Blue Cook Book

Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Because it is hard to read the package.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 2/3 cup butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup shortening
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi sweet chocolate pieces
  • 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven 375°
  2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
  3. Beat butter, shortening, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  5. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
  6. Stir in morsels and nuts.
  7. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
  8. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.
  9. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes.
  10. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Serves:  Makes 4 – 5 dz 2 inch cookies

Pan cookie variation:  Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

Slice and bake variation:  Prepare dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Note:  May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

For high altitude (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 3 1/4 cups. Add 1 egg

Source:  Betty Crocker’s Best Cookies

Cranberry Punch

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A good EANAB (Equally Attractive Non-Alcohol Beverage) for those winter parties.

Ingredients:

  • 1 qt cranberry (or cran-raspberry) juice cocktail
  • 6 oz frozen lemonade concentrate
  • 1 c grape juice
  • 1 1/2 c water
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 10 whole cloves
  • lemon slices

Directions:

  1. Combine ingredients – except lemon slices.
  2. Bring to a boil.
  3. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
  4. Remove spices and serve warm garnished with lemon slices.  Also good cold.

Serves: 8

Source:  Some magazine long ago.

 

Caviar Canapé

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Pretty fancy for not much work!

Ingredients:

  • 12 oz cream cheese
  • 1 Tab onion, grated
  • 1 Tab milk
  • 1/2 loaf of white bread, cut into 2 inch rounds
  • caviar

Directions:

  1. Mix cream cheese with onion and milk.  (Add more milk if needed to make a good spreading/piping consistency.)
  2. Spread cream cheese mixture on bread round.
  3. Using a star tip, pipe a ring of cream cheese around the top of the bread round.
  4. Dot the center with small spoonful of caviar.

Serves:  50

Source:  50 years of Christmas parties.

Note:  If you can find a bakery that can slice the bread parallel to the bottom of the loaf, you have less waste.
Freeze the bread before cutting.

Potatis Korv

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This is essentially how Grandmother Kleerup make potatis korv, but I had to put in this description from the internet because it was so much fun.  There are even pictures.  The original Kleerup recipe is at the end.

Christmas Traditions: Making Swedish Potato Sausage- Potatis Korv

 When I met my fiance he told me all about his mother’s potato sausage.  Ms. Sue has been making her famous Swedish sausage every year at Christmas for years, and she started making it out of necessity.  The store where her mother bought it when she was a child stopped selling it.  Ms. Sue knew that she could figure out how to make it herself, and so this delicious Swedish family tradition began.At most family gatherings, you will typically find me in the kitchen offering to help.  This year I was offered an official position in the famous family sausage making process. Weeee!!!The first thing you have to do is find yourself a party bucket! I mean get yourself a REALLY large one.  Big enough you could probably let a small child go for a swim in it.  Then you’re ready to get down to business.

Potatis Korv – Swedish Potato Sausage 

  • 3 lbs. ground chuck
  • 3 lbs. ground pork
  • 12 large red or yukon gold potatoes
  • 3 medium onions
  • 3 tbsp. salt
  • 2 tbsp. pepper
  • 10 feet of 4 1/2 inch pig casings
  1. Pour all of your ground meat into the party bucket.
  2. Grind potatoes in a potato grinder.  Drain excess water and add to your party bucket.
  3. Add onions to food processor and chop fine.  Add to the party bucket.  Do you see a theme here?
  4. Allow me to introduce the genius behind this yummy sausage…Ms. Sue who is adding the onions to the mixture.
  5. Add salt and pepper.
  6. Now get in there and make everybody get to know each other!  This part was a lot of fun!  I felt like a human mixer.
  7. Ok maybe I was having a little too much fun with this, but hey it IS a party bucket after all!
  8.  Ms. Sue had the casings frozen in salt water.  She put them in the sink with warm water to defrost them.  Then she rinsed water through them.  She referred to this part as “making balloon animals”.  Will you make me a reindeer please?
  9. Now time to assemble your sausage maker.  Fill the sausage stuffer with your meat mixture.  Do not fill too full!  I found if you do this it will come out the top when you start to make the sausage. That’s how you learn right?
  10. Take the reindeer balloon, uh I mean casing and push the entire thing up onto the stem of the sausage stuffer.
  11.  This is a two person job.  One person has to crank the sausage stuffer, and the other has to catch the sausage coming out the end and hold onto it as it enters the casing. You can control how big the sausage forms by applying pressure against the sausage as it comes out.  This is the part I’m gonna need a lot of practice to perfect. But as you can see Ms. Sue is an expert.
  12. Cut the casing with scissors, then tie off the end of the sausage in a knot.  Put the sausage link into water.  Then you can start another link.  Ms. Sue let me try the sausage shaping part of the process.Before the sausage stuffer  Ms. Sue used to make the sausage by hand.  Can you believe she made yards of sausage with THIS tiny little contraption?  And she did this for years before deciding to invest in a sausage maker.  What once used to take her all day, now only takes a couple of hours.
  13. Isn’t she cute?  Ms. Sue now jokes that she’s going to pass down this archaic sausage stuffer to me so I can make my own sausage.
  14. Keep the sausage in cold water until you cook it so the potatoes don’t turn brown.
  15. Put sausage links into a pot of water and bring to a boil.
  16. Boil the sausage for one hour, and while it boils poke each sausage with a sharp object to keep it from exploding.  You can see that one has exploded already.  I’m pretty sure that’s the one that Ms. Sue let me make.  That’s what you get with a sausage making rookie in the kitchen.  But no worries!  We made enough to feed the entire neighborhood!

