Junior League’s Serious Cookbooks

Cookbook publishing has become big business for the nation’s Junior Leagues. No longer content with the modest, spiral-bound, homey books that organizations usually put together, the leagues are producing comprehensive, expensive, hard-cover books that compete with the pros for bookstore space.

A landmark in this transition was the Junior League of Pasadena’s “The California Heritage Cookbook,” published in 1976 by Doubleday. Prior to this effort, the league had compiled volumes one and two of a conventional, spiral-bound book, “Pasadena Prefers.” Ambitious in recipe selection and format, “California Heritage” won acclaim and hefty sales. So far, more than 160,000 copies have been sold.

Now the league has produced an equally ambitious sequel, “California Heritage Continues” (Doubleday: $22.50). Professional food photography and styling set off this large collection of recipes that probe further into regional tastes.

In the past 11 years, the culinary scene in California has changed considerably, and these changes are reflected in the book. With increased Asian immigration, spicy Southeast Asian dishes have gained an audience. The league takes note of this with a number of Asian recipes, including Thai lamb in lettuce leaves, Thai fish with pickled red ginger and a Vietnamese style shrimp and pineapple soup.

The Cajun craze brought still more highly seasoned food to California tables, resulting in the addition of Cajun-style meatloaf, barbecued shrimp and other recipes. Next, California adopted Texas-style fajitas. The league acknowledges this event with beef and chicken fajitas, each accompanied by its own version of the spicy Tex-Mex salsa, pico de gallo. Other Mexican and Southwestern recipes in the book range from tortilla soup to a chicken chili that requires 31 ingredients plus condiments.

Examples of contemporary trendy cooking are dishes that incorporate Asian, Latin and Southwestern elements, such as Chinese roast duck with kiwi sauce, Oriental steak with wasabi butter and Southwest snapper with cilantro cream. Then there are the “numerical” dishes that today’s chefs dote on, among them Belgian endive with two fillings, spinach salad with three dressings and pasta with four cheeses.

Pasta and pizza are so fundamental to California cuisine that, along with rice, they rate an entire chapter. Goat cheese salad, duck breast dishes and other recently popular foods have ample coverage, and occasionally a real oldie, like blackberry jam cake, slips in.

“California Heritage Continues” is on sale in major bookstores, some department stores and specialty shops. The book also can be ordered by phone or mail. To order by phone, call (818)796-0162. The price for mail orders is $22.50 plus 6.5%sales tax ($1.46)and $2 postage and handling, making a total of $25.96. Add $1.50 if gift wrapping is desired. Make checks payable to Junior League of Pasadena and send to the league at 149 S. Madison Avenue, Pasadena, Calif. 9110l.

Some of the prettiest photography in the book shows a menu for New Year’s Eve in Pasadena. Here is the menu and the recipe for the main dish.

New Year’s Eve in Pasadena

Sesame Cheese Twists

Capellini With Smoked Salmon and Black Caviar

Roast Duckling With Black Peppercorn Sauce

Shoestring Yams

Sauteed Baby Vegetables

With Shallot Butter

Center Stage Salad

Chocolate Meringue With Raspberry Creme Anglaise

ROAST DUCKLING WITH BLACK PEPPERCORN SAUCE

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 shallots, minced

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

3 tablespoons unsulfured molasses

2 teaspoons freshly crushed black peppercorns

2 1/2 cups Duck Stock

2 tablespoons arrowroot

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons Madeira wine

2 (5-pound) ducks

Salt, pepper

In medium saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over moderately low heat. Add shallots and saute slowly until soft. Add vanilla bean, molasses, peppercorns and Duck Stock. Simmer 15 minutes. Strain to remove shallots. Return sauce to pan with vanilla bean. Blend arrowroot with 3 tablespoons Madeira. Beat into sauce base and simmer 3 to 4 minutes, until slightly thickened. Set aside. Sauce can be made ahead to this point.

Season duck cavities with salt and pepper. Pierce skin around lower breast, back and thighs. Truss ducks and place breast side up on rack in shallow roasting pan. Bake at 425 degrees 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast ducks 30 minutes on each side. With bulb baster, remove some of fat that accumulates as ducks roast. Turn ducks breast side up and sprinkle with salt. Roast 10 to 15 minutes longer for medium rare or until juices run faintly rosy when thigh is pierced with fork. For well done, cook until juices run pale yellow. Remove trussing, place ducks on heated platter and set in turned-off oven while finishing sauce. Ducks can be roasted in the morning, if desired, and reheated at 300 degrees. Place under broiler 3 to 5 minutes for extra-crisp skin.

Remove all but 1 tablespoon fat from roasting pan. Add 1/2 cup Madeira to drippings in pan and boil rapidly, scraping brown bits from bottom and reducing liquid to 3 tablespoons. Strain wine reduction into prepared sauce. Simmer 1 to 2 minutes and swirl in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Remove vanilla bean before serving. Sauce can be completed earlier in day and reheated if desired.

To carve ducks, slice off thigh with leg attached. Run sharp, flexible knife along breastbone, then down along carcass, separating breast from carcass. Repeat on other side. Slice breasts diagonally in 1/2-inch slices. Carve meat from legs and thighs. Arrange on warm platter. Spoon some of sauce over top. Pass remaining sauce. Makes 6 servings.

