Anadama Bread

A classic recipe of Anadama bread made from cornmeal mush that comes out brown, crusty and chewy.

Ingredients:
2 cups cold milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup molasses
3 tablespoons shortening
1 package dry yeast
4 and 1/2 to 5 and 1/2 cups flour

Put 1 cup of the milk and gradually tire in the cornmeal. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes or until the mush has thickened. Set aside to cool.
Put the other cup of milk in a separate pan and add salt, molasses and shorteneing. Heat until  warm to you finger, and then pour mixture into a mixing bowl.  sprinkle the yeast over stir, and let dissolve.  after a minute or so, add the cornmeal mush and 2 cups of the flour.
 Beat until throughly mixed then add more flour to make a manageable dough. turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or two. Let rest 10 minutes.  Continue kneading the dough until smoth and elastic, sprinkling on flour to keep it from getting sticky.
Place in a large greased  bowl and let rise until doubled in size. Punch down dough and shape into two loaves.   Place in greased loaf pans. Let rise until dough reaches top of pans or until doubled. Bake in apreheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. remove from pans and let cool on rackss

Granny's Baked Beans

Granny's Baked Beans

Granny's Baked Beans were always made in the big yellow pyrex bowl, and much like Nana's Curry Chicken Wings, is all done by estimate. So each time they come out slightly different, but very similiar.

Get baked beans in a can.  It doesn't matter the brand.  Any will work.  Store brands generally need more molasses & brands like Bush need less.  Fill bowl so there is still at least 2.5 inches to spare.

Cook approx 3/4 pounds of bacon.  Give or take depending on your taste buds of the day.

Add to bowl. 

 Add most of a 12 oz bottle of Grandma's Molasses (Yellow label - use brand).  Mix in brown sugar (light or dark your choice) maybe 1/2 box.

Add 2 Tablespoons or so of Heinz Ketchup and 1 Tablespoon of Gulden's mustard.  Your choice really of brand and amounts.

I believe all ingredients are covered.  After stirring well, bake in oven for hours until thickened & cooked down.  Any temperature of 375 or less works.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to Ginger who wrote this down for us.

Honeyed Pork Chops

Honeyed Pork Chops

Sauce for 6 pork chops,
3/ 4 inches thick, or boneless pork cutlets:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 and 1/2 cup water
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon ketchup
3 Tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Brown chops or cutlets in a small amount of oil; place in a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. (Don't salt; soy sauce does the job.) Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over chops. Sprinkle with  1 Tablespoon sesame seeds. Cover baking pan and bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour or until chops are tender.
Makes 6 servings.

Sweet and Sour Meatloaf

Sweet and Sour Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce, divided
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon minced onion

Topping:
Reserved tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons mustard
2 Tablespoons brown sugar 1 and 1/2 cup sugar

Mix together beef, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and eggs. Add onion and 1/2 the tomato sauce. Form into loaf in 9 x 5 x 3 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. In saucepan, combine topping ingredients, bring to a boil, pour over meatloaf. Bake 10 minutes more. Yield: 6 servings

Maple Baked Chicken Breasts

Maple Baked Chicken Breasts

4 single chicken breasts (or cut-up boiler-fyer}
1/4  cup all-purpose flour
Salt and ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons butter
1 and1/2  cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon dried savory
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 onion, peeled and  sliced
 
Rinse chicken and pat dry. Dredge in flour seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. In a heavy, flameproof casserole, heat butter until bubbling and brown chicken pieces quickly on both sides over medium high heat. Pour maple syrup over chicken. Sprinkle with savory, thyme and sage. Arrange onion slices atop chicken. Pour 1/ 2 cup water into the bottom of casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until tender, basting chicken occasionally with pan juices. Serves 4.

Homemade Garlic Parmesan Wings

These homemade Garlic Parmesan Wings make a nice hot lunch, or an appetizer, or make them in quantity and share with friends. I make this is batches of 5 wings, because it’s just me.  So if you want more - scale up the ingredients. 

