Recipes Archives - Secret Recipes

August 14, 2023

DENVER SANDWICH, LIKE WOOLWORTH’S

DENVER SANDWICH, LIKE WOOLWORTH’S

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 188). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

The Denver Sandwich was a lunch-hour specialty at the Woolworth’s dime store [diner] on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit back in the day of saddle shoes and bobby socks, the Kern’s clock and streetcars that took you as far as the state fairgrounds – even up to 6 Mile and Palmer Park.

How the Denver Sandwich came to be a Detroit favorite, I will never know for certain, except that you can overdose on these and develop a strange side-effect that causes you to walk bow-legged, as if you’re nursing a saddle sore!

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs

3 TB milk

2 TB each: chopped onion and diced green pepper

a dash each: season salt and black pepper

3 TB butter

2 slices buttered toast

1 slice Swiss cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a small bowl, beat eggs with milk until frothy. Add chopped onion and diced green pepper – plus season salt and black pepper. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Pour egg mixture in skillet, stirring it until it is slightly scrambled, and turning it only one time, and briefly at that, to keep the center soft. Slip it out of the pan and onto buttered toast. Add cheese and the top slice of buttered toast. Cut it into 4 triangles and serve it piping hot! [Makes 1 sandwich.]

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

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

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Happiness And Radio

August 13, 2023

BATTER-COATED CHEESE SANDWICH

BATTER-COATED CHEESE SANDWICH

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 114). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

INGREDIENTS:

Archer Teacher Fish Batter (Below), using beer instead of club soda

½ cup Crisco

¼ cup margarine

Cheese sandwich (as prepared below)

2 slices buttered bread

Mayo and mustard, to taste

2-3 thin slices Monterey Jack cheese

1 slice Swiss cheese

2-3 thin slices tomato (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Prepare one recipe of my Archer Teacher Fish Batter (see below) – but instead of the club soda, use beer. Melt Crisco oil and margarine in a 12-inch round skillet and get it hot without letting the margarine turn brown.

Prepare a cheese sandwich, buttering one side of each of the slices of bread; then applying mayonnaise and mustard, if you like, and slices of cheese, plus tomato slices – if you wish. Put the sandwich together securing it in 3 or 4 places with wooden toothpicks.

Dip it in the prepared beer batter on both sides to coat it evenly and lift it with a pancake turner into the hot oil mixture. Fry until golden brown and crispy on both sides. Replenish the oil and margarine as needed to maintain at least a 1-inch depth of melted oil mixture in the skillet. Serve it at once with a side of my shrimp cocktail or tartar sauce (see “Recipes” tab.) This is a favorite fast food of the Texas-Oklahoma area!

ARCHER TEACHER’S FISH BATTER (from p. 108 of same book)

[Combine as listed…]

1 teaspoon sweet basil powder

1/8 teaspoon each: oregano powder and sage powder

1 teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon garlic salt

about 3 cups of boxed pancake mix

2 to 3 cups of bottled club soda [or beer]

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Happiness Happens

August 13, 2023

GUACAMOLE

GUACAMOLE

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p.65). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

INGREDIENTS:

2 ripe avocados

4 teaspoons lime juice

1 large fresh tomato (seeded & chopped)

2 tablespoons dry minced onions

2 tablespoons finely-chopped fresh red onion

1 well-chopped (bottled) chili pepper with 1 tablespoon of the liquid in which it’s bottled

1 teaspoon powdered coriander

INSTRUCTIONS:

Peel avocados and remove their pits – reserve these. Place avocados in a bowl and mash to a chunky consistency; then, add the following [6 ingredients]. Beat it all together with an electric mixer on high-speed – or run the mixture through a blender – until pureed. Press the reserved pits into the mixture and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Remove the pits and discard when ready to serve. Makes 2 cups.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – The Recipe Detective Website

August 13, 2023

WEDNESDAY’S FROSTED DRINK

WEDNESDAY’S FROSTED DRINK

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

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup milk

½ cup Nestlé’s quick chocolate drink powder

3 cups slightly soft vanilla ice cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put ingredients in blender, using on/off agitation and blending until smooth. Stop motor occasionally to scrape mixture away from blades and repeat blending until creamy. Makes one serving.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Love And Kindness

August 13, 2023

CONEY SAUCE, LIKE LAFAYETTE’S

CONEY SAUCE, LIKE LAFAYETTE’S

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes_© Book (Secret Recipes^TM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 42)

THE SECRET IS SIMPLE. You brown and crumble the beef and then put half of it into your blender with only enough liquid to cover the blades. Blend it until it is the consistency of cement mortar. Jack McCarthy of Detroit’s Channel 7 (WXYZ-TV) confessed to me, once, was the real secret to good, authentic, Greek style coney sauce.

