Decade-Dent: Ten years of food and fun

I think I know what the gastronome Brillat-Savarin meant when he said, "The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star." I said that in my first column for the Southeast Missourian 10 years ago this month.

Brillat-Savarin's observation still rings true, but I can't believe a decade has elapsed since I first quoted it. Time really does fly when you're having fun.

It's certainly been fun writing about everything from Peeps to pate a choux. In 10 years I've chalked up hundreds of recipes, thousands of words and millions of calories. Along the way I've also learned that if you leave a critical piece of information out of a recipe, most people won't notice until they are in the middle of preparing it, which has gotten me a frenzied phone call or two.

When people ask what my favorite column was, my answer is the one I give when asked what my favorite meal is -- the last one. Still, some articles stand out in my mind.

One of my favorites dealt with food etymology -- how dishes get their names. In writing the piece I learned that, in the words of Martha Barnette, a classical language scholar, there are "surprising tales tucked into the words we put into our mouths every day."

Another favorite dealt with culinary accidents. It's amazing how many classic concoctions -- like puff pastry, the ice cream cone and fudge -- were the result of blind luck.

Tom Harte stirred up the ingredients for "Death by Chocolate" in his kitchen. (Fred Lynch)

Tom Harte imagined a way to train for the Tour de Donut.

Still another favorite piece was about unusual foods. Apparently everything -- including crickets, cobras and cactus -- is a delicacy to somebody somewhere. As one authority puts it, "Through history, humans have eaten virtually everything that walked, including each other."

I especially like the columns recounting my travels in the selfless pursuit of culinary knowledge to pass on to readers, like the ones about going to Vienna, Austria, to taste test Sacher Tortes, to Istanbul, Turkey, to trace the origin of baklava, and to Peru to sample quinoa.

Then there are columns revealing my weakness for junk food. I've written about Twinkies, funnel cakes, cotton candy and doughnuts -- and I'm not apologetic about it. I also remember fondly an indulgent column about homemade baby food, written mainly so I could get my granddaughter's picture in the newspaper.

But, perhaps, my most memorable column was about blue cheese, the first slated to appear with a color photograph. Alas, on publication day the press malfunctioned and the cheese's glorious blue veins were depicted in black and white.

Through it all I've bolstered my conviction that a recipe ranks with poetry as a form of literature. That's because, as Joseph Conrad put it, "Its object can conceivably be no other than to increase the happiness of mankind."

Tom Harte's book, "Stirring Words," which highlights some of his favorite columns of the last 10 years, is available at local bookstores and at Amazon.com. Contact Tom at semissourian.com or at the Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699.

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Decade-dent Chocolate Chip Bars

If I had to pick a favorite recipe over the years, it would be my chocolate chip cookie recipe. Here it is, transformed into a bar cookie with a fudge topping for this 10th anniversary column.

Replacing the caramel glaze on creme brulee with a ball of cotton candy can provide an elegant twist to the classic dessert. (Fred Lynch)

2 sticks plus 6 tablespoons butter, divided

2 and 1/3 cups sugar, divided

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoon grated orange zest

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

1 cup pecan halves

3 giant (8-ounce) milk-chocolate bars, cut into chunks

6 tablespoons milk

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cream 2 sticks butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and zest until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Stir in combined baking soda, salt and flour. Stir in pecans and chopped up chocolate bars. Press dough into a greased 9-by-13-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely. Bring remaining 6 tablespoons butter, milk, and remaining 1 and 1/3 cups sugar to a boil. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Beat until chips are melted and icing is slightly thick. Rapidly spread on cooled cookie and cut into bars.

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