January 17, 2023

ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in her self-published cookbook… The Secrets Of Homemade Groceries (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; Sept. 1979, p. 37)

If you’ve never made your own ice cream sandwiches, you’ve been missing something (besides hips and double chins)! All things in moderation. These are the very best and so simple, you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it sooner…

INGREDIENTS:

The Cake:

2/3 cup flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

2-oz bitter baking chocolate

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

2 beaten eggs

1 tsp vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:

Stir the first three ingredients together, twice. Melt chocolate and butter [in a double boiler] over hot water. While it cools a little, beat the sugar, eggs, and vanilla [together], thoroughly. Blend in the chocolate mixture and then the flour mixture, a little at a time.

You want to have a very thin cake, so be certain to spread the batter evenly over the bottom of a well-greased 10x13x2-inch pan or use two 9-inch-square pans, also greased well. Bake in 350°F oven for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

You’ll see them firming up quite a bit while they’re cooling off, so don’t over-bake them. When completely cool to the touch, place a cookie sheet over the pan and gently invert cake onto the cookie sheet to cut into [24] bars, about 2×3½-inches each.

Freeze them for an hour or so and then add a slice of firmly frozen ice cream [same size] in any flavor of your choice, creating a sandwich, with two bars of cake; remembering to place the ice cream on the bottom side of each bar so the shiny side is out.

Wrap in double foil and seal ends. Label, date, and freeze. Keep for months. Makes about a dozen sandwiches.

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https://www.balboapress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001062253

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Life Is Good

January 17, 2023

BISCUIT MIX, LIKE BISQUICK

BISCUIT MIX, LIKE BISQUICK

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in her self-published cookbook… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes_© Book (Secret Recipes^TM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 5)

INGREDIENTS:

8 cups flour

3 TB baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

¾ cup dry, milk powder

1 cup solid Crisco

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine all [ingredients] but Crisco, sifting 3 times into a large bowl. Cut in Crisco until it resembles coarse crumbs. Store in 3-qt container, covered, at room temperature to use in 30 days or refrigerate to use in 2 months. Makes 10 ½ cups mix.

To use mix for making biscuits: Combine 2 ½ cups mix with ½ cup buttermilk (or ¼ cup milk and ¼ cup sour cream, plus 3 TB butter or margarine. Knead on floured surface or in a bowl until smooth and elastic.

Roll out ½-inch thick. Cut into 2-inch circles with juice glass dipped into biscuit mix [if you don’t have a biscuit cutter]. Place close together in greased 9-inch baking pans, wiping tops of each in dab of butter or sour cream. Bake at 450°F for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – The Flavors Of Michigan

January 17, 2023

TUNA SALAD, LIKE SANDERS’

TUNA SALAD, LIKE SANDERS’

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in her self-published cookbook… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes_© Book (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; June 1997, p. 37).

INGREDIENTS:

2 cans (6-oz each) tuna packed in water (not oil), drained

1 rib celery, finely minced

½ cup mayonnaise

3 TB sweet pickle relish

3 TB sweet orange marmalade

1 TB lemon juice

2 tsp dry, minced onions

Yolks of 3 hard-cooked eggs, mashed well with fork

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine [ingredients as listed] with mixer. When well-combined, refrigerate in a tightly capped container to use as sandwich filling within a week, at least. Do not freeze, please. Makes 8 [servings].

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Americana Happiness

January 17, 2023

CHICKEN SALAD, LIKE SANDERS’

CHICKEN SALAD, LIKE SANDERS’

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in her self-published cookbook… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes_© Book (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; June 1997, p. 37).

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups chopped celery [prepared*]

2 cups canned, drained, chunk chicken (white meat, like Hormel’s)

2/3 cup real mayonnaise

½ cup canned, jellied cranberry sauce; mashed with fork

3 TB lemon juice

2 tsp dry, minced parsley flakes

½ tsp onion salt

¼ tsp black pepper

3 TB creamer powder (like Creamora)

3 hard-cooked eggs, yolks only – mashed well

INSTRUCTIONS:

Simmer, just until blanched, [the] celery in just enough water to cover; just a bit salted, too, for even boiling and simmer gently – perhaps 5 minutes. Drain and refrigerate, covered, until cold.

Then combine celery with chunk chicken. To this add the mayonnaise and cranberry sauce. Then add lemon juice, parsley, onion salt, pepper, powdered creamer and the yolks only of 3 hard-cooked eggs, mashed well.

