Seafood Divan

When Jerri first made this casserole I thought that it was called Seafood Divine because it tasted heavenly.   However, it is actually a takeoff of Chicken Divan, a casserole made with poached chicken, broccoli and Mornay Sauce–a classic French cheese sauce made with white sauce, Parmesan and Gruyère cheese.    Chicken Divan was invented and named by an anonymous chef at the Divan Parisien Restaurant in New York City sometime early in the twentieth century.

The meaning of divan is unclear.  One explanation is that “divan” is a French word for a meeting place.  Another is that the word actually refers to the privy council of the Ottoman Empire and by association with the council chamber itself.  My guess is that the Divan Parisien  Restaurant and its signature dish were given the name because it sounded elegant.

The strategy worked and the restaurant flourished for many years just a short distance north of Grand Central Terminal.   The recipe spawned dozens, if not hundreds, of variations and takeoffs, many of which seem to use “Divan” in the name just because it sounds good.

Thus, there are leftover turkey divans, ham divans, pork divans, fish divans, lobster and shrimp divans, hamburger divans, vegetarian divans and even spam divans.  I kid you not.  The one thing these recipes have in common besides the name is some kind of cheese.

Here is our recipe for “a really elegant dish” (a divan!) made with canned and frozen ingredients that you can keep on hand to use when you don’t know what to make for dinner and don’t feel like going to the store to get inspired.  This recipe probably originated somewhere in the midwest fifty or sixty years ago.  Neither of us really knows where we got it.  Jerri even accuses me of first making it, but she is wrong.

INGREDIENTS:

For the casserole:

1/2 pound fresh or frozen codfish fillets
1 six ounce can of crabmeat
1 can of condensed Cream of Celery Soup
1 fourteen ounce can of cut asparagus
1 four ounce can of sliced mushrooms
1 two ounce jar diced pimientos
4 tsp. all purpose flour
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
White or brown rice

For poaching the fish:

2 quarts water
1 bay leaf
1 small onion
4 peppercorns
4 whole cloves
2 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt

PROCEDURE:

If the fillets are frozen, thaw them before poaching and and grate the cheese.

Put the poaching ingredients into a three or four quart saucepan and bring the liquid to a boil.  Boil for five minutes, then remove the pan from the heat for a few minutes to allow the liquid to cool slightly.

Drop the fillets into the hot liquid and return the pan to low heat for five minutes or until the fish flakes but is not soft.  Do not boil or overcook the fish.  With a slotted spoon remove the fish from the poaching liquid to a mixing bowl.  Discard the liquid.  Add the crabmeat to the fish and mix them together, breaking the fillets into large flakes.

Preheat the oven to 325º.   Drain the asparagus and put it into a baking dish.  Drain the mushrooms and layer them on top.  Layer the pimientos on the mushrooms.  Sprinkle the vegetables with four teaspoons of all purpose flour.  Layer the fish and crab mixture on the vegetables.

Warm the soup with 2 or 3 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan and mix until smooth.  Pour the soup over the fish and vegetables.  Sprinkle with the grated cheese.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes.  Cook the rice according to your favorite method and make a salad while the casserole is baking.

Serve over rice accompanied by a garden salad and French bread.

NOTES:  You can substitute haddock, pollock or other firm-fleshed fish for the codfish fillets.  A glass of chilled white wine goes well with this dish.

 

Sautéed Swiss Chard with Onions

A distraught four-year-old girl came running into the house and announced to her mother, “Mom, Lisa won’t let me eat the sheep shower.”  Jerri and our son and daughter were visiting their grandmother in Rosalia, Kansas.  Since Jerri had grown up eating the shamrock-shaped leaves of this beautiful flower with her friends, she had naturally taught Jocelyn that it made a good snack between meals.

However, Jerri’s niece Lisa, who was babysitting Jocelyn, did not know that sheep shower was edible and did what a good babysitter was supposed to do–prevented her charge from poisoning herself.  This led to the crisis which Jerri quickly resolved by showing her teen-aged niece that sheep shower was safe to eat and really quite tasty.

I don’t know if Lisa ever developed a liking for sheep shower, nor is it one of my favorite vegetables, but I grew up with parents who believed that God gave us wild greens so we did not have to grow everything in the garden.  So we had fern fiddleheads and dandelion greens in early spring and lambs quarters when we pulled the young weeds throughout the summer.

Some people say that lambs quarters taste a bit like Swiss chard, which is rated as one of the most nutritious vegetables available.  Swiss chard is tied with spinach as a healthful addition to your diet, but chard has a more delicate flavor.  This relative of the common beet is very low in calories but has lots of calcium, iron and vitamin C.  It has almost no fat, but you can take care of that deficiency if you follow this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. green Swiss chard (a large bunch with about ten leaves with the stems)
2 T olive oil
2 T unsalted butter
1 large onion ( at least 4 inches in diameter)
2 or 3 large cloves of garlic
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Water as needed

PROCEDURE:

Wash the chard and trim the stalks at the cut ends.  Strip the leaves downwards from where the stems are about 3/16 inch in diameter.  Cut the stems into pieces about an inch long and set them aside in a bowl.  Roll or pile the leaves and cut them into one inch strips.  Set these aside in another bowl.

Clean and cut the onion in half lengthwise, then thinly slice each half.  Clean and mince the garlic.

Heat the butter and olive oil over low heat in a large skillet or frying pan.  Add the onion, about a quarter teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.  Stir well to mix the spices and oil with the onion.  Cover the pan and cook the onion for about eight minutes, stirring it occasionally.

Turn the heat up to medium and stir in the chopped stems and minced garlic with a half teaspoon of salt and about a quarter teaspoon of pepper.  Cover and cook for another eight minutes, again stirring the mixture occasionally.  If the pan appears dry, add a couple of teaspoons of water.

Now add the chopped leaves.  If the pan is big enough, just stir them all in at once and cover the pan.  If you have too many leaves to put in the pan at once, add them in batches, stir them a few seconds until they wilt, then add more until you have them all in the pan.  Finish the chard by cooking another four or five minutes.

If you don’t like cooked spinach but know that you should be eating leafy green vegetables to protect your brain, heart, lungs, legs, arms, eyes and other essential parts of your body, try this recipe.  Chard has a mild taste complemented by the olive oil and butter that we find delicious.

Serve as a low carb side dish and offer vinegar as a condiment.  Jerri likes a dash of vinegar on both spinach and Swiss chard.

NOTES:  Chard begins wilting as soon as it is picked from the garden, so plan to use it that same day if possible.  If you store it in the refrigerator, it will be wilted but perfectly usable even two days after it is harvested.  Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator; warmed, they are still very tasty.

I try to avoid recipes that use lots of dishes, but you can simply rinse out the bowls as you empty them.  Simple and efficient.  There is only one pan to wash.