"The Walton Family Cookbook" (from the 70's TV show, The Waltons) - Ralph Waite's Old-Fashioned Pot Roast with Potatoes (Father's Day)

Date I made this recipe:  June 15, 2014 (Father's Day)

The Walton Family Cookbook – Inspired by the Top-Rated Television Series created by Earl Hamner, Jr. by Sylvia Resnick

Published by Bantam Books

© 1975

Recipe:  Ralph Waite's Old-Fashioned Pot Roast Favorite with Potatoes – p. 71-72

Folks, timing is everything.  When actor Ralph Waite, who played John Walton, Sr. on the hit TV show The Waltons passed away earlier this year, I pulled out this cookbook intending to make his pot roast recipe but then one thing led to another and I never got it done.  But then Father's Day was upon us and I thought "How perfect!"  My dad was a pot roast kind of guy, he would have been 90 this year, five years younger than Ralph and in many ways, my relationship with my dad mirrored that of John-Boy Walton with his dad – oldest child, aiming to please yet following a path all our own.

I grew up watching The Waltons which ran from 1971 to 1981 and like John-Boy Walton, I wanted to be a writer.  Actually, I used to go around the house mimicking John-Boy's Virginia drawl:  "I want to be ay (as in the later "a") rye-tur [writer], daaaaadi [daddy]!"  I want to be a writer, daddy!

With this in mind, I moved to Minneapolis after college to hopefully begin my writing career (that never happened) and when I told people I wanted to write, thought I wanted to be more like fictional character Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) from The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  I guess it was that move to the Twin Cities that prompted that remark.  (Truth be told, Mary was okay but Rhoda was my favorite.  That said, I did not aspire to be a window dresser.) Now, I loved this show as well but even though it premiered the year before The Waltons, I was fixated on John-Boy.  There was just something about him and that show that attracted my attention although I have to say that his character often irritated the heck out of me.  So thank goodness for the rest of the Walton children and Grandma and Grandpa and those hilarious Baldwin Sisters, god-fearing women who never drank except to partake of their late father's "recipe," also known as moonshine!  Well bless their hearts....

But although the supporting characters, especially grandma and grandpa, were great and fun, the glue that held everything together was "Mama," Olivia Walton, played by actress Michael Learned, and "Daddy," John Walton, Sr., as played by Ralph Waite.  In the series, John Walton, Sr., runs the family lumber mill and manages to keep his wife, all seven kids and two grandparents clothed, fed and secure from the ravages of the Great Depression and WWII.  My dad, born just before the Depression, was the same type of guy, the one who just kept it all together, worked hard but definitely enjoyed family time.  (By the way, my grandmother went to live with my dad's sister after my grandfather died, much like the Walton's grandparents).

Although my dad was a wildlife research biologist by trade, he was also a good writer.  In addition to endless research journal articles, he also penned a memoir of his time on Iwo Jima during WWII and also wrote a published a book, Hiawatha's Brothers, about the flora and fauna of Michigan's Upper Peninsula where we lived.  He also wrote a history of the wildlife research station where he worked and a couple other small articles.

Like John Walton, Sr., my dad could be kind of hard on me.  The first paper I ever wrote in college for a Composition 101 class was singled out by the instructor as being one of the best (and yet, she tore into it later on) and so I was quite chuffed until my dad read it and said "Well, it's written at about a 5^th grade level...but it's good.  Not a bad start."  Well, of course I was crushed but I was a good writer.  Did I write scientific research papers, demanding a higher level of writing?  No.  Did my work qualify for inclusion in The New York Times? It did not.  Did I care?  Nope—not as long as I kept racking up those "A's!"  In the end, writing at a 5^th grade level is pretty much the industry standard for business – not too low-brow, not too lofty...just right (or is that "write?")

As these things go, I did land a writing job of sorts as my first job in Minneapolis as a Savings Correspondent for a local Savings & Loan Association.  My job was to rewrite their standard letters to make them better (i.e. "Thank you for opening an account with us!") as well as pen the difficult ones such as "Dear Mr. Jones, We are very sorry that we have temporarily misplaced your $10,000 deposit but rest assured...."  It was actually a fun job and I got to be a little creative.  I do believe this counts as a writing gig so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

And so while I did not follow John-Boy Walton's path of becoming a newspaper writer, I am not too shabby when it comes to writing about cookbooks.  It ain't Pulitzer-worthy but who cares?

With that, let's explore this pretty easy and delicious recipe for pot roast, made in honor of my late father and the late actor, Ralph Waite, better know as John Walton, Sr.

"Goodnight, Daddy...."

