By Lynne Rossetto Kasper
Scripps Howard News Service
Dear Lynne: Harry Potter has returned and my kids want English desserts. You explained this on the show, but for those with no memory, what can I substitute for treacle and for castor sugar? — A Muddled Muggle Mom
Dear Muggle Mom: I did explain both and was off-base. A British listener clued me in. For treacle (of which there are several types) you'd be safe substituting golden syrup, which is usually found in the market with molasses or with maple syrups. Castor sugar is superfine granulated sugar.
Dear Lynne: What does the cluster of three numbers on the end of the egg carton mean? — Jason in Orlando
Dear Jason: Talk about an arcane system. Those numbers, which from 1 to 365, are called Julian dates. They must be present if eggs have a USDA grade mark. The Julian number is the date the eggs were packed. So 31 would be Jan. 31, while 60 would be March 1. An easy way to remember is thinking of each month as 30 days, so a 300 number is the 10th month, give or take a week.
An expiration date might also be on the carton. This has to be no more than 30 days after the packing date.
Perhaps one day egg producers will join the real world and use dates like the rest of us.
Dear Lynne: Tiny potatoes are flooding our farmers market. I always boil them, then add butter. Boring! Please give me a new idea. — Kansas City Spud Lover
Dear Spud Lover: There's nothing wrong with butter and potatoes. For a change, try these little ones glazed with olive oil, garlic, wine and herbs. I found them in the northern Italian wine town of Bardolino. They were being sold by the Italian equivalent of the ladies auxiliary at a street fair. I make them ahead to serve at room temperature.
Lake Garda Potatoes
Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds 1- to 1-1/2-inch diameter Yellow Finn or red skin potatoes
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 branch fresh mint
2-inch branch fresh rosemary
6 fresh sage leaves
3 large cloves garlic, sliced
2/3 cup dry white wine (Pinot Grigio, Soave or Sauvignon Blanc)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
water
Preparation:
In a 10-inch saute pan, combine potatoes with all the ingredients and enough water to cover them by about 1/8-inch. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook 10 minutes. Uncover and continue simmering, turning the potatoes often until they are easily pierced with a knife, but not falling apart.
If pan liquid has not reduced to a glaze, lift the potatoes out of the pan and boil down the liquid to a syrup. Return the potatoes to the pan and stir to coat with the glaze. They can be kept warm in the covered pan up to 20 minutes. Enjoy them hot or at room temperature.
Serves 4
— From The Italian Country Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (Scribner, 1999) (Copyright 1999 Lynne Rossetto Kasper)
Dear Lynne: On a whim I bought sour-cherry syrup. What do I do with it? — Curious in Washington
Dear Curious: The sour-cherry syrup I tried comes from Greece. The flavors of sweet-tart cherry practically do a polka on your tongue. Then you swallow and there is a lingering taste of cherry jam. This stuff begs to be experimented with. My Greek cookbooks don't mention it, but I'd try it on your local grits.
We've been drizzling it on sweet cherries, over ice cream and on nectarines. When we pan-grilled chicken, I threw dried sour cherries in the skillet, lots of garlic, a pinch of hot pepper, a little white wine and the syrup to taste. People were mopping up every drop.
Sour cherry has to be good with any bean, the entire cabbage family, yams, in salad dressing, and with fish. In short, improvise.
(Lynne Rossetto Kasper is host of "The Splendid Table"(r), Minnesota Public Radio's national food show. Find recipes, station listings and more at splendidtable.org, or 800-537-5252.)
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