Tuesday, July 13, 2021
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THe OBseRVeR & BaKeR CITy HeRald — B1
B
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
First is
BEST
Appetizers that outshine the entree
Hillary levin-st. louis Post dispatch/TNS
Black and White Bean Salsa appetizers.
By DANIEL NEMAN
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
It happens all the time:
We go to a nice restaurant
and begin our meal with
an appetizer that is simply
amazing.
And then the rest of the
meal fails to live up to it.
Maybe chefs try harder
with appetizers. Maybe
appetizers are where restau-
rants feel free to experiment
with new ideas. Maybe
restaurants concentrate on
appetizers because they
bring in more profit, relative
to cost, than entrées.
Or maybe appetizers just
catch us diners unaware.
They are usually the first
thing we eat at a restaurant,
so we are impressed by how
good they are. While the
other dishes may be just as
well-crafted, they don’t hit
us with that same element
of surprise.
Personally, I think appe-
tizers are just better than
entrées. It’s a simple, irre-
futable fact, like breakfast
is better than dinner.
To test my theory,
I made five appetizers
that span the spectrum
from hors d’oeuvre to
first course. And I was
right. They are better than
entrées.
The first one actually
could be served in larger
portions as a main course,
but the restaurant where I
first encountered it — the
legendary the Frog and the
Redneck in Richmond, Vir-
ginia — made it an appe-
tizer. It’s all a matter of
perspective.
I’m calling it grits
risotto, because it cooks
grits the same way you’d
cook risotto. And while
there are subtle differences
between grits and corn-
meal, basically what you are
doing is making polenta.
In fact, that’s what I did;
I used cornmeal instead
of grits because it’s what
I had on hand. To this, I
added sausage and a healthy
amount of shiitake mush-
rooms sautéed with garlic
and shallots, and finished
with chicken stock and
butter and parmesan cheese.
It takes some effort. It’s
worth it. Oh, how it’s worth
it.
On the other hand,
grapes rolled in goat cheese
was the easiest app I made,
and perhaps the most
intriguing.
You take seedless grapes
and coat them in a thin
layer of soft goat cheese,
which you then roll in a
mixture of toasted walnuts
and chopped chives.
That’s all there is to it,
but its simplicity belies its
well-balanced and com-
plex flavors. The sweet pop
of the grape is contrasted
with the creamy tang of the
cheese, which is mollified
by the earthy nuts and the
soft bite of the chives.
Next up was a salsa, but
one without tomatoes.
This one begins with
a mixture of black beans
and white beans (actually
Great Northern). It gains
momentum with chopped
red bell pepper and red
onion, is enlivened with
lime juice and garlic and
gets a nice kick from a
jalapeño. Oregano, chili
powder and cumin give it
the spice it craves.
To be honest, I’ve seen
prettier dishes. Called black
and white bean salsa, the
name promises a more
appetizing appearance than
it delivers. But the taste?
After your first bite,
preferably on a tortilla chip,
you think, “This isn’t bad at
all.” After your second bite,
you think, “This is quite
good.” After your third bite,
you think, “Yes, I am defi-
nitely enjoying this.”
And after your 96th bite,
you think, “Who ate all the
salsa and chips? Where did
it go?” And you stand there
feeling guilty, but inex-
plicably happy, when you
realize what just happened.
Marinated mushrooms
are always popular as an
appetizer because they
manage to be casual and
elegant at the same time.
The ones I made lean
toward the elegant because
they are marinated in a
liquid that is largely made
up of wine. In other words,
don’t use a bad wine. It
doesn’t have to be espe-
cially good, but the chefs’
rule — don’t cook with
wine that you wouldn’t
drink — is especially
important here.
I don’t want to give the
wrong impression: The
mushrooms aren’t mari-
nated in wine alone. The
mixture also has garlic,
thyme, bay leaf, tomato
paste and coriander seed in
it — it’s so much better if
you toast your own — and
it is finished with olive oil,
lemon juice and cilantro.
