Cop Car's Beat

Boil, boil, toil and trouble

Until 2012, I served a family dinner sometime over the Thanksgiving holidays and sometime over the Christmas holidays, each year - sometimes for several days during the interval, depending upon out-of-town family attendance. Dudette took on the responsibility for making the family dinner over the Thanksgiving holidays in 2012, and I provided only the meals over the Christmas holidays.

In 2013, I totally gave up cooking large family meals for holidays. I would still have people over for a less onerous meal; but, Hunky Husband and/or I was perfectly willing and able to take people out to a restaurant for brunch on Christmas day (or a meal or meals another day that worked better for the family - or for a meals on more than one day) rather than my trying to cook. In the first place, I'm not a great cook, and in the second place, there is little or nothing domestic that I enjoy doing. (Why, otherwise, would I have studied physics and engineering? Duh! Perhaps there are STEM people who enjoy domestic duties, but count me out.) I love my family; but at age 75, I decided that I had served my limit.

Because, now, our family dinners are cooked by others, I don't feel that I can complain if they don't serve the foods that I would have served or don't use my preferred recipe. After all, there is no woman in our family who is a worse cook than I. In fact, I've never had a meal at Dudette's, or Bogie's or Wonderful Granddaughter's that was not delicious! (Well, it's been a while since I've eaten Bogie's cooking, but it was great!)

Back in the mid 1960s, a close friend shared her recipe for cranberry sauce which I made, religiously, each year for those holiday meals. Who knows if anyone else liked it? I probably never asked, thoughtful hostess that I was. I liked it.

When Dudette started making the Thanksgiving family meal, she set a traditional menu of roasted turkey, bread dressing, canned jellied cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, olives, crescent rolls (from a recipe HH's mother had given me, exclusively, back in the 1960s) and butter, pecan pie, and chocolate chiffon pie. Wow! That has been the menu since it was set, except in 2016, when WGD served Thanksgiving dinner, and served lasagna.

Today, I went to the activity center to use the treadmill and weight machines. Stopping at Walmart on the way home, I (spontaneously) bought some cranberries and an orange. I made three half-pint jars of the cranberry sauce that I prefer - and a like number of jars of jellied cranberry sauce for those who prefer it. Below is a photo of our fully-loaded natural gas cooking range. Shown are a small sauce pan in which canning jar lids are heating (near, right burner), large pan with canning jars boiling (far, right burner), the pan in which my preferred sauce had been made (far, left burner - you can see that the control is turned "off" under the empty pan), the pan in which the jellied sauce is boiling (near, left burner), and the green funnel to use in ladling sauces into canning jars.

I didn't make a large amount; but the photo, below, shows all but the "leavings" of the two batches of sauce - my preferred sauce (you can tell by the orange slices in the sauce) being in the three most-leftward jars.

Oh, wait! Did I tell you that I'm not a very good cook? Believe me. To make sauce out of the product in the three most-rightward jars, I'll need to reprocess them with pectin. Such a little thing to forget!

The now-sweetened cranberry juice is prettier than it looks in the above photo. The late afternoon turned cloudy and dreary, necessitating using flash for the photo. Back-lit, the jewel color would stand out. Perhaps we'll have some sunshine, tomorrow, to show off the color.

       Ah, yes, better.

Just to set the record straight

I erred in In Cop Car's Kitchen. The plum dumpling recipe had been posted, long ago. It may be found at Puddings and Pastries - if one scrolls down to the third recipe - just after Paul Neuman Pie.

In Cop Car's Kitchen

I love the colors of produce from the garden. This year my huge garden comprised four tomato plants (only one of which produced tomatoes, and those within the past 10 days!), one banana pepper plant, and one bell pepper plant. The photo, below, shows the pickings from the past few days. The banana pepper plant has been a bountiful producer. BTW: The banana peppers in the left side of the dish were picked several days ago while everything else was picked last evening. (Yes, a bug got to the red bell pepper. I don't spray for bugs.)

BTW: I don't count the cilantro, dill weed, chard, and fennel that come up, voluntarily, each year as being part of the garden, though I use cilantro and dill weed, on occasion.

Ten days ago, on Hunky Husband's birthday, he was attending an all-day class in Wichita. Taking advantage of his absence, I baked him a chocolate chip/pecan pie and cooked him up a few plum dumplings. I failed to take a photo of the pie (every pecan pie looks about the same), but I did get a photo of one of the dumplings. [The system is this: I put a piece of pie, cake, etc, or a dumpling in this case onto a small plate; cover it with a glass dome; and place it on the breakfast table so that HH may partake whenever he cares to do so.]

