lockwood's father passed on a love for outdoor cooking to his son. Now Lockwood cooks not only for family and friends, but also for his colleagues at Rutgers. A few weeks ago, he grilled hamburgers, sausage and chicken for about 75 people from the university's various language departments. And for about the past 10 years, he has been grill-meister for the French department's end-of-summer get-together. His favorite meat to barbecue is chicken thighs marinated in soy sauce, garlic and a "secret" ingredient. "The dish is easy, tastes good and isn't heavy - it's pretty healthy," he says. Lockwood even grills in the winter; he just moves his gas grill into the garage. He also likes to bake and often makes breakfast and dinner for his family. His love of cooking has rubbed off on his 16-year-old son, Ted, who helped his dad out at the language department picnic. - Amy Vames Marinated Chicken Thighs 4 servings "The challenge with chicken is to cook it thoroughly without having it become dry inside or burnt outside," Lockwood says. Bone-in chicken thighs, he says, work perfectly and are relatively inexpensive. He prefers the skinless kind or removes the skin himself. "For thicker pieces (breasts, even drumsticks), I get the best results by cheating: Microwave them for about five minutes before barbecuing. That way they'll get done, but won't dry out." Lockwood says the marinade works with other kinds of meat, as well. Marinade: 1 tablespoon canola oil 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed Pepper, to taste; Fresh herbs, such as thyme or rosemary, to taste 1 tablespoon secret ingredient* Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl with 6-8 chicken thighs. Let stand covered in the refrigerator 12-24 hours, stirring occasionally. Pre-heat grill. Cook chicken about 15 minutes over full heat until done (juices run clear or a sample cut shows no pink meat). * The secret ingredient is Coca-Cola Classic: It adds a touch of caffeine to heighten the flavor, plus some sugar to help caramelize the outside. If you prefer, you can substitute red wine. She'll always have Paris One day in 1969, while writing her doctoral dissertation, Josephine Grieder wandered into Le Vicomte, a restaurant on the Rue Dauphine in Paris, not far from the Pont Neuf. Like so many restaurateurs, Monsieur Lefebvre followed a time-honored custom. Every morning, shortly after sunrise, he would ride his bicycle to the market in the center of Paris to select the freshest produce and the tenderest cuts of meat. "All of the classic preparations that one associates with French cooking were done in this restaurant," Grieder says. "It was a perfect introduction to French cooking because it was so simple. He wasn't trying to astonish. He wasn't using extraordinary ingredients. Everything was just classic and pure. And that's when I first came across the salade niçoise." Unlike traditional salads that follow the meat course in French restaurants, salade niçoise is served as a first course or a main course for lunch or brunch. Classic and simple like the restaurant, salade niçoise is lettuce dressed with an oil and lemon juice vinaigrette. Other ingredients - thin French beans, ripe tomatoes, hardboiled eggs, black olives and anchovies soaked in milk and imported from Italy - are placed on top of the salad. When the meal comes to the table, each diner takes a portion of the lettuce and the ingredients, and tosses the salad on a plate. Grieder finished her dissertation, "Translations of French Sentimental Prose Fiction in Late 18th Century England," which formed the basis for her first book. Today, she is chair of classical and modern languages and literature on the undergraduate level and director of the graduate program in liberal studies at Newark. Her specialty is 18th century English and French intellectual, social and literary history. But to return to the Paris of 35 years ago requires just a few bites of her salade niçoise. In moments, she's sitting on the terrace of a Parisian café, enjoying a summer evening, watching Parisians strolling by, sipping a glass of wine and basking in contentment. - Richard Gorman Salade Niçoise 1 Arrange torn pieces of tender Boston lettuce in a bowl (no mesclun, iceberg or radicchio). 2 Select equal numbers of the following ingredients and position them artistically in the bowl: a ripe tomato cut in quarters; a hard-boiled egg cut in half; a half-dozen black olives (olives niçoises); anchovy fillets (soaked in milk, if available); and a small mound of tuna fish (packed in olive oil). 3 Dress with a vinaigrette made with a good fruity olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, a dash of Dijon mustard and crushed garlic to taste. You may also add chervil or capers to the vinaigrette. Learning by necessity, entertaining by choice When his mother died, the job of cooking for his father and two older brothers fell to Lewis Kerman. "Can you imagine a 5-year-old making a roast beef or a roast chicken and vegetables?" he asks. "Well, I did." Kerman's father ran a candy shop, Lyllion's in Bayonne. His father would leave the house at 6 a.m., prepare the candy, open the shop at 10 and close at 9 p.m. Because he was gone all day, his father assigned household chores to his three sons. Norman, the oldest, became the supermarket maven, shopping for groceries; Ira, 8, became the launderer, and Lewis was the cook. Working with a single cookbook and occasional advice from a cadre of aunts, the kindergartener turned out simple dishes at first, then progressed to more complicated fare as his cooking skills improved. "I must