Mashed Potatoes...and Gravy

In culinary school I learned the correct way to prepare pomme purée. Apparently it was such an important skill to master that they had us practice nearly every day, for weeks. It was a major component of our first exam. We had to cut the correct amount, in weight, of potatoes in even pieces, boil for the correct amount of time (in properly salted water), drain and dry before mashing. And we didn't mash them with a potato masher or stick them in a KitchenAid, we sent them through a food mill or tamis. They were smoother than baby food. Somewhere in there we'd mix them with (a measured amount of) hot cream and cold cubed butter, season and mix again, gently- so as not to form gluey potatoes, but enough so everything was evenly incorporated, and perfectly smooth, perfectly creamy, with the perfect balance of cream and butter, salt and white pepper.

I can appreciate this. It was our chef instructor's job to teach us to make everything perfect, everytime. But no one spends this much time on mashed potatoes- whatever you call them. I have worked in plenty of restaurants, and even the fancy ones rough chop their potatoes and boil the hell out of them, drain, stick in a huge electric mixing bowl, turn the motor on and add cream (usually straight from the carton) and butter.

I work with old people. They're no food critics- okay that's not entirely true. They have very strong opinions. And they will tell me exactly what they think. But they want good comfort food, like they used to make when they had kitchens, food their parents and grandparents used to make. They don't want pomme purée, perfectly creamy and seasoned. Many of them watch their sodium intake, some of them think pepper (be it white or black) is too spicy.

So I make it simpler for them. I am usually crunched for time, and I often make these on a weekly basis. I took some basic techniques and tips from the gureling weeks of preparing pomme purée in class, but I don't follow the teachings like the law. I peel and chop the potatoes up first thing, and as fast as I can, not worrying too much about their size. Put the cut potatoes into cold water right away so they don't oxidize and turn brown- this happens very quickly. Always start in cold water. I usually cut them straight into the pot I will be boiling them in, heavily salted, and leave it on the stove. I don't turn the heat on until about an hour before lunch service, that will give them a good 20-30 minutes to simmer away, and not have to be held hot too long. I put a pot of cream on the stove to heat up (it keeps the potatoes from cooling down), and wait. We have a KitchenAid at work, but it only has one speed: fast. I don't want hot potatoes all over the kitchen, so I use a good old fashioned hand masher (we don't have a food mill, potato ricer or tamis). I drain the soft potatoes in a colander, put them back in the empty, but still hot, pot they cooked in, and mash away. I add my butter, usually in cold cubes, then the hot cream, and some salt to taste. Occasionally I'll add roasted garlic, if I thought ahead of time and roasted some, or garlic powder- because it's easy and the old folk love it.

How ever I make it, I will get protests if it is not served accompanied with gravy. It doesn't matter what else goes on the plate- meatloaf, pan-seared chicken breasts, fish- they must have their gravy. This sometimes presents a problem. Gravy is a pan sauce made from the drippings of whatever animal you've cooked. I rarely have drippings to use. So I make the easiest cheater gravy ever. I would never admit this to my culinary classmates or instructors, but out in the field you have to find something that works. The residents love this "gravy," it's rich and thick and creamy. More of a béchemel sauce with chicken or beef flavor- actually that's exactly what it is.

I heat up some milk, usually a small pot full. I always have pre-made roux on hand (equal parts butter and flour, by weight, melted in a pot and cooked for a little bit, stirring constantly, until fragrant and nutty, and no longer tastes like raw starch). Once the milk is nice and hot, I add some roux and better than bouillon, to taste and whisk until thick and flavorful. Often I must readjust the amounts, more roux if it's not thick enough, more milk if it's too thick, more flavor, and I add crushed black pepper and freshly ground nutmeg, it give it a speckled from-scratch look.

When service comes, my residents are never disappointed by my mashed potatoes or gravy. I serve the mashers with a scoop (which I was told never to do in school, because it looks "so institutional") and press in a small ladle-full of gravy. It's the perfect amount for their small appetites, and it looks just right, considering where we are.

Date Topped Brownies

Now, this making two daily desserts business is not an easy feat. I have to be creative and try new ideas (that don't always work) and keep coming up with new ones. I don't like to do the same dessert twice, even if they love it. I will eventually, but I don't want to get stuck in a rut where I keep baking the same things from my little stockpile of pastries. So I am building a binder, my pastry arts binder, meticulously organized, of all desserts I have tried and that were successes. There are recipes from culinary school, from my grandma, things I've tried at home, and every recipe that has won a victory at work. So onto to the successful experiment of date brownies- who just made it into my binder.

