When Shelley Leroux first visited her fiancé's parents, they were eating hare. After her future father-in-law took one bite, he said to his wife (while still holding his knife and fork), "I wanted a Saskatchewan hare. This is an Alberta hare" While Leroux wondered if she should marry this picky man's son out of fear he would be the same, she had no idea she would soon learn how one man distinguished the difference between two hares-simply through taste. And so began Leroux's foray into the international world of cooking and tasting fabulous foods. In her collection of recipes and stories spanning more than eighty-five years, Leroux shares not only entertaining anecdotes about her life, but also simple recipes that tantalize the palate and celebrate flavors from around the world, including Belgium, Asia, and the United States. From Waterzoie de Volaille to Oriental Meatballs to Cape Cod Turkey, Leroux provides a delicious recipe for every palate-all while amusing with stories about unsuccessful dinner parties, yacht club sailboat races, the Pygmies, and vintage airplanes. The anecdotes and recipes included in The Secret Ingredient will encourage both novice and experienced cooks to explore international flavors right in their very own kitchens!

The Secret Ingredient

or How to Cook a Perfect 3-Minute Egg in Twenty MinutesBy Shelley LeRoux

Trafford Publishing

Copyright © 2012 Shelley LeRoux
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4269-8235-4

Contents

Dedication...........................................1Potage St Germain....................................17Waterzoie de Volaille................................25Oriental Meatballs...................................27Crab Salad...........................................29May Wine.............................................40Dandelion Wine.......................................41Cape Cod Turkey......................................50Pineapple upside Down Cake...........................53Apple Snow...........................................57Tomato Aspic.........................................58Easy Cheese Souffle..................................59Date Bread...........................................60Hazelnut Torte.......................................61Deviled Eggs.........................................67Eggs a La Golden Rod.................................68French Onion Soup....................................69Fried Green Tomatoes.................................70My Quick Soup........................................71Tuna Fish or Canned Salmon Salad.....................72Doughnut recipe:.....................................74Vichyssoise..........................................75Salmon Mousse........................................77Hollandaise Sauce....................................79The Halloween Menu...................................80The Devon Carriage Marathon..........................84Five Baby Raccoons...................................86My Unforgettable Ball Gown...........................91Chocolate Mousse Pie.................................92Rice Krispies Cookies................................94Bread Pudding........................................95Egg Custard..........................................96Avocado Soup.........................................97Corn Pancakes........................................98Dad's Wacky Cake.....................................99Escaveche............................................101Tripe a Ia Mode de Caen..............................102Strawberry Serendipity...............................104Deluxe Tomato Aspic..................................106Boiled Fried Chicken.................................107Recipe Index.........................................113Super Chocolate Cake.................................115Quenelles de Poison..................................116

Chapter One

Potage St Germain

2 cups chicken broth 1 carrot 1 cup heavy cream 1 1/2 lbs of green peas 3 slices of bread 1 medium onion 1 sprig of mint 3 tablespoons butter A pinch of salt or pepper to taste several leaves of iceberg lettuce

Cook peas in broth with thin sliced onions, thin sliced carrot, sprig of mint and the lettuce. Cook until the vegetables are all soft. Process in a waring blender until smooth. Pour the soup into a double boiler and heat well mixing in the heavy cream and butter. If too thick add more chicken broth and add salt and / or pepper to taste. Cut up the bread into small 1 inch squares and heat till light tan in pan with bit of butter, then add on top of soup.

* * *

In seventh grade our family was invited to Philo T. Farnsworth's to view their 7" TV set, the only program shown in that early day on TV was a baseball game. I saw that first TV but wasn't interested in baseball. However, the Farnsworths were delightful and gracious people.

I vividly remember having fun playing Monopoly with the first handmade Monopoly game at Joy McKubbin's home. Her family was close friends of Mr. Darrow, the inventor. He had real silver charms but unreal paper money!

The next phase of my life was my obsession with airplanes. I owned half an airplane with Ralph Wheelock Pomeroy Allen 3rd. We belonged to a flying club at Art Turner's. Roy—or—Pete as he was sometimes called, said jokingly that my half was where the gas tank was! Art Turner's club was a co-op, so we paid .05 cents a gallon for fuel. One time we flew up to Fred Waring's Shawnee on the Delaware. After a concert we walked back to our plane and spotted a bank barn. As we peeked in, voices said, "Come in and have a drink". Roy said "No, thank you, 1 have to have my friend home before dark." They guffawed, "who is she, Cinderella?' You see, our licenses were only valid in daylight.

We had an idyllic honeymoon in Sea Island, Georgia. Our first morning there was an early and very noisy one because Jacques had dumped a large amount of rice from our wedding reception, rather from our our send-off, outside our room and the crows were having a feast!

We met a generous and very friendly couple, the Kirtleys, who later invited us to visit them in Florida. Thelma Kirtley was the second largest citrus grower in Florida and probably the largest peanut grower. The Snivelys were the largest citrus growers in Florida. Thelma drove us through her citrus groves in her air-conditioned Cadillac. In those days not many cars had air-conditioning.

One night following a sumptuous dinner party at Orleans, Thelma's estate, Jacques decided that we should take one of Thelma's boats on Lake Eloise to watch the Southern Cross and the Southern Lights. What a spectacular display. We had not wanted to disturb our hostess which was, in retrospect, rather thoughtless because Thelma was concerned and sent the Coast Guard out to check on us.

We were soon back to our real world in Pennsylvania. I learned to cook to please Jacques, especially since the Belgians are known as the best cooks in the world. Many years later we met Susanna Foo, one of the ten best cuisines in the United States. She was the only one person I ever met who had heard of a "Walloon". A Walloon is a French Belgian as opposed to a Flemish Belgian. The Flemish are more like the Dutch. Susanna said, "Oh yes!" The Belgians are known as the best cooks!"

I am now going to skip ahead to when Aunt" Em Roosevelt arranged for me to meet several eligible young men, one of whom was Jacques LeRoux! I had never wanted to marry and leave home or my beloved father, but this was love at first sight. Mother would not announce my engagement for five months because I already had been engaged (for one day). That engagement was arranged by Charley's mother, my mother, and Charley. I was happy to have a party, but had no intention of marrying Charley. By the way, Aunt Em Roosevelt called herself "Mrs. Cupid" thereafter.

Shelley's Proverbs: "Mother is the necessity of invention!" Jacques LeRoux would not take "No" for an answer. I was on my way to Shaker Heights to be engaged to a very nice man, but Jacques arranged for me to be driven out there with one of the salesmen for LeRoux and Company. He definitely did not want me to accept anyone else. Jacques said', "I feel like John Alden!"

I remember VJ night when we all were celebrating the end of the war with Japan! My date, a captain in the US Air Force, invited me to go to that cute little night club on Lincoln Drive. We got a date for my friend, Ann Biddle and the four of us had dinner and dancing under the stars. Ann and I went to the ladies' room and were sitting at a long dressing table and we had not noticed that our waitress had followed us in. She leaned over Ann's shoulder and said, "Dearie, what's that scent you're wearing?" Ann said, "It's Taboo". "Oh", said the waitress, "It doesn't smell like that on me!"

We thought that was the funniest thing we ever heard, but my...