He had come to our house on Christmas Eve years ago to do a film about us. Apparently, Jack was a gourmet cook and loved good food! When he traveled, he would take a lot of kidding, about carrying with him, what most people would think is a tennis racket, when it was actually a crepe pan in a tennis racket cover.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of ingredients! It is one of those everything-in-one-kettle type of recipes that can’t go wrong.!

INGREDIENTS:

2½ to 3-lbs ground sirloin

2-tsp ground cumin

Few grains cayenne [pepper]

½ tsp black pepper

1 tsp crushed oregano leaves

3-TB beef bouillon powder

6-oz can tomato paste

3 cups hot, black, strong tea

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 TB chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic salt

3-TB packed brown sugar

1 cup ketchup

6-oz V-8 Juice

½ tsp Kitchen Bouquet (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

In lightly greased Dutch oven, on top of stove, over medium-high heat, brown the sirloin until all pink color disappears, crumbling it with a fork until it looks like rice. Add to it all but the hot, black tea. Put the tea in your blender with half of the sirloin mixture and blend briefly, until smooth, returning it to the rest of the mixture in the kettle…

Allow to cook at a low simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Then turn heat to lowest possible point and cover kettle with lid, letting it heat gently about an hour before serving. To serve – spoon mixture into split hamburger buns or over grilled hot dogs in buns…

GREAT CHILI CON CARNE

Add to meat mixture [above] 3-lb can chili beans, in chili gravy, and heat gently to serve… in bowls. Serves 8 and it freezes beautifully, in smaller portions, to use in a few months.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Take The Junk Out Of Junk Food

August 13, 2023

FRIED ICE CREAM BALLS & BEST FAST HOT FUDGE SAUCE

FRIED ICE CREAM BALLS & BEST FAST HOT FUDGE SAUCE

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes_© Book (Secret Recipes^TM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 15).

INGREDIENTS:

1-qt ice cream, any flavor, in 2” balls, hard frozen

2 cups finely rolled pound cake crumbs or cookie crumbs

2 eggs, well beaten and combined with 4 TB milk

(in small bowl for coating ice cream balls)

1 pint/8-oz oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS:

…Using [only a] few [balls] at a time, from the freezer, roll balls in crumbs and then in egg [mixture], back quickly in crumbs and into freezer one more time. Heat oil to 320°F and deep fry coated balls a few at a time from the freezer in hot oil only a few seconds, until slightly golden. Return to freezer again to serve either at once or icy cold later on with hot fudge sauce over them.

BEST FAST HOT FUDGE SAUCE

Melt [together] 5-oz Pet Milk, 5-oz white Karo, and 14-oz box Milk Duds until smooth and hot; without letting it boil, cooking and stirring often – about 20 minutes, just below the boil.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Tourist Town Treasure

August 13, 2023

AUNT JENNY’S PINEAPPLE BARS (or Tarts)

AUNT JENNY’S PINEAPPLE BARS (or Tarts)

[aka: 4-CORNER MUFFIN TARTS]

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

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups crushed pineapple, drained [and saved]

¼ cup maraschino cherries, halved

2 TB pineapple juice

½ cup sugar

¼ tsp grated lemon peel

1/8 tsp salt

1 recipe pie crust four double 9-inch pie shell

2 or 3 TB butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine all but last two ingredients. Prepare pie crust and roll out 1/8-inch thick. Cut into 5×5-inch squares. Place each in greased muffin well. Put 2 to 3 tablespoons pineapple mixture in center of each and dot with a bit of the butter. Draw 4 corners of each square up and pinch to seal.

For bars: Roll half of dough out to fit buttered, oblong, 13-inch pan. Spread on filling. Top with rest of dough, rolled out to fit snuggly over it. Wipe top of dough in a little additional butter and sprinkle with a bit of additional sugar.

Bake at 425°F for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes 16 muffin tarts or 24 bars. Dust, either, while warm with powdered sugar. Add chopped walnuts to garnish top if you wish. Keep refrigerated to use in a week.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Workaholics

August 13, 2023

DAYTON SUMMER FRUIT PUDDING

DAYTON SUMMER FRUIT PUDDING

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes_© Book (Secret Recipes^TM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 53)

Mickey, from Dayton, passed this delightful recipe to me at the potluck supper our Good Sam chapter had in Ohio. It was the first dish on the table to turn up empty. Best endorsement I know!

