Pasta Salad 18/325

The Relation

Vickie McAlister is an outlaw, married to Bob McAlister (George>Pauline>Marty>Bob).  Bob and Vickie would be my second cousins, once removed and, at least as of 2014, lived in Eugene, Oregon.

Veggies galore

The Process

There was a lot of room for preference is this receipt. Each step was left with a “if you like those” or started with “you can add these.” Which is fine by me because it means I get to pick and choose what I like. Note that I did double this recipe and also made it under a time crunch.

I used rotini as my pasta of choice. I strongly considered using one of the 10 or so boxes of vegetable pasta I had in my cupboard (in case Ragnarök begins unexpectedly), but I went with traditional pasta. I cooked it according to the box instructions and selected the lowest amount of time suggested to get that Al Dente goodness.

Slightly overcooked

For my veggies, I selected carrots, broccoli, yellow squash, and zucchini. I tossed them all into a large pot with a little bit of water to steam them. I admit, with everything else happening in the kitchen, I probably overcooked them slightly. They were definitely not “crisp”.

I use an entire red pepper since the amount wasn’t specified and used no mushrooms or olives. Mostly because I didn’t have any on hand, but also because I don’t like olives. I was delighted that Marie’s Blue Cheese Salad Dressing was still in stores 30 years after this recipe was added.

Hindsight, I should have absolutely made this the night before I planned on serving it. After an hour in the fridge, the pasta salad was still room temperature at best. I served it anyway, but Vickie is right, it’s much better on day two. I did not add the lettuce and tomatoes, mostly because I forgot but also because I don’t like tomatoes. I did use the full container of dressing (technically two full containers since I doubled it).

never enough dressing

The Feedback

The room temperature pasta salad was still a hit! I will say that a few days later, different pal came over and had approximately 4 helpings of it. So, the key is to let it chill for a full day!!! I also really liked it, and as someone who isn't a huge fan of bleu cheese, I think that says something

The Receipt

PASTA SALAD CC90
Vickie McAlister

Make a lot of this. It’s better the second day if there’s any left over.

Boil ½ pound curly or shell pasta “al dente”. Drain thoroughly and combine 1 can – 6 ounces – marinated artichoke hearts, undrained. Add I cup each of steamed vegetables like sliced carrots, broccoli flowerets, slice green beans, yellow or zucchini squash. The vegetables should be crisp. Add fresh raw red pepper slices and 1 cup sliced celery. Mushrooms and green or black olives are a great addition if you like them. Add half a bottle of Marie’s Blue Cheese Salad Dressing. Mix and chill. Add more Marie’s when you are ready to serve the salad if it seems to need it. Lettuce and tomato chunks can be added when served but get mushy if mixed in too soon.

I can’t say how many this serves. At least 6 – more if it’s a side salad.

Spinach Balls 17/325

Pat & Henry's Wedding

The Relation

Grand Pat, coming at you fast with another amazing recipe. Pat Gassmann was married to Henry Gassmann (George>Gert>Henry) and is my grandmother. I often find myself wondering how Grand Pat was so nice even after raising seven kids, six of them being boys. My dad sometimes talks about what they would get up to as kids and it sounds like pure anarchy. Nonetheless, Grand Pat persisted and the meanest thing I ever heard her say was that someone wasn't her "favorite" person.

The Process

Ooey-gooey goodness

So, after I made 3 recipes in one night for my Old Co-Workers, I said: "that wasn't that hard, let's do five!" Well, not actually. But I really needed to start tackling the appetizer section of the book so I figured I could do a bunch of small dishes. Spoiler alert: five recipes in one night is too much to do alone.

Okay, back to the balls. I first had these tasty treats at my Uncle Neal's (George>Gert>Henry> Neal) house for Thanksgiving last year. There was a whole debacle about cook time as 25 minutes did not seem sufficient. If I recall correctly, Neal had frozen them ahead of time (a smarter man than me) to bake the next day, so I think the freezing had added to their cook time. I want to say we ended up baking them for 35 or 40 minutes... I could be wrong.