Ralph Waite's Old-Fashioned Pot Roast Favorite with Potatoes – serves 6-8

For the pot roast

1 clove garlic, peeled

3- to 4-pound boneless chuck or rump roast of beef

Flour

Salad oil

2 T seasoned salt

¾ cup water (more, if needed)

1 bay leaf (optional)

6-8 new potatoes, peeled and halved

paprika 

For the gravy

2-4 T. flour

½ cup cold water

1 ½ cups liquid from roast (after skimming off fat) – add water if necessary

1 T onion soup mix

Rub garlic over meat.  Coast well with flour and brown slowly in a heavy pan or Dutch oven using small amount of salad oil.  Sprinkle with seasoned salt, turn and do the same on other side.  Lower flame to simmer and add water and a bay leaf.  Cover with a close fitting lid.  Cook for 2-2 ½ hours.  (Ann's Note:  I cooked it for 3 hours until it was absolutely tender).  During the final 45 minutes of cooking add potatoes that have been lightly salted.  Sprinkle roast and potatoes with paprika and add more water if necessary at this time.

To make the gravy, in a small pan blend 1-2 tablespoons flour with cold water, stirring carefully to dissolve any lumps.  Stir in pan juices, add the remaining flour and continue stirring until the flour and liquid are completely blended.  Add onion soup mix and cook over a low flame until gravy thickens.  (Ann's Note:  This was way too thick for my tastes so I tried to dilute it with more water and it didn't make much different.  But it is tasty if you like gravy with your beef.  My dad would have eschewed the gravy in flavor of horseradish!)

"Race Day Grub - Recipes from the NASCAR Family" - Martha Nemechek's Sloppy Joes - for Memorial Day

Date I made this recipe:  May 25^th, 2014 – for Memorial Day

Race Day Grub – Recipes from the NASCAR Family by Angela Skinner; foreword by Mike Skinner

Published by:  Wiley (as part of the NASCAR Library Collection)

ISBN:  0-470-09858-9

Purchased at Strand (bookstore), NYC

Recipe:  Martha Nemechek's Sloppy Joes

We are now one day away from Memorial Day, the official start of the "summer" season (technically, it starts on June 21^st), and while I celebrate the start of my favorite time of year, I also dread it.  You see, I suffer from a seasonal affective disorder called "grilling anxiety."

I didn't used to be this way, perhaps because my dad took care of all the grilling growing up, mostly on our little hibachi grill.  I loved that thing, mostly because it was so portable.  And it's not like I'm afraid of fire because I was a Girl Scout and we had to build fires all the time.  (I have merit badges to prove it!).

No, the problem is with our household grill.  It's gas – not that there's anything wrong with that because our stove is gas – but it's a bit finicky and it's filthy.  Filthy as in "sat in the garage unused for a couple of years now because we haven't had time to grill" filthy.

Now my husband was not brought up with my mother's exacting sanitation standards so he wanted to haul out the grill, give it a quick scrub, and fire it up.  I told him that unless and until he sanitized it within an inch of its life by pouring scalding hot water over it – several times – I would not eat anything that came off it.  He looked at me funny and sighed.  I looked back with my "I am not kidding" visage.  He blinked first.

And so, the win goes to Ann!  And I won because at the end of the day, we did what we always do and that is ignore the problem rather than just clean the thing and just let the grill sit in the garage.  Clearly, we are not enamored with this "sport."  This decision then freed me up from the second component of my "grilling anxiety" – selecting the grill recipe.  Since we use gas, I flip past all the pages that require us to use coals or wood chips and those recipes that require long-time marinades.  And although hamburgers and hot dogs are not exactly off the table, grilling them always seems like a cop-out.  Within minutes, I was exhausted and had exhausted all brilliant grilling ideas. And so...Sloppy Joes.  (By the way, the third component of my "grilling anxiety" is the overabundance of mosquitoes, which, in this state are required to file a flight plan with the FAA.)

Now, these are not just any Sloppy Joes, these Sloppy Joes are from a NASCAR cookbook.  And that's because Memorial Day weekend is also race day weekend as Indy 500 and NSACAR drives get behind the wheel to hurtle themselves around a track at speeds in excess of 200mph.  And trust me, this is far more enjoyable to watch than standing outside, swatting at mosquitoes, tending to a grill.  That said, Andy and I were busy all day and so we missed both races. (But we caught the recaps later on so...half points awarded).

