Welcome to an autumn conversation around our newsprint table. This truly is a conversation, not just a recipe swap. Dan Cobb, whose breakfast ideas comes first today, offers the fact that he can't wait to try Rosemary Palmer's Turkey Alfredo from last week. Clifford Burdette says he could eat the breakfast dish he sent every single day. And Peggy J. Reese describes the orange tea recipe she is seeking as "so refreshing." Conversation it is.
Ms. Reese began the request section thus. "I have been hoping to find how to make the delicious orange tea served at the Copper Kettle on Highway 58. It was so refreshing. Please see if anyone has the recipe they used."
Jane HenegarMrs. Harrie D. Cook (whose signature reads delightfully like a pen name) adds a layer to her where-to-buy-ham-biscuits request. "How about a recipe to be made at home, with ready-made or frozen biscuits or even ones made from scratch. What kind of ham works best, and what is best to spread on the biscuits?"
M.F.P. got ready to make a batch of his family's well-loved green tomato pickle. He lined up the cabbages and peppers - hot and otherwise - and spices and sugar and onion. But nowhere could he find the requisite green tomatoes. While the lineup waits, he is hoping you can tell him where to find a bushel of green tomatoes.
Finally, Lynda E. visited Community Pie and talked to the waitress about their selection of drinking vinegars - "in flavors like lemon rosemary, blackberry sage and strawberry basil. She said they are really good for you too. So I would like recipes for drinking vinegars, please."
MEXICAN BREAKFASTS
The following evidence suggests that men are especially good at breakfast cooking and, before that, at plain old breakfast enjoying. Dan Cobb and Clifford Burdette sent their favorite Mexican-theme breakfasts.
Mr. Cobb, who lives in Soddy-Daisy, wrote, "Huevos que Chido is enormously easy and perfect for when you arise barely navigable but want something special. Huevos Rancheros is a gem of a Southwestern favorite with a special twist and is well worth the effort."
Huevos que Chido
1/3 pound chorizo sausage, skin removed
1/3 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons raisins, soaked in hot water 15 minutes and drained
6 eggs, slightly beaten
Salt
Corn tortillas (optional)
In a large skillet, break up chorizo into small bits, and cook until just starting to brown and grease starts to appear.
Add onions and raisins.
Stir until chorizo is cooked through and onions are softened.
Pour in eggs, and sprinkle with salt. Stir mixture until eggs set but are still a little moist.
Remove and serve with warmed corn tortillas.
Huevos Rancheros
3/4 pound pork breakfast sausage
1 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 (4-ounce) cans diced green chilies
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
6 flour tortillas, 8 to 10 inches
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
12 cup black olives, sliced
6 fried eggs
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
Brown and drain sausage; remove from pan.
Sauté onion, jalapeno and garlic in oil, about 3 minutes.
Add chilies, cumin, sausage, water and Tabasco.
Simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until little liquid remains.
Melt butter in saucepan.
Stir in flour; continue stirring until golden, about 3 minutes.
Slowly stir in chicken broth.
Stir flour mixture into sausage mixture.
Cook over medium heat until thick and smooth, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.
Coat a 13- by 9-inch baking dish with oil and heat oven to 350 degrees.
Spoon about 1/3 cup prepared sauce on each tortilla.
Top with 2 tablespoons cheese.
Roll up and put seam side down in dish.
Sprinkle remaining cheese and black olives on top.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until browned and cheese melted.
Serve each tortilla on a plate with a fried egg on top and garnished with chopped tomato.
Clifford Burdette confirms that his recipe for Migas is his favorite breakfast.
Migas for One
1 slice sausage, cooked, crumbled
6 to 8 tortilla corn chips, lightly crushed
2 large eggs, stirred
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon salsa
1 tablespoon cottage cheese (optional)
1 to 2 tablespoons oil for frying
1/4 cup onion, chopped
3 small red sweet peppers, chopped (1 each red, orange, yellow and 1/4 green bell pepper may be used)
1/2 to 1 small jalapeno, chopped
1 to 2 roasted Anaheim pepper, chopped
1/4 cup tomato, chopped
Shredded cheese for topping
Extra salsa for garnish
Cook and crumble sausage, and set aside.
Break tortilla corn chips into bite-size pieces; set aside.
Stir eggs, and season with salt and pepper; set aside.
Add salsa and cottage cheese, if using, to egg mixture.
Heat oil in skillet.
Add onion, sweet pepper, jalapeno pepper, Anaheim pepper and tomato to heated, oiled skillet.
Sauté until onion is translucent.
Add sausage to skillet. Stir.
Place lightly broken tortilla corn chips in skillet.
Pour scrambled egg mix over everything and cook, stirring until eggs are just firm and not runny.
Transfer to plate and add shredded cheese over top.
Add extra salsa if desired.
HAM & BISCUITS
Here comes the first installment of ham and biscuits, this version made with canned biscuits and cheese. Dan Cobb is the sender.
Ham and Cheddar Stuffed Biscuits
Canned biscuits (5 biscuits, preferably Pillsbury Juniors)
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup sliced ham, cut into 1/4- to 1/2- inch squares
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2 tablespoons honey mustard
Cut each biscuit in half horizontally.
Put cheese, ham, butter and honey mustard into a small plastic bag and squish around.
Cut a corner of plastic bag and squeeze equal amounts of stuffing mix on the bottom half of each biscuit.
Set other half on top and bake according to instructions on the biscuit package.
GRAPE JELLY
Finally, Janice Hixson found the old-fashioned grape jelly that Audrey Davis requested, and we'll hope it's just like her paternal grandmother used to make. Ms. Hixson's source was "Woman's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery."
Old-Fashioned Grape Jelly
3 pounds Concord grapes
2 1/2 cups sugar, approximately (5 parts sugar to 4 of juice by measure)
Wash grapes, and remove from stems. Put in kettle and crush well. Do not add water. Heat to boiling, and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the juice through a flannel jelly bag into a large bowl. Do not squeeze bag. Chill juice. Measure juice by dipping it from the bowl into a large kettle. Do not use sediment at the bottom of the bowl. Bring juice to a full rolling boil. Add sugar. Remove from heat, and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour into hot sterilized jelly glasses, and seal at once with paraffin. Makes 4 (6-ounce) glasses.
We end on that sweet note, hoping you will join the conversation next Wednesday.
REQUESTS
» Copper Kettle's orange tea
» Homemade ham biscuits
» Green tomatoes
» Drinking vinegars
TO REACH US
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: chattfare@gmail.com