5 Wings – fresh, or thawed fully. I like the bigger ones if you can get them. 

Dry mix - Put together in a bowl 1 cup of flour and about a tsp or so of Italian dried herbs. I use something called McCormick’s Perfect pinch Italian seasoning but you could make your own blend easy enough. Add about two tablespoons of Parmesan cheese… either the stuff that comes in the green canister or if you’re using fresh you’ll want it grated very fine, like tiny breadcrumbs. Some folks would add a shake of salt to this, but that’s up to you.

Wet mix – crack either one extra large or two regular eggs into a separate bowl. I use two. Add a tsp or more garlic – fresh, or the stuff that comes in a jar from the store.  Add a few drops of olive oil.  Beat that all up til frothy.

I heat up a little marinara or spaghetti sauce to dip in, and add a little more Parmesan to it.

Take the wings, roll them quickly in the dry mix, and then let them sit for a bit – at least 15 minutes.  This helps the chicken dry so the crust will form better.   While they are sitting, mix up the wet mix. 

Take your wings that have been sitting resting and dip into the wet mix to coat them.  Then dip them again into the dry mix fully covering them. Lay them out on a small rack or plate that will fit in the fridge.  This works best if one hand coats with the wet mix, and another coats with the dry mix.  The wings now sit either overnight or for at least a hour or so in the fridge. Don’t stack them up, lay them flat. This seems like a silly thing but I’ve discovered that this resting cold with the dry-wet-dry coating really makes a difference in how crunchy they are.

I deep fry these wings in Crisco. I’m lucky enough to have a secondhand deep fryer (a Presto – Granpappy fryer), but you could do it in a cast iron Dutch oven on the stove. You’ll want about three inches of Crisco, so get yourself a couple of big cans, and just commit that fat to deep frying*.  Heat the fat up to 350 degrees before you start.  Make sure there’s plenty of room for them to fit – I add one at a time, and sometimes if they are bigger only do three at a time, In a Dutch oven, probably 5 at a time is fine. The wings should reach an internal temp of 165 degrees. In the Fryer this takes 7-8 minutes, but your time may vary.



* Once you’re done cooking the wings in the cast iron pan, let the whole thing go cold. The Crisco can be used again for a number of times.

Strawberry Chicken Salad

Bob's Strawberry Chicken Salad

1 marinated cooked chicken breast (or salmon or steak)
1/2 cup fresh strawberries
1/3 cup Gorgonzola or Blue Cheese
1 cup of toasted walnuts
2 or 3 cups of spring mix or your favorite greens
1 cup diced cucumber
5 Cherry tomatoes halved or a similar type
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon seedless preserves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place the salad greens, chicken,berries in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, preserves, salt, onion powder and pepper. Drizzle over salad; toss gently to coat. Top with toasted walnuts.

Home Made Bagels

1 Package Yeast  (or two and 1/2 teaspoons of yeast )

1 Cup Warm Water (approximately 105 degrees)

1/4 cup Oil

2 teaspoons salt

3 to 3 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose floor

 a handful of coarse or table salt

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water 

Toppings such as poppy seeds, sesame seeds, etc

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let sit until dissolved.  

Add oil, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 and 1/2 cups of the flour.

Beat until the mixture is smooth.

Add enough of the remaining flour to make a manageable dough.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for one minute.

Let rest 10-12 minutes.

Knead for 10-12 minutes after resting until  dough is smooth and elastic.

Sprinkle on flour to keep the dough from becoming too sticky when needed.

 Place in a greased bowl,  cover and let rise in a warm place until double.

Punch the dough down and  turn onto a lightly floured surface.

Cut the dough into sixteen golf ball sized pieces.

Roll the dough between your palms to make a smooth ball.

Create a ring  by punching your index finger through the center.

Stretch the ring with your fingers to make a 1 inch hole.

To make the shape uniform, place the ring on the floured surface.

Twirl on your finger until the hole is about 4 inches. It will shrink when you stop.

Place each formed bagel on a lightly floured surface.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Bring about 3 quarts of water to boil in a large pan. 

Add a handful of salt for a slightly salty crust.

Lower the bagels, a few at a time into the boiling water.

Cook for 3 minutes on each side.

As they are done, remove with a slotted spoon.

Lay on a greased baking sheet.

  (or use parchment paper)

Arrange about an inch apart.

Brush the tops with the egg and water that were blended together to make an eggwash.

Sprinkle them with toppings.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the baking sheet and  let cool on racks.