I'm not sure I have an Indiana cookbook in this house ( by the way, "Indy" stands for Indianapolis) but wouldn't you know I have two – count 'em – two NASCAR cookbooks in my house, purchased last year at Strand Bookstore in NYC.  I always like to be prepared for any occasion and see, didn't I just call that right?  You need a race car cookbook, you see me.

When it comes to car racing, while Indy Racing is the Big Daddy of them all, with the Indy 500 (500 miles) taking place every Memorial Day weekend for the past 103 years, NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) should never be dismissed like a fly on your arm during a BBQ.  NASCAR's following is absolutely huge compared to Indy.  And although there are more Indy races than just the famous 500, it is a rare moment when you cannot find a NASCAR race on TV. 

And although Indy drives tend to just drive that circuit and no other, over the years, a couple of NASCAR racers ran Indy.  As my husband can spend endless hours telling you, everything about those races are different – cars, driving, driving style, etc.  But we both kind of liked the "mix and match" that took place.

My absolute favorite thing about watching NASCAR is listening to the announcer call the race.  The minute I hear commentator Larry McReynold's southern accent and Darrell Waltrip's (former champion) "boogity, boggity, boogity" catch phrase, I know that Andy has switched the TV to a NASCAR race and we are in for a fun and entertaining time. 

There was also something about this recipe that made me select it, mainly that you added two cans of Campbell's Vegetable Soup with Alphabets.  Well this is new!  (I'm not sure the soup added anything one way or the other but Andy liked it.) The other thing that sealed the deal is that this recipe was submitted by Martha Nemechek, mom to race driver Joe Nemechek, and both Martha and her husband, "Big Joe," are huge supporters of soldiers in the U.S. Army.  Martha is even pictured in the book wearing Army fatigues.  And so a non-grilled item + NASCAR + Memorial Day + Army aficionados = a great way to celebrate the first weekend of summer.  Inside.  Without bugs.  Love.it.

PS—Congratulations to this year's Indy 500 winner, Ryan Hunter-Reay who managed to hold off challenger (as in "hot on his tail"), Helio Castroneves by 0.060 seconds.  And Congratulations to four-time NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 winner (a/k/a "Charlotte 600"), Jimmie Johnson. Johnson took a page from the Indy race, beating out second place finished, Kevin Harvick, by 1.272 seconds.

And here I get all nervous when someone comes within 5 feet of my bumper!

Martha Nemechek's Sloppy Joes – makes 2 to 4 servings

1 pound ground beef

½ small onion, chopped

Garlic powder

Salt

Pepper

½ cup ketchup

½ cup water

Two 10 ½-ounce cans Campbell's ABC vegetable soup

One 1.4-ounce packet Sloppy Joe seasoning

2-4 hamburger buns

Mix the ground beef and chopped onions in a skillet over medium heat.  Sprinkle in the garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until the meat is brown and drain off the liquid.

Put the meat back in the pan and add the ketchup, water, soup and seasoning packet.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve on your favorite buns and enjoy!

Ann's Note:  I had to chuckle at the instruction to "salt and pepper to taste" because the soup contained a lot of sodium as did the seasoning packet.  So I peppered only and perhaps you should, too!

"Authentic Mexican" by Rick Bayless - Pork with Smoky Tomato Sauce, Potatoes and Avocado ("Tinga Poblana") for Cinco de Mayo

Date I made this recipe:  May 11, 2014 (a late Cinco de Mayo celebration)

Authentic Mexican – Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico by Rick Bayless and Deann Groen Bayless as seen on the Public Television series MEXICO-ONE PLATE AT A TIME

Published by:  William Morrow

ISBN:  0-688-04394-1

Purchased at Arc's Value Village Thrift Stores

Recipe:  Pork with Smoky Tomato Sauce, Potatoes and Avocado ("Tinga Poblana") – p. 248 – 249

Four things:

1. New favorite word?  "Tinga."  Tinga, tinga, tinga!  Love it.  Tinga doesn't really have a Spanish translation but usually refers to a stew made with shredded pork or chicken and peppers.
2. Once again, Cinco de Mayo (the 5^th of May), came and went and so I made this dish on the "Once de Mayo" (11^th of May) and am getting around to posting this on the "Quince de Mayo" (15^th) – more or less.  It's how it goes, folks, but at least I get the opportunity to practice my Spanish numbers!
3. I keep wanting to call Rick Bayless "Rick Steves" as in the "London on $10 a day" Rick Steves.  My husband and I used Rick Steves' travel books a lot in our early days of traveling.  They were fun and entertaining and we traveled for cheap – just like he promised.  Although Rick Steves' has had shows on PBS, same as Rick Bayless, the two should not be confused. Rick Bayless is a chef.  Rick Bayless is an expert on Mexican cooking, not travel, and to this day, I still cannot get into one of Rick Bayless' Chicago restaurants without having to offer up a first-born child that I do not have.  So lucky for us, this Rick publishes cookbooks.  And lucky for you, if you want to visit Mexico, you can use the other Rick's books to get you there.
4. Although certain cultures, like Mexican and Thai, use a lot of chilies in their dishes thus "inoculating" the natives to tolerate heat better than the rest of us, the ability to tolerate or not tolerate heat resides with our taste buds.  My husband can tolerate a lot of heat whereas I felt a sheen of sweat on my break out on my face as I ate this dish and the dish wasn't even all that hot!  You should do your chili research though, before attempting anything in this cookbook.

