Recipes Archives - Secret Recipes

March 20, 2023

MACKUS RED FOX HOUSE DRESSING

MACKUS RED FOX HOUSE DRESSING

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 30). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).

This is one of those unique combinations of ingredients that has been copied by other restaurants under various names. Some places used celery seed and others used poppy seed, but the basic idea was for a cornstarch thickening in a cooked pudding-like mixture that’s cooled and seasoned.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup water

1/3 cup vinegar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

5 tablespoons sugar

1 envelope Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put it all in a blender, blending thoroughly until smooth. Transfer mixture to a sauce pan on medium heat, stirring until it comes to a boil and begins to thicken, resembling a pudding. Remove from heat as soon as you see the first bubble of a boil surface. Cool and refrigerate several hours before using to allow it to stabilize. Makes about 1 3/4-cups.

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

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Spring Benefits Begin

March 20, 2023March 20, 2023

CELERY SEED DRESSING – LIKE WOMEN’S CITY CLUB, DETROIT

CELERY SEED DRESSING – LIKE WOMEN’S CITY CLUB, DETROIT

[From Mackus Red Fox House Dressing] This is one of those unique combinations of ingredients that has been copied by other restaurants under various names. Some places use celery seed and others use poppy seed, but the basic idea was for a cornstarch thickening in a cooked, pudding-like mixture that’s cooled and seasoned.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup water

1/3 cup vinegar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

5 tablespoons sugar

1 envelope Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix

1 teaspoon celery salt*

1 tablespoon celery seed

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put [first 5 ingredients, as listed] in a blender, blending thoroughly until smooth. Transfer mixture to a sauce pan on medium heat, stirring until it comes to a boil and begins to thicken, resembling a pudding. Remove from heat, as soon as you see the first bubble of a boil surface, [then] stir in celery salt and celery seed.

Cool and refrigerate several hours before using to allow it to stabilize. Makes about 1 3/4-cups.

[*See, also on this “Recipes” tab, my Homemade Celery Salt Mix (from page 16, of same book).]

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Spring Benefits Begin

March 20, 2023March 20, 2023

(HOMEMADE) CELERY SALT MIX

(HOMEMADE) CELERY SALT MIX

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 16). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).

INGREDIENTS:

1/2-cup table salt

1/2-cup dehydrated celery leaves

1/4-cup celery seed

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine [ingredients, as listed] in a blender, on high-speed, until powdered. Makes 1 ¼ cups. Keeps for ages [in a sealed container] at room temperature.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Spring Benefits Begin

March 13, 2023

HOMEMADE FINGER PAINTS

HOMEMADE FINGER PAINTS

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes_© Book (Secret Recipes^TM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 44).

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup laundry starch, like Linit

1 cup COLD water

1 envelope plain Knox gelatin powder

2 cups HOT water

½ cup soap flakes, like Ivory

Food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine, in saucepan, the starch and ¾ cup of the COLD water. Sprinkle gelatin powder over the other ¼ cup of the COLD water, to soften it. Then stir the HOT water into the starch mixture and heat until it comes to a boil, stirring constantly, until clear.

Turn off heat and add gelatin mixture. Add soap flakes and stir, to dissolve well. Divide into 4 or 5 equal sized containers, such as [small] margarine tubs [or baby food jars] and stir [different colors of] food coloring into each, as you wish. When cooled and thickened, apply to large sheets of art paper with fingers or paint brushes to create artwork.

Keep unused paints tightly capped and refrigerated, to use within a few weeks.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – It’s Your Story, Run With It

March 13, 2023

MANWICH-STYLE SLOPPY JOES

MANWICH-STYLE SLOPPY JOES

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes_© Book (Secret Recipes^TM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 33).

My version of this grocery shelf product [originally], dated 8/14/76, provided a one-pan (6-qt kettle) or Slow Cooker mixture that did not require much attention.

NOTES ON SLOPPY JOE RECIPE: This is a good recipe to make, when using a Slow Cooker, if you have to be away for several hours and want it ready when you got home, sufficient to feed a big group or ‘make ahead’ to freeze in small portions, for rewarming quickly later in the microwave

INGREDIENTS:

3 lbs. ground beef (sirloin or round steak)

1 cup chopped onion

3 stalks celery, sliced thin

2 envelopes dry onion soup mix

2 cans (28-oz each) tomatoes, undrained and broken up well

10-oz can [condensed] tomato soup, undiluted

½ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp anise extract (licorice flavoring)

1 TB soy sauce

1 TB Worcestershire

¼ cup dark molasses

½ cup sweet pickle relish

½ cup ketchup

6-oz can tomato paste

1 tsp garlic salt

1 TB crushed sweet basil leaves

1 TB dill seeds

1 tsp paprika

INSTRUCTIONS:

Brown beef until pink color disappears. Add everything else and simmer gently, 6 hours, covered. Cool. Freeze in small portions. [Makes] enough to fill 6-doz hamburger buns.

