Basic Dinner Rolls

1 pkg. dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
2 eggs, plus enough scalded and cooled milk to make 2 cups liquid
½ cup melted butter
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ cup sugar
6 cups regular flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add eggs, milk, butter, salt, and sugar, stir until well blended. Add 3 cups of the flour, beat until well blended, then add enough of the rest of the flour to make a stiff dough.

Turn out onto floured board, knead 5-7 minutes, place in a well-buttered bowl and let rise until almost doubled (1 ½-2 hours).

Punch down, divide dough into 4 parts. Each part will make about 6 rolls. Shape them as: clover leaf (3 balls in each section of a muffin tin), snail (make snakes and roll up), figure eights, braids, bow knots, etc.

Let rise until doubled, bake in 425 oven for 10 minutes.

For especially tender crust, brush tops with melted butter before baking; for crisper crust brush tops with milk or with 1 egg beaten with 1 tbl. milk.

Banana Coconut Tea Bread

This bread is good right out of the oven--and it's even better when sliced, toasted, and buttered.

1/3 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 tbl. milk
1 tsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. almond extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup toasted flaked coconut*

Cream butter, sugar; add eggs, milk, lemon juice, extract. Sift dry ingredients, mix in well. Stir in bananas, fold in coconut. Bake in a well greased 5” x 9” loaf pan at 350 for 55 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes, turn out onto rack and continue cooling.

*To toast coconut, spread it out on a baking sheet and toast in oven at 300 until brown. Stir occasionally and watch carefully, as it will burn easily.

This came from a Sunset Magazine article back in the early 1960s.

Anadama Bread

½ cup cornmeal
2 tbl. shortening
½ cup molasses
3 tsp. salt
2 cups boiling water
2 tbl. dry yeast
About 6 cups of flour

Combine the first four ingredients, pour boiling water over, stir and let stand until lukewarm. Add yeast that has been softened in ¼ cup warm water, stir until well blended. Add flour to make a stiff dough, knead lightly, and let rise in a greased bowl until double. Knead and divide dough into two parts, form into loaves and place each in a greased pan. Let rise until double and bake at 375° for 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on rack.

Meatballs in Spaghetti Sauce

My Italian mother-in-law, Annie, taught me how to make these. If you moisten your hands with water when forming the meatballs, the mixture will be easier to handle.

1 ¼ lb. ground beef
4 eggs
2 crushed cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
½ tsp. dried oregano
Enough Progreso Italian bread crumbs to make a firm meatbally mixture

Mix these ingredients together, adding enough bread crumbs to make a firm mixture. Form into large meatballs (1 ¼ inch across). Brown in olive oil.

In a large saucepan, carefully brown one more chopped garlic clove (or more) in olive oil, watching it closely so that it doesn’t burn. Add 3-4 cans Contadina tomato sauce, rinse cans out with about ½ can-worth (total) of Paisano (or any dry red wine) and about one full can of water. Add ½ tsp. dried oregano and ½ tsp. marjoram and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Add the browned meatballs and simmer (covered with a splatter guard) for at least 30-45 minutes (but even longer is better), adding a little water if necessary.

Serve over pasta.

Exeter Stew with Herbed Dumplings

2 lbs. London broil, cut in strips
2 tbl. vinegar
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
2 tbl. beef fat
2 tbl. flour
3 cups water
Salt and pepper.

Remove all fat from the beef strips. Lay the strips in a heavy pan and pour the vinegar over them. In another pan, sauté onions and carrots in the beef fat for a minute or two. Add flour, stir, cook on low for a couple of minutes. Pour water over the vegetables, heat almost to a boil. Pour the vegetables and water into the pan with the meat. Add a little salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 3 hours.

Dumplings
2 cups flour
1 heaping tbl.baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. minced parsley
¼ tsp. thyme
2 tbl. shortening (or beef fat or margarine)
¾ cup beef stock

Mix dry ingredients, cut in shortening. Add stock slowly. Drop by large spoonsful into the stewpot, cover tightly and simmer without uncovering the pot for 12 to 15 minutes.

From The Loaf and Ladle Cookbook, by Joan S. Harlow.

Cuban Ropa Vieja ("Old Clothes")

3 ½ lb. beef chuck or pot roast
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup water
1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 green pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf
½ cup dry wine
Oregano, cumin, coriander, whole chiles (dried or fresh) to taste.

Rub salt and pepper into the meat, brown in a bit of the olive oil. Add everything else, cover and simmer until well done which will take a couple of hours, then shred the meat and stir it back into the pan juices. Serve in tortillas, if you wish.

From The Frugal Gourmet on our Immigrant Ancestors by Jeff Smith, with a few revisions by clairz.

