TODAY's CASES:

• The Roman Terrace Linguine Christina
• Schrafft's Cheese Bread
• It's Better Than Potato Salad

The Roman Terrace Linguine Christina -----Original Message----- From: Vicki Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2017 11:26 PM To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com Subject: Linguine Christina We used to go to a restaurant called The Roman Terrace on 12 mile and Orchard Lake Road, in Farmington Hills, Michigan. My mother always ordered Linguine Christina. I tried it and loved it! The restaurant closed while I lived out of state for a time. I can't find anyone who makes anything like it or a recipe! Can you help? Thank you, Vicki Hi Vicki, The Roman Terrace Restaurant in the Orchard Ridge Plaza at 27822 Orchard Lake Road in Farmington Hills, Michigan burned in 1990. It was owned by Bob McDonald & Joe Machloratti. In 1993, Bob McDonald and a new partner, Harry Phinney, opened The Roman Terrace II in Halstead, Michigan. They were able to bring the same chef from the previous Roman Terrace, Francesco Cracchiolo, to the new restaurant. Another of their chefs at Roman Terrace II was Joseph DelVecchio. I could not find any recipes at all from these two restaurants. The only information that I could find about them was in old newspaper articles and ads. I found that newspaper articles and ads about the Roman Terrace II began in 1993 and stopped as of 1994, which does not bode well for the longevity of that establishment. I could not find a menu for either restaurant. In the newspaper articles, some of their dishes were mentioned, but there was nothing about a dish called "Linguini Christina". It appears that both of these places were gone before the advent of the Internet, which is probably one reason that I found so little about them. Searching simply for a dish called "Linguine Christina", I found that a dish with that name was once on the menu at "The Riverview Revolving Restaurant" atop the Radisson Hotel in the Cincinnati area. That restaurant has since been replaced by a steakhouse called "The Eighteen." A dish called "Linguini Christina" is also featured at "Christina's Restaurant" in Kingston, NY. It is described as "Linguini Christina – jumbo shrimp and chicken in a lobster cream sauce." It's doubtful that either of those is the same dish that you had. I could not find a recipe anywhere for a dish called "Linguine Christina." Searching for a similar dish to the Roman Terrace "Linguine Christina" but with a different name would require details about the Roman Terrace dish - ingredients, etc. I'll post this for reader input. Phaed Subject: Re: Roman Terrace restaurant dish Linguini Christina From: Larry Date: 1/24/2022, 5:48 PM To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com On 1/24/2022 2:10 PM, Larry wrote: I also was a big fan of that dish and would love to have it again. As I remember it, it was about the size and shape of an upside down small to medium size cereal bowl. The linguini noodle was about the thickness of a lasagna noodle lining the bowl and filled with perhaps a pate of some sort. The bowl was inverted and the noodle was covered with a rich cream sauce of some sort. This could have been just a chef's special and not available anywhere else but it was delicious. They also made a table side Caesar salad that was superb. Hope that this helps and that someone somewhere has a better description and the recipe. Larry Hello Larry, I did a new search, but it seems that nothing has changed since I searched for this almost 5 years ago: I found nothing about the dish "Linguini Christina".  I had no success finding any recipes at all from Roman Terrace Francesco Cracchiolo, the head chef at both the original Roman Terrace and Roman Terrace II, passed away a few years ago. I would speculate that "Linguini Christina" was a creation of his. I'll post this just below the 2017 post for reader input Phaed Schrafft's Cheese Bread From: cindy Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2017 6:37 PM To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com Subject: Schrafft's Cheese Bread Hi. I’ve been looking for the original Schrafft’s cheese bread recipe online, but all I’ve found is a bread that has a swirl in it. My memory of the original bread was that there was no swirl; it was just an orange slice of bread. Any chance you might know the original recipe? Look forward to hearing from you. Cindy Hello Cindy, A photo of the original Schrafft’s recipe card for their cheese bread is here: Four Pounds Flour It came from a descendant of Frank Shattuck, the owner of Schrafft’s, and is therefore authentic. It’s a food service recipe and makes 100 lbs of dough. If you read that recipe card closely, you’ll see the main reason that you can’t make cheese bread like Schrafft’s original. See that ingredient called “cheese tang”? That’s some sort of cheese powder, and it’s not made any more. No