I found dates at work in the dried fruit box. I had already used the dried cranberries, raisins, cherries... So I tasted a date. I'm not sure if I had ever had one before, but this blew my mind. It was a heavenly shriveled up lump of sweetness, and I had to use it.

I usually would use my little iPhone screen to look up recipes, but I didn't have time. It was already 7:00 AM, and the menu goes out by 7:30- and I had breakfast items to prepare. I quickly searched around, saw the cocoa powder, remembered there was some left-over chocolate frosting I was suppose to use, and decided on brownies. At that point I had not decided whether I was going to put them inside or just on top- but I had something to put on the menu.

I would have called these "date brownies," but then the assumption might have been that they are a healthier brownie version- made with "date sugar," and they are not. I'm sure that would be great though, and there are many diabetics amongst the elderly, so I will try (someday) and get back to you with that recipe as well.

Date Topped Brownies

brownies:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
(1/2 cups chopped dates)
frosting:
2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
5 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dates for topping (1 per brownie)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
Mix together oil, sugar and vanilla, then beat in the eggs.
Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, then stir into sugar mixture.
Stir in chopped dates, if using.
Spread into prepared pan, and bake 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting:
Mix together the cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar.
Cream the butter with an electric mixer until smooth, then gradually add sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk.
Add vanilla, then beat until light and fluffy. Consistency may be adjusted with more milk or sugar.

When brownies are cooled, cut into squares, frost and top each with a whole date.

Enjoy with your favorite seniors!

Chicken Lemon Rice Soup

My mother always made this when someone in our family was sick. When I first moved out, I didn't live too far away, so everytime I got sick, I'd just go stay with her and she'd make it for me. It wasn't until recently that my boyfriend and I moved halfway across the country, and when one of us got sick, and I finally asked for her recipe.

It's soup, not an exact recipe (more like guidelines). So you can add more of this and less of that if you want. And play with it. I use leftovers sometimes, when I have rice I need to use, or chicken carcasses, I'll make home made stock, which is so much richer, but when someone gets sick, and I don't have anything to use, I'll make it from scratch. It's become a favorite at home, as well as with the elderly (who are often sick). It's a feel-better soup.

Chicken Lemon Rice Soup

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized cubes
vegetable oil or butter
1 small yellow onion, small diced
6 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup rice (uncooked)
1 medium carrot, shredded (or small diced)
salt and pepper
dried parsley

Season and cook chicken pieces until done, set aside.
Sweat the onions, until translucent, in a small amount of vegetable oil or butter and salt. (If dicing the carrot, add now).
Add stock and lemon juice and bring to a simmer.
Add rice, and simmer until rice is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Add shredded carrots, chicken and dried parsley.
Season to taste.

Starch

Starch: No meal is complete without it

I always thought my first job in assisted living was the best, revolutionary even. I had the idea that all facilities and homes served pre-made packaged and frozen foods. And most of them do. But Fairhaven Estates was different. They hired real cooks and made foods from scratch. Sure we had white cake mix that we'd use- adding cocoa powder or flavored extracts to change the flavor- frozen fish fillets, and a few other items, but almost everything was handmade. We peeled and diced and boiled the potatoes for mashed potatoes and potato salad, we scrubbed the skins for baked potatoes, we washed the little red guys for herb roasted red potatoes, we sliced them thin for scalloped, julienned for fries...  But all we had were potatoes. Everyday. We might have a great entree, fried chicken (with potatoes), baked ham (with potatoes), pot roast (with potatoes), but always (with potatoes). We had the occasional sweet potato fries, and even mashed sweet potatoes (along with mashed potatoes) for Thanksgiving feasts, but that's it. Potatoes.

I did ask my boss why once, he said most of the residents hated rice and spaghetti (they called any form of pasta spaghetti, regardless of shape). I took it as truth and forgot about it- quickly learning how to prepare potatoes every way, and just as quickly deciding I hated them.

I still believed it, up until my current job. I had almost forgotten about other starches, even ones I prepared at home but that didn't register in my brain for one reason or another. Then I encountered the "starch" box at work. My head chef keeps everything very organized; if you are looking for nuts in dry storage, check the nut box, flour- check the grain box. The potatoes (and sweet potatoes) are in a large box on the bottom shelf. But ah... the starch box. Polenta, long grain white rice, arborio rice, wild rice, brown rice, quinoa, bulgur, barley, millet, wheat berries... the list goes on. Next to the starch box, and closely related, we have the pasta box- filled to the brim with all shapes of noodles- spaghetti, lasagna, couscous, cavatappi, egg noodles, elbow macaroni, shells.... All avaliable to prepare and serve with the entree (or soup, or salad, or even dessert).

