Gingerbread

When the seasons change and it starts to get cold, I want baked goods! No more salads or iced tea, thank you. I have many favorite recipes, but since I’ve never (or hardly ever) met a baked good I didn’t like, I grabbed Mary Norwak’s 1966 “Home Baked Breads and Cakes” and found a delightful English gingerbread recipe to try. I often try recipes with whole wheat flour and try to make tasty baked goods that are remotely healthy, and this is made with oats – but it isn’t always the most important element. When it’s raining outside and you want something to sink your teeth in, it just has to taste good!

Ms. Norwak’s UK book is excellent because she gives three versions of each recipe: Imperial (UK), Metric (Europe) and American. Once upon a time I did acquire metric measuring cups, but I’m sticking to the US version that she was so kind to provide. I also used molasses, though UK bakers would call it treacle. Finally, I love the UK term for baking soda: bicarbonate of soda. In case you eat way too much cake, you can whip up a “bicarb” (water and baking soda – works as good as Tums).

I love this recipe for Parkin, an English gingerbread that is traditionally served on Nov 5th, Guy Fawkes Day (an annual UK celebration commemorating the fact that King James 1 was not assassinated in the 1600s) but if you want a more cake-like and refined gingerbread, try the second recipe listed, which is one my family has made since I was little. Either way you will have your fill of molasses and spice. A nice chunk of ether with a cup of coffee or hot tea on a cold day makes everything feel right in the world.



Parkin (English Gingerbread)



1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups rolled oats or 1 2/3 cups ground oatmeal

½ cup molasses or treacle

2/3 cup butter

½ cup soft brown sugar

2/3 cup milk

1 egg



Sift together the flour, salt, spices and soda. Add the oatmeal, and toss lightly to mix. Warm the treacle, butter, sugar and milk until the butter has melted. Cool slightly, add the egg and beat well. Pout into the centre of the dry ingredients and stir rapidly until smooth. Turn into a greased and lined 7-inch square tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour. This is the traditional cake to eat for Guy Fawkes celebrations, and should be stored in an airtight tin for a couple of weeks before using.





Gingerbread



½ cup butter or shortening

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

2 ½ cups sifted flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp salt

¾ cup molasses

1 cup hot water



Grease a 9” square baking pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream shortening & sugar. Add egg; beat well. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Combine molasses with water. Add alternately with four mixture to creamed mixture, mixing well. Pour into pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar or whipped cream.

Savory Crescent Chicken Squares

I loved Ceil Dyer’s 1981 book, “More recipes from the backs of boxes, bottles, cans, and jars” for its pop art rendering of packaged foods on the cover before I even opened it. Though I tend to avoid packaged foods, I will say there is something to using them, and that something is called Saving Time. If you are a working mom, you know exactly what I mean, and you’ll get why I’ve since made this, and variations thereof, no less than a few times. The best thing about it is that my 7 year-old daughter not only will eat it, she will help make it!

This book is full of gems, and “all are easy to prepare, every ingredient is readily available and each is truly a classic,” proclaims Ms Dyer. Even some of the more bizarre entries, such as “Breakfast Sausage Apple Pie” (gross!) and Hunt’s Very Special Spice Cake (made with tomato sauce!!) are indeed classics, and I’m on my way to testing them all, but I started with this, a “$25,000 Grand Prize Winner at the 25th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest in 1974”. Ceil says she “likes to serve it with a cream sauce and tiny green peas” (YUCK!) but I changed it a bit: I left out the crouton crumbs and the onion and pimiento bits. Do I even need to mention that I used butter, rather than margarine? Do I also need to note that I have never in my life even purchased margarine? Shudder. Anyhow, the other change I made was adding cooked broccoli, which justified my serving it as a meal in and of itself.

Since the first test, I’ve re-made this with different ingredients, or with variations on the original. Which reminds me of an ENTIRE COOKBOOK dedicated to things you can do with Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough… but that is a story for another day!



Savory Crescent Chicken Squares


1 3-oz package cream cheese, softened

3 Tbsp margarine or butter, melted

2 cups cubed cooked chicken or two 5-oz cans boned chicken

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp chopped chives or onion

1 Tbsp chopped pimiento, if desired

1 8-oz can Pillsbury Refrigerated Quick Crescent Dinner Rolls

¾ cup seasoned croutons, crushed



Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In medium bowl, blend cream cheese and 2 Tbsp of the margarine until smooth. Add next 6 ingredients; mix well. Separate dough into 4 rectangles; firmly press perforations around edges to seal. Spoon ½ cup meat mixture onto center of each rectangle. Pull 4 corners of dough to top center of chicken mixture, twist slightly and seal edges. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush tops with reserved 1 Tbsp margarine; sprinkle with crouton crumbs. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 4.

Blueberry Muffins

I’m not sure why fresh-baked blueberry muffins sound so fancy, when they are so quick and easy to bake, you’ll wonder why you don’t make them more often! Especially if you freeze them individually in foil, so that you can heat one at a time up in the toaster oven and get that hot-from-the-oven effect any time. Say “I love you” with a muffin!