Bird nests??

I bought two bags of frozen spinach and cooked them according to the instructions on the back. I assume that's what was meant by "thawed" but I could be wrong.

Alright, crushed herb croutons instead of the usual bread crumbs? Grand Pat, you are truly a genius. I threw all the croutons in a gallon baggie and started wailing on them with a large metal measuring cup. I suppose if you have a mallet, that would be preferable, but I did not. I continued pummeling until I had a breadcrumb-like consistency. There were definitely a few larger pieces that I could have crushed up more, but I was on a time crunch.

Ready to eat!

Once everything was mixed together, I started balling them up. Except, they didn't really retain their ball shape. One of my friends referred to them as bird nests, which is a pretty apt description, only they aren't supposed to be bird nests... Neal had them in these perfect little balls. I wonder if it has something to do with the freezing bit?

I made nowhere near 72 balls, but that was to be expected since Neal warned me. At most I think we got to 50, but I wasn't too strict on the "walnut-sized" criteria. College Friends Josh and Elizabeth assisted with balling/birdnesting. FYI, 25 minutes was perfect for these unfrozen batches.

The Feedback

Despite not being quite the shape I had imagined, the spinach balls were delightful. Definitely on the savory side, they are an app that builds up a thirst. College Friend approved for sure. They also taste pretty good as leftovers. I do think if I had gotten them small, they would have been crispier and have a nicer texture.

The Receipt

SPINACH BALLS - CC90
Pat Gassmann

2 packages chopped frozen spinach – thawed
2 cups crushed herb croutons
1 cup chopped onion
6 well-beaten eggs
¾ cup melted oleo
¾ Tbs or less pepper
1 Tbs salt
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Mix all of above and roll into balls about size of walnuts. These may be frozen. Bake approximately 25 minutes at 350°.

Makes about 72 balls.

Chicken Tetrazzini 16/325

The Relation

Jim (left) & Mary (right)

Happy belated birthday to Mary Lucia Eagleson Banks (George>Dot>Mary)! Mary, God bless her, was one of the first to send me the desperately needed corrections to my familial explanations. She is the second youngest child of my great-great-aunt Dot. She would be my first cousin, twice removed. And I am 100% sure that is correct, as that's how she signed off her email.

The Process

A note to the wise: read this section before you forge into the recipe so you do not make the same silly mistakes we did.

Don't forget the green peppers!

We'll start with the chicken: I used 5 chicken breasts because I love chicken and also because the breasts I got seemed smaller than usual. The breasts simmered for about ten minutes on medium heat in water (I had to look up how to cook chicken in water, so don't feel bad if you too were clueless). They rested for another ten minutes before I cut them into chunks.

I know the recipe calls for 1/4 cup butter in the ingredients list, but the recipe itself calls for butter not once, but twice. After some delicate thought, we (sous-chef Grant was back for more) made a collective decision to use a separate quantity of butter for sautee-ing. We started with two tablespoons but ended up adding more as needed.

thick sauce over everything

After adding the lemon juice, salt, and grated onion, we set the mixture aside. Amidst the cooking that occurred after this, we realized the chopped green pepper had not been added yet. Upon further investigation, Grant found that the recipe doesn't actually tell you where to add the green peppers. So, I just tossed them into the mushroom mixture and reheated it while stirring for five additional minutes.

The amount of flour required to make the cream mixture was also not specified (to be clear, this is where we used the full 1/4 cup of butter). We started with one tablespoon, and after the sauce had been completed, we tested the consistency. Personally, I favor a thicker sauce in my food over a watery sauce. We ended up adding another tablespoon of flour to thicken her up.

pre-bake

As for the dry white wine, I picked up the cheapest bottle of Pinot Grigio I could find at the grocery store (I forget the brand but its the one with the kangaroo on the label). The precise division of the sauce was completed by Grant in a liquid measuring cup (can't ever be too exact) while I prepped the shallow baking dish. I used a glass 9 x 13 inch dish.

