Cookbook

3

This book is dedicated to my parents and grandparents, who fed me very well.- A.

Table of ConTenTs

Banana Bread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Breakfast Casserole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Eggs in a Basket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Corn Casserole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Mrs. Wilkes’ Boarding House Mac + Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Mashed Potatoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Mikey’s Corn Salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Chicken and Dumplings . . . . . . . . . .9Chicken and Rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Chicken Spaghetti Casserole . . . . . .11Corn and Potato Chowder . . . . . . . .12Crispy Yogurt Chicken . . . . . . . . . . .13Fancy Fast Chicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Penne a la Betsy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Stuffed Meatloaf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Swedish Meatballs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Apple Dumplings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24Banana Nut Cake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25Amanda’s Chocolate Sheet Cake . .26Grandad’s Chocolate Sheet Cake . .27Cushaw Pie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28Gooey Cake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29Ice Box Cookies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Snickerdoodles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31Sour Cream Coffee Cake . . . . . . . . .32Tapioca Pudding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

bReaKfasT 4 sIDes 18

enTRees 8 DesseRTs 23

5

This recipe came from my Aunt Mary, Mom’s older sister. She made this for us during one of our trips to visit her, and I fell in love. I was never a fan of nuts in my banana bread (though they’re perfectly fine in banana nut cake!), so I prefer to leave them out or to throw in some chocolate chips, instead. (TOP: A fresh slice of the finished product. BOTTOM: A full loaf.)

bReaKfasT

Banana Bread 1 ¼ c. sugar 1 stick butter, softened 2 eggs 1 ½ c. mashed ripe bananas ½ c. buttermilk 1 tsp. vanilla 2 ½ c. flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt

Mash 3-4 bananas very well--use the electric mixer if you have one--to get 1 1/2 cups of bananas. Mix sugar and butter in bowl. Stir in eggs. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until moistened. Stir in nuts if you choose to add them. Divide batter between the two pans.

Bake in two loaf pans (grease the bottom only!) for about 1 hour (or until toothpick comes out clean) at 350°. Let cool before removing from pan. Freezes well!

6 7

I taught myself to make this after seeing it in the movie V for Vendetta. My best friend, Al, and I made a big deal out of watching V on Nov. 5 one year in particular, and I made this in the morning. It was one of my first “specialties.” (TOP: Cooked to perfection and plated. BOTTOM: A work in progress.)

Mom started making this casserole for holiday breakfasts when I was a teenager, I think, and it became a huge hit with the whole family. We almost always had her breakfast casserole on Christmas morning, right after we were done opening presents. (TOP: The cooked casserole. BOTTOM: A plated piece.)

Breakfast Casserole 2 ¼ c. seasoned croutons 2 lbs. bulk pork sausage 5-6 eggs beaten 2 ¼ c. milk 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 (4 oz.) can sliced mushrooms ¾ tsp. dry mustard 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Eggs in a Basket 1 egg 1 slice bread butter

Spread croutons in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cook sausage until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well. Sprinkle sausage over croutons. Combine eggs, milk, soup, mushrooms and mustard; pour over sausage. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator; let stand 30 minutes. Bake uncovered at 325° fir 50-55 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake another 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Heat skillet to medium heat. Butter one side of bread. Use a muffin cutter to remove the middle of the bread. Place bread, buttered side down, in skillet. Set a pat of butter in the hole in the bread, then break the egg over the hole and pour the egg into it. Use a spatula to check the bread. If it’s browning too quickly, turn the heat down a bit. You want the bottom of the egg to be opaque before you flip the whole thing. When it looks like the bottom of it is solid, flip the toast and the egg quickly. Let the egg finish cooking to your liking, then remove the toast from the skillet and serve.

9

enTRees

Chicken and Dumplings 3 chicken breasts ½ c. flour 4 cans chicken broth ¼ onion Pepper salt Garlic salt 4 eggs 1 c. water

Cut chicken breasts into 3-4 pieces. Mix flour, pepper, salt and garlic salt in a gallon-size plastic bag. Place chicken in bag and shake to coat. Remove chicken from bag and brown with onion in a pan of oil. Mix chicken and onion into pot full of broth. Boil, then simmer. Cook until meat is done.

While cooking, make dumplings. Melt butter. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and water together. Add a little salt, not quite a teaspoon, to eggs and water. Add butter to mixture. Add flour to consistency, until the mix no longer sticks to the metal spoon.

