We have Jail-House Chili from Paths of Sunshine, published by the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs. If you don’t like highly seasoned food, you might want to cut down the chili pods and cayenne pepper.
Eloise Surrette’s Roquefort Turkey Burgers from our friends at the Apopka Citizen Police Alumni Association in Sharing Our Finest Cookbook is very tasty. It is good as a burger on rolls or served as a main dish with side dishes.
Alice Beth Miner, a wonderful friend of ours and to our area while she was still with us, shared her tasty recipe for green peas, water chestnuts, and mushrooms that she called Oxford Mississippi Pea Casserole. We found this recipe in Treasures and Pleasures, published by First Presbyterian Church of Apopka.
Regarding the ingredient that Alice Beth said is a “must have,” we looked online for Spice Parisienne and actually found it at a shop in New York. But, if you don’t feel like running up there, here is a recipe we found on the internet at allspiceonline.com that tells you how to make it. We include it below the recipe for Alice Beth’s Oxford Mississippi Pea Casserole.
Baked Cheese Grits from Dianne Sheffield in Stew-Pot Favorites of Zellwood looks good. We guessed at the amount of cheese because the recipe says “1 package shredded cheese,” so you might want to add more cheese. Cheddar works for me, but I shred my own.
Honeyed Carrots from Paths of Sunshine is a tasty and quick way to fix this side dish for a change of pace.
Mrs. Hortense Parker’s Cashew Crunchies may be the first cashew cookies recipe we’ve ever shared in this column. It looks very interesting, and I’ll guess the cookies are delicious.
The Creamy Icing recipe is included for icing the cookies. This recipe comes from the delightful book, Stew-Pot Favorites of Zellwood, loaned to us by Claire Ellington.
JAIL-HOUSE CHILI
Recipe from Florida Federation of Garden Clubs,
Paths of Sunshine Cookbook
1/2 cup olive oil
3 pounds lean beef, diced
1 quart water
8 chili pods (or 6 tablespoons chili powder)
3 teaspoons salt
10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons paprika (for color)
3 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons cornmeal
1 cup water
In a 6-quart pot, heat the oil and add the meat to sear over high heat, stirring constantly until the meat is grey – not brown. Add water, cover and cook at a bubbling simmer 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Add all other ingredients except the thickening (flour and cornmeal). Cook at simmer for another 30 minutes. If much fat was left on the meat, it will rise to the top after the spices have been added. Skim fat before thickening. Mix flour and cornmeal with 1 cup water. Add to chili mixture, stirring constantly to prevent sticking. Cook 5 minutes more to determine if more water is necessary to reach desired consistency. This is fairly hot chili, above average. Serves 6.
ELOISE SURRETTE’S TURKEY ROQUEFORT BURGERS
Recipe from Apopka Citizen Police Alumni Association’s
Sharing Our Finest Cookbook
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 small peeled onion, minced
1/2 cup Roquefort or Blue cheese dressing
Combine ingredients and mix lightly. Gently shape into eight patties. Brown or barbeque three inches from heat two minutes on each side. Each patty has about 105 calories.
ALICE BETH MINER’S OXFORD MISSISSIPPI PEA CASSEROLE
Recipe from Presbyterian Women, First Presbyterian Church,
Apopka, Florida
Treasures and Pleasures
2 stalks celery, sliced
3 or 4 spring onions, sliced
1/2 stick butter or margarine
1 can mushrooms, sliced
1 can water chestnuts, sliced
1 package frozen green peas
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon Accent
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Dash of Spice Parisienne
(must have – see recipe below)
Cracker crumbs
Saute onions and celery in butter or margarine until golden. Drain mushrooms and water chestnuts and save juice. Add to celery and onions. Cook peas. Drain juice from peas and save to add to liquid. Put juices into boiler and thicken with flour and seasonings. Alternate layers of peas and vegetable mixture in greased casserole dish, ending with vegetable mixture. Add thickened liquid. Top with cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
SPICE PARISIENNE –
MAKE YOUR OWN!
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons ground white
pepper
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons ground mace
2 tablespoons ground black
pepper
1 tablespoon grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon ground thyme
1-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Steps:
Grind salt and bay leaves together into a coarse mixture. In a separate bowl, blend the other ingredients together thoroughly. Place in sealable jars or storage containers.
DIANNE SHEFFIELD’S
BAKED CHEESE GRITS
STEW-POT FAVORITES OF
ZELLWOOD
1 cup grits cooked per instructions on package
1 8-oz pkg shredded cheese
1 stick butter
2 eggs, beaten
Paprika
Cook grits per instructions on package. Stir cheese, butter, eggs and paprika into cooked grits. Bake in casserole about 1/2 hour in 300 degree oven. Sprinkle some of the cheese on top before baking.
HONEYED CARROTS
Recipe from Florida Federation
of Garden Clubs Inc.,
Paths of Sunshine Cookbook
6 cups medium carrots, sliced
2 tablespoons firmly packed
brown sugar
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon honey
Cinnamon, to taste
In medium saucepan, cook carrots until tender in lightly salted water. Drain. Add remaining ingredients. Heat, uncovered for three to five minutes. Serve warm. Sprinkle additional cinnamon, if desired.
MRS. HORTENSE PARKER’S
CASHEW CRUNCHIES
Recipe from
STEW-POT FAVORITES
OF ZELLWOOD
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1-1/2 cup salted whole cashews
Sift together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Cream shortening and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Mix well. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with sour cream. Fold in cashews. Drop by tablespoon on ungreased baking sheet. Bake in moderate oven 8 to 10 minutes. Cool and spread with creamy icing, below. Yield: 4 dozen cookies.
CREAMY ICING
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine above ingredients and spread on cookies.
