March 7, 2023

THE FRUITCAKE NOBODY DOESN’T LIKE

THE FRUITCAKE NOBODY DOESN’T LIKE

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen on her… 2002 Xmas Card & Free Recipes sheet

Fruitcake originated in Great Britain, carried by the Crusaders, as a source of sustenance when going into battle. Well soaked in ale or rum, it never spoiled. To do likewise to our recipe, add 1 or 2 tablespoons rum extract or brandy to the frosting, while you heat it, before applying it to the cake.

INGREDIENTS:

1-lb candied whole cherries

10-oz pitted dates, cut up small

1 cup light raisins

1 cup chopped walnuts

18-oz box yellow cake mix, used dry right from the box

21-oz can apple pie filling

3 eggs

1 TB cinnamon

1-lb tub ready-to-use vanilla frosting

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put 6 of the cherries aside for garnish. Mix other cherries with dates, raisins, nuts, and dry cake mix; coating every single fruit and nut in the cake mix. Set aside. Put [next] three things into blender. Blend briefly just to combine. Pour into fruit-nut mixture, stirring well with large spoon to moisten every bit of it.

Pack mixture into Pam sprayed, 10-inch, tube pan also dusted in flour. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a [toothpick inserted] into cake comes out clean. Cool upright in pan, on rack, for 1 hour.

Loosen edges of cake from pan with tip of sharp knife. Invert onto plate and cover in frosting that has been warmed in a saucepan. Garnish with the extra cherries and maybe a few walnut halves. Slice and serve to 12.

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

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Resolution Declarations

March 7, 2023

BACON CHIP DIP

BACON CHIP DIP

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 282). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

INGREDIENTS:

16 ounces sour cream

8 ounces cream cheese

1 teaspoon hickory salt

½ pound bacon, fried crispy and crumbled

3 green onions, scissor-snipped

INSTRUCTIONS:

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, combine sour cream and cream cheese. Beat in salt. Remove beaters and stir in bacon and onions. Keep refrigerated in a covered container for 24 hours before serving. Makes about 3 ½ cups.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Resolution Declarations

March 7, 2023

DATE NUT BREAD, LIKE DEVON GABLES

DATE NUT BREAD, LIKE DEVON GABLES

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Secret Restaurant Recipes Book (National Homemakers Newsletter, Pearl Beach, MI; Jan. 1977, p. 42).

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup boiling water

8-oz pkg dates, cut into large pieces

2 tsp [baking] soda

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

½ cup chopped nuts

2 TB shortening

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS:

[Mix dates and baking soda together.] Pour boiling water over the dates and soda; let cool. Sift flour with salt. Add nuta. {Set aside.] Cream shortening with brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Blend in eggs. Beat well.

Grease bottom of 9”x5”x3” pan. Pour in batter. Bake at 350°F for 60-70 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Celebrate Diversity

March 7, 2023

MARSHMALLOW AMBROSIA SALAD

MARSHMALLOW AMBROSIA SALAD

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 48). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

INGREDIENTS:

1-pound bag miniature marshmallows

2 cups broken pecans

10-ounce jar maraschino cherries, well-drained & halved

1 pound can pineapple chunks, well-drained

7-ounce pkg. flaked coconut

10-ounce can Mandarin orange sections, well-drained

1-pound tub sour cream

2/3 cup mayonnaise

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine all the ingredients as listed; cover and refrigerate at least 4 to 6 hours. Over-night is better. Serves 8 to 10. Leftovers will keep up to a week in the refrigerator. Do NOT freeze!

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Michigan’s Nostalgic Nosh-eries

March 7, 2023

PAINTBRUSH COOKIES, LIKE HUDSON’S

PAINTBRUSH COOKIES, LIKE HUDSON’S

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 221). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

The JL Hudson’s store (downtown Detroit) used to sell these at Christmas time on their main floor near the Farmer Street entrance. Well worth re-creating at home – even if it isn’t Christmas!

THE COOKIE DOUGH:

INGREDIENTS:

2¼ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter

½ tsp salt

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:

Sift together, twice, flour and baking powder – set aside. Cream butter until light and fluffy, adding salt, and [both] sugars – then, beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture a little at a time until well blended. Roll out and cut with lightly floured cookie cutters. Arrange cookies on lightly oiled baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Use any shape cutters you wish. Meanwhile prepare…

THE COOKIE PAINT:

INGREDIENTS:

3 beaten egg yolks

4 TB water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix together, in a small bowl, egg yolks and water. Divide into 3 or 4 smaller containers and add a few drops of food coloring to each cup giving it a lighter color then you want the finished cookie to have, since baking will intensify the color.

Use a small, watercolor paint brush to apply designs, print names, sayings, etc., to the top of each cookie. Bake at 400°F or 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are delicately browned. Remove from pan to cool on paper towels. Makes 5 dozen.

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March 7, 2023

VINEGAR PIE

VINEGAR PIE

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Joy Of NOT Cooking – Any More Than You Have To (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; Nov. 1983, p. 148)

INGREDIENTS:

14-oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup light vinegar

1 tsp bottled [or fresh] grated lemon peel

3 raw egg yolks

Baked & cooled 9” pie shell

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine first five ingredients listed, beating with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth. Pour into pie shell and chill for several hours before cutting to serve 6. Garnish slice with crushed pecans or walnuts or chopped Maraschino cherries.