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – It’s Your Story, Run With It

March 8, 2023

PUNCH-A-TRAIN RAREBIT SAUCE

PUNCH-A-TRAIN RAREBIT SAUCE

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

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup Pabst Blue Ribbon beer

1-lb sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 TB butter

½ tsp dry mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

A few grains of cayenne [pepper]

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook [ingredients, as listed, in top of double boiler] over hot water, stirring until cheese is melted. Serve on hamburgers.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Celebrate Women More

March 8, 2023

STRAWBERRY NUT BREAD

STRAWBERRY NUT BREAD

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 165). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

The Wine Country Inn located in St. Helena, California, has been a Napa Valley landmark for years. It was originally designed to look like a well-aged vintage tavern with modern lines. One nice thing, that I personally liked about the Inn while I was in California, was a long table of displayed menus from restaurants that the Smiths, who operate the Wine Country Inn, would recommend. On the same table was a serving of juice and fruits in homemade breads like this particularly different quick bread.

INGREDIENTS:

2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen, sliced strawberries

4 eggs

1 cup corn oil

2 cups granulated sugar

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1½ cups chopped pecans or walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS:

Thaw strawberries and set aside. Beat eggs until light and fluffy, adding oil and sugar a little at a time. Beat in the thawed strawberries and any liquid with these. Set aside as soon as it is thoroughly blended. In a medium-sized bowl combine the remaining ingredients, except for the nuts.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the strawberry mixture. Combine only until all dry particles are thoroughly moistened. Do not over beat. This should be treated as you would a muffin batter. Stir in the nuts. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9 x 5 x 3” bread loaf pans. (I sprayed my pans with Baker’s Joy.)

Bake loaves, spaced 2 inches apart on center rack, centering the 2 pans as best you can for an even rotation of the heat during baking and bake at 350°F for almost an hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each loaf comes out clean. Cool in pans about 15 minutes, placing pans on wire racks for this time.

Then turn out of pans to allow loaves to completely cool. Bread should be chilled before slicing to serve. May be rewarmed in microwave oven on defrost a few minutes or wrapped in foil in a 350°F oven for about 8 to 10 minutes. Then slice and serve with cream cheese [or my “Strawberry Freezer Jam” (see “Recipes” tab)].

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See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Celebrate Women

March 8, 2023

WHITE MOUNTAIN MUFFINS

WHITE MOUNTAIN MUFFINS

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Mostly 4-Ingredient Recipes (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; April 1986, p. 101).

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups self-rising flour

2 TB sugar

1 cup milk

4 TB mayonnaise

INSTRUCTIONS:

In 1½-qt mixing bowl, stir the self-rising flour with the sugar; and, in a cup, whip the milk and mayonnaise together, until very smooth. Pour over flour mixture, stirring briskly until all of flour has been completely dissolved. Whip with mixing spoon or use [electric] mixer on lowest speed.

Divide batter equally between 12 paper-lined cupcake tin wells. Bake at 350°F about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pan, on rack, for 10 minutes, before serving. Makes 1 dozen [muffins].

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Homemade

March 8, 2023

TORTILLA SHELLS

TORTILLA SHELLS

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 68). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

It’s amazing how this Mexican form of bread could be a 2nd-cousin-twice-removed (probably on its mother’s side of the family) to the Jewish Matzah; and on its father’s side of the family, it could be a cousin-by-marriage to the Arabian flat bread, or the Far-East pita bread.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Quaker Masa Harina

1 cup cold water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix Masa Harina [or see “Recipes” tab for my imitation] and cold water into a smooth dough, adding just enough more water to keep it moist and smooth. Divide the dough into 12 equal-sized balls. Work with one at a time, keeping the rest in plastic bags so they won’t dry out.

Roll each portion into a paper-thin circle between two sheets of waxed paper and stack (with wax paper between layers). Then – just as if you’re making pancakes – brown them very lightly on a slightly oiled, hot griddle. Keep them soft, not crisp. You can freeze them to use in other recipes, within 6 months – or refrigerate to use in a week. Makes 12 tortillas.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Homemade

March 8, 2023

MASA HARINA IMITATION

MASA HARINA IMITATION

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 70). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup yellow or white cornmeal

¼ cup finely crushed cornflakes cereal

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine all-purpose flour with yellow or white cornmeal and cereal. Sift the mixture together 3 times and store in a covered container at room temperature for up to 60 days. Multiply the ingredients as needed. Makes a good understudy for the commercial corn flour.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Homemade