I like Betty Crocker’s 1971 “Basic Bakings” because not only are the instructions, well, basic, but also because they offer variations to most of the recipes – ways to change and “customize” the recipes that will also get you thinking creatively about what else you might do. This is a perfect method for the beginning baker, who needs to see that the recipe itself is easy enough, and then to see how it can be changed when they feel ready for adventure.


Muffins, like fruit breads, are one of those easy-to-bake joys that just work. The self-defined portion control and the ability to make almost endless varieties mean that I bake muffins of some type or another just about every week. Hello: NO trans fats and no paying $4.00 each at a café.


One final note about fruit muffins: I have a secret trick with fruit, because I always have a lot of fresh berries around, but if it looks like I won’t eat them within a couple of days, I freeze them (rinsed, with any stems removed) in 1 cup containers and use them either in smoothies or in baking. See how green I am? This is all part of my secret plan to use this blog to reduce my readers’ carbon foot-prints…



Muffins



1 egg

1 cup milk

¼ cup salad oil

2 cups flour

¼ cup sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt



Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 12 medium muffin cups. In mixing bowl, beat egg slightly with fork. Stir in milk and oil. Add remaining ingredients all at once, mixing just until flour is moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 30 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan; serve hot. 12 muffins.



Muffin Variations



• Fruit Muffins: Fold one of these into batter with the last few strokes: 1 cup fresh blueberries or ¾ cup drained canned blueberries / 1 cup finely cut up raisins / 1 cup finely cut up dates / 1 cup shredded coconut

• Dinner Muffins: Fold one of these into the batter with the last few strokes: ½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese / ¼ cup snipped chives / ¼ cup crumbled crispy fried bacon (** and why NOT all three? CS)

• Children’s Surprise Muffins: Fill each muffin cup just 1/3 full. Drop ½ tsp jam or jelly in center of each; top with batter to fill cup 2/3 full.

• Crunchy Nut-Topped Muffins: Mix ¼ cup brown sugar (packed), ¼ cup chopped nuts and ¼ tsp cinnamon in a small bowl. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture on batter in each cup.

Crepes

Crepes are one of life’s delights. Relatively simple to make, they have somehow acquired a mystique that is usually reserved for more finicky dishes like soufflés, or aspics. Crepes! The very word sounds decadent and, well, “fancy”. And so it was with joy that I recently accepted the offer of my dear friend Ann Tindall to make some for me when I stayed at her house. Ann is a gourmet cook who isn’t afraid of anything, (though you really don’t need to be afraid of these!) and she made some killer crepes that we garnished the heck out of – with Bacon and Other Delights!



Ann used a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, which is a time-trusted tome, but here I provide a recipe from a well-known writer of food articles from Vogue and The Saturday Evening Post in the 50s and 60s: George Bradshaw. I picked his 1969 book of “Suppers and Midnight Snacks” because, heck, I’m feeling kind of fancy, myself! See his version below, complete with brandy, vague measurements, and un-explained instructions. Of course this was written by a writer first, a cook second! And though you may giggle at him, as I did, he knows his crepes. Make up a batch and see for yourself – whether it be for a romantic midnight supper, or for a lazy morning with a friend. Experiment with fillings (lobster comes to mind in the first case) and enjoy!



“Crepes are handy things to have around the house,” he says. “They give a certain panache to a meal…If they have a drawback, it is that they are monotonous to make – pancake after pancake – so I advise you to put a bit of Scarlatti on the kitchen hi-fi. It helps.”



Crepes



1 cup flour

Good dash of salt

3 eggs

7 tsp of melted butter

1 Tbsp. brandy

1tsp grated lemon rind

1 ½ cups milk



Place all ingredients in electric blender and run until batter is smooth. You must let this batter rest for a couple of hours. Don’t ask why, just do it.



A utensil that is highly convenient for this operation is a crepe pan, although an iron skillet 6 inches across will do. You also need a spatula.



To cook, heat the pan and drop a small piece of butter into it, then tip the pan in all directions so that its surface is well greased.



Pour a small amount of batter, 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls, into the pan, and then tip the pan again in all directions so that this small amount of batter covers the entire surface.



In about a minute lift up the corner of the cake and look; if it is golden brown, it is done. Run a spatula under the cake, turn it, and in another minute it will be done.



Repeat until all batter is used up. Remember to start each time with a little hunk of butter and watch skillet. It must not get too hot.



From this recipe: 18-20 crepes.

Ham-Fruit Ring

Oh goodness, I LOVE theme parties! And when I was invited to the Luau of the Mid Century Supper Club, I sought a vintage recipe that featured something semi-grody yet tropical, and hopefully also edible. (My history for this event has tended towards the disgusting, something I revel in: searching vintage cookbooks for The Grossest Concoction I can find, and actually making it!) But what with the rise in food costs, I decided that making something just for the Yuck factor was too wasteful. So I went to my trusty Betty Crocker green 1975 plastic recipe file, and found this recipe for what is much like a ham version of a Waldorf salad, nicely displayed inside rings of fresh pineapple. My goal was to accurately re-create the look of the dish from the photo on the card, which included laying each ring out on a bed of lettuce.

