When her family business declared bankruptcy in 2001, Carol Ann Kates went back to her kitchen and found more than just recipes and memories. The daughter of Merrill Steele, who founded Steele’s Cash Food Market in Fort Collins in 1940, thought running the family’s stores would be her life’s work.
“It has always been a part of my family life,” she told The Post when the innovative stores closed. “It’s a bit like a death.” As she mourned the loss, Kates started to write about her feelings and her memories.
For years, she created recipes for ads and Carol Ann’s Deli. She knew she had the makings of a cookbook. But more than just a collection of recipes, however well-tested, Kates had an insider’s knowledge of the grocery store.
“I think good food begins with shopping,” she said over coffee, pulling the large-format “Secret Recipes From the Corner Market” out of a Steele’s brown paper bag.
The inside covers reproduce a grand-opening ad from 1963 with ground beef on sale at 3 pounds for $1; apples, 10 cents a pound; PictSweet frozen peas, 15 cents; and T-bone steak, 95 cents a pound. (King Soopers’ T-bones are $10.99 a pound these days.)
In the produce section: “My father was a produce nut,” she says. From apples to zucchini, the book tells how to get the best. “The brighter the color, the sweeter the flavor. … For the freshest carrots buy bunches with bright green, leafy tops. The tops deteriorate quickly once the carrots are harvested, so if the tops are green, it means they were recently picked,” she writes. “Pull gently on the leaves of a pineapple. If they can be removed easily, the pineapple is ripe.”
In the butcher shop: “Look for bright cherry-red meat that does not have brownish blotches … packages of meat may have a red liquid. This is not blood. Beef is about three-fourths water. This liquid is natural moisture from the beef.”
From the fish counter: “(Fresh or frozen) fish only smells ‘fishy’ or like ammonia when it starts to decompose. … When pressed, the flesh of fresh fish should spring back. … When buying shellfish, like mussels, clams or oysters, look for clean, whole shells that have not been chipped, broken or smashed. Shells need to be tightly closed and never open.”
“Secret Recipes From the Corner Market” (Penny Lane Press, $28) is available at The Tattered Cover, Barnes & Noble, and B. Dalton, Al’s Newsstand and Jax Outdoor Gear in Fort Collins. Kates will appear at the Fort Collins Barnes & Noble 2-4 p.m. Feb. 11, Taste of Class in Loveland 9:30 a.m.-noon Feb. 18 and April 29, and Barnes & Noble in the new Centerra shopping center, Loveland, 2-3 p.m. Feb. 25.
Carol Ann’s Super Bowl Dip
Makes about 4 cups.
Ingredients
Bread bowl:
Dip:
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice top off unsliced loaf and set top aside. Hollow out insides, leaving a 1/2-inch shell. Cut removed bread and sliced bread into 1-inch cubes. In a small bowl, combine olive oil and butter. Brush bread cubes with oil mixture and place on a cookie sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes, turning once, until golden. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine all dip ingredients. Spoon into hollowed bread. Replace top of loaf. Wrap with several layers of aluminum foil. Set on cookie sheet and bake 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until filling is melted and heated through. To serve, remove foil and put loaf on serving dish with bread cubes arranged around it for dipping.
