Leftover pumpkin, any good recipes?
Adeline grew up in a large family of three boys and two girls. Her mother, Mary Lou, lived at a time when little of your food came from a store with the exception of staples like flour, sugar, coffee and tea. She was a good cook and baker despite her un-modern kitchen which had a pitcher pump and a cookstove. She and Lew, my grandfather, had a big garden that provided vegetables summer and winter. One day she cooked down a pumpkin and mashed it for pie, leaving it to cool in her pantry. Upon returning from an errand, she discovered that all of the pumpkin was gone, the bowl licked clean. After quizzing the usual suspects her youngest son, probably five or six at the time, finally confessed that he was the culprit. "How did you eat all of that pumpkin?", she asked him. His answer? "With nuteg and sugar!"
Here's another way to use pumpkin in something other than PIE, the nickname, incidently, given to the young pumpkin eater which he carried all of his life.
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1c. soft butter
2 c. pumpkin
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. each:
cinnamon
ginger
nutmeg
cloves
alllspice
salt
Cream sugar and butter then mix in the eggs and pumpkin. Sift together (or whisk together in a bowl) the dry ingredients and add these to the creamed mixture. Mix well and pour onto a greased and floured cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. When cool, frost with the following ingredients which are beaten together:
3 oz. rm. temp. cream cheese
1/2 cup. soft butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar
Refrigerate and cut into bars for serving. Extras freeze well.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
TOMATO PUDDING
Since our days living in Bowing Green, Ohio, we have been fans of this local dish to accompany either poultry, pork or beef holiday menus.
2 sticks butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
24 oz. tomato puree
18 slices white bread, cubed
Simmer together everything but the bread. Pour all of this over the cubed bread and stir. Turn into a casserole and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
CRANBERRY/ORANGE/PINEAPPLE RELISH
We ate ordinary canned cranberry sauce until Adeline found this relish recipe. No more canned jelly for us once we tasted something fresh. We had an old meat/vegetable grinder which was perfect for its preperation. You can probably manage with an electric chopper, but you must be careful not to over-chop. Now we gather our own cranberries that grow wild in a bog on Lake Mattawamkeag in northern Maine. I freeze them in large bags and thaw the required amount in water when I'm ready to make the relish.
Children like to be involved in holiday meals and making this recipe was our son's duty from the time he was about nine. Today he's a fine cook.
2 bags fresh cranberries
1 whole navel orange
1 large can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup sugar
Wash and sort the berries. Grind the berries and the orange (with peel). Add the pineapple (with juice) and sugar (more or less to taste). Refrigerate before serving for at least one or two days. Extra sauce freezes well.
Children like to be involved in holiday meals and making this recipe was our son's duty from the time he was about nine. Today he's a fine cook.
2 bags fresh cranberries
1 whole navel orange
1 large can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup sugar
Wash and sort the berries. Grind the berries and the orange (with peel). Add the pineapple (with juice) and sugar (more or less to taste). Refrigerate before serving for at least one or two days. Extra sauce freezes well.
PUMPKIN PIE
Mer's "just out of the oven" Pumpkin Pie (with creative crust topping)!
Adeline made herself a name as a baker. Her pies were especially wonderful because the crust was so good. She made conventional crust with Crisco and sometimes kept a large jar in the refrigerator with the dry crust ingredients all crumbed together for instant crust-making. All she had to do was add cold water, mix and roll out. For special church sales she could turn out 25 pies! Most of them would be ordered in advance.
Vegetable shortening has recently changed, however, to eliminate trans-fats. We may not be able to replicate her crust exactly, but here's her secret for the best pumpkin pie filling.
Follow the recipe on the Libby's pumpkin can EXCEPT for one step. Seperate the eggs and beat the egg whites into soft peaks. Combine all other ingredients and fold the beaten egg whites last. Bake according to the directions on the can.
Add a dollop of sweetened whipped cream before serving.
ADELINE'S TURKEY DRESSING
Thanksgiving was THE very favorite holiday meal at our house and the same menu was often repeated for Christmas, as well. One of my earliest memories is watching Mother put the stuffing, which we called dressing, together. She had perfected this long before I was born. In those days you bought loaves of unsliced bread for making dressing. I don't know why, because it seemed just like any ordinary white bread, but you had to slice it yourself before cubing it. Now I use any old white bread in the store....the mushier, the better.
Turkeys back then were mostly fresh so you could easily cook the giblits and make the dressing the day ahead. This was a big help if you were roasting a large bird and eating dinner in the middle of the day since the cook had to be up so early to get that bird in the oven. Frank was a swing shift worker and so he was likely to be working on the holiday. If, by chance, it was his day off, we might have a house full of family and friends. But, if he was working that day, he might be getting home at breakfast time from the night shift, leaving at 2p.m. for the 3-11 shift or working from 9-5. However, no matter what his shift, we always had a Thanksgiving dinner even if it had to be on a different day of the week to fit with his work schedule. A dear friend's mother once asked him if he disliked having to work on most holidays and his reply was, "Money can be so soothing!"
1 lb. bulk breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean or Bob Evans brands are both good)
1 large loaf white bread, cubed
3 stalks celery (tops included), chopped
1 lg. onion, chopped
1/2 c. fresh parsley. chopped
1/4 c. butter
1/2 can evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 Tbs. poultry seasoning (Bell's brand, preferably)
1 tsp.salt
pepper to taste
pre-cooked giblit and neck meat, chopped (season with salt and bay leaf during cooking)
1 1/2 cups cooking juice from giblits (or pre-made chicken broth)
Rinse and then simmer the gibits/neck meat found inside the turkey in enough water to cover until the meats are tender (30-45 mi.). The liver will be done before the rest, so remove it as soon as it is tender. Set aside the broth and chop the meat.when it is cool enough to handle. Brown and crumble the sausage in a large saucepan. Remove the meat from the pan and sweat the chopped vegetables in the pan fat, stirring continually. Continue to simmer until they are tender....about 5 minutes. Return the sausage to the pan, add the giblits cooking juice and simmer for a few minutes. Add the butter, and set asid to cool.