As I've mentioned, before, I am not a great cook - passably edible is more my style - however, I try to (on occasion) make dishes that my beloved, late mother-in-law used to make. (For those who do not know, HH's mother was from Serbia and a wonderful, wonderful cook!) Some of the dishes for which she left me a recipe are included in the Category Cop Car's Chow. The recipe for plum dumplings is not among them.

Until recently, my beloved sister-in-law, Helen, owned a bakery and a deli. She has slowed down in her old age (she'll be 79 in a few weeks) and now merely serves as pastry chef for one of the fancy restaurants in St Louis. She got her talents, and some of her recipes, from her mother who got them from her mother. [We called HH's grandmother Babu Corner - because she lived on the corner - to distinguish her from the other babu (who lived two doors away) who was called Babu Tetu - because she and HH's only aunt lived together.] Helen recently published the recipe for Plum Dumplings on her website. I've never eaten one of Helen's plum dumplings, but the recipe is close enough to Mom's that I know that her recipe will produce delicious results.

Addition of 9/16/2018

Liz's comment about her husband's making relishes reminded me that I had pickled a bunch of the banana peppers during the past several weeks - a fate that awaits most of the peppers in the above photo. I was convinced that I had previously posted a photo of my pickled peppers; but, alas, I find no such posting. Below is a photo of the last three pints of pickled banana peppers. They don't look as pretty as some of the earlier (but already consumed) peppers because I did not bother to insert dill weed fronds into these jars. Too, these jars include no ripened (red) peppers. (The frosty look of the lid flats is due to condensation. The jars had been in the refrigerator.)

Recipes for Wonderful Granddaughter (WGD) - 6

Taco Salad

Recipe was passed along by Lois Wethington (wife of Bob who, in the late 1970s was CC's Group Engineer at The Little Airplane Company.

Brown & Drain:

    1 pound (weight) ground beef

Add & cook as directed on the packet:

    1 packet taco seasoning

Into a separate bowl, chop:

    1 head iceberg lettuce

    1 medium white or yellow onion

    2 medium tomatoes

Add to vegetables:

    10 ounces (weight) grated/shredded cheddar cheese

    1 each 15-ounce (weight) can red beans that have been rinsed

 Mix meat into vegetable mixture and mix in:

    Catalina French dressing - enough to make mixture very moist

Just prior to serving, toss all with:

    Taco flavored corn chips that have been lightly crumbled 

Recipes for Wonderful Granddaughter (WGD) - 5

CC's Chili

The recipe was developed by Cop Car.

Brown in large, heavy pot:

    1 pound (weight) lean ground beef

Add & bring to simmer:

    1 pound (weight) brick chili

    1 pound (wet weight) cooked pinto beans

    1 pound (wet weight) cooked kidney beans

    1 tablespoon chili seasoning

    3 cups water (or tomato juice)

Simmer for 15-30 minutes. Chill in refrigerator to cool thoroughly. Skim fat off of the top. Return pot to stove top, simmering for at least 1 hour.

Add:

    1 pound canned tomatoes (squished up, if not diced) - Tomatoes may be omitted if tomato juice was used instead of water.

Simmer for another hour. Serve, as desired. [I like chili served over shredded Romaine lettuce or other greens.]    

Recipes for Wonderful Granddaughter (WGD) - 4

Enchilada Chicken

Recipe was developed by Cop Car.

Sauté to blacken:

    Drizzle of olive oil

    2 slices onion, very finely diced

    1/3 large Pablano pepper, finely diced

    1/4 teaspoon prepared, diced garlic

Remove vegetables from skillet, but continue using skillet (with any oil that survived).

Sauté for a few minutes on either side:

    3 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Place chicken in oiled casserole, but continue using skillet (with any oil that survived).

Heat to bubbly in skillet:

    1 small can green enchilada sauce

    vegetables that had been set aside, above

    3 ounces finely sliced and chopped wheat tortillas

Pour sauce mixture over chicken breast halves in the casserole. Cover the casserole and bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove casserole from oven and let set for a few minutes. Cut each chicken breast half into 2 or 3 pieces, lengthwise. Serve with sauce spooned over chicken pieces.

Recipes for Wonderful Granddaughter (WGD) - 3

Ora's Sugar Cookies

Recipe is from the late Ora Thomas of Iowa - a family friend in the 1940s and 1950s.

Cream:

    3 cups granulated white sugar

    1 cup lard (lard that requires refrigeration - not hydrogenized)

Add & beat:

    2 eggs

Continue beating as add:

    1/2 teaspoon table salt

    1 teaspoon cinnamon [I sometimes use ground nutmeg.]