Boil a pot of water. When boiling, slice pieces of dough into water to cook. When dumplings are done, they’ll float to the top. Move cooked dumplings to pot of chicken. Cook chicken and dumplings another half hour after transfer of dumplings.

My love for chicken and dumplings (or, as we refer to them in the South, dumplins) is entirely my grandfather’s fault. Grandaddy, my dad’s dad, has been making these forever. He uses a family recipe, one that he’s modified. I had him tell me how he does it so that I can continue his tradition myself. (TOP: A close-up of a dumpling. BOTTOM: The final dish, plated and ready to eat.)

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Chicken and Rice 2 chicken breasts 4 stalks celery 3 c. uncooked rice 1 ½ c. chicken broth 1 ½ c. water

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole 3 chicken breasts 1 c. chicken broth 16 oz. uncooked spaghetti ¼ - 1/3 c. chopped onion 3 stalks chopped celery 2 cloves minced garlic 3 Tbsp. butter 1 can cream of mushroom soup 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Cook chicken. Chop into bite-size pieces. Add chicken broth to a Dutch oven full of water to cook spaghetti. Break spaghetti into thirds and cook in water and broth until tender. Reserve ¼ cup of the spaghetti water. Drain spaghetti. Saute onion, celery and garlic in the butter. Add that to the spaghetti noodles. In a separate bowl, combine cream of mushroom soup and reserved spaghetti water, then add that to the spaghetti mixture. Add chicken and stir well. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish, top with cheese, bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes.

Cook and chop chicken. Saute celery in butter for a few minutes to soften. Cook minute rice in chicken broth and water (about half-broth and half-water). When rice is done, mix chicken and celery into rice, and add butter and salt to taste.

This is a dish that both Mom and Grandaddy made every so often. It’s super simple but really tasty, especially good if you’re easing back into exciting foods after being sick. (TOP: The chicken breasts, ready to be chopped. BOTTOM: The final dish, plated and ready to eat.)

One of Mom’s standard dinners for nights when all four of us were home to eat. (TOP: A close-up of the cooked casserole. BOTTOM: The final dish, fresh out of the oven.)

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Corn and Potato Chowder 2 Tbsp. butter ¼ c. chopped onion 2 c. potatoes, diced 2 c. water ½ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. pepper 2 c. fresh or frozen corn 1 (13 oz.) can evaporated milk ¼ c. flour ½ c. water 1 c. ham, diced

Crispy Yogurt Chicken 6 medium chicken breasts 2 c. plain,unflavoredyogurt 2-3 cloves garlic Parsley Juice of one lemon salt butter 2 c. Panko bread crumbs

Cook onion in butter. Add potatoes, 2 cups water, salt and pepper. Cover, simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in corn, evaporated milk, and ham. Blend flour with ½ cup water and stir in chowder. Return to stove and continue cooking, stirring constantly over medium heat until chowder is thick.

Double or triple for large crowds.

Pour yogurt into a mixing bowl. Peel and mince garlic and add them to yogurt. Chop parsley and add it to yogurt. Add lemon juice. Mix to combine.

Rinse chicken and pat it dry. Sprinkle it with kosher salt.

Pour bread crumbs into another mixing bowl. Sprinkle salt over bread crumbs and stir.

Butter a 9x13 dish. With tongs, place chicken (one piece at a time) into the yogurt mixture. Turn it over to coat it thoroughly. Then roll the chicken in the Panko bread crumbs. Cover each piece of chicken in yogurt and bread crumbs thoroughly, and place it in the baking dish.

Place a slice of butter over the large part of each chicken piece. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 60-75 minutes, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking. When the chicken is nice and golden, remove from the oven and serve.

This soup is the best thing ever when it gets cold outside. The chowder warms you right through to your bones. Mom saved this one for the particularly frosty days. (TOP: The finished bowl of chowder with a little added cheese. BOTTOM: Peeled potatoes and chopped ham, essential ingredients.)

This is one of “my” recipes. I actually got this from a blogger called The Pioneer Woman. I was just starting to learn to cook dinners, and I was really pleased with how this one turned out. The coating turns out to be really light but super tasty. (TOP: A piece of chicken, already coated in yogurt, now being covered in bread crumbs. BOTTOM: The finished product.)

