Grandmom R.'s Salad Dressing

My mother's mother used to make this salad dressing. I don't think I ever saw a store-bought dressing in her house, she just made up another small batch of this every day. It's a simple, tasty recipe, and you can easily change the proportions to suit your own taste.

1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon of crushed garlic or garlic juice
1 hard-boiled egg (optional)

Mix together and served chilled.

Scripture Cake and Burnt Sugar Syrup

I first came across references to Scripture Cake in a mystery novel, of all places; it intrigued me enough to hunt down a recipe. The cake appears to come from the hills of Appalachia. There are several variations of it; this is, to me, the best of the three that I've personally tried. This is also the only one I've seen that adds any kind of icing, or gives a specific oven temperature.

Traditionally a Scripture Cake recipe would only list a Bible verse and a quantity for each ingredient; you were supposed to look up each verse to figure out what that ingredient might be. But to make your life easier, I'll be nice and give that information too!

Scripture Cake

1 cup Judges 5:25 (butter)
1 and 1/2 cups Jeremiah 6:20 (sugar)
3 Isiah 10:14 (eggs, yolks & whites separated)
2 cups 1-Kings 4:22 (flour)
2 teaspoons Luke 13:21 (baking powder)
3 teaspoons 1-Kings 10:10 (one each of cinnamon, mace and cloves)
1/2 teaspoon Leviticus 2:13 (salt)
1/2 cup Judges 4:19 or Genesis 43:24 (milk or water)
1 tablespoon Proverbs 24:13 (honey)
2 cups 1-Samuel 30:11 (one each of raisins and finely chopped figs)
1/2 cup Genesis 43:11 (almonds)

Dredge figs, raisins and almonds in 1 tablespoon flour, set aside. Mix together all other dry ingredients.
Cream together butter, sugar and honey; add egg yolks one at a time. Alternately add in dry intredients and milk, beginning and ending with dry. Stir in fruit; batter should be stiff.
Beat egg whites to peaks; stir into batter one cup at a time. Spoon into greased 8x11 baking dish.
Bake at 375 degrees one hour. Cool on a wire rack for at least ten minutes before removing from baking dish.

Burnt Sugar Syrup for Scripture Cake

1 and 1/2 cups Jeremiah 6:20 (sugar)
1/2 cup Genesis 24:45 (water)
1/4 cup Genesis 18:8 (butter)

Melt sugar in saucepan over low heat; stir occasionally, until deep golden brown. Add water, stirring frequently, until smooth. Remove from heat. Add butter and stir until it melts. Allow to cool; drizzle over cooled Scripture Cake and garnish with whole almonds.

Stollen

This was originally from a recipe of my Grandmother F.'s, but the copy I found is in my mother's handwriting: I honestly don't know if this is Grandmom's original dry-as-dust version or one improved, possibly by my sister L. The fact that it has a whole cup of shortening points towards it being an improved version: Grandmom was greatly affected by her and my grandfather's poverty during the Great Depression years, and her cooking always showed it --- she'd have found it hard to 'waste' this much shortening, whether butter, margarine or even lard, on one cake. Make this recipe at your own risk!

The recipe doesn't specify quantities, but I'd go with at least a teaspoon of lemon rind and a cup of raisins or dried currents.

2 packages dry yeast
4 cups flour
2 beaten eggs
lemon rind
raisins
1 cup softened shortening
5 tablespoons sugar

Mix together all ingredients. Let rise in warm place for one hour, punch down and let rise for another hour. Roll out on a floured surface, fold in half. Brush the top with another beaten egg. Bake on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes at 325 degrees.

Spatzle (Homemade German noodles)

This is an old recipe from my father's side of the family. Our grandmother used to always hover over us when my sisters and I were making spatzle, telling us that it was very important that we make nice THIN spatzle, because it was 'well known' that nobody wanted to marry girls who make fat spatzle!

There are different regional varieties of spatzle; ours is a longish thin noodle. By comparision, the Hungarians make it as small dumplings, about the size of a half-teaspoon.

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water

Beat egg in a large bowl. Add all other ingredients, beat well to a smooth thin dough. Cover and let rest 1/2 hour, beat down. Bring four quarts of water to a rapid boil.
If you have a spatzel machine (similar to a ricer), dip it in the pot of boiling water, then fill it and squeeze the dough steadily into the water. Spatzel float to the top of the boiling water when they're cooked; remove them to a large pot of cool water. Continue until finished. (Make sure to leave the spatzel machine soaking in water until you do the dishes: you do NOT want to find out the hard way just how difficult cleaning a spatzle machine can be if the dough dries rock-hard!)

The older method for making spatzle uses a spatzle board (a thin wooden board, only about 1/4 inch thick, usually 7 or 8 inches wide by about 10 or 11 inches long, tapered on one end and with a handle on the other end) and a long straight-edged knife. Dip both the board and the knife in the pot of boiling water. Pour about half a cup of the dough onto the board; use the flat side of the knife to spread it thinly near the tapered end of the board. Use the knife to scrape thin rows of the dough off into the water. Again, the spatzle will float when done. Dip board into the pot of boiling water between each batch, and dip the knife frequently: this will keep the dough from sticking to them.