My last appetizer was
equally appetizing: herbed
quesadillas. Here we
have four elements that
sing together in perfect
harmony.
It begins with a rela-
tively bland cheese, mozza-
rella, so it can combine with
fresh spices (oregano, mar-
joram) without overpow-
ering them. This creamy
base contrasts with strips of
grilled red pepper and red
onion.
And you don’t even have
to grill them, though you
can if you want. I didn’t.
I charred my pepper over
the gas flame on my stove,
which creates a smoky
grilled taste without a grill.
And I did the same with
my red onion by cutting it
into thick slices, like onion
rings, and broiling it.
The fourth element is
the most important but also
the most easily overlooked:
the tortilla. When lightly
browned and stuffed with
melted cheese and savory
vegetables, a good tortilla
makes the rest of your meal
pale in comparison.
GRITS RISOTTO
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
1 cup stone-ground grits, polenta
or coarse cornmeal
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons chicken,
fish, veal or vegetable stock,
divided
3 tablespoons butter,
divided (2 tablespoons
cut into small cubes)
Salt, to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms
Black pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 small shallots or 1 large shallot,
peeled and finely diced
12 ounces cooked, high-
quality sausage, cut
into cubes, see note
6 ounces Parmesan
cheese, see note
Note: This recipe makes a
restaurant-quality dish,
complete with all the calories.
To lower the calorie count a
bit, use 10 ounces of sausage
and 4 ounces of cheese.
1. Heat the grits or corn-
meal and 4 cups of the stock
in a medium or large pot over
medium-high heat. Bring to a
gentle simmer and cook, stirring
frequently, until all the liquid has
been absorbed and the cornmeal
is soft, 20 to 35 minutes. Stir in 1
tablespoon of the butter and add
salt, if necessary.
2. Meanwhile, remove stems
from the mushrooms and discard.
Lightly brush any dirt off mush-
rooms and cut caps into ¹⁄8-inch
slices.
3. Heat a large, heavy pan,
preferably cast iron, until it is very
hot. Add oil. Add mushrooms and
sauté for 30 seconds, sprinkling
with salt and pepper to taste
while cooking. Add garlic and
shallots, but keep stirring so they
do not color or burn. After 1 min-
ute, remove from heat and add
the remaining 2 tablespoons of
stock to stop the cooking. Add the
remaining 2 tablespoons of cubed
butter and stir constantly until it is
melted and thoroughly coats the
mushroom mix.
4. Mix the grits or cornmeal,
sausage, shiitakes and 3 ounces
of the cheese. Spoon onto plates
and top with the remaining
cheese.
Per serving (based on 8): 383
calories; 29 g fat; 12 g saturated
fat; 59 mg cholesterol; 16 g pro-
tein; 14 g carbohydrate; 1 g sugar;
1 g fiber; 1,189 mg sodium; 280
mg calcium
Adapted from “The Frog and
the Redneck Cookbook” by Jimmy
Sneed
GRAPES
ROLLED IN
GOAT CHEESE
Yield: 8 servings
4 ounces goat cheese,
room temperature
24 red or green seedless grapes,
rinsed and patted dry
1/3 cup finely chopped
toasted walnuts
1/4 cup minced chives
Note: These may be prepared
up to 6 hours in advance.
See, Appetizers/Page B3
Tracking down a La Grande tycoon
Jay Brooks is responsible for the
historic building at 1202 Adams Ave.
By GINNY MAMMEN
For EO Media Group
Crossing Adams Avenue
to the south side of the
street, the next building
to consider is located at
1202 Adams on the south-
east corner of Adams and
Depot in La Grande. This is
currently the office of C B
Consolidated.
According to the
National Register of His-
toric Places, the building
is known as the J. Brooks
Building and was con-
structed in 1900. The Reg-
ister also implies that the
building was constructed
for the Farmers’ & Traders’
National Bank by saying
“the building was occu-
pied by Farmers’ & Traders’
National Bank.”
