by Donna Swagerty Shreve
Because I wish I knew more about my grandparents’ eating traditions, I am making sure I record mine. Usually a family creates traditions through its shared eating. I want to start with my own nuclear family. I was the oldest of four children with a span of nine years between the oldest and youngest. As the oldest I helped my mother in the kitchen as soon as I was able to be of any help. I was usually assigned to making the salad. Mom made sure we had three main parts to our dinner which usually followed with a dessert.
I compiled a series of various meals that stand out from my memories. Our family’s food patterns influenced my cooking habits when I started my own family.
My mother was raised by a single father who was a generation older than the usual father age range. Her father spent most of his working days as a short order cook in his dinner called the Fueling Station. Mom’s meals were prepared by a succession of 16 different housekeepers throughout her childhood years. During World War II, she stayed with a good friend and learned gardening, canning and some cooking from her. Mom also learned various recipes and techniques from her mother-in-law who she adored. As I recall the various family favorites I realized most of our family dinner fare was from a 1949 edition of “Better Home and Gardens Cook Book.” We found the battered cookbook in her kitchen when we were going through her personal effects. Somehow I was surprised and disappointed that our cherished meals were right out of a book and not handed down from several generations.
On special occasions our mother would make a graham cracker cake from scratch. This cake was usually made for our birthdays. I can remember her slaving away in the kitchen for what seemed like hours as she had to take a roller and crush the graham crackers into a fine flour like mixture. She was very proud of this cake as she usually made pies and cakes were not her usual offering. I don’t know what my siblings felt about this cake as I never admitted that I really did not care for it. I did not dare mention this to my mother as I could see that she worked so hard on it and was always so proud with the results. There were plenty of family to share the cake so it disappeared quickly.I am including the recipe for family members or any one else who might appreciate the effort needed to create this cake for celebrations.
The next recipe Mom would fix for special occasions like a ladies lunch that she would host. The family got to taste it as she tried it out on us first. We even might have had it for a dinner or two. I can remember this recipe being served over biscuits but Mom usually went to Webb’s Bakery that was located on the corner of Pacific Avenue and Alpine in Stockton and got some delicate little pastry shells that showed off her recipe quite well. I could not find the recipe in any of her written recipes so I checked the Better Homes and Garden cookbook and there it was.
Sunday dinner became a special meal for family. When I left to college, I would return on Sundays usually with a friend in tow and definitely my cousin Keith who also attended U.O.P. He brought along his basketball room mate and later his wife. Mom had a few standard meals that she served on Sundays. The most prominent meal was a pot roast. She would add potatoes and carrots with a beef broth as a base. Mom could add to it if needed when extra people showed up. Later after the family moved to the bigger house on Dwight Way she added a few more standards. Any festive meal would usually included Mom’s Lime Jello Salad. It is more a dessert than a salad.
An additional recipe, that was added when the family moved into town, was stuffed mushrooms. Julia Reagan, known to us as Candy, was one of Dad and Mom’s extended family. She was attending U.O.P. and lived with Dad and Mom in the Dwight Way home. She quickly became part of the family and she shared her stuffed mushroom recipe that soon became a family standard. She shared meals and contributed to them.
Another family regular was meat loaf. I was encouraged when I did not find Mom’s recipe in the cook book. She found this one somewhere else. I found it on a recipe card written in her hand writing. Mom insisted that chili sauce should be used instead of catsup.
A common offering at meal time was pilaf. I could not find this recipe in the cook book either. Again I took the recipe from one of Mom’s recipe cards that she had written. I usually double this recipe.
After consulting with my brother and sister I am including another family regular, Pepper Steak. It is an inexpensive way to have a festive meal. This recipe was found in a 1956 edition of Better Homes & Gardens magazine. I remember this meal and have not continued this common meal with my own family.
