Cottage Cheese Salad

Cottage Cheese Salad

1 pint small curd cottage cheese

1 small package Jello, lemon or other flavor

1 can crushed pineapple or other fruit, drained

4 oz. non-dairy whipped topping or 1 c. whipped cream

Add dry gelatin to cottage cheese. Let stand 5 minutes, then mix. Fold in fruit. Fold in whipped topping. Chill.

Yield: 4-6 servings.

For a larger salad, use 1 1/2 pt. cottage cheese and large size Jello. Add more fruit and more whipped topping. Any fruit or Jello flavor can be used. Peach flavor Jello with peaches is good. This salad is a summertime favorite because it is quick nutritious and goes well at picnics as well as indoor meals.

Submitted by Linda Loula of Phillips, WI

Electric Frying Pan Pizza

1 1/2 cup Biscuit mix

3/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp. shortening

8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 cup shredded cheese

1 tsp oregano

Meat of your choice

Mix biscuit mix and milk and spread in a cold electric frying pan that is greased with the shortening. Top with remaining ingredients cover and turn control to 325 degrees and bake 12-15 minutes, or until done.

The crust is thick.

Submitted by Mary Gutsch of Eau Claire Field Force

Blogger's note: We added a lot to the tomato sauce to make it a little more "pizza" like. These included italian spices and garlic powder.

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What can I say? This recipe involved two firsts. 1) I've never ever before purchased Bisquick. 2) I've never ever before purchased shortening. I'm so glad we needed 2 Tbsp. of shortening to grease the pan. However, we used the electric frying pan the night before and it was really not very non-stick, so I was glad to have the shortening on hand today.

How'd it taste? That's a good question. It was really, really doughy. It was cooked. I'm sure of this, but it was just way too soft and doughy for our tastes. If you like thick crust pizza, you might like this one. You'll notice we used hot dogs. It did say meat of choice. We took our liberties. Besides it was the only meat we had. I'm not sure we'll ever make this again, but this would be great for a college kid. It's really, really cheap and very quick to make.

Beef and Mashed Potato Bake

Beef and Mashed Potato Bake

1 lbs. ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1 can Cheddar cheese soup or cream of mushroom soup.

Break up and brown the ground beef with the onions until beef is completely cooked and onions are golden. Drain and set aside. Grease a medium square or large pie pan. Put the mashed potatoes all along the bottom and slightly up the side of the pan. Layer the beef mixture over the potatoes. Spread soup over the beef. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins.

Submited by Patricia M. Kelly via Butter 'n Love Recipes II, Bloomfield Manor Auxiliary

I have to admit, out of protest I improvised on this recipe. This, like most we've made, is a variation on the same thing. Beef & cream of something soup.

I used ground turkey instead of the beef, and added mixed vegetables on top of the beef in the pan, then put cream of mushroom soup over the top.

I was sad because when we last went grocery shopping we came across Cheddar soup, and neither one of us thought we'd ever use it, so, sadly it was not in our pantry for this delicious nugget of simpleness.

Again... not sure what I can say about this dish, other than I'm happy I used ground turkey, because it is a variation on a lot of the other dishes that have been posted. Tastes good, looks questionable...

Shrimp Chip Dip

Shrimp Chip Dip

2 8-oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup French dressing

2-3 tsp. horseradish

salt & pepper

12 oz. can shrimp

Blend all but shrimp together. Add the shrimp last and blend for a short time. Best when chilled at least 24 hours before serving.

Submitted by Mary Gutsch of Eau Claire Field Force

Blogger's note: I would recommend using jarred horseradish. We didn't have any, so we added Penzey's Horseradish Dip instead. It's good, but it lacks the zing that horseradish would have given the dip.

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This is a very simple recipe. It took only a few minutes to make, and it's extra "fancy" with shrimp!

I can see all the ladies at the Tupperware party just going GaGa over Mary's Shrimp Chip Dip. The essence of the recipe, and it's success, is that the ingredients are essentially those in Cocktail Sauce. What do we use cocktail sauce for? For dipping shrimp. So adding the shrimp is a no brainer. And, well, what dip recipe isn't that much better with a little cream cheese or a pound?!?

The end result was very good, and one that will more than likely make another appearance at one of our parties. We enjoyed it the night it was made, but the leftovers, and with just two of us, there were lots of those, were even better. The horseradish came forward and so did the shrimp.

Friday Happy Hour

It's a little late, but what can I say. It's been a long week. Today was day 6 of an 8-day stretch at work. And, boy do I need a drink. So today's drink is one of my favorites.

Old-Fashioned

1/2 slice orange

1 maraschino cherry

1 sugar cube

4-6 shakes of Angostura bitters

1 1/2 oz. Brandy or Canadian Whiskey

seltzer water or lemon-lime soda

garnish: 1/2 orange slice and a cherry. Thread on a skewer: in orange, through the cherry, out the orange.