I have to admit, it's a little daunting making something from any of Rick Bayless' cookbooks, particularly one titled Authentic Mexican because true Mexican cooking does not mean open a can of beans, pour over rice (boiled in a bag) and add salsa.  Nuh uh.  To make something out of this cookbook requires time and patience, neither of which I have these days as witnessed by the fact that I got around to cooking this dish 6 days after Cinco de Mayo.  And so I read carefully and selected carefully this recipe so as not to spend days in the kitchen.  I am happy to report that this dish was great and required minimal time.

What I like about this cookbook is that it is pretty comprehensive but not in such a way that you feel like you're carrying around an encyclopedia collection.  This book clocks in at 384 pages and that includes an introduction and an index.  In the back, you'll find a Glossary of Mexican Ingredients and Equipment and each recipe comes with several tips and techniques. 

For today's recipe, we have the basic instructions, accompanied by several Cook's Notes:  Techniques; Ingredients; Timing and Advance Preparation ("Tinga can be made in 1 ½ hours;" and notes about variations  I'll recap those notes (all but the variations) at the end of the recipe.

We begin our descent by hitting the grocery store. I'm glad I made a first stop at Byerly's where I was able to find a one-pound piece of pork steak substitute for a 1 pound pork shoulder as pork shoulders usually come in 2-3 pound packages.  I have always found the butchers in Byerly's meat department to be most helpful when it comes to alternatives plus – nice bonus - they sharpen your kitchen knives there for free.

I also picked up the chorizo at that store but think I made a tiny boo-boo in that I purchased smoked chorizo, not "regular."  But no matter since I just chopped the sausage finely before cooking.

The remaining ingredients were purchased at Rainbow (owned by Roundy's which recently sold off a slew of stores; we are awaiting word on who will run ours) which is a great store for the basics.  The recipe called for either vine-ripe tomatoes, roasted or boiled (and then peeled and cored) or canned and I went with canned because I did not have the time or patience (remember, it was in short supply) to do it the "long" way.  Once you get going, the recipe comes together pretty easily although I did have to keep checking back to see if I was following the right order.

And so I chopped and browned and stewed and the result was fantastic!  The chiptoles gave it a bit of zip and the sweetness from the sugar evened out the tang from the tomatoes.  It was muy bien and we would make it again in a heartbeat.

This concludes the Cinco de Mayo (or thereabouts) celebration for 2014.  Ole, Ole, Ole, Tinga, Tinga, Tinga!

Pork with Smoky Tomato Sauce, Potatoes and Avocado – yield:  4 servings

1 pound lean, boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut in 1 ½-inch cubes

½ teaspoon mixed dried herbs (such as marjoram and thyme)

3 bay leaves

2 medium (about 10 ounces total) boiling potatoes like the red-skinned ones, quartered

1 28-ounce can tomatoes, drained OR 1 ½ pounds (about 3 medium-large) ripe tomatoes, roasted or boiled (paged 352), peeled and cored

4 ounces (1/2 cup) chorizo sausage, store-bought or homemade (p. 55), removed from its casing.  Ann's Note:  I didn't notice until I got home that I purchased smoked chorizo.  I removed the casings then finely chopped it and it seemed to work out just fine.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

½ teaspoon dried oregano

2 (canned) chiles chipotles in adobo, seeded and thinly sliced

4 teaspoons of the adobo sauce from the can of chiles (NOTE:  the author indicates that if you find the chipotles packed in vinegar, use them but don't use the sauce.  My adobo sauce contained vinegar – not to be confused with "packed in vinegar" but to be on the safe side, I left it out.  Besides, I wanted to make sure the dish wasn't too hot for my taste buds!)