Channing’s Greek Hamburgers

1 ½ lbs. lean hamburger
2 tbl. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbl. red wine (burgundy or chianti)
2 tsp. oregano
2 tbl. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste (you may not need the salt)

Mix, shape, broil. Serve with fried onions, tomato and lettuce on a toasted bun. Don’t add anything else.

From: The Frugal Fourmet Cooks with Wine, by Jeff Smith

Bone Turks*

Waiting for the Bone Turks to come out of the oven

From the Kitchen of Lainey, Emma, and Weetzie Zee

4 cups of flour, some may be whole wheat
1 tsp. salt
½ cup corn meal
4 eggs
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup olive oil or leftover bacon fat, depending on how your dog feels about cholesterol
Enough milk to make a stiff dough

Optional: ¼ cup peanut butter

Mix all ingredients together.
Knead a bit on a very slightly floured board.
Form into a long roll.
Flatten to about ½ inch thick.
Cut crossways into strips, and then cut each strip into small pieces.
Put pieces on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375° for 25 minutes.
Turn off oven but leave cookie sheets in until oven cools so that the bone turks will harden.

Store in a covered jar and use as rewards for very good dogs. Or dogs who are at least trying to be good. Or dogs who you love very much who may have no idea about the concept of “good.”

***
*You’ll have to ask Beez about the origin of the name Bone Turks. I really have no idea how he comes up with these things.

Hamburgers with Anchovies

Beez said for me to put this in.

Soak some drained anchovies in milk for 10 minutes or so. This will take out some of the salt. Discard the milk--I can’t think of a single use for it.

Grill some hamburgers, then put on each one: a slice of provolone, then anchovies in the shape of a cross, then top with a slice of tomato. Serve on toasted buns. Beez said to say that these are “wicked good.” You be the judge.

Al Cribari’s Barbecued Pot Roast

This smells incredible when it is cooking. 

4 ½ to 5 lb. chuck roast 

Freshly ground black pepper 

1 tbl. curry powder

4 tbl. olive oil 

Sauce: 

1 cup dry red Burgundy wine 

1 cup catsup 

½ cup cider vinegar 

½ cup water 

2 tbl. brown sugar 

2 tbl. Worcestershire sauce 

Several drops of Liquid Smoke 

Dash of Tabasco sauce 

½ tsp. dry mustard 

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped. 

Rub the roast with the pepper and the curry, brown it in the oil. Prepare the sauce by simmering all ingredients until the onions are soft. Place the roast in a large piece of aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Pour the sauce over the roast and fold the foil over to seal the roast well. Place on a grill or in a 350 oven for about 2 hours or until tender. [Can also be cooked in a covered pan on top of the stove]. Serve with oven roasted potatoes and carrots. 

 From The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine, by Jeff Smith

Refried Beans

1 lb. dried pinto beans (pick through, wash, soak overnight and drain; or bring cleaned beans to a boil in a little cold water to cover, boil one minute, turn off and cover, let soak for an hour, drain). Add one quart salted water, simmer covered for 20-45 minutes—only until just cooked but not mushy.

In the meantime, pan fry ½ lb. chorizo, or sausage, or ground beef, and set aside. Saute 3 cloves chopped garlic, 1 large onion, 1 tsp. cumin seeds.

Drain the cooked beans, save the liquid.

Mash the beans, add them to the meat and the onion mixture.

Add ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, ¼ cup fresh lard (this is optional—you can add butter instead or skip it altogether), 1 cup grated jack cheese, fresh ground pepper to taste. Add a little of the reserved liquid until it’s the consistency you like, simmer while stirring for a few minutes.

For a healthy alternative, see the recipe for Pinto Beans.

Pinto Beans

2 cups dried pinto beans (pick through, wash, soak overnight and drain; or bring cleaned beans to a boil in a little cold water to cover, boil one minute, turn off and cover, let soak for an hour, drain).

Add one quart salted water, 2 cloves of garlic, minced, ½ tsp. black pepper, ½ tsp. cumin, simmer covered for 20-45 minutes—only until just cooked but not mushy.

Mom’s Hummus

1 cup dried garbanzo beans
2 tbl. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. salt
1 tbl. olive oil
1 medium clove garlic
¼ tsp. oregano
¼ tsp. cumin
1 tbl. tahini

Sort garbanzos, looking for anything odd. Rinse them well, then bring to a boil in cold water to cover (add a little salt). Simmer one minute, turn off burner and cover pan. Let beans soak for one hour.

Then drain well, and bring them to a boil in fresh cold water. Simmer, partially covered, until tender—this can take 45 minutes or so, but just keeping checking them. Drain and proceed with recipe. (Or just buy canned garbanzos and rinse them well, but they won’t be as good).

Mash beans, and add other ingredients. Serve at room temperature as a dip for vegetables or whatever else you want to use them for.