INGREDIENTS:

1-lb can pineapple chunks, in their own juice

The pineapple juice (above), plus enough water to make 1 cup

1 small box instant vanilla pudding powder

10-oz can mandarin orange sections, drained

1½ to 2 cups seedless, green grapes; sliced in halves

½ cup thin sliced almonds

½ cup flaked coconut

2 cups miniature marshmallows

INSTRUCTIONS:

Drain pineapple and RESERVE the juice, adding to it enough water to make 1 cup. Combine this with the pudding powder and, in a medium size bowl, combine [pudding mixture] with the pineapple, mandarin orange sections, & grape halves. Add almonds, coconut, and marshmallows. Combine well. Cover tightly and refrigerate, serving within a few days. Serves several safely.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Fair Food Fever

August 13, 2023

BATTER-FRIED CHEESE BALLS

BATTER-FRIED CHEESE BALLS

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 134). [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 for making this unusual side dish was originally from Northwood Inn (in the old Royal Oak area, where I grew up.) Years later, it was one of the fast food menu selections, and often found at carnivals and amusement parks – I once had them at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3-ounce package of cream cheese, softened

1 ½ pints corn oil

1 recipe of my Archer Teacher Fish Batter (see picture below), prepared and ready to use

Plain, all-purpose flour (enough to coat balls)

INSTRUCTIONS:

The way I have prepared these is to mix the shredded cheese with softened cream cheese, working it all together well in my hands, like I would a meatloaf mixture. Then I shape them into balls about the size of a whole walnut shell – and freeze them a day or two, until they are very, very solid.

I don’t let them thaw at all when preparing them – which keeps the cheese from running all over the place. I heat the corn oil to 425°F in a deep 2 ½-quart heavy saucepan. Have a French-frying basket handy and 1 recipe of my Archer Teacher Fish Batter, prepared and ready to use.

Then coat the frozen cheese balls in plain all-purpose flour, dropping each into the batter until they are evenly coated and then lowering them in a single layer – without crowding them – in the French-frying basket, into the hot oil.

Let them fry a few minutes only. They brown quite quickly. When golden brown and puffy, I lift them out to drain on paper towels and serve them while they’re hot. This mixture would likely serve 4 to 6.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Fair Food Fever

August 13, 2023

LASAGNA WITH RICOTTA SUBSTITUTE

LASAGNA WITH RICOTTA SUBSTITUTE

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 74). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition).]

At “Two Guys from Italy” (Palos Verdes, CA), there was a baked lasagna on the menu that was as good as any I have tried in my many visits to Italian specialty restaurants. It was like the Roma Cafe version, which I attempted to duplicate [around 1975.] There is nothing worse than a passive pasta sauce, and this pasta does well with a pleasing presentation of crisscrossed strips of Mozzarella, barely melted across the top of the finished dish.

INGREDIENTS:

10 large lasagna noodles, cooked & drained (buttered and kept warm in a covered dish)

1 [prepared] recipe of my Chief Boy Hardly Italian Dinner Sauce – Herb & Spice Mix (see “Recipe” tab)

8 ounces Mozzarella cheese, in slices; plus, 4-5 extra slices cut into strips for garnishing

½ cup grated Parmesan

12-ounce tub cottage cheese

2 eggs, beaten

8-ounce can of mushrooms, drained

INSTRUCTIONS:

Butter a 9 x 12 x 2” baking dish. Cut each of the cooked noodles into 3 equal pieces and set aside. Assemble the ingredients in the dish in this order: 1/3 cup sauce, 1/3 of the cut-up noodles, 1/3 of the first 8-oz of Mozzarella slices and 1/3 of the Parmesan. Let it stand a few minutes.

Next, put the cottage cheese and eggs through your blender until smooth. [This makes a super (quick) substitute for the absent RICOTTA ingredient.] Divide this mixture in half, spreading half of it over the Parmesan layer in the baking dish.

Repeat the layers as listed above, topping it [again] with the remaining [Ricotta Substitute]. Repeat the layers of ingredients above once more, topping it with the drained mushrooms. Bake, uncovered, at 375°F for 35-40 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbly and the sauce appears to be piping hot.

Crisscross the remaining strips of Mozzarella over the top of the dish in an artistic fashion and return the dish to the oven only long enough to slightly melt the cheese strips. Let it stand about 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve. This keeps it from getting too “runny” when you serve it up! Serves 6-8 adequately!

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – My Dad, My Hero