Salt, about ½ teaspoon

Sugar, about ½ teaspoon

Garnish

1 ripe, medium avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced

4 ounces Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese like mild goat or farmer's cheese (or Muenster), cut into 8 fingers

A ¼-inch slice of onion, broken into rings

The meat

Bring about 1 quart salted water to a boil in a medium-size saucepan, add the pork, skim the grayish foam that rises to the top during the first few minutes of simmering, then add the herbs and bay leaves.  Partially cover and simmer over medium heat until the meat is tender, about 50 minutes.  (If there is time, let the meat cool in the broth.)  Remove the meat, then strain the broth and spoon off all the fat that rises to the top; reserve 1 cup.  When the meat is cool enough to handle, dry it on paper towels and break it into ¾-inch pieces.

The potatoes, tomatoes and chorizo

Boil the potatoes in salted water to cover until just tender, 12 to 15 minutes; drain, peel (if you want), then chop into ½-inch dice.  Seed the tomatoes , if you wish, by cutting them in half crosswise and gently squeezing out the seeds; then chop into ½-inch pieces.  Fry the chorizo in oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat until 10, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up any clumps.  Remove, leaving as much fat as possible in the skillet.

Browning the main ingredients

Raise the heat to medium and add the onion and pork.  Fry, stirring frequently, until well browned, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook 2 minutes.

Finishing the stew

Add the chopped tomatoes, oregano and chorizo, mix well and simmer 5 minutes.  Stir in the potatoes, the reserved cup of broth, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce from the can.  Simmer gently for 10 minutes to blend the flavors, then season with salt and sugar.

Garnish and presentation

When you're ready to serve, scoop the simmering tinga into a warm serving dish and decorate with alternating slices of avocado and fingers of cheese.  Strew the top with onion rings and serve.

Cook's Notes: Timing and advance preparation

Tinga can be made in 1 ½ hours.  It improves with age:  Prepare it through Step 4 (finishing the stew), cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.  Reheat slowly, then garnish with avocado, cheese and onion.

Cook's Notes: Browning the Ingredients

A good part of the depth and richness of this dish comes from a thorough browning in Step 3.  And roasted (rather than canned or boiled) tomatoes underscore the browned flavors.  Ann's Note:  but using canned saves so much time and effort!

Cook's Notes:  Chiles Chipotles

Without these peppers, the dish is no longer tinga.  If you find the chipotles packed in vinegar, use them but don't stir in any of the vinegar from the can.  If only dried ones are available, toast them lightly on a hot griddle, soak until soft, then stem, seed, slice and add.

"Entenmann's Big Book of Baking" - Cream Cheese Swirl Coffee Cake

Date I made this recipe:  April 20, 2014 (Easter Sunday)

Entenmann's Big Book of Baking by Orograin Bakeries Products, Inc. (Entemann's is a registered trademark of this company) and Kathleen Robbins, Master Baker

Published by:  Parragon Books, Ltd.

ISBN:  978-1-4454-4530-4

Recipe:  Cream Cheese Swirl Coffee Cake – p. 116

Folks, "giddy" is the word I use to describe the feeling I had when I saw Entemann's Big Book of Baking.  Giddy.  And "nostalgic."  Because be still my heart—there, in living blue and white color, was a compilation of Entenmann's-inspired recipes, all for the home cook. There are no words...

Now I don't know about the Midwest, but out on the east coast where Entenmann's originated, these blue and white boxes with the clear plastic strip in the middle (so you could see the baked goods) were a staple in many households.   Whenever we went to visit my New Jersey grandma who lived with my aunt and uncle, that box (or even better – boxes) was on the counter.  So exiting!   I always felt like I was on the TV show, Let's Make a Deal, where host Monty Hall would ask you to select "what's inside the box," or "what's behind the curtain."  For me, peeking into the top of the box to discover what was inside was a thrill although truth be told, you could always distinguish between the donut box (chocolate donuts – LOVE!) and a coffee cake.  Ah yes, but what kind of coffee cake?  That was a mystery to be solved! (Favorite:  Cheese Filled Crumb Coffee Cake.)

For the longest time, I never saw Entenmann's outside of the east coast but then one day I was in, of all places, my neighborhood Rainbow (your average grocery store to fit all income levels) and right there before my very eyes I saw several Entenmann's boxes.  Several.  Again – giddy!  I bought several boxes.  And every once in a while, when the mood is right, I buy some more boxes.  I mean folks, how could you not?  And okay sure, now they tend to be a little bit more laden with preservatives than the days of old but it's the blue and white box and it's Entenmann's so....