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March 7, 2023

GRASSHOPPER PIE

GRASSHOPPER PIE

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 251). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

When you visited a Chuck Muer restaurant, this was their desert specialty. It’s much like the pie served at Win Schuler’s restaurant. So, depending on where you would like to be at the time you prepare this, have it a-la-Muer’s or a-la-Schuler’s!

When I was invited into the kitchen of Chuck Muer’s River Crab restaurant (St. Clair, MI) to observe them preparing some of their dishes, I made a mental note to try this pie at home. With a great deal of work on the exact proportions for making only one pie, while they made up to 15 or 20 at a time, it was indeed a challenge! But this is my version of it – and it is almost as good!

INGREDIENTS:

Half of a 1-pound bag of large marshmallows

¼ cup milk

1/3 cup Crème De Menthe liqueur

¼ cup Crème De Cacao liqueur

20 Oreo (cream-filled sandwich) cookies

1 envelope, unflavored, gelatin powder

6 tablespoons melted butter

8 ounces heavy whipping cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

Melt the marshmallows with milk in a sauce pan over low to medium heat until smooth, stirring constantly. When completely melted, remove from heat. Stir in [both] liqueurs and refrigerate the mixture until completely cooled. Meanwhile, crush cookies to fine crumbs. Mix well with gelatin powder and melted butter.

Pat evenly over bottom and sides of a buttered 10-inch Pyrex pie plate and chill. Remove the marshmallow mixture from the refrigerator to a medium-sized mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl, beat heavy whipping cream until it holds its shape. Fold it into the marshmallow mixture, using low speed of electric mixer, just to blend thoroughly.

Pile it neatly into the chilled Oreo crust. Garnish top with ½ cup more crushed Oreo cookies and return it to the refrigerator to chill for several hours or until firm enough to cut into 6 to 8 serving pieces. Keep pie refrigerated until served, up to a week. Freezes well up to 3 months.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Virtual Shopping Slays Malls

March 7, 2023

WALDORF ASTORIA STUFFING SIDEDISH

WALDORF ASTORIA STUFFING SIDEDISH

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes_© Book (Secret Recipes^TM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 50).

A 1930 recipe, from their chef at that time, which we printed in April 1976, with their permission.

INGREDIENTS:

½-lb fresh chestnuts

1 small whole onion

1 stalk celery, cut in pieces

1 bay leaf, crumbled

3 medium-sized onions, chopped

½ cup rendered chicken fat or, by today’s standards, olive oil

3 TB cognac or sherry or our substitute:

5-oz apple juice & 1 TB rum extract mixed well

1-lb loaf white bread with crusts trimmed, crumbled into small bits

¼ tsp thyme

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp white pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cover chestnuts in boiling water and boil until shells and skins can be easily removed (20 minutes). Put blanched, shelled chestnuts into a saucepan with small onion, celery pieces, bay leaf (crumbled), and enough water just to cover. Cook until tender. Sauté rest of onions in fat or oil until limp but not browned.

Remove from heat. Add all remaining ingredients to the onions. Refrigerate until cold and then use to stuff poultry or pork chops with mixture. Enough to stuff a 12-lb bird. Any leftover stuffing can be baked in a small, greased, casserole [dish] (covered), until completely and thoroughly heated. Freezes well, to use within a few months.

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Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Grateful For Imitation Inspirations

March 7, 2023

BREAD & BUTTER PICKLES

BREAD & BUTTER PICKLES

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 22). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

INGREDIENTS:

1 small onion – the size of an egg – sliced thin

6 cucumbers – unpeeled and sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices

Enough water to cover the slices in a plastic container

¼ cup Kosher salt

Combine [above ingredients] in an accommodating plastic container and allow to stand, uncovered, for at least 12 hours.

The Brine:

6 cups light vinegar

5 cups sugar

4 tablespoons mustard seed

2 teaspoons turmeric

4 teaspoons each: celery seed and celery salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine the Brine ingredients in a large sauce pan and bring them to a gentle boil. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes. When sugar is completely dissolved, remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm or room temperature.

Drain the cukes and onions, but don’t rinse them. Pack them into a 1-gallon plastic or glass container and pour the brine mixture over them. They must be completely submerged in the Brine. If the cukes are especially large, you may have to increase the Brine recipe to accommodate this. Cover tightly and refrigerate immediately. Do not serve for at least 72 hours. They’ll keep refrigerated up to 3 months.

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Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Fast Food & Kindness

March 7, 2023

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Eating Out at Home (National Home News, St. Clair, MI; September 1978, p. 22).

INGREDIENTS:

8 green peppers

1½ TB butter

1½ TB flour

¾ tsp salt

Few grains pepper

¾ cup Pet Milk, diluted with ¾ cup liquid from vegetables

2½ cups cooked or canned peas, beans, carrots, or cabbage, etc.

¾ cup dry bread crumbs, buttered

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut off tops and remove [ribs and] seeds from peppers. Cook 5 minutes [completely submerged] in boiling water. Drain. Melt butter in saucepan. Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Stir in slowly diluted milk and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add vegetable [to mixture] and fill peppers. Top with [bread] crumbs. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until browned. Serves 8.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Family Folklore