In the bottom of an old-fashioned glass (yes, this is where it gets it's name) place cherry and orange, add sugar and bitters to taste. Muddle this all together with a muddler. When this has been completely crushed and mixed, add ice. To this add the brandy or whiskey and finish off with water or sprite.

Adding sprite makes what the Wisconsinite will call an "Old-fashioned, sweet". Making it with seltzer will mimic the Old-fashioned you would be offered anywhere else in the country.

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I was taught how to make this drink at my first bartending gig. I was just a kid of 22. Her stage name was Simply Divine, but her real name was Brian Femrite. He sat me down early one night and took the time to really show me how to make a drink. It was the beginning of my fascination with a good cocktail. I've been hooked ever since. So hooked that most of the time I don't order one, because they are usually made so poorly. A few places where I know you can get a good one include: The Old-Fashioned-Madison, WI (duh!), Angel's Share-NYC, Grand Cafe-SF.

Friday Happy Hour Rescheduled

Hey folks,

My apologies for not posting a cocktail on Friday. Poetically, happy hour was cancelled due to Happy Hour. Jeremy and I went to a wine and whiskey tasting at Barriques. It was great!!!!

The whiskeys we tasted were very nice. They were from Tuthilltown Spirits and Templeton Rye Prohibition Whiskey. Tuthilltown was excellent. Their corn whiskey was good, but tasting it after 4 years of aging was even better. These are very well crafted whiskeys, one of which even had a hint of maple syrup to it.

Templeton was also very good, but not available yet in Wisconsin. It's coming soon, they tell us. Take a look.

Beef Roll

1 beaten egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup crackers, 14 crushed saltines
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 tsps. salt
Dash pepper
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
2 oz. shredded swiss cheese (1/2 cup)
2 Tbs. chopped green peppers

Combine first 6 ingredients; and beef and mix well. On a piece of waxed paper, pat mixture into a 10" x 8" rectangle. Combine rice, cheese and green pepper. Pat onto the meat leaving a 1" margin around the edge. Roll jelly roll fashion, beginning with the narrow sides. Seal side seams and ends. Place roll in an 11 x 7" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 mins. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 4 -5 servings

Delicious, yet easy meal.

Submitted by Mrs. Linda Nelson of Kenosha, WI

Bloggers Note: 2 Tbs. of chopped green pepper is a ridiculously small amount of pepper. I added 1/2 of a green pepper and even then it was barely noticeable.

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I was very pleased with this recipe. Mostly because it's the first recipe that actually looks good coming out of the oven! Note the pride take in the garnish in the photos.

Please note, there is a difference between 1 cup of rice, and 1 cup of cooked rice. I learned this the hard way and it was very hard to roll. Because of this, I could not seal the ends. Also... I've never made a jelly roll, so I'm not quite sure if I rolled it correctly. But it was rolled, and had I not been a master sushi chef, this take might have been a bit more challenging than it already was.

I used Village Harvest, Jasmine Long Grain Fragrant Rice, and without it I think the recipe would have been extremely different. There isn't a whole lot of flavor in it, so adding this rice really gave it a very nice subtle flavor.

To jazz up this dish I might substitute a pepperjack cheese for the Swiss cheese and add mixed vegetables to make a complete meal in one dish.

Beer Cake

2/3 cup butter or oleo
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 sq. bitter choc.
2 1/4 cup flour
2 tsps. soda
1 cup beer
3/4 cup buttermilk
8 oz bottle maraschino cherries
1/4 cup cherry juice
1/2 cup chopped nutmeats

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and melted chocolate and mix well. Sift flour and soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with beer and buttermilk. Add cherries, cherry juice and nutmeats. Mix well. Pour in 9 x 13" pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 mins.

Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 lb. powdered sugar
2 tsps. vanilla

Blend softened cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread on cake.

Submitted by Dona Jahn, Tripoli, WI

Bloggers Note: I used "Point, Special Lager" beer from the Stevens Point Brewery.

It was only after starting to mix the ingredients did I realize that all of our 9 x 13" pans were in use with left over casseroles. So, I had to use three, eight inch round cake pans. As I learned, this cake is not meant to be a layer cake! It's very moist, and therefore very hard to stack. Keep that in mind as you gander at the pictures. It really does taste much better than it looks!

I was really happy with how the cake tastes and am excited to make it again in a 9 x 13" pan. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted.

I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of maraschino cherries, but I did not mind them in the cake. I also used almonds for the "nutmeats".

When I make it again I will place the cherries in the pan once the batter has been poured in. They had a tendency to clump together so parts of the cake have lots of cherries, and other parts have none.

This definitely will be making a few appearances this summer and parties and cookouts... maybe paired with the Cherry Bounce!

Coating for Baked Chicken

1 tsp. ground red pepper
3 tbsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. each: sugar, onion powder, ground oregano
2 c. dry bread crumbs
4 tsp. salt

Cut in 1/4 cup shortening and mix until crumbly. Store in a tight container. This is enough to coat 4 chickens.

