Do you love Chicken and Dumplings? We do! And, we have just the recipe for you if your answer is “yes.” It is Ethyl’s Chicken and Dumplings submitted by Earl King in First Presbyterian Church of Apopka’s Treasures and Pleasures. I have to say, though, I might remove the vegetables for straining the ingredients in order to discard the skin and bones of the chicken, but I would put them right back in along with the chicken. I think they are not only good for you but beautiful on the plate!
Mrs. Mitchell’s recipe for Broiled Oysters calls for a pint of fresh oysters. They sound really good. My mom broiled oysters, but they came in the shells back then! She would broil them on the half-shell with butter and salt and pepper.
Martha Wetteroft’s Baked Vegetable Risotto is shared with us by First Presbyterian of Punta Gorda’s A Taste of Heaven. I haven’t tried it, but it looks like a good dish with no meat. It does contain chicken broth and Parmesan cheese, though, just in case it makes a difference to you.
Oh, boy! Oven-baked potato slices in butter and seasonings. This comes from The Apopka Historical Society’s Preserving the Big Potato. It was shared by Betty Bracey. Thank you, Ma’am.
From The New York Times NEW Natural Foods Cookbook, by Jean Hewitt, we have Bread-Perfect Every Time. It sounds good. Ummm, can’t you just smell it baking?
I love Magic Cookie Bars. The recipe is printed on the Aldi company’s Baker’s Corner Sweetened Condensed Milk can. This is one of those recipes kids (and adults) love that they can do in the kitchen together. Kids are great at making crumbs from graham crackers. And they can measure ingredients. They may need a little help, but it can be fun to do together and will make for a “memorable” moment they carry for life.
EARL KING’S
ETHYL’S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS
Recipe from First Presbyterian Church of Punta Gorda,
A Taste of Heaven
1 chicken
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 quarts water
1 onion, quartered
1 medium carrot, cut in 1/2-inch slices
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
Put chicken, salt, and water in Dutch oven. Add onion, carrot, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer gently until chicken is done. Meat will fall from bones in about 1-1/2 hours. Strain, removing veggies; reserve broth. Remove bones and skin from chicken. Cut meat into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
DUMPLINGS:
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg-size piece of Crisco
Self-rising flour
Mix egg, buttermilk, broth, salt and Crisco. Add flour to liquid mixture until dough is stiff and pulls away from side of bowl without sticking. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface or floured wax paper and knead. Pat to 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick. Cut in strips 1 x 3 inches. Take a sample of dough and drop into boiling broth to check for firmness. If not firm enough, add a little more flour and knead dough, then recheck. (If you put cut dumplings on a floured cookie sheet, tops dusted with flour, you can stack dumplings so they can be added to the broth faster.) Add dumplings one at a time, keeping apart to avoid sticking together. Add chicken on top of dumplings, cover and turn off heat. Let set for about 20 minutes.
MRS. JOHN MITCHELL, JR’s
(EDITH LABRUCE)
BROILED OYSTERS
Recipe from Charleston Receipts, America’s Oldest Junior League Cookbook in Print,
a Cookbook by The Junior League of Charleston, Inc.
1 pint oysters
1/2 cup salad oil
1 cup cracker crumbs (fine)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Drain oysters, then dry in paper towel. Dip in oil and then cracker crumbs to which salt and pepper have been added. Broil in hot oven (425 degrees) until oysters are golden brown on one side. Turn each oyster and cook on other side until done. Serve at once with tomato catsup. Serves 4-6.
MARTHA WETTEROFT’S BAKED VEGETABLE RISOTTO
Recipe from First Presbyterian Church of Punta Gorda,
A Taste of Heaven
2 tablespoons olive oil
Chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup Arborio Rice
2 cups chicken broth (14-ounce can plus water)
1 package frozen chopped spinach, zapped in microwave
2/3 cup shredded carrot (1 medium)
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
Salt to taste and 1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
Heat oil in heavy pan. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in rice just to coat. Add broth, spinach, carrots, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour into 1-quart casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover. Place in 400-degree oven and bake 25 minutes or until moisture is absorbed. Serve hot. Makes six servings.
BETTY BRACEY’S
BAKED SLICED POTATOES
Recipe from
Apopka Historical Society’s
Preserving the Big Potato –
A Collection of Potato Recipes
4 large baking potatoes
1/4 cup salad oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place in a buttered 13” x 9” baking dish. Mix butter and oil. Brush slices with mixture. Pour remaining butter and oil mixture over slices. Sprinkle with garlic, salt, and thyme. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and browned at the edges. Serve immediately.
BREAD-PERFECT EVERY TIME
THE NEW YORK TIMES NEW
NATURAL FOODS COOKBOOK
Copyright 1982 by Jean Hewitt
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups skim milk or reconstituted non-fat dry milk powder, scalded
1 tablespoon dry active yeast or 1 cake compressed yeast
3 tablespoons lukewarm water
6 cups sifted whole wheat pastry flour, unbleached white flour; or bread flour, approximately
Melted butter, optional
1. Put the salt, 3 tablespoons oil, and the honey in a bowl. Pour the milk over all and cool to lukewarm. 2. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and add to the cooled milk mixture. 3. Stir in enough flour to make a stiff dough. Turn onto a floured board and knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. It will lose its stickiness as it is kneaded. 4. Put the dough in a clean oiled bowl and brush top lightly with oil. Cover and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. (When the dough is pressed lightly with a finger, an impression will remain.) 5. Punch the dough down, fold and turn so that the smooth side is on top. Let rise again until almost doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. 6. Divide into 2 pieces and let rest, covered with a cloth or bowl upside down, on the board for 10 minutes. 7. Roll or pat each piece of dough until it is twice the size of an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inch loaf pan. Fold in the sides and then the edges. Roll tightly into a loaf shape and set, seam side down, in the pans. 8. Cover the pans and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. 9. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 10. Bake the bread for 35 to 45 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a rack. Brush with melted butter if a soft crust is desired. Yield: Two loaves.
MAGIC COOKIE BARS
Recipe from BAKER’S CORNER SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1-2/3 cup Baker’s Corner Sweetened Condensed Milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter in 8-inch square pan, heat in oven until melted. Combine brown sugar and graham cracker crumbs in a bowl and sprinkle evenly over melted butter. In layers, add chocolate chips, coconut and pecans. Put sweetened condensed milk over top. Bake 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing.
