Fare Exchange: Chicken livers, saffron rice and blackberry cobbler

Jane Henegar

On this lovely morning shall we contemplate the challenges? Readers are looking for Crock-Pot Peanut Brittle, where to buy or how to make garlic cheese, where to purchase Orangina drinks, and how make an Orange Julius or any other orange-flavored drink.

The last requests are for Lobster Bisque and the house dressing once served at the Loft Restaurant.

Linda Morris of Lookout Mountain passed on a question from Another Avid Reader who has lost her recipe for crock-pot peanut brittle. "My friend would surely appreciate the recipe and I would also, as she has sparked my interest."

Debbie Pataky of Lookout Mountain has a time-tested recipe for cheese grits that calls for a purchased roll of garlic cheese. She asked for help "either where to find the garlic cheese or a good substitute recipe?"

Hear the memories attached to this request for lobster bisque and the Loft's house dressing. An anonymous reader "lived in Chattanooga for many years, first as a new college student at UTC, and later when I returned after a brief absence in 1999. Even though I am now a long-time ex-pat, I still remember a few restaurants fondly, and would dearly wish to get two recipes.

"My husband and I married in 1999 and went to The Loft that evening as a celebratory dinner. I am glad we did, because the next several years were difficult. I still remember the soup I chose, the Lobster Bisque, and the salad that accompanied my meal, dressed with the house dressing, which our waiter informed us contained wine and cheese. The dressing was amazing and could have been used to dip cheese straws or pita chips in, and the bisque was superb.

"At any rate, after that trip down memory lane, I hope you can find someone with the recipes for the Lobster Bisque and the House Dressing. I recently obtained an edition of Helen MacDonald Exum's 'Chattanooga Cook Book,' and alas, these recipes were not among the local treasures I found."

And finally, a Lover of All Things Orange remembers a recipe for Orange Julius calling for frozen orange juice concentrate. While she is at it, she wrote, "I cannot find locally the bottled drink Orangina. Has anyone seen it in a local market?"

From Barbara, here's a recipe for using a pinch of costly saffron to make saffron rice.

Saffron Rice

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon minced onion, optional

1 cup long grain white rice

1 small pinch saffron, crumbled

2 cups water or chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon salt

Place butter and onion in a heavy quart saucepan. Sauté over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add rice, saffron, water or stock and salt. Bring to a rolling boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook until rice is tender and liquid absorbed, about 18 minutes. Serves 4.

Barbara's go-to recipe, "one of the best" for Rumaki, came from Guam Food Guy.

Grilled Rumaki (Japanese-Style Chicken Livers)

1 pound chicken livers, trimmed and halved

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

4 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch lengths

1 small can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained

Combine the chicken livers, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, pepper and optional cayenne pepper in a small bowl and marinate refrigerated for 30 minute to 1 hour.

Place a piece of bacon on a wooden or metal skewer, followed by a piece of chicken liver and a slice of water chestnut. Repeat until all the livers have been used.

Grill over moderate heat for 8 to 12 minutes, turning once, until the edges of the bacon are crisp and the chicken livers are firm but slightly pink inside. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

M.W. Halbrooks sent the recipe for Blackberry Cobbler a la the "Chattanooga Cookbook."

The lead paragraph reads, '"Mrs. Harold Cooper makes a blackberry specialty that is a favorite of friends who come for a weekend with her on the lake. When blackberries are in season, she gets them and simply washes them, puts them in plastic bags, and stores in the freezer. She is always ready to make a cobbler."

Thanks, too, to Becky McGee who found the same recipe.

The sender noted that the instructions for blackberry and tapioca are not specific, so one would have to have some cobbling expertise to know about that. Probably so, but generally know that blackberries will cook down a good deal, and that it might be impossible to have too many. I consulted several recipes and they all contained sugar. If the blackberries are sweet enough to your taste and, if perhaps you are adding ice cream on top, this could be fine.

Blackberry Cobbler

Blackberries, frozen are OK

Tapioca

3/4 cup shortening

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

Butter

Put blackberries in a pan; sprinkle with tapioca. Dot the berries generously with butter.

To make pastry, cut the shortening into the flour and add the salt and sugar. Break the egg into the milk and blend well. Pour over the flour mixture a little at a time, stirring until the pastry makes a ball. Chill.

When ready to bake, roll out the pastry and cut into strips. Criss-cross over the pie, dot with plenty of butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 1/2 hour; turn down oven to 350 degrees for another 1/2 hour or until done.

A similar recipe gives these directions: To a quart of fresh blackberries add 3/4 cup sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Put into an 8-inch baking dish. Dot with butter and let stand 15 minutes. Add crust.

Thank you for coming. I must steal a tiny space today to note a monumental event in the history of the world: the birth of any baby. This week, right here in Chattanooga, a magical infant named Lula arrived and was wrapped up like a delicate French crêpe, topped with a whipped-cream-like cap and nestled in her parents' arms. She belongs, among others, to us, and we will feast in her honor. The feast doesn't really matter, though; it's the lovely little reason for it.