from Žaneta Zubkova
ingredients
4 beets
1/2 gallon of buttermilk
3 eggs
3 cucumbers
1 pound of potatoes
dill
scallions
lemon
salt
directions
1. Cook beets.
2. Hard boil eggs.
3. The rest of the ingredients stay raw. Everything needs to be chopped and poured over with buttermilk. Lemon juice will balance out sweetness of beets. Salt will take control of sourness of the buttermilk.
4. Potatoes can be either boiled or baked, but should be served hot.
from Douglas Witmer
ingredients
3 qt. sliced cucumbers
2 3/4 cups sugar
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups Musselman's vinegar
2 large onions, sliced
2 Tbsp garlic salt
1 4oz jar chopped pimento
1 Tbsp celery seed
directions
1. Combine all the ingredients in a large container with a tight lid, making sure everything is mixed thoroughly.
2. Refrigerate for three days. During this time, shake container twice daily. Use within two weeks.
This recipe is from my grandmother Mary Wert, published in her Mennonite church cookbook. It's classic "Lancaster-County-Pennsylvania-in-the-summertime."
from Kevin Parks Hauser.
ingredients
1 liter of orange juice
1 pint whiskey
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 table spoon brown sugar
directions
1. Bring orange juice to a boil.
2. Add whiskey, cinnamon and sugar. If the flavor is too much, you can also cut it with some hot water.
My friend and I made this drink a few years back. It's from a book of recipes we were working on together. The drink is similar to a hot tottie. Perfect for a cold or a cold winter's night.
from Sylvia Fragoso
Meatballs
ingredients
2 pounds ground beef (or substitute with ground turkey)
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, diced or mashed
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 medium onion
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs
directions
1. Combine all ingredients and shape into meatballs about 3/4" in diameter.
2. Put in a baking pan with a rim and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.
3. Remove from the baking pan and drop carefully into the soup.
Soup
ingredients
1 bunch of celery
3 onions
2 carrots
2 potatoes
2 whole cloves
1 tsp. thyme or oregano
1 tsp. cilantro
1 tsp. parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pounds of tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup of wine (optional)
2/3 tbs. corn starch
1 cup of olive oil
1. Coarsely chop vegetables.
2. In two tablespoons of olive oil saute vegetables and spices for 15 minutes.
3. Add 3 quarts of water or vegetable broth and a cup of wine, bring to a boil, drop in meatballs and bring down to a simmer for 20 minutes. Add fresh herbs, salt and pepper, and correct seasoning if necessary.
From Nina Zurier.
ingredients
4 smallish (6" long) zuccuni
1 avocado
handful of raw shelled (unsalted) green pistachios
directions
1. Using a potato peeler on the zucchini lengthwise, make long wide "noodles" as thin as possible.
2. Place in a bowl and toss with olive oil and lemon juice.
3. Transfer to platter and put slices of avocado on top and then sprinkle pistachios. Serves four.
This is my favorite summer vegetable dish.
from Michael Macfeat.
ingredients
3 links of grilled mild Italian sausage, cut into 1" lengths
3 cans of Cannellini Beans
3 onions, chopped
3 stalks of celery, cut into 1/4" lengths
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/2 cup of white wine
fresh thyme
sprinkling of Herbes de Provence
salt & pepper to taste
directions
1. Grill the 3 links of Italian sausage, let cool and cut into 1" sections.
2. Saute onions in 2 tablespoons of butter. Add cut celery. Add garlic. Add beans, wine, chopped fresh thyme, sprinkling of Herbes de Provence, and salt & pepper.
3. Simmer for 30 minutes.
The recipe may be heavy on the wine. Start with a 1/4 cup and see what it looks like. You don't want it too soupy.
I definitely make more elegant meals but the bean casserole, which I made up by the way, always gets rave reviews. What convinced me of its success is that people that don't think they like beans love it. It tastes better than it looks on paper. It is very good with a rack of lamb (marinated in balsamic vinegar and chopped fresh rosemary, and then grilled).
from Alexis Mackenzie.
ingredients
1 onion
olive oil
2 large cloves or 4 small cloves garlic
cooked, crumbled sausage (optional) (i used about a cup)
1 tomato
1 bunch kale
1 reg. sized can navy or cannellini beans
2-3 cans chicken broth
salt & pepper
dash red pepper flakes
directions
1. Saute garlic and onions in olive oil until golden.
2. Add dash red pepper flakes and tomato, continue to sauté.
3. Next add beans, saute 2-3 more minutes.
4. Add chicken broth, cover, and simmer until beans are soft.
5. Mush some of the beans up against side of pot to add extra texture to broth.
6. Cook, covered for about an hour (shorter if you are hungry, but it tastes good to let it veg for a while).
7. Add kale when you are just about ready to eat. Chop it up and add to pot and cook until
done but still crisp. If it needs more broth (depending on how many vegetables you added), you can always add more.