Whisk together the eggs, evaporated milk, and seasonings in a small bowl. Combine this with the cooled meat/veg mixture. Add this along with the giblit/neck meat to the cubed bread in a large bowl. Stir lightly until they are well mixed. The dressing should be moist but not drippy wet. You can add more liquid if it's too dry and more bread if it's too wet (depending on how dense the bread happens to be). Taste for seasoning and adjust with more poultry seasoning, salt or pepper. If you are making this ahead, refrigerate the dressing.
Lightly pack the bird's cavities, which you have rinsed and dried with paper towels. Extra dressing can be baked in a casserole dish for 30-40 minutes (uncovered) or until the top is nicely browned.
Roast the bird according to the package directions (I like to start the oven temperature at 425 degrees for 30 minutes and than reduce the heat to 350 for the remaining time). REMEMBER NEVER STUFF THE TURKEY THE DAY BEFORE YOU ROAST IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This dressing is great with pork and chicken, so double the recipe while you are at it! Freeze the excess in zip-lock style bags and flatten the dressing in the bag. It will stack better and thaw faster when you are ready to use it.
Turkeys back then were mostly fresh so you could easily cook the giblits and make the dressing the day ahead. This was a big help if you were roasting a large bird and eating dinner in the middle of the day since the cook had to be up so early to get that bird in the oven. Frank was a swing shift worker and so he was likely to be working on the holiday. If, by chance, it was his day off, we might have a house full of family and friends. But, if he was working that day, he might be getting home at breakfast time from the night shift, leaving at 2p.m. for the 3-11 shift or working from 9-5. However, no matter what his shift, we always had a Thanksgiving dinner even if it had to be on a different day of the week to fit with his work schedule. A dear friend's mother once asked him if he disliked having to work on most holidays and his reply was, "Money can be so soothing!"
1 lb. bulk breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean or Bob Evans brands are both good)
1 large loaf white bread, cubed
3 stalks celery (tops included), chopped
1 lg. onion, chopped
1/2 c. fresh parsley. chopped
1/4 c. butter
1/2 can evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 Tbs. poultry seasoning (Bell's brand, preferably)
1 tsp.salt
pepper to taste
pre-cooked giblit and neck meat, chopped (season with salt and bay leaf during cooking)
1 1/2 cups cooking juice from giblits (or pre-made chicken broth)
Rinse and then simmer the gibits/neck meat found inside the turkey in enough water to cover until the meats are tender (30-45 mi.). The liver will be done before the rest, so remove it as soon as it is tender. Set aside the broth and chop the meat.when it is cool enough to handle. Brown and crumble the sausage in a large saucepan. Remove the meat from the pan and sweat the chopped vegetables in the pan fat, stirring continually. Continue to simmer until they are tender....about 5 minutes. Return the sausage to the pan, add the giblits cooking juice and simmer for a few minutes. Add the butter, and set asid to cool.
Whisk together the eggs, evaporated milk, and seasonings in a small bowl. Combine this with the cooled meat/veg mixture. Add this along with the giblit/neck meat to the cubed bread in a large bowl. Stir lightly until they are well mixed. The dressing should be moist but not drippy wet. You can add more liquid if it's too dry and more bread if it's too wet (depending on how dense the bread happens to be). Taste for seasoning and adjust with more poultry seasoning, salt or pepper. If you are making this ahead, refrigerate the dressing.
Lightly pack the bird's cavities, which you have rinsed and dried with paper towels. Extra dressing can be baked in a casserole dish for 30-40 minutes (uncovered) or until the top is nicely browned.
Roast the bird according to the package directions (I like to start the oven temperature at 425 degrees for 30 minutes and than reduce the heat to 350 for the remaining time). REMEMBER NEVER STUFF THE TURKEY THE DAY BEFORE YOU ROAST IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This dressing is great with pork and chicken, so double the recipe while you are at it! Freeze the excess in zip-lock style bags and flatten the dressing in the bag. It will stack better and thaw faster when you are ready to use it.
Monday, November 17, 2008
LENA'S BUTTERSCOTCH BROWNIES
These are a great winter treat. The ingredients almost always at hand. Adeline made them often and we all wanted to eat them warm.
1 stick butter or margarine
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. sat
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sweetened coconut
1cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
In a small, heavy bottomed saucepan, heat the butter and sugar until bubbly (stirring constantly). Remove from heat and turn into a mixing bowl and let cool for a few minutes.
Add to the above the eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the vanilla.
Sift together the flour, sallt and baking powder and stir into the above. Add the coconut and nuts and stir again.
Turn the dough in to a 9"x 9" baking pan that has been lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 2o minutes or until done in the center ( use the toothpick test). Cut into squares when cool.
1 stick butter or margarine
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. sat
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sweetened coconut
1cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
In a small, heavy bottomed saucepan, heat the butter and sugar until bubbly (stirring constantly). Remove from heat and turn into a mixing bowl and let cool for a few minutes.
Add to the above the eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the vanilla.
Sift together the flour, sallt and baking powder and stir into the above. Add the coconut and nuts and stir again.
Turn the dough in to a 9"x 9" baking pan that has been lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 2o minutes or until done in the center ( use the toothpick test). Cut into squares when cool.
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