Cucumbers in Sour Cream

A recipe from my grandmother's recipe box:

2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 C sour cream
1 T onion finely sliced
2 T dill pickle chopped
1/2 tsp. sugar
dash pepper
1 1/2 tsp chopped parsley

Salt cucumbers. Combine other ingredients and add cucumbers. Serve over lettuce or just in a bowl. Sprinkle parsley on top. Can add a few sliced radishes.

To find out the story behind this recipe, go to my blog Champions of the House.

Chicken Tetrazzini

A well used recipe from my grandmother's recipe box.

1/4 lb butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken stock or 1 1/2 cans consomme
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons sherry
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1/2 lb spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 cups finely sliced cooked chicken
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Melt half the butter in a skillet. Add the flour mixing until smooth. Gradually add the stock, stirring constantly until the boiling point. Add the pepper, cream, sherry and Gruyere cheese. Cook over low heat 10 minutes stirring frequently. Correct seasoning. Melt remaining butter in a skillet. Add the mushrooms and saute 5 minutes. Add the spaghetti and half the sauce. Mix lightly. Pour into a buttered casserole. Mix chicken and remaining sauce and pour into casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes.

To find out the story behind this recipe, go to my blog Champions of the House.

Salmon Loaf with Creamy Dijon Sauce

From a newspaper clipping in my grandmother's recipe box:

1 can (7 1/2 oz.) Alaska Salmon, drained and flaked
2 cups diced cooked potatoes
1/4 cup each chopped celery and onion
1 egg
2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Pepper to taste
Creamy Dijon Sauce

Combine all ingredients together except Creamy Dijon Sauce; mix well. Press into lightly greased 1 - 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until set and thoroughly heated. Serve with Creamy Dijon Sauce. Serves 4.
Creamy Dijon Sauce: Saute 2 tablespoons minced onions, in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil until tender. Blend in 1 tablespoon flour; stir in 1 cup milk. Cook and stir until thickened; stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard. Makes about 1 cup.

To find out the story behind this recipe, go to my blog Champions of the House.

Baked Leg of Lamb

From a magazine clipping in my grandmother's recipe box:

Serves 6
     1 5 lb - 6 lb whole leg of lamb; trim as much fat as possible
For the marinade:
     2 onions
     6 to 8 cloves of garlic
     6 to 8 sprigs each thyme, oregano
     1 bottle strong white wine
     1 cup virgin olive oil
Salt; Coarsely ground black pepper

Slice onions and crush garlic, bruise herbs and combine in a large dish. Pour in wine and oil and rub marinade all over the lamb. Marinate in a cool place for 6 to 8 hours or overnight, turning frequently.

Preheat oven to 450 and remove the lamb from the marinade about 2 hours before serving. Pat dry. Remove the leaves from the thyme and oregano and mince them finely with the garlic from the marinade. Add 1 1/2 tsp. salt and 2 tsp. pepper to herbs and make a rather stiff paste with a little marinade. Rub the lamb with the paste. Bake for 15 minutes and reduce heat to 350. Turn lamb after 30 minutes, and bake for 30 minutes more, turn and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and let rest for 15 minutes.

To find out the story behind this recipe, go to my blog Champions of the House.

Fish Tacos

This recipe is not so much for Fish Tacos as for the condiment to go on a fish taco. I love a can of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes and this is another great use!

Soft flour tortillas
Oven-friend tallapia
Oakview Farms lettuce
Tomato and Onion salsa
Sour cream

Bake fish according to directions, but omit the Italian seasoning and Parmesan. Slice 1/2 an onion thin and saute in a little oil until almost caramelized (light brown). Pour can of Fire Roasted tomatoes, in a pot on the stove, and add the cooked onion cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Heat tortillas in a broiler or dry skillet just about 2 - 3 minutes.
Assemble tacos: put about two pieces of lettuce on the tortilla, top with crumbled fish, a spoonful or two of tomato mixture and a dollop of sour cream. Crumbled goat or queso cheese would be great on this too.

Panna Cotta With Raspberry Sauce

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup milk
1/2 vanilla bean
1 3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 strip lemon peel ( 3" by 1")
1 cinnamon stick

In a 2 cup measuring cup, evenly sprinkle gelatin over milk and let stand for 2 minutes to soften gelatin slightly. Scrape out vanilla bean seeds and reserve. In a 1 quart saucepan, combine cream, sugar, lemon peel and cinnamon stick and vanilla bean halves and seeds.  Heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally 5 minutes. Stir in milk mixture, cook over low heat stirring frequently until the gelatin has dissolved. About 2 - 3 minutes.
Discard lemon peel, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean from cream mixture. Pour cream mixture into medium bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water. With a rubber spatula, stir mixture until it begins to set about 10 minutes. Pour cream mixture into 4-oz ramekins. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

Raspberry Sauce
1 jar red currant jelly
1 pkg fresh (or frozen) raspberries
Fresh lemon or orange juice, about a squeeze

Heat currant jelly in saucepan over medium heat until it "melts". Add raspberries and reduce to low heat. Cook to soften raspberries, smash some with a wooden spoon. Add citrus juice. Cool before serving or it will melt the panna cotta. This sauce is also good with ice cream and pound cake, or plain cheesecake.

To serve-
Unmold ramekins (run tip of knife around edges. Tap sides of each dish sharply to break seal. Invert onto plates and spoon sauce around panna cotta.  Makes eight servings.

Biscuits Step-by-Step

Click here for Eva's Biscuit Recipe.

Getting started. Large bowl, big sifter, flour.

Sifting the dry ingredients with Eva's hand-cranked sifter.

Using a pastry cutter, work in the Crisco.

Finish working the Crisco with your hands to get "coarse crumbs".

Pour in the buttermilk and stir until it all comes together.

Knead on a floured surface.

Roll out to about this thickness, then fold and roll more.

The fold.

Cut our your biscuits! Mae is my helper.

Love an ez-foil pan.

Ready for the freezer. Use wax paper as an extra layer under the foil.

Using foil pans allows for easy stacking in the freezer. Now they are ready when you are!