Florence Huntley's Forgotten Cookies

Several decades ago, I had a cookie like this at one of those potlucks where people bring their most treasured dishes. It melted in my mouth and was so delicious that I never forgot it. I remember asking the cookie maker how they were made and that she said something about them being in the oven overnight--but then we were interrupted and never finished the conversation.

I never thought it would be so hard to track down a recipe. I was hampered, of course, by having no idea what to call them--meringue? cookies? overnight somethings?--plus, I was searching back in the dark ages before the Internet. Many years later in more enlightened times, I scoured the Internet for the recipe, still with no luck.

And then, just the other day, I was paging through one of our family's favorite old cookbooks--The Nine Seasons Cookbook, by Pat Haley (published in 1986 by Yankee Books), and there it was! Who knew that I had it right there on the bookshelf all these years? Who knew, indeed, to look for "Florence Huntley's Forgotten Cookies?" Obviously, they were never forgotten by me.

Sadly, the Nine Seasons Cookbook is out of print. That won't stop you--you can just track down a copy online and buy it. You won't be sorry.

3 egg whites

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup black walnuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar gradually and continue until the whites hold a stiff peak.

Fold in the vanilla and nuts. Drop by the teaspoon onto an aluminum foil covered cookie sheet. Place in the preheated oven. Shut the oven door and turn off the heat. Do not peek. Leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Store in an airtight container.

Note: You can substitute ordinary walnuts for the black walnuts or replace the nuts with a 6-oz. package of chocolate chips. A southern version of Forgotten Cookies calls for 1 cup of chopped pecans and the chocolate chips.

Broccoli Casalinghi

One more recipe from Ciao Italia, by Mary Ann Esposito.

--1 bunch Broccoli
--1/4 cup Olive Oil
--2 cloves Garlic, chopped
--1 and 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
--1/4 cup Water
--Salt and Fresh-Ground Black Pepper to taste
--1/4 cup shredded or grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese

Clean and cut up the broccoli. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until it begins to soften. Add the red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the broccoli and toss to coat with oil. Cook for 2 more minutes, then reduce heat to medium low. Cover and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the water and cover again. Cook for about 6 minutes until broccoli is crisp-tender, adding more water if necessary. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and toss with cheese.

Black Beans

I made something like these beans a while back but couldn't find the recipe again. So we mixed, and tasted, and added, and tasted again, until we ended up with a very simple and delicious way to prepare black beans.

1 can of black beans, rinsed well and drained (or--cook dried black beans to make 2 cups)

Orange juice to cover

1 rounded tsp. finely chopped onion

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tbl. orange juice concentrate

1 tbl. limeade concentrate

1 tsp. lime juice

Put everything into a medium saucepan and simmer uncovered on low heat until the juices are reduced somewhat. We cooked them for about 45 minutes while preparing the rest of this delicious menu: Indian Fry Bread (Low-Fat Version) and Chicken Fajitas. We folded the fajita chicken into the "fry" bread, spooned over some black beans, added fresh tomatoes from Bucksnort's garden, sprinkled them with grated cheese, and topped the whole thing with some fresh peeled and seeded green chiles. It was one of the best meals ever served in the Zees kitchen!

Rigatoni with Dried Tomatoes

Here's a much simpler recipe from Ciao Italia, by Mary Ann Esposito. It's just another of my mom's dog-eared pages...

--1 cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes, soaked in Olive Oil
--1 clove Garlic, minced
--1 pound Rigatoni, cooked al dente
--3 tbsp Fresh Basil, minced
--1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
--1/3 cup grated Asiago Cheese
--Fresh-ground Black Pepper

Drain the tomatoes, reserving 2 tablespoons of the oil. Chop the tomatoes very fine by hand. In a saucepan, saute the tomatoes, oil and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Toss with rigatoni. Add the basil and cheese and toss some more. Grind in some pepper to taste.

English Brown Stew

This is a nice basic beef stew. The recipe comes from Joan Harlow's Loaf and Ladle Cook Book, which was written back in the days when Exeter, New Hampshire was still lucky enough to have the Loaf and Ladle Restaurant on its main street.

2 lbs. London broil, cubed

2 large onions, chopped

2 large potatoes, peeled and diced

3 carrots, diced

3 - 4 stalks of celery, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 cup of tomato juice (or sauce) or 1 tbl. tomato paste

1 tbl. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbl. lemon juice

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. mild paprika

salt and pepper to taste

3 tbl. beef fat

3 tbl. flour

Put the meat on to simmer with cold water to cover. Skim as needed until the broth is clear. Then add the vegetables, tomato juice, and more water if needed to cover. Add the seasonings and simmer until the vegetables are done and the meat is tender (about two hours).

Make a roux with the beef fat and flour. Work in some broth from the stew until it is like a thick gravy, then stir it back into the stew. Correct the seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste.

