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Tuesday, October 12, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Entire meal, one pot
By DANIEL NEMAN
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
I was about halfway
through making a one-pot
meal of shepherd’s pie when
I suddenly realized that my
one-pot meal required the
use of three pots.
This was a problem,
because I was writing
a story — this story —
about one-pot meals. But
I learned something from
the experience. I learned
that people who write about
food sometimes are not
very good at math, such as
counting to three.
And it’s not like the
recipe came from an unre-
liable source. I don’t want
to name names, but the
website that touted shep-
herd’s pie as a one-pot
recipe rhymes with “Nood
Fetwork.”
I finished making the
shepherd’s pie anyway,
because I like shepherd’s
pie, and it was fabulous.
Maybe I’ll write about it
some day, when I write
about three-pot meals.
But today’s story, as we
have established, is about
one-pot meals. These are
meals that are made entirely
in a single pot, which cuts
down considerably on what
I consider the monstrous
chore of having to clean up
after cooking dinner.
That is one advantage
to one-pot meals. Another
is that they are often quite
good, presumably because
the flavors blend organi-
cally together. Sometimes
they are even better than
quite good. And occasion-
ally they are absolutely
spectacular.
The three remaining
dishes I made this week
are among the best things I
have cooked all year. Four,
if you count the shepherd’s
pie.
I began with beef gou-
lash, largely because of
the scene in “Christmas in
Connecticut” in which S.Z.
Sakall turns Una O’Con-
nor’s Irish stew into gou-
lash by adding half a can of
paprika. But even Sakall’s
goulash could not have been
as rich and satisfying as the
one I made.
You begin with chuck
roast — I used the less-
tender top round, because
the price of beef has sky-
rocketed — that braises
for about three hours in a
robust sauce. It’s the sauce
that makes the dish so
memorable; it’s made from
roasted red peppers, more
onions than you would
imagine, carrots, tomato
paste, vinegar and nearly
as much paprika as Sakall
used.
It all comes together in
an aromatic, deep red stew.
It’s a stick-to-your-ribs kind
of meal, comforting as well
as filling.
Traditionally, it’s served
on a bed of egg noodles. I
recommend serving it on
a bed of egg noodles. The
cookbook from which I got
the recipe shows a picture
of it served on a bed of egg
noodles.
But egg noodles require
a second pot. People who
write about food sometimes
are not very good at math.
Next, I made a dish that
genuinely does cook in just
a single pot. It’s a chicken
pot pie, but it’s different
from any chicken pot pie
I’ve ever had.
Instead of the usual
velouté sauce (a light roux
mixed with chicken stock)
blended with mixed vegeta-
bles, chicken and cream, the
filling of this pot pie takes a
more flavorful route.
It starts with spinach,
which is made creamy by
the addition of Boursin
cheese; that’s the familiar
soft, white, spreadable
cheese with garlic and fine
herbs. Artichoke hearts are
added, along with capers,
chicken and lemon zest,
which brings a wonderful
brightness to the whole
dish.
And it also has chicken
stock and a little flour —
but not made into a roux
— cream and mixed vege-
tables, because some tradi-
tions are worth keeping.
Naturally, it’s topped
with a lovely and tempting
round of puff pastry. There
are not many things in life
that cannot be improved
with a little puff pastry.
My final dish is won-
derful for brunch, simple
and impressive, though
it does take some time to
make.
At its heart, fried eggs
with Parmesan and potato
roesti is just hash browns
(the shredded, fried kind)
topped with sunny side-up
eggs and a hearty sprin-
kling of salty Parmesan
cheese. What could be
better than that?
Roesti is the Swiss ver-
sion of a potato pancake.
The potatoes are shredded
lengthwise and fried in
butter in a single layer all
the way across the pan.
That way, you end up with a
single, 12-inch potato pan-
cake or hash brown.
Once the roesti is placed
on a platter, the same skillet
is used to fry all the eggs at
the same time. They, too,
cover the entire bottom of
the pan, and they slide out
and onto the potatoes as a
single unit.
It’s fun to make, and it’s
heavenly to eat. Make sure
you keep the yolks runny,
so they infuse the potato
pancake with their golden
goodness.
BEEF GOULASH
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
4 pounds boneless beef chuck-
eye roast, pulled apart at
seams, trimmed and cut
into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 teaspoons table salt, divided
1 (12-ounce) jar roasted
red peppers, rinsed
1/3 cup sweet paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon distilled white
vinegar, divided
3 pounds onions, chopped fine
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 carrots, peeled and
sliced 1-inch thick
1 bay leaf
1 cup beef broth, if necessary,
plus extra as needed
1 (12-ounce) package egg
noodles, optional
1. Adjust oven rack to low-
er-middle position and heat oven
to 325 degrees. Sprinkle beef
with 1 teaspoon salt. Process red
peppers, paprika, tomato paste
and 2 teaspoons of the vinegar in
food processor until smooth, 1 to
2 minutes, scraping down sides of
bowl as needed.