Chicken became a staple for family dinners. Mom made fried chicken which we enjoyed before we knew fried food was not considered healthy. One time Mom had spent a lot of time on a chicken dish to serve something different. The family was gathered in the walled-in patio where we usually gathered instead of the formal dining room. Brian thought he was being helpful when he suggested that the chicken must have been sick because something tasted funny. Before any of us had a chance to take in Brian’s comments, Brian was lifted out of his chair by Mom and transported to the kitchen nook table to finish his meal. The rest of us wisely finished Mom’s new chicken recipe in silence. My usual memory of chicken was barbecued chicken cooked outdoors at the Calhoun Way house and on the indoor barbecue at the Dwight Way house. The secret sauce was Mom’s homemade barbecue sauce. I have made it on several occasions and it is a lot of work when there are many store bought varieties that do quite nicely. However the homemade variety is by far the best!
I move now to desserts from our family kitchen. Mom made dessert often to accompany her three course meals. Pie was her usual offering and she had the talent of making an excellent flaky crust. Once again I found her famous recipe in the Better and Homes cook book under crust for a ten inch double crust pie. There was another recipe for an eight or nine inch double crust pie. If there is enough crust left over, I make “dolly differs” with are basically rolled dough lined with cinnamon and sugar. I cook them with the first part of the pie and bake the pie for the filling without the dough cookies. I believe our father made up the name. His older brother was known for silly names and Dad imprinted the term “dolly differ” on our family and we have passed down the term to our off-spring. I know that Mom’s mother-in-law introduced her to making pies but Mom’s crust was not the same as Grandma’s and when we had the annual Thanksgiving dinner with 40 to 50 relatives, Mom was always asked to make the pies. Mom gave my sister and me many a lesson and I felt she was considering holding us hostage until she was convinced we could make her pies by her recipes.
My father was traditional in that he usually stayed out of the kitchen. However, he did venture in for a few items. He started with cookies. On one rare occasion, we had left over pancake batter. He announced that pancake batter had very similar ingredients as cookies so he decided to experiment and not let the batter go to waste. This is what started Dad’s “Oh Boy” cookies. They were different every time but did not disappoint. He did share one cookie recipe in particular that he had received from his grandmother Ida Palmer Aldrich. She had written it out on a recipe card and he kept it the rest of his life. It is interesting to note how the ingredients are listed with a pinch and dash. This was her persimmon cookie recipe . Dad also started making ice cream from scratch to go with his While Mountain hand crank ice cream maker. I had found the device while I lived on the East Coast and sent it to him one Christmas. I was so pleased with the reception because he said it was just like the one he remembered as a boy. My family and others benefitted from that ice cream maker and enjoyed helping him churn it. Later when Dad got ill, he adapted his favorite recipes to be more healthy. The term “healthy” usually was our way of saying, “Yes, it is better for us but yuck. It is not the same.”
Recipes in order of mention in story:
Graham Cracker Cake 1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
3 beaten egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
24 graham crackers crushed
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 stiff-heated egg whites
Thoroughly cream shortening and sugar
Add egg yolks and vanilla and beat well.
Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with graham cracker crumbs and milk; add walnuts. Fold in egg whites. Bake in 2 waxed paper lined 8 inch layer cake pans in moderate oven (350 degrees) 25 minutes. Put layers together with Cream Filling and frost with Brown Sugar Frosting.
Cream filling 5 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk, scalded
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix flour, sugar, and salt; slowly stir in milk; cook in double boiler 15 minutes or until thick. Add a little of hot mixture to eggs; stir into remaining hot mixture. Continue cooking 3 minutes; add vanilla and cool.
Brown Sugar Frosting
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
2 stiff-heated egg whites
Cook sugar and water to soft-ball stage (236 degrees); gradually add to egg whites, beating constantly until mixture forms peaks.