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Fancy Fast Chicken 3 chicken breasts 6 slices swiss cheese ¼ lb. sliced mushrooms 1 can cream of chicken soup ½ c. white wine 2 c. Pepp.FarmHerbStuffing 1 stick butter

Penne a la Betsy 1 lb. extra large shrimp ¾ lb. penne pasta 1 Tbsp. butter 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 small onion 2 cloves garlic ½ cup white wine (approx.) 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce 1 c. heavy cream fresh parsley fresh basil salt and pepper

Place chicken in lightly greased 9x13 glass baking dish. Top each piece with slice of Swiss cheese. If using sliced mushrooms, lay them over the Swiss cheese. Mix can of soup with wine and pour over chicken. Spread stuffing mix over top, and drizzle melted butter over the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350°.

Cook the penne pasta until tender-firm (al dente). Peel, devein and rise (under cool water) shrimp. Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add shrimp and cook for a couple of minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook. Remove them to a plate and let cool for a few.

Finely dice onion. Mince garlic. Add both onion and garlic to butter and olive oil. Saute, stirring occasionally. Remove tails from shrimp and chop into bite-sized pieces. Set shrimp aside. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit, add white wine. Let wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. If you would rather not use wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about ½ cup).

Add tomato sauce to skillet. Stir well until combined. Add cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer while you chop herbs. Set herbs aside.

Add shrimp to skillet. Give it a stir, and add salt and pepper to taste. Add herbs, and stir until combined. Add cooked penne pasta and give it all a stir.This was the first dinner I ever cooked. Mom had made it a few times, and it seemed fairly simple.

Make sure you get some of the stuffing from the bottom of the pan when you’re ready to eat! (TOP: Some chicken breasts, ready to go. BOTTOM: The finished product.)

This is another one of “my” recipes that I nabbed from The Pioneer Woman. Be warned: the sauce is kind of fantastic. (TOP: A close-up of the final dish. BOTTOM: The shrimp, cooking a bit in the first steps of the recipe.)

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Stuffed Meatloaf 2 beaten eggs ½ c. tomato juice ¾ c. soft bread crumbs 2 Tbsp. snipped parsley ½ tsp. dried oregano, crushed ¼ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. pepper 1 clove garlic, minced 2 lbs. ground beef 4-6 oz. thinly sliced boiled ham 1 6 oz. packaged sliced mozzarella cheese

Swedish Meatballs 2 lb. ground beef 1 ½ c. bread crumbs 2 eggs 3 tsp. salt ¼ tsp. pepper ¼ tsp. allspice ¼ tsp. nutmeg ¼ tsp. ginger 1 c. evaporated milk 1 can cream of mushroom soup

Mix all except mushroom soup. Roll mixture into meatballs, place in deep 9x12 dish. Careful not to make them too small; they’ll cook too quickly. If they’re too big, they won’t cook completely. Try to keep all of the meatballs a uniform, medium size so that all of them cook all the way through. Pour can of mushroom soup over meatballs. Bake at 350° for 75 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the eggs and tomato juice. Stir in the bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, and garlic. Add ground beef, mix well. On waxed paper, pat meat to a 10x8-inch rectangle. Arrange ham slices atop meat, leaving a small margin around edges.

Reserve 1 slice of cheese. Tear up remaining cheese, sprinkle over ham. Starting from short end, carefully roll up meat, using paper to lift; seal edges and ends. Place roll, seam side down, in 9x13 pan. Bake at 350° till done, about 75 minutes. Cut reserved piece of cheese into 4 triangles and overlap atop meat. Return to oven til cheese melts, about 2 minutes.

One of my all-time favorite entrees. I absolutely detest almost any other form of meatloaf just because this one is so magnificent. This was another regular entree on the Billy family dinner table, especially in the colder months. (TOP: A slice of meatloaf. You can see the ham and cheese wrapped up in the middle. BOTTOM: This is how Mom always positioned the cheese on top.)

If memory serves, I have never known Christmas Eve without Swedish Meatballs. Every single year, this is what my family eats, either before or after the Christmas Eve service at church. It’s a family recipe, passed down through Mom’s Norwegian family members, and, in recent years, it’s been my job to make the meatballs on December 24. I’m getting pretty good at it, too; it just takes a little practice to size them correctly. (TOP: A piece of chicken, already coated in yogurt, now being covered in bread crumbs. BOTTOM: The finished product.)