Dip chicken in milk and then in mix. Bake in 400 degree oven for 50 to 60 mins.

Submitted by Fran Everson via "Butter 'n Love Recipes II" by the Bloomfield Manor Auxiliary (Dodgeville, WI)Bloggers Note: I misread the recipe and bought red pepper flakes instead of ground red pepper.


I was suprised on how much flavor was packed into this mix!

Because there is only the two of us, I used two chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken. As you can see, you can use this several times by storing it in an air tight container.

I enjoyed how the mix created a crispy coating on the outside of the chicken that seemed to hold alot of the juices in. This was one of the juiciest chicken breasts I've ever had!

Spaghetti Bolognese

Spaghetti Bolognese

1 small carrot
1 thin stalk of celery
1 ounce marbled, smoked ham
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
2 tsp. butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
5 ounces ground beef
1 can peeled tomatoes (8.5 ounces dry weight)
2.5 ounces red wine
2.5 ounces beef stock
1/2 tsp dried italian seasoning
salt, black pepper
7 ounces spaghetti
2-3 Tbsp freshly grated parmesan

1. peel the carrots, wash the celery, and dice them both very small. Also cut the ham into small cubes. Peel the onion and garlic and mince both.

2. heat butter and oil in a large skillet. Add the ham, vegetables, onion, and garlic and lightly sweat them for 3 minutes. Mix in ground beef and cook together until it is brown and crumbly, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the tomatoes with juice, wine and stock. Use and spoon to crush the tomatoes in the pan. Add the italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Allow to stew for 1 hour on low heat.

4. About 30 minutes before the stewing is finished, boil 2 quarts of water and salt heavily. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package instructions. Taste the sauce again and season accordingly. Drain the noodles then mix them with the Bolognese sauce and serve in deep dishes. Garnish with parmesan and serve immediately.

* Tuning Tip: At the end of the cooking time for the sauce, add 2-3 Tbsp of cream and leave to cook for another 10 minutes. You can also double this recipe and use for the base of a lasagne.

Blogger's note: These measurements are approximate. I'm not an expert at metric conversions.

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This is a recipe I found in a great book I bought in Berlin. It's called "Crashkurs Kochen" or "Crash Course Cooking". It provides the basics, albeit German basics, for a lot of areas of cooking that are foreign to people like myself. Knowing this, some of the more basic instructions above, become a little more understandable. The author assumes you don't know how to brown hamburger or clean a celery stalk. Personally, I think giving instructions on celery is a bit too far, but I understand where the author is coming from.

I've had this book for over a year, and I'm yet to make this recipe as it is supposed to be made. I'm always changing something, or lacking that ounce of ham. This last time, though, we came closer than I have ever gotten to actually following the recipe. We used ground turkey instead beef, and we were missing the ham and the carrot.

I love this recipe. It's hearty, it's homemade and it reminds me of Germany. I don't know much about whether this recipe might be authentically Italian, but I can tell you that when Germans think spaghetti, this is what they are thinking of. It's a dish that can be had cheaply at restaurants all over the country, which makes it even better!!

Fluffy Waffles

Fluffy Waffles

2 cups sifted flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 eggs, separated
6 Tbsp melted butter
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 2/3 cups milk

Sift dry ingredients together. Beat egg yolks slightly; add milk and butter. Combine with dry ingredients. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Bake in a preheated waffle iron. You can also bake on a hot griddle like hot cakes. Make easy corn waffles by adding 1/2 cup whole kernel corn to the batter.

From my Norwegian Mother-in-law. I've found that these are almost as easy as a package mix, but more delicious. You may use syrups, jams, jellies or sugar and cinnamon. All are delicious.

Submitted by Caroline A. Swanson of Sheboygan, WI

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If it weren't for a really, really low-performing waffle iron, these would have been great. They were very good, but what they lacked was the proper cooking temp.

The beaten egg whites made for a very fluffy batter that translated into a very nice waffle that was light, while still being filling.

I found the note about packaged mixes to be quite amusing and interesting. It certainly shows that women were doing a lot of cooking with mixes even at this time. I'm not sure when Bisquick came out, but I'm happy to report that there was never a box of it in my mother's kitchen. Waffles and pancakes were always made from scratch.

Enjoy!

Friday Happy Hour

The Manhattan

1 1/2 oz. Bourbon

3/4 oz. Sweet Vermouth

Combine ingredients in a glass with ice. Shake vigorously. Serve up or on the rocks. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

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Yeah, I know it's the easiest drink recipe in the world. Or at least you thought it was. If you knew how many crappy manhattans I have had served to me in bars, you wouldn't be so cocky. Now wipe that smug off your face and listen to me.

First, we start with a good bourbon. Not just any rail swill will do. I personally prefer Maker's Mark, but you can get away with Jim Beam or even Jack Daniel's.