Blend it all together nicely, with mixer on medium speed; adding more mayonnaise or chicken, to your liking. Keep refrigerated, tightly capped, to use as a sandwich spread within a week to 10 days. Do NOT freeze, please.

Makes 8 sandwiches. Or scoop this onto a lettuce-lined plate, surrounded with slices of apples, bananas, and canned, drained pineapple [chunks or slices].

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Americana Happiness

January 17, 2023January 17, 2023

MONTE CRISTO, TORONTO-STYLE

MONTE CRISTO, TORONTO-STYLE

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 185). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

Allow 3 slices of bread per sandwich. You’ll assemble the sandwiches and trim off the crusts and then dip them into a batter, like that for making French toast, and grill them to perfection.

INGREDIENTS:

6 slices of white bread

¼ cup butter or margarine

2 slices each (cut to fit the bread): baked ham, cooked white chicken, Swiss cheese and tomato

2 eggs

¼ cup milk

½ teaspoon season salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Butter one side of each slice of bread, allowing 1 teaspoon of butter per slice. Melt remaining butter in a small skillet. Assemble the sandwiches so that you have a slice of ham between 2 slices of bread (buttered-sides-inward) and the chicken, cheese and tomato slices on the 2^nd layer, with the 3^rd slice of bread, buttered-side-down. Secure with toothpicks and cut, diagonally, into 2 triangles. Trim off the crusts. Beat the eggs, milk and salt together, dipping the sandwich pieces in the mixture to coat the bread on top and bottom. Fry in melted butter until golden brown. Serve at once. Makes 2 sandwiches.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – The Food Effect

January 17, 2023

HOPELESS BROWNIE MIX

HOPELESS BROWNIE MIX

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 211). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

One of the best recipes that I ever had was for a brownie mix that kept very well in a covered container in the refrigerator. The brownies were moist and rich and fudgy, like those of the Hostess company – only better! Or so the kids said!

INGREDIENTS:

5 cups sugar

3 cups flour

2 cups unsweetened baking cocoa

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon salt

3 ½ cups Crisco

INSTRUCTIONS:

To make the mix: In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together everything but the Crisco. Cut in the Crisco until the mixture resembles gravel. Store in covered container up to 6 weeks in the refrigerator. Freeze it up to 6 months. To measure, lightly spoon mix into measuring cup and level off with flat side of a knife. Makes about 14 cups mix. It will look like a mess of wet sand when you’ve mixed it all together – but it makes beautiful brownies, sufficient to prepare five 8-inch square pans.

To make the brownies: beat 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2/4 cups brownie mix. Stir until nearly smooth. Add ½ cup chopped nuts if you wish. Spread evenly in a greased 8-inch square pan. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan. Dust in powdered sugar or frost with my Fudge Icing (see Index.) Makes 16 2-inch squares.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Laughter Is The Best Medicine

January 17, 2023

LUNCHBOX BROWNIES

LUNCHBOX BROWNIES

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 207). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

This is a brownie cake recipe that makes up like a Texas-type sheet-cake, but comes out like a moist, chewy brownie; because you pour the warm frosting over the warm brownies as soon as you take them out of the oven. The frosting forces the brownies to “fall”.

When they have cooled, and are cut into squares, they have a custardy texture, rather than a cake texture. Originally, I developed this recipe for a bakery in Algonac, MI where we lived many years ago…

INGREDIENTS:

The Brownie Batter:

2 cups each: sugar and flour

1 cup each: water and margarine

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1/3 cup real buttermilk, do not use sour milk for this

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:

Stir the sugar and flour together in large mixing bowl and set aside. In 1 ½-quart sauce pan, put the water, margarine and cocoa together, stirring until smooth and cocoa has dissolved.

Bring just to a bubble – without letting it boil, so it won’t scorch – and immediately pour the hot mixture over the sugar and flour, mixing it on medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add buttermilk, mixing for 2 minutes [more] on medium. Mix in eggs, soda, salt and vanilla until blended.

Pour batter into greased 10x17x2½-inch pan (or 13x10x2-inch pan for thicker bars). Bake at 375°F for only 20 minutes. While the brownies are in the oven, you should be preparing the [Fudge Cake Icing].

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Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Bargain Hunting

January 17, 2023

FUDGE CAKE ICING

FUDGE CAKE ICING

In a 1 ½-quart sauce pan, combine 1/3 cup whole milk (not buttermilk, this time) with 1/3 cup margarine, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar and a dash of salt.

