Sept/Oct 2023: What is one of your favorite recipes? Your go-to recipe, one others ask about, or one you and/or your family really enjoy?
Strawberry Cake:
1 box white cake mix
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
1 small package strawberry Jell-o
1 small package frozen strawberries
In large mixing bowl combine cake mix, dry Jell-O, oil, and milk. Beat until well blended. Add eggs and 1/2 package strawberries (save the rest to make the frosting). [Optional: Add 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or other nuts if desired.] Beat until foamy. Bake in two 9″ layers at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. (You can also use three 8″ round pans or one large flat pan; cooking time may need to be adjusted.) FROSTING: 1 package 10X powdered confectioner’s sugar 1 stick butter or margarine Blend well and add remaining strawberries while blending. It may not take the whole 1/2 package of strawberries to make it smooth. (Too much may make it runny.) For two layers, 3/4 pack of sugar and 3/4 stick of butter will do (unless, like me, you like a lot of frosting).
Joe Dumas
Cornbread (A fall essential):
1.5 c corn meal
0.5 c white flour
1 egg Buttermilk (or milk with a splash of white vinegar in a pinch)
Two shakes of salt
1 T sugar
1 T bacon grease
(Optional: finely minced jalapenos)
Preheat cast iron skillet at 425 for at least ten minutes. Mix all dry ingredients together. Scramble egg and drop into dry ingredients. Stir in and add buttermilk till batter is glossy and wet. (If you like a kick, fold 1-3 teaspoons of finely minced jalapenos in as a last step.) Put bacon grease in hot skillet. When melted, add cornbread batter. Cook 15-16 minutes and then put on broil for 3-4 minutes to brown it. Serve with butter and honey. Perfect as a side with just about anything, but we love it with a hearty chili this time of year!
Irene J. Hillman
French Muffins:
For the Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour
⅔ cup sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 large egg
1 cup milk + 2 Tablespoons
6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Cinnamon-Sugar Topping
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
Instructions:
Heat the oven to 375°. Butter the bottoms (only) of a standard 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.
To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg and whisk together.
In a medium-size bowl, add the egg and whisk until frothy. Add in the milk, melted and cooled butter, and vanilla extract and continue whisking until blended.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
With a spatula or wooden spoon, mix the batter just until it’s just evenly blended, then scoop it evenly into the muffin pan.
Bake the muffins on the center rack for 15 minutes. Then rotate the pan and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool for approximately 5 minutes or until cool enough to handle, then remove the muffins from the pan.
While the muffins are cooling, prepare the topping by mixing the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and set next to the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Working one muffin at a time, quickly dip the tops in the melted butter and then in the cinnamon sugar, rolling each muffin in all directions to cover the entire top.
Sara Jackson
Chef John’s Tuscan Bean Soup (everything’s blended and it comes out like a cream soup):
The Soup
1 Tblsp olive oil
1 Tblsp butter
1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced and 1 carrot, diced
3 cloves garlic minced
2 cans (15 oz) white kidney beans (cannellini) rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
salt, pepper to taste
1/2 tsp of chopped rosemary and 1/2 tsp of chopped thyme
pinch of cayenne
1/2 cup heavy cream (crème fraiche if available)
1/2 lemon, juiced
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add butter and allow it to melt. Add onion, celery and carrot, and cook until onion begins to turn translucent and golden, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, cook 1 more minute. Add beans and broth. Season with salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Set heat to medium-high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low and let simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
Puree soup with an immersion blender until it is very smooth. Whisk in heavy cream. Stir in lemon juice.
Serve topped with browned bread cubes (see below)
The Topping> browned bread crumbs:
1-1/2 cups fresh bread cubes, 2 Tblsp olive oil, 2 Tblsp freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Place bread cubes in sauté pan. Drizzle with olive oil; season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toast bread cubes over medium heat until golden brown and crunchy, tossing occasionally, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle grated cheese over the bread cubes and continue to brown cubes about 2 more minutes.
Teresa Phillips
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