Category: recipes

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RICH, FLAKY, COFFEE CAKE ROLL (corrected recipe)

Update:  just realized I had left out the 2 sticks of margarine in my recipe.  So Sorry!

I first tasted this  rich, flaky, coffee cake roll while living in Chicago,  when a German  neighbor brought it to a kaffeeklatsch in our building.    I had always avoided recipes with yeast, because they required a lot of kneading and the problem was, you might either over knead or under knead, and that would ruin the whole thing.

easy coffee cake
YOU DON’T HAVE TO KNEAD THIS RICH, YEASTY, COFFEE CAKE ROLL

But this  was so easy that I made it every year on Christmas and Easter for the next four decades.  Friends and family asked for the recipe, and soon, they were claiming it as their own.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

1 package active dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

¾ cup warm milk

3 egg yolks

4 cups flour

2 sticks (1/2 cup) cold margarine

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup sugar

FILLING

1 stick margarine

1 cup powdered sugar

½ cup finely chopped walnuts

ICING:

¾ cup powdered sugar

Enough milk to make a thin paste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, and sugar.  Using your hands, mix in margarine until your have pea-sized pieces ( as if you are making pie dough),

In separate bowl: dissolve yeast in warm water according to package directions; add  egg yolks and warm milk.

Combine all ingredients and stir until smooth. Do not knead. Cover dough and refrigerate overnight.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Roll each portion into a 13 X 9 inch rectangle.  Stir filling  ingredients until fluffy.  Spread over rectangles. Roll up jell-roll style, starting with a long side.

Place rolls  seam side down at the edges of a 13 X 9 inch baking pan. Cover and let sit until doubled, about 3 hours. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until brown.  Make glaze and frost the cakes while they are still warm..

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RICH, SPICY, PERSIMMON PUDDING

Persimmon Pudding is a holiday favorite here in the Midwest.  Years ago, it was difficult to find persimmon pulp, unless you were lucky enough to know someone with a persimmon tree.  And squeezing the persimmons to separate the skins and seeds from the fruit, then pushing all of  it a through a sieve, was a chore.  What a culinary triumph to serve rich, spicy  persimmon pudding on Thanksgiving Day!

A culinary deight
PERSIMMON PUDDING FOR THANKSGIVING

We used to buy persimmon pulp at a little country store where they kept it in a freezer, and sold out almost the day it came in.  The first time I bought the pulp, I asked the owner,  an old man in bib overalls, if he had a favorite recipe. He looked at me for a moment and said, “just wait here a minute.”  Whereupon he ambled to his house next door, and came back with a xerox copy of this recipe. It’s similar to what they served at the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival for years until the ladies who  made it “retired.”

Persimmon pulp is now available in most upscale grocery stores.  You can even order it over the internet.  It’s a bit pricey compared to the good old days, but it sure beats looking for a persimmon tree and spending all day making pulp.

Persimmons are a spicy delicious fruit
It’s easy , now that you can buy ready made persimmon pulp

Not everyone likes persimmon pudding, but for those that do, it’s a rare treat, especially when served with whipped cream.  There are other persimmon recipes that give you a dessert with  the texture of a brownie or cake, so you might look those up on the internet if you think you would like that better.

PERSIMMON PUDDING

2 cups persimmon pulp

½  cup melted butter

1 cup milk

1 cup half and half (it’s okay to use milk)

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp nutmeg

1  1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp  allspice

 

Mix pulp, eggs.  sugar, melted butter and milk.  Mix dry ingredients separately.  Then combine both mixtures. Stir well. Pour into greased 9 X 13 inch pan and bake for one hour at 325 degrees.  Stir several times while pudding is baking so that it won’t harden at edges of pan.

 

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SOUTHERN FRIED APPLES

Fall came late to Indiana this year, but at last we can enjoy the glorious blue skies and sun shining across  trees bursting with  brilliant colors of red, orange, and gold . Excitement is in the air, and our mouths water in anticipation of  pumpkin pie, persimmon pudding, and last but not least,  southern fried apples.

fried apples

Now that apples are in season,  you have many varieties to choose from.  Some recipes call for  slices of peeled Granny Smiths.  But I prefer tart, spicy McIntosh or Jonathans,  unpeeled, because the red skins brighten up the plate.

