Today's column begins with a request for spring salad recipes. Send us your very favorite ones, the anonymous reader requested. "They can be simple or fancy. I am ready to try something new."
The aforementioned Mr. or Ms. Anonymous has developed a fondness for butter lettuce, "tender and flower-like. I would like some recipes for butter lettuce salads, but also for salads without lettuce."
We have one more unanswered request about herbs, with a little spring-planting tweaking of that request. How does one make mint syrups and teas? How do you, or will you, preserve the fruits of your own herb garden? While we are at it, what are the herbs in your garden and how do you plan to use them in your kitchen?
We have a neighbor who is delighted with her brand-new herb garden, centered by a sculpture of a bird on the wing. "Tell me your favorite herbs," she calls out to the house next door, "and we will plant them so you can enjoy them too."
Now there is a good neighbor.
LEMON PIE
Mrs. Nicholas Aspen makes a springtime pastry with a notable name: Emancipation Pie. "That is because it was on a menu for Lincoln's birthday, but I guess we could say it looks ahead to Juneteenth. This pretty simple lemon pie does not use the ubiquitous can of sweetened condensed milk.
"This comes from the year-long treasure trove of recipes called 'A Dinner A Day' by Sally Sondheim and Suzannah Sloan from 1996," according to Mrs. Aspen. "It is subtitled 'Complete Meals in Minutes for Every Weeknight of the Year' and has weekly shopping lists as well as step-by-step instructions for starting the various components of the meal and finishing everything up within an hour or so."
Emancipation (or Lemon) Pie
1 small package (3.4-ounce) instant lemon pudding mix (we use sugar-free)
2 cups whole milk (I use 2%)
1 prepared 9-inch shortbread pie shell
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 small container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping (we use sugar-free)
2 tablespoons grated fresh lemon peel
In a medium bowl, combine the pudding mix and the milk, and beat until the mixture is well-blended. Pour the pudding into the prepared pie shell, and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
Fold the lemon juice into the whipped topping. Spread the mixture over the pie, and sprinkle it with the grated lemon peel. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
Variation: Make for St. Patrick's Day using lime juice and zest, but still use the lemon pudding since no one makes lime instant pudding.
PORK CHOPS
A time-treasured main dish came from Beth Allen, "a favorite of our family and those who have eaten with us, and it makes a very simple, easy-to-clean-up meal."
Ms. Allen sent this one specifically for Odell Waddell, who wanted to relieve his wife of some of the work of a pandemic year of meals at home. She added, "And of course, please encourage Mr. Waddell to take care of all the cleanup."
Mr. Waddell, consider yourself encouraged (perhaps even admonished).
Ms. Allen also puts these pork chops in dinnertime context. "I usually serve them with a green salad and baked potatoes. Wash and pierce potatoes, and bake them next to the pork chops. I put the potatoes in while the oven is preheating."
The Justice seasoning called for in the recipe is a salt-free seasoning hand-mixed from shallots, garlic, onion, green peppercorns, chives and green onion. According to maker Penzeys website: "Every meal is better with Justice: garden tomatoes, chicken salad, grilled asparagus, salmon, roasted potatoes or even scrambled eggs."
Baked Pork Chops
Pork chops
Penzeys Justice seasoning (or substitute Morton Nature's Seasons)
Milk
Heat oven to 350 degrees, with a rack in the middle of the oven.
Spray Pam in a 2-inch deep casserole dish that will allow all pork chops to be in a single layer.
Place pork chops in the casserole. Season both sides with salt and Penzeys (or Morton) seasoning. Completely cover the pork chops with milk, making sure the milk is at least 1/4-inch over the tops of the chops. Anything from skim to whole milk will work.
Bake 1 hour. The top of the milk will be brown and crisp, and the pork chops will be tender. The only problem is having to share the crispy milk parts.
Serve the pork chops with the crisp parts and the milk solids that will be in the dish. We don't usually do anything with the liquid that is left.
POUND CAKE
There was a good-natured discussion about a certain family's Easter dinner. Was the dessert really Grandmother's Family-Famous Pound Cake or simply a cream cheese pound cake of uncertain origin? They agreed to agree that the pound cake invoked their late grandmother's presence at the celebration. Here's one more pound cake that was tucked away in a vast collection from Janice Hixson.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter or margarine
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter-flavored extract
3 cups cake flour
Cream sugar, butter and cream cheese together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in extracts. Add flour, and beat well. Pour into greased and floured 10-inch tube or Bundt pan. Place in cold oven. Turn temperature on to 275 degrees and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until cake tests done.
Source: "Tennessee's 95 Magic Mixes: Second Helping"
FEEDBACK AMONG FRIENDS
Writing from her home in Ooltewah, Lennis DuBan answered the call to report on recipes from Fare Exchange and how they fared in readers' homes. She wrote about Tuscany Beef, from Dan Cobb printed on Feb. 24 (online Feb. 23). "It was wonderful, and my husband says it's a keeper. It called for a 3 1/2- to 4-pound sirloin tip roast. I couldn't find any, but I did buy a London broil, 2 1/2 pounds. Worked out perfectly and only had to cook on low about 9 1/2 hours. I also chopped up the big cauliflower pieces in the Italian giardiniera. I served it over mashed potatoes instead of on crusty rolls. It did make a lot, like Mr. Cobb said, so we have enough in the freezer for at least two more meals, and we ate twice off of it already."
We look forward to second helpings of your helpful presence, next Wednesday and beyond.
REQUESTS
* Spring salads
* Mint syrups and teas
* Using and preserving herbs
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
"cake" - Google News
April 13, 2021 at 11:00PM
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Let Lemon Pie or Cream Cheese Pound Cake be the sweet finish to Baked Pork Chops - Chattanooga Times Free Press
"cake" - Google News
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