Martha's best recipe ever

I discovered Martha Stewart when she was styling food at Mlle. and House Beautiful magazines in the 1970s, long before her books or her own magazine were on the scene. (Though knowing Martha, they were probably already in her dreams). I've had great success with many of Martha's recipes and have incorporated them into my own repertoire. But none is more useful or well used than this "ginger broth."

I clipped the recipe — "Stuffed Napa Cabbage in Ginger Court Bouillon" — from the November, 1994 issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. It's a very chic first course for a dinner party and consists of Napa cabbage leaves stuffed with a melange of salmon, wild rice and herbs, all rolled up into tight little packages. Three of the stuffed cabbage leaves are served in the glowing court bouillon for a beautiful presentation and a subtly sophisticated flavor.

Stuffed Napa Cabbage in Ginger Court Bouillon is an elegant first course but the bouillon is too good to reserve for special occasions. MARTHA STEWART LIVING PHOTO

I made the dish a couple of times and you can imagine how labor intensive it was: all that stuffing and rolling. I realized it was the bouillon I loved, so I ditched the stuffed cabbage and now I keep some of the broth in the freezer year-round. I swear by this recipe and am already on my second batch this winter. It's such a staple at our house, that we just say "add a ginger cube" and whoever is cooking understands the direction.

I freeze it in ice-cube trays (which equals about 1/4 cup) and then put the frozen cubes in dated zip-lock bags in the freezer. I also usually freeze a couple of one-cup containers as well. I drop a cube or two into sauces that seem bland or when I need more liquid in a dish. It's also the backbone for a quick sauce (garlic, ginger cubes, lemon and white wine) that can be poured over cooked pasta along with shellfish and any vegetable of your choice. 

What's also nice is that it is a meatless broth and so can be added to any vegetarian dish without fear. It's also more flavorful and interesting than most canned veggie broths. And, of course, you can always use it as a bouillon and serve it straight — a nice restorative when you're feeling cold and achy. 

Frozen cubes of ginger broth can be added to soups and sauces for extra flavor.

GINGER BROTH

1 large onion, quartered BUT NOT peeled

3 large carrots, quartered and peeled

3 plum tomatoes, quartered

1 piece of ginger root (about 1" x 2"), peeled and sliced thin 

3 sprigs of parsley

1 teaspoon peppercorns

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups white wine

Combine all of the above ingredients with 2 quarts (8 cups) water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 40 minutes to an hour until the liquid is very flavorful. Strain. Freeze for up to three months.

I am pretty casual about the amounts of veggies I toss in the pot so don't feel compelled to closely measure anything. The one thing I always do is add extra onion skins from the bottom of the bag. They are a natural dye and add a rose-gold glow to the dish. Sometimes I even use pink peppercorns for more color. 

You can strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve or you can line a strainer with cheesecloth. But unless you are serving it as a clear broth, any veggie residue doesn't really matter. 

Everything for making "Ginger Broth" is in the pot and ready to start cooking — including extra onion skins for color.

HE SAID: My first vivid memory of Martha is of her on her television show explaining how to host a children's party. Don't ask me what I was doing watching daytime TV. Maybe I was down with the flu. Anyway, there she was, with this look of self-satisfaction on her face, standing behind a large appliance, saying that if you didn't own a professional cotton candy machine like hers, you could always rent one. 

More recently I was reading an account by Matt Armendariz, writer of the food blog mattbites.com, of his guest spot on Martha's show and came across this from star-struck Matt: "We did get to see the inside of the ribbon room. Yes, I said ribbon room. I really did."

That said, I, too, have a favorite Martha recipe. And it is appropriate for these tough economic times: Cornmeal Pancakes. I've never been a fan of those soft, moist pancakes that stick to the roof of your mouth. Too much like wet bread. But these are wonderful; just moist enough and with the added texture of cornmeal to give them tooth. I've never gotten them to puff up like those in Martha's picture, but I don't mind. They cook to a lovely brown and they taste great!

CORNMEAL PANCAKES

3/4 cup flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk (we use one percent milk to make them even more low fat)

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons oil

2 large eggs

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Combine milk, butter and oil in a saucepan and warm over low heat til butter melts. Cool to lukewarm and beat in eggs.

Pour wet mixture over dry ingredients and combine with a few quick stirs. Don't worry about lumps.

Heat griddle and lightly oil. Spoon batter on griddle and cook until bubbles break and edges look dry. Flip and cook one minute more. 

Cornmeal pancakes with cranberry-maple compote and chicken and apple sausages from the Dec/Jan 1993 issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. MARTHA STEWART LIVING PHOTO

SHE SAID: Martha's original recipe calls for 5 Tablespoons of butter but we cut that back to 2 T. of butter and 2 T. of oil. She serves hers with Cranberry Maple Compote but we add frozen blueberries to the pancakes and serve them with warm Wisconsin maple syrup. 

One year I wrote out a pretty version of the recipe for my sister and gave it to her at Christmas along with an unusual Swedish batter whisk. Last year I sent the recipe to my oldest niece (another pancake lover) at Christmas, accompanied by her great-grandmother's yellow ware batter bowl — and a griddle for her fiance. 

Comments

[Pamela]

Well gee. This made me hungry, and it's almost midnight. What ever shall I do now???

Thanks for the recipe! It looks delicious!

[LINDA FROM EACH LITTLE WORLD]

It's kind of like reading cookbooks in bed; a dangerous thing to do late at night!

[Sarah O]

Martha is such a conundrum, I just love her. I remember a decade ago or more when magazines and newspapers kept publishing articles about how Martha made women feel insecure and incompetent, and I thought, are you crazy? No one in their right mind would expect their efforts to meet the high perfectionism of Martha. Stirring up a moral panic over Martha Stewart, priceless.

My best friend gave me a picture frame for Christmas a few years back, and replaced the stock photo with an image of Martha stirring soup (probably from the inside of her magazine). I've never replaced it. "I have a framed picture of Martha Stewart," that's a great line to use at parties and mixers.

Finally, can I just say, that ginger broth sounds *amazing*. I swear by ginger, especially for seasickness, and that broth is exactly what I need for the long, rainy races that I end up doing every year. Thank you very very much in advance, from everyone on my crew. :)

[LINDA FROM EACH LITTLE WORLD]

Sarah — I'm with you on Martha. I don't think anyone has ever produced a more beautiful magazine. And for every over-the-top story there is an equally down-to-earth one. I gave my first dinner party in high school for a group of girl friends so Martha's behavior seems normal to me!

I think you will really like the ginger broth. And you could even increase the amount of ginger since it's something that you know you like.

I just visited your blog within the last day or two after seeing your comments — though I don't remember where. Thanks for stopping by.