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sIDes

Corn Casserole 1 (15 ¼ oz.) can whole kernel corn 1 (14 ¾ oz.) can cream-style corn 1 8 oz. package Cornmuffinmix 1 c. sour cream 1 stick melted butter

Start by draining the corn. In a large bowl, stir together the two cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and butter. Pour into a greased casserole. Bake at 350° for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown.

This is a recipe Mom got from one of celebrity chef Paula Deen’s cookbooks. It became a standard for big dinners, especially Christmas Eve. (TOP: A spoon full of corn casserole fresh out of the dish. BOTTOM: A plated serving.)

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Mrs. Wilkes’ Boarding House Mac + Cheese 2 c. elbow macaroni pasta 2 c. sharp cheddar cheese 3 c. milk 4 eggs ¼ lb. margarine

Mashed Potatoes 5 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes 4 Tbsp. butter (to start with) 1 c. milk (to start with)

Grate cheese before starting. Cook macaroni in salty water as directed on package. Drain well. Put back in pot, add butter to macaroni, then add whipped eggs and milk. Stir in cheese. Place in greased casserole and bake at 350° for about 30 minutes or until liquid is firm but not dry.

Peel potatoes and cut into chunks. Boil chunks in salted water until tender. Drain and add salt, pepper, butter and milk. Mix with electric mixer until smooth. As you mix, if you find the potatoes are not smooth enough or they’re too dry, add more milk. Add butter and salt to taste if necessary.

Mac and cheese is tasty enough as it is, but mac and cheese from scratch is just stunning. Mom used this recipe to make outstanding from-scratch mac and cheese. Sometimes she’d mix and match different noodles; sometimes, she’d throw in as many as four different cheeses. It always turned out beautifully. (TOP: A spoon full of elbow mac and cheese. BOTTOM: The finished product, fresh out of the oven.)

Mom’s mashed potatoes are easily my favorite of all her sides. As far as I’m concerned, no one has ever made or will ever make mashed potatoes on par with hers. They frequently accompanied dishes like stuffed meatloaf, and they were always served on holidays like Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving. (TOP: A close-up of the best mashed potatoes ever. BOTTOM: Yukon Gold potatoes, Mom’s preference for mashed potatoes.)

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Mikey’s Corn Salad 1 bag Chili Cheese fritos (med. bag) 2 cans corn (small cans) Mayonnaise

DesseRTs

Now, I didn’t include a picture of the finished product, and I did that for a reason. I know this sounds like it should be disgusting. It doesn’t look any better, either. Just trust me when I say that this is delicious, and it’s especially great during the summer, with something like cheeseburgers off the grill. (TOP: The exact Fritos you want. BOTTOM: Canned corn will do the trick easily.)

Pour Fritos into a large bowl. Drain corn and add to bowl of chips. Add just a bit of mayonnaise. You don’t even need a spoon full of it; you only need to add JUST enough to help the corn and Fritos stick together and clump up a little bit. The mayonnaise acts like a sort of glue for the chips and the corn. If you add too much, the chips will get soggy; if you don’t add enough, the corn and chips won’t stick. Just add a little bit of mayonnaise and mix the corn and chips. Keep adding a little bit of mayonnaise at a time until the corn kernels adhere loosely to the Fritos.

It’s best not to mix this until just before dinner so that it stays crispy.

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Apple Dumplings 2 whole Granny smith apples 2 (8 oz.) cans crescent rolls 2 sticks butter 1 ½ c. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla Cinnamon, to taste 1 can Mountain Dew soda (12 oz.)

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll (not the huge ones!). Place in a 9x13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350° for 40 minutes.

Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

Banana Nut Cake 3 c. flour 1 ½ tsp. baking powder 1 ½ tsp. baking soda ¾ tsp. salt ¾ c. margarine 2 ¼ c. sugar 3 eggs 1 ½ c. mashed bananas ¾ c. walnuts (pecans are okay) 1 1/8 c. sour milk 1 ½ tsp. vanilla

Grease and flour a 9x13 pan and an 8x8 pan. Chop nuts finely. Mix all ingredients together and pour evenly into pans. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Frost with vanilla frosting.

I know Mountain Dew sounds unnatural and gross in a dessert like this. I know it does. I just need you to have a little faith here. This is one of my recipes, and it has only failed me once. That incident was all my fault, though: I was grabbing cans of crescent rolls to make two batches for a large group, and I accidentally grabbed a can of garlic crescent rolls that was mixed in on the shelf. Needless to say, those apple dumplings were not as dreamy as they were meant to be. (TOP: Dumplings are best served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. BOTTOM: I really meant it. Mountain Dew, all around the edges of the pan, and between the rows of dumplings.)

