Farming, Saturday, May 8, 1993
if you are looking for a recipe but can’t find it, send
your recipe request to Lou Ann Good, Cook’s Question
Corner, in care of Lancaster Farming, P.O. Box 609, Eph
rata, PA 17522. There’s no need to send a SASE. if we re
ceive an answer to your question, we will publish it as
soon as possible.
Answers to recipe requests should be sent to the same
address.
QUESTION Mae Pugh would like a recipe for chicken
rice soup like that served at Ponderosa.
QUESTION Mrs. Kenneth Ulmer, Waymart, wants a
recipe to can a mixture of mushrooms, onions, green pep
pers, and oil in pint jars.
QUESTION R. Smith, Jonestown, heard about hunter
green pumpkins, not squash or gourds, sold at a roadside
market in Lancaster County and would like to know where to
buy the seeds.
QUESTION Mark Kopp, Tower City, would like to know
what happened to sauerkraut. She said today it is shredded
cabbage rather than the kraut she remembers.
QUESTION—May Ozinek, Remington, N.J., wrote that on
a recent trip to Florida, she and her husband ate at Shoney's
the whole way down and back. At the breakfast buffet, Sho
ney’s serves a delicious sheet cake that is spicy and filled with
raisins and chunks of apples. The cake has a crumb topping
and is very moist. Does anyone have a recipe?
QUESTION Gloria Fready, Mount Joy, would like to
know how to make French fried sweet potatoes. She tried
making them, but they tasted soggy.
QUESTION Evelyn Reinfeld, Halifax, would like recipes
using buckwheat flour without yeast.
QUESTION Patricia Corkell, Henderson, Md., would
like a recipe for pickled gariig.
QUESTION —Patricia Davis, Dillsburg, would like a recipe
for hard sugar cookies like those made by Archway.
QUESTION Patricia Davis, Dillsburg, wants to know
where to buy pasteurized egg whites.
QUESTION Alverna Martin, Wellsboro, would like a
recipe for mock pecan pie made with dried beans. ,
QUESTION A reader from Potter County would like a
recipe for fudge made out of goat’s milk.
QUESTION Mary Snyder, Manheim, writes that she
planted hot Senano peppers by mistake. She froze them but
has not used them. She would like recipes using this type of
pepper, which could perhaps be used for gift jars of sauces,
relishes, etc.
QUESTION Karen Vourga is looking for a recipe to can
strawberries in a glaze that can be poured right from the jar
onto a cake. She has tried several recipes that bleed and turn
pink. She would like one with a dark red color in which the
strawberries are not mushy.
QUESTION Edith Vuxta, Elizabethtown, would like a
recipe for red velvet whoopie pies.
QUESTION Sue Pardo, Jarrettsville. Md., would like
recipes to use in a bread machine.
QUESTION—Sherry Craner, Bridgeton, N.J., would like a
recipe for chocolate pasta, made with wheat flour. It is used
for a dessert topped with sauteed strawberries and white
chocolate.
QUESTION Cissy McKeon, Birdsboro, would like a
recipe for hand-dipped chocolate-covered strawberries such
as those sold at Kaufman’s in Pittsburgh. Cissy writes that it
appears as if a layer of cream is between the strawberry and
the chocolate.
QUESTION Ralph Johnson, Sewell, N.J., would like a
recipe for green tomato pie with raisins and a top crust.
QUESTION Lisa Kerrigan, Bath, would like a recipe for
Kosher Dill pickles that taste like the Claussen pickles that are
stored in the refrigerator.
QUESTION Peg Koser, Lancaster, wrote that in this col
umn she learned how to make a tea concentrate using spear
mint leaves and freezing for later use. She asks if there is a
similar way to make a concentrate using fresh blue grapes?
QUESTION Mary Lehman, Elizabethtown, would like
recipes for rhubarb and a cookbook on rhubarb. One, that I’m
aware of is “Rhubarb Cooking for All Seasons." For a copy,
send $6 to Rhubarb Cookbook, Box 392, Hopkins, Minnesota
55343. It is small, but has 150 recipes in it.
QUESTION L. Weaver, Ephrata, would like recipes or
ideas to prepare cubed steak.
QUESTION Fay Leslie. Woodstown, N.J., would like a
recipe for spoon bread, which is soft and of pudding texture.
QUESTION Maureen Wheeler, Kirkwood, would like a
Cook’s
Question
Comer
yummy recipe for baked beans that uses dried Great Northern
Beans (not canned), molasses, brown sugar, onions, salt
pork, dry mustard, and cooked in a slow cooker. She said that
her mother had made them this way and unlike most bean
recipes, this recipe had a sweeter molasses base and not a
tangy catsup/tomato base. When cooked the baked beans
were deep, dark brpwn. She thinks the recipe might have
appeared in a 70s Rival Crock Pot recipe booklet.
QUESTION Maureen Wheeler, Kirkwood, would like a
lemon pudding cake recipe. She said her mother made it
before cake mixes were invented. She remembers her
mother poking holes in the top of the warm cake, just removed
from the oven, with a toothpick and drizzling lemon glaze over
the top. When the cake cooled, the lemon glaze hardened and
“was mighty tasty.”
QUESTION Melanie Kozlowski, Kingsby, would like a
recipe for chocolate muffins, a deep, dark chocolate muffin
that is very heavy and moist.
QUESTION Melanie Kozlowski, Kingsby, would like a
recipe for mousse such as that served at Ponderosa.
ANSWER Barb Hicks, Hawaii, wanted a recipe for
homemade beef jerky, the spicier, the better. Thanks to Ted
Wills, Frederick, who sent a recipe in which beef, deer or
goose breast can be used to make excellent jerky. Also,
thanks to Melanie Kozlowski, Kingsby, for sending a recipe.
