Fayne’s holiday faves redoux

Fayne Lutz continues to contribute to a delicious christmas

BY KATHRYN ‘KATHY’ CÓRDOVA

The late Fayne Lutz contributed to the Taos culinary scene for many years. Known to most of us as just “Fayne,” this former food editor of the Taos News shared her love of food preparation with local readers through her column “Fayne on Food.”

Her earliest columns appeared in the Colonial Merchant in Freehold, New Jersey. Fayne studied cooking at the University of California and gourmet cooking with Michael Field and James Beard.

In the eastern part of the country, Fayne hosted dinner parties featuring Southwest cuisine. She enjoyed a trademark at these festivities: her then-TWA pilot husband Raymond flew in fresh tortillas, or sometimes she taught her guests to make their own – at her taco parties. Locals knew Fayne Lutz for her community involvement activities. She worked for the Girl Scouts of America and remained busy with the Taos County Democratic party, the Chefs of Taos (she was an honorary member) and teaching cooking classes. As a member of the Taos Press Club and the New Mexico Press Women, Lutz chaired the state conference in Taos twice.

She authored three cookbooks: “Cooking Northern New Mexico Traditional Foods” (published by The Taos News); “Northern New Mexico Recipes”; and “Cooking for all Seasons.” The latter cookbook includes art creations by Ramón (husband Raymond) Lutz. The book’s introduction states, in Fayne’s words, “Seasonal Happy Cooking and best of all – Good Eating!” Wherever she lived, Fayne learned the cuisine of the area and prepared it on special occasions. Born in Missouri, she completed degrees in psychology and sociology at the University of Oklahoma and worked in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Colorado, California, New Mexico and Japan. A major career highlight includes her first place title in the National Chicken Cooking Contest for which she received $10,000 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, July 25, 1974. Sponsors of the contest included the National Broiler Council, Best Foods, Mazola and Accent with assistance from Westinghouse and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. Selecting a representative sample of her recipes for “Taos Aglow” remains a challenge because of the excellence of her work. The three recipes that appear in this publication represent Christmas Sugar Plums; her cooking contributions of sopa (capirotada) for the annual Press Women’s scholarship fundraiser; and her own creation of the national award-winning “Hot Chinese Chicken Salad.”

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Sugarplum Cookies (FROM “COOKING FOR ALL SEASONS”)

4 eggs, beaten util they are light colored 1 pound package dark brown sugar 2 cups flour ¼ teaspoon salt 1 pound gumdrops (or orange slices cut into small pieces) 1 cup chopped nuts

Add the nuts and the gum drops to the flour and mix thoroughly. Add salt. Stir sugar into the eggs until all the sugar lumps are dissolved. Add flour mixture and stir well. Grease and flour a large cookie sheet. Spread batter over the pan not quite ½-inch thick. Do not preheat oven. Put cookies into a cold oven and set oven temperature at 325 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cookies should be light brown when done. Let cookies cool for 3 minutes after removing from the oven, then cut into squares with a wet knife in order to avoid sticking. Take cookies up from the cookie sheet while still hot and cool thoroughly on a rack before storing.

Press Women’s Sopa

(BY FAYNE LUTZ, FROM “COOKING NORTHERN NEW MEXICO TRADITIONAL FOODS”)

This traditional Northern New Mexico dessert has its origins in the Spanish “Capirotada,” a bread pudding delight made of day-old bread or cake and filled with nuts and spice, apples and cheese. Locally, cooks use piñon nuts or pecans (my favorite). The key to a really rich sopa is the caramelization of sugar. Put sugar in a heavy saucepan, stir and heat until the sugar darkens, then add water and stir and cook until the brown sugar is dissolved. Add spice and citrus juice as desired. This is a special sopa recipe as prepared for the Taos Press Women’s annual scholarship fund raising dinners.

1 cup sugar caramelized 2 cups water Juice of one lemon 1 teaspoon (or more) cinnamon 1 to 2 cups raisins 1 to 2 cups pecans or piñons, or even walnuts ½ pound grated cheese (your choice) 2 to 4 fresh apples, cored and sliced 2 tablespoons butter 6 to 8 slices toasted bread

Caramelize sugar; add water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil while stirring with a wooden spoon until mixture boils into a syrup. Toast left-over bread, cake or buns lightly and spread with butter. Place in casserole or deep baking bowl in layers: bread, raisins, nuts, sliced apples, shredded cheese. Top with layer of lightly toasted bread or cake. Dot with butter. Pour caramelized syrup over all, to within ½-inch of top of container. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until all syrup is absorbed. Makes six servings.

Hot Chinese Chicken Salad

(BY FAYNE LUTZ, PRE PANDEMICFROM“COOKING FOR ALL SEASONS”)

8 broiler-fryer chicken thighs, skinned, boned, cut into one-inch chunks ¼ cup corn starch ¼ cup Mazola corn oil 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1 large ripe tomato, cut into chunks 1 can (4 ounces) water chestnuts, drained, sliced 1 can (4 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained 1 bunch green onions, coarsely chopped 1 cup slant-sliced celery 1 teaspoon Accent flavor enhancer ¼ cup soy sauce 2 cups finely shredded lettuce

Roll chicken in cornstarch. Heat corn oil in fry pan or wok over high heat. Add chicken chunks and quickly brown. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Add tomato, water chestnuts, mushrooms, onion and celery. Stir. Sprinkle with flavor enhancer. Add soy sauce. Stir. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook 5 minutes. Lightly toss chicken-vegetable mix with lettuce. Serve hot with rice. Makes 4 servings.

Seasonal Happy Cooking and best of all – Good Eating!