This is one of Grandaddy’s cakes. There are a few that I really love, and this is one of them. This is actually one of the only cases where I don’t mind that it has nuts in it. The banana flavor is great, and plain vanilla frosting just perfects the whole cake. (TOP: A close-up of the inside of the cake. BOTTOM: Mashing the bananas is easier if you slice them first.)

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Amanda’s Chocolate Sheet CakeFOR THE CAKE:

2 c. flour 2 c. sugar ¼ tsp. salt 4 Tbsp. cocoa (heaping) 2 sticks butter 1 c. boiling water ½ c. buttermilk 2 whole beaten eggs 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. vanilla

FOR FROSTING:

1 ¾ stick butter 4 Tbsp. cocoa (heaping) 6 Tbsp. milk 1 tsp. vanilla 1 lb. powdered sugar (minus ½ cup)

In a saucepan, melt butter. While butter is melting, sift flour, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. When butter has completely melted, add cocoa to it. Stir butter and cocoa to-gether. Add boiling water to butter and cocoa. Allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir lightly to cool.In a measuring cup, pour butter-milk. Add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Mix, then stir into but-ter/cocoa mixture. Mix very well. Seriously. Mix it until you think it absolutely must be mixed by now,

and then mix it some more. Pour it into a 9x13 pan and bake at 350° for 20 minutes.While cake is baking, make the icing. Melt butter in saucepan. Add cocoa to fully melted butter, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add milk and vanilla, and sift powdered sugar into the saucepan. Stir togeth-er. Again, mix very well. Very, very well. The powdered sugar is quite difficult to mix in, so you may end up with tiny clumps of sugar in the frosting if you aren’t careful.Pour icing over warm cake; it’ll spread on its own.

Grandad’s Chocolate Sheet CakeFOR THE CAKE:

2 c. flour,sifted 2 c. sugar ½ c. Crisco 1 c. water 3 ½ Tbsp. cocoa ½ c. buttermilk 1 tsp. baking soda 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla

FROSTING:

½ stick margarine 1 Tbsp. cocoa (heaping) ¼ c. milk ½ tsp. vanilla Powdered sugar

Bring to a boil Crisco, margarine, water and cocoa. In a large bowl, mix flour and sugar. Pour wet mix over dry mix. Add buttermilk, soda, eggs and vanilla. Mix well, pour into greased and floured 9x13 pan.

Bake at 400° and test for doneness at 20 minutes. If

toothpick does not come out clean, try another 5 minutes.

To make frosting, mix melted margarine, cocoa, milk and vanilla. Add powdered sugar til consistent for spreading.

This cake is a challenge. It’s a challenge to make, because you have to time everything so that nothing sits still for too long, and it’s a challenge to eat, because it’s very rich. It’s one of my favorite cakes, though, when done correctly, and I’ve made it for my birthday a few times. For reference, the iced cake will completely fill a 9x13 pan. Also, it’s best to make this a day before you need it and then let it set overnight. (TOP: If you pour the icing on while the cake is still hot, the icing will spread all on its own. This particular photo shows the frosting with nuts on it. I’m not a fan, but some family members are.BOTTOM: A close-up of a finished piece of cake.)

This is Grandaddy’s version of the chocolate sheet cake. It’s a bit lighter and a bit easier, but certainly no less delicious. (TOP: A close-up of a piece of the cake BOTTOM: Fun fact: if you don’t keep buttermilk on hand, use milk and vinegar. Pour a little less milk than the amount of buttermilk you need, then add the vinegar to the full amount. Let it sit for a minute, and you’ve got buttermilk.)

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Cushaw Pie 2 c. cooked, mashed cushaw 2 ½ c. sugar 4 eggs 2 Tbsp. flour(heaping) 1 stick butter 1 ½ cans evaporated milk Cinnamon to taste (1 ½ Tbsp.)

Gooey Cake 1 box yellow cake mix (butter) 2 eggs 1 stick margarine, softened 1 package cream cheese (8 oz.) 1 box powdered sugar 2 eggs

Mix cushaw, sugar and eggs. Add butter, flour and milk. Add cinnamon. Pour into pie shells. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 350° and continue to bake for 35-40 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Makes 3 9-inch pies.