Fried apples are super easy to make. Basically,  all you need is butter in the skillet, some sugar and cinnamon. Many recipes call for removing the skins, but  I prefer leaving them on.   It’s a matter of individual choice, but the red brightens up the plate.    Then, there’s the matter of how much sugar and butter to use.  You can  cut the sugar down to half in any recipe, and the apples will still taste sweet.  If there’s a diabetic in the house, another option is to use no sugar at all, then flavor with sugar free maple syrup right before serving. . 

Fried apples can be spooned over ice cream, served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  They are a tangy, spicy side dish for any meat, and a  perfect accompaniment to pork chops.

Here’s a basic recipe for two that you can modify to suit your individual taste.  And above all, don’t overcook the apples!  You want them firm, not mushy.

FRIED APPLES

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

3 unpeeled red apples, sliced

¼ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Melt butter in skillet; add apples and sugar.  Cover and cook over low heat about 15 minutes or until tender, stirring often.  Add cinnamon; cook and stir a few more minutes before serving.

About 200 calories per serving, or less, depending on how much butter and sugar you use.

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OLD FASHIONED PEAR SALAD

Remember when your grandmother made old fashioned pear salad?

Once upon a time,  It was quite popular.  In those days (circa 1940) canned pears were the base of the salad.  Canned, not meaning in a can, but packed in a ball jar after picking a bushel or so of pears from the tree in your yard, and  pressure cooking them.  Most housewives prided themselves on shelves full of beautiful canned pears, peaches, tomatoes and green beans to get them through the  months ahead.

On a cold winter night, our mothers used to place a canned  pear on a lettuce leaf,  fill the center with mayonnaise, sprinkle it with grated cheddar cheese, and serve.   Easy, and delicious!

People don’t bother with home canning much anymore, and canned pears were kind of bland, anyway.  But now, fall is the season to revive pear salad with a new twist

 Fresh pears slices arranged on a lettuce leaf are a spicy, juicy fall treat.   Both Anjou and Bartlett pears come with red or green skins. The reds   make a beautiful plate.  But there are many  varieties available to brighten up your menu with something a little out of the ordinary and truly delicious.

You could make it simple, arranging the fresh pear slices on lettuce, with grated cheese and a dab of mayonnaise, or go all out with a fancy pear salad with walnuts and blue cheese.   The internet is loaded with fresh pear salad recipes, so you might want to check them out!

 

 

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STUFFED PEPPERS ARE COMFORT FOOD

Have you seen the size of green peppers this season?  This hot, humid summer has produced the largest, shiniest peppers we’ve seen for a long time.  And their superabundance this time of year means they are bargain priced.  So what are you waiting for?  This is one of the most people pleasing entrees you can imagine.  Yes, it’s going to take some extra pans and a little more time than usual, so pick an afternoon when you’ve plenty of  time to spend in the kitchen.  And if you know someone who’s having a tough time, you  might make an extra batch and bring them this farm fresh comfort food.

Most recipes don’t itemize the pans and dishes you’ll use, but you will need:
One or two large pans for steaming the peppers.
A smaller sauce pan to cook the rice.
A 10 inch skillet.
An 8X8X2 in. baking dish  
This is going to take up a lot of room in your kitchen, but it’s a labor of love, so clear the counters, and go for it!
STUFFED PEPPERS
6 large green peppers
1 pound lean ground beef
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 cup cooked rice (see package directions)
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
¾ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt (cut this in half if you watch  your sodium intake)
Cut a slice from the stem end of each pepper. Remove seeds and membrane. Cook peppers in enough boiling water to cover for 5 minutes; drain.
Cook and stir the crumbled ground beef, onion and garlic in skillet until beef is light brown. Stir in rice, salt,  ½  the tomato sauce and grated cheese. Pour remaining sauce over peppers. Cover dish and bake in 350 oven 45 minutes. 
Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  6 servings: 290 calories per serving.
Enjoy!