You can tell it’s Sausage Time!  The Sweds are hovering..   Here is the finished Potatis Korv.  It is served with Swedish Meatballs, fresh vegetables, and bread.

All in all I think I did ok for my first time making Swedish potato sausage.  But the proof is in the puddin’ as they say…An empty pan is all that’s left.  AND… I got an official thumbs up from the queen of Swedish potato sausage.What a wonderful time we had today.  I will treasure this memory all year until we get a chance to do it again next Christmas.  Thank you Ms. Sue for allowing this sausage rookie to get my hands in the party bucket and help you whip up a batch of your famous sausage.  I had a blast!

Serves:  A lot

Source:DeAnna Lee – bootsupyall.blogspot.com/…/christmas-traditions-making-swedish.html

Winifred’s recipe seems a little simpler!  (But no party bucket!)

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb hamburger
  • 1 1/4 lb potatoes
  • 1/4 lb onion
  • salt and pepper to taste (about 2 tsp salt and 1.4 tsp pepper.)

Directions:

  1. Grind the potatoes and onions an mix with hamburger, salt, pepper.
  2. Wash casing inside and out and cut into 2 ft lengthens.
  3. Stuff into casings using horn.
  4. Tie ends with string.
  5. Tie together in loop.
  6. Store in salted water to keep potatoes from turning dark.
  7. Pierce casings in several places.
  8. Cook in boiling salted water 40 minutes.
  9. Skim off foam as formed.
  10. Pierce during cooking.
  11. Remove from water and cut into 1 1/2″ pieces.
  12. Serve hot.

Serves:  Makes 5 feet of 1/2″ hog casing.  Serves about 3, or 10 on a smorgasbord.

Note:  1/4 lb casings = 25 feet = 5x recipe.

The devil is in the stuffing!  Kitchen Aid has a sausage attachment for their mixer.  We never used it because grandmother has a piece on horn (probably cow) about 3-4 inches long and tapered.  You slide the casing onto the horn, scrunching up as much as you can.  Hold the horn between your thumb base and finger base.  Use your other thumb to force the ground mixture into the casing.  Cut and tie the ends about every 12 inches.  Be sure to leave some space for expansion.  There are also hand cranked sausage stuffers and one creative recipe used the tube of a bunt cake pan.

Lucia’s Chicken

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Lucia Henderson was Jim’s house mother at Stanford.  She became a good friend and Margie’s Godmother.  Lucia would visit her four children and bring back the best-of-the-best recipes.

Ingredients:

1 Chicken — cut in pieces
Flour
Butter

¾ cup  Chicken Broth
¾ cup Sherry or White Wine

1 pkg Artichoke Hearts — frozen (or canned)
3 Tomatoes — peeled and quartered (or canned)
1 Onion — sliced thin (or instant)
¼ lb Mushrooms — trimmed, whole, sauteed

Instructions:

  1. Roll chicken in flour.
  2. Brown in butter in electric frying pan.
  3. Add broth and wine.  Cook 45 minutes.
  4. Add artichokes, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms to heat.

Serves:  3 to 4.

Suggestions:

  1. Serve on rice.
  2. Thicken remaining sauce with cornstarch.
  3. Reduce cooking time to 25 minutes for boneless chicken breasts.

Recipe by: Lucia Henderson

Bisquick Biscuits

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You put the mix in a canister – therefore you don’t have the box with the recipes!  Here it is.  It may not be the way your grandmother made biscuits, but it is quick and easy.

Ingredients:

  • 2 c Bisquick
  • 2/3 c milk

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 450°.
  2. Add milk to Bisquick all at once.
  3. Stir with a fork into a soft dough.
  4. Beat dough vigorously 20 strokes with a spoon, until stiff and slightly sticky.
  5. Roll dough around on a board lightly dusted with flour to prevent sticking.
  6. Knead gently 8 – 10 times to smooth up the dough.
  7. Roll 1/2 inch thick.
  8. Dip 2 inch round cutter in flour.
  9. Cut biscuits.
  10. Bake on ungreased shiny baking sheet 10 – 15 minutes.

Serves: Makes 12 2 inch biscuits.

Source:  Bisquick Cookbook

Chili and Cheese Rice

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Good with barbequed meats because it does not require gravy or sauce.

