2007
Recipes of the Month for January, 2007
TO START, SOME QUICK IDEAS:
Jodee Linta in Tucson happened to mention to me in an email in November that she had made this quick salad for supper. It sounded like a good quickie to me and I wrote it down — and forgot about it. Well, I was cleaning my desk today, and I found it! I should think it would make a lovely presentation.
JODEE'S QUICK SALAD
a slice of pineapple on a small plate
top with a slice of jellied cranberry sauce
top with a dab of cottage cheese
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My father used to love to cook, and he turned out some goodies. He always "doctored" the mince pie recipes with wine, nuts, any fruits he could find. They were wonderful. I used to get very good mince pies at The Baker's Corner restaurant. But it's been out of business for several years. The last couple of years I've either bought a commercial pie or just dumped a jar of mincemeat into a crust. Boring.
This year I remembered how Dad used to do it and figured that's what my past pies needed. I bought a deep-dish crust, rolled up my sleeves, and prepared to plump up the volume and taste of canned mincemeat. It turned out so good, I made another one for my sister. (She and I are the only mince-pie eaters in the present family.) To a one-pie size jar of Cross & Blackwell's Mincemeat I added: a half cup of orange-flavored Craisins that had soaked in brandy and rum until soft (also add the liquors the berries are in), a half-cup of sugarless orange marmalade with lots of peel in it, half of a tart apple, chopped, and a third of a cup of chopped walnuts. Yummy!
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This is from Candy Little in Kansas City, Kansas. Candy, remember, is a part time caterer. I'll let her tell you about this recipe.
"The original source of the this recipe came from our K.C. food section...Desperation Dinners. The recipes take less than 30 minutes to prepare and the fat calories are 30% or lower. Well...sometimes, when I read these, I think perhaps a few more minutes and a few more ingredients would be more appealing. So, this is my version of "shepherd's pie" which needed to be made in a 8 and1/2x11 pan rather than a round pie pan so that my catering partner and I could make several pans to serve 30 or more who attend my women's group.
CANDY'S SHEPHERD'S PIE (6 servings)
1 lb. 93% lean ground beef
1/4c. diced onion
1 (8oz.) can green beans
1 (8oz.) can carrots
1 pk. Knorr's Classic Brown Gravy Mix
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tsps. Worcestershire sauce
3 T. ketchup and 1/4 c. red wine
2 cups mashed potatoes, or more according to taste (This can be the premade refrigerated kind or purchase at the hot food section of the deli.)
1. To make the gravy, combine 5 tsp. of the brown gravy mix (reserve the rest for another use), with 1/2 c. water, the red wine, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup. Stir well to combine. Set aside.
2. Brown the ground beef, drain grease, and remove from pan.
3. Saute the onion in a little butter until translucent. Remove from pan and stir into meat. Add the vegetables and gravy. Stir gently.
4. Lightly grease a 81/2 x 11 glass baking dish and pour in mixture. (Can cover and refrigerate at this point.)
5. About an hour before baking, uncover and remove from the refrigerator. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 375. Microwave the mashed potatoes and spread evenly over the meat mixture. Sprinkle top lightly with paprika.
6. Bake about 20 minutes or until hot. All you need to complete the meal is a simple green salad.
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I copied this recipe off the care2 website. If you have not visited the care2 site, you might want to. It's a "green" site, a huge site that deals with environmental issues, recipes, free e-cards, and other earth-related issues. I get their weekly mailings of recipes. This is a vegetarian version of shepherd or cottage pie. The recipe was created for a solstice celebration. I like the idea of all the herbs in it, and serving it on a platter decorated with evergreens. That would be nice for Christmas or New Year's too. I would prefer the crust to the mashed potatoes.
http://www care2.com
(From the care2 website) "Inspired by Witch in the Kitchen, by Cait Johnson (Inner Traditions, 2001). This hearty supper pie can be made with just about anything you have on hand, but it bakes up into such a festive-looking dish. Topped with golden crust or creamy mashed potatoes, Savory Winter Solstice Pie is bursting with tender winter vegetables, a nourishing celebration of the return of longer days after the shortest night of the year."
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 cups of any combination of the following diced vegetables: onion, garlic, carrot, bell pepper, celery, potato, mushroom, sweet potato, winter squash, turnip, parsnip, broccoli, or Brussels sprouts
6 cups coarsely chopped greens, such as kale, cabbage, mustard greens, turnip greens, broccoli rabe, or chard
1/2 cup frozen peas or corn
Seasonings to taste: chopped fresh parsley, dried thyme, rosemary, sage, basil, savory, marjoram, or a combination
Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon unbleached or whole wheat flour
1/2 to 1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup shredded cheese (optional)
Your favorite homemade or store-bought crust or 3 cups cooked mashed potatoes
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the diced vegetables, sautéing, stirring occasionally, until tender.
3. Add chopped greens and cook briefly to wilt. Add frozen peas or corn and allow to cook through.
4. Add seasonings, then sprinkle vegetables with flour, stirring well and simmering for a few minutes. Add broth, stirring until thickened. Add cheese, if desired.
5. Place ingredients in an oiled deep-dish pie dish. You may use a bottom crust, if you like, and/or a top crust. If you go crustless, top vegetables with mashed potatoes, dotted with butter or drizzled with olive oil, if you like.
6. If using crust, cut a special symbol (a sun is a nice touch) in the top, or use a spoon to swirl a sun or spiral shape in the mashed potatoes.
7. Bake 45 minutes, or until golden, and serve on a platter surrounded with fresh evergreens, if you like.
Serves 4 to 6.
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Here's a sweet treat for any time, not just the holidays! Gene Brown from Santa Rosa, CA sent it along. The dark chocolate would make these wonderful! Comments are Gene's.
"Speaking of recipes - Another for your sweet tooth - an oldie from a San Francisco radio cooking host. He suggests using chocolate bits.
We prefer to use the big chunks of Ghirardelli chocolate that are available around here at holiday time. So use whatever dark or milk chocolate you prefer. (The big hunks should be chopped up.)"
SECRET TOFFEE
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar (we prefer dark brown)
24 unsalted soda crackers (salted tops OK)
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels (I would use dark chocolate instead! Ruth)
3/4 cup toasted sliced almonds (could use walnuts)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line inside of 9x13 pan with good-sized
sheet of foil going up the sides about an inch.
1. Melt butter in small sauce pan, add brown sugar and boil rapidly
until sugar melts and becomes syrupy - about 30 seconds.
2. Pour into foil-lined pan. Tilt to cover bottom evenly.
3. Arrange layer of crackers over syrup. Bake 10 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate over top. Into oven one minute more.
5. Spread soft chocolate evenly. Sprinkle the nuts evenly and gently
press into chocolate.
6. Refrigerate one hour at least.
7. When chilled take out of pan, peel off foil and break into random-sized pieces.
Harvey says to store in refrigerator, but that doesn't seem necessary.
For toasting those almond slices: 350 degrees for a short while -
like five minutes or so - check and stir often.
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Ellen Shelton, from Tallahassee, mentioned the following in a holiday letter.
"Ruth, I fixed pasta puttanesca the other night, and used a recipe that you sent to us in 12/97 (I think it was) via email. I printed it out back then and have it in my recipe notebook…I have fixed that puttanesca recipe many times, and it's always good. I frequently add chopped cooked eggplant to it, for some reason."
This is my own recipe, inspired by the puttanesca at Alberto's Italian Ristorante which we frequented while we summered in Maine 1988-1998. I do not have the Recipes of the Month back to 1997. I was just sending them out and not keeping them then. So here you go! I serve it not only on pasta, but often on spaghetti squash instead.
RUTH'S PASTA PUTTENESCA
1 med onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
l small pckg. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. pitted ripe Greek or Italian olives, halved
1/2 c. pitted or pimento style green olives, halved
1 T. capers (or more to taste)
canned hot pepperocini, sliced, to taste
chopped fresh basil to taste (We like lots!)
chopped fresh rosemary to taste
8 oz. pasta of choice
grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1. Sauté onion, garlic, and mushrooms in the olive oil under just tender.
2. Add tomato sauce, olives, capers, and pepperocini.
3. Simmer for 30 min or longer.
Prepare pasta. Pour sauce over pasta. Serve with cheese. Serves 4
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Sue Gibson, who used to work with us in Maine, called from Texas the other night to give me the following recipe. She was visiting her son in Los Angeles, and he took her to a holiday potluck at his place of work. She had this salad, and it was so good! Happily, Sue ended up sitting next to the woman who had made the salad. So Sue got the recipe from the horse's mouth, so to speak. I'm planning to make it for New Year's Day dinner.
PORT WINE SALAD MOLD
a large package of cherry Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 cup port wine
1 can whole cranberries
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1. Dissolve the Jell-O in the two cups of boiling water.
