Stars and spice

Flag Day is Monday, so why not prepare a celebratory dinner in honor of the stars and stripes?

Since famous flag seamstress Betsy Ross lived in colonial times, our dinner will include dishes enjoyed by Philadelphians more than 200 years ago. Dessert will be an American flag cake, which is delicious and easy to bake.

We usually associate Native American ingredients with Thanksgiving time. To my taste, any time is appropriate to whip up a dish using the bountiful ingredients Christopher Columbus discovered in the New World. All we must do is give a light touch to New World foods once the temperature starts to rise.

Although oysters are not considered a New World food — France has been famous for them for hundreds of years — they once were abundant in waters around the Chesapeake Bay. Today, oysters are farm-raised and harvested from coast to coast. A light oyster stew would be a tasty way to begin Flag Day dinner.

The pecan is America’s most famous nut. Pecan pie piled high with whipped cream is one of my favorite desserts. Yet did you know that pecans crushed in the food processor make a terrific coating for chicken cutlets? I first tasted pecan-crusted chicken cutlets at a Shabbat dinner at Beth Zion-Beth Israel.

The meal was catered by Food Designs, a catering firm run by Bruce and Jannette Axelrod. A platter of grilled vegetables also was on the buffet, along with good old-fashioned roasted red bliss potatoes. How many of you think the potato came from Ireland? The potato is a New World food.

If you want to serve a salad, keep it simple. A toss of romaine with some shredded radicchio topped with a handful of sliced grape or cherry tomatoes goes well with the chicken. If you want an all-American dressing, purchase some Maytag blue cheese and crumble it on top of the salad. Add olive oil and the juice of one lemon and enjoy.

The type of wine for this dinner depends on personal taste. I would offer a nice crisp American Sauvignon Blanc or rich chardonnay. An American pinot noir, particularly from a vineyard in Oregon, is my choice for a red wine.

Here are recipes for Flag Day dinner.

Oyster Stew

Ingredients:

2 cups half-and-half
1-1/2 pints shucked oysters, with their liqueur
2 tablespoons sweet butter, softened
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a small saucepan, bring the half-and-half to a boil over medium heat and keep warm.

Place the oysters with their liqueur in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat for three to five minutes. Watch them carefully. When their edges begin to curl, add the milk.

Add the butter and stir to combine. Season with kosher salt and pepper.

Serves four.

Pecan-Crusted Chicken Cutlets

Ingredients:

2 whole boneless chicken breasts, cut in half
Enough crushed pecans for coating
4 tablespoons sweet butter, melted in the microwave
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Since this is a freeform recipe, fresh chicken breasts come in all sizes. Place pecans in the bowl of the food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse on and off a few times. You don’t want pecan dust — you want a slightly rough texture. Keep adding more pecans until you have enough to coat the chicken.

Wipe the chicken breasts with paper towels. Using a pastry brush or spoon, coat the chicken with the melted butter. You may have to melt more butter depending on the size and thickness of the chicken.

Place the chopped pecans on a plate. Dip each chicken breast into the pecans. Roll them around to coat well. Place them in a shallow baking pan or cookie sheet. Top them with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. You can add a dash of cayenne pepper if you like a slightly spicy flavor.

Bake the chicken for at least 30 minutes. Check for doneness depending on the thickness of the chicken. The juices should run clear when the chicken is pierced with a knife. Do not overcook.

Serves four.

Roasted Red Peppers

Ingredients:

1 (16-ounce) jar roasted red peppers
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Drain the peppers and run cool water over them. Drain well. Place them in a pretty serving bowl. Whisk the olive oil and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the peppers. Add kosher salt and pepper.

Serves four.

Note from Phyllis: Bell peppers are a New World food. Trader Joe’s at 22nd and Market sells a mix of roasted red and yellow peppers in a jar.

American Flag Cake

Ingredients:

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow or chocolate cake mix
Two pints strawberries
1 pint blueberries or blackberries, rinsed well and drained
Whipped cream from the can

Directions:

This cake is a sheet cake. Bake the cake according to the directions on the package. Cool completely.

Rinse the strawberries and pat dry. Slice them in half.

Mark a square in the upper left corner of the cake. Fill the square with the blueberries. You are about to make the stripes on the flag. Make sure you have 13 stripes, representing the 13 original colonies. Make alternating stripes with the strawberries and whipped cream. Then, using the whipped cream, make 13 dots in a circle on the blueberries. You have just recreated Betsy Ross’ flag.

Makes one sheet cake.