Ingredients:

  • 1 c raw rice cooked (1 c raw rice = 4 c cooked)
  • 4 oz diced green chilies
  • 1 1/3 c sour cream
  • 1/2 lb jack cheese, grated (2 c)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven 350°
  2. Combine the cooked rice with the chilis, sour cream and 3/4 of the cheese.
  3. Turn into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.
  4. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
  5. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and rice is heated through.

Serves:  6

Source:  Probably Sunset Magazine

Cherries Jubliee

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This was oh, so the rage in the 50’s – all the fancy restaurants did this tableside.   Still works to impress.  “This version is designed for two.  If you wish, prepare it at the table.  If you are timid, just flame it at the table.  Either way, (s)he’ll know you can cook.”  

Ingredients:

  • 1 can pitted dark sweet cherries (try it with the current frozen cherries too)
  • 1 Tab corn starch
  • 2 Tab sugar
  • dash salt
  • dash cinnamon
  • 1 Tab lemon juice
  • 1/4 c brandy
  • vanilla ice cream (or maybe cherry garcia?)

Directions:

  1. Drain cherries, saving 1/2 cup of the syrup.
  2. In a chafing dish, fondue pot, or saucepan combine cornstarch, the reserved syrup, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
  3. Bring to a boil over direct heat.
  4. Stir and cook until the liquid is clear and thickened.
  5. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and cherries.
  6. If you prepare sauce in the kitchenm reheat at the table.
  7. In a small, long-handled pan heat the brandy.
  8. Ignite.
  9. Pour over fruit, stirring.
  10. Spoon flaming fruit and sauce over individual servings of ice cream.

Serves:  2

Source:  Sunset Chafing Dish and Fondue Cookbook

 

 

Buche de Noel

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Everyone needs to make this once, just to prove you can!  

Ingredients – Cake:

  • 1 box chocolate cake mix
  • eggs
  • oil
  • coffee

Ingredients – Frosting:

  • 1 pkg Dream Whip (dry)
  • 2 c Crisco
  • 1/4 c flour – sifted
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 lbs powdered sugar (8c)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 c water

Ingredients- Soft Fudge Icing:

  • 1 c whipping cream
  • 1/2 lb bittersweet chocolate (8 oz) chopped
  • 3 Tab Kahlua

Ingredients – Holly Leaves:

  • jellied spearmint leaves
  • cinnamon red hots

Ingredients – Chocolate Mushrooms

  • 8 foil covered kisses
  • 8 nonpareil candies (flat chocolate candies)

Directions – Cake:

  1. Preheat oven to whatever the box says.
  2. Mix according to package directions, substituting coffee for water.
  3. Make 6 regular size cupcakes.
  4. Line a 11×18 pan with parchment paper.
  5. Pour remaining batter into pan.
  6. Bake until done – not very long.
  7. Dust a tea towel with powdered sugar.
  8. Turn out the cake onto the towel.
  9. Trim the edges of the cake.
  10. Starting with the 18 inch side, roll the cake and the  towel into a log. (like a jelly roll)
  11. Let cool.
  12. Save the cupcakes.

Directions – Frosting

  1. Mix Dream Whip, Crisco,  flour and salt.
  2. Add the powdered sugar alternately with the vanilla and water/coffee.
  3. Beat until smooth.
  4. Color if desired.

Note: Needs no refrigeration.

Directions – Soft Fudge Frosting:

  1. Heat cream to a gentle boil.
  2. Stir in chocolate until melted.
  3. Stir in Kahlua.

Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, until of thick fudge consistency.

Directions – Holly Leaves

  1. Split leaves in half.
  2. Position on cake in groups of 2 0r 3.
  3. Place 3 redhots at the base of each leaf group.

Directions – Chocolate Mushrooms

  1. Unwrap kisses.
  2. Melt one candy in a small dish.
  3. Dip points of there candies in melted chocolate.
  4. Position nonpareil candy on the tip of each kiss.
  5. Eat extra nonpareil.

Assembly:

  1. Unroll cake.
  2. Fill with 1/2 the Dream Whip Frosting.
  3. Frost cupcakes with rest of frosting.
  4. Garnish with whatever is left of the candies.
  5. Reroll cake without the towel.
  6. Place seam side down on serving plate.
  7. Frost with soft fudge icing.
  8. For bark effect, lightly score lengthwise with fork dipped in water.
  9. Garnish with holly leaves and chocolate mushrooms.

Good Job! Reward yourself with the cupcakes.

Serves:  16-18 if you really want to cut into this beautiful dessert.

Source:  4 cookbooks and Margie

 

 

 

Baldy’s Punch

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Punches are a good way to cut down on the bar tending at a party.  Just be sure to let it ice for the two hours in the recipe – otherwise it is too strong and will considerably change your party!

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 lb sugar (1 1/2 c)
  • 1 qt lemon juice
  • 2 qt Jamacian rum
  • 1 qt brandy
  • 4 oz peach brandy (1/2 c)
  • 2 qt water
  • 1 block ice

Directions:

  1. Mix.
  2. Let set over ice for 2 hours.

Serves:  About 30

Source:  Rich Baldwinson, Stanford