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Let it boil gently for half a minute. Remove from heat. Beat in 1-pound powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in 1 cup broken walnuts or pecans (which, by the way, really “makes” it!)

Keep the icing warm until brownies are out of oven, using the top of a double boiler over simmering water, or on lowest heat possible on top of stove. Remove brownies from oven and, at once, pour the icing over the warm brownies. Cut brownies into bars when slightly cool. Makes about 36 bars.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Bargain Hunting

January 17, 2023

BAGELS, LIKE THE BAGEL FACTORY’S

BAGELS, LIKE THE BAGEL FACTORY’S

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Secret Restaurant Recipes Book (National Homemakers Newsletter, Pearl Beach, MI; Jan. 1977, p. 31).

This is one recipe not often included in the general crop of cookbooks out today. [1977]

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp salt

1 pkg. (2/3-oz) compressed yeast or 1 TB dry yeast

1 cup lukewarm potato water, or scalded milk

2 eggs, separated

3 TB sugar

3 TB oil

3-qt boiling water

1 tsp cold water

Poppy/Sesame seeds & coarse salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Sift flour and salt together, saving ½ cup of flour for kneading board. Soften yeast (or sprinkle in the dry yeast) in half of the potato water. Stir into flour. Reserve 1 TB of egg yolk in a cup and [whisk] remaining eggs, lightly. Add sugar, eggs, and oil to remaining potato water and blend with flour mixture. [Mix] to form a dough, adding more flour if necessary to make it fairly firm.

Flour hands and turn dough out onto lightly floured board. Knead until smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes). Place in a buttered or oiled bowl, cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk (about 1 ½ hours).

Preheat oven to 425°F. Punch down the dough and knead again until all air is pressed out and dough is smooth. Pull off pieces of dough [creating about 15 pieces] and roll into ropes about 7 inches long and ¾-inch thick. Coil rope to make a ring, moistening ends and overlapping them; squeeze slightly to seal. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Slide a few at a time into the hot water (do not overlap). Turn after 1 minute and remove with a slotted spoon after 1 more minute. (CAUTION: They will be very slippery.) Mix [reserved] egg yolk with the cold water and brush tops of bagels with the mixture.

Place bagels on oiled cookie sheets and, if desired, sprinkle with salt, poppy seeds, or sesame seeds. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Makes about 15 bagels.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Happy Monday

January 17, 2023

O’NASTY CONEY SAUCE

O’NASTY CONEY SAUCE

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 66). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

THE SECRET TO A GOOD CONEY SAUCE is simple – brown and crumble the beef; then put half of it through the blender with just enough water to cover the blades until it’s the consistency of cement mortar, mixing back in to the other half. Jack McCarthy of Detroit’s Channel 7 (WXYZ-TV) confessed to me that this was the secret to good, authentic Greek Coney Sauce, when he came to our home on Christmas Eve [1977] to do a film about us. Apparently, Jack’s a gourmet cook! When he traveled, he’d take a lot of kidding about carrying, with him…a crepe pan in a tennis racket cover.

Don’t be over-whelmed by the number of ingredients! It’s an everything-in-one-kettle dish, that can’t go wrong!

INGREDIENTS:

2 ½ to 3 pounds ground chuck

2 teaspoons cumin powder

a few grains of cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon crushed oregano leaves

3 tablespoons beef bouillon powder

6-ounce can tomato paste

3 cups hot, strong black tea

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon garlic salt

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 cup ketchup

6-ounce can V-8 Juice

½ teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet

INSTRUCTIONS:

Brown the chuck in a large skillet (when using lean beef, brown in a few tablespoons of oil), mashing it with the back of a fork over medium-high heat until all the pink disappears. Cover the blades of your blender with about 1/3 cup water, then put half of the browned beef in and blend on high speed with an on/off agitation until smooth.

Return this to the skillet to mix with the rest of the browned beef. Stir in cumin powder, peppers, oregano, bouillon, tomato paste and hot tea. Turn off heat and transfer everything to a 2 ½-quart saucepan, then add remaining ingredients.

Cook and stir frequently over medium heat until piping hot. Spoon mixture over grilled hot dogs in buns – or just into plain buns with plenty of diced onions on each serving. Leftovers will keep up to 2 weeks in refrigerator. Freeze mixture up to 6 months. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

FOR A GREAT CHILI [variation] – to the above recipe, add 3 cans (1 pound each) red chili beans in chili gravy and double the amount of chili powder.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Junk Food