Shrimp Jambalaya 25/325

Ted, Zean, Neal & John

The Relation

Zean is my dad and John is my uncle. Let me just take a moment to say how wonderful a human being Zean Zuber Gassmann is (John is also great, but, y'know, he's not my dad). Zean has been involved, in one way or another, with all of the Cousin Club reunions. If memory serves me correctly, he was in charge of planning the one in 1990, before you could email out invites and had to mail everything. That's mind-blowing for a young millennial like myself. Zean is also known for being the friendliest person ever. Nine out of ten times, if there is a new person in a room, he will just bop right up to them and introduce himself (this is a trait I have definitely inherited). Photo to the right is from Hood to Coast 2019, left to right: Ted(Dot>Ted), Zean, Neal, and John (all 3 are Gert>Henry).

Proud UNLV Alum Kiara

The Process

A word to the wise: Double this recipe. It’s not that it is a small serving, it’s just SO GOOD.

I unintentionally doubled the amount of shrimp and sausage in the receipt. Mostly because the packages I bought of both items happened to be double that amount, but also because we love protein! College Pal Kiara came over to be my sous chef on this one and brought a bottle of wine. More on the wine later.

Scratch n Sniff

Now, as Kiara and I both are graduates of the famous Hospitality College at UNLV, we should be experts in the kitchen. But alas, neither of us is anywhere near that level. Also, we were drinking, so we were even worse off than usual. Kiara was in charge of cutting up the veggies into tiny pieces. Had John been there, he probably would have requested smaller pieces, but again, we’re not perfect. Also, can we talk about how onions and peppers sautéed in butter is just the best smell ever?

We added in the rest of the ingredients (besides the rice and shrimp) and brought it to a boil in the biggest pot in my house. At this point, we were a few glasses deep into the wine and I made a mistake. I tossed the rice in at the same time at the shrimp. The recipe specifically states to add shrimp first, then add rice and reduce to simmer.

Double the sausage, why not?

BUT HERE IS THE THING: We left the rice cooking for long enough for the two of us to finish off the bottle of wine. And by two of us, I mean mostly me since Kiara had to drive home. But it had to be at least 30 to 40 minutes! I know this is my own father’s recipe, but I gotta say it: Add the rice well before the shrimp.

The Feedback

Literally so good. I knew it was going to be fire since I’ve had it many times before… But holy cow does it hit the spot. We polished off all but one measly serving that I ate for lunch the next day. I have to say the shrimp was a little overcooked (heed my suggestion in the last paragraph!). But again, STILL SO DELICIOUS!

The Receipt

SHRIMP JAMBALAYA - CC90

John and Zean Gassmann

1 lb shrimp

½ lb link sausage – cooked or pre-cooked

1 medium bell pepper

1 medium onion

2 Tbs butter or margarine

16 oz tomato sauce

1 clove garlic – more if you like garlic

¼ tsp black pepper

1 cup water

1 cup uncooked white rice

1 bay leaf

Tabasco sauce to taste

Clean shrimp and set aside. Chop green pepper, onion and garlic into miniscule pieces – John doesn’t want to recognize any vegetables. Sauté chopped veggies in the butter or margarine 2 or 3 minutes. Add chopped sausage. Sauté 1 more minute. Add all other ingredients except shrimp and rice. Stir to boil. When boiling, add shrimp and cook 5 minutes. Add rice and reduce heat to simmer. Cook covered until rice is soft. Add salt and hot sauce to taste.

Serves 6 – or 2 Gassmanns in marathon training.

Spinach Ricotta Pie 24/325

Polly Herz Center

The Relation

Polly Herz (Pauline > Martha) is my second cousin, once-removed. She is the grandchild of Pauline (Polly) the third eldest child of Mama & Papa Weber. I hear people refer to her as Pretty Polly fairly often, so I imagine she was quite the looker (this is referring to the original Polly, not that Polly Herz is not also a looker. I think she looks dashing in her Polly green shirt).

The Process

I know this isn’t really a pie pie but, this is the first pie I have ever made. This is very important to know because I made a lot of hearty assumptions about making pies that paid off pretty well.

