Posted on 08/01/2019 4:16:31 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
My husband got to reminiscing recently about a cake his mother used to make a molasses flavored confection called Shoo Fly Cake, apparently a classic Pennsylvania recipe. (He remembers catching his grandmother sneaking into the kitchen and dragging a finger through the rich, gooey remains on the bottom of the pan after everyone had been served. And he insists that this MUST be made in a metal pan, never glass, so that those 'goodies' at the bottom are done to perfection ;-)
I had heard of Shoo Fly Pie, but not cake; so I went looking.
Here, from the Yesterfood blog is a recipe done in a skillet:
https://yesterfood.blogspot.com/2012/11/shoo-fly-cake.html
And from 'Helgas Pennsylvania Cooking', a video where Helga makes it as a sheet cake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otQygwOvS8g
___________________________________________________
If you have an abundance of Zucchini coming on or a neighbor who generously gifts you from their own abundance this is a great sauce to serve over steamed Zucchini:
Tarragon Mustard Sauce for Steamed Zucchini
Mix in a saucepan:
½ Cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 shallot or scallion, minced
1-1/2 tsp. fresh tarragon
2 T. dry white wine
1 T. cornstarch (or arrowroot)
1/8 tsp. Black pepper
Cook uncovered for 2 or 3 minutes; and add 1 T. butter (without the butter, this is low-fat.)
Serve over steamed Zucchini.
_____________________________________________________
I was home one day last week dealing with a maintenance issue, with nothing much to do but wait around, and watch TV. I happened to find videos of a delightful woman humorist and spent an entire afternoon watching her videos and laughing hysterically. (This happened to be on July 24, and my afternoon viewing was a great antidote to that of the morning :-)
North Carolina native Jeanne Robertson is a humorist, author and motivational speaker who was named Miss North Carolina in 1963, and went on to become Miss Congeniality in the Miss America pageant that same year. Among other awards, she has won the Toastmasters International Golden Gavel Award.
Here is Jeanne telling us why we should NOT send a man to the grocery store:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YFRUSTiFUs
and here is Jeannes website:
http://www.jeannerobertson.com/
-JT
I’m going to look up Colwin’s recipe and maybe reprint it. But, first, I’m off to our local curb market for some eggs!
Here, in AL, of course, we do the abominable Pimento Cheese, which is a staple here at parties.
Baked sweet potatoes
Southern green beans - a staple here in AL. Green vegetables are cooked in a way that is very close to Irish-English cooking. In other words, they are cooked TO DEATH. The difference is that smoked meat is generally added to them for depth of flavor and for nutritional value. Since it is the way my mom cooked veggies, I happen to love overcooked greens. I just make sure to consume the pot liquer. I will make White Lily biscuits in a cast iron pot - they will come out amazingly delicious. My husband goes crazy for them. I follow Guy Fieri who says to fold them over and over again so that they pop up and can be split easily. Barbecued chicken will be the protein. And for dessert, since I continually mess up peach cobbler, I will be making a peach tart that I've mastered. I sprinkle in some blueberries on top and the result is that it could be photographed for Savuer Magazine and not embarrass me.
I just remembered, any recipe that calls for sweet potatoes, you can usually substitute chunks of squash.
We’ve lived in the south for 25 years this month. I was introduced to pimento cheese & I love it! Delicious comfort food. My husband, born on Staten Island, hates it! He also hates sweet potatoes, catfish, even fried okra.....sigh.
I love everything you mentioned except the pimento cheese. My prejudice comes from my husband getting violently ill on it many years ago when we were down here for a conference. I suspect he overindulged in the stuff which is why he reacted as he did. It was one of those store-bought varieties that was day-glo orange; you know the kind I mean?
My passion is for...hushpuppies! I’ll eat them any where, any time.
Yikes.....sorry!
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020368-zucchini-salad-with-pecorino-basil-and-almonds
I was ALWAYS told that it was an Hungarian; my family being proud of our heritage, but NEVER once used this as a hyphenated American one..everyone was always happy and proud to just be an American!
I had NO idea that Jews would even EVER claim it. LOL
There are extremely FEW foods that are religion specific...especially "JEWISH", which is an unalloyed canard!
Please let me know if Colwin's recipe is different from the traditional Hungarian one I know and gave to Jamestown1630.
I once made a butternut squash soup; and was put off by all the work of peeling and chopping. I’m thinking of buying a cleaver and a rubber mallet to deal with those suckers. But I found this - and it looks very good (I like this lady - she’s fun to watch):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVAAFTn2dcY
Thanks for the video! The squash is difficult to handle and since I have so much, I’ve been chopping for seemingly hours! What a pain.
In looking it up, I see she doesn’t even call it Liptauer - I think I probably read that it was on many of the Colwin blogs that have sprung up after her death. She calls it “Viennese Cheese” only because her baby sitter was from Vienna and she introduced it to her family. It’s a cream cheese/sour cream mix with paprika, celery and capers. I doubt it’s authentic although she swears by it. Her recipes are problematic often but she’s a wonderful writer on the subject of food and 80s Manhattan.
And your description of that spread sounds awful; especially compared to the for real Liptauer one. So please DO try the posted authentic Hungarian recipe IF you think it might be something you'd enjoy eating. :-)
There is no such thing as Viennese Cheese - I explained how the name came about. I don’t really do these type of things, anyway, the closest I’ve come is Lipton’s Onion Dip with sour cream. Interestingly, people fall all over that stuff when I have it at parties. Same with Pigs in a Blanket. No matter how snobby people are, they love American-style appetizers even while sneering at it. Never fails!
True...pigs in a blanket is always a crowd pleaser...even with THE snobbiest "foodies"! :-)
Tempura Green Beans
DIPPING SAUCE whisk/warm on low 1/2 c Dijon, 1/4 c honey, 2 tsp hot sauce, 1 1/2 tea light soy sauce, pinch dry mustard. Cool in ramekin.
BATTER whisk 2 lge whites to soft peaks. Whisk in 1 1/2 c flour, 1 1/4 c club soda. Batch-dip lb trimmed beans,
then fry golden 3-4 min in 4 c 350 deg canola oil. Drain; sprinkle w/ salt. (CHEF NOTE: any veg can be used.)
SERVE w/ dipping sauce.
Bookmark
Chef secrets for making perfect tempura:
<><> Keep ingredients ice cold, (some chefs freeze the dry flour overnight)
<><> Use low gluten flour
<><>Use minimal mixing to lessen gluten development (chefs “tap” the batter instead of mixing—lumps are good)
<><> Keep ing very cold, replacing some water with ice cubes; work with mixing bowl in ice
<><>Use a neutral tasting oil with a high smoke point such as grapeseed, peanut oil or light olive oil designed for frying
<><> Drain cooked tempura on paper towels and serve immediately, or as quickly as possible
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.