Secondly, proportions are very important. Most people assume that the proportions are like a martini. Nope. For the best manhattan we need a liberal amount of sweet vermouth. A 2:1 ration of bourbon to vermouth is what I use.

Finally. Shake it! Shake it! Shake it! You want the flavors to incorporate and for the drink to be cold. In order to do this, you need to bruise the ice.

When you are finished you will have a manhattan that will get rave reviews. Gerry Casale was a particularly avid fan.

Pizza Hot Dish

1 lb. ground beef
Chopped onion
2 cans tomato soup
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. onion salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 oz noodles, cooked fresh and/or canned mushrooms
1/4 lb. grated cheese
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Brown meat and onion. Drain. Add soup and spices. Simmer 10 to 15 mins. over low heat. Grease 13 x 9 pan. Place noodles in bottom of pan. Pour over meat sauce. Top with mushrooms. Sprinkle on cheese. Cover with foil and bake 35 mins in 350 degree oven. Remove foil and bake 10 mins longer.

Submitted by Cara Knipfer

Bloggers Note: We used Sargento cheddar jack cheese, and Ronzoni whole wheat egg noodles.

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This delightfully fresh recipe came from our Oregon Preschool Cookbook. It too was a thrift store find and is stuffed full of all sorts of goodies like this one.

When I came upon this recipe, I remembered that the Dodgeville School District lunch ladies used to serve something by the same name. I'm pretty sure, having tasted it, that it's pretty close to what they used to serve me when I was in elementary school.

Again, very easy to make. Tastes very good.

When I first looked at the recipe I tried to think of some veggie that I could serve with it. Because most veggies are in the actual pizzas I really couldn't think of anything. With that being said, I do think the next time I make this I will add black olives and green peppers.

Applesauce Bread

Applesauce Bread

1 2/3 c. sifted flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tps. salt
1/2 tps. cinnamon
1/4 tps. cloves
1/4 tps. allspice
1/3 c. soft oleo
1/3 c. water
1 c. applesauce, unsweetened
1 large egg
1/2 tsps. vanilla

Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl; beat 2 minutes, scraping the bowl constantly. Bake in bread loaf pans at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes. When cool, slice thin and butter.
Yield: 2 loaves.

For Christmas loaf, add nuts, cherries, dates and/or raisins.

Submitted by Mrs. Mary L. Patzner of Patosi, WI

Bloggers Notes: Adding allspice is a bit redundant (Allspice consists of 2 parts cinnamon, 1 part nutmeg, and 1 part cloves) so I just add the appropriate amounts of each of the spices listed. Also, neither one of us are big fans of "oleo" (margarine) so I use butter and it turns out wonderfully.

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This comes from the tried and true NMB cookbook.

This is actually the second time I've made this bread. The first time I only used one pan. It turned out Ok, but it was extremely moist and very dense. This time I split into two pans, as it calls for, and omitted the 1/3 cup water to make it a bit less moist.

When split into two pans, you get two much smaller and less dense loaves, but they are much better!

This is great with breakfest or a quick afternoon snack.The handy holiday advice of adding cliche nuts and berries for the holidays makes me laugh. Although, I do think adding one or two of them would really add to the recipe for "everyday" use.

Swedish Pancakes: An Update

This is an update to last weeks post of Swedish Pancakes.

Well, this morning I did a much better job of following the directions. With the proper proportion of flour to milk to eggs they turned out much better.

Really the only thing that could have made these better this morning would have been a nice jar of Lingonberry preserves, but I would have settled for Black Currants. The cakes were light and thin as they are supposed to be. If it weren't for a tragically unlevel stove they might have even been round. Alas, we had to make due with pancakes that were remotely hand-shaped.

I have often meant to make Swedish pancakes and now with a couple attempts I know that they aren't that hard to make. I would even add some seasoning to them in the future. A little cardamom or a little cinnamon maybe. Something just to add a little something extra to the flavor.

Enjoy

Tater Tot Casserole (from the Men's Section)

Tater Tot Casserole

2 lbs. ground beef
1 Lg. onion
Salt & pepper to taste
1 can tomato soup
1 Tbsp. molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
20 oz. can brown sugar
16 oz. pkg. tater tots

Brown beef and onion. Add salt and pepper. Add soup, molasses and sugar; mix well. Add beans and mix lightly. Place in casserole. Add tater tots to top. Bake at 350 degree for 45 mins.

I love this casserole because I'm a hamburger lover.

Submitted by Chris D. Hollis of Belleville, WI

Blogger's Note: We debated whether or not to drain the browned ground beef. In the end we did and were very happy how everything turned out. Also, don't drain the can of baked beans, use the juices as well.

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Once you get all the beef into the pan, you'll start to see how much Mr. Hollis really loves hamburger.

While I was making this, it reminded me of when I asked my mother for simple recipes shortly after I had moved out of the nest. As is the case with most mothers when asked that question, she couldn't think of anything she used to make. As I make my way through this cookbook I chuckle a bit because this is the stuff I was asking about. Extremely simple to make, inexpensive and very filling.

