French Fry Pie and Shoo-Fly Cake

 

These recipes have been re-copied many times over the 32+ years I have been a vegetarian.  So much so that I have no idea where they might have originated or to what extent I have added my own changes to the original recipe.  

 

FRENCH FRY PIE

(Children and teenagers particularly love this, as do adults.

A good recipe for those starting to utilize vegetarian recipes for their family.)

 

1 unbaked pie crust                                                    ½ pound shredded cheddar cheese

1 9 oz package frozen French fries                              ¼ cup flour

¼ cup butter                                                               2 eggs or replacer

3 Tbs minced onion                                                    1/3 cup of milk

3 Tbs diced green pepper                                           ½ tsp salt or kelp

3 Tbs diced red pepper                                              ¼ tsp garlic powder

 

Cut French fries into ½ inch pieces while still somewhat frozen.  Melt butter in frying pan.  Add French fries, onion and peppers.  Cook until onions are tender.  In bowl, mix cheese and flour.  Place 1/3 of cheese mixture into bottom of pie shell.  Top with half of the potato mixture.  Then layer another 1/3 cheese mixture followed by rest of the potatoes.  Finish with remaining cheese mix.  Combine milk, egg replacer and kelp.  Pour over ingredients in pie shell.  Bake 15 minutes in preheated 425 degree oven, then reduce heat to 325 degrees for another 20 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  When reducing oven temperature, cover pie lightly with foil.

 

Wonderful with a salad and a green veggie, and followed by:  

 

SHOO-FLY CAKE

(This is even better the next day.  Make ahead for company then enjoy.)

 

4 cups flour (any combination of unbleached and whole wheat flours)

2 cups brown sugar                                        1 cup butter

¼ cup blackstrap molasses                             ¾ cup light molasses

2 tsp baking soda

 

Mix flour, brown sugar and butter until crumbly.  Set aside 1 ¼ cups for topping.  Mix both types of molasses in with 2 cups of boiling water.  Then add baking soda, which will create fizzing.  Add to large amount of crumb mixture and stir gently, just until mixed.  Pour into 9 by 13 ungreased pan.  Gently sprinkle remaining crumbs over top.  Bake 45 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

 

Hot Toddy & Hot Buttered Rum

Hot Toddy

Ingredients

1 oz (2 tablespoons) bourbon
1 tablespoon mild honey
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup boiling-hot water

Preparation

Put bourbon, honey, and lemon juice in a 6-ounce mug. Top off with hot water and stir until honey is dissolved.

Brandy or Scotch also work well in a toddy, but the vanilla sweetness of good bourbon is the best.

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Hot Buttered Rum

Ingredients

2 or 3 ounces dark rum
Twist lemon peel
Stick cinnamon
2 cloves
Sweet cider or water
1 tablespoon sweet butter
Nutmeg

Preparation

Put the rum, lemon peel, cinnamon and cloves in a pewter tankard or any heavy 12-ounce mug that has been rinsed in very hot water to warm it. Heat the cider or water to the boiling point and pour into the spiced rum. Add the pat of butter and stir well. Grate a little nutmeg on top. A cube of sugar may be added as well.

Jaffa Cake

Monika found this recipe on the NineMSN website, and they got it from the April 2006 issue of Australian Table Magazine.

Some tips from my own experience making this cake here, including how to make table sugar into caster sugar.

Jaffa Cake
By Suzanne Gibbs

Serving size: Serves 10 or more
Cooking time: More than 1 hour

INGREDIENTS
6 eggs, separated
1½ cups (330g) caster sugar (look for superfine sugar in the states, or grind up table sugar in a food processor for a few minutes to get a finer sugar (mind the sugar dust!))
1½ cups (225g) plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
185g (6.5 oz) butter, melted, cooled
grated rind and juice of 1 orange

Syrup
¾ cup (180ml) orange juice
2 tablespoons rum or brandy (optional)
2 tablespoons caster sugar

Chocolate topping
200g (7 oz.) dark chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon strong black coffee
¼ cup (60g) sour cream

METHOD
Preheat oven to 180°C (350° F) or 160°C fan. Lightly grease and line base of a 23cm springform pan.