Pretty sure we added additional cheese to the top of the dish, well above and beyond the half cup requested, but you can never have enough cheese. A week after we made this recipe, I found the 4oz jar of chopped pimientos in my cabinet. Much like the green pepper, the recipe doesn't tell you where to toss these in and thus they were forgotten. So, we really made Chicken Semi-Compromise Tetrazzini.

The Feedback

Absolutely delicious. I don't really have any other feedback. I wish we hadn't forgotten about the pimientos as I think that would have made it even better. I all the leftovers (aside from those sent home with my sous-chef) in a matter of 24 hours.

The Receipt

post-bake

CHICKEN TETRAZZINI - CC90
Mary Lucia

4 whole chicken breasts
1 lb sliced fresh mushrooms
¼ cup butter
½ tsp lemon juice
½ tsp salt
1 tsp grated onion
½ lb spaghetti, cooked
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
⅓ cup dry white wine
4 oz chopped pimento
½ cup chopped green pepper
½ cup grated Parmesan

Cook chicken covered in water until tender. Cool in broth. Remove meat and cut into chunks. Sauté mushrooms in butter for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, salt and onion. Set aside. Melt butter. Blend in flour and seasonings. Add broth and cream and cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth. Add wine and divide in half. Add chicken to half and spaghetti and mushroom to other half. Put spaghetti in a large shallow baking dish and make well in the center. Pour in chicken. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes.

The above is the light recipe. Depending on my mood and frugality, I’ve been known to substitute the meat of a whole chicken and up the spaghetti to one pound and to mix the whole mess to together wit half the sauce. Usually I leave out the mushrooms and the pimento and the green pepper. Then you have Compromise Tetrazzini. Still pretty good.

Brownies 15/325

A lovely collection of Mary Porters

The Relation

Mary Porter (Mary Celeste Weber Porter) is another of the original children of Mama and Papa. She is widely renowned, at least within our family, for her artistic talent. You can find many members of the family comparing their collections of "Mary Porters".  She would be my great-great-aunt.

The Process

It was My Very Pregnant Boss's youngest daughter's third birthday and she wanted brownies. Since I love Presley with my whole heart, I offered my services. I have made brownies quite a few times in my life, so I was ready for this one.

mmm melty chocolate

I was unsure exactly what a square of chocolate meant, but after some searching, I found that one square of chocolate was approximately equivalent to one ounce. I used 2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate in my fancy, new double boiler (yes, I sold out after the Chinese New Year Cookie MacGyvering).

In lieu of using an 8 x 8 pan, I used a disposable 9 x 13 pan (for easy transportation etc). Knowing that this was a much larger pan, I doubled the recipe. However, I still think I should have done two pans. At about 25 minutes in the oven, the brownie looked great. A large dome had formed but they weren't quite done. A few minutes later, the dome had deflated and the brownies looked collapsed.

Birthday girl loves dinos

The Feedback

Besides their deflation, the brownies were really good. They are a light brown color and are definitely more sweet than chocolatey (if that makes sense?). The birthday girl was a big fan and at the end of the day, that's the only person who matters.

The Receipt

BROWNIES - CC80
Mary Porter+

⅔ cup flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
⅓ cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup walnuts
1 tsp vanilla
2 squares chocolate

Melt chocolate and shortening over hot water. Beat eggs. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Beat in chocolate. Mix in flour. Add nuts and vanilla. Bake in greased 8 x 8 x 2 pan at 350° for 25 minutes. Cool in pan.

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chili Sauce 14/325

The Relation

Sally's Clan (Barbara is far right)

I swear, this family. There are not only two Barbara Adamsons but they both ended up marrying into the name Adamson with men by the name of John. This receipt was either submitted by Barbara Philomena Katherine Weber Adamson (my great-great-aunt, 3rd youngest of Mama and Papa Weber) OR her daughter-in-law, Barbara Ann Hardebeck Adamson. As my great-great-aunt would have gone by Sally, we're making the assumption that outlaw (and my first cousin, twice removed) Barbara Adamson submitted this one. Sally Adamson's descendants wear orange at Cousin Club.