admit, I started cooking the chicken with the innards still in the plastic bag inside the bird," Kerman says. "You do that once, the chicken explodes, everybody laughs and you manage. After all, it's not like they could do any better than I could." When his father retired, Kerman offered him a bedroom in a new house he had bought. "My father took great pleasure in being the cook for everyone who came to our home," Kerman says. "He loved that - and lived with me until he died." Today, Kerman, the associate dean of the School of Business-Newark and New Brunswick, is still in the kitchen, this time collaborating with his life partner, Clark Trafton, a psychotherapist, Episcopal parish priest and former monk. "We've learned over time that cooking and sharing a meal with those you care about is much more about the people than about the food," Kerman says. "Even if the meal is just average, people are happy to have it because it comes from your hand and it's made with love." - Richard Gorman Lemon Pudding Cake 3/4 cup sugar Dash of salt 1/4 cup sifted flour 3 tablespoons melted butter 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 1/2 cups milk 3 well-beaten egg yolks 3 stiffly beaten egg whites Combine sugar, salt and flour. Stir in butter, lemon peel and lemon juice. Combine milk and egg yolks, and add to the lemon mixture. Fold in egg whites. Pour into an 8 x 8 x 2-inch pan. Place the pan in a larger pan filled with hot water in a 350-degree oven. Bake 40 minutes. (Also good with lime instead of lemon.) Garden State farms yield an abundance of riches They don't call New Jersey the Garden State for nothing. Despite being the nation's most densely populated state, as well as one of the smallest in land size, New Jersey farmers grow millions of tons of produce every year. While the state is nationally known for its outstanding tomatoes, sweet corn, cranberries and peaches, there is a tremendous variety of crops grown here, including apples, lettuce and zucchini. And now, says Carol Byrd-Bredbenner of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, is the time to take advantage of the state's bounty. Byrd-Bredbenner is chair of the extension's family and community health sciences department and author of the cookbook "Fresh Tastes From the Garden State" (Rutgers University Press, 2002). Her personal favorites are peaches, tomatoes and any kind of berries, especially gooseberries, which are mouth-puckeringly tart. But Byrd-Bredbenner wasn't always keen on making fresh produce part of her daily diet. As a child growing up in Florida, her kitchen endeavors were focused mainly on baking - usually from a mix. "My mom embraced convenience," she recalls. "If it came in a box or a can, we had it." But 20 years ago, she and her husband took a cooking course at the famed Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, "where we rediscovered the flavors of fresh foods." Her enthusiasm for fresh produce spills out on every page of her cookbook with appealing recipes and luscious photos. So if you're ready to hit the farm markets or a pick-it-yourself farm, here are a few tips for selecting fruits and vegetables: Go at the height of the season. For blueberries, that's July 5 to Aug. 10; for strawberries, from June 1-10. If you like peaches, aim for July 20 to Sept. Corn will be at its peak from July 5 to Aug. 31. And those fabulous Jersey tomatoes are best from July 10 to Sept. 15. Pick or select berries that have some heft to them; otherwise they may be dried out. They should also have a good shape and bright color. You can pick peaches before they are ready; just put them in a paper bag at home for a few days to ripen them. To ripen tomatoes, let them sit on the kitchen counter, out of the sun. Sniff the stem ends of melons. A faint scent of fruit will tell you they are ready. "Fresh Tastes From the Garden State" can be ordered from Rutgers University Press at half its original cover price. To order, visit rutgerspress.rutgers.edu. All proceeds from the book's sale go to Rutgers Cooperative Extension. - Amy Vames Peachy Crisp 8 servings Filling: 8 medium peaches, pared and sliced lengthwise into 1-inch wedges (about 5 cups) 1/3 cup sugar 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon Topping: 2/3 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup oats 1/4 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and nutmeg Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For the filling, combine peaches, sugar, cornstarch and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a large bowl. Pour into an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. For the topping, combine ingredients in a medium bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the peaches. Bake 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and peaches are tender. So many recipes, so little time Greg Trevor, Rutgers' new senior director of media relations, has a difficult time choosing a favorite recipe. There is the Thanksgiving turkey recipe from his brother, a former chef, which Trevor made for the party at which he met his future wife, Allison Salerno. He roasts a turkey each year big enough to turn the leftovers into his special turkey tetrazzini, modified from a 1943 Boston Cooking School recipe. He is fond of a recipe for barbecued ribs that he discovered in a cookbook purchased in Charleston, S.C.; a lightly breaded and sautéed calamari over pasta that he made up himself; and pan-seared rib lamb chops marinated in mustard, balsamic vinegar and herbs from a cookbook he received as a Christmas gift when he was a reporter for the Asbury Park Press. It turns out Trevor's favorite recipe is one of the first meals he ever learned how to make: linguine with broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes. One day he sent the dish to preschool with the younger of his two sons, for lunch. "The teachers were going to heat it up for him in a little microwave," Trevor recalls, "and one of them asked, 'Did your mommy make this?' And Lucas got very indignant. 