You should know that the inspiration to haul out this cookbook came from none other than Bon Appetit magazine. The magazine recently posted online an article – "The Richest, Most Powerful Families in the Food Business" and wouldn't you know, there was the Entenmann family bio (accompanied by a photo of their chocolate donuts).  Here's what BA said:  "In 1898 German-born William Entenmann opened a bakery in Long Island, focusing on home delivery. When William died in 1951, William Jr., his wife, Martha, and their two sons took the reins and made the leap to supplying supermarkets, building the iconic Long Island baking plant in 1961 to keep up with demand." 

Sadly, the company was sold in 2002 to – get this – Bimbo Bakeries USA.  Bimbo Bakeries?  Well there's a name, am I right?  Bimbo Bakeries also owns Sara Lee, another popular item at my aunt and uncle's house and Thomas' English Muffins.  And here's an interesting factoid for you:  one of my best friends, Susan, is from Totowa, New Jersey and just down the street from her old childhood home was a Thomas' English Muffin factory.  Mine eyes have seen the glory of this factory (not to mention the yummy smell of English muffins baking!). It's odd how everything in this world connects.

Now, had I been more organized on Easter morning (read: not been so lazy), I would have made this for breakfast instead of for dinner. But really—do we care?  No, we do not!  This coffee cake is pretty simple and actually, I made it at the same time as the ham since they shared an oven temperature – multi-tasking/baking is key.  The only thing I did not do was bake this in a Bundt pan (as the recipe called for) because for some inexplicable reason, my Bundt pan is missing.  And I am quite upset about this.  I told my husband "I wouldn't do something so stupid as to throw it out, would I?"  (No, of course not...well, I hope not).  We suspect it's in the house somewhere although the "where" part is still eluding us. I am happy to report though, that we discovered where we stored not one but two fondue pots!

But all is not lost because according to the internet, you can make this coffee cake in a tube pan and I have a tube pan.  Couldn't find the Bundt pan for love nor money but my tube pan?  Oh yeah!

The recipe says to bake for 40-45 minutes.  I went with 45 minutes and it was perfect, absolutely perfect.  The recipe also says to serve it warm (we did) but it is also mighty tasty cold.  And although I didn't have the requisite blue and white box (the cookbook pages are in blue and white, natch), it didn't matter because it was Entenmann's – no further words required.

Cream Cheese Swirl Coffee Cake – serves 9-12

Cream Cheese Mix

1 cup cream cheese

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice

Cake Batter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 pinch salt

1 cup sugar ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

3 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

Topping

¼ cup finely chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease and flour a 9 cup Bundt pan (or substitute a tube pan)

To make the cream cheese mix:  in a small bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth; set aside.

To make the cake batter, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.  In a large mixer bowl, beat the sugar and butter until fluffy.  Add the eggs and vanilla mixing well.  Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream.  Mix well.

Pour half the batter into the pan.  Spoon the cream cheese mixture on top of the batter within ½ inch of pan edge.  Spoon the remaining batter over the filling, spreading to the pan edge.

To make the topping combine the chopped walnuts, sugar, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Sprinkle over the batter.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.  Serve warm.

"The Cracker Kitchen" and "Southern Sideboards" - Easter Ham (using Coca-Cola), Potatoes au Gratin and Tart Cherry-Pineapple (Jell-O) Salad

Date I made these recipes:  April 20, 2014 (Easter Sunday)

The Cracker Kitchen – A cookbook in celebration of cornbread-fed, down-home family stories and cuisine by Janis Owens; Introduction by Pat Conroy

Published by:  Scribner

ISBN:  13: 978-1-4165-9484-0

Recipes:  Easter Ham (made with Coca-Cola) – p. 6 and Potatoes au Gratin – p. 7

Southern Sideboards by the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi; recipe submitted by Mrs. Frank Byers, St. Petersburg, Florida

Published by:  Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi

© 1978

Recipe:  Tart Cherry-Pineapple (Jell-O) Salad – p. 89

I don't know why or how it is that Easter sneaks up on me every year, it just does.  I blame Christmas and Valentine's Day for this predicament.  With Christmas and Valentine's Day there is no guessing, no sneaking, no near-miss on the date. Christmas is always, always, always December 25^th and Valentine's Day is always, always, always February 14^th.  But Easter?  Easter is stealth.  Stealth holidays are not my favorite.

Also not necessarily my favorite?  Making a ham because it's expected.  I do like to change it up a bit and hey, if the actual day of Easter can change up from year to year, so should my menu, right?

And so I was all set to do something different such as make a lasagna like I did one year, but then that damned Catholic guilt set in:  "Make a ham.....Make a ham....You know you should make a ham.  Everybody makes a ham....What is wrong with you???"

