Jane Henegar

Good morning, good readers. We have reminders, requests and, appropriately, gratitude in this first section.

Shall we begin with gratitude? Teresa Vaughn wrote of a recipe printed on June 25, "The Chicken and Dumpling Casserole in today's paper was delicious. Thanks for sharing."

Tim Guin repeats a request for half-done pickles as once served by Shapiro's delicatessen. And Caroline Goodman asked for instructions on freezing fresh herbs in ice cube trays and also for an easy Butter Chicken.

Guin wrote while in sight of his cucumber-full garden on Signal Mountain. "I was looking online for a good recipe for half-done pickles like Shapiro's used to offer and came across your article. I was wondering if anyone ever replied with a recipe. I just loved those things and, since I usually have an abundance of cucumbers, thought I would give it a go."

Red-eye gravy: a sought-after delicacy. Sally Cook of Hixson shared her recipe. "I buy one or two country hams every year and seal batches of the slices with my food saver, so we can enjoy the ham any time we have guests or just want a hearty breakfast. I learned to make the gravy from my great-grandmother 50 years ago, and it is very basic. Once I have fried the slices, I take a cup of black coffee and add a cup of water to it. Pour this into the skillet to deglaze. Bring it back to a slow simmer and it is ready to serve. True red-eye gravy is more of a thin sauce than a gravy and is usually served with a ladle and poured over a broken biscuit in a bowl. Adding some cut pieces of the ham to the bowl makes everything perfect."

We had several requests for cakes, and Lane Cake was one of those. Barbara Howard found this recipe in "Southern Living's Heirloom Recipe Cookbook."

Lane Cake

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 1/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Lane Cake Filling (see recipe below)

Seven-Minute Frosting (see recipe below)

Whole maraschino cherries (optional)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch, round cake pans. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk. Beat well after each addition and beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla. Fold in egg whites.

Pour batter into prepared cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks and cool completely, about 1 hour. Spread Lane Cake Filling between layers and on top of cake; spread Seven-Minute Frosting on sides. Garnish with cherries if desired.

Lane Cake Filling

8 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup raisins

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup bourbon

1/2 cup sliced maraschino cherries

Combine first 3 ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 20 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and remaining ingredients. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Seven-Minute Frosting

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons cold water

1 egg white

1 1/2 teaspoon light corn syrup

Dash of salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine first 5 ingredients in top of a large double boiler. Beat at low speed with an electric mixer for 30 seconds or until blended. Place over boiling water; beat at high speed for 7 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Remove from heat. Add vanilla; beat 2 minutes or until frosting is thick enough to spread.

Cele Curtis wrote, "This is the strawberry cake that I made for my son as his birthday cake." And what better recommendation could there be? This one, too, is in answer to a request.

Strawberry Cake

1 package white cake mix

1 (3-ounce) package strawberry Jell-O

2 tablespoons flour

4 eggs

1/2 cup strawberry juice from a 10-ounce package frozen strawberries

1 cup Wesson oil

1/2 cup water

Icing (see recipe below)

Mix cake mix and Jell-O. Quickly add all other ingredients. Bake according to directions on cake mix box in a 9-by-13-inch sheet cake pan.

Icing

1 (1-pound) box powdered sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons butter, softened

Drained strawberries from 10-ounce package frozen strawberries

Mix all ingredients and spread on hot cake.

June Plunkett produced the very peach delight that was sought, the one attributed to Calvin Woods; Plunkett prefers to add more peaches, so suit yourself on this one.

Angel Peach Delight

1 small carton whipped topping

1 package instant vanilla pudding

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can water (measured from condensed milk can)

8 to 10 peaches, peeled and sliced

1 angel food cake

Mix half of whipped topping, pudding, sweetened condensed milk and water in a bowl; beat until smooth. Tear cake and place in a 9-by-9-inch glass dish. Place a layer of sliced peaches on top and then top with half of pudding mixture. Repeat layers. Top with sliced peaches and dabble with whipped topping.

Linda Leake answered the request for Southwestern salads with two selections from her cousin Diane Leake Bartels of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Ensalada de Jicama (Jicama Salad)

8 ounces jicama, peeled and cubed

1 large cucumber, sliced thin

1 orange, peeled and cubed

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

Salt

Combine jicama, cucumber, orange, lemon juice and chili powder. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with salt and toss.

If desired, add a sprinkle more of chili powder.

And then there is next week, where hopefully we will find you.

Ensalata de Calabacita (Zucchini Salad)

4 cups sliced zucchini

1 cup white wine vinegar

3/4 cup olive or cooking oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 dashes pepper sauce

1/4 cup green onions, sliced

8 medium tomatoes, cut in thin slices

Lettuce (optional)

Cook zucchini in small amount of boiling salted water 3 minutes or less. Drain.

Arrange half the zucchini in a single layer in a 10-by-6-by-2-inch dish.

Combine vinegar, oil, sugar, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Shake well; a Ziploc bag will do.

Pour half of dressing over zucchini. Reheat.

Cover and chill over night. Drain zucchini, saving 1/4 cup dressing. Arrange on place or on lettuce, if desired

Top with green onions and tomatoes. Drizzle with dressing.