one has been able to find out how it was made. It might have been similar to that orange powder that's used to coat "Cheetos" or the cheese powder that comes with Kraft macaroni and cheese, but no one knows. Not even Kraft, who supposedly made it. You can buy cheese powder. There is a product called “Vermont Cheese Powder” here: King Arthur Flour , and another cheese powder product here: Firehouse Pantry Store and yet another one here: Nuts.com , but it’s unlikely that these are exactly the same as the “cheese tang” that Schrafft's used. If you can figure out the recipe on that card, then you can try one of these in place of the "cheese tang." The ingredients on the card are: Water Granulated sugar Salt Grated cheese "Cheese Tang" "Patent" flour* Yeast *You can substitute bread flour for the "patent flour" So, you are probably going to have to settle for an adaptation of the Schrafft's recipe like the one at Four Pounds Flour , or the one in Arthur Schwartz’s book “New York City Food” below. Sorry if they make swirls in the bread, but that’s all there is. The important question is “How do they taste?” Another recipe, one that doesn’t claim to be Schrafft’s, but which doesn’t appear to have swirls or orange spots, is here: Savory Cheddar Cheese Bread Phaed Schrafft's Cheese Bread from “New York City Food” by Arthur Schwartz 1/4 cup warm water 2 packages active dry yeast (2 scant tablespoons) 1 3/4 cups milk, at room temperature 5 to 51/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons salt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups) Vegetable oil (for the bowl) Mix the water and yeast, and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the milk, flour, sugar, salt, butter and 11/2 cups of the cheese. Mix at slow speed until the ingredients are combined. Using a dough hook, mix for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is well-developed. The dough will be softer than usual for a bread dough, but it should not feel sticky. If necessary, add more flour. Remove the dough from the bowl. Add a tiny bit of oil to the bowl. Return the ball of dough to the bowl and turn to coat it lightly with oil. Cover and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk. This will take 30 to 60 minutes. Punch the dough down. Sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and knead the cheese in only enough to incorporate it. Do not knead the dough too much while doing this. Divide the dough in half. Shape each piece into a loaf and place in 2 greased loaf pans, each about 8- by 5- by 3-inches. Cover the pans with a clean dish towel and let the loaves rise again, this time until well above the rim of the pans, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush the tops of the loaves with water. Place in the oven. For optimum crust, place a pan of water under the loaf pans, and after the loaf pans are in place on the shelf above, put a heated brick or piece of metal in the water to create steam. Bake with steam for about 15 minutes; then remove the pan of water and place a piece of foil in a tent shape over each loaf. Bake for an additional 35 minutes, or until the tops are nicely browned and the bottoms, when the breads are removed from their pans, make a hollow thump when tapped. Remove the loaves from the pans immediately and let them cool thoroughly, either on a rack or by leaning the loaves against a bowl or backsplash. To store the bread, wrap tightly in foil. Makes 2 loaves. It's Better Than Potato Salad From: Ellie Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2017 7:47 PM To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com Subject: Help please Dear Uncle Phaedrus, I am searching for a Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice recipe called (I hope) Uncle Ben’s Better than Potato Salad. It was on the rice box about 1980-85. Had cooked rice, spinach, oil, vinegar, spices celery, and other ingredients which I have forgotten. Any chance you can help? I have contacted Uncle Ben’s but have not heard back from them and have searched google as best I could. My recipes didn’t move with me when I moved. Thanks in advance for your help, Ellie Hello Ellie, The “Better Than Potato Salad” recipe from the Uncle Ben’s box is in multiple places on the Internet, but it does not have spinach. Perhaps you are conflating two different recipes. See below for the Uncle Ben’s recipe. Phaed It's Better Than Potato Salad 1 c. Uncle Ben's converted brand rice 2 c. salad dressing or mayonnaise 2 c. sliced celery 1 med. onion, finely chopped 4 tsp. prepared mustard 1/2 tsp. salt 4 hard boiled eggs, chopped 8 radishes, sliced 1 cucumber, pared and diced Cook rice according to package directions. Chill and add mayonnaise or salad dressing, celery, onion, mustard and salt. Mix well. Chill in refrigerator. Before serving stir in eggs, radishes, and cucumbers. Variation: use green bell pepper instead of cucumber.