The Process

My sous chefs this evening were none other than Climbing Pals Brooke and Kaylee. Without them, all hope would have been lost. I highly recommend making this with helping hands, especially when it comes to the assembly line bit.

Lady crushers crush enchiladas

Brooke assisted with the sauce. We – and by we, I mean me – prefer food on the less spicy side, so we elected to go with the 1/3 cup of chili powder as opposed to the ½ cup. Before adding the water, you get this really dark red, almost black, paste in the pan. It’s a little unsettling but we had faith. Side note: please take a moment to pause and enjoy the pretty swirly top layer of the sauce when you get to the 4th cup of water added. Brooke was a big fan.

The chicken we used for the filling was sautéed in a large pan prior to the arrivals of my guest chefs and then shredded. On another note, where does one find the 1 lb cans of tomato puree? And what is the difference between tomato puree and tomato sauce? I had a heck of a time at the grocery store. I ended up having to buy two 28 oz cans of tomato puree and only using 4oz of the second can. Very silly.

Pretty swirlies

Anyways, we weren’t entirely sure how one is supposed to go about crushing garlic, but like any lady crusher, we just decided to make it up as we went. I crushed the cloves with the blade of my knife (not unlike Harry Potter does in potions class in the Half-Blood Prince), then chopped up the crushed clove further. We tossed all the ingredients into the hot oil and proceeded to immerse our noses in the delicious aroma.

Will somebody please explain to me the purpose of canned tortillas? The entire idea was so ludicrous that I didn’t even try to find them. Do they soak in a liquid? For what purpose? Regardless, we used regular 8-inch tortillas that were sold in a bag. Sorry, Barb. Kaylee was our star tortilla fryer, really mastering the not-crisp-but-still-fried tortilla. Honorable mention to Brooke for running to the grocery store when we started running out of tortillas (she still bought the bagged ones).

Guts of the tort 

The light cream threw me off as well. I looked it up and according to Google, light cream is a cream that has between 18%-30% milk fat. Half and half has about 11% milkfat and heavy cream has about 46%. My local Smiths does not sell light cream, so I bought heavy cream and half and half, and then put on my algebra hat. I’m highly confident I didn’t do the math exactly right, but I ended up using half a cup of heavy cream and half a cup of half and half and calling it a day.

Our assembly line was arguably perfect. Kaylee fried the tortillas, let them cool, then handed them to me, who soaked them in the cream mixture, filled them, and placed them in the pan. Brooke served as our supervisor, emotional support, and general extra hand when needed. In terms of pan size, I recommend two 9 x 13-inch casserole dishes for the best results. We only used 20 of the 24 tortillas we were supposed to use but manages to fill a 9 x 13 pan and a 9 x 9 pan.

The Feedback

Overall, delicious. You really can’t go wrong with enchiladas. I will say, these were on the strange side. The tortilla filling (“guts of the tort”) was on the sweeter side, which really contrasted the super salty element from an unknown origin. We’re still not really sure if it was the sauce or the cheese or WHAT was so salty. My theory is the saltiness comes from the bouillon cube/cream mixture. It’s important to take bites of the enchilada that incorporate all the aspects of the dish so you get a balanced taste.

Still confused about why there are random beans floating in the sauce, but I just decided it give the dish character.

The Receipt

did someone say cheese...?

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS WITH RED CHILI SAUCE - CC80
Barbara Adamson

RED CHILI SAUCE
     ¼ cup shortening
     ⅓ – ½ cup chili powder
     ¼ cup flour
     1½ tsp salt
     1 tsp garlic salt
     ¼ tsp dried oregano leaves
     ¼ tsp cumin
1 can – 8 ¼ oz – kidney beans, drained
Melt shortening in medium skillet. Add chili powder, flour, salt, garlic salt, oregano and cumin. Stir until blended. Gradually stir in 4 cups water. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Add kidney beans. Heat 5 minutes. Set aside.

