Good morning, Fare companions.
With only four more Wednesdays in 2023, we are cleaning up and cleaning out the file of the year soon ending. In the process there have emerged a good many recipes still sought. How about Fehn’s Russian dressing, Mount Vernon’s sweet celery dressing, chocolate mousse, coddled eggs and a soup with black beans, pineapple and tomatoes?
Also important are these challenges: Looking back, have any of you actually used the flesh of your October and November pumpkins in the kitchen? If so, please give details. Looking forward, what is the recipe you are most excited about preparing, or being served, during the holidays ahead?
(READ MORE: Fare Exchange: Make okra without slime; bake chocolate cake for one)
FLOURLESS CORNBREAD
Gail H. of Nashville welcomed the season for a small group of friends, and today shares one very successful recipe. Guests met on a balmy November day, out in the country, and sat on blankets and folding chairs and logs. No campfire, as the rains had not yet come. No dusting and vacuuming were needed, and a folding table awaited anybody’s addition to the simple feast of popcorn, cheese and crackers. A bouquet of wild grasses and leaves decorated the table, and every guest was invited to discover something to add to the bouquet. Among the songs sung and strummed by guitar and banjo was one by The Highwomen, “Crowded Table.” As guests left, the hostess offered each household a quart of homemade soup with the perfect gluten-free, special-occasion accompaniment, a no-flour cornbread. That recipe follows.
Whence came the generous spirit of this event, you may ask. Ms. H learned it from her own mother, for that is how such things are often taught. Words from the song she sang added to that spirit, including these:
I want a house with a crowded table
And a place by the fire for everyone …
Everyone’s a little broken
And everyone belongs.
The perfect accompaniment to Gail’s soup, she suggested, is Marsh Hen Mill Unicorn Cornmeal from Edisto Island, South Carolina. The gluten-free flour with a pinkish hue is available at Whole Foods. “I made a slight adaptation from a recipe found online,” she said.
No-Flour Cornbread for Your Crowded Table
2 eggs
2 cups white cornmeal
2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup bacon drippings or oil, depending on your preference
Salt (you won’t need much if you use bacon drippings)
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Put first 5 ingredients in mixing bowl. Mix with whisk or spoon.
Put bacon drippings or oil in a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium to high heat. Just as the mixture is about to start smoking, pour it into the other ingredients. Stir as you pour, if you have someone beside you helping you. Leave enough of the oil or drippings in the skillet to coat bottom and sides.
Pour entire mixture into the skillet.
Place skillet on middle rack of oven; bake until cornbread is springy in the middle, browned and pulling away from the skillet on the sides (15 to 20 minutes).
Remove from oven, and invert skillet over serving plate. If it sticks, use a knife along the sides.
Serve with melted butter or honey butter.
(READ MORE: Cornbread recipes provide Southern comfort)
‘JUST BECAUSE’ FAVORITES
As a most welcome gift for these busy December-coming days, Roseann Strazinsky adds a few more recipes to that wonderful category, “I like these just because.” Note below a vegetable dish to bake, french fries to bake and one more sweet use for pumpkins.
Swiss Vegetable Medley
1 bag (16 ounces) frozen broccoli, carrots and cauliflower, thawed and drained
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 jar (4 ounces) chopped pimiento, drained (optional)
1 can (2.8 ounces) french-fried onions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Into a large bowl, combine vegetables, soup, 1/2 cup cheese, sour cream, pepper, pimiento if using and 1/2 can french-fried onions. Spray a 1-quart, deep casserole lightly with cooking Pam, bottom and sides. Pour the veggies into it, evenly. Bake covered with foil or lid for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and add the remaining cheese and onions; return to the oven and bake, uncovered, 5 minutes longer. Makes 6 servings.
(READ MORE: This pot roast gets its richness from canned soups)
Oven Fries
1 1/4 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch strips
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
4 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon paprika
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spray baking sheet with olive oil or Pam.
Combine potatoes in a large bowl; add salt and sugar with cold water to cover. Soak 15 minutes. Drain well, and blot dry with paper towel. Toss the potatoes with oil and paprika. Spread on baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 45 minutes, turning them over as they brown.
Pumpkin Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped nuts
1 cup chocolate chips
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, pumpkin and vanilla. Sift together the 6 dry ingredients, and add them to the creamed mixture. Mix well. Add the nuts and chocolate chips, and mix thoroughly.
Drop by teaspoons onto the prepared pans. Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets while still warm; cool on racks. Repeat until all are baked.
Makes 6 dozen.
(READ MORE: These 3 pumpkin dishes might upstage the turkey)
And why go to the trouble of sending your recipes to share with Fare Exchange? I love the answer of one reader/sharer.
“I really enjoyed sending you some of my favorites. It sure brought back memories of my husband, family and friends around the dinner table, sharing good conversation, laughs and good food.”
So we began with a mother’s inspiration for a daughter’s crowded table, and we end with the memories that sharing recipes can evoke.
But at least one more thing needs to be said. One doesn’t have to be at a crowded table to be full. It can be the simplest repast, and only two, or Facetime from one small table at one end of the world to another across the ocean. Or the anticipation of a meal sometime down the road on a supposedly ordinary day. It all counts, doesn’t it?
Thanks-giving is still in season.
REQUESTS
— Fehn’s Russian dressing
— Mount Vernon’s sweet celery dressing
— Chocolate mousse
— Coddled eggs
— Soup with black beans, pineapple and tomatoes
— Post-holiday pumpkin uses
— Most anticipated holiday food
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, and know we cannot test the recipes printed here.
Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750
Email: chattfare@gmail.com.