While some scramble for last-minute Mother’s Day brunch reservations this Sunday, the DuPriest family will probably gather in its Lakewood kitchen, consult the family cookbook and prepare a meal from “Dinner at the DuPriests: A Family Gathering of Recipes and Recollections.”
But don’t look for the book at local bookstores or on Amazon.com. Its very limited edition of 30 copies is being distributed only to the “genetic casserole” that is the DuPriest family.
“I just wanted everyone in the family to have one so they’d have some sense of where they came from and who the people were before them,” says John DuPriest. He pulled the project together and gave the book as a Christmas gift two years ago.
Bob DuPriest, one of John and Sherry’s three children, calls it one of the best gifts ever. His specialty is curries, and when the family wants to eat Indian, they head for his house. (The DuPriests’ other son, John, lives and cooks in New York’s Westchester County.)
The DuPriests’ only daughter, Joelle, is expecting the family’s first grandchild any minute. Her husband, Nathan, is a systems engineer and closet chef.
“(The book) made me awfully proud,” Bob says. “The message it sent to me was ‘love your family.’ And it showed how much Dad loved us. Every time I use one of the recipes it reminds me of how much we love him back.”
From the Vikings to Lakewood
The DuPriest anthology of food and family goes back centuries – from a ninth-century Viking and another ancestor born on France’s Brittany coast at the close of the 17th century – to the present.
The chronicle includes engineers, musicians, miners and skilled anglers. Stories that weave this family together also include Huguenots, cassoulet, Vikings, barley gruel, Germans, sauerkraut, revolutionaries, étouffée, westward treks, pan-fried trout, murder, piracy and chili spaghetti.
There’s Sherry DuPriest’s great-grandfather, John Brauch, who walked from Minnesota to Colorado in the late 1800s. His recipe for sauerkraut and speck and Grandma Braugh’s baked chili spaghetti are documented, as is the story of Frances Cecelia “Fanny” Sherman, who attended the Denver Music Conservatory, played a mean ragtime piano in silent-movie houses and periodically provided the Brown Place with fresh trout from her fishing expeditions at Black Lake.
John DuPriest’s grandfather, who raised foxes, was among the first surveyors to map the San Luis Valley. He also made candy and collected dozens of recipes that are bound in a century-old leather book which cites the origin for each – Mrs. Stone’s angel food cake and Mrs. E. Hultz’s baking powder biscuits.
As Bob and Joelle exchange memories of one family member related to one particular dish or another, Sherry DuPriest confesses that she has never made much of a deal of Mother’s Day.
“We cook together a lot,” she says. “We’ll pull out a recipe and decide on a meal. We’ve worked out this dance to stay out of one another’s way.”
And what a dance it is. As the DuPriests discuss the family cookbook’s origins, the distracting aroma of a pineapple upside-down cake baking in a nearby oven makes concentrating on conversation almost impossible.
Yes, it’s a family recipe.
“Several years ago John and I decided we wanted to write down recipes from both our families, so we started making lists of what we wanted to include,” says Sherry DuPriest. “We just wrote on scraps of paper whenever we remembered something.”
Some of the scraps survive, written in green ink on the backs of bank deposit slips.
“John started the genealogical research, and I was supposed to help, but he soon outdistanced me. It started out as a simple idea but took years to do,” says Sherry.
Du Priest’s research included conversations with family members, searches of the Denver Public Library and Internet, and especially the genealogical database of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints (familysearch.org) and rootsweb.com. He also did considerable outside reading about times and places associated with family members.
“Interestingly, the period covering the most recent 75-100 years was most difficult,” he says. “Once I got past that, the records were a lot better because immigration details were more available, and public records, such as church records, were more accurate.”
The chief executive officer of a local brokerage firm, DuPriest continued to work full time, adjourning to his basement office evenings and weekends to write.
“Remember when Uncle Cliffy…?”
Three years, 200 recipes and 256 pages later, the labor of love came to life as a spiral-bound, self-published collection of dishes the family still prepares. During a recent visit from out-of-town relatives, Sherry served the baked chili spaghetti recipe.
Curiously enough, when the DuPriests entered into their now 40-year marriage, John could only barbecue ribs and make tuna casserole. He has since become an accomplished cook, right down to being able to accurately divine proportions for as few as six or as many as 60 chocolate-chip cookies.
The cookbook’s combination of genealogy, family anecdotes and culinary traditions is also a preservation of family history.