8. Put parmesan or asiago cheese on top.
My sister sent me this recipe for white bean/kale stew a while ago, I requested it from her because I tried some that she made once. It's very easy... can also be made with seared pancetta, or vegetarian. I don't know where she originally got the recipe or if she just made it up, she and my mother have a knack in the kitchen which I don't.
And for a beverage - nothing fancy, just something which I discovered is perfect on cold nights, let's call it a 'toaster'. I believe it's also a sort of hot toddy, and my roommate said something like an Irish hot chocolate. All I know is, I like it.
Toaster
1 cup milk
2 T. hot chocolate mix
whisky!
Make yourself a nice cup of hot chocolate in a large mug, leaving room at the top to add a finger or two of whisky, more if you're a total lush. add the whisky. stir. drink and enjoy the warmth it bestows!
from James G. Leventhal:
ingredients
1 whole fryer chicken (cut-up’s an option), cut into 8 pieces
2 bottles of white wine or a rosé
2 tbs kosher salt and a gang of black pepper
Flour, for dredging/drudging
2 qts of cholesterol-free corn oil
directions
1. Get a sweet little paring knife out and work your chicken. Soak it in water for twenty minutes or so, and then drain the water and peel of the skin. Soak it again, trim off the remaining fat. Now cover the bird in salt and pepper and MASSAGE.
2. Now you got one clean set of bird parts and you can cover them in white wine. What you cook is going to be succulent. You will want to dredge the chicken in flour with about an hour or so in the fridge before you set to cooking. I usually dredge the chicken in a deep 9x13 baking pan, and you can lay aluminum foil on the bottom of the pan to save time in cleaning up later.
3. To start the pan for cooking, I usually use a corn oil and set two pans abrewing. Since I don’t have a thermometer, what I do is set the stove to high and wait until the oil looks really hot. It’ll ripple. Drop a bit of flour in there and it’ll sizzle. Turn the stove down a bit, not too much; but the thing is that if the oil’s too hot, it’ll just burn the outside of your chicken up and not let you seal and cook through like you wanna do.
4. Place chicken skin side down into the pan. I spread it across two pans and I don’t time it, I feel it. It’s when the chicken reaches a perfect color brown. I usually give it a little more time, I think. I also use a cover every once in a while to help cook the “up” side, and I think in professional cooking that’s frowned upon. There is absolutely nothing worse than blood at the bone.
5. I line a baking pan in foil, then paper towels and put the cooked chicken into a low preheated oven (usually gas) for about 15 minutes at a keep-warm temperature, like 200 degrees to be sure the chicken is cooked through and gets a chance to drain a bit.
Before I tried to lay down the framework for my recipe for fried chicken, I went to food.com – the foodchannel. So I could edit theirs based on what I do. I also made a point of cookin’ chicken for the family right before I took my first stab at this, in an effort to be authentic. Actually, I am frying that chicken right now.
btw I usually serve this chicken with creamed potatoes and broccoli vinaigrette. That’s home to me.
From Jonathan Knapp:
ingredients
6 pounds sweet potatoes (about 6 large)
3 tbs bourbon
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups pecan halves (about 8 ounces)
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
2 tbs packed dark brown sugar
directions
1.Preheat oven to 425° F
2. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork and in a baking pan bake in the middle of oven until tender, about 1 hour.
3. When just cool enough to handle, peel potatoes and transfer half to a food processor. Add bourbon and 6 tablespoons butter and pureé 30 seconds. Transfer pureé to a large bowl. Pureé remaining potatoes in food processor until completely smooth and transfer to bowl. Stir pureé until combined well and season with salt and pepper. Transfer pureé to a 2-quart gratin dish or other shallow baking dish. Pureé may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring pureé to room temperature before proceeding.
4. Reduce temperature to 325° F.
5. In a shallow baking pan spread pecans in one layer and bake in middle of oven until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Toss hot pecans with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and coarse salt. Pecans may be made 2 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
6. Arrange pecans on top of pureé and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake pureé in upper third of oven until heated through and pecans slightly browned, about 30 minutes. Serves
Alright, this one's from my father, who in turn got it from Gourmet Magazine some years back.
from Tim McFarlane:
ingredients
1/2 can crushed pinapple, chilled
1/2 jar unsweetened, chunky applesauce (or regular applesauce, if that’s your preference) chilled
ice cream of your choice
cinnamon
directions
1. Pour crushed pineapple and applesauce into bowl and add desired amount of cinnamon, stir.
2. Add scoop or two of your favorite ice cream and that’s it!
3. Enjoy!!