1/2 pound spinach

I looked up what “cut together” meant as I imagined that I might have to combine ingredients using a knife and a cutting motion. But, it seems like it’s just a fancy way of saying mix. After missing my ingredients I formed a ball. That is the last we hear about the ball until a few sentences later we hear about an “unbaked crust”. Using my powers of deductive reasoning, I fixed the ball eventually becomes the crust. So I tossed it in the fried to chill for a bit.

In case you’re wondering what half a pound of spinach looks like, here ya go. I sautéed up my fresh spinach and onion real good in about four tablespoons of butter. Unable to find regular ricotta cheese in a suitable size, I bought the low-fat version. I also used parmesan cheese, mostly because it’s what I had on hand. I don’t think I added any nutmeg or basil, but that’s what I get for not close reading. At this point, I put everything in the fridge and went to bed because I was tired.

AM I DOING THIS RIGHT?

Cut to 5:00 AM the next morning. I got out the chilled ball aka crust. Again – I have never made a pie, so I was kind of winging it here. I tossed down some flour and rolled the dough out until it would cover my whole baking pan. The crust was thinner than my thinnest rolling pin rim (1/4in). I had a pie dish, but I couldn’t find it, so I used a round cake tin. I sprayed the cake pan with Pam and delicately placed my crust inside. I tried to smooth out any ridges the best I could.

I piled the filling into the crust (who’s edges I didn’t chop off) and then very carefully spread the sour cream on top. She was tossed into the oven for the full 45 minutes. Once taken out, she was allowed to cool for maybe 10 minutes before I had to put her in a cooler and take her to work.

my perfect pie baby

The Feedback

Well, once the pie reached her final destination at 7:00 PM that night, she was allowed to warm up in the over for an hour on the “warm” setting. This didn’t do a whole lot as Old Coworkers still ended up microwaving their pieces. Great feedback though! The crust was really nice and held up perfectly. It didn’t really go with the curry Old Coworker Beth made, but hey, everything was delicious!

The Receipt

YUM

SPINACH RICOTTA PIE - CC80
Polly Herz

CRUST
     1 cup flour
     ⅓ cup butter
     ¼ tsp salt
     3 Tbs water

FILLING
     1 lb ricotta or cottage cheese
     3 beaten eggs
     ½ lb fresh chopped spinach
     1 small chopped onion
     3 Tbs flour
     ½ cup grated cheese
     Dash of nutmeg, salt, pepper and basil

TOPPING
     1 cup sour cream

Cut together flour, butter and salt, and then add water to form a ball. Sauté spinach and onion in butter. Combine with all other filling ingredients. Spread into unbaked crust. Top with sour cream. Bake at 375° for 40-45 minutes.

Swiss Cheese Bread 21/325

Carrie & Bob

The Relation

Carrie Gassmann Burrows would be my first cousin, once removed. She lives in Illinois (but not Olney) with her husband Bob. Fun fact, according my dad, Carrie's younger sister, Judy, married Bob's younger brother, Dan. Talk about the end of Shakespearian comedy!

The Process

Hassel back?

I will be honest, apart from purchasing the ingredients I had very little to do with making this recipe. This delicious bread will conclude the dish nightmare that was having my group of College Student Government Pals over. Which was not all that nightmarish except for the fact I didn’t prep like I should have. At this point, you’re probably wondering if I ever prep properly. The answer is no.

Alright, back to the bread. I did a little bit of hunting for the “soft crust French bread” called for in the ingredients. When I think of French bread, I usually imagine a crispy baguette, as oppose to anything soft. I found what appeared to be a soft crusted loaf of French bread in the bakery of my local smiths (they should sponsor me at this point, I swear). The label didn’t say “soft crust” but I poked it a little and it seemed okay.

Cheese on Cheese on CHEESE

Once I had the ingredients, all credit goes to College Pal Josh (and maybe also Armon). Josh took this assignment and ran with it. As I read the bread slicing instructions to him, he said “right, so a Hassel back?” To which I responded, “a what??” Well, folks, it turns out that Hassel backing your bread means you slice it almost all the way through to the bottom. That way all the slices stay attached to the bottom of the bread for the eaters to pull off themselves.