2. Add the cold water.
3. Add the port.
4. Break up and cranberry sauce and stir it in. No need to wait until the Jell-O thickens.
5. Stir in the walnuts.
6. Pour in mold and chill.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Bonus Recipes of the Month for January, 2007: cream tea
On January 20, I held an afternoon Cream Tea for my Red Hat Chapter, the Scarlet Women. Eleven ladies came to tea. Afterwards I had requests for recipes of the foods I served, (Oh, all right, my sister in Washington was the one who asked me about them). I decided to send them out to everyone as a bonus recipe mailing.
To begin, I had an old/antique seven-inch dessert plate at each setting. On each plate were three chocolate creams in papers, and the business card from the antique shop where I bought the plates for them. On the business card was the name of a guest, so the plate/cards served as placecards. They then could take the plate home as a souvenir of the tea. This was a fun thing, as I love old china. I got these lovely plates quite inexpensively by being willing to take a whole box of odds and ends of old dishes for a price.
The antique shop is in an old barn near where Barb Lloyd lives in Michigan. Barb and Jane and I go there every summer when I'm in Michigan. It was actually Barb who found the box of treasures and called me to see it. She knew I wanted to collect dishes for the tea. Yea, Barb.
There were five odd old dinner-sized plates in the box. I made myself tiered plates for the tea by gluing two "antique" plates to a wine glass, which made the stem between the plates. See below.
The Swedish crisps I served were Anna's Ginger Thins, bought from our market. The lemon curd, English black currant preserves, and English lemon curd were also bought at my local market.
Both of the following recipes have been in earlier Recipes of the Month. Quick Scones was in February, 2006, and "Victoria" cake in May, 2000. However, I have refined the scones recipe since then. The cake recipe was so long ago, I'm sure few of you still have it.
This recipe describes "petticoat tail" triangular scones. You can also just drop the dough on a cookie sheet, or make squares or rounds instead of the petticoat tails.
QUICK SCONES
2 c Bisquick or Jiffy or other biscuit mix (note: one batch takes one and a third boxes of Jiffy mix.)
2 tb sugar
1/3 c milk
1 egg slightly beaten
(optional: currents, raisins, dried cranberries)
milk
sugar
Heat oven to 425F.
Spray an 8 inch pie or cake tin with cooking spray.
1. Mix biscuit mix, sugar, milk and egg until dough forms.
2. Knead 10 times on a floured or biscuit mix sprinkled board.
3. Pat dough into 8 inch wide circle. Put in pan and fit to the bottom of the pan. Should be at least a half inch thick.
4. Brush top with milk. Sprinkle with sugar.
5. Cut into 8 wedges before baking. (Flour the knife blade to ease cutting the raw dough.)
6. Bake about 14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
As I was growing up, in the days before cake mixes, a basic dessert in our house was "White Quick Cake." It was actually a yellow cake, as it took a whole egg. Variety was added in different flavors of frosting. My favorite variety, which my Grandmother McIntyre made a lot, was White Quick Cake with jam and lemon frosting. When I grew up, and started going to tea rooms, I found our family cake was like the popular English tea cake, Victoria Sponge. While traditionally Victoria Sponge is made with sponge cake and dusted with powdered sugar on top, most of them I've had in tea rooms here and in Britain were made with plain old yellow cake and frosting - just like at home.
WHITE QUICK CAKE AND JAM (Victoria Sandwich Cake or Victoria Sponge)
1 and 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbs melted butter
1. Sift dry ingredients
2. Add other ingredients except butter and stir.
3. Beat with spoon for a minute.
4. Add the melted butter and stir.
5. Pour in greased and floured 8x8 pan. (If you're going to turn the cake out of the pan, line bottom (only) of pan with waxed paper.)
Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes
For sandwich cake:
1. Cool for 10-15 minutes and then turn out of pan.
2. Cut in half or into quarters.
3. Slice cake section across the middle.
4. Spread black or red currant jam on bottom layer, put top back on.
5. Top with lemon-flavored butter frosting. (See below)
For sandwich tea cakes, you can get 16 or 32 pieces out of one cake, depending on what size you want.
I have no recipe for this; we never used one at home. This is what we did: Put a lot of powdered sugar in an oyster bowl, usually a pound box. Add a tiny bit of milk and stir. Add some soft butter and work it in. Add some lemon extract if you're using it for Victoria Cake. Keep adding sugar, or butter, and drops of milk until you have what looks like enough frosting of a spreading consistency. Frost the cake.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Recipes of the Month for February, 2007
I have several recipes for this month, and some of them have rather long chat with them. So you'll get two recipe mailings for February. This first one is goodies. The second one will have mixed recipes.
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Jean Pettit lives exactly ten houses down the street from me. Every Wednesday night I go to her house and knit and talk knitting talk. She made this truffle recipe for the holidays. She had been baking a lot, so her freezer was quite full. She slid the truffles in on the very top of foods piled on the top shelf, and went on her way. When she went to take the truffles out of the freezer, they had expanded enough to stick to the roof of the freezer. She got them out, but little chocolate stalactites were left hanging from her freezer roof. She thought it was so funny that she shows them off to everybody. As far as I know, they are still there. Jean has become quite attached to them.
TRUFFLES
Yield - about 4 and a half dozen
2 packages (10 to 12 ounces EACH) milk chocolate or butterscotch chips
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 and 1/4 cups ground toasted almonds, graham cracker crumbs, or finely chopped salted peanuts
1. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat chips at 70% power for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave 10-20 seconds longer or until melted, stirring occasionally.
2. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, stirring several times.
3. Fold in whipped topping.
4. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper-lined baking sheets.
5. Freeze for 1 and 1/2 hours or until firm.
6. Shape into balls; roll in almonds, crumbs, or peanuts.
7. Refrigerate or freeze in an airtight container.
If frozen, remove from the freezer 30 minutes before serving.
Jean says that once they have been refrigerated and set, they can be kept in an airtight container unrefrigerated for some hours.
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On January 28, relatives came from Ruskin on the west coast of Florida, and relatives came from Melbourne Beach on the east coast of Florida and met at our house, which is exactly in the middle between both Florida coasts. At dinner, Janet Williams and I started talking recipes. She has lots of unusual and delicious-sounding foods that she makes. I'm going to try to get as many recipes for these good things from her as I can. She gave me this one off the top of her head while we were having dinner that day. I was assured by the other relatives that it is to die for.
JANET WILLIAMS' COCONUT CAKE
1. Bake a basic white or yellow cake in a 9x13 pan.
2. Punch large holes (Janet uses the end of a wooden spoon) in the cooled cake.
3. Pour a can of evaporated milk over the cake. Let it set for a while.
4. Mix a jar of bar-supply coconut cream (available in your super market) with an 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip. Frost the cake with it.
5. Top with fresh or shredded coconut. Janet tosses her coconut in the freezer for a while before putting it on the cake.
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Agnes Kleman lives on a farm in Ohio. She is a prodigious quilter, and her kitchen turns out baked and canned goods like a factory! Everything that comes out of Aggie's kitchen is home-style farm comfort food at its best. She wrote in December to ask me about a detail in one of December's recipes. Here is part of her December 27 email:
I keep baking pies with the famous crust made with flaky flour …
I wrote back and asked if flaky flour was a brand of flour, or a flour mix recipe. This is what she wrote back on December 28.
Flaky Flour . I purchase this at the Amish Store , or the Cherry"s Market on 224 east of Ottawa, Also have seen it at the country market South of Kenton on Rt 68 just north of Bellefontaine, Ohio. Wish I knew what was in it. I know it must have corn starch with other ingredients. It works. I will not make pie without it.
Also prepare the pie pan with butter, margarine, or shortening and coat with graham cracker crumbs. I keep left-over crumbs in a large plastic bag in the top of my refrigerator, ready for the next time. This I learned 50 years ago at the Smiths Bakery,Toledo, with the Extension Tour through the Bakery when the ladies were making the pies they were famous for.
She also wrote, on the 28, that she was sending me some Flaky Flour, enough to make one batch of crusts. I had told her I couldn't find any around here or on the internet. Here is her email to me on December 29.
You will need to roll out the dough with regular flour. It tends to be soft. But that does not change the taste.
Your flour was sent out today by snail mail.
The first thing you have to know is that my pie crusts usually could be used for shoe leather. I tried every method in the books for years. Long ago I gave up on scratch crusts and have been buying the out of the freezer case at the market. So this was a real test of this flour.
The recipe is below. It is not an unfamiliar combination, the vinegar and egg in pie crust. So the secret has to be in the flour.
1 and 3/4 cup white or yellow Crisco
4 cups Flaky Flour
dash of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1. Cut this mix with pastry cutter in the usual way.
2. Mix : in the same cup that measured the Crisco; 1 egg stirred with a fork, 1 tablespoon vinegar. Then fill the cup till about full with cold water.
3. Pour over crumbly mix. Stir and work until dough is of an even consistency.
4. Roll out. If you want fancy edges it will make 2 pies with full top. I roll out and freeze dough that's left over.
Note from Agnes: Dough will be soft. You may have to patch. Who cares! It will make wonderful pie crust.
So I made the crust. I greased (with Smart Balance Light) the pan and sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs. I created a 9-inch rhubarb custard pie.