2. Combine onions, oil and re-
maining 1 teaspoon salt in Dutch
oven. Cover and cook over medi-
um heat, stirring occasionally, un-
til onions soften but have not yet
begun to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
(If onions begin to brown, reduce
heat to medium-low and stir in 1
tablespoon water.)
3. Stir in pepper mixture and
cook, uncovered, until onions
begin to stick to bottom of pot,
about 2 minutes. Stir in beef, car-
rots and bay leaf and use rubber
spatula to scrape down sides of
pot. Cover, transfer to oven and
cook until beef is almost tender
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
Beef Goulash, a dish made in one pot.
and surface of liquid is 1/2 inch
below top of meat, 2 to 2 1/2 hours,
stirring every 30 minutes.
4. Stir in broth, if needed, until
surface of liquid measures ¼ inch
from top of meat (beef should
not be fully submerged). Cover
and continue to cook until beef is
tender, about 30 minutes.
5. Remove pot from oven and
discard bay leaf. Using wide,
shallow spoon, skim excess fat
from surface of stew. Adjust
consistency with more hot broth
as needed. Stir in remaining 1
teaspoon vinegar and season with
salt and pepper to taste.
6. If desired, prepare noodles
according to package directions
and serve goulash over noodles.
Per serving (based on 6): 583
calories; 23 g fat; 9 g saturated fat;
224 mg cholesterol; 66 g protein;
34 g carbohydrate; 15 g sugar; 7
g fiber; 1,282 mg sodium; 142 mg
calcium
Slightly adapted from “The
Complete One Pot” by America’s
Test Kitchen
EASY CHICKEN,
SPINACH AND
ARTICHOKE
POT PIE
Yield: 4 servings
1 1/4 pounds (20 ounces)
frozen spinach, thawed
and squeezed dry
1 (5.2-ounce) package Boursin
Garlic & Fine Herbs cheese
1 cup jarred or canned whole
artichoke hearts packed
in water, halved
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup capers, rinsed
1 tablespoon Wondra
flour, see note
12 ounces boneless, skinless
chicken breasts, trimmed
and sliced thin
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (9 1/2-by-9-inch) sheet
puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
with 2 tablespoons water
Note: Wondra is a brand of instant
flour that has been finely
ground, cooked and dried. It
prevents sauces from clumping.
You can substitute ordinary
all-purpose flour for the
Wondra; the taste will be the
same but the sauce will have a
pasty, slightly gritty texture.
1. Adjust oven rack to middle
position and heat oven to 425 de-
grees. Grease 8-by-8-inch baking
dish or 9-inch skillet. Combine
spinach, Boursin, artichokes,
carrots, broth, cream, capers and
Wondra together in a bowl, then
transfer to prepared dish or pan.
2. Toss chicken with lemon
zest, salt and pepper and spread
in even layer over the spinach
mixture. Cut puff pastry to fit over
dish or pan and place over top of
chicken. Cut 4 (2-inch) slits in cen-
ter of dough, then brush dough
with egg mixture.
3. Bake until crust is golden
brown and filling is bubbling,
30 to 35 minutes, rotating dish
halfway through baking. Remove
pot pie from oven and let cool for
10 minutes before serving.
Per serving: 635 calories; 34
g fat; 8 g saturated fat; 128 mg
cholesterol; 34 g protein; 51 g
carbohydrate; 4 g sugar; 10 g
fiber; 1,244 mg sodium; 258 mg
calcium
Recipe from “The Complete
One Pot” by America’s Test Kitchen
FRIED
EGGS WITH
PARMESAN
AND POTATO
ROESTI
Yield: 4 servings
2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold
potatoes, peeled and
shredded, see note
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoons table salt, divided
1/8 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon
pepper, divided
6 tablespoons unsalted
butter, divided
8 large eggs
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 ounce Parmesan cheese,
grated (1/2 cup)
Note: For best result, use the large
holes of a box grater to grate
the potatoes and grate them
lengthwise into long shreds.
1. Place potatoes in a large
bowl and fill with cold water.
See, One Pot/Page B2
Exploring history of the Anson Building
GINNY
MAMMEN
OUT AND ABOUT
The last building on
this block of downtown
La Grande is 1216 Adams
Ave., currently the home
of Bella Mercantile. It is
listed on the National Reg-
ister of Historic Places
as the “Anson Building,
most likely built by Henry
Anson around 1892.”