“Everyone has stories that deserved to be saved,” John DuPriest says. “It gives the next generation a sense of place in a family’s history.”
As he speaks, Bob and Joelle are remembering “Uncle Cliffy,” who assumed the role of grandfather to them when their paternal grandfather died; how he spit tobacco on bee stings to reduce the pain and how he once absentmindedly put his dentures in the pocket of Joelle’s snowsuit while he took a nap.
It caused her some consternation when Joelle, then 10 years old, put the jacket on, reached in the pocket and found them. Uncle Cliffy is there on page 68, wearing rabbit ears. “Doing a book like this is a way of preserving photographs too,” John DuPriest says as he turns to Page 53, the only known photograph of him, his father and three brothers. “We should all take time to listen to family stories and write them down. And cook the recipes.”
As we ease up on yet another highly commercialized day devoted to Mom, restaurants, flowers, card and candymakers, the cookbook’s foreword, written by Sherry DuPriest in 2005, speaks best to what Mother’s Day is really about: being together over a nice meal.
“You will never recieve a more personalized gift than this beautiful and beautifully written compilation of family and food traditions,” she writes. “Enjoy it. Use it. Let it get dog-eared and spattered with vanilla.”
She signs it, simply, “Mom.”
Staff writer Ellen Sweets can be reached at 303-954-1284 or esweets@denverpost.com.
Aldora’s Orange Date-Nut Birthday Cake
In the book dedicated to Aldora Frances Jones DuPriest (“Dinner at the DuPriests”), the reigning matriarch of the DuPriest family is celebrated for memorable experiences, which included facing down a bear in Yosemite National Park. She was, by all counts, a remarkable woman, who, in addition to being a voracious reader, poet and musician who could sing and accompany herself on piano, guitar and mandolin, was also a wonderful cook. This is a cake she made for family birthdays. Serves 8.
Ingredients
3 1/4 cups Gold Medal flour
2 cups sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons Calumet baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup butter at room temperature
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup whole milk
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange rind
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 chopped pitted dates (unsweetened)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnut pieces
ORANGE FROSTING
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
3 cups powdered sugar (more if needed)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Butter and flour sides and bottoms of three 9-inch cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with wax paper, buttering and flouring paper also.
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and add orange juice, milk, vanilla and orange rind. Combine thoroughly.
Add dry ingredients to liquid in installments. Beat at least 300 strokes. Add eggs, dates and nuts. Beat another 155 strokes.
Pour batter into pans and drop them once or twice from a three-inch height to remove air bubbles. Reduce temperature to 355 and place pans in oven. Bake 30-35 minutes. Cake should be lightly browned on top. Test for doneness by touching lightly. If cake springs back, it’s done. Remove from pans cool on wire racks.
Frosting: Beat butter in mixer bowl until fluffy. Mix juice, cream, salt and grated peel plus once cup powdered sugar. Gradually beat into butter along with remaining powdered sugar until it reaches spreading consistency. Frost cooled cake.
Wine ideas: Play up the orange flavors with Electra, a sweet wine made from a grape known as orange muscat. Made by Quady, a winery in California that specializes in dessert wines, this wine’s citrusy sweetness will match the cake, but at only about 4 percent alcohol, it won’t overwhelm it (or you). And it’s a bargain at about $14 for a full-sized bottle.-Tara Q. Thomas
DuPriest Turkey Stuffing
Adapted from “Dinner at the DuPriests: A Family Gathering of Recipes and Recollections,” this is cited as almost everyone’s favorite recipe, despite the presence of walnuts. In the introduction, John DuPriest says “Nothing says Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner more definitively than a big turkey stuffed with this wonderful concoction.”
His mother provided incredibly festive accompaniments alongside the biggest turkey she could find. At Christmas there were small red beets and green brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes and gravy. At Thanksgiving sweet potatoes and peas replaced beets and brussles sprouts at the table and family toasts were made with cranberry juice. Makes enough stuffing for a medium (16- to 18-pound) turkey and a medium sized family.
Ingredients
3-4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup walnuts, chopped
3 tablespoons poultry seasoning (or more, to taste)
1-2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups crumbled, dry cornbread
2 loaves dry white bread, torn into pieces
3 eggs slightly beaten
Chicken broth
Directions
In a large skillet, sauté onion and celery in butter until onion is translucent. In a large bowl, combine walnuts, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper and breads. Toss lightly. Add eggs and onion mixture; toss together. Add a little chicken broth if needed. Spoon into turkey, packing slightly.