It was outstanding! The crust was almost like puff pastry, it was so flaky. The bottom crust was firm and golden. It held its shape perfectly when you lifted a slice out of the pie. I should have rolled it out more; the crust was a bit thick. My husband, though, loved it that way.
Here it is in all its glory! The trick now is to find Flaky Flour. If anyone finds a source for it, let me know and I'll pass it along!
crust for double crust pie
3 c. diced rhubarb
1 c. sugar
3 T. flour
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 T. milk
2 beaten eggs
1. Mix all filling ingredients.
2. Put into pie shell and cover with pastry lid.
3. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Bonus Recipes of the Month for February, 2007
As promised, here is a second batch of recipes for February. There's some fun things here, so tie on your apron and get cooking!
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The first recipe is from Jodee Linta in Tucson, an avid cook and seamstress. Maybe it is because she taught home economics for years —many of them in the room right next to where I taught art—in Big Rapids, Michigan. She wrote:
And I tried another recipe from our paper. I think it's a winner and it's low fat and very easy. Here goes:
SIMMERED GOLDEN POTATOES
3/4 pound gold or yellow potatoes
1 cup fat-free, low-salt chicken broth
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1. Wash potatoes (do not peel); cut into 1/2 inch slices.
2. Place in medium saucean with broth and oil.
3. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft and liquid is absorbed. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Makes 2 servings. 182 calories per serving.
I used about 6 medium-sized potatoes with the rest of the ingredients and it made ample servings for two meals.
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Judy McCracken's home is in Michigan, but she and Art winter down here in Florida in a resort park about 20 miles north of us. This recipe was going around the park, so to speak, this winter. So she made it one time when we went up there for a pre-computer club dinner. (She and I go to computer club, and the fellows stay home and watch TV.) That was the first time she made it, and it looked like a huge amount of salad. Well, there wasn't that much left when the meal was done. Delicious!
MUSHROOM AND BROCCOLI SALAD
Dressing:
1 cup oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp paprika
1 T onion powder
salt to taste
Salad:
2 large bunches of broccoli, washed and drained
1 pound fresh mushrooms, cleaned
2 to 3 green onions
1. Make the dressing first by mixing the listed ingredients. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
2. Break or cut off broccoli florets and place in large salad bowl.
3. Slice the mushrooms and finely chop the onions.
4. Combine the vegetables and pour on the dressing. Stir.
5. Chill for at last one hour, stirring after 30 minutes.
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Lue Maggin lives around the corner from me. We don't see each other real often, but we do email jokes, cooking talk, and recipes. This is one you'll want to try, just to answer the challenge. Lue says it's real easy. I don't have a steamer as such. Lue offered to loan me hers, but I'm going to try them in my microwave steamers, or maybe in my electric steamer. Love Oriental food!
ORIENTAL PORK WRAPPERS
1 (12 oz) pkg pork sausage
3 green minced onions
1 T soy sauce
1 T hoisin sauce
1/2 t minced garlic
48 square pkg wonton wrappers
Nonstick vegetable cooking spray
1. In a medium bowl, combine sausage, green onions, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and garlic.
2. Place 6 wonton wrappers on a clean surface and place 1 T of pork mixture in center of each wrapper. 3. Brush edges with water. Fold each filled wrapper into a triangle and press, enclosing the filling completely. Repeat with remaining wrappers and fillings.
4. Place a collapsible metal steamer rack in a large wide pot or wok (I used this along with a Chinese wooden steamer), and fill pot with water to just below the steamer. Bring water to low simmer.
5. You can place lettuce or cabbage leaves in bottom of the steamer or spray steamer with Pam so that dumplings do not stick.
6. Working in batches, arrange dumplings on rack 1/2 inch apart. Cover pot and steam until cooked thoroughly, about 8 - 9 minutes. Watch water level and add more as needed.
7. Transfer dumplings to a platter and serve with dipping sauce.
Dipping sauces: soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and hot Chinese style mustard.
addendum from Ruth:
You can get hoisin sauce in the super market. However, if you want to make your own, here is a recipe.
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons black bean paste
1 tablespoon honey or molasses
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons sesame oil
20 drops chinese hot sauce, habeñero or jalepeño
1/8 teaspoon black pepper.
Directions:
Simply mix together.
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The last recipe is from Roberta Brown, who is now escaping Michigan winter in Spring Hill, Florida. We that live in Florida have waves of house guests during the winters. We enjoy them, and it's a good chance to try new recipes! Roberta sent me this email a week or so ago:
ROBERTA'S PECAN ROLLS
Next time you have overnight house guests you might want to prepare pecan rolls using freezer white bread rolls. Just melt some margarine in 9x9" round pans (or use 9x13" if you want a lot of them, then sprinkle some light brown sugar over melted margarine, insert about 9 or 10 frozen white bread rolls in 9 x 9" round cake pan. Let sit out for a couple of hours BEFORE you retire for the night. Place pan in refrigerator . . . rolls will rise overnight. Bake at 350 until nicely browned. All will love these rolls hot from the oven. These rolls disappear so fast I never even notice anyone eating them!
I wrote her back asking her how many pecans and where to put them. Here is her answer:
Ruth! You only need ONE small package of chopped pecans per 9" round pan. I think this small bag is ony $1.26 per bag . . . something like that. This method couldn't be easier; you need to be sure the tops are nicely browned (tap them); then turn out on a nice sized plate.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Recipes of the Month for March, 2007
In February, I went on a yearly "Cousins' Weekend" to St. Augustine with 6 other gals. We do this every February. This year we ate at the Columbia Restaurant in historic St. Augustine. Most of us had the restaurant's signature “1905 Salad,” but Patty Muth had gazpacho. This spiked a discussion about gazpacho and who made it how. Shirley said she had a recipe for gazpacho that was the nearest she had ever tasted to the gazpacho she had in Spain-and here it is, just for you!
GAZPACHO
THE STOCK:
1 can beef broth
1/2 tsp worcestshire
2 (14 0z each) cans V-8
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic -minced
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil
COMBINE, STIR, COVER AND CHILL STOCK SEVERAL HOURS.
VEGGIES: chopped or diced
2 or 3 tomatoes
1and1/2 cukes
1 green (or red or yellow) pepper
3 scallions - include stems
a stick or two of celery
Options:
Add well chilled veggies just before serving
0r: as in Spain: serve the stock and offer veggies to guests to add as
they please.
Note: There are NO croutons.
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Here's a taste of Italy. Ellen Shelton sent this recipe from Tallahassee. She had made it and thought it was especially good. Ellen and her husband, Jim, worked with us as rangers at Acadia National Park in Maine.
TORTELLINI, MUSHROOM, OLIVE AND BLUE CHEESE CASSEROLE
2 (9-ounce) packages cheese tortellini
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 pounds fresh mushrooms, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup dry white wine
black pepper
1and 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese
1 cup diced black pitted olives
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. Cook tortellini in a pot of boiling water until just tender. Drain and transfer to a mixing bowl.
2. In a large saucepan, sauté onion, garlic and mushrooms in olive oil until vegetables are soft and most of the mushroom liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes.
3. Sprinkle flour on top, Stir 1 minute. Gradually add milk, whisking rapidly, then add half and half and whisk until the sauce thickens. Add wine, season with pepper, reduce the heat slightly and whisk until the sauce is smooth, about 5 minutes.
4. Remove pan from heat, add blue cheese, and stir until the cheese melts and sauce is smooth.
5. Add sauce and olives to pasta, toss until blended, and transfer into a greased 2 _ quart casserole dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top, bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Serves 8
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Here's another one from Ellen. It does have an Italian squash in it, but the final effect is rather international. Before the days of FAT, CARBS, and other catchwords, before NUTRITION guided our menus, I used to stuff zucchini with chopped Spam, rubbery American cheese, and corn and chopped onion. I think this version is healthier.
MUSHROOM AND SPINACH STUFFED ZUCCHINI
4 medium zucchini
1 onion, minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chopped mushrooms
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 teaspoon soy sauce
5 oz spinach
1 cup cooked brown rice
3/4 cup tomato juice
1⁄2 cup grated fontina cheese
1. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides of the zucchini to leave a fillable shell.
2. Chop the scooped-out portion, set aside the skins.
3. In a skillet, sauté the onion, garlic, and chopped zucchini in olive oil with a little salt, over low heat until the onions soften. Add the mushrooms, dill, sherry, and soy sauce and cook for about 5 more minutes.
4. If using fresh spinach, steam in a separate saucepan with enough water to cover, until wilted but still bright green. Drain and add to sautéed vegetables. If using frozen spinach, add uncooked a few minutes after the mushrooms are added, and cook just until tender.
5. Stir rice into sautéed vegetables and season with salt and pepper.
6. Pour the tomato juice around the bottom of a baking dish. Spoon the filling into the zucchini shells and arrange them in the baking dish. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top.
7. Cover pan tightly with foil, bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake another 5 - 10 minutes, until the tops are brown.
