Fare Exchange: 'Dinner on the Diner' cookbook fills recipe request, solves mystery

bakery background
bakery background

And we cook on.

Faithful Reader had a request, "how to make a thin green sauce as served with the fried okra appetizer at Edley's Barbecue." He or she added, "I would like to know if cream pies and puddings can be made with almond milk instead of cow's milk. Has anyone tried it?"

REQUESTED ROAST

Ginny Gaines and Pat Crutchfield pointed us to the sought-for roast, discovered in the longtime favorite local cookbook "Dinner on the Diner." Here's how that tasty roast got its name: "Betty Cummings went to the grocery store, walked by the meat counter and saw five roasts individually stamped with the name 'Betty Cummings Roast.' She rang for the butcher to find out what was going on. He came out grinning and said that he had had so many requests for the roast she had served at a dinner party, that he had decided to name a roast after her."

Betty Cummings Roast

8- to 10-pound sirloin tip roast

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon Knorr Aromat seasoning or seasoned salt

1/2 lemon

1/8 cup soy sauce

1 or more cups of water

Remove roast from refrigerator about 1/2 hour before cooking. Sprinkle pepper, garlic salt and Aromat or seasoned salt over roast. Squeeze lemon juice over roast, and pour on soy sauce. Place roast in a shallow pan, fat side up. Bake uncovered at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees, and add 1 cup of water. Continue baking for 20 minutes per pound for rare. Check roast every hour to see if more water should be added. Remove roast from pan, and cut into thick slices. There will be a delicious gravy in the pan. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

HERITAGE CHEESECAKE

Roseann Strazinsky of Fairfield Glade, Tennessee, fresh from a marathon cookie-baking holiday, took time to send this cheesecake with the best attribution. It is simply "Mom's."

Mom's Cheesecake

Crust:

2 cups crushed graham crackers

1 sticks (3/4 cup) melted margarine

cup chopped walnuts

cup granulated sugar

Combine ingredients, and press into a 9- by 13-inch baking pan, bottom and up the sides. DO NOT BAKE. Set aside.

Filling:

3 packages (8 ounce each) cream cheese at room temperature

5 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla

Cream the cheese well, scraping the bottom of the mixer often. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with the cheese with each additional egg. Add the sugar and vanilla. Pour into the prepared crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and let the cheesecake cool, but do not turn off the oven. The cheesecake might "drop" a little or crack. It's normal. Cool for about 20 minutes while you prepare the topping.

Topping:

1 pint (2 cups) sour cream

cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla

Combine all ingredients until creamy. Spread carefully and evenly over the cooled cheesecake. Return to the oven, and bake 15 minutes longer.

Remove cake, and cool before serving. This cheesecake freezes well. Cut into strips to freeze, then into squares when served.

MINI PIES

Jeana Reidl tasted these sweet things at a Bible study and got the recipe from the Marietta, Georgia, cook. Though they fit in the dessert category, a taster said they are not too sweet for breakfast.

Mini Cranberry Pecan Pies

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

8 tablespoons melted butter

1/3 cup sugar

Mix graham cracker crumbs with butter and sugar, using a fork or a pastry cutter to blend it all well.

In a cupcake pan that holds 12 cupcakes, put 3 tablespoons of graham cracker mix into each area. Press it in with a small fondant rolling pin or the back of a spoon.

Filling:

cup flour

cup Southern Comfort (a fruit-spiced bourbon with New Orleans roots)

teaspoon cinnamon

1 cups pecans, toasted

1 cups fresh cranberries

cup light corn syrup

Mix flour with Southern Comfort and cinnamon.

Toast 1 cups chopped pecans over medium heat.

Put the toasted nuts in a bowl with cranberries and light corn syrup, then pour flour mixture on top, and stir to coat well.

Put 3 tablespoons filling in for each mini pie.

(You may use a large scoop, as it holds 3 tablespoons. This makes it easy to portion out the crust and filling. The cranberries will cook down, so it's OK to pile it up.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool in pan before removing. Take a firm spatula and go around the sides to make sure they release easily.

You may serve with a fork, but it is not necessary.

EASY, ELEGANT CHICKEN

Janice Hixson's sheaf of recipes included this one from a long-ago Fare Exchange (2005 to be exact), describing it as easy to make but elegant to serve. We must assume these should be chicken breasts of delicate size, not the huge ones from supermarket meat counters 13 years after this recipe was first printed.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

6 slices Swiss cheese

6 slices deli ham

Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons oil

3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Flatten the breasts between Saran Wrap to 1/4-inch thickness. Place 1 slice cheese and 1 slice ham on each breast. Spread Dijon mustard on ham. Fold in half, or roll and secure with toothpicks. Brush with oil, and roll in breadcrumbs. Grill, covered, for 15 minutes over medium-high heat, or brown and bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

In the wake of the fancy meals of December, it's always good to have a simplifying night. So it was at our house, when the host said, "Could we have tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner tonight?" We could, and did, and I even slathered a little of his favorite mayonnaise on the OUTSIDE, not the inside, as I grilled it.

Down a long corridor of years, you and I have been fixing meals both ordinary and festive, and at our best we listen to the preferences of the ones we cook for. So bring on the mayonnaise please.

Requests

* Edley's Barbecue appetizer sauce

* Almond milk vs. dairy milk

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

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