To be completely honest I had my doubts about this one. The combination of the ingredients seemed a bit odd to me. One of the only reasons I made it was because it did not contain cream of "whatever" soup. Needless to say, two weeks in I was starting to feel like I was sweating cream of something or other soup!

In the end it turned out to be pretty good. It basically tasted like a simple sloppy joe with tater tots. Throw in some green beans and a bottle of beer and you've got yourself a manpleaser!

No-Bake Chocolate Cookies

No-Bake Chocolate Cookies

4 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup milk
2 oz. butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups oatmeal

Mix sugar, cocoa, milk and butter together in a large saucepan. Boil 1 minute, no longer. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Drop on wax paper from teaspoons. Store in airtight containers.

Submitted by Mrs. William Bates of Blaine, MN

Blogger's Note: I used Nestle Toll House cocoa and Quaker Oats (Not Quick Oats) and they were great.


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Culinarily we've come a long way since the No-Bake cookie first burst on to the scene. NowPaula Deen tells you that recipes need lots of butter to taste good, and Martha Stewart tells us that it has to be fancy and tied up with a bow. in 1977 there was none of this. We had Julia (Childs) and Betty Crocker. Both were nice ladies. I preferred Betty at the time, and still think she has a lot to offer. This is all to say that I LOVE, I mean <3>

When I was in 3rd grade (1979) our teacher, Miss Lapetina took us through an entire project on nutrition. Among the things we learned were healthy eating, look here for Mulligan Stew in the future, and healthy snacking. No-Bake cookies were one of those recipes.

I resisted the urge, with this batch, to make them nicer. You can get much better cocoa these days than you could back then. I did, however, use Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter. I may wan't to relive the 70s, but I'd really prefer to do it with my arteries intact. Normally my peanut butter of choice is completely natural, i.e. peanuts and salt, but Skippy Natural has the texture of 1970s/80s peanut butter, and I was concerned something without thickeners might not work.

The total prep time for these was about 20 minutes and the actual "making" of the cookies was very simple. Drop them on wax paper. Not having wax paper in the house, I sprayed tinfoil with Baking Spray and things turned out fine. These are a great snack and a lot lower in fat than a lot of desserts. Sugar content is still quite high, so diabetics beware!!!

Frozen Corn / Mexicorn

Frozen Corn

6 cups corn
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp butter

Boil 3 minutes. Cool and put in containers and freeze. If you like Mexicorn, add green and red peppers.

Very good and easy.

Submitted by Marie Fahrbach -- Kaukauna, WI

Blogger's note: We used a pepper stir-fry mix to make our Mexicorn. It was already seasoned, so it was a little different from this recipe, but was still quite good.

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We had to make this recipe for several reasons.

1) Who puts a recipe for frozen corn in a cookbook. I thought this was the kind of thing everyone knew. However, Marie, felt her recipe was so special that she needed to tell all her friends about it.

2) MEX-I-CORN. When I read this word I cracked up. Were we so unconscious of what we were saying that we incorporate corn into what comes across as some sort of racial slur. It's got peppers. Of course, the mexicans would eat this. Meanwhile, I've never been served or even offered corn in a mexican restaurant or taqueria.

You might recognize the Mexican Chicken Casserole in the background. Dinner was a Mexifiesta!

Let these two facts not detract from the issue at hand. Mexicorn is pretty darn good. It just adds some flavor to the corn. Don't be afraid to try it. Unless of course, Zapata is some distant relative of yours, then your family might get a little offended. If they could, please just call it Corn with Peppers or even better Pepper Corn (get it? peppercorn)!

Friday Happy Hour

Raspberry Bounce

1 pint raspberries

1 pint vodka

1 cup sugar

Dissolve sugar in vodka before adding berries. Mix the ingredients in a 1/2 gallon jug. Shake once a day for a week. Let stand about 6 months.

Cherry Bounce

3 quarts cherries

3 1/2 pounds sugar

1 quart vodka

Follow same procedure as for Raspberry Bounce.

Submitted by Michael Emmerich of the Home Office (Madison, WI)

Blogger's Note: 3 quarts of frozen cherries is ridiculously expensive. Instead we used 1 1/2 pints of cherries, 1 1/2 pints of vodka, 1 1/2 cups of sugar. The recipe is a bit of a meld between the two recipes, but I think it will work.

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Now the waiting and the research begin. We put this together last night and have already shaken it this morning. I'm not sure exactly what the six months is supposed to do, except that there is a certain amount of time needed for flavors to meld properly. Years ago, when I made Bierlikör (Beer Liqueur) it required a 4 month melding period.

We will sample the bounce periodically over the next six months to see how the taste is progressing, and in fact, will probably need another batch for the 4th of July party we have planned.