And so I decided that I would make a half-hearted attempt to find a ham recipe but if I didn't, then I wasn't going to put much effort into it.  It's always wise to find a compromise for guilt, no?

Luckily, this cookbook, The Cracker Kitchen, was prominently displayed among by 1,900 cookbook (and let me tell you, that is no small feat) and there on page 6 was a recipe for ham in Coca-Cola and page 7 had a recipe for Potatoes Au Gratin and well, I win!  I win!  In fact, the ham recipe is titled "Easter Ham."  Be still my heart....

I must confess that when I purchased this book, I thought the title was interesting (The Cracker Kitchen) and I believe a quick glance at the time suggested it was filled with southern recipes, but that information goes out the window when it comes time to select a book.  And so silly me—somewhere down the road, I thought the term "cracker" applied to coal miners but I found out via the internet that the correct term is "coal cracker."  "Crackers" all by itself is often a derogatory term for poor white southerners.  I do believe my high school and college history books glossed over this little items and this is why reading cookbooks is important!  I've learned more about history and culture from reading cookbooks than any of my textbooks.  In fact, had I endless hours available (and I don't), I could probably compile an anthology of the history of the United States as told in cookbooks.  Some other lifetime....

Our cookbook's author though, does a pretty good job giving us the history of the region and the origin of the name and some darned fine recipes in between.  She describes a "cracker" as "...your family lived in Florida for at least three generations, had Southern roots, and among themselves, still talked like raccoons."  (For clarification on the raccoon issue, you'll have to read the book.) And then to make things interesting, she talks about her daddy, a Pentecostal minister who runs a ham radio net called "Ambassadors for Christ."

Again, it appears that selecting this cookbook for Easter, what with it's "Easter Ham" recipe and an "Ambassador for Christ" was a matter of divine intervention.  "And the Lord said...no lasagna."

This cookbook is nicely divided up by seasons so there are recipes and menus for spring (Easter, Mother's Day), Summer (Memorial Day, Fourth of July) and so on which I find helpful when planning something like my Easter Dinner.  I could have gone whole hog (hahahaha) and make the Green Bean Bundles (with bacon) for this meal but decided to hold off in favor of my Jell-O salad.  I can have green beans any time but occasions like this just scream for a Jell-O salad and so I made one – because I could.

Oddly enough, the heartiest (and delicious) food came from a cookbook about "crackers" – poor white folks – whereas the more "common-man" recipe for my Easter repast – Jell-O – came from a Junior League cookbook.  Huh.  "Class, for your essay compare and contrast the social order and economic status of "crackers" with members of the Junior League...."  Two more different classes of people you could not meet. 

I must admit that the purpose of the Junior League has always puzzled me.  If you look at any of their websites (they are in most major cities), you'll see that their mission is to build communities by volunteering.  Okay...volunteering within the Junior League or outside of it?  It's unclear.  But what I do know is that being a Junior League member is not for the feint of pocketbook.  It takes money to join (dues + "tuition" in a mandatory training class) and money to remain a member in good standing via generous donations to every fundraiser the group puts on and there are several. 

In addition to money, and I suspect this is more of a southern thing, you need to know the right people and by "know," I mean that in order to join the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi, you need "sponsorship" by at least four current members.  So obviously, waltzing into a meeting unattended is frowned upon.  And in certain circles, waltzing in  without hat and gloves is rumored to be cause for immediate banishment to a desert island.  And based on what I've read and heard, who your kin are (or aren't) is of incredible importance to most southern Junior Leagues.  Let's just say a cracker from Florida (poor and without pedigree) is as unlikely to "win" a coveted spot in a Junior League as they are to win the lottery (assuming they play it).  It bothers me greatly that a class system still exists in volunteer ranks (never mind in life) but such is the Junior League way.  Maybe for this reason alone, my Junior League cookbook collection is limited.  I salute that these cookbooks are a great fundraiser for their activities, and some Junior League cookbooks (mostly southern) are highly sought after, especially earlier versions but I don't have the shelf space or interest to collect the "whole set."  But this particular cookbook, Southern Sideboards, did impress, not only for it's size (almost 400 pages, spiral-bound—impressive!) but for the variety of recipes. 

