All is anticipation in the Dec. 18 air. More accurately, all is anticipation and cooking and shopping. And traveling.
And there are things to do right here.
Hungry Husband began: “I read in Garden & Gun magazine about two-ingredient biscuits made with Cruze Farm buttermilk and Boonville Mill self-rising flour. I went to Whole Foods and could only find full-fat buttermilk from another dairy, and King Arthur self-rising flour. The biscuits I cooked at 450 degrees, which may have been too hot, and they were tough instead of light. I need some more instruction for biscuits made with self-rising flour and full-fat buttermilk, as I hope to make them for a New Year’s Day brunch.”
And here’s a Wish List request that came from the butternut squash recipe below. “I need an immersion blender, as mine is unsatisfactory. Does anyone have a recommendation?”
Lastly, please note a repeat request for a homemade dairy-free ranch-style dressing.
TWICE-BAKED POTATOES
From S.S.’s collection, inherited from her late mother, came another recipe created by the legendary Celia Marks and printed long ago in The Chattanooga Times.
Parmesan-Stuffed Potatoes
6 to 8 medium baking potatoes
Bacon fat for rubbing potatoes
Salt and pepper
Generous dash cayenne pepper
1/2 cup (approximately) heated milk or cream
3 to 4 ounces cream cheese
1 heaping tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
FOR EACH POTATO
Scrub potatoes; grease well by adding bacon fat or oil to your hands, then rubbing potatoes all over.
Prick 2 or 3 times with a fork, then bake at 375 degrees about 1 1/2 hours or until fork-tender.
Cut off tops, and scoop out potato into large bowl of electric mixer. Add salt, pepper, generous dash of cayenne pepper, milk or cream and cream cheese.
Add 1 heaping tablespoon Parmesan for each potato, and beat until smooth. Check seasonings; you should be able to detect the flavor of the Parmesan cheese. Pile shell with mixture, and refrigerate overnight or freeze for future use.
To bake, brush tops with melted butter, sprinkle with paprika and bake 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until golden brown.
(If frozen, thaw in refrigerator to shorten baking time, or bake from frozen state until done.)
HOMEMADE SOUP
We can thank Carli Snyder for a soup recipe included in the Snyder family Christmas gift email. She also recommended a website that another reader, Judy Gillespie, commended to us. But first, here’s the Snyders’ Christmas present soup.
Creamy Chicken, Tomato and Vegetable Soup (with dairy-free option)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (or 3 tablespoons coconut oil for a dairy-free option)
4 large carrots, chopped
1 large leek, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt, divided
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
4 cups chicken stock
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (24-ounce) jar crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream (or canned coconut milk for a dairy-free alternative)
Melt butter in a large pot. Add carrots, leek, celery and garlic. Stir. Cover pot, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 30 minutes. Add mushrooms and 1 teaspoon sea salt to pot. Stir, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in Italian seasoning, and cook for 1 minute. Add stock, chicken, tomatoes and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken from pot, chop into bite-size pieces and add back to the soup. Pour in cream, and season to taste. Serve.
Ms. Snyder’s recipe came from deliciouslyorganic.net. Judy Gillespie described it as “a great website. I found several cream soups that are dairy-free. They use coconut milk.” If you check out this website you will discover recipes that are adapted to a variety of special dietary needs.
SUGAR COOKIES
Roseann Strazinsky’s holiday greetings from Fairfield Glade also contained a recipe. Here it is.
Christmas Sugar Cookies
1 stick salted butter, plus 2 tablespoons
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup flour
Sprinkles (optional)
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Use an electric mixer to cream the sugar and butter, whipping the two until the butter is almost white and the mixture is light and fluffy, almost like a slightly gritty frosting.
Stir in the flour.
Form the cookies into 1-inch balls, placing them about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Flatten them into a disc shape if you are topping with sprinkles before baking. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden.
Decorate as desired.
SQUASH CASSEROLE
On the eve of All Things Festal, Laurice Flasnik stirred into that mix a squash casserole from her kitchen in Harrison. This one contains a mix of yellow and zucchini squashes.
“Your column requested a squash casserole made with mayonnaise. My family has a favorite recipe from my Aunt Roxy for Spectacular Squash, and it really is spectacular. The recipe contains sour cream rather than mayonnaise, although I am certain that mayo could easily be swapped for the sour cream, and with equally delicious results.”
Yes, Ms. Flasnik, the sour cream / mayo switch makes sense. The well-known tomato pie of summer has a topping that, depending on the recipe you use, contains sour cream, or mayonnaise, or a combination thereof.
Spectacular Squash
Several pounds of yellow crookneck squash and zucchini, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 box of stuffing mix that contains a flavor packet, like Stove Top
1 cube of butter, melted
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup grated carrots
8 ounces sour cream (You could substitute mayonnaise – Duke’s is my favorite.)
Pepper to taste
Steam squash and onion for 10 minutes in the microwave, then set aside to cool.
Combine the package of stuffing mix and flavor packet with melted butter, and put half of this mixture into the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch baking dish.
Mix the soup, grated carrots, sour cream (or mayonnaise) and pepper. Fold in squash and onions, and pour into pan on top of stuffing.
Top with remaining stuffing.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
You have been good company, and so you will always be. I’m sure of it. Back next week, no?
Requests
* Biscuits made with self-rising flour and full-fat buttermilk
* Immersion blender recommendations
* Dairy-free ranch-style dressing
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.
* Email: chattfare@gmail.com
* Fax: 423-668-5092