Furthermore, this is going to need a special cocktail recipe. There aren't any old recipes that call for flavored vodka, so if you have any that call for cherry vodka, please send them my way, and we'll be sure to try them in anticipation of the Cherry Bounce House on the 4th!

Just in time for the Super Bowl!!!

Rye Bread Bowl

Bakery round rye or white bread

1 cup beer

1 small jar or tube of cheddar cheese

1 of bacon flavored cheese

1 of smoky flavored cheese

1 of port wine cheese

Carve the bread as you would a pumpkin, allowing 1" of bread on all sides and bottom with a good sized round opening at the top. Ahead of time melt the cheese and beer in a saucepan. Pour the mixture into the hollowed out bread and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Save the inside pieces of bread for dipping out the fondue-like cheese.

This is for special times -- a favorite of men! It goes a long way and I guarantee you'll hand out this recipe to your guests.

Submitted by Paula Lamberg -- West Bend, WI

Blogger's note: We used a sourdough round and found the recipe to work just fine. Our cheese of choice was Bucky Badger. They did not have a smokey flavored one, so I substituted garlic. However, true Wisconsinites will tell you that Kaukauna Cheese is the best stuff out there.

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We made this last night when we had my brother over for dinner. He's gluten intolerant, so we did him the favor of serving the cheese with tortilla chips. It was kind of like eating nachos at the ball game. All in all, pretty darn good and something we will be making again in the future.

In the end, we also decided that it might have been better if we hadn't used the sharp cheddar. It was just a little sharp for our taste. If you like sharp cheddar then go for it!

Also, the bread bowl was too small to accommodate all of that cheese and beer. When we make it again, we'll probably leave out one of the cheeses and reduce the amount of beer. I know, it's a travesty to ever reduce the amount of beer in anything, but we also thought the recipe was a little runny.

Swedish Pancakes

Swedish Pancakes

3 well beaten eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups milk

2 cups flour

3 Tbsp melted butter

In blender or mixer, add sugar, salt, milk and flour (added gradually) to the beaten eggs. Beat on low speed and add melted butter until smooth.

The pancakes are thin and disappear so fast we've not yet caught up enough to count them! Often we have to make two batches for our family -- then, if there are a few left, we cool them, put ice cream on each, roll them up and wrap individually in foil. Put in freezer.

Submitted by William D. Gibbs of Schofield, WI

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I don't know that I should be trusted to make breakfast. I used 3 cups of flour instead of the 2 the recipe called for. I did catch the mistake early and added some extra milk, but in the end the ratios were all off.

The pancakes were good, although I know they weren't what they should have been. I think I'll try again on Thursday and see how things go.

The Swedes usually serve their pancakes with fruit. After all, only America and Canada seem to have a massive fascination with maple syrup. Lingonberry preserves are very popular, but just about any berry can be found on a menu. Check it out if you get the chance.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Mexican Chicken Casserole

4 chicken breasts

1/2 lb. grated sharp cheddar cheese

12 corn tortillas

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 7-oz. cans Ortega green chile salsa

1 can tomato sauce

1/2 can of water

sautéed onion

Sauté chicken breasts in oil slowly. Cut into bite sized pieces. Cut tortillas into 4 strips. Grease large shallow casserole. Mix following ingredients in one bowl: chicken and mushroom soups, chile salsa, tomato sauce, water and onion. Put some sauce in bottom of pan first; then layer 4 tortillas at a time in a lattice design, 1/3 chicken, 1/3 sauce and 1/3 cheese. Repeat in layers, ending with sauce and cheese. Refrigerate 24 hours. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.

Yield: 6 servings.

Good party dish because it can be made ahead.

Submitted by Patricia McGuigan -- San Francisco, CA

Blogger's note: I used an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce. I also couldn't find cans of salsa, and I'm not sure I would have used one if I could find it, so I used Ortega chile verde taco sauce (mild).

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I'm interested to see what the dish tastes like today, because we did not wait 24 hours. It was great without having to wait, so I'm sure it will be even better today.

After a week of running this blog and trying some recipes, we are definitely starting to understand the fascination with cream of something soup. Everything stays moist and has a nice rich texture. As you can see, the dishes don't look all that fabulous, but they do taste good.

This casserole actually tasted something like a chicken tamale. Not bad for 1977. Of course, the snob in me needs to point out that the recipe did come from San Francisco where they have Taquerias that have celebrated decades of existence instead of from Wisconsin where the oldest "taqueria" around is La Bamba. Not exactly the best Mexican food I've ever had.

Cocktail Friday!

Fridays, we have decided, will be dedicated to cocktails. Look here every friday for a new cocktail recipe either new or retro!

Hoochie Mama

1 1/2 oz. vanilla vodka

3 oz. pineapple juice

1/2 oz. sweetened lime juice

1/2 oz. melon liqueur

1 maraschino cherry

Combine in shaker. Shake vigorously. Serve in martini glass or on the rocks. Garnish with a cherry.

Blogger's Note: Stolichnaya makes the best vanilla vodka I've ever had. The rest, including that one from Sweden, taste artificial and edgy.