Jessi's Lasagna

Jessi had made a great lasagna a few months ago, but could only provide me with a loose outline. Here's my approximation of it based on what she told me (using the guidelines of a recent lasagna recipe I posted!)

Filling:
--3 10-ounce packages of fresh or frozen Spinach, thawed, drained and chopped fine if frozen. If fresh, wilted over medium-high heat for 4 minutes, drained and chopped fine.
--3 cups Low-Fat Cottage Cheese
--1 cup Low-Fat Sour Cream
--1 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
--1 cup diced Mozzarella Cheese
--Salt and Pepper to Taste

---------

--1 Eggplant, sliced
--Olive Oil
--1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
--1 lb Ground Chicken or Ground Turkey
--1 Zucchini (and/or any Other Squashy Vegetables, perhaps some minced Fresh Herbs), cubed
--Lasagna Noodles
--2 jars Pasta Sauce
--1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan or Romano Cheese

Mix together all of the filling ingredients, cover and set in fridge until ready to use. Heat a skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Add the slices of eggplant and cook. Remove and set aside. Return the saucepan to the heat and add a little more oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the ground meat and brown. Add in zucchini and/or any other veggies and cook. Remove from heat. Boil the lasagna noodles in water until al dente. Drain.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a 9x13-inch pan, spread 1/2 a cup of the pasta sauce. Cover with a layer of lasagna strips and spread about 1 and 1/2 cups of the filling on top of that. Add a layer of eggplant, then some of the meat and zucchini mixture. Spoon on a thin layer of sauce on top of that. Repeat 2 more times, the top layer lasagna noodles. Spread 1 cup of the pasta sauce on top of that, then sprinkle with the grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Cover with Aluminum Foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

White Lasagna With Pine Nuts

One of the cookbooks that I inherited from my mother was Ciao Italia, by Mary Ann Esposito. Here's one of the recipes that we cooked from it. It's a "light" variation on lasagna, though closer inspection looks heavy to me! I'm sure that mom has some variation. The filling is perfect for stuffed shells too!

Filling:

--1/2 cup Pine Nuts, toasted
--3 10-ounce packages of fresh or frozen Spinach, thawed, drained and chopped fine if frozen. If fresh, wilted over medium-high heat for 4 minutes, drained and chopped fine.
--3 cups Ricotta Cheese
--3 Eggs
--3 tbsp minced Fresh Parsley
--1 and 1/2 cups diced Mozzarella Cheese
--2 tbsp room-temperature Butter
--1/4 lb Prosciutto, diced
--1 tsp grated Nutmeg
--1 tsp Salt
--1 tsp White Pepper

White Sauce:

--4 cups Milk
--1 stick Butter
--1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour, sifted
--1 tsp Salt
--1/2 tsp grated Nutmeg
--1 and 1/2 tbsp finely minced Fresh Sage

--Lasagna Noodles
--1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese

In a large bowl, combine the spinach and the pine nuts. Beat in the eggs. Add the remaining filling ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large saucepan, scald the milk (bring to just under a boil). Remove from heat and set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the milk, salt and nutmeg and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the sage. Cover and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Boil the lasagna noodles in water until al dente. Drain. In a 9x13-inch pan, spread 1/2 a cup of the white sauce. Cover with a layer of lasagna strips and spread about 1 and 1/2 cups of the filling on top of that. Spoon on a thin layer of sauce. Repeat 2 more times, the top layer lasagna noodles. Spread 1 cup of the white sauce on top of that, then sprinkle with the grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Cover with Aluminum Foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

New England Rice Pudding

This recipe comes from Gladys Taber's Stillmeadow Cook Book.

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups of milk, scalded

3/4 cup of rice, cooked

Cinnamon

Mix the first four ingredients until well blended, then add the milk. Pour into a buttered casserole, then add the rice and stir. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Set the casserole in a large pan and pour about an inch of hot water around it (in the large pan, not in the casserole). Bake at 350° about 30 minutes until the pudding is set and beginning to brown on top.

Serve warm or cold. It's nice with a little whipped cream on top.

Lemon Bread Pudding

I have to say that we kids really disliked my mother's bread pudding--and you didn't often find us protesting any dessert. It was heavy and it just sat there, and it wasn't at all fun to eat.

Here is a flavorful and much lighter alternative.

2 cups French bread cubes (cut off crusts)

3/4 cup sugar

The juice and zest of one lemon

1/2 cup melted butter

4 eggs, separated

2/3 cup milk

Combine bread cubes, sugar, lemon juice, and zest; stir well. Add butter and stir to blend.

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Add the milk. Pour over the bread mixture.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold them into the bread mixture. Pour all into a buttered 1 - 1/2 quart casserole. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Serve warm with Lemon Sauce (below).

Lemon Sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup hot water

1 tbl. cornstarch

2 tsp. butter

1 - 1/2 tbl. lemon juice

dash of nutmeg

pinch of salt

Mix and cook in double boiler (or in microwave) until smooth and thick. Cool slightly before serving.