Steamed Brown Bread

This is what you eat with your Baked Beans on a Saturday night. We grew up eating the brown bread that came in cans, but this is much, much better.

I have classified this recipe with the "quick breads," meaning that it is a non-yeast bread, not that it is cooked quickly. This recipe classification business is not for the faint of heart, but you know that I am a librarian, and therefore willing to fuss with it quite infinitely.

1 cup sifted white flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup corn meal
1 cup stirred graham or whole-wheat flour
¾ cup dark molasses
2 cups buttermilk or sour milk (remember—to sour milk add a tsp. or two of lemon juice to sweet milk and let stand for 10 minutes)
1 cup seedless raisins

Sift white flour with baking powder, soda, and salt; add corn meal and graham flour. Add remaining ingredients; beat well.

Half-fill 3 greased 1-pound coffee cans or 5-1 pound baking-powder cans; cover tightly (foil and string); steam 3 hours on rack in covered pan, using small amount of boiling water (add water as needed).

Uncover cans; place in very hot (450) oven for 5 minutes; remove bread from cans.

Slice and serve with Baked Beans.

Baked Beans

I am from Maine and this is traditional New England fare. It is what you should be eating on a Saturday night. End of discussion.

1 pound dry navy beans (2 cups)
1 ½ quarts of water
1 tsp. salt
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
¼-1/2 cup molasses
¼ lb. salt pork
1 medium onion, sliced

Pick through beans, rinse in cold water. Add to 1 ½ qts. water, bring to a boil, simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, let stand 1 hour (or skip all this and just soak overnight).

Drain well. Add 1 tsp. salt to beans, add another quart and a half of water, cover pan, simmer until tender, about one hour. Drain, reserving liquid. Measure 1 ¾ bean liquid, adding water if necessary.

Combine with sugar, salt, mustard, and molasses.

Cut the salt pork in half; score one half and set aside. Grind or thin-slice the remainder.

In a 2-quart bean pot, alternate layers of beans, onion, ground salt pork, and sugar mixture. Repeat. Top with scored salt pork.

Cover, bake at 300 for 5 to 7 hours. Add more liquid if needed. Makes 8 servings.

Serve with Steamed Brown Bread.

Yogurt Cornbread Muffins

I found this recipe on Cooks.com. You will notice that it doesn't have any fats or oils added. The muffins are still very moist.

1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. yellow cornmeal
1/2 c. milk
1 egg, beaten
1 c. plain yogurt

Stir first 4 ingredients. Add sugar and cornmeal. Stir in mixture of milk, egg and yogurt. Bake in greased muffin tins at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Yields 12 muffins.

Variation: Auntie Bucksnort likes to add some additional sugar (1/2 cup brown sugar), 2 tbl. lemon juice, and grated lemon rind. She substitutes sour cream for half of the yogurt, and uses buttermilk instead of milk. As you can see, this is way more complicated than I thought it would be, but that's the creative kind of cook she is! Her muffins are delicious.

Cornbread

This is a version from one of my old cookbooks from the 1950s. It is my favorite cornbread ever.

1 cup sifted flour
¼ cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
1 cup yellow corn meal (Hodgson Mill is best)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
¼ cup soft shortening

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt; stir in corn meal. In a bowl, beat eggs, add milk and shortening. Add sifted ingredients, beat with a rotary beater or whisk until just smooth. Bake in a greased 9” x 9” x 2” pan at 425 for 20-25 minutes.

Note: You can add chopped green chiles, grated cheese, and/or corn if you wish, but this is wonderful just as is.

Green Chile Stew

This is a traditional dish served here in the Southwest, perfect for a cool fall evening.

¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tbl. dried jalapeno flakes
1 pound lean beef, cut into bite-size pieces
1 pound lean pork, cut into bite-size pieces
2 tbl. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups beef stock or bouillon
6 cups water
1 tbl. tomato paste (tomato sauce works, too)
3-4 large green chiles (Anaheim, Big Jim, Sandia), roasted, peeled, chopped
4 medium-size potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups yellow corn cut off cob, or frozen niblets
½ tsp. ground oregano
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 tbl. chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
A tiny bit of salt, if needed (taste to be sure)

Mix the flour and dried jalapenos together and place in a plastic bag. Add the cubed meat and shake the bag until the meat is coated with the flour mixture. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot, and sauté the meat and onion together until the meat is lightly browned (be sure to use all of the flour mixture).

Add the garlic, beef stock, and water and cook over medium high heat for 20 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover, and simmer over low heat for another 45 minutes or until the meat and potatoes are tender. (I usually thicken it a bit at the end with some cornstarch and water mixed together). The flavor of the stew is even better if you serve it the next day.

Serves 4-6. Best served with Cornbread.

From The Sizzling Southwestern Cookbook: Hot & Zesty, Light & Healthy Chile Cuisine, by Lynn Nusom.