Using an electric beater, beat egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Sift flour with baking powder and fold into egg mixture along with melted butter and orange rind and juice. Using an electric beater or whisk, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into cake mixture.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes, until cool enough to handle but still warm. Wash and dry cake pan.

Meanwhile, make syrup by combining orange juice, rum or brandy and sugar in a jug. Stir briskly to dissolve sugar. Return cake to clean pan. Spoon syrup over warm cake and set aside to cool completely. Transfer to a serving plate.

Make chocolate topping by placing chocolate and coffee in a heatproof bowl. Place over a pan of simmering water on low heat. Stir continuously until chocolate melts. Remove from heat and whisk in sour cream, until smooth and glossy. Cool for 5 minutes before spreading over cake.

Tip: this cake may be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Once the cake is iced, it’s best not to refrigerate it as the icing may deteriorate.

Meyer Lemon Posset

Regina Schramblings originally published this in the Los Angeles Times on Feb. 14 in a “Dinner for Two” recipe. The LA Times republished it as one of the best recipes of 2007, and I quite agree. Who knew science could turn three ingredients into such a fabulous dish?

Meyer Lemon Posset

1 cup heavy cream
One-third cup superfine sugar
One-fourth cup Meyer lemon juice (These are tiny sweet lemons, that are green when ripe and used to make Key Lime pie. They aren’t limes.)

Heat cream and sugar until it simmers. Stir till dissolved. Do not let it burn.
Take off stove and cool. Stir occasionally. This will take about 20 minutes.
Add one-fourth cup Meyer lemon juice.
Stir thoroughly, blending well.
Pour into two dishes (or glasses).
Chill for at least four hours, overnight is better.

The flavor is wonderful, and the texture is mousse-like, but not as airy.
(Not a diet food.)

A Recipe For New Years

Granny’s Corned Beef

Cook your corned beef in the preferred manner; either boiled or baked, until desired tenderness.  (The longer it is cooked, the more tender it becomes.)
The baking temperature is 350 F.  Follow package directions for baking. 
I usually boil my corned beef for 3 or 3 and 1/2 hours.  (I cut the beef into two pieces, trim the fat and then stick 2 whole cloves in each piece before boiling.)
When your corned beef is the desired tenderness, mix up the following sauce and bake the beef in the sauce for an additional one half hour. (350 F)

Sauce Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of water or the corned beef juice.
3 tablespoons of vinegar  (white or red).
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
One-third cup of ketchup 
One-third cup of brown sugar
3 tablespoons of butter  (last ingredient and I stir the sauce until butter melts; but you can microwave butter stick if you want.)

Directions:
Mix the sauce ingredients in a small pan and heat to boiling point.  (Bubbles just breaking the surface.) Then pour sauce over the corned beef and bake at 350.

DOUBLE the sauce mix if you have more than 4 lbs of meat.
In general, I double the sauce anyway!  I like to use it as a gravy.

This is a three-generation recipe in my family.  We have this on holidays.  Easter, the 4th of July, St Patrick’s Day, etc.  My grandmother found the recipe in a women’s magazine in the early 1940s and tried it.  Everybody liked it!  So her two daughters make it, her two granddaughters make it, and everybody likes it!  (Including some Tibetan Buddhist monks.  The ones who tour the world making sand mandalas.  During 2001 I helped to host some monks during a tour, and when I discovered they weren’t vegetarians, I made the corned beef.  It wasn’t as spicy as their regular food!  But there were no leftovers.)
 
Please note: this is one recipe that frequently tastes better two days after it is made!  If I have the patience, I make it and then store it in the fridge (in a cassarole dish) for two days.  Then I use the stove burner to warm up the cassarole dish and serve.  Mmm. 

Decadent Hot Chocolate

Two great recipes for decadent hot chocolate (one is thicker):

1.