Serves 4
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Billie Lou Atnip Thomas, a friend from the days of Midland High School, sent along this recipe which is, I guess, Spanish-American. Cranberries are definitely a traditional New England fruit, and salsa is a gift from the Spanish. Here's what Billie Lou has to say about it:
“...I've very successfully tried and served the Holiday Jello Mold. It goes well with absolutely everything. I've used it so long, I can't remember if it was my own concoction, or one gleaned from another source.”
HOLIDAY JELL-O MOLD
1. 1 small package Cranberry Jell-O made with only one cup of hot water.
2. When it is thoroughly cool, add one cup of salsa (mild, medium or hot), along with one cup of cranberry sauce. (I prefer the one with whole berries, although when there is none in my cupboard, have substituted the jellied variety.)
3. Pour into a mold and chill.
3. For a topping, I mix Cool-Whip, softened cream cheese, and one T horesradish.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Second Recipes of the Month for March, 2007
This first recipe is rather unusual, and touts a well-known Michigan agricultural product— asparagus. We used to buy asparagus by the paper grocery bag-full for a song out of the fields near us. Now we can hardly afford it in the Florida markets!
There are two little towns on the west coast of Michigan separated by a river; Montague and Whitehall. They grow asparagus around Montague and Whitehall -lots of asparagus. Nearby Hart has a big Asparagus Festival every spring with an Asparagus Queen. Jane Arndt, Barb Lloyd, and I had our picture taken with the Asparagus Queen one year!
The state of Michigan is holding a recipe contest. The only qualification is that the recipe should feature a Michigan agricultural product. Whitehall has entered….asparagus. The recipe follows. I have not made it. If you make it, let me know how it comes out..
ASPARAGUS AND RED PEPPER TART
Submitted by: Cathy Russell, White Swan Inn, Whitehall
Number of Servings: 2-3
Baking Time: 15 minutes plus 5 minutes
Baking Temperature: 400 degrees
1. 1⁄2 (15 ounce) package refrigerated pie crust, room temperature
2. 1 Tbs. olive oil
3. 1⁄2 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut in one inch pieces
4. 1⁄2 cup chopped red pepper
5. 1⁄4 cup chopped onion
6. Salt and pepper to taste
7. 1 tsp. dried basil
8. 2 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
9. 2 oz. crumbled feta cheese
10. 2 Tbs. Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large skillet, lightly sauté asparagus, red pepper, and onion in olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and basil.
3. Unroll pie crust and place on ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle most of the mozzarella cheese on pie crust within an inch of the edge. 4. Spread cooked vegetable mix evenly on top of mozzarella. Top with remaining mozzarella and feta cheeses.
5. Fold edge of pie crust over vegetable/cheese mix. The crust will not completely cover vegetable mixture.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until dough is lightly browned.
Remove from oven, sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over the crust and exposed vegetables and bake for five more minutes.
Cool on wire rack for five minutes before serving.
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Lue Maggin is an around-the-corner neighbor of mine here. She sent me the following delicious-sounding recipe. I have included all that Lue said in her letter. Knowing the cultural background makes a recipe “genuine” and gives it a special flavor.
“A friend (Seline Malament) phoned me last Sunday, asked if I were interested in an old Jewish Greek salad that she had made for her husband. The recipe was very large and she had lots left over. My Dad had made this recipe many times many years ago and we all loved it, so I accepted her offer. It was almost as I had remembered. The difference was that we can't locate matjes herring in Central Florida, although it's readily available up North and probably in South Florida. Instead, Seline used herring in wine sauce.” Lue Maggin
(Ruth's note: matjes herring is female herring that has not spawned, filleted and prepared with salt, vinegar, sugar, and spices, or brine-soaked. Source: Jewish Heritage Online Magazine.)
JEWISH GREEK SALAD
1 head green cabbage (shredded, mainly the green part)
4 - 5 large tomatoes skinned (Place in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, cool, then skin, remove seeds and dice)
1 jar Greek olives (drained)
1 large jar herring in wine sauce (drained and cut in bite size pieces)
1-1/2 green peppers (sliced thinly)
2 large red onions (sliced thinly)
vegetable oil, vinegar, salt & pepper, touch of sugar. (All to taste)
Gently mix all together and it's ready to eat.
Lue says, "I would place all ingredients in 2 large jars or large plastic air-tight container. It's great as an appetizer, salad or main dish with some crusty rolls or breads. ( I love to dip a roll in the juices.)"
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We visited Martha and Norm Decker in Spring Hill, Florida, a few weeks ago. Martha and Norm date back to college days with Bob and me. We used to put our babies into baskets or playpens to sleep and play pinochle all night, breaking about 3 a.m. for pizza.
Martha served us kumquat pie at this last visit. Since kumquats are a regional sort of thing, and not readily available, I'm not sending the whole pie recipe. Take it from me, it's delicious.
The crust she had made for the pie was quite a treat! I have never had one quite like it before, I don't think. Martha called it a “shortbread crust,” and said she'd used it for years. It did have the flavor and texture of a shortbread cookie.
Here's the recipe in Martha's own words.
SHORTBREAD PIE CRUST
1 cup flour, 1 stick margarine. Mix, pat into pie pan, pierce and bake at 400 degrees until browned. I use this for all prebaked pie crusts.
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And on the subject of pies, here's one from Barb Lloyd, who sent the asparagus story at the beginning of this newsletter. Barb got the recipe from her friend Donna Will. This is how she introduced the recipe in her email to me:
“This is OH, SO GOOD! I had it at my PEO meeting and made one for Wednesday's storytelling potluck at the Finch Nest. Slurp! Use lite or low cal everything!”
FLUFFY CHERRY LEMON PIE
1 can Much Cherries (Comstock)
1 (9 inch) prepared graham crax crust (deep dish)
1 pkg. (8 oz ) cream cheese, softened (optional light cream cheese)
1 cup cold milk (non-fat, optional)
1 pkg. (3 oz) instant lemon pudding mix
1 container (8 oz) Cool Whip (optional Lite)
1. Bake pie crust at 375 degrees for 5 minutes. Cool
2. Spread the cherry pie filling on bottom of crust
3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with wire whisk; until smooth
4. Gradually beat in milk until well blended
5. Add pudding mix, and beat until smooth
6. Gently fold in half of the Cool Whip
7. Spread cream cheese mixture over cherry pie filling in crust
8. Spread remaining whipped topping over the cream cheese mixture.
CHILL-- can be made a day ahead. Makes 8 large servings
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And I've got a novel and fun pie for a delicious ending! Dell French of the Lady Writers, who is quite the brave cook, not afraid to try new recipes on guests, sent me this.
QUESADILLA APPLE PIE
1 T butter
cooking oil spray
2 large (10 inch) flour tortillas
21 oz can of apple pie filling
1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Melt the butter; set aside.
3. Spray a large baking sheet with the cooking oil spray. (I used a pie pan).
Place 1 tortilla on the sheet. Pour the apple pie filling onto the tortilla
and spread it almost to the edge of the tortilla. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the pie filling. Place the second tortilla over the apple mixture,
forming a top crust.
4. Using a spoon, spread the melted butter evenly over the top. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.
5. Bake until the quesadilla is crisp and the edges just begin to brown, 8-10
minutes. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Third Recipes of the Month for March, 2007
In mid-February, several of our friends fled the Michigan winter for a Florida break at our house. They were Jane Arndt, Marianne Jones, Barb Lloyd and her husband, John. We had a jolly time. You have met all these gals in earlier Recipes newsletters.
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Marianne made dinner for everyone one night while the rest of us were jaunting. She was recovering from a broken ankle, so limited her walking. She had brought recipes down with her, and treated us to a Spinach Salad and a Pretzel Salad. The recipes are below.
SPINACH SALAD
Wash a small bag of spinach and chop
2 hard-boiled eggs - chopped
1/2 a small onion - chopped
1/2 to 1 cup bean sprouts or chopped green peppers
3 or 4 slices of bacon, fried crisp and chopped
optional: water chestnuts, carrots
Dressing:
2 T sugar
3 T oil
2 T catsup
2 T vinegar
salt and pepper
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
Mix the dressing and pour over the other ingredients right before serving.
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You could almost serve this salad as a dessert. It is so good!
PRETZEL SALAD
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick of oleo
1 cup crushed pretzels
1. Melt the oleo, then mix with the sugar and pretzels.
2. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake 6 minutes at 400 degrees.
3. Cool and stir or they'll stick to the pan.
8 oz. cream cheese
20 oz can of crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup sugar
4. Mix the above together. Fold in an 8 oz Cool Whip and the pretzels. Chill.
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We went to a coffee shop here in Leesburg called the Florida Porch for lunch one day while the Michigan gang were here. Jane Arndt liked the place so well that we went back again another day just to have their curried chicken salad. I asked for the recipe, but was very politely turned down. They are going to make this salad their signature dish, it is so popular.
That reminded Jane of a chicken curry dish that is also a favorite of hers. After she got back home, she sent me the recipe. This sounds very good, reminiscent of the rich “things over rice or noodles” that were popular back in the 50s and 60s -Turkey à la King comes to mind.