    1 cup sour cream

    1/2 teaspoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

    1 teaspoon baking powder

    1/2 teaspoon vanilla

    7 cups flour (or enough to make a stiff rolling dough)

Roll out. Cut into 2 1/2-inch-to-3-inch-diameter circles. Place on cookie sheets. Bake 10-15 minutes at 400-450 degrees Fahrenheit. [Ora did not, but I sometimes cut into various shapes, decorated with sprinkles, and/or iced the cookies - after baking.]

    

Recipes for Wonderful Granddaughter (WGD) - 2

Small Batch Cookies

Recipe is from Alicia Ross as published in the Derby Informer on 2/15/2017 and modified by Cop Car.    Makes 20-36 cookies

Cream:

    1/4 pound (weight) butter, softened

    3/4 cup granulated white sugar

Add & mix:

    1 1/4 cups all-purpose white flour

    1/2 teaspoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir in:

    4 ounces (weight) toffee pieces

    1/2 cup chopped pecans

    4 ounces (weight) chocolate chips

Crop onto lined cookie sheets, using 2-inch separation. Bake 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (light brown state). Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from sheet to cooling rack.

 

Recipes for Wonderful Granddaughter (WGD) - 1

Bran Muffins

Recipe is from a Kellogg's™  All Bran box. Makes 12 muffins

Soak:

    1 cup All Bran

    1 cup milk

Beat in:

    1 egg

    1/4 cup vegetable oil

Add & stir to just mix:

    1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

    1 tablespoon baking powder (sodium bicarbonate)

    1/2 teaspoon table salt

    1/3 cup granulated white sugar

Pour batter into greased muffin tin (or lined with paper baking cups). Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Almond Horseshoes & CC's Cookies

So much for my memory! I would have sworn that I had, years ago (as in about 12), posted my much-missed late Mother-in-Law's recipe for Almond Horseshoes. Not finding that posting, I remedy the situation.

ALMOND HORSESHOES

Makes about 4-5 dozen

Cream together:

    1 1/3 cups granulated white sugar (12.5 ounces)

    1 pound butter (prefer sweet, but salted will do)

Add and mix in well:

    1 1/2 cups finely ground, blanched almonds (5.5 ounces)

    4 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour

    1 egg white

Pinch off pieces of dough (or use 2-tablespoon food scoop), forming each dough ball into a crescent. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 20 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. (Do not allow to brown.) Sprinkle with confectioner's (or powdered) sugar.

The reason I checked for the posting of the above recipe is that I wished to post another recipe for CC's Almond Cookies. I'm not much of a cook; but, I started with a recipe in Bake Sale: Favorite Brand Name Cookbook (purchased from the "excess" shelves at the local public library for the princely sum of 25 cents) and developed my own version. One thing that MIL always stressed was the importance of using a Mouli grinder (image, below).

The theory was that by using a meat grinder, one would reduce the almonds to an oily paste. Without proof, I believed that from age 20 to age 79. (Who said I'm slow to learn?)

A few weeks ago, I tested the theory by putting the almonds through our meat grinder (similar to the one in the photo, above), using the medium-holed grinder plate (our grinder came with grinder plates using small, medium, and large holes). It works beautifully. There is no crushing of the nuts. Perhaps, the person who came up with the Mouli grinder theory had a dull blade in their meat grinder! Oh, I should note: I did NOT grind whole almonds. Getting even lazier in my dotage, I've stopped blanching the almonds myself (which I still did at the tender age of 78). Now, I grind slivered, blanched almonds. That may change the interaction between the meat grinder and the nut meats.

CC'S ALMOND COOKIES

Makes about 3 or 3 1/2 dozen cookies

Beat until very light and fluffy:

    1/2 pound butter

    1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Add and beat well:

    1 egg

    1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla extract (I've never tried artificial; but, I understand that the world supply of Vanilla is at a premium these days.)

Add and mix, just until incorporated, on low speed:

    1 1/2 cups ground, blanched almonds (I use pre-blanched, slivered almonds.)

    2 cups all-purpose white flour

    1 teaspoon cream of tartar

    1 teaspoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

Transfer dough to small (1-quart size) bowl, cover, refrigerate to chill through. Drop dough by 1 1/2-tablespoon-sized food scoops onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Roll each scoop into a ball, flattening somewhat, and press top into blanched, slivered almonds. Leave 2" between cookies. Bake about 15 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. (Do not allow to brown.) Cool, completely, storing in air-tight container.

Please note that my version of almond cookies is much quicker and easier. My MIL loved to bake and seemed oblivious to the work involved. She was a oner!