The Jimtown Store Cookbook

On the Fourth of July in 1987, Carrie Brown and John Werner were returning from a barbecue at Brown’s parents in the Napa Valley. On a winding road they came upon an abandoned store with a “For Sale” sign. The Jimtown store had been on that spot for 100 years in one form or another. Brown and Werner returned to New York with the idea of opening a kind of modern country store. After several years of negotiating, they were finally able to purchase the property.

They returned to the Napa Valley and opened their store with old-fashioned candy, treats and amazing food. Their simple, tasty food made the Jimtown store a stopping place in the Napa Valley. And, in due course The Jimtown Store Cookbook came to be.

The chopped olive salad was added to baguette with ripe brie to make one of their best selling sandwiches, called appropriately, the Jimtown.

Chopped Olive Salad

12 ounces pimiento-stuffed green olives, halved if large
8 ounces pitted Kalamata olives
1/4 cup drained capers
3 tablespoons pure olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped and smashed with the blade of a knife
4 oil-packed anchovy fillets, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1. In a food processor, combine the green and black olives, capers, oil, oregano, garlic, anchovies, if you are using them, lemon juice and red pepper. Process with short pulses until the mixture is evenly chopped. Do not over process –some texture should remain. Adjust the seasoning.

2. The olive salad can be used immediately, refrigerated for 10 days, or frozen for up to 2 months. Return almost to room temperature before using.

Sadly, John Werner, who was an original partner in the famous Silver Palate specialty store, died. Carrie Brown still lives behind the Jimtown Store, or so I have heard...

In Nirmala’s Kitchen

Nirmala Narine travels the world looking for exotic spices. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. Once she has found and imported these unique spices, she sells them on her web site, Nirmala's Kitchen. Then you purchase them and become the interesting and creative chef you always wanted to be. Perhaps I have over-simplified things, still...

If you are having trouble thinking of how to use a particular spice, look no further than her book, In Nirmala's Kitchen: Everyday World Cuisine. While the recipes can be exotic, they are not above the skill of moderate cook; a cook who can navigate a stocked international market. The book has an informative glossary in the back, detailing many of the ingredients she uses. Her recipes offer detailed stories of how she came to prepare or sample her recipes. Today, hummus is a staple on grocery shelves. Buying ready-made hummus in a grocery is tantamount to buying ready-made guacamole; there is simply no need! Hummus is a breeze to make and far better than anything in a store. This one has a nice kick.

Israeli Hummus

2 cups plus two tablespoons cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
About 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Cayenne and chopped parsley for garnish
Pita bread or store-bought or homemade spiced Pita Chips for serving

1.In a food processor, combine 2 cups chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic,1/2 cup olive oil, and 3/4 teaspoon salt; blend until smooth. Drizzle additional olive oil mixture to obtain the desired consistency (it should be thick enough to spoon onto pita bread or chips). Season to taste with additional lemon juice and salt.

2.Transfer hummus to serving bowl. Garnish with remaining 2 tablespoons chickpeas, cayenne, and parsley; drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Serve with brad or Spiced Pita Chips.

This is hummus even a Palestinian could enjoy.

House & Garden’s Party Menu Cookbook

I love “menu” cookbooks. They are a kind of blueprint for the catatonic hostess. Previously, I wrote about a “flip book” cookbook and how preposterous some “flipped” menu combinations would be if you served them to you guests. I have to admit, some of the meals proposed in menu type cookbooks are just as preposterous as flipping randomly through some cookbooks and making a meal.

The House & Garden Party Menu Cookbook is one of the better ones. Published in the early 1970’s, it features recipes from numerous H&G contributors including culinary icons, James Beard and Craig Claiborne. There are 126 menus for breakfast, lunches, dinners, suppers, buffets, and any other food opportunity one can think of. I am rather fond of the retro recipes in A Small Cocktail Party for Twelve To Sixteen. Alas, I have been forced to rename the party the Farewell To My Favorite Magazines Cocktail Party.

As many of you know, House and Garden ceased publication because there were not enough people out there with houses and gardens, I think that was the reason. Thus began the demise of magazines I subscribe to. H&G was first, then I lost Blueprint, Cottage Living, Domino, and Country Home. My mailbox is a wasteland!! I am already profoundly nostalgic for my magazines so I chose a profoundly nostalgic recipe.

Shrimp Paté

2 cups beer
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stalk celery
1 1/2 pounds raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/4 cup parsley
3 tablespoons diced onions
1/2 cup diced green pepper
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Bring beer, salt and celery to a boil. Add the shrimp: cook over low heat 5 minutes. Let cool in the beer 20 minutes. Drain.
Combine the shrimp, parsley, onion, green pepper, cream, lemon juice and Tabasco in a blender and whirl until mixture is very fine and smooth. Pack into a mold and chill. Serve with crackers or toast.

If you, too, are suffering Domino withdrawal, make up a batch of Shrimp Paté, put it in your prettiest bowl and think about all those houses and gardens you are missing.

The Showboat Cookbook

Broadway shows, television shows, even movies often spawn various spin-offs.




Soundtracks are the most likely culprits, but often they inspire cookbooks. Most of the time they inspire really awful cookbooks. Fortunately for us, The Showboat Cookbook is not one of them. June Jackson is an accomplished cook who understands the food of the Mississippi. When she saw Showboat, she could taste it. In her introduction she states:

The scene in “Queenie’s Pantry” convinced me that Queenie cooked; reading Ferber’s novel told me that Parthy made pickles and that a lady in the Cotton Blossom audience brought plum jelly and chocolate cake as a gift when the boat docked in her home town.

Jackson includes a recipe I watched my mother make every month for the women in her Bridge Club.

Spicy Ham Spread Tea Sandwiches

1 1/2 cups baked or country ham, chopped in a blender or food processor
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons celery, finely diced
1/3 cup toasted pecans, broken or chopped
Pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Creole or “rough” mustard

Combine all ingredients and mix with a spoon, correcting seasonings. Use for sandwiches of preferred shapes.

My mother never added pecans, and I hate nuts in my food. Like many people, I often buy condiments and stick them in the fridge. There is that moment when there is a spoon full of stuff left in the bottom of the jar. Not really enough to do anything with, but you hate to throw it away. Recently, I discovered a jar of ajvar, a roasted pepper and eggplant spread, sitting in the back of the fridge. I had some left over ham, so I put the ham in the food processor and chopped it. I added some mayo and the last tablespoon of ajvar. It made a great ham spread, even it was a bit garish on the color side.