'No, my daddy made it!'" Impressed, the teachers asked Trevor to teach a cooking class to the children, which he did, and Lucas' classmates sampled the broccoli and pasta dish. Their parents, thrilled that Trevor had gotten their kids to eat broccoli, still stop him on the street in Highland Park, where he lives, and ask for the recipe. Trevor shares recipes and cooking techniques with the enthusiasm of a Food Network star. Working in Trenton for the Asbury Park Press, he organized potluck dinners for reporters. He continued this tradition at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, where he was a senior information officer. Trevor shares recipes freely at Rutgers, with his colleagues in media relations the beneficiaries. He cooks at home with Allison, Gabriel and Lucas, who inspired his ultra-easy recipe for linguine with broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes. - Patricia Lamiell Linguine with broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes Adapted by Greg Trevor from "Sensational Pasta" by Faye Levy 1 pound linguine Flowers from 3 heads of broccoli, chopped 1 8-oz. jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1 cup pecorino Romano cheese Salt, pepper, basil to taste Olive oil Non-stick spray Add broccoli flowers to a pot of boiling water. Boil for two minutes. Drain, put aside. Add a pinch of salt to the pot of boiling water and add linguine. Boil until linguine is just past al dente (semi-hard). Drain, put in serving bowl. Splash linguine with olive oil to keep pasta from sticking. (Trevor uses the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar, to add flavor.) Apply nonstick spray to a skillet. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. Heat oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add garlic. Saute for about a minute, making sure garlic does not brown. Add broccoli flowers to skillet. Mix with garlic, add salt and pepper. Turn down heat slightly. Continue cooking garlic and broccoli for two minutes. Add broccoli and garlic to pasta. Add sun-dried tomatoes and basil. Add pecorino Romano cheese. Toss. Jam making spans three generations Making jam with her daughters is a world away from Ruth Anne Robbins' day job: teaching law students to represent victims of domestic violence seeking protection against harassment or abuse. Summer will find her teaching her daughters, ages 3 and 6, to crush the berries that Robbins, a member of the faculty at the Rutgers School of Law-Camden since 1997, and her closest friend bought at a farm earlier that morning. Two flats of berries (8 to 12 pints per flat) and a day of labor will produce 80 jars of jam. The two mothers split the day's production, then give away most of what they take home. "A jar of jam makes a great housewarming gift," Robbins says. "It's a perfect gift for a teacher or a holiday house warming." Robbins turned out 160 half-pint jars of jam, each wrapped with a tulle ribbon, as a favor at her wedding 10 years ago. Making jam with her daughters and best friend is especially poignant for Robbins. That's what she and her mother did a generation ago. As a 4-year-old, Robbins and a nursery-school classmate would accompany their moms to rural Burlington County farms where they would buy fresh fruit to turn into jam. After the women washed the berries, the children were assigned the task of crushing them with their hands. "I was the berry-crusher," she says. Robbins took on the role of jam-maker "for real" after her mother's best friend moved to Arizona. "I took up the reins because I wanted to keep the tradition alive," she says. Depending on what fruit is in season, the two friends may turn out a peachy-pear or a strawberry jam, but raspberry-blueberry is the favorite. "It's my signature jam," Robbins says. - Richard Gorman Best-Friend Jam (Raspberry-Blueberry)     8-10 jars Wash the fruit by hand and wash jars in the dishwasher to get them clean and hot. 2 pints (1 quart) of raspberries, washed; 1 pint blueberries, washed 7 cups sugar, no reductions or substitutions. 2 packs Certo fruit pectin Crush the berries together by hand or with a Cuisinart and measure out four cups. (You may add a little water to bring it up to four cups.) Place the mixture in a large stockpot with sugar and mix well. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until full boil. Skim off the foam. Reduce the amount of foam by adding a pat of butter to the mixture as it cooks. Remove from heat and add pectin. Stir one minute. Immediately ladle into jam jars filling to between 1/8 and 1/4 of the top. (Make sure no jam interferes with the screw-on ring, which could ruin the seal.) Wipe the top of the jar with a paper towel. Put on lid and tighten. Process in a steamer or a hot water bath for 7 minutes. Hot water processors, called "canners," are available at local hardware stores. When the jars are cool enough to handle, turn them upside down for an hour or two. Store in a cool, dry cabinet. Jam can be preserved for up to two years if it is processed properly and stored in tightly sealed jars. Return to the May 31, 2004 issue

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