Jerky
Cut strips with the grain (about the size of a piece of sliced
bacon). Remove all fat. Prepare pickling solution.
1. Add enough cool water to an earthen crock to cover meat
you want to brine (about 2 gallons).
2. Add kosher or pickling salt to water until a raw egg (in
shell) floats.
3. Add about 12 bay leaves, small handful of peppercorns,
2 large tablespoons dry mustard, 2 cups brown sugar, stir until
dissolved. Soak venison in brine solution for 24 hours in a cool
place.
Remove from brine, wash meat in water, rinse out crock,
add 2 gallons fresh water. Soak venison in clear water for 8
hours.
Remove from water and trim off any fat you missed the first
time.
Dry meat: this step is very important. You want to dry smoke
the meat you do not want to cook the meat. If too much
moisture is present, the jerky will not store well. However, if
you choose to keep it refrigerated when completed, drying the
meat completely is not that important. Use one of the following
methods to dry the meat:
1. Hang meat on clothesline in basement (paper clips make
handy hooks).
2. Hang meat outside on a cool windy day.
3. Place several layers of paper towels, repeat process,
alternating layers of meat and towels. Place in refrigerator,
4 uncovered. Change towels if necessary after 8 hours. (This is
Ted’s favorite method).
Place in smoker and smoke for 8 hours, usually about 3
pans of chips are required over that period of time.
Beef Jerkey
Impounds meat (flank, top round, etc.)
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Vz teaspoon garlic powder
Vi teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Accent
1 teaspoon onion powder
'A cup Worcestershire sauce
'A cup soy sauce
Trim excess fat. Cut meat into thin strips. Marinate over
night in a shallow glass dish thoroughly covered with sauce
made from above ingredients. Lay strips of marinated meat in
a single layer on oven racks. With oven door open a crack,
roast meat at lowest possible temperature for 8-12 hours.
Taste occasionally, until it is as chewy as desired. Makes
Vi pound.
ANSWER—Pauline Sensenig wanted to know where she
may purchase Washington's Golden Seasonings and Broth.
Someone wrote that it can be purchased from Dutchway
stores in the gravy and broth section. Rose Blessing wrote
that she purchased it at'Karns Grocery Store in Harrisburg.
For those who do not live near these stores, you may want to
contact American Home Foods, Inc., General Offices New
York, N.Y 10017 or Milton, PA 17847, which packs the broth.
ANSWER —Mary Lehman, Mifflintown, wanted a brownie
recipe that uses mashed potatoes. Thanks to Rose Blessing,
who sent a recipe for a cake made from mashed potatoes.
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup cold mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
'/«cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
1 cup nuts, chopped
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add
eggs, one at a time, heating well after each addition. Blend in
potatoes and vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, and baking soda;
add alternately with milk, blending well after each addition.
Stir in nuts. Pour into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until cake tests
done. Cool on wire rack. Yields 12 to 16 servings.
Idaho Potato Cake
Reduced
Fat
Cheeses
LEESPORT (Berks Co.) In
response to consumer demand for
reduced-fat foods, the dairy indus
try has produced a variety of lower
fat cheeses. “Light” versions of
American, Cheddar, Swiss and
mozzarella are now widely distri
buted. There are also fat-reduced
versions of Muenster, Havarti,
Monterey Jack and provolone, but
at present, these are not as widely
available.
Fat levels among these products
range from about 20% less than
full-fat to virtually fat-free, with
most at about 33 to 50% under that
of their traditional counterparts.
At present, the terms “low-fat,”
“reduced-fat” and “light” are not
standardized by law, so the only
practical way to determine actual
fat savings is to read and compare
nutrition labels.
Butterfal gives cheese its char
acteristic consistency, texture and
rich flavor. To compensate for the
loss of fat, reduced-fat cheese is
formulated and processed differ
ently. Some manufacturers add
milk solids, while others use na
tural gums or fat substitutes. Re
duced-fat cheeses do not “age” as
well as their full-fat counterparts
and as a result are usually milder
in flavor. Also, as fat levels de
crease, texture becomes firmer.
Generally, cheeses with fat re
ductions up to 33% are quite close
in taste, texture and performance
to the full-fat versions. However,
as more fat is removed, the differ
ences become more pronounced.
Cooking With
Reduced-Fat Cheese
Here are some suggestipns for
cooking with reduced-fat cheeses,
recognizing that the variations in
fat content and formulation affect
performance:
• When making a sauce with re
duced-fat cheese, keep heat ex
posure to a minimum, using grat
ed, diced or slivered cheese and
adding it at the very end of the
cooking. Remove from heat and
stir until melted. The addition of
such condiments as mustard, or
salsa, or various spices will com
plement the cheese’s mild flavor.
• Most reduced-fat cheeses melt
smoothly when layered in a cas
serole.
• Top casseroles and baked pas
ta dishes with reduced-fat cheese
near the end of the baking time
and heat until just melted. Serve
immediately. Cheeses with very
low fat levels take longer to melt
and may produce a “skin” when
baked.
• When broiling reduced-fat
cheese slices on an open-faced
sandwich, place it as far from the
heat as possible or use a lower
broiling temperature.
• To “lighten” a favorite recipe
without altering the flavor or tex
ture of the dish, replace up to one
half of the full-fat cheese with a
reduced-fat variety.
Storing Of
Reduced-Fat Cheese
Because these cheeses have a
shorter shelflife than their tradi
tional counterparts, it is important
to keep them well wrapped, refrig
erated and use them as soon as
possible. (Tum |0 Pagt B 9)
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