And the residents love it. They don't want potatoes all the time either! They are still human beings with the same (though slightly weaker) taste buds! Yes- potatoes can be yummy, and seniors do love them, but not everyday.

I totally understand the distaste for spaghetti (the actual spaghetti, angle hair, capellini, linguine and other long pastas)- the long awkward shapes, hard for trembling hands to swirl onto a fork, that slide too easily down your throat, before chewing, and can be hazardous. I myself have choked on spaghetti more times than I'd like to recall. But there are so many pasta shapes! I really like to use the short, flat, wide egg noodles- they have a unique flavor and are both easy to pick up and to eat- great for Stroganoff and casseroles, plus, I always use them when I make chicken noodle soup.

I think a lot of elderly residents dislike rice for the same reason, not that it's hard to swallow, but that it is harder to pick up with a fork. It also tends to get everywhere, so serving in a bowl might make clean-up easier. Risotto is an option too- it sticks together, making it much easier to pick up, and it's creamy and flavorful.

Of all the many grains, I have had the best luck with polenta. It's thick, creamy, and soft, and can be seasoned many ways. The residents love it; it sticks together, sticks to their utensils, stays on their plates (not the floor), is easy to chew (though not necessary) and easy to swallow, and just plain delicious. I usually stir in hot cream and Parmesan cheese at the end, or sauteed onions, mushrooms and thyme ( also one of my favorite risotto combinations). You can prepare it with water or a flavorful stock- just don't forget the salt!

Whatever starches you choose to accompany your meals,  be sure to use a variety. Be open to new breeds and try new recipes. And don't forget about the potato!

Lettuce Salads

Salads seem to be an uncommon part of the senior diet. Lettuce can be hard to chew and swallow, and it wasn't a common food back in the day when our current old folks were youngin's.(Click for Brief Salad History)

In previous homes I've worked in, dinner salads were unheard of, and the salad bar's lettuce and fresh vegetables would go unnoticed next to canned beets, jello and fruit cocktails.

One of my grandfather's chief complaints about senior food was lack of lettuce. He had quite the palate for an 80-sum year-old.  Other than enjoying a giant cookie and beer that my mother would sneak into his nursing facility, he loved a fresh crisp salad. And I know there are more seniors out there with taste buds like Papa Bob.

At my current place of work, we make entre salads at least once a week and small side salads almost daily, with few complaints.

Several of my residents are missing entire sets of teeth, which make chewing rather difficult. For these residents, and others with chewing and swallowing problems, I chop the lettuce or salad greens up very small. For seniors I chop it up small anyways, but for these special cases I mean really tiny. And then I chop up all the toppings just as little. Presentation is still important though, (you eat with your eyes before you eat with your mouth) so I arrange the confetti of toppings on in an attractive manner.

So don't let a few sour apples spoil salads for everyone.  I have one resident who won't eat lettuce, but she'll eat the rest of the salad, so I make her a special plate without it. If you're working in a community, I urge you to give it a try and see how it goes over. Get feedback. If you're cooking for less, say a parent, grandparent or personal client, ask them how they feel about salads- see what they like and don't like about them. We're here cater to their dietary desires, and it's easy to make a few adjustments.

A note about...
Onions: Lots of people in the general public do not like raw onions. The senior population is no different. Be wary.
Bell Peppers: I've heard complaints from several elderly residents that these wreak havoc on their digestive systems. Use sparingly.
The Foundation: There is so much more variety of amazing greens on which to build your salad than iceberg lettuce. Try spinach, mixed greens, romaine, bib lettuce, and others- they actually all have unique flavors and textures.

Why Seniors?

In a lot of ways, cooking for seniors is like cooking for children; many seniors have the diminished taste buds of already bland and old-fashioned palates.

But just because some old folks don’t like flavor (or texture, or spice) doesn’t mean none of them do. And these preparation factors should not (and can not) be compromised for these old farts- usually the ones that have something to say about it too- especially when cooking for many in a home or senior community.

That’s what I do- I am a cook at an assisted living facility. I am professionally trained in the culinary arts and I choose to use my education, experience and talent to cook for the elderly. Because they deserve it too.