 

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NO MORE SOGGY SALADS

 

What could be worse than a soggy salad drenched with dressing?  Especially when it’s served in an upscale restaurant.  Any chef who can’t serve a good salad isn’t worth his salt.

At home, the bane of crisp salads are bottled dressings, with a mixture of  the oil and vinegar poured over the poor, unsuspecting  greens.   When tossing a good salad, you must add the oil and vinegar separately.  There’s an Italian saying that  when dressing  a salad, you need  a miser to add vinegar, a judge to add salt, and aspendthrift to add oil.
Many chefs will tell you to add first the vinegar, then the oil, but I prefer the Italian way of tossing a couple teaspoons of oil on my individual dinner salad, putting it in the fridge while we have a glass of wine, then tossing again with  a teaspoon of  vinegar and just before adding salt  My salad is always crisp, fresh and green. If you’re serving extra people, just remember that you want twice as much oil  as vinegar.  My husband is on a soft diet, so he enjoys his canned fruit while I relish my green salad.
While most people prefer using  olive oil, I like walnut oil for it’s nutty flavor.  My special vinegar, stored in a separate jar, is doctored up with a variety of herbs and spices—basil, oregano, chopped garlic, curry, paprika and anything else that looks interesting. You might add a tablespoon of brown sugar to smooth out the tartness.  A jar of this seasoned vinegar usually lasts a month.  Plain vinegar will do as a base, but a bit of red wine or balsamic vinegar will perk up the  flavor.
And now, the lettuce.  A mixture of different lettuces like leaf, arugula and romaine is fine, but that can get expensive if you end up with a lot of unused wilted lettuce.  I normally buy romaine hearts and chop them up myself, although there’s been a scare about romaine lately.  Red and green leaf lettuce is just as good.  A few tomatoes and maybe some grated carrots , radishes, or cucumbers  will add color and texture, but they say no good green salad will have more than three added ingredients.

If you decide to make your own salad dressing,  you will no longer have numerous bottles of store bought dressing taking up room in your refrigerator.  All you need  is a bottle  of vinegar, a can of oil, and herbs from your kitchen shelves.   And think of the money you’ll save.

Celebrate Earth Day with a delicious salad!  🌍

 

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PERK UP YOUR MENU WITH PLANTAINS

 

Have you ever  fixed plantains? I had never eaten them in my life  until I went on a second honeymoon to Costa Rica with my second husband.  That was about 25 years ago, and grocery stores in my small Indiana  hometown didn’t sell them.   And if I had tried to serve them to patients at the hospital where I was Director of Nutrition Services, they would  have come back uneaten.  Hoosiers in flyover country are mostly meat, potatoes, and noodle people. 
 
But once I’d been served fish and fried plantains, I was hooked.  Then, as immigration from Latin America increased, I found them hidden away in the produce department of our local supermarket where they started out bright green, lingering in an obscure bin until they were black.  The problem was, most people didn’t know what they were, much less how to cook them.
The most important part of serving plantains is when you buy them.  Too green, and they’ll taste like wood.  Too ripe, and,  they taste like fried bananas— too mushy and sweet for my taste.  For me, a plantain that is yellow with dark spots, but still slightly firm to the touch is just perfect. 
 
I don’t peel them until the fish is in the oven. Then,  I slice the plantains across every inch and a half, stand them on end and slice down the middle.  Next, heat a thin coat of  a olive oil in a pan on medium heat, and fry the plantains  about a minute or two until they’ve browned on the bottom. Flip them over with and mash them slightly with a spatula until they’re brown on the other side,  and slightly soft,  then drain on paper towels.  Cover with foil and keep them warm until the fish is done, and you’re ready too serve a delicious tropical meal even though it’s snowing outside.
Some plantain recipes on the net call for cups of cooking oil and super ripe plantains.  Way too many calories! Don’t do this if you’re trying to eat lean.  Use the smallest amount of cooking oil possible.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, but be careful if you’re on a low sodium diet. 
The internet has more elaborate plantain recipes that you might like. A Caribbean getaway may not be possible,  but you can enjoy an exotic food right in your own home.