Back in 1997 I was the Chairperson for a cookbook called A Collection of Recipes II. It was a project of the Worcester Country School Parent’s Association. The school is now called Worcester Preparatory School and it is located in Berlin, Maryland.
We asked parents, grandparents, and local restaurants to give us their best recipes. And they did!! It took us many months to get everything compiled and many of us worked hours to bring this book to the community.
I love neighborhood cookbooks. To me these recipes are the center of someone’s kitchen. Recipes used over and over again for holidays, and family gatherings.
At Worcester a lot of the recipes showed up at the Teacher Appreciation Lunches. They are all good and I used this book frequently.
Better Cheddar is a recipe given by one of our grandparents. Mrs. Carol Cairo knew that this recipe, as simple as it was, would be a hit. It had a secret ingredient…..Liquid Smoke.
Serve the Better Cheddar with crackers or dipping pretzels.
Ingredients:
1 pound New York Extra Sharp cheese, crumbled
1 cup walnuts, chopped
6 scallions, chopped
1 cup of mayonnaise (I like Dukes)
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke (you can put a bit more after tasting)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
To crumble the cheese, first cut it in chunks and then put in a food processor until it crumbles. I have a very small food processor and I made it in a couple of batches. Easy.
The walnuts, you can also put in the food processor of a few seconds or pulse it so they are chopped.
I have yet to have a guest say they don’t like it. You really get hooked.
Hope you love it as much as I do. Great for appetizers!!
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Have a great week.
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It was early evening and once in a while I get on the band wagon of writing about Meatless Monday. It is a global organization trying to get peopple to eat a little healthier even if it is one day per week.
Sadie, my Rescue, was sitting outside guarding. I had the ingredients to make Cabbage and Celery Casserole. I was not doing a thing. It is Monday, what can I say.
But a few times I make it my own recipe, adding a little bit or this or a little bit of that. The recipe really belonged to my late mother in law, Louise Merryman. She was a fabulous cook. Years ago she made a recipe book for the girls in the family called Recipes Begged, Borrowed and Stolen. And, every Christmas she gave us inserts.
This recipe is an old one she had for many years and even though she said it fed 6 to 8 people, if my late husband, John, was around that was not the case. John loved it.
Tonight I fixed the recipe just like she gave it to me. If you have a gluten allergy it would be very easy to convert.
I hope you like it. Here it goes:
2 cups sliced celery
6 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
4 tblsps. butter
In a large frying pan, melt butter and saute celery over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Then, add cabbage and saute for another 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a fairly shallow bakig dish or casserole.
The baking dish I used was a Pyrex 9 x 13 inch one. You don’t want a deep dish.
Make the Cream Sauce:
4 tblsps. butter
3 tblsps. flour ( If you want to make it gluten free used a different flour)
2 cups milk ( I had non fat milk)
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of red pepper
1 small jar of chopped pimento
Dry Bread Crumbs are optional. I did use them. Again, if you want to make the dish gluten free you will have to adjust that.
Melt the butter in a pan, add flour and stir constantly for a minute or two over low heat to blend ingredients and take away the floury taste. You are, actually, making a roux. Then, gradually add milk, stirring and cook until mixture thickens but not too heavily thickened. Add salt, pepper, and pimento, including the liquid in the jar. Mix well and pour over the vegetable mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle with dry bread crumbs and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. If you want it a little more brown on top then just broil it for a bit. But, watch it.
The exact proportions of celery and cabbage is not important. Use what you have or prefer.
I decided I needed some color on my plate. So, local tomatoes and grilled asparus was another easy thing to add.
All I had to do is serve wine and sit outside.
Deliciously good and so satisfying.
I love the following saying: “Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” How true.
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Summer 2019 is flying by!!
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It’s 30 degrees at the Delaware Beaches. That calls for a homemade soup; comfort food.
A few yeas ago I was watching Rachael Ray on t.v. and she mentioned a recipe that her mother used to make all the time. Well known cooks do like those meals they grew up with. A well known chef from the Delaware Beaches told me that he still makes those green bean casseroles, etc. etc. during the holidays. They are recipes that are simple, nutritious and well seasoned…most of all, they bring good memories.
Most of the time I pick up a recipe, look at it, make it the way it says it should be done, then, a little bit of this and a little bit of that and it will be changed by adding or deleting ingredients…making it my own.
This recipe was not gluten free, but I have made it so by using ingredients that are gluten free. For example, gluten free flour, cider, and broth. I never buy shredded cheese. A lot of times they put a preservative that has gluten, therefore, I grate my own.
Hope you enjoy it!!
Cider Beef with Smashed Cheese Potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
2 lbs. top sirloin, cut in 1 1/2 inch cubes. (Any other preference of beef, you know what to do. I had some fillet and that’s what I used.)
Salt is optional…black pepper? Always.
1 chopped large yellow onion; the ones that make you cry.
3 medium carrots, chopped (I never peel them, but do so, if you want to.)
1 lb. turnips, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons of all purpose flour (I used a gluten free flour; rice, almond.)
3 cups of good quality, dark and cloudy apple cider…check the ingredients if you are making this recipe gluten free.
1 1/2 cups of beef broth or stock (I usually buy low sodium. Plenty of them are gluten free.)
2 pounds potatoes, chopped (Again, if you want to peel them, you know what to do.)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp white Cheddar cheese (I did not have any so I used what was in the refrigerator…I think it was Colby.)
snipped chives for garnish
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
Place an oven proof pot (make sure you have a lid) over medium high heat on the stove top. Add the olive oil and butter. Season the beef with salt and pepper and add to the pot once the butter and oil have melted.
Brown on all sides. It will take about 5 minutes or so.
Add the onions, carrots, turnips, and cook for about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the flour and stir to combine and coat, about 1 minute.
Stir in the apple cider and the beef stock, or broth.
Transfer to the oven and braise it for about 45 minutes.
While braising, fix the “smashed” potatoes, by boiling potatoes in a large pot, about 15 minutes. Drain and return them to the pot.
Add milk, sour cream, and cheese. I used a mixer to mash them because it gives them a smoother consistency.
Serve the soup, top it with the mashed potatoes…garnish with the chives and extra grated cheese.
You want more potatoes than soup? You decide. Enjoy!!
Add a salad and you have a complete meal. That was easy.
Note: You can cut the ingredients in half to make it for just a few of you.
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