FILLING
     2 Tbs salad oil
     ½ cup chopped onion
     1 can – 4oz – finely chopped green chilies
     2 cloves crushed garlic
     2 cans – 1 lb size – tomato puree
     3 cups chopped cooked chicken
     1 tsp salt
     ¼ tsp pepper
In 2 tablespoons hot oil in large skillet sauté onion until tender – about 5 minutes. Add green chilies, garlic, tomato puree, chicken, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.

OTHER INGREDIENTS
     Salad oil
     2 cans – 11 oz each – tortillas or 2 packages – 12 oz each – frozen tortillas –
          You’ll need 24
     1 cup light cream
     2 chicken bouillon cubes
     1 lb grated cheddar cheese

Now, to assemble this thing –
- Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease 2 – 2 quart size – shallow baking dishes.
- Heat ¾ inch salad oil in small skillet until very hot. Fry tortillas, one at a time, 15 seconds on each side. Do not let them become crisp. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.
- In small saucepan, heat cream with bouillon cubes until cubes are dissolved.
- Dip each tortilla in cream mixture. Top each with heaping tablespoon of filling. Roll up and place seam side down in baking dishes, dividing evenly. Pour 2 cups red chili sauce over tortillas in each dish. Sprinkle each with half of the cheese.
- Bake uncover 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and tortillas are heated through.

Makes 12 servings depending on your appetite. Can divide recipe in half successfully. Can make ahead of time successfully.

Essie & Bessie Stew 13/325

The Relation

Liz, rocking the finger waves

Liz Schilt, full name Katherine Elizabeth Josephine Weber Schilt, is the fifth eldest of the original descendants. Liz was named after Mama Weber (Elizabeth) and her two sisters, Katherine and Josephine. She married a man by the name of Frank Schilt (outlaw), who would go on to win the congressional medal of honor for some insane and life-risking feats involving the rescue of casualties by flying them strapped to the wings of his plane. He's even got his own Wikipedia article here.

I did try to find out more about Essie and Bessie, but with no results. The elderly twins will remain a mystery (see anecdote at the end of the receipt).

The Process

Another cherry-popping recipe for you all today. Stew is something I have rarely (if ever) eaten, let alone made. The word stew, if I am being candid, is rather unappetizing in itself. But if I'm getting nothing else from this project, it is new experiences.

Layer 1

Alrighty, let's start with the meat. In my head, stew beef was just beef that I would cut up and put in a stew. As I perused the grocery store though, I found a package of cut up meat labeled "stew beef." Was this probably the exact same beef as the un-cut, cheaper option to it's left? Probably. Was I going to risk being wrong? Absolutely not. So I paid the extra dollar and change and bought the "stew beef."

The reason I picked this recipe to make was that I still had a huge supply of potatoes from Roommate Lora's mom, in addition to some leftover celery from the Savory Scalloped Potatoes. Wasting food is a no-go in any household, but I feel like my family especially considers it a cardinal sin. Every time my dad (George>Gertrude>Henry>Zean) visits me, the first thing he asks is "what needs to be eaten?"

New dish, who dis?

My interpretation of "in layers" was to do two layers of each ingredient. I went with potatoes, onions, meat, then carrots. Then repeat. Notice something is missing?

I FORGOT THE FREAKING CELERY. I have done a lot of stupid things in my life... but this is a whole new level. The whole reason for me making this stew was to use it up and here I am, just making the recipe without it!!! Okay, rant over. Honestly, as I think about it, the pan was already almost full with the rest of the ingredients. Celery would have made it overflow. I actually had to swap pans halfway through layering (which entirely messed up my perfectly crafted layers, but I'll get over it).

I really made an effort to seal the aluminum foil tightly around the edges of the pan, but the pan's edges are wavy so it was pretty hard. If I did it again, I'd probably try harder. Anyways, I popped her into the oven and did all sorts of adult, productive things for the next 5 hours.