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This is a recipe I've been making for many years now. It's my own creation, and as far as I can tell it's completely original. When I first made this cocktail it took me several weeks to figure out what it tasted like. Then it came to me: Pistachio Fluff. Yep, for those that enjoyed the "salad" or "dessert" in the 70s and 80s, it's now available in cocktail form. Enjoy.

Please drink responsibly. This drink is sweet, fruity and does not taste boozy. If you aren't careful you'll end up under the dessert table, which may be slightly cleaner than being on top of it, but it's still not a desirable fate.

Sharon's "Old-Fashioned" Cinnamon Rolls

Sharon's "Old-Fashioned" Cinnamon Rolls

1 loaf frozen bread dough

6 Tbsp butter (room temperature)

1/4 cup cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp milk

Thaw 1 loaf of bread dough. Roll dough flat. Spread 6 Tbsp butter on dough. Roll up dough and cut (approximately 10) and put rolls in 9x13 cake pan. Let rise. Bake 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Frosting: Mix butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk.

Submitted by Derek Owen

Book: Oregon Preschool Cookbook -- Oregon, WI (1999)

Blogger's Note: I changed the name of this recipe. The name in the Oregon Preschool Cookbook is ingeniously called “Cinnamon Rolls”.

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The reason for the name change is because on rare occasions in my childhood my mother would make these exact cinnamon rolls (mostly on Sunday mornings). Luckily the Sundays that weren’t graced with this delicious recipe were graced with the fine baking’s of The Quality Bakery in downtown Dodgeville, WI. If you’re in the area, you need to check them out! (They don’t have a website, but here is their information.)

The simplicity of the rolls ingenious! Do all the prep work the night before and let them rise overnight. The next morning throw them in the oven.

I will admit, it is no simple feat rolling out the pre-made dough. If you go to the gym, I’d suggest skipping it the night you plan on making these. You’ll be getting quite the upper body workout.

The frosting recipe is not the same as Sharon uses. The one listed above, for my liking, is too sweet. You tend to lose the cinnamon roll to the richness of the frosting. Also, the mixture of cinnamon and sugar is way too much. I used an excessively generous amount and still threw a lot away. It could easily be reduced by half.

Easy Shrimp Casserole

Easy Shrimp Casserole

3 cups medium noodles

1 can cream of shrimp soup

¾ cup of milk

¼ cup diced celery

1 tbsp green onions

¼ tsp salt

1/3 cup shredded natural cheddar cheese

1 cup cooked shrimp

¼ cup chow mein noodles

Cook noodles according to directions; drain. Combine soup with milk, mayonnaise, celery, onion and salt. Mix well. Stir in cheese, shrimp and cooked noodles. Turn into a 1 ½ quart casserole. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 30-35 mins. Top with chow mein noodles. Bake 10 minutes longer.

Yield: 6 servings.

Submitted by Dawn Jacobsen of Madison, WI

Blogger's Note: Good luck finding cream of shrimp soup. I substituted cream of mushroom soup, and I think it made a better dish. Shrimp have a powerful taste, and to add more shrimp flavoring could have made the dish a smidge on the gross side. Also, I upped the amount of shrimp to 1 ½ cups to make up for the lack of cream of shrimp.

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This is an extremely easy recipe to make. I think it’s interesting to note that this dish is meant to serve six people. That says something about the proportions of a pre-McDonaldized nation. We had a glass of wine with some brie goat cheese followed by a simple green salad while the casserole was baking. While serving it I made a very conscious effort to serve smaller portions and I’m really happy I did. I can only speak for myself, but I was full the rest of the night. Even after a few cocktails with a friend.

Homorific pre-meal munching aside, this dish really reminded me of what my mom made as a child. Granted, shrimp was probably a little on the fancy side for Sharon, but I do remember eating a lot of casseroles as a child. Not to mention, you don’t have to fight a kid to eat creamy artery claughing goodness.

With that said. there isn’t a whole lot about this dish that is healthy, but with few minor changes it can become slightly better for you; like using fat free mayo (which I did).

American "Chow Mein"

American "Chow Mein"

1 lb. hamburger

1 cup chopped onion

2 cups chopped celery

1/3 cup soy sauce

1 cup uncooked rice

1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup

1 can water

Brown hamburger and add to other ingredients in baking dish. Bake 1 hour in a moderate over, stirring occasionally . It may need additional water. Serve with chow mein noodles.

A very good main dish for supper or lunch.

Submitted by Mrs. Edith Anderson of Clayton, WI

Blogger's Note: I opted for cream of chicken on this. It seemed a good choice to offset the darkness of the soy sauce. We used Southern Tsunami brand soy sauce but would also recommend Kikkoman, which is brewed in Wisconsin (Check it out here). I also set a 20 minute timer in order to stir it occasionally. I found this worked very well.