Of interest in this cookbook were recipes for things like "Bull  Shot," which sounds like a Bloody Mary only made with beef broth; "Wassil" (High, Ho, the Merry-O, a wassiling we go!), dove and other wild birds/game (I've never seen dove recipes outside the south); and fruit cakes of every kind and variety.  Other "southern" staples include lots of pork recipes (BBQ ribs, pork chops, etc); relishes and pickles; homemade ice cream and desserts galore.  I'm not sure this group left anything out and sure enough, and bless their hearts, they even included "recipes" for Play Dough, Finger Paints and Soap Crayons.  No task too small or too mundane for a Junior Leaguer! All the recipes were submitted by club members who, as was usual and customary at the time, went by their husband's name.  As I've said in other blog postings, this irks me to no end but it was a sign of the times and so I just have to roll with it.

Now in a total "shut the front door" moment, as I was flipping through the front of this book to look for the copyright, I noticed an Introduction, Of Food and Fellowship, written by Wyatt Cooper.  "Not THAT Wyatt Cooper," thought I.  Yes, THAT Wyatt Cooper—as in father of CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper.  Don't ask me how I know these things, I just do.  (Just like I know that Anderson's mother is Gloria Vanderbilt of THE Vanderbilt family.  Gloria is still alive and well although sadly, Anderson's father, a native of Quitman, Mississippi, died in 1978, just after submitting the introduction.)

So there I was, flipping through this cookbook wondering what I could add to my "cracker" Easter repast and then...Jell-O.  Who doesn't love Jell-O?  (Don't answer that!).  I told my friends that I made it not only because I could (freedom to make Jell-O is a lesser-known Freedom, as outlined in our Constitution) but because I do not recall a holiday where mom didn't make a Jell-O salad.  Like most people, we had our Thanksgiving Jell-O, our Christmas Jell-O (actually, mom rotated between four or five salads), our Easter Jell-O, Valentine's Day Jell-O (made in heart molds) and even green St. Patrick's Day Jell-O.  This "Easter" Jell-O though, is nothing like mom made as it's rather tart but it's a nice change-up for once as some Jell-O salads (like the ones with marshmallows) can be overly sweet and who needs more sweet what with all that great candy the Easter Bunny brought to our homes?

Now before I get to these delicious recipes, let me just say that trying to find a five-pound (or less) ham at Easter time is akin to finding the Holy Grail.  It may exist but you're going to have to go on a crusade to find it!  Luckily, and unbelievably, Target had a 6 pound ham priced at $13.00 and change and it became mine, all mine!  The rest of the stash was all 9 pounds on up.  As it is, we now have frozen ham slices and a frozen ham bone to deal with so you should expect to see some more ham recipes popping up here and there.  Maybe next Easter?  (Pays to plan ahead!)

Easter Ham – serves 8 (Ann's Note:  requires overnight marinating)

One 12-ounce can cola

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

One cooked 5-pound ham

In a large sealable bag, mix the cola and sugar until dissolved.  (Ann's Note:  no need to mix; the minute the Coke hit the sugar, the sugar was a goner!)  Add the ham and shake it around to make sure it's coated.

Marinate overnight in the refrigerator, occasionally giving it a shake to make sure the marinade stays on the ham.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Put the ham in a roasting pan and bake for 1 hour, basting once or twice.  Let it cool a few minutes before slicing.  Serve right away, or later, cold.

Potatoes au Gratin – serves 6

4 cups peeled and thinly sliced white potatoes

½ cup salted butter (Ann's Note:  if you only have unsalted butter, add about ¼ teaspoon of salt; the ration is ¼ teaspoon salt per ½ cup butter)

3 tablespoons plain flour

1 cup sour cream

½ cup whole milk

1 ½ cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Dash of hot sauce

Preheat the oven to 325. 

Fill a large pot with water and put your potatoes in.  Bring to a boil and boil 2 to 3 minutes.  Drain the potatoes.

Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and spread the potatoes in it in a thin layer.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Sprinkle in the flour and stir until blended.  Stir in the sour cream, milk, 1 cup of the cheese, the salt, pepper, and hot sauce.  Cook, stirring, over medium-low heat until smooth, adding more milk to thin it if necessary.

Pour the cream mixture over the potatoes.  Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbling. 

When you take the potatoes out of the oven, top it with the remaining ½ cup cheese and let it sit for 5 minutes, until melted.

Tart Cherry-Pineapple Salad – Serves 8-10

Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

Grated rind and juice of 1 orange

1 (16 ounce) can tart cherries (reserve juice)

½ cup water

1 (3 ounce) package lemon gelatin

1 envelope unflavored gelatin, softened in ¼ cup cold water

½ cup sugar

½ cup chopped pecans

1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice

Boil the fruit juices (lemon, orange, cherry) and pour over the lemon gelatin and the softened unflavored gelatin.  Stir well to dissolve. Cool.  Add remaining ingredients.  Spoon into a ring mold or individual molds.  Chill to set.