We know from a San-
born map there was a gen-
eral store located there in
1893. The 1893 City Direc-
tory tells us that Erwin S.
Coy was the proprietor.
His stock included table
linens, clothing and other
dry goods. Times were
tough, however, and in 1902
Erwin went bankrupt. W.
A. Messner, a grocer from
across the street, bought
Coy’s stock in March of that
year and moved his grocery
stock to the new location.
But it appears that
Messner was not really
ready to settle down in La
Grande. That same month
an article appeared in The
Observer telling that he
had sold his business to
three men from Nebraska.
By March 31, 1903, it was
reported that “A former La
Grande Man Retains His
Reputation as a Hustler.”
It seems that Messner had
moved to Independence,
Oregon, near Salem, and
purchased a store there.
The next proprietor
located at 1216 Adams
was Charles Clyde Pen-
nington, who operated a
men’s clothing store at this
location in the early 1900s.
In 1910 Frank Toney and
Claude Scranton purchased
the business from Pen-
nington. By November of
1912 the business of Toney
and Scranton was dissolved
when Toney, a well-known
haberdasher, moved to the
Sommer Hotel building.
Scranton found a new
partner in Harris French,
a young man previously
working for a compet-
itor. In December of 1912
the business of French and
Scranton was created. They
advertised they would be
selling the same quality
brands of men’s clothing
that had been sold by C. C.
Pennington. Selling men’s
clothing for a living just
wasn’t what French wanted
to do, so in January 1919 he
left the business and started
raising sheep.
French and Scranton
didn’t appear often in the
newspaper, but occasion-
ally through the years they
were mentioned, but not
always in ways they would
have wanted. For example,
in 1913, shortly after the
Scrantons had moved into
a new house on the corner
of Second and Spring,
Mrs. Scranton was getting
ready to attend the Cherry
Fair and left the iron which
she had been using on the
ironing table in her parlor.
The iron had not been prop-
erly turned off and when
they returned later that eve-
ning they found the ironing
table and much of the furni-
ture in the room destroyed
by fire, plus there was a hole
in the floor.
Then in July of 1918
there was a large notice
in The Observer chas-
tising the business for
being open “before, during
and after the parade” on
the Fourth. Just the year
before, in November, Mrs.
French attempted to back
her “large seven-passenger
car” away from the curb,
but forgot to put the car in
reverse. As a result she had
not only car damage, but
also a broken store window
at her husband’s business
and a report of the whole
thing in the paper.
One thing has to be said
about Claude Scranton:
he didn’t give up. After
French left he took on a
new partner named Short
in October 1923 and they
held a “reorganization sale.”
Unfortunately this business
lasted only a year and in
October of 1924 they had a
“bankrupt sale.”
In February 1925 it was
announced that the New
York Store, a chain store
which originally started
in Idaho, had purchased
the stock of Scranton and
Short and would soon be
moving into the building
at the corner of Elm and
Adams. This store started
out primarily selling men’s
and boys’ clothing but
later added clothing for the
whole family. New York
Store was in business until
the mid 1930s.
Whether it was the
size or the location of this
building, it seemed to
draw businesses that sold
clothing. Sometimes it was
for men, sometimes for
women and sometimes for
the whole family.
Ann Johnson had a wom-
en’s clothing shop here
from 1935 until 1938 when
Fred Hill Collection
The New York Store, a chain, operated at 1216 Adams Ave. in La
Grande from 1925 into the mid 1930s.
it became the home of
Western Frock Shop. The
Rosanna Shop moved in
October 1941 and stayed for
20 years.
The person involved with
this building having the
most interesting history was
Charles Clyde Pennington.
He was born to Stewart
McKindra Pennington and
his wife, Abigail, in Oregon
in 1855. Stewart was born
in Kentucky, but later came
across the plains in 1847
to Oregon with four other
people. He worked in a
variety of jobs including
mining in California until
1850. He then settled on a
farm near Albany until 1871
when he moved to Pend-
leton working in the stock
business. He served the
Oregon State Senate twice.
C. C. was restless like his
father. He moved with his
wife Hanna and their four
children to Union County in
1881, where he farmed for a
period of time. Sometime in
the early 1900s he opened a
clothing store which he later
sold to Toney and Scranton
in 1910. During that time he
was elected sheriff for two
terms. He also served as
director, vice president and
president of the La Grande
National Bank. Charles
Clyde Pennington died in
April 1927 at the age of 72.
Keep looking up! Enjoy!
Ginny Mammen has
lived in La Grande for
more than 50 years and
enjoys sharing her interest
in the history of people,
places and buildings.