Lentils

In our family, we make lentils as a main dish, sort of like a very thick soup we usually serve over noodles, with a dash of cider vinegar. (See the recipe for spatzle!) It can be made with or without meat or the wine, as you prefer. Pretty much all the ingredients --- the onion, salt & pepper, any meat --- can be increased or decreased to taste. You can also use plain old hotdogs, bratwurst or about a cup of salt pork instead of knockwurst; if you do use the salt pork, don't add any other salt. One person in the family liked to simmer her lentils for only 45 minutes; another used to insist on two hours: lentils are very flexible, forgiving and cheap!

1 1-pound bag of dried lentils
1 cup chopped onion
1 large bay leaf
4 cups water
1 cup hearty red wine (burgundy or merlot is good)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4-6 knockwurst

Wash lentils thoroughly. Simmer at a very low heat in a large heavy pot with the water, onion, bay leaf, salt and pepper for an hour to an hour and a quarter. Stir frequently, adding more water as needed.
Add knockwurst, simmer about ten more minutes, serve.

Baking Powder Biscuits

Not sure where I found this one, but I've had it for quite a while. It's pretty easy; just don't overwork the dough.

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 to 1 cup milk (or half milk & half water)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients together, work in butter with fingertips or pastry mixer. Add liquid gradually, mixing to make a soft dough. (The total amount of liquid needed will vary, depending on weather, altitude etc.) Knead on floured board for a few minutes, then lightly roll out to 3/4 inch thick. Shape with biscuit cutter. Place on greased baking sheet, prick with a fork, and bake 12 to 15 minutes. For a richer biscuit, double the amount of butter. Makes 12 to 15 biscuits.

Lobster Joseph

This one was Buster Keaton's own recipe for his favorite dish. Serve with bite-size boiled potatoes and sourdough bread to dunk in the sauce. Fish fillets can be substituted for the lobster (see footnote below*).

I pint sour cream
1/4 pound (1 stick) butter
2 30-ounce cans unseasoned solid-pack tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 cooked medium lobsters
1 ounce brandy
2 ounces sweet sherry

Melt butter, blend in sour cream. Add tomatoes, reserving tomato juice. Combine brandy and sherry in a seperate pan; burn out most of the alcohol and add it to the sauce. Add tomato juice as necessary to produce desired consistancy. Cut lobster into bite-size pieces and heat in sauce.

*If you wish to substitute fish fillets, sole is a good choice. Quickly saute 1 pound fillets in the butter. Remove them to a warm dish, do not overcook. Add drained tomatoes to the remaining butter, add salt and pepper. When tomato mixture is hot but not boiling, mix in sour cream a little at a time. Add brandy and sherry mixture or white port. Mix well, add fish fillets.

New England Clam Chowder

This one's mine; it makes a nicely thick and rich clam chowder. It's easy to make too. Just be sure to trust me on the directions --- right after you blend in the crumbled crackers you'll wonder if I'm the one who's crackers, but it'll be fine, I promise. Oh yeah: please note that there's no salt listed in this recipe, because it'll get plenty from the salt pork.

4- 15 ounce cans of minced clams
2 cups diced salt pork
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups sliced onions
1 cup crumbled 'common' crackers or pilot bviscuit
3 cups diced potatoes
1 bay leaf
1 and 1/2 cups whole milk
1 and 1/2 cups cream

Drain minced clams, reserving 4 cups liquid. Saute pork in butter in a heavy 4 quart sauce pan (a dutch oven work nicely) until pork begins to brown; stir in onions, cover and cook about 8-10 minutes until onions are tender and translucent. Blend in crumbled crackers. Add reserved liquid from clams, the potatoes and the bay leaf. Simmer loosely covered for 20 minutes. Stir in clams, milk and cream. Bring to just below a simmer: boiling toughens clams. Cool uncovered then refridgerate overnight for best flavor.

Zweibelkuchen (Onion Cake)

Let's start this off with an oldie: this is the German onion cake recipe my grandmother used to make once a year for my grandfather's birthday. I've tried it once; it was interesting, savory rather than sweet of course. (No idea what she used for a crust: but it's a sure bet that my German grandmother did NOT use a pizza dough! I used a frozen pie crust, and got something resembling a quiche.)

4 thick slices of bacon, diced
2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 well-beaten eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 package Pillsbury 10 oz. pizza crust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Saute bacon until just clear, drain most of the fat from the pan. Add onions, saute until clear. Do not brown. Set aside to cool.
Beat eggs and sour cream together; add flour, salt and pepper and beat in.
Prepare pizza crust as directed on the package in a 10x15 inch pan. Spread onion & bacon mixture over the dough. Make sure edges are about 1/2 inch high to hold it in. Pour sour cream mixture over top.
Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes or until cake is nicely browned. Serve hot.

My intentions....

So here I am, a brand-new blogger. Good grief. Well anyway, what I intend to do with this is have it be just what the title says: nothing more than all kinds of recipes. Old ones, new ones, found or family recipes. Nothing fancy, because we're certainly not a Cordon Bleu family; we're just decent everyday cooks, and that's the sort of recipes you'll probably find here.

If you have a favorite recipe you'd like me to add, or maybe even a specific one you want me to post, please feel free to let me know.