Research, however, has
clouded this construction
date, creating an interesting
mystery. The National Reg-
ister also has it that “early
businesses on this site
included a ‘Drug/General-
Store.’ ” In 1886 there was
a vicious fire that destroyed
six blocks of downtown La
Grande. The building previ-
ously at this location, most
likely a wooden one, was
destroyed. However, the
1893 Sanborn map indicates
there was a bank, sharing
the building with a drug
store, at that site. It is pos-
sible, but it does not seem
logical, that another struc-
ture would have been built
after the 1886 fire and then
replaced in 1900.
What is known is that
the current building at 1202
Adams was originally con-
structed for the Farmers’
& Traders’ Bank by Jay
Brooks, who was a wealthy
La Grande businessman and
one of the original stake-
holders as well as vice pres-
ident of the bank. The bank
was organized in 1890
with a capital of $60,000.
This supports the informa-
tion leading to the “bank”
located on the 1893 Sanborn
map as being the Farmers’
& Traders’. The name was
later changed to United
States National Bank.
The current struc-
ture with a “bank appear-
ance” has been remodeled a
number of times including
the construction of an addi-
tion to expand toward the
alley as well as facade
facelifts. The building over
the years has housed a
variety of businesses such
as Burgess Menswear, I J
Gems, and Mt. Emily Ale
House.
The name J. Brooks in
the National Register did
not provide a strong clue
as to just who this person
was. Looking up a name
with only an initial and no
idea of his date of birth is
like looking for a needle in
a haystack. I was frustrated
but determined, and as
more and more clues came
to light a person finally
emerged who had a fasci-
nating story to share.
J. Brooks was born Jay
Brooks in April 1854 in
New York. He married his
wife, Leah, in 1883 and two
years later while living in
California their son Milton
was born. Jay was a dry
goods merchant. In 1893
Jay Brooks was listed in
the La Grande City Direc-
tory under General Mer-
chandise on Adams Avenue
near Depot.
Upon further searching
I located something very
interesting in La Grande
and Union County Trivia
by Bob Bull. It seems that
Jay Brooks had arrived in
the La Grande area possibly
eight to 10 years before
1893 and had set up his dry
goods and clothing store,
not on the corner of Adams
and Depot but “near” there.
In fact it was located in
the building next door to
the corner building. Then
there was a surprise. Bull
Fred Hill Collection
reported that it was “in the
rear of Jay Brooks’ gen-
eral store that the fire of
1886 was started that spread
throughout the downtown.”
Tycoon Jay Brooks
owned buildings and busi-
nesses in Boise, Idaho,
Roseburg, and Santa Rosa,
California, as well as La
Grande. In La Grande he
was active in the Com-
mercial Club and with the
establishment of the Sugar
Factory as well as his own
Jay Brooks clothing and dry
goods store.
On December 12, 1901,
the Idaho Daily Statesman
reported that Jay Brooks
sold a piece of property
with a one-story building on
it for “$540 a front foot, or
$13,500 for the 25 feet. This
is the highest price ever
paid for property in this
city.” (Today’s equivalent —
$17,101.80 a front foot.)
In 1902 the Brooks
family moved back to Cali-
fornia and the clothing and
dry good store was liqui-
dated. N.K. West bought
out much of the stock from
both the La Grande store
and the Boise store. In
March of 1903 E Andross
and Co., undertakers and
furniture dealers, moved
into the Jay Brooks building
next to the bank. ay Brooks
died on April 2, 1942, at
age 88.
It is interesting to note
that in 1897, when men such
as Jay Brooks, J. M. Berry,
J. D. McKennon, John
Anthony, W. H. Bohnen-
kamp, Paul Buzzinni
and J. E. Foley (all busi-
nessmen who were active
in the late 1880s and early
1900s) got together to sup-
port the Sugar Factory, The
Observer made the com-
ment “For a change our
business men are working
in perfect harmony and if
their efforts to secure the
factory is crowned with
success they will see the
results of pulling together
and it will be easier to
accomplish the next
undertaking.”
What was relevant in
1897 still sounds like good
advice for today. Keep
looking up! Enjoy!