CHICKEN CURRY
two whole chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes with:
1 cup chicken broth
1T. dried onion flakes
1 t. parsley flakes
1 T. dried celery flakes
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. curry powder (or more or less to taste)
3. Add 1 and 1/2 cans of cream of mushroom soup. Heat.
4. Just before serving, add 3/4 cup of sour cream.
5. Serve over rice or noodles.
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Lastly, I got an email from Barb Lloyd one day saying that she was going to make this recipe for a potluck, but couldn't find a butternut squash in two towns! She wanted to know if acorn would work. I guess it did, for I didn't hear back otherwise. Squash with pears was new to me, so I had to have the recipe, of course. Here it is:
(Barb says-Probably have to double this for company...)
BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND WINTER PEAR BAKE
1 med. squash (3 lbs)
2 Bosc pears (or other firm variety)
1/3 c. slivered almonds
1/2 c. brown sugar (I use dark)
2 T butter or margarine
Oven 350°
1. Butter the baking dish.
2. Peel, cut into quarters, and seed the squash. Slice into 1/2" thick
slices.
3. Peel and core the pears. Slice into 1/2" thick slices.
4. Alternate squash and pear layers in the baking dish. You'll get three layers.
5. Sprinkle with the almonds then the brown sugar. Dot with butter.
6. Bake uncovered until tender. Recipe says bake 35 minutes; I found it took about an hour.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Recipes of the Month for April, 2007
We're still in the asparagus patch in this letter. Remember the Asparagus Pie that The White Swan Inn entered in the Michigan foods contest? It was a popular recipe, and several people wrote me that they had made it. Ellen Shelton, from Tallahassee wrote that she had used it as an entrée when she had guests over one night for dinner. I wrote back and asked her how she expanded it and how many servings she got from the recipe. Here's her answer:
"I had 4 servings. I added mushrooms to the sauté mixture, and used more asparagus than what the recipe called for, about a pound, as well as a little more cheese, and rolled my pie crust out pretty thin. I made the dough using a recipe for a single pie crust, and put the crust in a pie pan rather than a cookie sheet, just for ease of serving, and rolled it out a little thinner than usual so I would have enough to fold up over the filling a bit. Then I cut it into four when I served it. Since this was the main dish, and one would not necessarily have to eat all the pie crust, it was not too big a serving. You might get five servings, but not six unless you made a bigger crust and put it on a cookie sheet so the whole thing could be bigger. It was pretty and very tasty."
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When Marianne Jones from Big Rapids, Michigan, was here in February and made us the Spinach Salad and Pretzel Salad, she also brought down a recipe from Val Gibson in Big Rapids. She didn't get the recipe made while she was here, but she passed it on to me.
VAL'S ASPARAGUS WRAPS
(can be served as an appetizer or light entrée)
2 slices honey-baked ham
some cream cheese with chives and onions (softened)
some chopped chives
4 slices Swiss cheese
24 very small asparagus spears
1. Spread cream cheese on ham slices. Sprinkle on extra chives.
2. Cut slices in half
3. Add 8 LITTLE asparagus spears.
4. Roll up ham.
5. Wrap Swiss cheese around ham roll.
6. Bake in really hot oven for 10 minutes.
We had some questions about the cheese and the hot oven, so Marianne talked to Val about it. This is what Marianne wrote back to me:
" You do put the Swiss cheese around the rolled wrap. She said the Amish cheese works real well. And watch it in the oven so it melts but isn't real runny. Then you just serve the roll as a whole piece. Don't see anything wrong with slicing it--maybe diagonally-- to make smaller helpings. They can make a half meal by themselves--besides being an appetizer."
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Leaving the asparagus patch and wandering over to the pumpkin patch, here's another entertaining-type recipe. If you're looking for something "different" to serve, this recipe is for you. Judy McCracken had this at a card party and got the recipe. It's couldn't be simpler, and sounds like a real treat. Judy said her sister Gloria Adkins, who was also at the party, thought it was delicious, too.
PUMPKIN DIP
1 small can of pumpkin
1 small cool whip
1 small vanilla instant pudding
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Serve dip with cinnamon stick graham crackers or ginger snaps.
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Speaking of entertaining, here's a snack that goes over well with guests or at parties. It's also from Judy McCracken. She brought it to the Cousins' Weekend in St. Augustine in March, and we did our best to eat it all.
SEASONED PRETZELS
This recipe is now in the Recipe Box under "Judy's Pretzels."
30 oz small pretzels
1 bottle of Orville Redenbacher's popcorn oil - only comes in one size
1 pkg dried Hidden Ranch dressing
2 T dried dill weed
1 tsp garlic powder
1. Mix dry ingredients into the oil in a large bowl.
2. Add pretzels and stir to coat them. Toss the mixture on and off for about 30 minutes (every 10 minutes or so).
3. Spread on cookie sheets and dry for 8 hours.
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PASTA e FAGIOLI
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
1 large carrot, julienned (1 cup)
3 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans (with liquid)
1 15-ounce can great northern beans (with liquid)
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 12-ounce can V-8 juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 pound (1/2 pkg.) ditali pasta
1. Brown the ground beef in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat. Drain off most of the fat.
2. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour.
4. About 50 minutes into simmer time, cook the pasta in 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of boiling water over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or just until pasta is al dente, or slightly tough. Drain.
5. Add the pasta to the large pot of soup. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve.
Serves 8.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Recipes of the Month for May, 2007
For starters, I'm going to hark back to April's recipes. Remember the one from Marianne Jones that she had got from Val Gibson? The one with ham spread with cream cheese and wrapped around little asparagus spears, then wrapped with Swiss cheese and heated? Yes, that one. Well, Marianne forwarded the April Recipes of the Month to Val, since her recipe was in it. After reading the Recipes, Val sent me this note with further ideas on the wraps.
Hi Ruth,
Marianne forwarded your note to me. When our Michigan aspargus is in season I make wraps several times a week. Last year when I visited family in Colorado they had me make them for every family gathering.
Another hint:`if you're in a hurry you can use plain old Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. They are good that way also.
Enjoy,
Val
Asparagus will be in season in Michigan and other places very soon! Start collecting asparagus recipes now! Ruth
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The next four recipes are from Jeanette Burton, who lives in Largo, Florida, in the winter, and goes to Nova Scotia in the summers. But Jeanette didn't always go to Nova Scotia in the summers. She and her husband Richard drove from Florida to Acadia National Park every summer, just as we did, to work in the national park. Their trailer was right across from our motor home in the employees campground for a number of summers.
Jeanette is a wonderful cook, and often comes up with new recipes. She used to make huge meals for guests in that tiny travel trailer kitchen: roasts and pies and biscuits, amazing! I'm sending you not only the recipes, but the text of the emails she sent me about them that tells about the recipes. from Jeanette:
Hi there
I have some recipes for you. Tried the pie and it is good. Used sugar free all I could.
BANANA CREAM CRUNCH PIE
1 (3/4 oz) pkg. banana cream-flavored instant pudding
l c milk
5 TBS coffee liqueur divided (if desired)
l (8 oz) container frozen topping divided (no fat)
2 bananas sliced
l (6 oz) chocolate graham cracked pie crust
toffee candy chopped (I used sugar free)
1. Combine pudding mix, milk, 4 TB liqueur in med bowl
2. Stir with whisk til smooth.
3. Fold l C topping into mix
4. Toss 1 banana sliced with remaining liqueur (if desired).
5. Arrange over crust.
7. Sprinkle with half of chopped candy.
8. Spoon pudding mix over candy.
9. Cover and chill l-1/2 hrs or til set.
10. Spoon on remaining topping before serving.
(I put more bananas on top and then topping. Sprinkled more candy on top. Company loved it.
Let me know if you want a couple of favorite chicken recipes. One is my grandmother's and my favorite, the other is chicken curry and again, I love it.
Jeanette
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No question here! Of course I wanted those chicken recipes! A recipe from her grandmother would have the flavors of old-time cookery, and I love curry! So there you are. And here are the recipes.
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BALTIMORE CHICKEN (Jeanette's grandmother's recipe)
1 chicken cut in pieces
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onions
1. Roll chicken in flour.
2. Brown quickly in hot fat.
3. remove to greased casserole.
4. Fry onions and celery in the same fat used for the chicken. Pour over chicken.
Add:
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sliced mushrooms.
Bake: 350 degrees approximately 1 hour
Jeanette: I love the “gunk” it makes, so I sometimes make more by adding more onion/celery and milk.
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JEANETTE'S CHICKEN CURRY
assorted chicken pieces, your choice
2 med onions thinly sliced
1 c chicken broth
3 cloves garlic crushed
l tsp ginger
2 tbsp curry powder
1/2 lb cottage cheese
l sliced tomato
1. Fry onions, garlic, ginger, curry, til lightly browned.
2. Add chicken pieces. Cover. Continue cooking l5 mins.
3. Stir in chicken stock, tomato, cottage cheese.
4. Cover and simmer until chicken is tender—about 40 mins.
Jeanette: I have served this many times and everyone likes it It is mild enough for those who are hesitant, yet tastes great of curry. I served it to company this week who had never tried it and they loved it.