Chicken a la King 1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped geen pepper
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper
1 beaten egg yolk
2 1/2 cups diced, cooked chicken
2 tablespoons finely cut pimiento
Lightly brown mushrooms and green pepper in butter; add flour and blend; add milk and seasonings; cook util thick, stirring constantly. Stir some of hot mixture into egg yolks ad add to remaining hot mixture; continue cooking 10 minutes. Add chicken and pimiento. Serve on biscuits, hot buttered toast or pastry shells. Serves 6
Frosty Lime Jello
1 small can of crushed pineapple (1large)
1 package lime jello (1 large)
1/2 cup walnuts chopped (1 cup)
3 ounce cream cheese (8 ounce)
1 cup whipping cream ( carton of Cool Whip)
Ad 1 cup of hot water to dissolve jello; beat in with cream cheese. Add pineapple with juice and nuts. Fold in whipped cream and cream cheese. Chill in a mold.
Candy’s Stuffed Mushrooms
24 large mushrooms
2 packages of frozen creamed spinach
2 packages of shredded jack cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cube butter
1 clove garlic
seasoned salt
parmesan cheese
First scrape out the mushrooms to leave room for the stuffing. Place the scraped mushrooms in a dish that is lined with butter. Mix the stuffing using the microwave cooked creamed spinach, 2 packages of jack cheese(about 2 cups), 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, with garlic and seasoned salt to taste. Place this mixture into each mushroom and top with parmesan cheese. Cover and place into oven at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes until the mushrooms are soft and easy to eat. Enough for 6 people is they only eat 4 mushrooms each.
Pepper Steak
1 pound 1/4 inch sirloin tips cut into serving
pieces
2 tablespoons fat
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, halved
1 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1 beef bouillon cube
1 cup hot water
1 1-pound can stewed tomatoes
1 large green thinly sliced pepper
2 tablespoons corn
1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Brown meat slowly in hot fat about 15 minutes. Add onions and garlic at the last few minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Dissolve bouillon cube in hot water. Add to the meat. Cover and simmer until meal is almost tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Add tomatoes and green pepper and cook 10 minutes longer. Combine remaining ingredients; stir into meat mixture. Bring to boiling; cook, stirring constantly 5 minutes longer. Remove garlic. Serve with hot noodles. Makes 4 servings.
Meat Loaf
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound pork sausage
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Mix well and share into a loaf. Pour over meat loaf 1 can of whole tomatoes. Then pour chili sauce over the top of the loaf. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Pilaf
1 cup rice
1 can bouillon soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 clove garlic crushed
3 tablespoons butter
In 3 tablespoons of butter, brown onion, celery and garlic. Add bullion soup and thyme. Bake in covered dish 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Barbecue Sauce
1 medium onion
2 tablespoons fat
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup catsup
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 cup water
1/2 cup celery
salt
Simmer 30 minutes
Let mixture cool and then blend in a processor.
Melva’s Pie Mix thoroughly:
2 cups flour
2/3 cups Crisco
1 teaspoon salt
4 medium medium to large apples pared and sliced
3 tablespoons flour or tapioca for pitted fruit
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon for apple pie
Roll bottom crust. Add mixed apple mixture. Dot top of mixture with tablespoons butter. Wet around the crust edge. Roll out top crust. Flute edges. Sprinkle sugar on top of crust. Place several slits on top of dough. Bake 450 degrees for 12 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cooked another 40 to 45 minutes.
Dad’s homemade ice cream
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
4 beaten eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
20 large marshmallows
4 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons vanilla
In the top of a double boiler, mix sugar, corn starch, and salt. Stirring constantly blend in milk gradually. Cook over hot water for 15 minutes until thick. Stir a small amount of cornstarch mixture into beaten eggs and add to the cornstarch mixture stirring constantly. Add marshmallows until they marshmallows are melted and the mixture is thick and creamy. Add sweeten condensed milk and stir another 2 minutes. Cool and add cream and vanilla. Freeze in a gallon ice cream freezer. Use 1 part rock salt and 6 parts crushed ice. After frozen, remove dasher and repack the mixture 1 part rock salt and 2 parts crushed ice for 3 to 4 hours. Yields 4 quarts.
2627 words
7/2/19
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