Mix cake mix, 2 eggs, and butter. Press into greased 9x13 pan. Mix cream cheese, sugar, and 2 eggs well. Pour over cake mixture. Bake 50 minutes at 350°.

Now, I was never a fan of pumpkin pie. Most of my family is, but I just never really enjoyed it. This, on the other hand, is a perfect Thanksgiving pie. Aunt Mary introduced me to cushaw pie on one of the family’s trips up there over Thanksgiving weekend one year, and I fell in love. It’s like a milder, sweeter pumpkin pie. Absolutely delicious. (TOP: A slice of the finished pie with whipped cream and cinnamon on top. BOTTOM: Cushaw. This is what the original gourd looks like.)

I was first introduced to gooey cake when Mom worked at a church in Riverside here in Jacksonville. We had dinners there on Wednesday nights during the school year, and the chef made this for dessert sometimes. It was always one of my favorites, so of course I had to get the recipe. (TOP: A few pieces of cake, sprinkled with powdered sugar. BOTTOM: One example of the “butter recipe” cake mix the recipe calls for.)

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Ice Box Cookies 6 c. flour 1 lb. Crisco 2 pkg. yeast 4 eggs 5 ½ oz. can milk sugar

WALNUT

2 lb. unshelled nuts ½ c. sugar ½ c. milk

APRICOT

1 lb. dried apricot sugar

Snickerdoodles ½ c. butter ½ c. shortening 2 ¼ c. flour(notself-rising) ¼ tsp. salt 1 ½ c. sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. cream of tartar

Mix all ingredients together. Chill in refrigerator overnight. Let dough sit out to soften just slightly, then roll into small balls. Roll each ball in a bowl full of cinnamon and sugar, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet a couple inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350°.

Mix flour and Crisco. Warm milk. Dissolve yeast in a bit of warm water, add to milk. Add eggs to milk and yeast. Add wet ingredients to flour and Crisco. Mix with pastry blender until well-blended. Knead until mixed well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Mix filling.

WALNUT: Grind nuts til fine. Add sugar to taste. Add warm milk for consistency.

APRICOT: Cook dried apricot til done. Drain. Mash with masher until mashed. Add sugar to taste.

Take out ¼ hunk of dough. Work it til pliable. On dough board, pour sugar. Roll dough with rolling pin over sugar. Add sugar as needed to help keep dough from sticking to rolling pin or board. Roll dough out to about 1/8 inch. Cut into 2” squares. Put a small spoon of filling in middle of square, fold over to corners and press to seal. Place cookies on greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. When done, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

This recipe has been passed down through Grandaddy’s side of the family, from some of the Yugoslavian-Croatian ancestors. It’s a Christmas tradition, one that I’ve always loved helping Grandaddy to make every year. (TOP: Grandaddy rolling out the dough. BOTTOM: The cookies, fresh out of the oven, already sprinkled with powdered sugar.)

Snickerdoodles are a Christmas tradition from my mom’s side of the family. Her mother used to make them, and then she made them every year, and it really just isn’t Christmas without these. I tend to bake mine a little differently than Mom does; I like them softer, so I take them out the moment they look golden, and I try to get them off the cookie sheet as soon as possible. Mom prefers to let them sit a little longer, both in and out of the oven, for crispier cookies. (TOP: A pile of the finished cookies. BOTTOM: One rolled ball of cookie dough in a bowl of cinnamon sugar. Make sure you coat the dough ball very well before placing it on the cookie sheet. Give it a little shake, though, first, so you don’t have a lot of loose cinnamon sugar flying around.)

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Sour Cream Coffee Cake 3 c. butter 1 ½ c. sugar 4 eggs 3 c. flour 1 ½ tsp. baking powder 1 ½ tsp. baking soda 1 pint sour cream 1 ½ tsp. vanilla

Tapioca Pudding 1/3 c. sugar 3 Tbsp. Minute Tapioca 2 ¾ c. milk 1 egg, beaten well 1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat together. Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda into mixture. Add sour cream and vanilla, and blend. Pour into two medium load pans or a Bundt pan. Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes. Cool on rack for 10 minutes, then turn out of pan to cool.

Mix sugar, tapioca, milk and egg in saucepan. Let stand 5 minutes. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to full boil (it doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred). Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

Cool 20 minutes; pudding will thicken as it cools. Stir. Serve.