Tortilla Casserole

This casserole varies according to the tortillas, cheese, and other ingredients I have on hand.

Brown ground beef and onions in a pan. Add chile powder, cumin, and ground pepper (salt optional).

Add tomato sauce, simmered with chile and cumin, to moisten. A more authentic version uses a sauce made of 1 cup of dried red chiles simmered in ¾ cup of water with onions and some salt. When the chiles are soft, cool the mixture slightly then puree until smooth.

This casserole can be made either of two ways--you can stack the tortillas (corn or flour) with the meat filling and grated cheese in between them and bake the whole thing in a casserole dish; or you can fill the tortillas with the filling and grated cheese and roll them up and bake them in an oblong pyrex dish. In either case, top with a little filling or sauce and sprinkle with a bit more grated cheese.

Cover the dish with foil, bake about 40 minutes at 350. Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes. Note: You can sneak all kinds of leftovers into this casserole. I have added rice, chopped fresh tomatoes, corn, and a few things I won't admit to.

Toad-in-the-Hole

This strangely-named recipe is originally from England. The egg mixture puffs up to make a very lovely looking dish that is perfect for supper.

1 cup of all purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. small, fresh pork sausages

To make the batter in a blender, combine the flour, eggs, milk, salt and a few grindings of pepper in the blender jar, and blend at high speed for 2 or 3 seconds. Turn off the machine, scrape down the sides of the jar, and blend again for 40 seconds.

To make the batter by hand, beat the eggs and salt with a whisk until frothy. Slowly add the flour, beating constantly. Then pour in the milk in a thin stream and beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Refrigerate the batter for at least an hour (or stick it in the freezer while you cook the sausages).

Place the sausages side by side in a heavy skillet. Prick them once or twice with a fork, add two tbl. water, cover tightly, and cook over low heat for 3 minutes. Then remove the cover, increase the heat to moderate, and continue to cook, turning the sausages frequently with tongs or a spatula until the water has evaporated and the sausages have begun to brown in their own fat.

Arrange the sausages in a single layer in a 6” x 10” x 2” deep baking dish, moistening them with 2 tbls. of their own drippings. Keep them at least an inch apart. Then pour the batter over them and bake in the middle of a 400 oven for 30 minutes, or until the pudding has risen over the top of the pan and is crisp and brown. Serve at once.

The Best Sourdough Bread Ever

For years, making sourdough starter and bread was on my mental list of things to do. I thought it would be too hard until I visited Judy's wonderful cooking blog, Recipes from a Southern Country Cook. I hope that you will go to visit Judy's blog. Here is where you'll find her recipe for sourdough starter and for delicious sourdough bread. At first I was worried about getting the timing down--the starter needs a little attention every five days or so. It works just great for me, but then, I'm retired. Even if you don't have the time for it right now, make a note of the recipe. You'll be glad you did as we enter these difficult economic times. Once you have your starter made, you won't have to buy any more yeast, and that is a big savings. I am experimenting with using the starter in a variety of recipes, so I will refer back to it again. 

Southwestern Foods on The Zees Go West; An Index

Here are some more food articles, recipes, and links from my other blog, The Zees Go West.

Best Green Chile Cheeseburger
Blue Corn Meal
Chipotle Recipes
Green Chile Recipes
Harvest Time in Clovis
Honey Spreads
Little Fires in Your Mouth (Chocolate-Chipotle Brownies)
More Chile Sweets
Peanuts!
Pinto Beans
Posole
Red Chile
The Search for Local Honey
Which is Best--The Owl or the Buckhorn?
Wineries in New Mexico

Pancake Recipes

Here is a pancake recipe index from my other blog, The Zees Go West, back when I lost all control of my subject matter there and had a Pancake Week that went on and on.

I'm in the process of moving all of these recipes over to this blog. In the meantime, the entire collection is still on The Zees Go West--just click below. 

Best Pancake Recipes
Cheese Blintzes
Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Dutch Babies
French Pancakes
Healthy Whole-Grain Pancakes
It's Time for Pancakes!
Making Chocolate Chip Pancakes Without Singing
Pancake History
Pancakes for Your Face
Pannekoeken Recipes
Pumpkin Pancakes in Sugar Season
What to Put in Your Pannekoeken
Yogurt Pancakes

Cheese Biscuits

First, open a nice dark beer for yourself. You'll need a bit of it for the recipe, and you might as well be sipping until that point.

Cheese Biscuits
½ cup butter
½ cup sharp cheese, grated
1 cup flour
Pinch of powdered mustard
A tiny bit of beer to moisten the dough, if needed

Blend, form into a 12 inch roll, chill, slice; or roll into small walnut-sized balls and flatten on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

These make a nice appetizer to have along with drinks. Makes about 36 little biscuits.