Fall 2016 Update

Good afternoon!
We've been on a bit of hiatus, but have recently unearthed a few more recipes that we'll post to the site this fall.

In the meantime, here's Grammy Gertie's most recent project - an embroidered tablecloth that she worked on over the past few months. Its sale went towards fundraising for hospice!

She's doing well, and sends everyone her regards!

Grammy Gertie makes headlines!

Grammy Gertie recently had a moment in the spotlight, with an article all about her that appeared in The Berkshire Eagle!

If you haven't read it yet, here is the link:
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/ci_26474095/delicate-work-worthy-cause?source=email

Fiddlehead Fern

Special request from Grammy Gertie!
Having just celebrated her birthday, Grammy Gertie has requested we post her favorite soup recipe. We can't say no to that!

Grammy made a large batch of this soup this past weekend for Mother's Day, and the Treat siblings' consensus is that it tastes similar to cream of asparagus soup.

The fiddlehead ferns are seasonal, so make it while you can!

Cream of Fiddlehead Soup

From an unknown restaurant 

in West Cummington, MA

(Grammy Gertie's favorite soup)

Serves about 6.

1 lb. cleaned washed fiddleheads

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 leek (white part only) chopped fine

1/4 lb. washed spinach

3 Tablespoons butter

5 cups chicken stock

3 teaspoons all purpose flour

3/4 cup milk

1 Tablespoon tarragon

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1/2 cup cream

1 teaspoon nutmeg

-Saute onions, leeks in butter.  

-Add coarsely chopped fiddleheads, spinach.

-Add vinegar, tarragon, salt and pepper, chicken stock, and nutmeg.

-Cook and puree in food processor or blender.

-Resume back to pot and continue to cook.

-Mix milk and flour.

-Shake well and gradually add to broth until consistency.  

-Finish with cream and serve.

An optional way to bind without flour or milk

is to add a potato while still in broth, 

then blend along and it should thicken soup.

Brownies

Happy Labor Day!
We took the summer off, and had a lot of fun -- there was a big trip to Uganda, trips to the beach, barbecues and pies.

Now we're back, and will periodically be adding more recipes to the Recipe Box.

Here's something sweet for your Labor Day barbecues:

Brownies

1/2 cup shortening (or butter)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 ts vanilla extract

-Cream together butter and sugar, beat in eggs.
-Melt chocolate over hot water, mix in.
-Mix flour, salt and nuts, and add.
-Add vanilla extract.
-Pour into 8"x8"x2" pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Pickled Watermelon Rind

Summer means watermelon, and watermelon means piles of leftover rinds. Here's the perfect recipe to make sure you use every part of the buffalo.
This recipe takes 3 days.

For Grammy Gertie's more personalized version of this recipe, see here.

Watermelon Sweet Pickle
8lbs watermelon rind
1/4 cup salt
4 lbs sugar
1 quart vinegar
1/2 cup pickling spice

-Cut rinds into 1" cubes.
-Mix salt into 1 quart of water, add rind and let stand overnight.
-Drain, cover with water and boil until rind is tender.
-Combine sugar, vinegar, and pickling spice, and bring mixture to boil.
-Move watermelon rind to sugar mixture and let stand overnight.
-Bring to boil again, pack in sterilized pint jars.

Beef and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Greetings all,
I don't have the instructions for this recipe, so I'm making up what I think they would be... so basically, if it doesn't come out quite right, that's not on Grammy (it's on me).

Beef and Sun Dried Tomatoes
2lbs beef, cubed
2 med onions, sliced
garlic
1 TB flour
1 1/3 cup water
2 cup beef broth
2 1/2 oz sun dried tomatoes, sliced
1 TB brown sugar
1 TB worcestershire sauce

-Brown beef in pan, remove.
-Saute onion and garlic in pan. When browned add 1 cup of water.
-Mix remaining water with flour to make thickener. Add to pan.
-Add broth, tomatoes, sugar and worcestershire sauce. Bring to boil, then simmer until sauce thickens.

Basic Bread Pudding

The recent January streak of single-digit temperature days has left us craving something warm and cozy.
This recipe is the basic bread pudding recipe, but you can add raisins, fruits, chocolate chips, etc., if you wish to make it more interesting.

Bread  Pudding

1 quart milk
2 cups bread cubes
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 ts salt
1 ts vanilla
dash of nutmeg

-Scald milk in sauce pan, and add bread cubes and butter.
-Beat together eggs, sugar and salt.
-Add milk mixture and vanilla to eggs mixture.
-Pour into baking dish.
-Sprinkle with nutmeg.
-Place baking dish in pan of hot water, and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr 15 min.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year, readers. We're slowing down on postings in 2013 because we don't have as many recipes to publish... but we're still here! The Treat family also paid a visit to Grammy Gertie over the holidays - she's well and says hello!