Duck Stock

3 tablespoons oil or bacon drippings

Duck giblets, excluding livers, chopped in small pieces

Duck necks and scraps

2 onions, sliced

3 carrots, sliced

5 cups canned beef broth

4 sprigs parsley

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Water

Heat oil in 4-quart saucepan. Add giblets, necks and scraps, onions and carrots and saute over moderate heat until browned. Pour off fat. Add broth, parsley, bay leaf, thyme and enough water, if needed, to just cover giblets. Simmer, partially covered, 1 1/2 hours. Strain stock through sieve, pressing vegetables and giblets to extract juices. Skim off fat and return stock to saucepan. Boil over high heat until reduced to 2 1/2 cups. Stock may be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated.

The Junior League of San Diego has just published its first cookbook, “Delicious Decisions: Cooking with California in Mind.” It is a stunner of a book thanks to the splashy watercolors of Joyce Kitchell on the cover and inside. Kitchell’s lively works capture the feel of California as effectively as photography, and perhaps more so.

Unlike “California Heritage Continues,” “Delicious Decisions” credits the sources of some of its recipes. The Hotel del Coronado contributed noisettes of lamb with sauce Pernod; The Grant Grill in the U.S. Grant Hotel in San Diego provided its recipe for sea bass braised in apple cider tarragon; Grecian flaming cheese is from the Greek Islands Cafe at Seaport Village in San Diego; crab-stuffed mushrooms are from El Crab Catcher in La Jolla. And so on.

Innovative cooking has its place in this book, but the emphasis seems to be on good food that is reasonably easy to prepare. Along with goat cheese, radicchio and sun-dried tomato dishes, there are comfortably familiar foods like spinach quiche, broccoli souffle, marinated flank steak, applesauce muffins and peach pie.

Proximity to the border is evidenced by an assortment of Mexican dishes including chicken enchiladas, chilaquiles, flautas, chili, ceviche and Mexican corn spoon bread.

The two leagues have thought along similar lines in some respects. Both books include a rolled, stuffed, flour tortilla appetizer and a tortilla soup. Both offer fajitas with salsa. And both use radicchio leaves as containers for chicken. The Pasadena league places smoked chicken in the leaves; the San Diego league opts for curried chicken.

Each league introduced its book with a lavish party and tasting of recipes from its book, held less than a week apart. The San Diego league celebrated at the Catamaran Resort Hotel in Mission Beach. The Pasadena league party took place at Bristol Farms in South Pasadena. Both leagues will devote proceeds from book sales to a variety of community projects.

Producing such books requires a great deal of work. The San Diego Junior League spent three years developing “Delicious Decisions,” with members testing each recipe at least twice. The work is worthwhile because the rewards can be great. Pre-publication demand required the San Diego league to increase its first printing by 50%, and a five month “pre-sale” period, open to league members only, brought in almost $40,000.

“Delicious Decisions,” is on sale in bookstores and other retail outlets in the San Diego area and can also be ordered by mail. The price is $19.95 plus $1.20 sales tax for California residents and $2.40 for shipping and handling, a total of $23.55. Add $2 for gift wrap. Make checks out to the Junior League of San Diego, Inc. and send to the league at 210 Maple Street, San Diego, Calif. 92103. For additional information, call (619)238-1730.

Appetizers from the book to consider for holiday entertaining include Cranberry Chutney and toast topped with Roquefort-nut butter and garnished with fruit and crisp raw vegetables. The introduction to the chutney recipe suggests using the mixture on canapes, as a filling for miniature muffins or as a topping for water biscuits spread with cream cheese.

CRANBERRY CHUTNEY

1 pound fresh cranberries

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 cup raisins, coarsely chopped

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup finely chopped tart apples (Granny Smith)

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger

Sort through and discard bruised cranberries. Rinse berries and drain. Combine with sugar and water in large saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer 15 minutes and remove from heat. Stir in orange juice, raisins, walnuts, celery, apples, orange peel and ground and candied gingers. When completely cool, spoon chutney into sterilized storage jars and refrigerate. Prepare chutney at least 2 hours before serving and preferably a week or more in advance. Chutney will keep up to three weeks, if refrigerated. Makes about 7 cups.

WALNUT ROQUEFORT TARTINES

1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 ounces Roquefort cheese

1 tablespoon Cognac or Armagnac

1/4 pound shelled walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 loaf pain de mie or coarse-grain country bread

Thinly sliced radishes, celery and pears

Whip butter lightly to a smooth paste. Add cheese and blend. Add Cognac, mixing well. Fold in walnuts and distribute evenly. (If food processor or blender is used, chop walnuts first, then process butter and cheese, taking care not to over process, and complete recipe by hand in separate bowl.)

Cut bread into small squares or triangles and toast. Bread will be crispier if prepared a day in advance. Allow toasted pieces to cool completely. Wrap and store in dry place. Spread small amount of Roquefort butter to edges of bread. Place on racks on baking sheet. Heat at 350 degrees until butter has melted and saturated bread. Remove from oven and garnish each bread square or triangle with radish, celery or pear slices. Makes 8 to 10 servings.