Good morning, readers. It's a new year and surely there will be new wonders from your imagination, from your kitchen. We've had requests from an Atlanta visitor for gingersnaps made with fresh ginger and cocoa; for a hot apricot casserole and for a sausage-and-artichoke heart stew or casserole. "I tasted them all, and I want to cook them all," she explained.
Linda Morris, longtime contributor to Fare Exchange, met the request for Thousand Island dressing with her favorite version and a buttermilk chive dressing to boot. I'm glad to have both myself. We had company this week and served a variety of bottled salad dressings, and I was struck with how undesirable they were. So here's to homemade salad dressings, and thanks to you, Mrs. Morris.
Thousand Island Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/3 cup sweet relish
1 hard-cooked egg, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of garlic salt
Combine all ingredients; chill and serve. Makes 6 servings.
Creamy Chive Dressing
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons apple cider
1/2 cup mayonnaise
11/2 teaspoons salt
11/2 teaspoons fresh-ground pepper
A pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
In a bowl whisk together all ingredients except chives; whisk until smooth. Stir in chives. Makes 13/4 cups.
Here's Betty Warren's solution to the pecan and cream cheese pie mystery.
Cream Cheese Pecan Pie
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (10-inch) prepared uncooked pie shell
1 cup chopped pecans
Topping
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream together cream cheese, sugar, egg, salt and vanilla extract and spread in the pie crust. Sprinkle pecans over the cream cheese mixture.
Combine ingredients for topping and beat until smooth. Pour over top and bake 30 to 35 minutes at 375 F.
My friend Sarah Kate, who for the moment at least is a Brit, carried her distinctly Southern - and distinctly brilliant - self to teach in England, evoking there all kinds of curiosity about her Southern roots. I am thinking that she simply needs a Rick Bragg primer, as evidenced by a fine envelope full of ideas about mayonnaise and pimiento cheese sent recently from Jane Guthrie. (Mr. Bragg, among other things, has a delightful mayonnaise addiction.) In addition to Bragg's paean to pimiento cheese Mrs. Guthrie enclosed this rough recipe, with variations, from Anne Fitten Glenn.
This is the kind of non-recipe that gets me excited; it's almost like a dare. But the more meticulous among us will probably just pass this one over for the proper 1/2 teaspoon measures. And while we're talking pimiento cheese, how about a recipe for the best grilled pimiento cheese sandwich?
Our how about a hamburger topped with pimiento cheese?
Pimiento Cheese
Cheese - your choice of sharp Cheddar, or mixture of white and orange Cheddar, or mix of sharp Cheddar, Colby and Parmesan. Processed cheese is not permitted.
Mayonnaise - your choice of Duke's or Hellmann's. Miracle Whip is allowed by some.
Pimiento - canned roasted pimientos may be chopped, or purchased prechopped
Seasoning to taste: chopped onions or garlic or a splash of lemon juice or beer
Grate cheese in a hand grater or old-fashioned meat grinder. If using a food processor, be careful or mixture can turn to mush. Bind with mayonnaise and add pimiento and seasonings to taste.
And finally, from an anonymous writer, here's a Mexican twist to the noble biscuit, containing - of all things - cornbread mix.
Cheese Biscuits with Chipotle Butter
1 (6.25-ounce) package biscuit mix
1 (6-ounce) package cornbread mix
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon fajita seasoning (optional)
Chipotle Butter
Stir together biscuit mix, cornbread mix, sour cream, buttermilk, shredded cheese and, if desired, the fajita seasoning. Pat or roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut dough with a 2-inch round cutter, and place rounds on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 400 F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Serve with Chipotle Butter.
Chipotle Butter
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, diced
2 teaspoons adobo sauce
Stir together all ingredients.
Enough and not enough: We're out of time and space today, and as always consider these recipes only appetizers for what will come. The next course is up to you.
Fare Exchange is a longtime meeting place for people who love to cook and love to eat. We welcome both your recipes and your requests. Be sure to include precise instructions for every recipe you send.
• Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750.
• E-mail: janehenegar@tvn.net
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