Wine ideas: For Americans, few dishes say festive like a stuffed turkey – and few wines say festive like sparkling ones. Take a cue from the Australians and pull out a sparkling red for this occasion: The Aussies love the strong, red-fruit flavors along with the light, fun bubbles with their Christmas turkeys (remember, it’s summer down there at that time of year). Hardy’s, Shingleback and Peter Rumball are names to look for, with examples at $25 and less.-Tara Q. Thomas
Shrimp Étouffée
The DuPriest family’s multinational membership descends from the French, Germans, a little bit of Brit and a tad of Viking. Étouffée bridges the gap between the French in France and those who worked their way to Lousiana. The family cookbook doesn’t specify servings size, so let’s say this dish serves 4-6.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons lard (or corn oil)
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 bay leaf
1 medium green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped or put through a press
1 1/2 cups fish stock or stock made from shrimp shells or bottled clam juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 cup diced canned tomatoes with juice (or 2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram or basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/2 cup sliced green onions (including tops)
2-3 cups cooked long-grain rice
Directions
In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet (or heavy-bottomed stockpot) over medium-high heat, melt lard or oil. When nearly smoking, add flour all at once. Stir briskly with wooden spoon until flour reaches a rich, dark brown.
Remove from heat and add onion, celery, bay leaf and green pepper. Stir quickly to keep mixture from scorching. Return to heat and cook until onion is translucent, stirring constantly. Add garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds.
Pour in stock and add parsley, tomatoes, chili powder, red pepper flakes, marjoram or basil, oregano, Tabasco, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer, partially covered, for 20-30 minutes. Add shrimp and most of green onions, cook 10 minutes or until shrimp are pink. Taste for seasoning, adding additional stock or water if too thick. Reheat to simmering.
In individual serving bowls, place 1/2 cup rice and top with etouffee. Sprinkle with remaining green onions and pass additional Tabasco.
Wine ideas: A rosé will bridge the gap between the shrimp, which ask for a white wine, and the spices, which could stand up to a red. Check out today’s Wine of the Week, the gutsy, fresh Bieler Père et Fils rosé from Provence (about $10).-Tara Q. Thomas
Linguini, Bacon and Arugula with Two Cheeses
From “Dinner at the DuPriests,” serves 4.
Ingredients
6 slices thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon, cut lengthwise and then in 1/4-inch strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 large (or two medium) ripe tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
1 11-ounce bottle clam juice or 1 1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 pound linguine or fetuccini
3 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
5-6 cups fresh arugula, stemmed
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves or parsley, chopped
Directions
Fry bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towel and remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings. Add olive oil and onion to skillet. Sauté onion until translucent, and add garlic. Cook 1 minute more. Avoid scorching garlic. Add tomatoes, red pepper flakes and clam juice. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 10-12 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of water, cook pasta until al dente (tender but firm). Drain and transfer to a large pasta bowl.
Mix fontina into tomato sauce and heat until cheese is just melted; toss with pasta. Add arugula and parmesan cheese. Toss lightly. Sprinkle top with 2 tablespoons fresh basil or parsley and serve with additional parmesan cheese.
Wine ideas: Head to the Alps for a match for the dish – specifically Italy’s Val d’Aosta, fontina’s homeland, if you can find a wine from there (look for Les Crêtes in particular), or a crisp Gavi from Italy’s Piedmont: Principessa Gavia and Araldica both run $15 or less.-Tara Q. Thomas
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Smelling this concoction as it bakes is enough to drive a true-blue dessert lover right ’round the bend. Then, when it emerges and the perfectly browned top reveals caramelized rounds of pineapple, it’s all one can do to keep from assaulting the pan. This recipe has been tested at 5,280 feet. Serves 6-8.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon cream
5 rings canned pineapple
5 maraschino cherries
Cake batter for one layer cake, from your choice of recipe or mix
Whipped cream (for serving)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 9-inch cake pan with nonstick spray. Melt butter and brown sugar in microwave until bubbly. Stir in cream and pour into prepared cake pan. Arrange pineapple slices over butter mixture. Place cherry in center of each ring. Pour batter over top and bake about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes on a rack. Turn upside down on a flat plate. Serve with whipped cream.