I bought blocks of swiss cheese (as the recipe calls for despite later requesting them to be sliced) so my sous chefs worked on slicing the blocks very thin. They definitely ended up using a few broken slices in between each slice of bread. They did use the entirety of the block, so I knew this was gonna be cheesy.

We had some creative interpretations of the foiling. Josh put his loaf in a little cocoon of its own while Armon built a cage around the entire pan.

Armon's (top)& Josh's (bottom)

The Feedback

Josh will say his loaf was better, but I think they both were spectacular. Fair warning, this is not a dish for the faint of heart. Seriously, it’s so buttery and carb-loaded, you might start worrying for your heart. Totally worth it though. I really liked the poppy seeds as an add-in. It made for some extra texture on top of giving the bread some aesthetic depth. I’m not sure if that’s a real thing or not, but today it is.

The Receipt

SWISS CHEESE BREAD - CC90
Carrie Gassmann Burrows

½ cup melted margarine
2 Tbs minced onion
1 Tbs Dijon or Dutch mustard
2 tps lemon juice
1 Tbs poppy seeds
½ tps Laury’s Seasoning Salt
1 block Swiss cheese
1 loaf soft crust French bread

Combine all ingredients but cheese and bread. Slice bread diagonally and put a thin slice of cheese between each slice. Place on foil and pour butter mixture over top. Bring up sides of foil but do not cover top. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Beer Bread 23/325

CC80 Bellringing

The Relation

Ibby Brennan back at it again! If you don't remember (from literally yesterday's post) Ibby is my first cousin, twice removed. She is the oldest of the three Pauline sisters, full name being Elizabeth Bower Sebree Brennan. She was a west coast gal (like myself) living in Carmel, CA.

Photo taken at the CC80 Bellringing on July 4, 1980.
Front, l-r, Henry Gassmann [Gert], IBBY, Mark Brennan and Jim Degnan [Mart-m.Susie].
Middle, l-r, Janet David [Dot], Dot, Emily Schaub [Dot], Christine Tucker [Bud] and Susie Degnan [Mart].
Back, l-r, Mary Lucia Banks [Dot], Uncle John Adamson [m.Sally] and Ted Eagleson [Dot]

The Process

This receipt has got to be the simplest thing I have made so far. But do not fear! This will not be a boring entry.

LOOK AT ALL THE BUBBLES

The existence of self-rising flour was a delightful discovery. It rises – get this – by itself. There are no other receipts in the book that call for it, which is upsetting, but who knew, right?? While you’re buying your fancy flour don’t forget this receipt also calls for butter (not listed in the ingredients).

I bought a beer that is local to Las Vegas and is a personal favorite of mine. As far as I can tell, you can’t ever buy just one can of beer. Which is really annoying. But I figured if I had to buy a full six-pack, it should something I like (shout out to Bad Beat Brewery’s Bluffing Isn’t Weiss).

Gooey-Goodness

As sous-chef Grant and I worked on this receipt, I want to note that we were mildly concerned about the amount of salt we were adding. Three tablespoons?? It just seemed like a lot. But we did it anyway. We melted two tablespoons of butter for the top and popped it in the oven.

When it came out, Grant picked a little piece off of the top and said it was crunchy and a bit salty. I sliced myself a piece once it had cooled and took a bite. It was super salty, like… terribly salty. Not wanting Grant to think I thought his salt tolerance was disgusting I mentioned it was a little on the salty side. He took a bite and confidently said: “This is inedible.” And so we decided there had to be a mistake.

Butter Baby

ROUND 2! On another evening, I made a new batch. I had plenty of beer and flour leftover, so might as well. I decided that the recipe must have meant to call for 3 teaspoons instead of 3 tablespoons. I had poured 2 teaspoons of salt when I ran out of salt. I didn’t even think running out salt was possible… but there I was. Two teaspoons would just have to be enough.

The Feedback

HUZZAH! Round 2 was a success. Still on the salty side but really good! Definitely not inedible. For only having four ingredients, the bread had a really good texture. Great crust and super soft inside. It’s much denser than the bread you might be used to. Good reviews from Office Girls and Climbing Pals alike. Also, if you substitute traditional butter for vegan butter, the receipt is vegan!