Here's a recipe that sounds like a healthy New Year's option... until you get to the heavy cream.

Fantastic Spinach Salad
Spinach, torn into small pieces
1 large red apple, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup salted peanuts

Dressing
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp brown mustard
1 tsp salt
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup white vinegar

-Combine all "Dressing" ingredients and cook slowly over medium heat until it is thickened. Stir Constantly.
-Serve dressing warm over salad ingredients.

Super Christmas Brunch!

Happy Holidays, everyone.
Since next weekend will be spent with family, this will be the last post before Christmas -- but we're making it a big one! If you're still planning your menu for Christmas, perhaps this can serve as a guide. We unfortunately only have the page for two of the items listed (though orange and pear slices, and coffee hardly require a recipe).

From the Treat family to yours, have a very Merry Christmas!


Super Christmas Brunch

Suggested Menu:

• Fresh Orange and Pear Slices
• Marmalade-Glazed Baked Ham
• Beignets with Cinnamon-Maple Syrup
• Custard Corn Pudding
• Coffee & Milk

Marmalade-Glazed Baked Ham
1 ham (5lb)
1/2 10 oz jar orange marmalade
2 TB brown sugar
1 TB ketchup
1 TB soy sauce
1/2 ts garlic salt
1/8 ts pepper

-place ham in 13" by 9" baking dish, insert meat thermometer.
-bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
-mix marmalade with remaining ingredients, and brush over ham.
-bake an additional 15 minutes, or until the thermometer reads 140 degrees.

Custard Corn Pudding
3 cups milk
3 TB butter
5 eggs
2 1/4 ts salt
2 ts sugar
1/4 ts pepper
17 oz corn, drained
parsley sprigs for garnish

-In a saucepan, heat milk and butter over low heat.
-In a separate casserole dish, whisk in eggs, salt, sugar and pepper, then stir in corn.
-Slowly pour the hot milk over the corn mixture, and continue stirring.
-Place casserole dish in pan of water. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour until firm.

Happy Hannukah!

Mazel Tov, dummies!
(30 Rock reference, has nothing to do with this blog, or the holiday. Just sounds funny.)

Tonight is the first night of Hannukah. Though this recipe isn't exactly traditional Jewish cooking, it's as close as we're gonna get.

A quick Google search on Jewish Apple Cake turned up that it has its own Wikipedia page. Kinda interesting, if you're into food history.

Jewish Apple Cake
 4 apples, pared and sliced
2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup oil
3 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1/4 cup orange juice

-Pare and slice the apples. Mix with the cinnamon and 4 TB of the sugar. Set aside.
-Beat together remaining ingredients until smooth.
-Grease a 10" tube pan. Alternate layers of batter and apples 3 times.
-Bake 1hr 15 min at 350 degrees.

Dinner Idea List

No recipe this week - since we all just survived another successful Thanksgiving, we thought we'd take a break.

We did want to share this list, which might trigger some nostalgia for those who have been at Grammy's dinner table over the years. This was found in her recipe box, and is a list of some potential dinner ideas. It includes everything from Meat Roll Ups to Whittelsey Supper.

We just thought this was interesting. Many of the recipes are included in our recipe list to the right.

From all of the Treats, to all of you, have a happy holiday season!

Roast Turkey

Thanksgiving was Grammy Gertie's main event - a house full of family, kids running up and down the hall poking at the cooling pies. She used to serve a Thanksgiving feast for 15-20, with more food than any of us could handle. It was always a great time.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!





Roast Turkey
(this recipe calls for roasting the turkey on its side and then flipping it halfway... we're not endorsing that)

-Stuff, truss and place the turkey on rack in roasting pan.
-Brush with butter.
-Roast at 325, length of time depends on weight:
8-10 lb turkey = 20-25 min per pound
10-14 lb turkey = 18-20 min per pound
14-18 lb turkey = 15-18 min per pound
18-20 lb turkey = 13-15 min per pound

James Date Nut Cake

And, we're back!
I have a vague memory of eating this cake as a child. Cream cheese frosting... right?

James Date Nut Cake

1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 TB milk
2/3 cup flour
2 ts baking powder
1/4 ts salt
2 cups dates, chopped
2 cups nuts, chopped

-Dredge nuts and dates in milk
-Mix with other ingredients, mix well
-Pour into buttered pans (two layer cake pans)
-Bake at 325 for 30 to 40 minutes

Cappadocia, Turkey

Pardon the delay in posts.
I (webmaster extraordinaire) got stranded in Turkey because all the flights from Europe to Boston were cancelled due to the Hurricane.







