Fare Exchange: A cake cure, plus recipes for rice pudding, rotisserie chicken

Jane Henegar

Dear August readers, it's good to be together across coffee cups, computers and printed pages.

Mary Coffey, visiting here from Virginia, asked your help with two requests: "How to make a tortilla shell of sorts out of grated cheese, baked; and how to make sonkers, a kind of fried pie that I read about in Garden and Gun magazine."

And now to the solutions and specialties of the week.

Janice Hixson of Soddy-Daisy sent us a number of recipes from the long-lamented Town and Country Restaurant. This one Ms. Hixson describes as "great on baked potatoes." Note the addition of mayonnaise. Let's assume that well-known writer Rick Bragg would applaud the mayonnaise here, as he has spoken in print of "my mayonnaise addiction." Mayonnaise and sour cream, mixed, go well in chicken salad and also as the topping for tomato-basil pies. Why not on baked potatoes?

Town and Country Sour Cream Dressing for Baked Potatoes

8 ounces sour cream

4 ounces mayonnaise

Sprinkle of chives

Mix well and keep refrigerated.

PINEAPPLE 'N' PUDDING

Mary Brown of Trion, Ga., sent this pineapple version of rice pudding in a collection of such puddings from the Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin.

Pineapple Rice Pudding

4 cups milk, divided

3 cups long-grain rice, cooked

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine 3 1/2 cups milk, rice, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cook 15 minutes or until thick and creamy, stirring occasionally.

In another bowl, beat cream cheese, eggs and 1/2 cup milk. Stir into hot rice mixture; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract. Put in casserole bowl and make pineapple sauce (recipe follows).

Pineapple Sauce

1 (20-ounce) can pineapple tidbits

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Drain pineapple; combine juice, brown sugar, cornstarch, butter and salt. Boil 2 minutes or until thickened. Add vanilla extract. Spoon over rice pudding. Chill.

JUST PEACHY

A recent peach-purchasing question brought a recommendation from Ann Hope, who reported that, "Linda's Produce on Ringgold Road has South Carolina peaches and, being that I am from the South Carolina peach area, I think they are the best."

Following Ms. Hope's recommendation, I found fine peaches and sweet cantaloupes along with tender baby squash at Linda's. And the prices seemed good as well.

MAKIN' 'MALLOWS

Homemade marshmallows, anyone? Lynn Carroll wanted to answer a printed question about them.

"I looked through my cookbooks, some ancient, like 'Encyclopedia of Cookery' and Rodale's book. No marshmallow recipes. Then went online to Martha Stewart and Food Network. Google threw up these and other sites. But also at bottom of page were listed sites for making marshmallows for special needs, omitting specific ingredients. Your marshmallow seeker might be interested."

Ms. Carroll's neighborhood is wallowing in summer bounty - tomatoes and peppers in particular. She wrote, "God bless gardeners who cook. Helen Cooper's Corn and Pea Salad in today's paper sounded wonderfully simple. I'm making it tonight."

Here's another bit of praise for you contributors, from Mrs. Harrie D. Cook of Cleveland (not her real name, of course). Mrs. Cook read about the Zucchini Pie made with Bisquick and hastened to say that she can't wait to try it. (I already have and it is wonderful.)

CAKE CURE

Glenna Johnson has sent many a handwritten recipe to Fare Exchange over the years, but this time she's in the Inbox. And she has a problem for which she found a solution.

"I may be the only one to encounter this problem. When baking companies changed the weight of cake mixes from 18.25 ounces to 15.25 ounces, my old 'doctored' cake mix recipes did not turn out as well. I called the companies and they said if I followed the directions on the box I would not have a problem. My husband suggested adding 1/3 cup additional cake mix. I have been following his recommendation ever since and my cakes rise higher and turn out beautiful. I know it is an added expense but I use up the additional cake mix before it gets old."

Mrs. Johnson watched those pounds and ounces with care.

"I grabbed the first cake mix in my pantry to make sure they were 15.25 ounces in weight. I found three more brands later that were 16.25 ounces but I have used the method of 1/3 cup extra cake mix to all brands with no complications."

She sent some prize- winning suggestions as well.

"Many years ago, I entered a contest and received $5 from your newspaper for how many meals I could get out of whole uncooked chickens. I included the recipes. I have an updated version to share with Fare Exchange readers.

"I buy a large rotisserie chicken at a big-box store for the two of us. We each have a slice of chicken as an entree for one meal. I divide up the chicken to make two 'Buff-a-Enchiladas' casseroles (a Publix recipe), two cornbread casseroles (or two chicken noodle casseroles or dumplings) and chicken salad for two meals. I then take the carcass, put about a quart and a half of water into a stew pot and gently boil it for about 30 minutes and make a rich broth. I strain, then chill to skim off the fat. My husband doesn't like the broth very well, but I do. I freeze broth, then use in recipes that call for chicken broth. I freeze the casseroles and/or enough chicken to make dumplings if I have chosen to make chicken and dumplings. Chicken salad is served atop a fresh green salad for dinner and sandwiches the next day."

Here's the enchilada recipe that Mrs. Johnson referenced; it calls for a 2 cups of chicken breast meat from a rotisserie chicken and is attributed to Publix Supermarkets.

Buff-a-Enchiladas with Avocado-Mango Dip

1 deli rotisserie chicken (or 2 cups cooked chicken)

8 flour tortillas (6 to 8 inches)

1 (10.75-ounce) can heart-healthy condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup salsa verde

1 cup Deli Buffalo-style chicken dip

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Remove chicken from bones (breast only) and shred (2 cups).

Microwave tortillas on high for 30 seconds or until warm. Combine soup and salsa verde; spread cup in bottom of a 13- by 9-inch baking dish.

Combine Buffalo dip and chicken; divide chicken mixture evenly down center of tortillas. Roll each tortilla around filling; place seam side down in dish. Top enchiladas with remaining soup mixture; sprinkle with cheese.

Cover dish with foil and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set and bubbly. Serve with dip (recipe follows).

Avocado Mango Dip

2 ripe avocados

1 ripe mango

1/4 cup cilantro avocado dressing

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Cut avocado and mango into small cubes (discarding pit and peel). Place in medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers or fresh-cut vegetables - or Buff-a-Enchiladas.

We're full to the brim, and will save the rest to begin next week's column. Y'all come.