Fare Exchange: Jell-O and grapefruit salads, Ruth's Chris spinach

Good morning, February cooks. As always, requests come first and we expect that answers will follow. How about banana pudding using cookies instead of vanilla wafers? Some tried-and-tasty sugar-free recipes? How about buckwheat waffles, beignet waffles and hash browns made in a waffle iron?

Helen Cooper of Signal Mountain has carefully tested some sugar-free recipes that we will begin to share with you next week. "Add your sugar-free favorite to that future column, won't you?" asks Ms. C.

Nadine Carden of Flintstone, Ga., wrote, "Someone told me that there is a new recipe for banana pudding that uses cookies instead of vanilla wafers. Does anyone have the recipe?"

And Hungry Husband is hot on the trail of homemade buckwheat waffle mix, beignet waffles, and hash browns made in a waffle iron.

Mentors

As people weigh in on the topic of cooking mentors, Linda Leake of LaFayette, Ga., wrote that "I grew up in my mother's and grandmother's kitchen." This phrase tells a lot. Watching and helping someone combine work, art, necessity and love shapes a person's growing up. And it's a blessing to have two growing-up kitchens, both in Southwest Georgia: her grandmother, Mabel Dubignon Cook Adkins, and mother Edith Adkins Leake.

Mignon Ballard's sister Sue Marie became her cooking mentor. "Our mother was a wonderful cook, but she never seemed interested in passing these skills along to me -- probably because I wasn't interested, and she assumed, no doubt, that I was hopeless.

"When I graduated from college in 1956 and took a job and an apartment in Atlanta, neither my roommate nor I knew more than the bare essentials about cooking. Thank goodness, my older sister, a 'bride' of three years, came to my rescue by laboriously typing (using the hunt-and-peck system) on heavy bond paper many of our mother's recipes. She began by directing, 'Put water in a pot and set it on the stove' An exaggeration, but not too far from the truth. She included recipes and step-by-step directions for making many of the dishes we were fortunate to grow up with. Although the original binder has been replaced and the pages are stained and frayed, I still refer to this loving instruction booklet to remind myself of a sister's love and years of delightful meals at our mother's table."

Jell-O salads

At the moment of this writing it is icy outside, hardly the weather for Jell-O salads. But your request brought forth many answers, and spring is not far away. These recipes brought back sweet memories for readers. Dot Walker wrote from McMinnville, Tenn., to share a blueberry version.

Blueberry Salad

1 (No. 2) can blueberries

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple

2 small boxes cherry Jell-O

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

Sugar to taste (approximately 1/2 to 1 cup)

Pecans

Drain juice from berries and add enough water to make 3 cups. Bring to a boil and add Jell-O and dissolve. Remove from heat and add fruit. Chill to congeal in a serving dish.

For the topping, mix sour cream and softened cream cheese until smooth. Add margarine or butter and sugar. Make sure sugar is well-blended and dissolved. Add pecans and pour over congealed fruit salad.

Sunday salad

Many of us remember the tradition of a Sunday meal with a familiar menu served in the middle of the day and called "dinner" ("supper" was the evening meal). At Mignon Ballard's house, Sunday dinner was often baked hen and rice and the following salad. For dessert, perhaps a bread crumb pudding with raisins, topped with meringue (and yes, we would like that recipe).

Pineapple Grapefruit Salad

1 grapefruit

1 small can pineapple tidbits or cut-up pineapple slices, drained

1/2 small bottle of maraschino cherries, cut in half (more or less, to taste)

1/2 cup pecans

1 3/4 to 2 cups juice from pineapple and cherries

Juice of 1 lemon

1 (3-ounce) box lemon Jell-O (add more to make salad thicker if desired)

Scoop sections from grapefruit. Add pineapple bits, drained, drained cherries and pecans.

Heat 1 cup of the juice from pineapple and cherries and add Jell-O. Stir to dissolve. Add second 3/4 to 1 cup of juice, lemon juice and fruit. Pour into dish or mold and refrigerate until firm.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Variation: You may use ginger ale for part of the liquid in place of some pineapple or cherry juice.

Ruth's Chris creamed spinach

Becky McGee saw the request for Ruth's Chris Steak House creamed spinach and passed it on, describing this signature dish as a wonderful recipe.

Ruth's Chris Creamed Spinach with Béchamel Sauce

1 stick salted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk or half and half

1 pound fresh spinach, well cleaned and stemmed

2 tablespoons salted soft butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To make the béchamel sauce, in a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat until foamy, add flour and stir until light brown in color. Add onion and seasonings and then whisk in milk, stirring until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.

Reduce the heat and cook for five minutes, then pass through a fine strainer and reserve. The sauce will be very thick.

Cook spinach immersed in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove and refresh in iced water to cool it off.

Squeeze it until it is very dry and then purée it in a food processor. Set aside.

Just before serving, combine the béchamel sauce with the puréed spinach and cook on low heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Finish by stirring in 2 tablespoons of soft butter.

Breakfast biscuit rolls

Marcia Steele included this in her generous collection.

Pecan Breakfast Rolls

1 stick butter or margarine

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

3 cans refrigerated biscuits (a supermarket brand is fine.)

1 cup cinnamon sugar

1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans

Melt butter in saucepan. Add brown sugar and milk. Bring to a slow boil.

Cut biscuits in half and roll in cinnamon sugar. Pour half of sauce and pecans in bottom of Bundt cake pan. Stand biscuits upright in pan and pour remaining sauce and pecans on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Turn out of pan and serve warm.

We've just gotten started, so please come back to read or to add next Wednesday.