6 ounces 70% Cacao Bittersweet or 62% Cacao Semisweet Chocolate (Ghiradelli’s works really well

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1 quart milk-from nonfat to half & half (your preference)

Break-up chocolate and place in a small, heavy saucepan. Melt with one cup of the milk over med-low heat while stirring constantly.

When the chocolate has melted, bring up the heat to medium and add the remainder of the milk while whisking rapidly.

Do not allow to boil.

Serve in small cups with a dollop of whipped cream or fortify with flavored syrups (I use raspberry sugar free and it’s delicious) or Cognac, Rum, Irish Whiskey, or Brandy.  You can add a dash of unsweetened cocoa on top (I keep cocoa in a shaker so I can dust it over the top with ease)

2.

2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup water
10 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
2 tablespoons brandy (optional), or flavored syrup of your choice (I still prefer rasberry sugar free with this recipe)

Whisk together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons milk.

Bring water to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat to moderately low and add chopped chocolate and a pinch of salt, whisking until smooth.

Add cream and remaining milk (1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) and increase heat to moderate, then cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture is smooth and heated through. Taste; for a deeper chocolate flavor, whisk in cocoa.

Whisk cornstarch mixture, then add half to chocolate mixture and simmer, whisking, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add brandy (if using) ot flavored syrup and remaining cornstarch mixture to thicken if desired, then simmer, whisking, 1 minute. Top with whipped cream!

Mari’s Chocolate Coffee

Make some coffee.  We buy Fair Trade green beans, roast them in a popcorn popper, grind them, and make our coffee.  Pour your coffee in a large mug.  Add a spoonful, to your taste, of cocoa powder.  Sweeten with local-bought honey (here on Knotts Island, NC, our honey producer is also the guy you call if bees or wasps invade your house, as they did at our house the time a swarm of bees came down the chimney and into the bedroom).  (He also raises kiwi trees, which gives his honey a unique flavor.)  Add soymilk; stir a lot and keep the spoon in the mug because the cocoa will want to settle into the bottom.  Do not allow it to do so.  Drink it all up.

Grilled Cajun-Style Chicken Breasts

4 thin-cut chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable oil
salt and pepper
1 Lemon

Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound until about 1/4 inch thick.

In a plastic ziplock bag combine the oils and the cayenne, Italian seasonings, and garlic powder.  Add the chicken and close, then massage the bag until all the chicken is coated with the oil and seasonings.  Refrigerate the bag for at least an hour.

Just before serving, heat a stovetop grill until it is screaming hot.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper and grill about 3 or 4 minutes on each side.  (Cut into the thickest piece to check for doneness).  Remove from the grill and squeeze fresh lemon over the chicken.  Serve this with Sweet Potatoes Au Gratin.

Sweet Potato Au Gratin

3 medium sweet potatoes (not yams), peeled and cubed
1 cup plus another 1/4 cup grated fontina and parmesan cheese mixture
1/4 cup low or non-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons butter or non-hydrogenated margarine
garlic powder
salt

Place the cubed sweet potatoes in cold water and bring to boil.  Salt the boiling water to taste. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are done.   Drain and put back into pan.  Let the potatoes sit for a minute or two to allow the moisture to evaporate.

Add 1 cup of the cheese mixture, sour cream, butter and a dash of garlic powder to the potatoes.  Mash until smooth.  Pour the potato mixture into a butter casserole.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese and put it under a hot broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is brown.  Makes about 4 servings.

Grilled Caprese Sandwich

If you have a panini press, great; if not, then use a cast-iron skillet.  Heat the skillet until it is screaming hot.

While the skillet is heating, make a sandwich out of two slices of crusty bread (I prefer a whole grain bread), a couple of slices of mozerella cheese, a few pieces of sundried tomatoes (in oil), a few leaves of fresh basil, and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning.

Brush one side of the bread with olive oil.  Place the sandwich oiled side down into the skillet.  Put a weight on top of the sandwich (I use a smaller skillet).  Watch it carefully because it will toast very quickly.   Remove the smaller skillet and brush the top of the sandwich with more oil.  Flip the sandwich and replace the weight.  Grill for another minute or so.

Lori Gloyd