Though it was edible, it did pain me to sacrifice just about THE most perfect fresh pineapple to the cause. I saved a bit of it out to eat plain, and then forced myself to mix the rest up with sliced celery, ham and mayonnaise. It did look great, but along with much Luau food, not much of it was actually eaten that day. At that particular event, the cocktails were the biggest hit. Oh, those any my friend Lynn’s stellar pineapple-upside down cake, which I think I actually ate THREE pieces of. I’m sorry, cake? Beats ham ANYTIME!


Ham-Fruit Ring

1 medium pineapple
½ pound canned ham, cut into bite-size pieces
2 medium stalks celery, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 cup seedless grapes
¾ cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 tsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. garlic salt
½ cup chopped salted peanuts or slivered almonds
Lettuce leaves
Seedless grapes

Remove top from pineapple; cut pineapple crosswise into 4 or 5 slices. Cut pineapple from each slice, leaving 1/2 –inch ring as pictured; reserve rings. Core and cut up pineapple. Toss 2 cups of the pineapple with the ham, celery and 1 cup grapes.

Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, ginger and garlic salt; toss with ham mixture. Just before serving, fold in peanuts. Arrange reserved pineapple rings on lettuce leaves; fill with ham mixture. Garnish with grapes. 4 or 5 servings.

Taco Salad

Taco Tuesday has become a big thing around my house, but recently I wanted to change it just a bit – to make something that I adored growing up: Taco Salad. How tasty! How tidy! How similar to nachos, but somehow without the guilt…

I found a recipe for Taco Salad in my 1980 cookbook from the Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey, called “Cooking is Our Bag” (and YES it is mine too, thank you very much!) and was overjoyed to see that it called for the favored food of my dear friend, Karen: Taco Flavored Doritos! (Note: In addition to loving Doritos, Karen also sells Tupperware, and here you can find yourself a nice container to transport your very own Taco Salad!)

Taco Salad was a big treat for me growing up, so I got out THE actual CatherineHolm serving bowl and Dansk bowls my mom used to serve her own Taco Salad in, and whipped some up. Sorry, Karen, I used plain chips, though I do like to indulge in Doritos as you know! I also added corn and avocado to make it just a little more “salad”. My mom made hers with beans, heating up a can of pinto beans and adding a can of stewed tomatoes which provided the “dressing” for the salad, which is just the perfect finish, whichever type of chips you select.


Taco Salad

1 lb ground beef, cooked
¼ tsp cumin
Salt
Half head of lettuce, shredded
2 onions, chopped
1 ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 ½ cup chopped, peeled tomatoes
12 sliced ripe olives
Taco-flavored tortilla chips, broken
7 ½ oz mild taco sauce

Mix ground beef with cumin and salt, chill. Toss with all other ingredients. If layered ahead, add lettuce, tortilla chips and taco sauce just before tossing to serve.

Serves 6-8

Cheddar-Topped Apples

When asked to bring a dessert to a Tupperware party recently, I naturally reached for my copy of their own cookbook from 1986, “Quick and Easy Cooking with Tupperware”. In the section entitled “Cabinet Cuisine”, I learned that “the secret to off-the-shelf success is stocking the right foods”, and sure enough, I had all these items at hand, so I deiced to make their Cheddar-Topped Apples and transport them in, what else, vintage Tupperware.

Now I will admit I was in a bit of a hurry when I first read over the recipe, because I got the WRONG IMPRESSION ENTIRELY about what the dish was going to be. Somehow, I envisioned apple slices with a topping sprinkled over them, such as might be served on a tray as finger-food. However, these are in fact, nothing like that. At all. Not that I’m saying they aren’t good, they just are NOT what I thought they would be. Nor, in fact, are they very attractive, so they turned out to be NOT IDEAL for a party. But, where would I be without the failures along the way, right?

So if for some reason you are really in the mood for apple pie filling, and you like that topped with cheddar cheese (a big thing, I know, I know!) but you also do NOT want to suffer the added enjoyment of a crust, this dish might be for you. Or, I thought, possibly it could be made in individual ramekins – but to be honest, just plain baked apples with cinnamon would seem tastier, and easier. This was tasty enough, just not quite… RIGHT. Read on and see what you think!


Cheddar-Topped Apples

3 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
6 medium baking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
½ cup raisins (NOTE: I left those out because I can’t stand raisins!)
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (2 oz)
¼ cup broken walnuts

In the Ultra 21 1-Quart Casserole (NOTE: just use Pyrex if you don’t have Tupperware / don’t want to cook in plastic!) combine the sugar, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the water and lemon juice. Add the sliced baking apples and raisins; stir to coat.

Bake, covered with the vent closed, in a 350 oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the apples are tender. Uncover, sprinkle with the shredded cheddar cheese and the broken walnuts. Let stand, covered with the vent closed, for 2 to 4 minutes or till the cheese is melted. Serves 6.