This is another one of Grandaddy’s cakes, one that doesn’t sound like it should be so delicious, but definitely is. It’s a light, sweet, fluffy cake, perfect for summer in particular. (TOP: The finished pound cake, already cut into. BOTTOM: A slice of sour cream cake like Grandaddy likes it: with whip cream and strawberries on top.)

Tapioca pudding is so light and smooth that it was one of my favorite dishes when I was sick. (TOP: A spoon full of tapioca pearls. BOTTOM: A cup full of tapioca pudding.)

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aPPenDIXCan sIZes

sIZe aveRaGe ConTenTs6 oz. ¾ c.

8 oz. 1 c.

Picnic 1 ¼ c.

No. 1 1 ¼ c. fluid or 1 2/3 c. solid

No. 303 or No. 1 tall 2 c.

No. 2 2 ½ c.

No. 2 ½ 3 ½ c.

No. 3 4 c.

46 oz. 5 ¾ c.

No. 10 12 to 13 c.

WeIGHTs anD MeasURes3 teaspoons 1 tablespoon

4 tablespoons ¼ cup

5 1/3 tablespoons 1/3 cup

8 tablespoons ½ cup

10 2/3 tablespoons 2/3 cup

12 tablespoons ¾ cup

16 tablespoons 1 cup

1 cup 8 fluid ounces

1 cup ½ pint

2 cups 1 pint

4 cups 1 quart

4 quarts 1 gallon

8 quarts 1 peck

4 pecks 1 bushel

oven TeMPeRaTUResVery slow 250° to 275°

Slow 275° to 325°

Moderate 325° to 375°

Moderately hot 375° to 400°

Hot 400° to 450°

Very hot 450° to 500°

Extremely hot 500° to 525°

Preheat oven unless otherwise stated in recipe.

eMeRGenCY sUbsTITUTIons1 tablespoon cornstarch 2 tablespoons flour

1 square (1 oz.) chocolate 3 tablespoons cocoa + 1 tablespoon butter

1 whole egg 2 egg yolks

1 cup sour milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice OR vinegar plus sweet milk to make 1 cup

1 cup milk ½ cup evaporated milk plus ½ cup water

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InDeXA

allspice 17apples 24apricot 30

Bbaking powder 25, 32baking soda 5, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32banana 5, 25basil 15beef, ground 16, 17bread 7bread crumbs 16, 17bread crumbs, Panko 13broth, chicken 9, 10, 11butter 5, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,

19, 21, 24, 26, 28, 31, 32buttermilk 5, 26, 27

Ccelery 10, 11cheese 6, 11, 14, 16, 20chicken 9, 10, 11, 13, 14cinnamon 24, 28cocoa 26, 27corn 12, 19, 22cream 15cream cheese 29cream of tartar 31crescent rolls 24Crisco 27, 30crouton 6cushaw 28

Eegg 5, 6, 7, 9, 16, 17, 20, 25, 26,

27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33eggs 31

Fflour 5, 9, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30,

31, 32Fritos, Chili Cheese 22

Ggarlic 11, 13, 15, 16ginger 17

Hham 12, 16

Llemon 13

Mmargarine 20, 25, 27, 29mayonnaise 22milk 6, 20, 21, 26, 27, 30, 33milk, evaporated 12, 17, 28milk, sour 25mix, corn muffin 19mix, yellow cake 29mushroom 6, 14mustard 6

Nnutmeg 17nuts 5, 30

pecans 25walnuts 25

Oolive oil 15onion 9, 11, 12, 15oregano 16

Pparsley 13, 15, 16pasta

penne 15spaghetti 11

pasta, elbow macaroni 20pepper 9, 12, 15, 16, 17potato 12

Yukon Gold 21

Rrice 10

Ssalt 5, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 25,

26, 31salt, garlic 9sausage 6shortening 31shrimp 15soda, Mountain Dew 24soup, cream of chicken 14soup, cream of mushroom 6,

11, 17sour cream 19, 32stuffing, Pepperidge Farm Herb

14sugar 5, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30,

31, 32, 33sugar, powdered 26, 27, 29

Ttapioca 33tomato juice 16tomato sauce 15

Vvanilla 5, 24, 25, 26, 27, 32, 33

Wwater 9, 10, 12, 26, 27wine, white 14, 15

Yyeast 30yogurt 13

I was born and raised in a house on Sage Drive in Jacksonville, Florida, right next door to the house where my grandparents lived and where they had raised my father. The recipes in this book are mostly family recipes, things I grew up

helping my family make and eat in two special kitchens on Sage.