Groups of similar-looking food storage containers in your kitchen cupboard or pantry  create a tidy and elegant appearance. ©2011 M-J de Mesterton  The Elegant Cook

Havarti, the Famous Mild Cheese from Denmark  Havarti or Cream Havarti (Fløde Havarti in Danish) is a semi-soft Danish cow's milk cheese. It is a table cheese that can be sliced, grilled, or melted. Havarti cheese was created by Hanne Nielsen, who operated an experimental farm called Havarthigaard in Øverød, Denmark, in the mid-19th century. Havarti is made  by introducing rennet to milk, thus promoting curdling. The curds are drained by being  pressed into cheese mould and then aged. Havarti is a washed-curd cheese, which contributes to its subtle flavour. Havarti is a smooth, interior-ripened cheese that is rindless and  of  a cream-to-yellow hue, depending on its degree of aging. It has tiny, irregular openings ("eyes") distributed throughout, like smaller versions of the holes inherent in Swiss cheese. Havarti has a buttery aroma and can be somewhat sharp in the stronger varieties. The taste is also quite buttery, and Havartis range in type  from somewhat sweet t

Elegant hamburgers and other sandwiches can be served to luncheon guests on buns that you make at home. See M-J's original recipe for Elegant Hamburger Buns on the Bread page at Elegant Cook .

Hamburgers can be elegant when served in buns that you make at home. Please see The Elegant Cook for M-J's original recipe, on the Bread page.

Baked Alaska, an Elegant Dessert Individual Baked Alaska desserts were prepared on oven-proof McCoy "brown drip" plates. Pound cake portions are filled with ice cream, covered with meringue and then baked for a few minutes until lightly browned. ©M-J de Mesterton 2011

See the Elegant Cook 

See The Elegant Cook Soup and Pasta page for M-J's original recipe, 

Stir-Crazy by West Bend Better than the analogous model by Presto 

See Elegant Cook for M-J's Elegant White Cake Recipe.

 

Pieter Claesz, Dutch Master

See the Elegant Cook for M-J's recipe

A most health-promoting vegetable, the refreshing, piquant radish is eaten in France (often at breakfast) with soft butter as a dip. The nutritious radish is a well-known liver-tonic. ©M-J de Mesterton

The best aluminum-free baking powder is by Rumford. 

Pita Bread Yield: 8 Pitas Ingredients 3 cups of unbleached white flour 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt 1 tablespoon of sugar 2 teaspoons of yeast 11/2 cups of warm water 2 tablespoons of butter or your favorite vegetable/peanut oil Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add oil/butter and water. Knead for ten minutes. Form the dough into a ball and coat with oil, set into a bowl, and let rise for 90 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Punch down your dough-ball, then divide it into 8 balls. Dust them with flour on both sides and, using  a rolling-pin, flatten them into discs. Bake the pitas in your 400* oven on a stone or heavy, flat pan for approximately 15 minutes, or until golden brown. ©M-J de Mesterton 2010 Arabic Bread, Bread, Bread to eat with Hummus bi Tahina, Flat Bread, Flat Bread Recipe, Greek Bread, Mediterranean Bread, Pita Bread. Easy Recipe for Pita, Pita Recipe, Pi

Royal or "seven-minute" icing is cooked in the top level of a double-boiler. This classic, elegant frosting recipe contains four egg-whites, three cups of granulated white sugar, two tablespoons of light corn syrup (Karo brand), a dash of salt, and two-thirds-cup of water. An electric mixer is employed while water simmers underneath the bowl or double-boiler top. I use a Pyrex mixing bowl with handles, hooked up over a Creuset dutch oven. Beat the mixture until stiff peaks form. Frost a cooled cake with it five minutes after the icing has been removed from the cooker. ©M-J de Mesterton 2011 

Stainless Lux of San Francisco makes an elegant,  high-quality juicer that comes in a fabric drawstring pouch. The affordable way to juice oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes: Stainless Lux Update, March 2022: I have now owned this Stainless LUX juicer for eleven years; it still looks and works like brand-new. ♥ M-J de Mesterton

Stainless Lux of San Francisco makes an elegant,  high-quality juicer that comes in a fabric drawstring pouch. The affordable way to juice oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes: Stainless Lux Update, March 2022: I have now owned this Stainless LUX juicer for eleven years; it still looks and works like brand-new. ♥ M-J de Mesterton

Photograph of 1961 Magazine Advert by M-J de Mesterton

Photographed from Frau und Film by M-J de Mesterton

Peel, quarter and boil eight medium sized potatoes, or ten small ones. Salt the boiling water. Alternatively, add some Maggi or Knorr chicken bouillon powder. Boil the potato chunks for fifteen minutes. Drain but do not rinse them. In your cooking pot, sauté eight strips of bacon, finely chopped. Remove the bacon bits with a slotted spoon. and reserve in a small bowl or cup. Empty out  half of the bacon fat. Add two tablespoons of vegetable oil (I use peanut oil) and two tablespoons of vinegar (I use malt vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or white vinegar). If you have it, a tablespoon of concentrated apple juice can be added to this dressing mixture. You will adjust the vinegar and oil to your taste after the initial mixing of all ingredients. Add the potatoes, one finely diced small onion (red, white or yellow), and one diced, unpeeled apple. Grind some pepper into the mixture for taste, and check for salt. Mix gently. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature for  best flavor. ~~Recipe a

Just add ground-beef patties and melted cheese if you like cheeseburgers. Green chiles, lettuce and pickles are chopped with a "Slap Chop" non-electric gadget.

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