Crackling Bread

I admit it. I love cookbooks. Always have. I have a huge assortment and I use them when I can. So no one was surprised when I went to an antique mall’s big sales day and bought -- you guessed it -- another cookbook.

This one is a small staple-bound book from 1964. It’s titled Southern Appalachian Mountain Cookbook by Ferne Shelton. As I flipped through the pages, I knew I HAD to take it home. It’s filled with those old-time recipes that you just don’t find in modern cookbooks.

My Gran always made Crackling Bread and now my Mother does too. I don’t eat it. Not really. I like the bread but I pick out the cracklings. Seems kind of silly, even to me. My Mother, who doesn’t drink milk, crumbles the bread into a glass of buttermilk and seems to love it. I’ll trust her on that because I don’t plan to try it that way.

For those who don’t know -- and the cookbook does explain it -- “cracklings are the browned pieces of meat remaining after pure lard has been rendered from fat pork.”

Crackling Bread

2 cups cornmeal
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup cracklings

Mix the cornmeal, salt and baking soda. Add buttermilk and cracklings. Form into cakes and place in greased baking pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

Different Version: My Mother fries her bread. She uses a cast iron griddle, pours the thick mixture onto the greased surface and cooks it until it is browned. Then she flips it and browns the other side.

Cauliflower Mac 'N Cheese

I found this recipe in the September issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. It looks wonderful! Also check out the interview with Katie Couric and the short story. Hooray for fiction back in Good Housekeeping!

Cauliflower Mac ‘N Cheese

1 medium head cauliflower (1 ½ lbs), core discarded, florets cut into 2-inch pieces
4 medium carrots (10 oz.), thinly sliced
1 cup unsalted vegetable broth
¼ cup reduced-face cream cheese
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch cayenne (ground red) pepper
¾ cup shredded Gruyere cheese
Salt
Pepper
12 oz. elbow macaroni
8 oz. small broccoli florets (3 cups)
2 medium plum tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 8-quart saucepot of salted water to boiling on high.

Add cauliflower and carrots to boiling water. Cook 15 minutes or until very tender.

Meanwhile, in blender, combine broth, cream cheese, mustard, cayenne, ½ cup Gruyere, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. With slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to blender. Puree until very smooth.

Add pasta to same saucepot of boiling water. Cook half the time the label directs; adding broccoli during last minute of cooking. Drain; return to pot. Stir in cauliflower sauce and half of tomatoes. Spread in 2 ½-quart shallow baking dish. Top with remaining cheeses and tomatoes.

Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown on top and heated through.

Makes 6 main-dish servings at about 345 calories per serving.

Roasted Pear

This recipe is in the current issue of People magazine. It would be easy to miss it if you’re not looking for a homemade baby food recipe. I’m not, in case you’re wondering. But I love pears and I love cinnamon. This just seems so easy and like it would be a wonderful treat for any age.

The recipe comes from “celebrity chef and food network regular Donatella Arpaia” according to the magazine. Enjoy!

Roasted Pear

1 Bartlett pear, peeled
Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove thin slice from bottom of pear; sprinkle with cinnamon.

Please pear in lightly greased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake 35 minutes or until tender when pierced with wooden pick. (I use wooden toothpicks.) Cool to room temperature. Scoop fruit straight from pear to serve.

Graham Cracker Cake

When I first began cooking, I stressed over separating the egg yolks from the egg whites. It seems silly now. I've been doing it more years than I care to admit and it comes naturally. But back then, it was sometimes a source of aggravation. Has anyone else ever had to use a spoon to get egg yolk out of the whites? And then you have to worry if the egg whites will do what they're supposed to do because of the egg yolk.

This cake sounds fascinating. It comes from another one of those old newspaper clippings, so I don't know the who or the where. I do recommend making sure the eggs are room temperature. Egg whites just do better that way when you go to beat them into stiff peaks.

 

Graham Cracker Cake

2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs, separated
36 graham crackers, crushed to crumbs
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk

Blend sugar and vegetable oil; add egg yolks.

Mix Graham cracker crumbs, flour and baking powder together. Add dry mixture alternately with mix.

Beat egg whites until stuff, then fold into cake batter.

Pour into three 8-inch round greased and floured cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

Frost with a light chocolate butter frosting.

Frozen Lemon Custard Dessert

This comes from an old, yellowed newspaper clipping. I have no idea which newspaper. It does have a note saying it is a favorite contest winner for Oct. 15 (no year listed) for Betty Current. That’s what I don’t know.

That I do know is that in the Deep South -- and much of the country this year -- it is really hot and this sounds like just the thing for a summer afternoon treat!

Frozen Lemon Custard Dessert

1 package honey graham crackers (11 double crackers), crushed (1 ½ to 2 cups; set aside 2  tablespoons crumbs for garnish)
¼ cup sugar or 1 to 2 packets sugar substitute
¼ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup melted butter or margarine
1 quart vanilla ice cream
2 pints lemon custard frozen yogurt
Grated rind of 3 lemons
Raspberries or raspberry sauce

While preparing the crust, remove ice cream and frozen yogurt from freezer and let it soften.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, pecans and melted margarine. Mix and pat into the bottom of a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish.

Combine ice cream and frozen yogurt. Mix with lemon rind. Spread on top of crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs and return to freezer until frozen.

Remove from freezer 15 to 20 minutes before serving and let stand at room temperature. Slice in 2-inch squares and serve with raspberry sauce or pureed raspberries sweetened to taste with sugar substitute. Garnish with lemon slices and mint leaves, if desired.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve never tried Butter Flavored Crisco, though I swear by the regular white Crisco. It’s a must item for every kitchen -- at least one you plan to use for baking. This recipe is enough to make me purchase some Butter Flavored Crisco just because the cookies sound so wonderful. This recipe came from an advertisement for, you guessed it, Crisco.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

¾ cup Butter Flavor Crisco
1 ½ cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup large pecan pieces
NOTE: If nuts are omitted, use 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream Crisco, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Blend until creamy. Blend in egg.

Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture, gradually. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls (about 2 measuring tablespoons) of dough 3-inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies (they will look light and moist -- DO NOT OVERBAKE), 11 to 13 minutes for crisp cookies.

Cook on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Remove to cooling rach.

Makes 3 dozen 3-inch cookies.

Lite 'N Easy Cheese Dip

This sweet little clipping is apparently from an advertisement for Sargento cheese. I say that because it’s got their brand of cheese in it. Hey, many wonderful recipes are created by the folks who are promoting their products. The “lite” caught me. The tuna almost stopped me. I like tuna but it just seemed odd. What do you think?

Lite ‘N Easy Cheese Dip

1 cup light mayonnaise
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 8-oz. package Sargento Fancy Mild Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well-drained
1 6 ½ oz. can chunk light tuna in water, drained
2 tablespoons chopped pimento, optional

In medium bowl, mix mayonnaise, yogurt and mustard. Add remaining ingredients and stir well.

Makes 3 cups.

Serve with Devonsheer Melba Rounds or Toast.