************
I must include this. I am crazy about it and serve it for special company. (Jeanette)
JANE'S ARTICHOKE CASSEROLE
two l0 oz spinach (frozen) cooked & drained well
one 6 oz. can MUSHROOM CROWNS
6 T butter
1 T flour
1/2 t salt
l/2 c milk
pinch dry mustard
l med size can MUSHROOM PIECES
2 cans artichoke hearts
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 T lemon juice
1. Place artichokes in greased casserole.
2. Make cream sauce from flour, butter, and milk.
3. Add spinach and mushroom pieces.
4. Mix sour cream, mayonnaise and lemon juice and pour over all.
5. Decorate with MUSHROOM CAPS.
Bake at 350 degrees forty minutes or until bubbly.
Jeanette: Hope you like these as well as my family and friends I've made these for years In fact, I found I had printed the Baltimore Chicken recipe in a recipe book our church in East Hartford Ct. had done in l944. How's that for long lasting?
I used skimmed evaporated milk and any other ways where I can cut calories.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Recipes of the Month for June, 2007
PLEASE NOTE: This is be the last recipe mailing until November. Please do not send me any recipes until fall. We are going to Great Britain from June 3 to September 6, and I will have little, if any, internet access. We will be in Ohio the month of September, into the first week in October.
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TO BEGIN:
On May 5 we went to a neighborhood Kentucky Derby party that the Sendelbachs, two houses down from us, give every May. I bet $7 dollars and won nothing. Bob bet $5, and won $40. So we did ok. :)
Carolyn Norman brought this dish which is called a salad, but is more like a dessert. I had three helpings.
STRAWBERRY JELL-O SALAD
Bottom layer:
1& 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
3 tablespoons sugar
1 stick melted butter
Middle layer:
1 8 ounce package Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 8-ounce Cool Whip
3/4 cup sugar
Top layer:
1 large box strawberry Jell-o
2 cups hot water
2 10-ounce packages frozen strawberry slices
Bottom layer:
1. Combine pretzels, sugar, and melted butter. Press into
bottom of 9 x 13 pan.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
3. Cool. (I just melt butter in baking pan and then add pretzels)
Middle layer:
1. Mix together cream cheese and sugar. Add Cool Whip.
2. Spread on cooled bottom layer. Chill.
Top layer:
1. Combine jello with water until jello is dissolved.
2. Add frozen strawberries. Stir.
3. Let set until slightly jelled.
4. Spread on chilled middle layer.
5. Refrigerate.
Can be made a day ahead.
Yield: 15 servings
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AND HERE'S THE REST
On April 14 our daughter married her high school sweetheart in our little courtyard here in Florida.
My sister Gail, the great cook, offered to do the complete refreshments for the wedding. Our niece Cheryl Young flew down from Ohio early in order to help Gail. They worked for days on this beautiful reception. The following are Gail's recipes from that event.
HERBED GREEK EGG ROLLS
Use Pepperidge Farm Sandwich Bread. One loaf will make 18 rolls.
Day before make filling and let rest in fridge over night.
INGREDIENTS:
1 loaf of bread
1/2 doz. large eggs hard boiled
2 TBLSPNS Greek seasoning
1/2 cup crumbled Feta Cheese
salt and pepper to taste
minced fresh chives and/or minced Italian parsley.
mayonnaise
METHOD:
1. Mince hard cooked eggs.
2. Stir in seasonings, cheese, and mayonnaise to moisten and hold egg mixture together.
3. Cover and place in fridge for four hours or overnight.
1. THE NEXT DAY cut crusts from bread and using a rolling pin, roll a bread slice firmly to flatten.
2. Spread 2 + TBLSPNS egg mixture along one edge of flattened bread and roll up.
3. Place on plate with cut side down. Continue until done. They will stay rolled and can be layered on plate and cooled again in fridge until serving.
1. Just before serving mince the chives/parsley.
2. Remove rolls from fridge.
3. Spread mayonnaise on the roll ends lightly and dip roll ends into the minced greens.
4. Refrigerate again until serving.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 AND 1/2 cups dried bow-tie pasta
Seasonal fresh fruit chunked and well drained, making 3 cups
1-2 Tspn snipped fresh mint
1 cup chunked Fontina or Swiss cheese. (I omitted the cheese in favor of more fruit)
Torn greens optional
METHOD:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again. Hold in the refrigerator.
2. Mix fruits with pasta.
3. Dress with 1/'3 cup bottled Poppy Seed Dressing
Gail dressed it up with dollops of Cool Whip.
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1. Wash and cut celery stalks into 4 inch pieces.
2. Mix equal parts cream cheese and sharp shredded cheese.
3. Mix cheeses and Taco seasoning to taste and fill celery trays. For a nice look add pimento strips in cheese.
************
INGREDIENTS:
2 large cans shredded chicken. (stocked with tuna at market)
1/2 cup quartered red seedless grapes
1/2 cups English walnuts
Method:
Mix the above with mayonnaise to moisten and hold. Serve as a salad or on croissants for small sandwiches.
************
Cheryl brought this recipe down with her from Ohio.
3 - 46 oz cans (jars) pineapple juice
2 quarts orange juice
1 - 12 oz can frozen lemonade
2 quarts gingerale or champagne
2 pints sherbet
1. Mix juices and soda/champagne together
2. Add sherbet to punch bowl by scoops as serving the punch.
Makes 40 punch cups of punch
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Recipes of the Month from a Summer in Britain
Well, here I am, back in your mailboxes. Bob and I spent, as you know, three months in Great Britain this summer as a celebration of our 50th wedding anniversary. We not only traveled here and there and saw the sights, but we also spent time with friends we have made over there in the past. We made some new friends this trip, too.
Along the way I picked up cooking ideas and recipes, of course. I'm going to pass the bulk of them on to you as special mailings with special titles. I also have received some great recipes from my home friends, and they will come to you as regular monthly letters. I will have at least one November letter, and maybe a bonus one.
So sharpen your knives and season your pans, because here they come!!
Cheers
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In my Postcards from Britain, I mentioned that we went to the original Sally Lunn bakery in Bath, England. The Sally Lunns they served there were shaped like large -very large- buns. You could buy just a half of one, which is what we did.
A Sally Lunn is a big version of what the British call a “tea cake,” which is a round bun that's split and toasted, served with butter and jam. A Sally Lunn is about the size of four hamburg buns and looks like a small round loaf of bread.
Sally Lunn came to England from France about 300 years ago to work in a bakery. She brought with her a way of making buns that produced a light, airy, cake-like bread. Therein lay her claim to fame that persists to this day. It's the quality of the bun. I had my usual cream and jam with mine for lunch.
The last time I had that light bread was in the 70s in Quebec. We were traveling around in a camper in eastern Québec outback, and in particular the Gaspésie Peninsula. In those days women were still baking bread in beehive ovens in front of their houses. They made, and sold out of their kitchens, incredibly huge loaves of light bread with a texture of angelfood cake. They were French. Sally Lunn was French. Aha! It's a British dish with a French heritage.
Like any recipe, there are local variations. I have read recipes for Sally Lunn that use baking powder, others that use yeast. I have read recipes in which the Sally Lunn dough was made into a loaf and sliced. I have for you here two variations. One is from the Sally Lunn original bakery in Bath, England. The other is from a friend in Maine, who was raised on a different Sally Lunn. Both recipes would produce a very light product, but with completely different methods.
450 grams (2 cups) bread flour
50 g (1/4 cup) of butter
90 ml (scant half cup) milk
another 90 ml milk
1 tsp. castor (superfine) sugar
15 g (1/2 oz) yeast
2 eggs
1. Sieve the flour into a large warm bowl.
2. In a second bowl, warm the butter and 90 g milk.
3. In a third bowl, dissolve the sugar and the yeast in the other 90 g milk.
4. Pour the liquids from both bowls in to the flour, and add the eggs.
5. Mix and knead well.
6. Let rise until double.
7. Turn out on a floured board, knead lightly, form into 5 or 6 buns.
8. Allow to rise on baking tray.
9. Bake 8 or 9 minutes at 450 degrees F, or until golden
To serve: Split or slice, toast, butter when warm, serve with strawberry jam and clotted cream
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The second recipe is from Wanda Moran, a long time Maine friend. Wanda is a born and raised "Mainah," and so brings us the customs of New England. Her mother always made a Sally Lunn for shortcake during the strawberry season.
Here it is, straight from Wanda:
Here's the recipe. It comes from the Rumford Complete Cook Book, first
published in 1908. My mother's is the 1947 edition.
SALLY LUNN FROM MAINE
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsps. Rumford Baking Powder
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs, separated
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. melted shortening
1. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
2.
Beat egg yolks, combine with milk and use with shortening to moisten dry ingredients.
3.
Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.
4. Bake in shallow, well-greased pan (we use
a round cake pan) in moderately hot oven (375 degrees) for about 30
minutes. Serves 6
Wanda: We slice it horizontally, put strawberries on the lower layer, add the top
layer and put more strawberries and whipped cream on top. Yummy!
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We spent a week with some long-time friends. Eileen and Russell Hughes on Holyhead Island in North Wales. In North Wales, English is a second language. Nearly everyone speaks Welsh as their native tongue. The island is rugged, stony, and beautiful. Eileen is a fantastic cook, just one of those women who can whip out a full three course dinner for five without even breathing hard. Below are a couple of unusual and delicious dishes she served while we were there.
PRAWN SALAD (This was served as a side dish)
1/2 pound prawns, cooked
1 tsp sugar
a dollop of English salad cream (Ranch dressing will do)
1tsp horseradish
1 tsp mustard
a dollop of catsup
single cream
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NOTE:
In Britain there is single cream, double cream, clotted (scalded, table) cream, and Greek cream. Single cream is like, maybe, whipping cream. Double cream is just thick enough to spoon out of the carton. Clotted, etc. cream is thick enough to spread, almost like a soft butter. Greek cream is very thick, very smooth.
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Put a layer of chocolate-bottomed wafers in bowl (vanilla cookies dipped in chocolate).
Pour over them a cup of brandy.
Pile blueberries on.
Break up pre-baked meringues and pile on the berries.
Pour single cream over all, and serve.
(This is very attractive when made as single serving bowls, too)
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Recipes of the Month from a Summer in Britain: more recipes from across the pond
The recipes in this mailing are true "cook's" recipes. They require that you have a feel for foods and for cookery, as the details are not neatly laid out for you. Have fun!
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We'll start with a drink before dinner. Pat Simons in Cornwall, England, served us this in her back garden in the late afternoon, at what we would call the "cocktail hour." It's a bit of a "on your own" drink as far as portions go. You experiment until you find a mix that suits you. (By then the dinner hour is over and you don't care anyway.) Seriously, if you're a wine person, lean on the wine. If you like to taste the gin, pour away. However you do it, you'll have a clear red drink that looks elegant in your glass.
TINTO VERANO
lemonade
red wine
peach schnapps
gin
Mix in proportions to suit yourself. When you get what you want, write it down. This is a special drink that's nice to serve guests.
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Marian Rutland in Suffolk, England, served salmon which was delicious. I asked her how she had prepared it. Here is what she wrote back to me:
From memory, I...
1) washed the salmon and placed it in an ovenproof dish
2) poured a little olive oil over the fillets or salmon pieces
3) put a splash of white wine over them
4) squeezed about a quarter of a lemon over them and into the wine
5) I placed about four 4" pieces of rosemary around and on top of the fish
6) I put a couple of bayleaves into the juice
7) I peeled about four or five cloves of garlic and added them to the dish - no need to chop or dice them
8) Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven at 180 to 190C (350-375 F) for about 30 minutes.
There should be enough juice from the wine and lemon to create enough steam for cooking the fish.
Serve with new potatoes, and I think I served them with carrots and courgettes. I use the microwave for the latter vegetables and boil the potatoes on the hob.
There is no what I call 'cooking' with the meal. It is merely putting the ingredients together and then baking.
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Margaret Grooms lives in Suffolk also, just a few miles from Marian Rutland. Margaret served these potatoes one day for lunch while we were visiting them. The potatoes made a delicious light and super-nutritious meal. I've already made them once, and I've only been home three weeks.
MARGARET'S SWEET POTATOES
1. Scrub and bake a medium sweet potato for each person. Bake in the oven or microwave.
2. While the potatoes are baking, mix together:
chopped tomatoes
chopped cucumber
softened cream cheese
3. Slit each potato and pull apart. Fill the slit generously with the veggie mixture.
4. Pile some crème fraîche on top, and serve immediately.
Margaret also served home made pickled beets, which really complemented the potatoes.
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All right, all you gourmet cooks, this one's for you! Marian Rutland wrote me this in one of her emails, and it sounded rich and wonderful to me. :) It looks quite simple. The trick would be getting the ingredients. If you like challenges, go for it!!
MARIAN'S FRENCH DESSERT
from Marian's email:
I've started exploring French desserts, I've done one with goat cheese and dried apricots which was very very calorie loaded but delicious... I can't remember what this French recipie is called. I saw and made it from a French magazine I had a couple of years ago. It was something like this:-
Brioche rolls - do you know what a brioche roll is Ruth? (Ruth: I looked it up. Brioche refers to the ingredients and method that produce a very light roll, usually round.)
Slice brioche rolls in half; place slices of thin goat cheese on the top; grill until the cheese melts.
When melted, remove from the grill and then spoon over dried apriocots soaked and cooked until soft.
(Dried apricot mix) I soaked mine in a mixture of water, orange juice, whole spices etc. Add a spoon of honey to sweeten and then simmer until cooked.
Serve with blobs of ice-cream.
Recipes of the Month from a Summer in Britain: a dinner party
All of this batch of recipes are from my English friend, Marian Rutland. I have published recipes from Marian several times before this. In addition to good recipes she has sent me unsolicited, she found, in the past, recipes for lemon curd, scones, and crumpets.
During the last few days we were there, Marian did a lovely evening dinner for her husband's daughter Jill and her husband, Mike, and Bob, and me. Every now and again Marian likes to set out her Royal Doultan with her best silver and make what she calls a "proper" dinner. It was such an outstanding meal that I asked her if I might send the menu and some of the recipes on to you. She not only gave permission, but also annotated the recipes. Thank you Marian!
Almost ready for dinner at the Rutland Home in Suffolk, England
First, the menu:
(Red and white wine served throughout the meal.)
The Starter (Appetizer)
Fillet of Trout with asparagus spears served with a yogurt and mustard dressing
The Main Course
Individual lamb loafs cooked in tomato and spinach sauce. I think I used coriander and basil pesto to flavour the dish
New potatoes,
Carrot slices, steamed
Sliced courgettes (zucchini), steamed
Dessert
Raspberry Brulée with cream
Baked Apricots with cream
followed by:
Brie with crackers
Then:
Après le diner Chocolates and coffee.
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Now, some of the recipes: (It is assumed that cooks already know how to steam vegetables, and the lamb loafs were bought ready-made at a butcher's shop.) (Conversions are in parathenses.)
MARIAN'S STARTER (cold)
on each plate:
a slice of trout
4 baby asparagus spears laid over the fish slice
a dollop of horseradish sauce on the side of the plate with half a strawberry on top
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This dessert is very easy, can be made with any summer berry. It is better to add some cooking apple to the summer fruit to thicken the mixture. For diabetics don't use any refined sugar or honey to sweeten. Choose sweeter fruit like blackberries.
I use individual ramekin dishes but a shallow oven proof dish would do equally nicely.
For 6 persons
300 grammes fruit such as raspberries, blackberries (1/2 pint)
200 grammes prepared sliced cooking apple (without the skin or core) (1 cup)
Thick Greek yogurt (full fat is the best for this) (Ruth: Our nearest cream would be a very thick sour cream or crème fraiche)
Demerara sugar (Ruth: This is a crunchy raw brown sugar, available in most American markets nowadays).
1. Put all the fruit in a saucepan and simmer gently until the cooking apple is soft, and until the fruit has reduced a little. Add a good spoonful of honey to sweeten if desired. I don't add sugar or honey when I make this.
2. Cool and then place in the fridge overnight.
3. Before serving: Put blobs of fruit into the ramekins, filling each ramekin up to about half an inch from the top.
4. Then, spoon over the fruit mixture a decent amount of Greek yogurt, enough to fill each ramekin to the top.
5. Put a generous layer of demerara sugar on top of the yogurt.
6. Put all the ramekins on a tray and then place under a hot grill (broiler unit). The sugar will melt quickly and then begin to bubble.
7. Leave to bubble for a couple of minutes.
8. Remove from the grill and leave to one side for about 5 minutes. The sugar will have formed a crisp coating on top of the Greek yogurt. Serve immediately.
This dessert is not calorie rich even though the Greek yogurt is full fat. it is impressive made and served either individually or as one dish. It take very little time because frozen apple or frozen soft fruits could be used. Preparing the individual ramekins takes a few minutes and can be done while your guests are chatting and digesting the main course.
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BAKED PEACHES, NECTARINES, OR APRICOTS
Marian Rutland: I think nectarines are the best for this dish because they are firmer than peaches. I don't add sugar or honey to the liquid because I serve the dessert with ice-cream.
Use an oven proof dish.
1. Place the whole fruits (washed first) in the dish.
2. Add half a cup of orange juice
3. Add half a cup of white wine
4. Throw into the dish some or all of the following:-
a couple of cloves
a bay leaf or two
a sprig of rosemary
a small piece of cinnamon
some rind from a lemon
5. Cover the dish with some foil and bake in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes in a moderate oven.
6. The fruit will be wrinkled when cooked. Cool, and then put into the fridge until ready for serving.
I transfer the cooked fruit into a glass dish and serve at the table.