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This was incredibly easy to make. chop up a few things and throw it in a casserole dish. It doesn't get much easier. The ingredients are easy to find, easy to use. The hardest part of the dish was browning the hamburger.

This is what it looked like before baking. Pretty gross.

Once it was finished and served for dinner, we were quite disappointed. It was bland, mushy, brown and unappetizing. Although the concoction was edible, we both agreed that the fate of the leftovers was up in the air. Most likely they will end up in the garbage disposal. This was the worst of casseroles. WE HOPE! There are a lot more to go, and we may not yet have plumbed the depths of casseroledom.

The finished product

Fruit Cocktail Cake

Fruit Cocktail Cake

1 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 beaten egg

pinch of salt

1 small can fruit cocktail, undrained

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix first 6 ingredients; place in slightly greased pan. Top with brown sugar and pecan mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Serve plain o

r with whipped cream.

submitted by Mrs. Vina Schlindwein of Aurora, IL

Blogger's note: We forgot to buy pecans so we substituted 1/2 cup of

slivered almonds. The recipe also says to put it in a pan. I found an 8x8 baking dish to be the appropriate size.

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This was an extreme simple cake to make. I'm terribly organized in the kitchen and this took me about 5 minutes to get in the pan. Since the fruit cocktail is the sum of the liquids, there was no mess of oils and this promises actually to be a pretty healthy cake as cakes go. It's cooling at the moment. I'll update after dinner to let you know how it turned out.

Update: The cake was nice. Very simple. It lacked the fruitiness I thought it was going to have, but still it was quite nice. It was also not as sweet as I'm used to in cakes. We hypothesized that this was due to the proliferation of bad bakeries in America that equate sweet with good. Fruit Cocktail Cake is definitely more on the savory side of cakes, and the almonds and brown sugar on top made it taste even a bit more like a coffee cake.

The Beginning of an Era

The Foundation:

Here we sit. Day one. It's a Monday, but that's kind of irrelevant, because it's my Saturday. Jeremy and I went shopping today to begin an adventure in cooking. One I've been interested in for awhile. You see, I, Don, grew up in Southern Wisconsin during the 70's and 80's. Jeremy grew up west of Madison, WI (Dodgeville) in the 80's and 90's.

Somehow, the two of us reached our respective ages, 27 and 38 without ever really having had to cook. So, we thought we'd begin to learn at the very beginning. Not with Martha Stewart or even Julia Childs as our guide, although Julie & Julia was a bit of inspiration for us. No. We've found a much more important guide to take us down the road toward cooking for ourselves. In the dusty corner of St. Vincent DePaul's Thrift Store (1309 Williamson St., Madison, WI) we found the tome that will be our guide. What is it you ask? It's a cookbook put together by National Mutual Benefit to celebrate it's 75th Anniversary in 1977. The cookbook was so successful that, unlike most "submit-your-own-recipe" cookbooks, my copy is the third printing of the book. A runaway bestseller in the community cookbook world.

From the opening recipe, a fish fry recipe that dates back to at least 1957, which underlines the importance of regional cooking, this cookbook promised to show us our culinary heritage. Do you know anyone that even cares about a fish fry recipe? I didn't think so. Through the recipes in this book we will get to know the Midwest and the recipes that were so good that families praised them, neighbor's begged for them, and they made Mary Gutsch someone you would want to invite to a party.

The Plan:

We'd like to say that we will make a recipe every day. That's not going to happen. I'm a restaurant manager and he's an interior designer. We aren't always going to be home to make dinner let alone "Allen's Hot Dish". So, we promise to make at least three recipes a week from the NMB (It's our bible, and it will be abbreviated.). The revolution will also be televised. We will be including the recipes here, along with pictures and/or our commentary on the dish.

Our long-term hope is to put together our own cookbook. One that catalogues the recipes of our own childhoods and that reflects the region in which we live. I like to bake and Jeremy likes to cook, so I think you'll see some preferences through what we actually prepare, however, we will focus on being more balanced. We must warn you though, the book is heavily slanted toward desserts, and rightfully so. Who would want to miss the recipe for "Fruit Cocktail Cake", which is in the oven as I type this.

We hope to actually receive submissions, and we'll do our best to try them out. I doubt we'll limit the blog to items that we've actually made, but we're very open to any changes in format that might be necessary.

About The Name:

American "Chow Mein" is one of the recipes in the book. It looks interesting enough, but the title really sums it all up. First and foremost this cookbook is American through and through. The fact that someone has created an American version of Chow Mein (chinese for stir-fried noodles) shows at once the fascination that Americans in the late 70's had with chinese food. It was generally not very good chinese food, but it was somehow close enough that the consumer and the chef felt that they were being multi-cultural and indeed cultured by eating it.

Secondly, the title of the dish most appropriately uses the scare quotes which I'm very fond of. See Cake Wrecks for some of the best uses of scare quotes ever! Including the first discussion of them:http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/06/and-they-say-customer-service-is-dead.html.