Wednesday, March 24, 2010

A Letter from Robert Treat Paine

Today, instead of a recipe, I'm posting a historical document from a relative. Robert Treat Paine, who signed the Declaration of Independence, has one of his letters on sale at Sotheby's in Boston this week. It's dated June 17, 1775:


I can't really decipher what he's writing (since his handwriting is worse than my own!), but apparently the letter was sent to David Cobb in Taunton. He wrote, "I have not time to be very formal and may tell you in few words that we have unanimously chose George Washington Esq. to be General of American forces."

Click the image to enlarge.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Spanish Rice

I think the idea here is to take these ingredients and stir fry and/or bake them together... like a paella? Whatever you do with it, it'll probably taste good.

Spanish Rice

3 green peppers
6 slices bacon (fried)
1 can tomatoes
2 cups cooked rice
2 large onions

There's no cooking instructions, but I would saute up the onions, then add the peppers, then the remaining ingredients... then maybe put the whole dish in the oven to crisp the top. But hey! You do what you want.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Michigan Orange-Cranberry Bread

It's a little past noon, and NCAA March Madness has begun.

Because I've picked Michigan State... and the Syracuse Orangemen... to win in the first round, I'm hoping this recipe will bring good luck.
(Yes, I know, that's quite a topical stretch!)

1 large orange
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
1/2 ts salt
2 eggs
4 TB butter
2 cups cranberries, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

-Grate peel from orange, squeeze 1/2 cup of juice
-Combine flour, sugar, bp, bs, salt.
-Whisk eggs, butter, orange peel and juice.
-Add wet mix to dry mix, then fold cranberries and walnuts in
-Bake in a 9"x5" loaf pan for 55 min at 375 degrees

(Cool, and then eat... while watching basketball!)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Pickled Cabbage Stuffed in Green Pepper

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Alas, there is no corned beef and cabbage recipe in Grammy's recipe box (nor did we expect there to be one). I've chosen this recipe for today because it's:
A) Very green.
B) Involves cabbage.
C) Sounds a little disgusting... which is similar to my memory of Irish cuisine (kidding, kidding... I lived there for 6 months and the curries and stews were terrific!)

Pickled Cabbage Stuffed in Green Pepper
-Cut cabbage and salt.
-Let it come to a boil in equal parts of sugar, water, and vinegar (1 cup of each).
-Boil until sugar is dissolved then add 6-8 drops of cinnamon oil.
-Put peppers in solution and keep good and warm (30 min).
-Put into canning jars, pour hot juice over, and seal.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Gram Fulton's Shortbread


This recipe comes from Evelyn Viets -- I'm not entirely sure who that is, but we'll ask Grammy later. Evelyn notes at the bottom of the recipe: "I got this recipe from Betty Fulton who grew up in Scotland :)"





Gram Fulton's Shortbread

1lb butter
1 1/2 cups confectionary sugar
4 cups flour

-Butter two 9x13 pans
-Mix butter and sugar together, add flour
-Press mixture evenly into the two pans
-Prick with fork and bake at 325 degrees 40-45 min
-When edges are lightly browns, remove from oven
-Cut into squares, cool, and sprinkle with powdered sugar

"Thin cookies are much more tasty than thick ones."



Thursday, March 11, 2010

Orange Pudding

There's been a bit of trouble uploading recipes recently, but we're back online. Here's a very simple dessert:






Orange Pudding

1 pkg of vanilla pudding
navel oranges, cut into small pieces
sugar

-Mix together and enjoy!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Lemon Bars (Kit's)

This recipe came from my Aunt Kit.

If any of the Hoags happen to have this recipe, I'm not entirely able to read how much powdered sugar goes into it... I'm guessing based on other recipes. Email me if you know?



"Lemon Bars (Kit's)

2 cup flour
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
- Mix ingredients well and pack into 9x13 pan
-Bake for 20 min at 350 degrees
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
pinch of salt
6 TB lemon juice
-Mix above with wire whisk, then fold in:
4 TB flour
1 tsp baking soda
-Pour topping on crust
-Bake for an additional 25 min at 350 degrees.
-Dust with confectionary sugar.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This dish sounds like a sophisticated mix of French cuisine crossed with homey, Cold War TV dinners. We're going to let this magazine clipping speak for itself.

Double click on the image to enlarge it.



Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Carrots with Ginger

A little bit of (not-so) healthy food, to get us into spring shape!

Carrots with Ginger

2 lbs carrots, cut in 1/4 inch thick
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup butter
2 TB sugar
1 1/2 TB grated fresh ginger

-Mix ingredients
-Bake in covered dish at 350 degrees for 20 minutes
-Garnish with freshly chopped parsley

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Monday, March 1, 2010

Edna's Chicken

"Edna's Chicken - Delicious + pretty"

Large macaroni shells, cooked
2 cups chopped chicken
Chicken broth
1/4 cup celery
1 small onion
1/2 cup bread, chopped fine
1 egg
1/2 tsp Rosemary
1/4 tsp salt + pepper
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup milk


-mix chicken, celery, onion, bread crumbs, egg and spices.
-add 2 TB of the soup. Stir well in baking dish.
-mix in shells, pour remainder of soup and broth on top.
-bake at 350 degrees for 30 min.
-garnish with chopped fresh parsley.