7. Serve with scoops of vanilla ice-cream.
This recipe is not calorie loaded and suitable for diabetics without the ice-cream.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Bonus Recipes of the Month for November, 2005
These recipes were sent to me from American friends over the summer and since I got back. You'll find some good easy-to-fix hearty dishes in this batch. Eat on! (Unless you're dieting.)
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I'm starting off with our niece, Cheryl Young, in Ohio. We spent a week with Cheryl in September, and she made a Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie for Bob's birthday. In November of 2006, just a year ago, I published a Peanut Butter Pie recipe from Cheryl. This isn't it. This is a whole new recipe, that's had as much fat and sugar taken out of it as possible. And I can tell you from first-hand experience, it's delicious!
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PIE
3/4 cup reduced fat hot fudge topping
1 chocolate or regular graham cracker crust
1/2 cup reduced fat peanut butter
1 1/4 cup 2% or 1% milk
2 pkg. of vanilla instant sugar free pudding
1 8 oz. tub of Fat Free Cool Whip
1. Heat and spoon 1/2 cup of fudge topping onto bottom of the graham cracker crust.
2. Mix peanut butter and milk with wire whisk, add pudding mixes, beat with mixer 2 minutes. Mixture will be thick.
3. Stir in half of the Cool Whip.
4. Spoon over chocolate layer on crust.
5. Top with rest of Cool Whip and top with chopped nuts.
6. Refrigerate 3 hrs.
You can drizzle top with 1/4 cup of fudge topping before serving f you like.
40 calories and 5 grams of fat per slice.
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Cheryl also served meatloaf, Bob's favorite, for his birthday supper. The meatloaf was made, however, by her husband, Ken. Ken is a good cook in his own right. He usually wings the mix, so he had to sit down and remember just what he does to produce his outstanding meatloafs so I could send this recipe to you. (The secret is in the sausage.)
KEN YOUNG'S MEATLOAF
1 lb of ground beef
1 lb of seasoned ground pork sausage
2 eggs
1 packet of McCormick meat loaf seasoning mix
oatmeal - enough to hold the mixture together- start with 1/4 cup
1. Mix above all together and put in meat loaf pan.
2. Top with ketchup.
3. Bake at 375 for 1 hour.
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Cheryl got this last recipe from her daughter-in-law, Marie. It's a great quickie for a cocktail hour or a party.
TEX-MEX CAVIAR
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black eye peas, rinsed and drained
1 can of sweet white corn, rinsed and drained
1 can of petite diced tomatoes, drained
Handful of chopped cilantro
1 medium onion diced
1 small green pepper diced
1 cup Zesty Reduced Fat Italian Dressing
Chili powder and garlic pepper or regular pepper to taste
Mix all together. Chill 1 hour. Serve with tortilla chips.
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This recipe is from Nancy Bremer by way of Judy McCracken. Both gals are from Michigan. They summer in Michigan, and that's when I got this recipe, in the summer. They both winter in Florida.
CABBAGE CASSEROLE
Make a day ahead and REHEAT, (it tastes better)
1 head of cabbage, shredded and chopped
3 pounds ground chuck
3 eggs
1 medium onion, chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped
3/4 cup of Uncle Ben's converted rice (semi-cook for approx. 8 minutes)
1 can of tomato soup
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can V-8 juice (small)
8 slices of bacon
1 large dollop of sour cream (optional)
2 tbls of Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar (sprinkle over)
1. Mix in a bowl - ground chuck, eggs, celery, onion, rice , sour cream, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
2. Put half of cabbage in bottom of roasting pan, layer meat mixture on top of cabbage and place remaining cabbage on top of the meat mixture.
3. Pour over the top, the tomato soup, crushed tomatoes, V-8 juice and sprinkle a little brown sugar over it and then place the 8 slices of bacon on top.
Bake 350 Degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes in covered roasting pan
Serve with mashed potatoes.
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I got this from Marianne Jones in Michigan just about a week ago. It surely sounds delicious, and easy to fix for guests. She wrote:
Always looking for tasty, SIMPLE, recipes to make. I don't know if it was the chicken or sauce on it, but this was absolutely tender and delicious.
HONEY BAKED CHICKEN
3-lb. fryer, cut up, OR chicken breasts
( I used skinless, boneless, cut in 1/2)
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/3 c. honey
2 T. prepared mustard
1 tsp. curry powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange chicken, skin side up, in a shallow baking pan. Combine melted butter, honey, mustard and curry powder. Bake 1 and 1/4 hours, basting every 15 minutes, until chicken is tender and nicely browned. Serve with rice or noodles.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Recipes of the Month for December, 2007
Here's a nice gift food to start out the December letter. This is not new to Recipes of the Month. It's from Jodee Linta in Tucson, and I first published it in January, 2002. Mix it up, put it in a jar, pop on a bow, and voila!
FIRESIDE COFFEE This recipe now has its own page
2 cups Coffee Mate
2 cups hot chocolate mix (Swiss Miss, etc.)
1 and 1/2 cups instant coffee (may use decaf)
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 T cinnamon
1 T nutmeg
Mix all ingredients together. (It works best to use a whisk.) Add 4 to 6 teaspoons of mix (more or less to taste) per cup of boiling water.
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Having a party? Or maybe house guests over the holidays? Here's a dip that folks around here are raving about. It's the Dip of the Moment. This recipe is from Jane Hahn, who's in my early-morning exercise class.
CRANBERRY DIP
one 8-oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
2 green onions
1/2 of 6-oz bag of dried cranberries
2 T sugar (Jane says, "I used just a little Splenda.")
Mix together. Make the day before so the flavors can meld.
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Want a festive dessert? Here's a flexible recipe that you can vary depending on the tastes of your guests. Dorothy Hanson, who is in exercise, Writers' Guild, and Red Hats with me, says she changes the recipe as the mood strikes her, or depending what she has on hand. Comments are hers.
DOROTHY'S BANANA CREAM CRUNCH PIE
1 (3/4-oz) pkg banana cream instant pudding (Vanilla or chocolate pudding can also be used.)
1 cup milk
5 T coffee liqueur, divided
1 8-oz container Cool Whip, divided
2 bananas, sliced
1 prepared chocolate graham cracker crust
3 oz toffee candy, chopped (I use a 3-oz pkg of Russell Stover sugar-free toffee squares.)
1. Combine pudding mix, milk, 4 T liqueur in medium bowl
2. Whisk, stir until smooth
3. Fold 1 c Cool Whip into mix
4. Pour 1 T liqueur over slices bananas, toss until coated
5. Arrange banana slices over bottom of pie crust
6. Sprinkle with half of chopped candy
7. Spoon pudding mix over candy
8. Cover and refrigerate 1 and 1/2 hours or until set
9. Spoon on remaining topping, and top with remaining candy pieces before serving
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Sue Gibson lives in Texas. But for several summers we were neighbors. Don and Sue's fifth wheel was parked by our motor home while we all worked at Acadia National Park. She called me the other day and raved about the Swedish Fruit Soup she had been served at Thanksgiving. This is who gave Sue the recipe: Sue's husband Don has a cousin Larry. Larry has a son, Nathan, who is married to Cindy. It was Cindy's mother who made the Fruit Soup for Thanksgiving dinner, and her name is Amy Habison. Thank you Amy!
SWEDISH FRUIT SOUP
1/2 lb dried prunes
3/4 lb dried apricots
1 orange, diced, plus 1/6 or the peel, chopped
1 lemon, diced, plus 1/3 of the peel, chopped
1 and 1/2 c raisins
1 stick cinnamon
1 c brown sugar, packed
dash of salt
3 apples, chopped
1 can tart cooking cherries
1. Put everything in a saucepan except the apples, and cover with water.
2. Let it set for 2 hours.
3. Boil for 30 minutes, then add: 3 apples, chopped
4. Boil for 20 more minutes, then add: can of cherries
5. Simmer a bit before serving.
Serve warm. Sue says this should be quite soupy, be in a liquid sauce. The cherries give it a red color, nice for the holidays.
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Here's another good "gift" holiday recipe. Every Christmas for as long as I've known her, Jane Arndt in our old home town of Big Rapids, MI, makes her family recipe Persian Sweets. It is similar to an old family recipe of mine, which has been lost. So I get my yearly holiday "fix" from Jane.
PERSIAN SWEETS This recipe is now in the Recipe Box
1 10-oz box of prunes
1 box dates
1 box dark raisins
1 box light raisins
1 bag figs
1 container dried apricots or peaches
1 pckg coconut
1. Run all of the above through a food grinder.
2. Add 1 T orange juice
3. Knead well.
4. Roll into small balls and roll in coconut or chopped nuts
5. Chill. Then store in tins.
Jane: Amounts don't really have to be that precise. I like a lighter color so I use more light raisins and apricots. I have used flavored prunes (orange) the last two years, too.
Happy Holidays, and...
Bon Appétit
Recipe Box