The Receipt

Perfectly crunchy top

BEER BREAD - CC80
Ibby Brennan

3 cups self-rising flour
3 Tbs salt
12 oz beer

Mix all the ingredients in large bowl until the dough falls away from the side. Grease loaf pan – 9x5x2¾-inch – whatever. Butter top generously. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.

Makes 1 loaf.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake 22/325

Ibby & Paul in Pauline Green

The Relation

Ibby Brennan would be my first cousin, twice removed. She passed away at 99 years old just a few weeks ago and I am quite sad that I never got to meet her. My dad told me that she was just the best person at responding and communicating with people. If you wrote Ibby a letter, you would surely be getting a response.

The Process

Before I start, I want everyone to know ahead of time that I really messed up with the pan sizing. More on this later.

Alright, Zucchini cake!!! I know I am out here making all of these super unhealthy (but oh-so-delicious) recipes, but I am typically a pretty health-conscious person. I’m all about shoving vegetables into sweets, so this is right up my alley. Also, who doesn’t like chocolate?? (Climbing Pal Brooke actually hates chocolate, but we try not to hold that against her).

Not the cutest

For those of you not sure how many zucchini you should collect for this recipe, it’s approximately two and a half. I used the bigger side of my grater for the “coarsely grated” style called for. Other notes on this recipe: I used butter instead of margarine, walnuts instead of pecans, and 1% milk. I don’t think any of those things will make a huge impact. Unless someone’s allergic to walnuts.

Not going to lie, before you add the dry ingredients, the batter does not look so cute. Super grainy and green. After you add the dry ingredients? Absolutely beautiful. Smooth (besides the zucchini lumps), chocolatey, rich… everything you’re looking for in a vegetable cake.

Uhh, YUM?? 

Okay here’s where the trouble begins. The 10-inch tube pan. In my brain, I just assumed a tube pan would be just that: a tube.  A long, skinny, straight pan like you might bake a loaf of bread in. So, I looked in my cabinet, and voila! Found a long, skinny, straight pan that was almost exactly 10 inches long. It was a little rusty, so I lined it with some foil.

As I filled said pan, I was a little concerned about how it was pretty close to overflowing. But hey, some of these recipes aren’t that exact so I scooped a little of the batter out into a smaller loaf pan and tossed both into the oven. After 20 minutes, I knew I had made a mistake. Globs of chocolate cake were overflowing into the oven. My smoke alarm went off multiple times that night. My chocolate cake came out entirely deflated and covered in charred overflow.

Right before disaster struck

For those who don’t know, a tube pan is a round pan with a hole in the middle. Not unlike a bundt pan. I have since purchased one.

The Feedback

Despite the issues with the pan, the cake was pretty good! The smaller loaf pan I made came out perfectly. The cake is super moist and flavorful. You would never know there was zucchini in it! My Very Pregnant Boss was a big fan.

The Receipt

A little deformed, but AWESOME

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE - CC80
Ibby Brennan

2½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
2½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp soda
1 tsp each salt and cinnamon
¾ cup soft butter or margarine
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp each vanilla and grated orange peel
2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
½ cup milk

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. With a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smoothly blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla, orange peel and zucchini. Alternately stir in dry ingredients and milk, including nuts with last addition. Pour batter into greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Turn out on wire rack to cool thoroughly. Great thinly sliced and spread with whipped cream cheese. Great for the freezer.

Yellow Birds 20/325

Janet & Mike's Wedding 1963

The Relation

Janet David is my first cousin, twice removed. She is one of the Dot clan and is very involved in all cousin club gatherings. I've met Janet more than a few times and she is always the sweetest (and spunkiest) person. I'm told that during CC90, she was concerned about the stiffness of all of the T-shirts. So, she washed all 250+ of the shirts and hung them out to dry. If someone has a picture of this, send it my way!

The Process

Smoothy, smooth

I should warn you all that I have a bit of a sensitivity to pineapple. But I'm not about to let a little fuzzy-tongue prevent me from gettin' my drank on with this! It's the first cocktail I have made from the book!

Locating the ingredients was the start of my journey. Despite my sensitivity to pineapple, I still happened to have not one, but two large cans (46oz) of pineapple juice in my cabinet. I found the cream of coconut in the "international" section of the grocery store, but the traditional Hispanic foods. I used a 15oz can of Goya brand. Frozen lemonade was easy enough, found right next to the frozen fruit. I purchased the 12oz can. And then a fifth of the cheapest vodka I could find!