If you recall, I seem to have quite the knack for getting delayed overseas by natural disasters.

Meanwhile, I was able to visit Cappadocia, which is one of Grammy Gertie's favorite places in the world.

Cappadocia has these odd volcanic rock formations (see the far right of this picture), which almost look like giant outdoor stalagmites. The people there have carved them out and live(d) inside of them. There are also 10 km of underground cities, and plenty of cave houses. I stayed in a cave hotel.

If you have a chance, ask Grammy Gertie about her visit to Turkey -- it was her favorite trip.

I'll be back with more recipes next week!

Rice Pudding

Grammy likes, at the very least, collecting rice pudding recipes.
I arranged all 5 of these rice pudding recipes on my floor, unsure of which one to use. Below is the one in her handwriting:

RICE PUDDING

1 cup minute rice
6 TB sugar
3 eggs
1/4 ts vanilla
1/4 ts nutmeg
4 cups milk
salt to taste

-Boil rice in 1/2 of the milk, then reduce to simmer. Cook until tender.
-Take remaining milk, and stir together sugar, eggs, vanilla, nutmeg and salt.
-Stir egg mixture into boiled rice, and simmer until thick and creamy.

Sheila's Chicken Casserole

This is a recipe that Grammy Gertie got from one of her friends at the Red Cross. For a chicken casserole, it has quite a bit of non-chicken meat in it... perhaps this was the inspiration for the Turducken.





Sheila's Chicken Casserole

5 1/2 oz dried beef
chicken breasts
bacon, enough strips to cover
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream

-Rinse dried beef in cold water, drain, and then spread on bottom of baking dish
-Layer chicken breasts on top of beef, then top with slices of bacon
-Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
-Mix cream of mushroom with sour cream, then pour over the meat
-Bake an additional 30 minutes

Concord Grape Pie, updated per request

Due to reports of a recently undercooked pie, we are updating the cooking instructions for the Concord Grape Pie. Our apologies - the previous posting of the recipe was missing the instructions on the back of the card.

(Originally posted August 25, 2011)

Concord Grape Pie

Grammy Gertie told me recently that she and her friends in Pittsfield will be making Concord Grape Pie as a cooking demonstration. They're waiting for the Concord Grapes to come into season, which should be soon.

Here's the recipe so that the rest of us can cook along:

Concord Grape Pie

4 cups concord grapes
1 cup sugar
3 TB flour
1/8 tsp salt
pie crust

-Slip the skins off of grapes.
-Heat grape pulp to boiling, then press through a sieve/strainer to remove the seeds.
-Add grape skins back along with sugar, flour and salt.

-Top with upper crust.
-Pour mixture into pie crust, top, and bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees

Apple Bread

The apples are coming into season in Massachusetts, so it's a great time to play around with some of Grammy Gertie's apple recipes. Click here to see more apple recipes.

Apple Bread

2 cups flour, sifted
1 ts baking powder
1 ts salt
1 ts baking soda
1 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts nutmeg
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup of sugar
1 ts vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup applesauce
2 cups apples, peeled and chopped

-Mix all dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, salt, paking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg)
-Mix all wet ingredients together (mayo, sugar, vanilla, eggs, applesauce, apple)
-Mix the 2 mixes, and pour into a greased bread pan
-Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Fresh Relish

Now might be a good time to start thinking about pickling various things from the Farmer's Market. Here's a recipe that takes care of the peppers, lettuce and onions... Seemingly yields a 5 gallon bucket.
(kidding)

Fresh Relish

4 large green peppers
4 large red peppers
3 lb head of cabbage
5 or 6 onions "what you can hold in one hand"
4 cups sugar, white
1/2 cup salt
3 TB mustard seed
1 TB celery seed
Vinegar, full strength

- Grind peppers, cabbage and onions until fine.
- Mix with salt, and let sit overnight.
- Drain through sieve.
- Mix with sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, and enough vinegar to cover it.
- Let sit for 24 hours, mixing periodically.
- Can in 5 to 6 jars, store in a cool place.

"It's delicious and so easy to make!"

A now for something a little different...

In addition to being a great cook, Grammy Gertie also makes embroidered table cloths. On of her recent creations is on display at her assisted living community. If you happen to visit her, look for it in the front lobby.

Grammy Gertie also sells table cloths, with proceeds going to support hospice. Art and charity - great stuff!