We greet the new year together, right here on a fresh page, always with questions to solve and inspiration to share.
As three cousins sifted through one’s mother’s recipe file over the holidays, there was a missing 3- by 5-inch card, “the chocolate sauce she learned to make from our grandmother. She used it for only two things: hot, over vanilla ice cream, or cold, in tiny pastry shells with a dab of real whipped cream on top.
“But we don’t have the recipe. It was a thick sauce, made with an egg and cooked … in a double boiler.” (Here we will chime in to ask, “Does anyone use a double boiler anymore? If not, why not? What is a way to substitute for this recipe?”)
D.A.C., who often cooks beef and pork in his Big Green Egg, wants to know how to smoke salmon in the same way.
Still needed: an old-fashioned spice tea that simmers with cinnamon and cloves, with added fresh orange and lemon juices.
TEA MIX
Anne Hendrix of Soddy-Daisy was quick to reply to the request for spiced tea with this well-loved version. “This recipe is a must at our house in the winter, and my husband used to take some along on Boy Scout camping trips when he was a scoutmaster, as he doesn’t care for hot chocolate.”
Spiced Tea Mix
1 (20-ounce) container of Tang
10 ounces (half a 20-ounce) container lemonade mix (Country Time preferable)
3/4 cup instant tea powder (unsweetened, no lemon)
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Mix together, and store in airtight container. Use 3 to 4 spoonfuls to a mug of hot water or to taste.
SAUSAGE ROLLS
Margaret McNeil found not one, but two solutions to the lament that Sister Schubert is no longer making sausage wrap rolls — one detailed recipe and one simple pairing. Today we begin with the simpler version; the from-scratch recipe will come next week.
Ms. McNeil wrote, “I have a copy of ‘Sister Schubert’s Secret Bread Recipes’ cookbook, and it includes recipes for the rolls and the sausage wrap rolls. But if G.E. wants an easier recipe, Sister Schubert on YouTube shows how to make the sausage wrap rolls using a package of her Parker House rolls and cocktail sausages.”
The YouTube video begins with Sister Schubert herself. “Sister knows you’re missing her Sausage Rolls this holiday season. To ensure you and your family can keep them as a part of your holiday traditions, she is sharing a simple way to recreate them. Bake along with Sister in our video and enjoy the real, homemade taste of Sister Schubert’s.”
Sister Schubert’s Sausage Rolls (simplified version)
1 package original Sister Schubert Parker House rolls, thawed
2 packages little smoked sausages
A little extra butter, melted
Make a hole horizontally in the center of each roll with the end of a wooden spoon or with your finger. Insert a cocktail smokie through the middle, and put roll right back in the pan. When you have finished filling all the rolls with sausage, cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. Add a little extra butter, melted and brushed on, to the rolls when you take them out of the oven.
RED CABBAGE
The recipe that follows, from Marge Pasch, appeared prominently in her 2023 Christmas. We were looking for ways to cook red cabbage, and Marge Pasch’s memory stirred.
“I’ve had this recipe for ages, but hadn’t made it in quite a while,” she recalled. “When my husband decided to make sauerbraten with venison, I made the cabbage dish. When my husband shared his leftovers with some guy friends, the hit was not the sauerbraten but the cabbage.”
(READ MORE: Yes, deer: Venison in a slow cooker makes a great meal)
So she went shopping for the currant jelly the recipe called for and couldn’t find it at Publix, Food City or Trader Joe’s. Evidently this ingredient can be elusive; Martha Stewart recommended plum jam as a substitute, and elsewhere grape or apple jelly were suggested, but Ms. Pasch still favors the sweet and tart red currant jelly.
Ms. Pasch’s husband was well aware of the missing item in the Pasch pantry, and she recounted what happened next.
“Would you believe that in my Christmas stocking, I found not one but two jars of currant jelly with the distinctive Publix ‘P’ on the label. Santa, aka my husband, after hearing my tale of woe at not finding the needed jelly at Publix, had told the story to a friend. The friend did what everyone does these days: look online. There online was Publix as a carrier of currant jelly, with two in stock at the Hixson store. My husband went to Publix, and there near the bottom of the jelly shelves were two jars of currant jelly. He bought both, leaving that slot empty.
“I had one more stocking to explore. One was from our daughter and contained several items from The English Tea shop in Atlanta, including a tiny jar of currant jelly. She was unaware of my need for currant jelly, just bought one jar of it and one tiny one of lemon curd.”
Mrs. Pasch promises to report any other news on currant jelly restocking locally, but for now, here is that well-loved recipe.
Red Cabbage
1 head (about 3 pounds) red cabbage
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 apple, peeled, cored and cubed (Golden delicious tastes the best)
1/2 cup currant jelly or juice
Quarter cabbage, and remove core. Chop or shred cabbage fine, and then sprinkle it with the vinegar.
Melt butter in large skillet; stir in sugar and salt. Add cabbage, and toss well.
Cook uncovered for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally. Add apple and jelly, and toss well. Cover and simmer slowly, tossing occasionally, for 1 to 2 hours, until flavors are well blended and cabbage is tender.
Fifty-one more weeks together, Lord willing. So I shall hope, and plan, hoping you will come along. This is a potluck enterprise, where everybody is invited to bring a dish, a question, a comment on the pleasures of kitchen and company.
Requests
— Vintage chocolate sauce
— Relevance of double boilers
— Big Green Egg salmon
— Simmered spice tea
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
E-mail: chattfare@gmail.com
Jane Henegar