Ready for the freeze!

I made this twice because the first batch was far too rushed. The first time I made it, I added the ingredients in the order listed. I think the issue with this is that the cream of coconut definitely is somewhat solid. Even after freezing it, I still had some solid chunks in it.

When I made the next batch, I was sure to start with the cream of coconut and slowly whisk in the vodka and pineapple juice so the mixture was homogenous. This was much more effective in avoiding chunks. After freezing - which takes a million hours - some of the chunks returned, but it was still significantly improved from the last time.

The Feedback

Besides the chunky coconut feedback on batch one, my guests had nothing bad to say about it. It's definitely a recipe for those who don't mind something real sweet. Despite my very mild intolerance to pineapple, I certainly enjoyed a full cup. If you're looking for a garnish, I'd go with a lime. The pop of color really suits the drink and it cuts through the sweetness.

Photo from batch 1

The Receipt

YELLOW BIRDS – tweet! tweet! - CC90
Janet David

I large can pineapple juice
Fifth of vodka
1 can cream of coconut
1 large can frozen lemonade

Mix up in gallon container. Put in freezer until slushy! Use ½ cup of mix and ½ cup diet 7–Up!

Bacon Wrapped Chestnuts 19/325

The Relation

Barbara Fulk center

Barbara Fulk is my first cousin, twice removed. She was the fifth child of Joseph Hausner Weber and Elizabeth O'Donnell (side note: in the handbook, it states that Elizabeth passed on 11-15-10... which is five years before she was born. Can someone please fact check? Thanks.) In the photo, she is center (l-r, Cousins Teresa Antey, Barbara Fulk and Helen Grether)

*Edit: I realize now that's born in 1915 and passed in 2010. Oops.

The Process

My first thoughts on this recipe were "hm, this is new and interesting?" I've had bacon-wrapped scallops before; they were a staple at my first job in weddings. But chestnuts? Totally wild and new. I had a heck of a time finding chestnuts in the grocery store. I think I ended up in the international aisle before I had any luck. I was doubling the recipe, so I bought four cans in total. I only ended up using three.

The bacon was the limiting reagent in this formula. I ran out of it first. If you're looking to make a lot of these, buy an extra pack of bacon (worst comes to worst, you've got breakfast for the next day!). I also would argue that buying thinner cut bacon might have been a better plan. I used the standard Oscar Meyer center cut bacon. Cutting the chestnuts into thirds was really easy, but I guarantee you they were nowhere near equal-sized. I tried my best though.

Rolling up the chestnuts took the most active time, so make sure you're planning ahead. I packed the skewers really tightly on the pan because I had so many. Pro tip: cover pans with aluminum foil. Yes, it's a tad wasteful, but it will save you so much time and effort in cleaning up. It also makes saving the bacon grease for the special pups in your life much, much, easier.

As the first tray came out of the oven, College Pals Armon and Josh arrived and were quickly recruited into being sous chefs. I had been dipping each skewer into the catsup(ketchup) mixer one and a time. My new sous chefs were much smarter than me and quickly asked for some sort of brush to apply the mixer. I will say the coating was much lighter, but the process went much faster.

Armon & Josh helping out

You cannot, and I repeat, cannot, rush the process on the cooking time. I pumped up the temperature on the second tray to get them out faster, and they quickly burned. Patience is a virtue, friends.

The Feedback

AMAZING. They are in no way healthy for you but holy cow, are these things delicious. They are crisp, sweet and savory. A few of my College Pals also commented on this was a favorite of the evening. It's a great passed hor d'oeuvres for those of you who have posh cocktail parties on the regular.

The Receipt

BACON WRAPPED CHESTNUTS - CC90
Barbara Fulk

2 cans water chestnuts
½ lb bacon
⅔ cup brown sugar
1 cup catsup

Cut chestnuts into thirds. Cut bacon into fourths. Wrap chestnuts in bacon and secure with toothpicks. Bake at 250° for 1 hour. Mix brown sugar and catsup. Dip bacon-wrapped chestnuts in mixture and bake again at 250° for another hour.