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| The sisters on a getaway in the Berkshires |
My sisters and I got our love of food from our mother. It's a sickness, really.
Every time we get together, my sisters and I spend half the time talking about food, and the other half eating!
When we stop by each other's house, we KNOW we're in for a food discovery of some sort. Dottie is "forever" going to the cupboard and pulling out a box of crackers or cookies new to the market - "Have you tried THESE??!!" .... Or, she's having us taste-test clementines from two different countries or something. "Just try a bite of this. Now try this one!"
As for me, I'm always touting my discovery of a new food item, like quinoa, for instance. This really impresses my sisters - as if I've just discovered a new planet or something! Or, maybe, I'm, yet again, parceling out spices from a huge restaurant supply-sized container into little ziploc bags for sharing... which leads into Dottie praising the features of her new plastic wrap!
Marcia's into tea in a BIG way, and when we visit her we have our choice of 18 thousand different flavors, although some may be a few years past their prime. But then again, so are WE! And then, there is no doubt, Marcia will be looking for something - probably a recipe that she wants to show us - but she just can't find it! "It was right HERE!" she says. "Oh, for God's sake, I just HAD it!"
We're all nuts.
And speaking of nuts...
Have you tried THESE??!!
Marcia turned me on to them.
Last Sunday, I visited Marcia. And because she knew I was coming, she made something for us to eat. Surprise!
For dessert, she served this nice cheesecake with a pineapple topping.
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1 pkg. yellow cake mix
2 TB vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups milk
2 8 oz. pkgs, cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs
3 TB lemon juice
1 TB vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 300 F. Remove 1 c. dry cake mix and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine remaining cake mix, one beaten egg and the oil. Mixture will be crumbly. Press mixture evenly in bottom and 3/4 of the way up the sides of a 13 x 9 x 2 inch buttered pan.
In same bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar. Add 3 eggs and remaining cake mix. Beat 1 minute at medium speed of electric mixer. At low speed, slowly add milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix well until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake in a 300 F oven, 45 to 55 minutes until center is firm. Do not overbake.
When cool, top with fruit mixture. Mix 1 TB cornstarch and about 1/4 c. sugar in a saucepan. Add either 16 oz. of thawed strawberries or a can of crushed, drained, pineapple and stir over medium heat until thickened. Keep cheesecake refrigerated until ready to serve. Cut in squares.
Dottie has several specialties in her repertoire that I've adopted. This easy recipe is one of my favorites.
About 3 lbs. of chicken thighs – with or without bone. Remove skin and fat from thighs.
Place in shallow baking pan. Pour about 1/2 bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce over. Bake at 350 for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, basting occasionally. Turn once.
My sister-in-law, Yen, my brother Brian's wife, beats us all in terms of spending time in the kitchen and being a great cook. Yen starts making huge quantities of food practically as soon as her feet hit the floor in the morning. She cooks for her own family, her extended family, and privileged, invited guests. My brother once said, "Yen is just like Mama. She never stops!"
Yen makes absolutely delicious Vietnamese food, and sometimes Thai and Korean foods, as well. She's cooked for huge gatherings, serving over 100 people, and has treated my own guests, international students, to her culinary delights. We all love getting together with Yen whose generosity is never taken for granted.
This is a dish that Yen has been making for years. We love it! It's called "Cha Gio" - pronounced something like "CHAI YUH", or "Egg Rolls".
Note: Yen claims that this recipe is an imposter. For the real Cha Gio recipe, click HERE.
1 lb ground pork
4 eggs
salt and pepper
a dash of soy sauce
3 large grated carrots, or bean sprouts, or cabbage
2 drops of sesame oil
1 large onion, diced
1 pkg. egg roll wrappers
beaten egg for sealing egg rolls
Mix first 7 ingredients. Place a couple of tablespoons of mixture in an egg roll wrapper. Turn edges in, and roll up. Brush egg yolk on edge to seal. Deep fry in 1 inch vegetable or peanut oil. When skin gets bumpy, turn over & turn heat to medium & cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Keep turning. Drain on paper towels. Excellent served with a piece of mint or lettuce wrapped around it and dipped in a sweet fish sauce or duck sauce.
And now a recipe from some other sisters! The Brass Sisters put together a beautiful cookbook entitled Heirloom Baking.
I saw the Brass Sisters, Marilyn and Sheila Brass, at a cooking demonstration at Northeastern University’s Xhibition Kitchen. I bought three signed copies of their book.
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My signed copy of the Brass Sisters' cookbook with
Mrs. Charles Barker's Blue Ribbon Blueberry Cake ...
... one of "more than 150 ‘found dessert recipes’ from the late 1800s to the 1980s and from all parts of America, including a wide range of ethnic groups.” (from inside book jacket)
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This sweet collection has wonderful photos of desserts, antique cookbooks, sweet designs, and even a section that you can write in, and a pocket to hold recipes.
Here is a recipe for delicious Cranberry-Orange Cream Scones and the story behind it. The Brass Sisters write:
This outstanding recipe comes from a handwritten manuscript cookbook from the collection of Marion A.Carter and M.E.Carter, that spanned the 1870s through the 1920s. A narrow notebook with a marbled maroon and grey cover, it was filled with tightly written segments on pages spattered with cooking stains. Since there is more than one handwriting in the book, we guess this was a collection compiled by two generations of the Carter family.
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2 c. flour (plus 1/4 cup for kneading dough)
1 TB baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. butter
2 eggs
1/2 c. plus 2 TB heavy cream
1 TB grated orange zest
1 cup dried cranberries, plumped in 4 TB orange juice
1/4 c. sugar
Makes 12 scones.
1. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 425 F. cover a 14 inch by 16 inch baking sheet with foil, shiny side up. Coat the foil with vegetable spray or use a silicone liner.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
3. Cream butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Combine eggs and 1/2 c. of the heavy cream and add to butter mixture. Add grated orange zest. Add sifted dry ingredients and stir until a soft dough begins to form. Squeeze orange juice from cranberries and incorporate fruit into dough with your fingers.
4. Place dough on a generously floured surface. Knead gently five times, turning corners of dough toward the center. Pat dough into a 1/2 inch thick circle. Using a floured knife, cut dough into 12 equal wedges. Using a floured wide spatula, transfer each wedge to baking sheet. Brush wedges with the remaining heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until tops of scones are lightly brown and bottoms are golden brown. Place baking sheet on a rack and cool about 10 minutes. Serve scones warm with butter and jam. They are best when eaten the day they are made.
I've made these scones with blueberries using this suggestion from the Brass Sisters. They are so good!
Sweet Touch – We made these scones also by substituting a heaping cup of fresh blueberries for the cranberries, and they were wonderful. Sprinkle the blueberries on top of the dough after kneading it twice, and then continue with the instructions.
Happy Baking!
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