No celery in sight

The Feedback

Not to brag or anything, but this is the best (only) stew I have ever made. Seriously though, it was super delicious. I found that the beef was a little bit on the dry side, but besides that, it has excellent color and flavor. My Very Pregnant Boss was the only person besides myself to taste this stew. This really only happened because I was eating the leftovers for lunch and she caught a whiff of it. So, note to you all that this stew has an irresistible scent. Be wary of bringing it to work!

The Receipt

ESSIE & BESSIE STEW      CC80
Liz Schilt+

2 lbs stew beef, cubed
6 carrots, cut in pieces
8 medium potatoes, cubed
1 large onion, sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced but not too thin

Put above ingredients in 9x13x2-inch pan in layers. Mix together 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and 1 cup tomato juice or sauce. Pour over meat and vegetables. Seal with foil and bake at 250° for 5 hours, more or less.

This recipe originated in Olney and was published by the Daily Mail years ago. Its authors are delightful senior citizen twins. One lives on Boone Street two blocks north of Gertie’s. We called on her the last time I was in Olney, but I don’t know if it was Essie or Bessie.

Chinese New Year Cookies 12/325

Happy Belated Chinese New Year! It's officially the year of the rat, so special shout out to all my fellow rats out there (esp. Remy from Ratatouille).

The Relation

Daisy Queen Helen

Helen Regina Weber Miller was the second oldest of Mama & Papa Weber's (George and Elizabeth's) children. From my research, she was an expert daisy grower and had an "everything's going to be okay" look to make the world a little better, for a little bit. Her clan is represented, at least at the most recent Cousin Club, by the dark green color.

The Process

A recipe that I don't have to use my oven? Don't mind if I do! These delightful sweet treats are easy peasy and only use four ingredients. Although, for only using four ingredients, it did call for two tools that I did not have on hand.

Macgyvered Double Boiler

First, and easiest to acquire, was the wax paper. Note: wax paper is a great tool for chilling candies on. I popped by my local grocers and picked up a whole roll. The second piece of equipment was a double boiler - or really any sort of contraption to melt the candy over hot water with. Instead of spending money on something, I macgyvered a ceramic bowl over a small pot. Aside from the constant worry of the bowl shattering, I think it went quite well!

A tip on picking up the "Chinese noodles": my grocery store has them in the "international" section of the store. They are typically referred to as chow mein noodles and would be in a bag. I never want to make any assumptions about these recipes, so I highly considered picking up a variety of other noodles on top of this bag just in case I picked the wrong one. Let me tell you, "Chinese noodles" could mean quite a few things.

No noodle left behind

I am highly confident that I actually picked up regular, unsalted, Spanish peanuts. But the fact that I even found Spanish peanuts at all was a miracle in itself, so I'm taking the win. Once the butterscotch and chocolate bits have melted into a divine brown-gold color, I added it to a plastic bowl where the peanuts and chow mein noodles were patiently waiting. It is important to give an even coating to all the peanuts and noodles, as nobody deserves to feel left out.

I tried to use my fancy new lemon baller tool for this recipe, but the peanuts and noodles were too clunky to fit. So I went back to the stone age and used a regular spoon *big sigh*. I filled up two trays (covered with wax paper, per the instructions) and popped them in the freezer.

The Feedback

Moments before getting devoured

When I was first talking about making this recipe, Roommate Lora stopped dead in her tracks and said "if those are the cookies I am thinking they are, I am calling dibs on at least half the batch." Needless to say, she was a big fan of the cookies. As someone who had never had this type of cookie, I was pretty into them as well. A really solid blend of crunchy and sweet.

The Receipt

CHINESE NEW YEAR COOKIES CC80
Helen Miller+

1 package – 6 oz – chocolate bits
1 package – 6 oz – butterscotch bits
1 can – 3 oz – Chinese noodles
1 can – 7¼ oz – salted Spanish peanuts

Melt chocolate and butterscotch bits over hot water. Mix in noodles and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Chill.

4 dozen cookies